"Your Excellency is now our highest-ranking military here, do you need to hand over command to you?"

Acquaintance but not acquaintance with the visitor, Natsuki reminded the other party in this seemingly ridiculous way: This is my territory, no matter if you hold the Shang Fang sword in your hand from time to time, it is best to clamp my tail and be a man. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Major Sochards was as tall and thin as Crown Prince William, and his face was somewhat similar, and his neat lips and mustache were quite British. Living in a powerful upper class, he would not fail to understand the meaning of Natsuki, let alone violate this unspeakable prince, so he laughed at himself: "If I have the ability to command an army, I should stay at a command headquarters and wait for the battle to come, instead of wandering around in a car." ”

"No one is born a commander, and a lot of times, it's all about having the right opportunity." Natsuki said.

The major shrugged: "A marginal figure like me will probably never be favored by fate." ”

"Not necessarily." Natsuki gave him a meaningful look, and then he returned to his role just now, calming the emotions of the crew while keeping a close eye on the real-time situation in the outside world. In the process, Major Sochards turned himself into an invisible man, not influencing the internal affairs of the test brigade in any way, nor staring directly at the two princes, but carrying out his mission in a more appropriate way.

Later in the day, an alert from the airship force pushed the German Navy's war mood to a high point: they spotted a British cruiser in the Skagerrak Strait and judged it to be a pathfinder outpost for the entire British fleet. The Naval Staff and the Fleet Command immediately regarded it as an early warning signal of the impending attack of the British fleet, and issued orders to the various departments of the Navy, especially the forts and fleets stationed in Kiel. Soon, more than a dozen Zeppelins painted with army numbers flew over Kiel, and some train guns came to support the coastal forts, while in Kiel Harbor, the chimneys of battleships and cruisers were constantly smoking, and the heavy anchors were already raised, and they were not kept motivated to go out of the harbor for battle, but to be able to maneuver and avoid artillery fire when the enemy stormed the naval base.

Shortly after the discovery of the British cruiser, Prince Heinrich's High Seas Fleet Command sent a tragic telegram: The knight's battle against the giants is doomed, and even if our fate is all lost, the courage and unyielding fighting spirit will guide our compatriots to complete our unfinished naval business. Hail to the great German Emperor! Hats off to the great Germany!

Only a dozen minutes later, Major Goreer sent a message from the flagship of the 7th Minestrike Ship Group that he had ordered the squadrons to move forward to the mouth of the Kiel Bay. Because the warships could not continue to maintain wired communications after leaving their posts, and the wireless communication channels were congested again, the situation faced by the test team became extremely complicated and sensitive for a while, and the commander had to make a decision based on the situation.

When Ozeman turned his gaze to himself, Natsuki made a decisive decision: attack!

The shrill whistle stimulated people's tormented nerves, and the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly rose, and the vigorous figure quickly concentrated on the trestle, and the roar of the internal combustion engine resounded in the ears...... Standing on the dock, Natsuki silently watched the sailors who boarded and departed, and the successful maneuvers again and again created a deadly illusion: "Thunder" and "Thunder" were able to break through the fleet defenses with extremely high speeds. When the real battle comes, the crews will use this speedboat, which is not much more defensive than a piece of paper, to attack the enemy under the heavy steel armor, and the rapid-fire guns and machine guns of various calibers will weave a terrifying net of fire, even if there is night or smoke and fog, the enemy fleet on standby will be able to tear apart most of the attackers.

On the signal station, the pilots holding small red and green flags constantly guided the speedboats out of the berth with flag signals, one of them followed one after the other, one squadron followed one squadron after another, and more than 40 high-speed torpedo boats left only the backs of fading away. At this time, Natsuki's heart was empty, and he felt that the scenery along the way had covered up some dangerous factors, causing him to come to the edge of this unexpected cliff. In the winter of 1904, the British fleet had an overwhelming advantage in the North Sea, and they could easily cross the Skagerrak Strait and destroy Germany's largest naval base and the main German fleet in the port of anchorage, as had been done in Copenhagen 97 years earlier.

There are always two sides to everything, and the "butterfly effect" is no exception. The path that emerges from the main line of history is full of unpredictable unknowns, and it can be an incomparably brilliant victory, or it can be a dangerous and deadly desperate situation......

Four auxiliary vessels for repairs, first aid, and supplies at sea slowly departed, and the pier became as empty as the Kiel Naval Academy. Because the bulky and primitive radio equipment could not fit into a small, agile high-speed torpedo boat, the commander either left the decision to someone else or took charge of the battle himself. Ozeman bravely boarded the speedboat, and Natsuki and Christian had no choice but to stay at the station, accompanied by Captain Glasser and a handful of staff officers, only the praying support staff.

With Ozeman's command skills and the fighting spirit of the crew, Natsuki believed that the difference between whether he himself drove the boat or not was not very big - unless there was a miracle, they would at most cause some trouble for the British, and there would probably be very few who could escape in one piece, and perhaps even the end of the total annihilation......

Dusk, sunset, night, starlight, dawn, dawn, the long wait made Natsuki feel unprecedented torment, he was entangled, reflected, and explored. The military development of the rising state should not provoke the hegemon too much, but should be carried out in a more intelligent and covert way, and he will gradually realize that it will be too late. For the first time, Natsuki prayed for God's favor in his heart, and his sincerity was like the regret of an infatuated person for missing his first love.

Perhaps his prayers had an effect, or perhaps the Creator's intention was simply to give a warning to the self-righteous Germans. Under the bright light of the morning sun, the test group's group of high-speed torpedo boats returned home, and the alarm had been lifted: only a British naval training ship bound for Sweden had sailed through the Skagerrak Strait, and the new recruits and their old guns were not enough to pose any threat to the German navy, and there was conclusive news from the German naval attaché in Britain that the British home fleet was still scattered in several major ports, and there was no clear sign that they would launch a naval campaign.

Natsuki was relieved.

The crisis didn't end there, but at least people had a time when they were most feared and feared. In the weeks that followed, the Germans deployed mines and strengthened their coastal defenses, while using diplomacy and public opinion to send the message that the German Navy had no intention of challenging Britain's maritime supremacy, but was not afraid of any challenge. As Christmas and New Year approached, the tension that was under constant blows finally eased. After the de-escalation of the battle alert, the cadets returned to the Naval Academy, and the experience of midshipmen was very rewarding for most people, and the impact of the crisis on German naval strategy was undoubtedly far-reaching - the Reich rulers and the top brass received a revelation that was diametrically opposed to Natsuki's perception that only by constantly strengthening the navy could they escape a similar nightmare, which in turn would lead to the oppression and torment of potential adversaries by such fear.

(End of chapter)