In the eyes of the common people, the royal palace is a treasure trove of treasures, magnificent architecture, chic gardens and all kinds of decorative works of art, which you may not get tired of if you have the opportunity to feast your eyes on them and go through them for months. But for the princes and princesses who grew up in the royal family, everything here is nothing new, this time Natsuki and Christian took a total of three days off from the Naval Academy, and the business went unexpectedly well, and there were no academic exams in the near future, so the two decided to use the remaining two days to relax.www.biquge.info It was rare to get together with Princess Louise, but it was not much fun to stay in Berlin, so Natsuki suggested that the three of them go to Danzig together, where they could enjoy the seaside scenery, enjoy seafood and spare time to attend to the affairs of the Royal Shipyard.

Natsuki's style of acting has always been mature and steady, and with him accompanying Louise throughout the process, the queen is not worried. Without much preparation, the trio boarded the train and made their way to the port of Danzig, less than 100 kilometers from Berlin.

As the largest port on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, Danzig dates back more than 1,000 years to the rule of the Kingdom of Poland, the Teutonic Knights, the Polish Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, and is now an important commercial port and military base for the Second German Reich. At the height of Danzig's shipbuilding industry, there were dozens of large and small shipyards on the shores of Danzig Bay, and sailing ships sailed from here not only in the Baltic Sea, but also as far as the other side of the ocean.

The rise of the Industrial Revolution had a great impact on the traditional shipbuilding industry, and many small and medium-sized shipyards were gradually merged by large shipyards with strong financial and technical strength, and the booming German shipbuilding industry also appeared with a number of top shipbuilding enterprises represented by the naval shipyard in Kiel, the Germania shipyard, the royal shipyard in Wilhelm, the Weser shipyard in Bremen, the Volkeng shipyard and the Blom-Firth shipyard in Hamburg, and the Shuoxiao shipyard in Danzig. In the port of Danzig, with a population of less than 150,000, about half of the workforce is engaged in shipbuilding, and half of these people are employed by the shipyards, which specialize in the construction of ocean-going vessels.

Walking through the streets of Danzig, you can see busy people everywhere, and it seems that everyone here is working hard except for children and the elderly, so it makes people feel that this is a port with special vitality. The Royal Friedrichyard is located on the left bank of the Vistula River, opposite the shipyard. Both shipyards have a history of more than 100 years, originally both were Prussian royal properties, and later resold by Shuoxiao shipyards, and after two major expansions, the Friedrich shipyard has also undergone two expansions, but its business philosophy has obviously not kept up with the historical development trend, and it is still only a medium-sized shipyard with more than 300 workers.

Before leaving, Natsuki gave it to Nicholas. Wiesel took a short telegram. By the time he arrived in Danzig, the marine mechanics specialist and acting CEO had already made the itinerary. Knowing that Natsuki didn't like to engage in pomp, the uncle did not organize workers to come out to greet him, but the clean and tidy environment and orderly atmosphere of the shipyard obviously left a very good impression on the VIPs.

"I have good news this time: the emperor and the crown prince have agreed to our expansion plan, and the royal family will come up with 16 million marks, and we will borrow the shortfall from Deutsche Bank." Natsuki spoke to Uncle Wiesel in the tone of an old partner.

"Oh, yes, that's great, winter is the ideal season to expand the shipyard, and it should rain endlessly in the spring." Uncle Wiesel led the guests on a tour of the shipyard, where 12 small docks, 4 medium-sized docks, and the only large repair dock of 5,000 tons were all inherited from the expansion of the Second Empire's founding emperor, William I. For more than ten years, the shipyard has only introduced new riveting and welding equipment, and those cranes and casting and cutting machines are more than a round older than Xia Shu. Fortunately, the speedboats designed by Natsuki are all made of steel and wooden hulls, and the old machines are still capable of existing construction and maintenance work, but the next step of expansion is bound to introduce complete sets of modern shipbuilding facilities.

Thanks to the excellent performance of high-speed speedboats, the shipyard's small docks were all filled with construction tasks, half of which were Thunderbolt torpedo boats built for the German Navy, half of which were unarmed speedboats for racing and private use, and the medium dock had an old sailboat and three sailboats for repair and maintenance, which at first glance looked full, but it was obviously an unreasonable resource to repair two or three hundred tons of sailing ships in a thousand-ton dock, and the five-thousand-ton repair dock was as empty as ever.

After turning around, Natsuki, the president of the shipyard, instructed his loyal executor: "Before the royal funds are in place, we will first start the reconstruction of two medium-sized docks, and the new docks should be able to accommodate 2,500-ton ships, and pay attention to reserving enough length to deal with the slender ships that may appear in the future; The construction of two new small and medium-sized docks should be able to accommodate 1,500-ton ships, and the length will be increased by 50% compared with the previous specifications; Renovation of our large shipyard and introduction of machinery and equipment needed to build cruisers. ”

Wizel listened intently, and when Natsuki finished speaking, he said, "Your Highness, we can only fulfill two of your three requests with the funds we have, and even if it is only two, it will cause financial constraints until the Admiralty pays the second instalment. ”

Xia Shu thought for a while: "The construction of small and medium-sized docks should start as soon as possible, and the reconstruction of medium-sized docks should also be carried out. ”

Although the young man in front of him was less than a third of his age, Uncle Wiesel did not question his words in the slightest, and he accepted them one by one very seriously.

After arranging the expansion of the shipyard, Natsuki then asked, "Is there any new information about the people we sent to Spain and the United States to contact submarine engineers during this time?" ”

Wizel replied, "Not yet." ”

After receiving a negative reply, Xia Shu did not have a displeased look on his face, and he said as he walked: "This matter is not urgent, so I can only wait patiently." No, I will try to negotiate with the Germania shipyard and ask them to provide personnel and technical assistance, and the Spanish engineers they employ are said to be very talented and conscientious. At present, apart from France and the United Kingdom, Spain has the best submarine technology. Although the Americans started early, there have been no new achievements in recent years. ”

"But the price of the Germania shipyard is certainly not low." Wiesel said with some concern. Today, the Friedrich shipyard holds a royal title, but it is only a medium-sized company in the German shipbuilding industry, and the key to the success of the high-speed torpedo boat project is that they have a talented designer from the royal family. With the current strength of the shipyard, it is already very difficult to expand the scale and introduce equipment. According to the current market conditions, if you want to introduce submarine technology from a large shipyard, even if it is only to license production, you need to pay a very high price.

"That's a last resort, and we'd better build our own submarine technical team now." Natsuki said, "Don't look at torpedo boats and submarines, one is on the water and the other is underwater, weapons and power systems actually have some things in common, which is our innate advantage." ”

Passing through the shipbuilding area, the group of four arrived at the shipyard dock, where several newly built "Thunderbolts" were moored next to the trestle, these high-speed torpedo boats built with standardized technology have smooth lines and simple appearances, with snow-white paint colors, giving people a pleasing feeling. Against their backdrop, the slightly larger, light-grey speedboat resembles a grey duck mixed in with this flock of little white geese, its hull is nearly three meters longer than the thunderbolt, and the width of the boat has been slightly increased, the biggest difference is its pod-shaped double cockpit, and the rounded glass hatch provides a very ideal view for the operator.

Uncle said: "Our Thunder test boat has been tested for more than half of the time, and from the existing results, it has basically reached the design performance, and it will be able to complete the full test just by waiting for the arrival of Daimler's new engine." ”

When Natsuki led the high-speed torpedo boat test team to shine at the Kiel Military Port Festival, the two-person high-speed torpedo boat was still on the design drawings, and the test boat had been completed in only four months, which showed the technical strength of the Friedrich Royal Shipbuilding and Repair Factory in the field of speedboats. It is precisely because of the importance of technical reserves that Natsuki is so eager to introduce the submarine project, and when the shipyard completes this transformation, the aircraft will be the next strategic project.

Unlike the design and construction process of the Thunderbolt, Natsuki was already a student at the Naval Academy when the Thunder project was put into effect, and most of his energy was focused on his schoolwork, and he was unable to personally preside over the design and construction work as he used to be, but like the bricklayers of the Royal Navy's Technical Committee, he reviewed the design and proposed revisions, and occasionally supervised the construction process. The design team led by Dr. Karls, the bald uncle, proved to be more than capable of the task, and the entire shipyard was running efficiently under the organization of Uncle Wiesel.

The high-speed speedboats designed and built by Natsuki in the past were all single-person models, and Louise could only applaud on the side, but this time there was finally a two-person speedboat, he bent down and stretched out his hand: "Are you lucky enough to invite our beautiful and charming princess to board the boat and try what it is like to fly on the sea?" ”

Court etiquette became a naughty game on such occasions, and Louise smiled with a frown on her eyebrows. Despite wearing a beautiful but somewhat cumbersome long dress, she put her left hand on Natsuki's right palm: "It's an honor!" ”

Under Christian's envious gaze, Natsuki led Louise to the speedboat and helped her put on a brown ear hat and an orange life vest, which turned the dignified lady into a clumsy duckling. Louise looked at Natsuki, who was also dressed, then looked down at herself, and laughed mischievously. When she stepped into the cabin, she squeezed Natsuki's hand again, and the delicate and soft touch made Natsuki have a very wonderful reverie. In the past, he was the only child in the family, and he never imagined or felt that there was still such a completely different relationship between men and women, and it would become more and more mellow with the precipitation of the years.

The brother and sister got on the boat, and Christian was still watching from the sidelines. Thinking of the poor brother, Natsuki turned his head and shrugged at him, motioning for him to pilot a thunderbolt to act as a flower messenger.

The Thunder inherited the more successful driving system of the Thunderbolt, and Natsuki was effortless to maneuver. As the speedboat sailed out of the river and into the open water, he accelerated step by step, and the high-speed engine began to emit the roar that made every boy chasing the wind excited. Daimler's new gasoline engine is expected to deliver a quarter more power to the Thunder than the Thunderbolt, even with an additional crew member, enhanced cockpit protection, and an overall weight 1 more than the Thunderbolt. 5 tons, high-speed performance only increases. It's just that the new engine hasn't arrived yet, and it has to use a gasoline engine of the same model as Raiden for the time being, and the actual acceleration and top speed capabilities are a little worse than Raiden, but this doesn't prevent Natsuki from enjoying the feeling of flying on the sea with Princess Louise. When the pointer on the tachymeter exceeds 35, Natsuki hears Louise in the back seat say in a surprised voice, "Hey, Jochen, we're flying!" We're flying! ”

Accustomed to the steady carriages and royal yachts, there is indeed a feeling of flight on a speedboat speeding at 18 meters per second, and as the hands of the tachymeter continue to turn to a larger value, the speedboat jumps more and more on the surface of the sea, and the white waves stirred up by the stern are like the white wings of angels, holy and gorgeous. At this time, as long as the steering wheel is lightly turned, the speedboat will roll significantly during the steering, and the passengers facing the stern of the boat can not only experience the strange sensation brought by the centrifugal force, but also see the wonderful scene of the world toppling.

Humans conquered horses and enjoyed the joy of the wind in galloping; Humans build boats and feel the freedom of fish while sailing; Human beings invented hot air balloons and experienced the dashing of white clouds in the drift; Now, on this speeding speedboat, the young man has left the wind and waves behind him and found the joy of flying on the sea. When the thunder reached its extreme speed, Louise's surprise and joy also rose to a state of excitement, and the melodious song pierced the noisy roar of the engine: "Summer tree, summer tree, summer tree standing proudly in the wind, you have a tall body, you have a tenacious will, you are not afraid of the heat, you are not afraid of the rain, you are a mighty and unyielding man, you are a great hero who will never fall......"

Hearing Louise singing the song she made up again, Natsuki smiled, there were still many happy moments belonging to the two. Listening to the light and beautiful singing, he hummed to himself: "Hey, Louise, pretty Louise, you are the spring drizzle, the summer breeze, the autumn sun, the winter snow." Whoever you love, who loves you, you have been together for a thousand years, and will be forever ......"

(End of chapter)