At dusk, on the calm waters of the north-central North Sea, a fleet of nearly 20 ships with black vulture flags on their masts was heading north at a speed of about 10 knots.

The largest and newest of these is none other than the Kaiser's ship, the "Lützov".

The sun is about to set in the west, the undulating waves are shining with scales, and the distant sky to the west is almost fiery red, which heralds another sunny day. There was still a little time before dinner, and people in admirals' uniforms, men in black dresses, and off-duty officers and men on the ship walked around the deck and the ship's side passage in twos and threes, while admiring the beautiful sunset.

At this time, the fleet that had temporarily joined the convoy had not yet left, but according to the pre-arranged arrangement, it would not be long before they would return. In fact, for most of this voyage, the fleet of "Lützov" and three other ships will sail alone on the vast ocean.

At the same time, the German Navy's radio listening posts in Wilhelmshaven and throughout the mainland were operating intensively, and Berlin's "Victory Strasse Witch" was also bustling with Jingjia - the Germans, and many people with different purposes in this world were closely watching this special fleet.

Unfortunately, the temperature in the North Sea does not change depending on the enthusiasm of the people, and even when standing in the passage on the side of the ship, people can feel the chill of early winter.

"What a beautiful view!"

Lisa, who looked at the sea from the railing, admired softly, as the most noble woman in the German Empire, she did not have the beauty of the country or the body that fascinated men, nor did she have an incomparably illustrious background or a keen and witty political sense, but she had the most important things as a virtuous helper, kindness, tolerance, intelligence, and love for her family far more than the yearning for power. All this is just like the pale fur coat on her body, which is of high quality but unassuming.

Standing next to Lisa, Chen Tian was dressed in a navy uniform. A very ordinary-looking navy hat, with two rows of six large metal buckles on the front, a blue-gray military coat without any medals, and a pure white clean and warm scarf tied inside, distinguished only by the front collar of the white gown, and the sword on the left waist, which symbolizes power.

Before dinner, Lisa suddenly suggested going out for a walk, and stopped for more than ten minutes in a place with a somewhat "pungent and unpleasant smell of soot". In this way, Chen Tian did not express the words of doubt or emotion. Instead, he stood silently beside her. This sunset scene also seemed to have appeared six years ago, when the two of them were still very young when they sailed to China, and the burden on their shoulders was far less than it is now.

"This is the sea, the mesmerizing sea, the free sea!"

Tatsuten said this, but unlike Lisa, who was watching the sea view with all her heart, he was still thinking about many things. The voyage has so far gone very smoothly, as has happened after the coup d'état, and for 11 months, almost no one has resisted Tatsuten's succession to the throne. There were no rebellions or riots. During this time. Wilhelm II's widow and several princes seem to have come to terms with the fact that they will be under house arrest for a long time, living a quiet and simple life every day, and never contacting or trying to come into contact with outside figures. The officials and generals who had been favored by Wilhelm II and who remained in the government or the army were all loyal to their duties. There was not even the slightest hint of dissatisfaction on any occasion. Internationally, all countries and governments have recognized the legitimacy of the Kaiser without exception.

No matter how solid the ice is, there will always be an undercurrent, which is what Chen Tian believes.

"It would be nice to be able to live by the sea, in a calm and beautiful seaside town!" Lisa whispered, as if she were talking to herself alone.

This kind of faint and shallow happiness may be what most people expect from the bottom of their hearts, however, most people are destined not to have such an opportunity.

"When the world is really peaceful, the war is really over forever. We will be able to leave our busy state affairs and live in such a place! Otherwise, let's let little Andres grow up quickly, so we can retire early! Chen Tian said optimistically, emotional rather than rational optimism.

Perhaps knowing that these two possibilities would hardly materialize in the short term, Lisa did not respond, instead letting the sea breeze stir her hair.

Chentian's guard, the brown-haired young man von Jonalet, hesitated for a moment not far away, and then walked up to Chentian's side apprehensively. Chentian turned his head. Getting something from the other person's eyes, he looked back at Lisa, who was focused on the sea view, and turned to leave with Jonalet.

As the sun sets below sea level, the sky gradually darkens, and the stars begin to appear. Eventually, the sunset disappeared into the night along with the sea, and the world was overtaken by the light of the stars. The faint and fixed ones are the faint rays of light from the stars, the flickering and faint ones are the starlight reflected by the sea, and the regular ones are the signals of the farewell of the Rhineland.

Soon after, in the special dining room of the "Lützov", the most distinguished guests of the ship began to enjoy their first dinner after boarding the ship. Despite the cruise, the dishes were sumptuous, with the freshest meat and vegetables in addition to the best seafood. Of course, as the voyage progresses, the variety of dishes on board decreases slightly, but the situation improves with each supply point, and such a transoceanic voyage is naturally much more comfortable than the life of an ordinary seafarer.

At the end of the long dining table, Chen Tian tried to cut the steak on the plate, judging from the expression on his face, it seemed a little laborious, but his eyes were very focused on the food, it seemed that the chef had a big problem for the emperor. In addition, it was noted that Marshal Boer, to the right hand of the Emperor, was also in almost the same state, and the lips of the two were still trembling slightly, not knowing whether they were cursing the steak or the chef who cooked it.

No one outside of the seats had any idea that the two big men were actually talking quietly, and that conversation had nothing to do with the steak on the plate.

"Your Majesty, General Kuruska's vigilant fleet has returned!"

"Hmmm! What is the current situation inside the Navy? ”

"Nothing out of the ordinary!"

"Good, keep on your vigilance!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"What about the Austrians? Has their fleet been mobilized? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, with the exception of the fleet that escorted the crown prince and his wife, there has been no action on the part of the Austro-Hungarian fleets currently stationed in Spain and the Crown Prince, but according to our spies, they have cancelled their leave of absence and asked all officers and men to be on standby on this ship. At the same time, each ship has been replenished with corresponding combat materials, and can sail at any time if there is a situation! ”

"Let our fleet maintain the same combat readiness, especially the reconnaissance alert troops and the fortress garrison, without the slightest relaxation!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will convey your orders to Admiral Sheppel and Lieutenant General Benk! ”

"Well, by the way, be careful to check the confidentiality of our communications regularly, and use cryptography for important information. And change your password often! ”

"Yes!"

Under the stars, the uncontrolled fleet continued to sail north at daytime speed, and in more than seven hours they would arrive at the port of Pascalfloe, known as the "Waterloo" of the British Navy. The flag of the German Empire was flying on every flagpole in this famous harbor, and nearly 60 warships, large and small, were quietly docked at their berths under the lights, while in the channel near the harbor, a dozen destroyers and large patrol boats were slowly moving out of the harbor.

"How?" It was an officer about forty years of age with an angular face who was a commodore judging by his epaulettes and collar badges, and who wore an Iron Cross of the First Class on his blue-gray uniform, with two small golden leaves on it.

The room he was in was not very big. On one side of the door were several odd-looking transmitters. Some military personnel with headphones are sitting in front of these transmitters, busy with something.

"It's a cipher telegram!" One of the ensigns replied. In this room, except for the brigadier general who had just spoken, everyone else was a lieutenant. Most of them were lieutenants, and a few were lieutenants and captains, and most of them had medals on their uniforms, iron crosses of the first or second class, but none of them had the small gold leaves of brigadier generals.

"Decipher as soon as possible," the angular brigadier general ordered with a serious expression.

"Yes!"

The second lieutenant knew that this order meant another sleepless night.

Just over three months ago, it was one of the most important British military ports, and it was also the place that suffered the most shelling and bombardment by the German navy, and before the armistice was declared, almost 60 percent of the dock facilities and 50 percent of the land facilities were destroyed. After the signing of the German-British Peace Treaty. As part of the treaty, the port was handed over to the German Navy. The German fleet was accompanied by a large number of engineering troops, as well as a naval intelligence listening team from Hamburg. Three months on, Pascaflo has largely recovered to its original appearance, and has become one of Germany's most cutting-edge military ports and intelligence listening posts.

To the east of Pascaflo was the vast Atlantic Ocean, and with the end of the war, the German Atlantic raiding fleet and submarine forces were transferred back to the mainland, in other words, it was no longer under the control of the German navy. About 500 nautical miles northeast of Pascaflo is Iceland, a Danish vassal state. At present, the relations between Germany and Denmark are relatively stable, so German ships are relatively safe to sail in this area, and of course, this is mainly due to Germany's friendly policy towards European countries at this stage.

Further east from Iceland, however, was the relatively empty middle of the Atlantic, which was not a blessed place for German ships, as it was frequented by British government-in-exile warships. Because it was too far away from the mainland, the German navy could not station its capital ships in that area, and the British usually sent one or two light ships from time to time, so the German government had to send some escort ships to protect the merchant fleet, but a single German merchant ship was often attacked in that area, and a small naval battle broke out between the two ships from time to time. Even after the armistice was declared by the British government at home, warships that obeyed the orders of the British government-in-exile continued to harass German shipping routes.

This situation was also the most worrying of the German Admiralty after the Kaiser decided to go to the United States in person, and the conservative suggestion to sail with a powerful fleet was rejected by the Kaiser. After that, naval intelligence turned to closely monitoring the movements of the British government-in-exile, but so far Edward VIII's warships have remained quietly in Port St. Jonas, Canada, with a total of 2 armored cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 11 protective cruisers, 17 armed merchant ships, and 35 destroyers and large torpedo boats of the Canadian Navy.

On the other hand, as the host of the naval conference, the US Government does not dare to slack off on the security of the representatives of various countries. With nearly a month to go before the meeting, Washington's security preparations are in full swing. In addition to the full dispatch of the police, the gendarmes and the military were also brought in to help, and according to Wilson's orders, he did not want to see anything that would damage the image of the United States, especially the talks, before the delegations left. In addition, the national flags of the participating countries were hung in every household, such as the Star-Spangled Flag of the United States, the black, white and red tricolor flag of Germany, the red, white and black vulture flag of Austria-Hungary, the white, blue and red tricolor flag of Tsarist Russia, the moon and star flag of Turkey, and the sun flag of Japan.

At Norfolk Military Harbor, not far from Washington, the capital ships of the US Atlantic Fleet, which had recently been redeployed from the Pacific Ocean, were ready to set sail. Unlike their last voyage, this time they were not there to meet the challenges of other countries, but to welcome a distinguished guest who brought peace. According to the plan, a huge fleet of three battleships, ten cruisers, and several dozen light ships was to sail out of the open sea to escort the Kaiser's fleet.

At 3 a.m., the vast majority of the people, except for the officer on duty on the ship, were asleep. Few people knew that the lights were still on in the emperor's study near the stern of the ship at this time. After 20 hours of leaving the mainland, the information that Chen Tian had been waiting for finally arrived.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived in Puerto Pascalflo, and according to the plan we will enter the port to refuel, and set sail again at 11 a.m.!" The young guard officer reported softly, for the queen was sleeping soundly in the bedroom just a wall away.

"Go ahead with the plan!" At this time, Chen Tian was wearing a thick nightgown, but there was no sleepiness on his face.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Jonalet replied respectfully, "Fleet 1 is ready to sail!" ”