.“ Your Majesty, good news! ”

With a square telegraph in his hand, Stresemann walked into the Kaiser's study in high spirits. However, he soon realized that he was a little reckless, because the Kaiser was not alone in the study.

Hearing his excited voice, several other people in the room looked at him in unison.

Fortunately, Chen Tian generously relieved him, "It's okay, let everyone know the good news!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! The U.S. government has finally made concessions! They agreed to allow our fleet to enter Veracruz, Mexico, and give us a week to evacuate the diaspora! With that, Stresemann handed the telegram he had just received to Chentian.

Chen Tian calmly glanced at the contents of the telegram, and told Stresemann calmly: "I know! Thank you Ministry of Foreign Affairs! ”

"Willing to serve Your Majesty!" Stresemann had already noticed that the atmosphere in this room was a little strange at this time, and although several of the people present were the heads of the Admiralty, he still cautiously retired to Chentian.

"You can also sit down and listen together, there is a new mission of your Ministry of Foreign Affairs behind!" Chentian motioned for Stresemann to sit on the sofa beside him, and after that, he asked Marshal Miller, Minister of Maritime Affairs, to continue today's report.

"Your Majesty, after the robbery of the 'Jane Ra', we have lost two ships this month, with a total tonnage of 13,000 tons, and this year we have lost nine ships on the Atlantic route, with a total tonnage of 67,000 tons, and a total value of about 32 million marks of cargo and vessels. The shipowners' association has no radical rhetoric about this state of affairs on the Atlantic route, but hopes that the government will wipe out the raiders as soon as possible! ”

Through Miller's report, Stresemann has learned the subject of an informal meeting today, three days after the German ocean-going freighter Janera was attacked in the Atlantic Ocean by British government ships in exile. Although there were no casualties among the crew, both the ship and the cargo were taken by the attackers.

"Please be seated!" Chen Tian motioned for the embarrassed Minister of Maritime Affairs to sit down.

Since the end of the war, almost most of the unfortunate news has come from Müller, and it is no wonder that at cabinet meetings and meetings of the High Command, everyone jokingly referred to him as Germany's minister of bad luck.

"It's better to warn first and then hijack the ship, right?" Field Marshal Pol, Acting Minister of the Navy and Chief of the General Staff of the Navy, raised his own question on the sidelines, and he was obviously a little helpless at the news that since the British established a government-in-exile in Canada with Edward VIII as the core, the waters north and west of the Atlantic Ocean had become black areas for German freighters. In the beginning, German ships were attacked almost every month. At its peak, there were more than a dozen times a month, which frightened all German cargo ships sailing between Europe and the United States.

Later, the German Navy sent a fleet to search for British warships in that area, and the two sides encountered and exchanged fire several times, but did not deal a fatal blow to the British. The British, too, learned to be obedient, and gradually they only sent fast destroyers and cruisers to attack the German merchant ships on the route, and ran away as soon as they saw the German fleet turn around, leaving the German fleet empty and having nowhere to vent.

This situation did not come to an end until the German Navy transferred the aircraft carrier "Lisa" to the northwestern Atlantic, but unfortunately the good times did not last long, as the situation in the Mediterranean deteriorated and the German-Austrian fleet confronted each other in Gibraltar. The German Navy had to relocate most of the ships previously used to hunt British raiders home. After suffocating in Canadian harbors for a while, the British ships were reactive.

After experimenting with such methods as loading merchant ships with cannons and using warships to disguise themselves as freighters for ambushes, the German navy finally adopted a convoy system modeled on the British, which greatly reduced the losses of German freighters in this area. But after all, this was only a palliative solution—the large number of ships that set sail from Germany every day, the small number of German escort ships, and the fact that some small and medium-sized ships were often reluctant to join the slow-sailing convoys, so it was not long before one or two more German ships sailing alone were attacked by the British. Fortunately, the number and tonnage of these ships accounted for only a small proportion of the German ocean-going fleet, and with the temporary shift of the naval strategic focus to the Mediterranean, the German Navy has not carried out large-scale counter-attack and escort operations in the Atlantic Ocean in the past six months.

After entering 1916, the biggest thing in Europe was the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Mediterranean region finally became a German monopoly, and the German Navy's strategy was finally transferred from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. From the Kaiser to the admiral. Everyone felt that it was time to solve the headache of the British government in exile.

"Yes! Although the British acted in accordance with the rules and did not harm our crew, a shipload was robbed in broad daylight after all! The British also asked our crews to come back with a message and let our troops get out of the British Isles sooner! Miller said unhappily and disdainfully.

Previously, because the situation in Europe had not yet been completely calmed, Chen Tian could only temporarily tolerate this situation, but now he can finally speak loudly:

"We can't tolerate the British continuing to toss like clowns! As far as I know, their plan to order warships from the United States was ruined by our intervention, but through the mobilization and renovation of Canadian shipyards, they still received quite a few new ships! If the information is correct. The British now regained possession of a sizable offshore fleet, including several newly launched fast cruisers and large destroyers with increased range. In addition, the Xindi submarine factory also opened in the port of St. John. I think it won't be long before the British will begin their hunting operations at sea, as we did with their homeland in the war! ”

"However, according to the memorandum we have signed with the U.S. government, our fleet cannot attack any port in North America, because Washington feels that it will cause panic among Americans living on the East Coast!" Stresemann whispered and cautiously reminded everyone present. (All the way,)

"Humph! If it weren't for this damn memo, I would have gone with a fleet to bombard Canadian ports! Admiral Scheer interjected indignantly.

"Until we are fully prepared, we really should not risk making enemies with the Americans!" Marshal Pohl spread his hands helplessly, "Otherwise, they will provide necessary assistance to the British government-in-exile, and even set off a wave of anti-German and anti-war in the world's political and economic circles!" This will surely delight our European competitors! ”

"If the Americans and the British think that we dare not or cannot meddle in the affairs of the Atlantic, then they should pay for it!" Prince Heinrich, who was sitting silently in the corner, said something unsurprisingly. The history and traditions of Europe determine that they are very different from the East in terms of imperial power and throne, and the fact that the father does not have the right to inherit the throne does not mean that the son does not. The son becoming the emperor does not mean that the father will become the emperor. After Chentian ascended the throne, Heinrich was still the Prince of Prussia, and in the navy, he served as the commander of the North Sea Fleet as a marshal, and was known as the four pillars of the German Navy together with the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Scheeper, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, and the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Spee.

"That's right!" Chen Tian actively expressed his approval. Now Austria is naturally unstable, Hungary and Bohemia have also become vassals of Germany, and as for the Russians, Chentian is preparing an "incomparably strong" Hindenburg defense line for them. This legendary line of defense will stretch from the Baltic Sea in the north to Hungary and Romania in the south, covering a distance of nearly 1,000 kilometers. It is expected to take 10 years and hundreds of billions of marks in funding. The entire line of defense was to be built by the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Paul von Hindenburg, so it was named the "Hindenburg Line" in advance.

However, this widely publicized line of defense probably existed only in the German radio and in the minds of the Russians, and the German War Ministry only planned to spend 2 million marks to renovate part of the original defense facilities on the German-Russian border, and that's it!

"Your Majesty, our current outpost into the Atlantic is the British Pascal Flo, although the conditions of this military port are good in all aspects, but the distance to the middle of the Atlantic is still a bit far, especially for land-based aircraft! Therefore, I propose to station a fleet at Punta Pitre in Guadeloupe, expand the port, strengthen the fortress. and the creation of air bases in Iceland and Greenland. In this way, we can protect our Atlantic shipping routes to the greatest extent and encircle and suppress the attack ships of the British government in exile! ”

After Heinrich presented his opinion, Chentian turned his attention to Stresemann.

"My Foreign Secretary, do you think this will be difficult?"

"Are you trying to persuade the Danish government to allow us to build air bases in Iceland and Greenland?" Stresemann looked down and pondered for a moment. "The Danes won't be too willing, but we can put the right amount of pressure on them!"

"And what about leasing Iceland's port as a naval base?" Chen Tian asked a new question.

"Uh...... Same solution! "Stresemann's opinion is clear, both hard and soft!

"Then we are waiting for your good news!" Chen Tian looked at his foreign minister happily, although this practice is obviously bullying the weak with the strong, but this is the inevitable law of historical development.

On May 20, 1916, the German Navy's North Sea Fleet and the Baltic Fleet held a joint naval exercise in Kiel Bay between Germany and Denmark, in which 122 ships participated, more than four times the number of the entire Danish Navy. Three days later, the German Army's 4th Army and the 3rd Army of the Royal Janissary Army held a large-scale military exercise in Flensburg, Germany's northernmost neighbor to Denmark, with 160,000 troops participating. The number was twice as large as the regular Danish army.

Under strong diplomatic pressure, the Danes finally made wise concessions, abandoning their neutrality and forming an alliance treaty with Germany, promising Germany to lease the Icelandic city of Vaeri as a naval base and air base, and agreeing to the establishment of three air bases and the stationing of some army units in Greenland.

In addition, the German Ministry of Finance allocated a special fund of 40 million marks for the expansion of the former Cape Pitre in French Guadeloupe. In July of the same year, the German Atlantic Fleet's task force was stationed in Guadeloupe, thus opening the prelude to the Atlantic escort and counteroffensive operations.