In the autumn rain, the steam locomotive dragged the dove-gray passenger carriages and the ink-black freight carriages through the fields, villages and towns. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 The mature industrial age meant a relatively stable social structure, and the seating class on a train speaks volumes. The lightly furnished second-class carriages, the spacious and comfortable first-class carriages, and the luxurious staterooms are not separated from each other, but there is hardly anyone else to see through the aisle into the other carriages except for the train staff. It's not impossible for people to settle into their existing roles and cross classes, but it's not as simple as going from the back of the car to the front of the car.

In a luxurious compartment in the middle of the train, two teenagers dressed in German naval cadet costumes sat face to face at a small table by the window, writing their thoughts with the tip of a pen.

"Well, Johen, how about listening to the poems I have changed: on moonlit nights I listened to the winds and waves of the sea, and thought of thy beautiful song, drunk without wine; In the rainy morning, I quietly watched the ripples on the water, thinking of your pure smile, dancing without the wind......"

Natsuki looked up at the German defender Philip. Ram, who had the same infatuated seed of face shape and thick eyebrows, interrupted his recitation before he could shake off more goosebumps: "Uh-huh, it sounds neat, it's quite a good verse, but Louise doesn't like this kind of crepe lyric poetry very much, and it would be better to play Schumann's Fantasia for her." Think about it, you play the piano elegantly, she looks at you quietly, and feelings breed unconsciously, how beautiful it is! ”

"Oh, Jochen, you're deliberately undermining my self-confidence!" Prince Oldenburg puffed up and said, "If I could play a complete stanza, God would be moved to tears." ”

Natsuki was really not interested in coming up with ideas for this guy's self-pity, and said perfunctorily: "Mozart was not born to play the piano, as long as you practice consistently, beautiful notes will definitely pop out of your fingertips." ”

Christian stretched out his hands, looked at the ten fingers that were neither long nor thin, and sighed helplessly: "They were born to hold knives, how can they play a beautiful melody?" ”

Xia Shu didn't bother to answer, lowered his head and continued to paint his warship line map. With solid sketching skills and oil painting skills, a mighty warship riding the waves has come to life vividly on the paper.

With a slight shaking, the speed of the train gradually slowed down. When the whining whistle arouses people's attention, the scenery outside the car window has changed from the endless autumn colors of nature to the suburb of the city with chimneys and streets. In the afternoon, although the sky has not yet cleared, the rain has been much lighter, all kinds of carriages and cars on the road are staggered, and some pedestrians on the roadside are in a hurry, and some are walking calmly and slowly. Men are noble or simple, young or old, mostly shirts, suits with hats and leather shoes, and women are without exception wearing long tufts, some wearing headscarves, and some wearing plain or bright top hats.

"Oh, Berlin, a fascinating city, even with a breath of intoxication in the air." Prince Oldenburg had an intoxicated and fascinated expression.

"What's so good about the smell of soot? It's just a house of love and a black house. Although Natsuki muttered so in his heart, he didn't mean to despise it in the slightest. The boys and girls who fell in love were so simple and ridiculous, and he was just like that back then.

The train's terminus is Potsdam Station in the Berlin district, which Natsuki is no stranger to. After getting off the train, he led Christian straight to the VIP room of the station, and soon saw a slim, innocent and sweet girl standing behind the glass door of the VIP room and looking out.

"Hey, Louise!"

Natsuki raised his right hand high and waved it, and his beautiful face full of anticipation suddenly filled with a happy smile. The waiter playfully opened the glass door between the two, and the girl decisively threw herself into the boy's arms, and the embrace of the two immediately attracted envious glances from the surroundings.

Smelling the familiar fragrance from the ends of his hair, Xia Shu suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy in his heart. For more than ten years, he has lived in a splendid palace, accompanied by respectful attendants almost all the time, but he has never felt the warmth of family. The emperor was either busy with government affairs or hunting, and the empress focused most of her energy on vocal music, which she excelled in, and her brothers received a strict Prussian education at an early age, but she always liked to follow her, curiously and quietly watching herself do everything. In the memories of the two little guesses, the Royal Library is always so solemn and quiet, there are always so many sad faces in the naval cartography room, the fencing hall, the equestrian field, the vocal room and the lake where the boat used to be boated, the shade of the strolling trees, the fields of singing, and the countless laughter that made Natsuki regain his innocence in childhood, and also made the helplessness and hesitation that he had condensed in his heart disappear......

Letting go of his arms, Natsuki looked at Louise seriously: "Let me see...... Gee! Our little princess has grown taller and more beautiful, and she is becoming more and more like an angel who has fallen into the world! ”

The royal girl's eyes smiled like a beautiful curved moon, and her three-dimensional facial features, especially her thick eyebrows, made her look a little bit of the charm of a Uyghur girl. After reconnecting with her brother, Louise finally noticed Prince Oldenburg standing next to Natsuki, and she smiled cheerfully and said, "Hi Christian, long time no see!" How was it at the Naval Academy? Jochen must have taken good care of you! ”

Seeing the lover of his dreams, the innocent young man who was brewing how to make a good impression on the other party all the way couldn't let go, and even his smile was a little stiff: "Long time no see, Her Royal Highness Princess Louise, I've been looking forward to seeing you again...... Life at the Naval Academy is good, and Jochen and I are still natural partners, right? ”

Louise turned around deftly, holding Natsuki in her left hand and Christian in her right hand: "Let's go, let's settle your business first, and then we will sit down and talk well, you must have a lot of interesting things in the naval school." ”

In this era, the simple and clumsy cars did not seem worthy of the noble princes and nobles, and the lavishly decorated horse-drawn carriages were still the necessary means of transportation for most of the upper class. The princess's white carriage crosses Leipzigplatz and turns onto Unter den Linden via Leipzigstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse, Europe's most prestigious boulevard leading to the imposing Royal Palaces, and stops in front of the Imperial Navy offices before crossing the palace bridge.

"Wait a minute." Natsuki got out of the carriage lightly and steadily, and he lifted his military hat and walked up the steps quickly. The guards in front of the door recognized him at a glance and hurriedly raised their guns in salute.

Less than ten minutes after entering the naval office, Natsuki came out with Tirpitz, the state secretary of the Imperial Navy and the Prussian admiralty. Seeing that the two were about to enter the carriage, Christian took the opportunity to sit next to Louise.

"Hello, Your Highness Princess!" Tirpitz took off his hat outside the carriage and saluted.

"Hello, Your Excellency." Louise's happy smile had turned into a shallow courtesy smile.

"Hello, His Royal Highness Prince Oldenburg!" After getting into the carriage, Tirpitz then saluted Christian.

"Hello, Your Excellency the Earl!" Christian replied with a slight restraint.

The carriage continued to move forward, and the four of them were silent. Fortunately, the journey down was very short, and after crossing the palace bridge over the River Spree, they entered the royal palace area, and the group quickly arrived at the emperor's daily office.

Natsuki, Christian, and Tirpitz got out of the carriage, and Louise whispered softly in the carriage, "I'll be waiting for you at the old place." ”

"It may take some time, at the latest before dinner." Natsuki's tone was full of gentleness, and as he walked up the steps with Prince Oldenburg and the Minister of the Admiralty, the expression on his face became serious and formal.

At the door of Kaiser Wilhelm II's study, the royal chamberlain bowed and announced: "Your Royal Highnesses the two princes, Your Excellency the Minister of the Navy, Your Majesty is summoning Prime Minister Bilow, please wait here." ”

Natsuki nodded, turning to face Tirpitz. The founder of the High Seas Fleet has been the German Admiral for 7 years, and it was one day 7 years ago, at the warm invitation of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Tirpitz became the mentor of Prince Joachim, although this is only an unpaid informal position, Tirpitz has not taught a few classes seriously from beginning to end, but the interests of each other have always made them always commensurate with teachers and students, and they complement each other, so there is a honeymoon period between Tirpitz and the German royal family, and there is a large order for Thunderbolt speedboats, With the youngest full-fledged cadet ever at the Kiel Naval Academy. In view of this tacit partnership, Natsuki wrote a letter to Tirpitz before going to the Royal Navy's Technical Committee to "kick the house", outlining the benefits and disadvantages of the Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser's design adjustment. Now that it has been approved in principle by the Technical Committee, it is not good to skip the Minister of the Admiralty in formally stating the matter to the Kaiser.

"The general design drawings of His Highness Auguste and I, have you read them carefully?"

"Well, it was delivered yesterday afternoon, and it was studied in detail in the evening, and the engineering department was convened this morning for discussion." Tirpitz's answer was not tendentious.

"In fact, this is not the first time we have designed a complete package of cruisers, as early as two or three years ago, we had designed several fast cruisers with great expectations, but the technical conditions at that time were not enough to realize our design."

Hearing Natsuki's words, the German Admiralty with an exaggerated beard only moved the corners of his mouth slightly, which could be regarded as a polite response.

Natsuki continued: "This master design plan is not just the two of us involved, in order to catch up with the schedule, I also asked the professional engineers of the Royal Repair Factory to help. ”

"Oh!" Tirpitz's expression and tone were very calm, not at all surprised, and his unusually cold attitude made Natsuki's inner guess clearer.

PS: Jochen is the nickname of Joachim.

(End of chapter)