Ten years ago, the port of Kiel, Germany. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

In the early morning, the rain was pouring down, the sea wind was fierce, and the undulating waves could not shake the huge steel warships like mountains, but they were enough to make the floating boats jolt and shake. On the pier near the departure channel, a man in a waterproof cloak stands alone in the rain, looking up at the gloomy sky beyond the breakwater.

Since its proclamation at Versailles in 1871, the development of the Second German Empire can be described as "magical". In just over 30 years, its population has nearly doubled, its coal and steel production has jumped to the first place in Europe, and its electrical and chemical products have ranked first in the industry, realizing a huge transformation from an agricultural country to a modern industrial country in one fell swoop. The rise of great powers must be met with suspicion and resistance from neighbors, and this historical law also fell on the emerging German Empire. In the first decade of reunification, they were repeatedly passive diplomatically, almost held hostage by the combined forces of various countries.

Thankfully, they had such an outstanding politician and diplomat as Bismarck. Adapting to the change in the role of the Central European power to the European power, the "Iron Prime Minister" began to use his amazing insight, overall vision and flexibility to improve the international situation of the German Empire, single-handedly promoted the German-Austrian alliance and the "Three Emperors Alliance", and achieved unprecedented dominance on the European political stage, even Britain had to look at the face of the Germans on major international issues, and Germany was able to carry out their industrial revolution in a safe and stable environment. In addition, Bismarck took full advantage of the opportunity of Britain and France competing for Egyptian interests and Britain and Russia entangled in the Black Sea straits, and in less than two years won Germany more than one million square kilometers of overseas colonies (90% of the total number of German colonies before the war), without causing obvious resentment from other countries because of these colonies.

Sadly, good times are short-lived. In 1888, the old German emperor Wilhelm I died, and his son Frederick III died of throat cancer after only 99 days as emperor. Despite his admiration for Bismarck, the new emperor came into a fierce conflict with the iron-blooded chancellor and dismissed him as prime minister in 1890, which became a watershed moment in the development of the Second German Reich.

In the winter of 1890, just nine months after Bismarck withdrew from politics, the sixth son of Wilhelm II, Joachim. Feng. Prussia descended into the world. In the past 14 years, Prince Joachim Jr. has grown stronger day by day, and the industrial, economic, and military strength of the Second German Reich has also increased day by day. Bismarck's successors, who had neither the vision nor the ability to navigate the complex international situation, pushed Russia into the arms of their old enemy, France, and forced themselves into a situation of being attacked on their backs; Their wishful thinking to favor Britain resulted in the loss of dignity and interests; They tied themselves to Austria-Hungary, creating the strange image of "the weak dominating the strong"; Germany's world policy has been mercilessly attacked, Germany's strategic environment has become increasingly sinister, with the conclusion of the Franco-Russian alliance and the Anglo-French entente, former friends and distant relatives have stood on the opposite side one by one, Germany, which is thriving in national strength, has fallen into a terrible situation surrounded by strong enemies, and the greatest political diplomat in their history, Bismarck, has passed away for six years, and no one in this country has the ability to turn the tide. They had no choice but to go further and further in the vicious circle of "expanding the army, not being safe, and expanding the army again", and finally plunged into a huge military adventure, either to nirvana or to ashes......

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Measured by the size of an adult, the back of a person in the rain is slightly thin. Judging from that immature and youthful face, he is still just a growing teenager, young, handsome, and calm. He tilted his head and looked at the intersection of the sea and the sky. At the end of the gray rain cloud, a fresh blue loomed.

"Your Highness, the rain is about to stop!"

The middle-aged man who spoke came from a shelter from the rain, he was holding a crutch umbrella with some difficulty, his short beard was about a quarter of white, his skin was loose and bloodless, his black tuxedo and white shirt were like a professional butler, but behind the lenses of his round-rimmed glasses there was not a pair of humble and capable eyes—they were simple and unpretentious, but there was a simple wisdom in them.

"yes, the rain is stopping!" The teenager replied very calmly. He turned his head, and there was neither childish frivolity nor pretentious depth in his eyes, and his blue eyes were as clear as spring water. Hearing the incomplete melody of drums coming from the inner harbor pier, the young man drove his body to turn clockwise with his feet, turning in a standard military posture.

Looking in the direction he was looking, the honor guards and military musicians who participated in the celebration of the Military Port Festival were rehearsing in the rain. The brightly colored "Prussian Blue" is the German Royal Guard of Honor, inheriting the Prussian Guards style of the Royal Soldiers, who are burly and good-looking, and they are famous for their cold expressions and insect-biting fortitude when on duty; The fresh and eye-catching "Wave White" is a queue of German naval soldiers, they wear flat cloth hats, except for the hat wall, streamers, lapels and leather shoes are all white, although there is no pride and majesty of the royal guards, the clothing is too simple, even the rifles in their hands are not matched with majestic bayonets, but their ranks are equally neat, their faces are equally tough, giving people a feeling of steadfastness and meticulousness!

When the band conductor, with his calm demeanor and calm demeanor, raised his little stick in his hand, the light drum beat sounded, and the trumpeters puffed out their chests and played a light and passionate rhythm with metal instruments. This is the "Hohenfriedberg March", the spiritual symbol of the Prussian army and the song of victory, and the high-spirited melody sets off the ships in this military port to be particularly powerful. Directly opposite the main platform are three Wichelsbach-class battleships, the newest and best surface warships of the German Navy, their thick hulls like impregnable steel fortresses, and their stout main guns show their strength......

With the formation of the German High Seas Fleet and the promulgation of the new Naval Act, the Reich's long-pent-up ambitions found room for release. From the icy North Sea coast to the lukewarm Baltic Sea, Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel, Wilhelm, Danzig, steelclad battleships slid off their slipways and rushed into waves on the sea. With every battleship launched and commissioned, the Germans felt one day closer to the fulfillment of their dreams. Battleships, cruisers and torpedo boats of all kinds littered the coast of Germany, and the mark of the Kaiser appeared in all the seas of the world......

Before you know it, the rain is thin and the wind is weak, and the water surface in the harbor gradually calms down. The road leading from the Royal Pavilion to the docks was filled with brightly coloured traffic, sumptuous carriages, novelty cars carrying distinguished guests, and countless people and sailors flocked to the docks to see the Imperial Navy growing stronger.

The young man lifted his cloak, his youthful and confident face appeared pleasant, he turned to blow the whistle, and a group of white-clothed sailors immediately rushed from the rain to the dock. It is close to the departure channel, there are no large ships docked next to the pier, and the two wooden trestles that extend outward are moored with many white ships. They are clearly divided into two types, the larger one resembles a ribbon fish, the hull is exceptionally narrow and long, with two chimneys, the front and rear decks are equipped with semi-enclosed gun mounts and small-caliber guns, and torpedo tubes are placed on the forward deck of the bridge and the rear deck of the chimney. At first glance, it looks like a private yacht sailing on lakes and inland waterways, with a narrow length, a low deck without chimneys, a low-profile cockpit at the middle and rear of the hull, and a built-in torpedo tube on the foredeck.

As one of the fruits of the early industrial revolution, large and small steam ships have appeared in all corners of the earth, without exception with tall chimneys, and the maturing steam turbines have high transmission efficiency. By the beginning of the 20th century, the maximum speed of traditional neat ships had exceeded 40 knots, and the number of naval ships in service in batches had also appeared at speeds of more than 36 knots.

For Europeans living in this period, speedboats without chimneys, although rare, were by no means "flying out of the sky". Ever since the German Otto invented the internal combustion engine in 1876, humans with endless imagination have quickly loaded them onto horse-drawn carriages and ships. Although the power of the new internal combustion engine was limited, and the car could not outrun the horse, the motorboat could not race the steamboat, inventors and the wealthy who were keen on new things were still happy to invest their energy in them, and many countries have seen the emergence of automobile and motorboat racing, which has also become an important driving force for the development of internal combustion engine technology.

In Kierne Harbour, some of the white-clad sailors who arrived at the pier quickly boarded the boats and took place, while others untied the ropes. The large steam-powered speedboats were equipped with twenty men each, and only seven or eight people remained on deck to operate the guns and torpedoes, and the rest worked in the wheelhouse and power room; Small speedboats powered by internal combustion engines have only one occupant, and the stylish cockpit provides good visibility for the operator. After boarding the bridge, the boy walked straight to the dinghy with the Iron Cross logo and the "SS-01" logo painted on its side, only to see him take off his cloak to reveal the short rider-like attire, and with a light movement into the cockpit, put on a slightly ugly fur hat, and fasten the cross-seat belt. On the pier, a young sailor with a mustache had helped him untie the ropes from the boat. When everything was ready, the boy skillfully turned the start knob, and the engine placed in the front compartment immediately made a cooing sound, but then fell silent.

The boy calmly turned the start knob, but the stubborn cooing still ended in a mute sound. In a small trouble, the boy's expression did not change much, and he turned his head and made a circular gesture to the bearded sailor who was standing straight. The bearded sailor first straightened his legs, then quickly picked up the iron rocker and got into the boat, inserted the head of the rod into the starter port in front of the right side of the wheelhouse, and turned his arm violently several times. This time, the engine finally let out a coherent roar, and the boy nodded in satisfaction, and gave a thumbs up to the bearded sailor who had retreated to the trestle, and the bearded sailor saw this with another respectful stand.

(End of chapter)