The moment he faced the sun, Natsuki's vision lit up, and he suddenly felt as if he was at the gate of heaven, his soul struggling in the world had been indescribably purified, his brain was suddenly speeding up, the problems that had made him feel contradictory and tangled no longer existed, and the purpose of life seemed to become clear. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Before he had time to reminisce about this wonderful moment, Natsuki's vision had returned to normal, the sparkling calm sea was stirred by the "Kraken", the galloping rowing boats were still far away from the sea, and there was only a lone "Neeld" nearby, which can imagine the scene of last year's King's Cup. Despite the obvious advantage, Natsuki calmly turned the steering wheel, stepped on the accelerator to restore speed, and judged the state change of the speedboat with his own balance senses, so that the "Kraken" completed this 180-degree turn in the shortest possible time.

Natsuki felt the need to take a sympathetic gesture towards the rapidly approaching "Nilde" and the Swedish prince on board, so he put his free right hand close to the hatch and made a thumbs-up gesture. The moment they crossed paths, he seemed to see Gustav nodding politely at him.

Ignoring the condition of the American Big Shell, who had the first place in the preliminaries, Natsuki concentrated on driving, and the tachymeter hands gradually returned to the red zone. The Kraken sailed about 1,500 meters from the coast, and the audience could see its almost enchanting speed with the naked eye or a simple telescope, and although Natsuki could not see or hear, he could feel the surprise and sigh of those people.

Witnessing this stark spectacle, the British public must have been in awe of the Germans - these martial arts men were not only as industrious and pragmatic as the Oriental peoples, as strict and punctual as Swiss clocks, but also had an amazing talent for mechanical creation. Krupp's cannons are sold all over the world, Zeiss lenses are of the highest quality, and even German-built ships are now a competitive product, posing a strong challenge to the British shipbuilding industry, which is the largest in the world in terms of size and reputation. The British, who had long been instinctively hostile to every competitor that threatened their hegemony, were now compelled to admit that this people, with a character not inferior to that of the Anglo-Saxons, had become the most threatening adversary of all time.

As the rest of the rowboats passed in opposite directions from a distance of greater or nearer, the loud whining sound continued to reach Natsuki's ears, and he seemed to see the faces of surprise and despair, and victory was already a faint hope for those who had been full of hope just a few minutes ago. No matter how eager and eager they are for this huge reward, no matter how great or sad their original intentions are, this is the competition, this is the natural law of winning and losing.

After a while, the roar of the boat's high-speed collision gradually decreased, and the sea in front of him became empty and refreshing again, Natsuki looked at the engine tachometer, the pointer on it had been in the apex position for a long time, worried that the engine would overheat and cause mechanical failure, he loosened the throttle slightly, and the roar of the engine also lowered the decibels. At that moment, there was a bang in the sea behind him, and it was inferred that either an unlucky boat had burst or that a boat had collided violently while making a U-turn. With an almost cold indifference, Natsuki did not even deflect his head, and drove some distance at a speed of about 55 knots, he stepped on the accelerator again, listening to the hoarse roar of the Daimler engine, while enjoying the arrogance of the victors......

……

After more than four months of preparation, a sensational opening ceremony in the city, a two-day group preliminaries, and an hour and 20 minutes of delay, all the suspense will be revealed in just ten minutes of competition. At the start and finish of the race, the distant roar returns, and spectators on the shore, regardless of age, gender, or all physical features, look up at the sea to the northeast.

The final championship is not only related to the 100,000 pounds of the British government and shipbuilding enterprises, but also a matter of national honor, it determines the vital interests of everyone who holds the ticket - although the organizers of the King's Cup do not adopt the commercial operation model of horse racing, the fierce competition and relatively fair adjudication are good resources for the opening of the game. After the heats, the top rowing boats were given "fair market" odds to win the race, with London locals, other Brits, foreigners, and even investors, rowers, mechanics and even the participating teams betting on almost everyone betting, with the most popular bookmakers raising millions of pounds. It can be said that the championship reward of 100,000 pounds has leveraged dozens of times the capital, and the subsequent impact on the speedboat industry is even more incalculable.

Most of the rowing boats are still at the end of sight, and the best are already riding the wind. On the white-covered viewing platform, the VIP spectators, led by members of the British royal family, remained calm and calm, but their attention was focused on the upcoming sprint race. Before the naked eye could identify the leader, an attendant had moved to the front row of the viewing platform and humbly whispered to those in the center.

In the middle of this sits a couple who have passed their youth and are not yet old, they are brightly dressed and have a noble temperament. After listening to the report of the attendant, the middle-aged man wearing the royal military uniform and the ribbon medal frowned slightly, while his dignified, beautiful, noble and generous female companion covered her mouth with her hands and showed surprise.

In the front row on the right, a girl with small wavy curly hair has a slightly red face, her big double eyelids and a tall and slender nose bridge belong to the fine genes of the Hohenzollern family, the crescent-shaped eyes give people a kind and warm feeling, the solid white dress is made of fine cotton fabrics, the handmade lace is complex and exquisite, the skirt is swaying, and the palace atmosphere is full. Beside her was an empty chair with the words "Kingdom of Prussia - Prince Joachim" written on a hard golden card, and the girl's clenched pink fists danced slightly to the cheering of her mouth: "Victory!" Victory! Jochen! Victory! ”

Behind the girl sat two burly British admirals and a pair of beautiful mother and daughter, the young mother's expression was as calm and plain as her husband next to her, but the girl with a cold temperament showed great surprise at the live situation, a pair of watery eyes looking at the rippling blue sea.

In the blink of an eye, the leading light grey speedboat arrived ahead in a unique manner. The sharp-eyed man quickly recognized its identity, and as soon as the news came out, there was a commotion in the crowd watching the game. Before the race, the largest number of people bet on the American big shell and the previous champion "Nild", and there are many who are optimistic about the British domestic rowing, while the rest of the rows are relatively neglected, and the German "Kraken", who ranked sixth in the preliminaries, was only offered the championship odds of 1 to 17.

The current situation means that the vast majority of bettors will lose their money!

The light gray speedboat finally crossed the finish line without any suspense, and there was an uproar of disappointment in the crowd. At this time, a middle-aged man with a shiny face crossed the second-row aisle with embarrassment, stopped behind the couple in the middle of the front row, humbly bent down, and asked the middle-aged man with a high nose and blue eyes in a lengthy sentence.

Out of intuitive worry, the young girl sitting on the right side of the front row stared at the man in military dress who was contemplating his eyebrows, his square face was angular, and his upright facial features gave people a sense of heroic and generous. As if aware of the gaze coming from the side, the man in military dress turned his head slightly to the right, in addition to the Prussian princess, the German ambassador to Britain was also in the VIP seat, surrounded by many noble dignitaries from other countries. The leader-level decisiveness made the man in military dress make a quick choice, he turned his head to the middle-aged man and commanded one or two, although the embarrassed look on the middle-aged man's face was still there, but the previous embarrassment had been greatly relieved.

At this time, in the rowing mooring area not far from the finish line, Natsuki, who was driving the boat against the pier, responded to the cheers of his companions by waving his fists. The expected victory was unexpectedly exciting, and in the eyes of the rest of the team, the chief designer, the soul of the speedboat, drove the speedboat to win the championship, bringing more joy and satisfaction than any one of them winning the trophy!

Jumping on the pier, the first thing Natsuki did was to give Uncle Wizel a warm hug. For him, this is an important person who is also a teacher and a friend. If it weren't for the changes brought about by Creation, Natsuki might have been in the ship design department for many years like him, and this wonderful journey through time finally changed the fate of both of them. Natsuki freed him from the boring life in the Navy office and stretched his talents in ship design and management organization to the fullest, and he brought Natsuki's dreams from the design table to the slipway, and loaded them with flying propellers.

This is a bosom friend who transcends age and even the boundaries of the times!

Natsuki, who enjoyed his victory, was unaware of what was happening on the stage, but he wasn't unaware of the possibility that the organizers would manipulate the outcome of the competition. In order to fight back forcefully if necessary, he had several groups of people on the shore with the best camera equipment available to film the race, and the footage proved that "The Siren" had run the race in accordance with the rules and without any foul play, and that the victory was well deserved.

Nearly ten minutes after the championship boat reached the finish line, the race ended with the return of the last speedboat. At this time, Natsuki, who had changed into a dress, had already come to the viewing platform. The dignitaries who learned the results of the competition congratulated him, and Natsuki shook hands with them as he walked to the British royal family, the British Crown Prince George, who holds titles such as the Duke of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales.

As Kaiser Wilhelm's cousin, Georges and Crown Princess Marie stood up to congratulate their young cousin, and the camera camera faithfully recorded the funny scene. At this time, no one probably expected that the cousins and nephews, who have a big difference in age and identity, would experience extremely complex grievances and entanglements in the coming decades.

When Natsuki returned to his seat, a baritone voice came out of the loudspeaker: "Your Excellency Duke of Cornwall, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess, distinguished gentlemen and ladies, the final results of the 9th King's Cup Motorboat Water Race, a tribute to King Edward VII and a celebration of the spirit of marine pioneering, are in my hands, and the results are unbelievable...... In the spirit of fair and equal competition, I would like to inform you that the Kraken from Germany has won this year's grand prize, and it has just set an unprecedented average speed - and we are here to witness history together - 58. 7 knots! ”

Before the words fell, there was another uproar at the scene. Towards the end of the race, many people already saw that the speedboat was going to set a new record, but when the official data was announced, they still opened their mouths in disbelief. You must know that in this era when the recorded speed of transoceanic cruise ships is only 25 knots, and most ships are still staggering at about 10 knots, a speed of close to 60 knots is really unimaginable for a boat on the water!

After a pause of about ten seconds, the baritone on the radio continued: "Ladies and gentlemen, according to the judgment of the professional judges, the championship boat has reached a top speed of 63 knots on the water at one point during the race, let us dedicate all our praise to the team that built the Kraken, the Friedrich Royal Shipbuilding Yard in Germany, and their chief designer...... Prince Joachim of Prussia. Feng. His Royal Highness Prussia! ”

Although the tricolour logo painted on the hull of the participating speedboat identified the victor from the outset, there was a very shrill boo from the crowd when the names of the German shipyard and the Prussian prince were announced on the loudspeakers. At this time, the scale of German shipbuilding did not fundamentally threaten the maritime hegemony of the British Empire, but with the rapid rise of German industry and economy, cheap and high-quality "German goods" have compressed and devoured the trade profits of the British in more and more fields. As Germany's share of world trade grew, the proud subjects of the empire on which the sun never set were not only surprised, but simply panicked.

In recent years, Germany's foreign policy has indeed annoyed the British public. Germany supported the Boers as Britain and the Boers fought over diamonds and gold; When Britain used the Russo-Japanese War to suppress Russia, Germany supported the Russians; Germany built the Baghdad Railway, which posed a direct threat to Britain's India-based sphere of influence; In the partition of Africa, Germany expanded outward along both sides of the equator, and advanced from southwest Africa to east Africa...... All of this deepened the tensions between Britain and Germany, and the hostility of the British was further exacerbated by a major event that had recently appeared in the press: the Kaiser's visit to Tangier, Morocco, and the "First Moroccan Crisis."

In the Anglo-French Entente signed by Britain and France in 1904, Britain explicitly recognized Morocco as a French sphere of influence, and the German emperor visited Morocco and declared his support for Moroccan independence, which was described by some newspaper commentators as a "**** and dangerous political provocation". The incident quickly caused an uproar in France, and the French Foreign Minister, the "hardcore revanchist against Germany" who was instrumental in promoting the Anglo-French Entente, issued a strong protest to the Germans through diplomatic channels, and the British government quickly issued a statement of support for France. The situation of the German Emperor and his government seemed to be very bad, and this situation also caused many Britons to gloat. In their view, the rude and aggressive Germans were only fit to dance with cannons on land, and the vast colonies outside Europe were not yet able to speak to the Germanic peasants.

In Natsuki's view, the boos of these British viewers are not only for political reasons, but also for their face. The King's Cup Race, sponsored by the British government, was originally owned by the British, with four of the first six races won by British boats, and only the second and fifth editions were won by the French and Americans, which fully demonstrated the leading skills of the British shipbuilding industry, but from the 7th edition, the German-made speedboats were "surging". In 1903 and 1904, the German Huntel and the Swede Gustav won trophies in speedboats ordered from the Friedrich Royal Shipyard, and this year the Germans moved from behind the scenes to the forefront, in front of the British crown prince and many guests, and won the crown by throwing most of their opponents several streets away. It is not difficult to understand that the British, who feel that their dignity has been damaged, are full of "envy, jealousy and hatred".

The VIPs on the stage gave a standing ovation, but their applause could not hide the inversion of the ordinary audience. Natsuki greeted everyone casually, while Princess Louise beside him was visibly disappointed. At her age, she probably couldn't figure out how a well-mannered Englishman could boo a well-deserved victor.

No matter how reluctant the Britons were to watch the game, the grand award ceremony was held as usual. On the much-anticipated podium, the young Prince of Prussia raised his arms, holding the trophy in his right hand from the hands of Prince George of Great Britain, and waving the executive chairman of the Tournament Committee, John, in his left hand. The cash cheque presented by Sir Fisher for 100,000 pounds was truly a young man of pride and beauty.

In a subsequent interview with reporters, Natsuki thanked the British organisers for their generosity in his fluent English with an "Irish accent", praising it as the most well-organized water race ever and providing an ideal platform for competitors and rowers to showcase their strength. After the courtesy, Natsuki declared that the victory was a gift from him and Princess Louise to the German Emperor, Empress, and soon-to-be-married Crown Prince Wilhelm. When asked by a British reporter whether the championship boat would be used for military purposes, Natsuki said in a low-key manner that the main reason why Germany has invested so much energy in the field of high-speed torpedo boats is to effectively defend the country's long, complex and bisected coastline, and that the outstanding performance of the "Kraken" can give the German people a more fulfilling sense of security - he would feel very, very honored to dedicate this design to the German emperor.

(End of chapter)