When the snow stopped, the howling north wind restrained its fierce temper, and the dim world gradually brightened. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the white field, a six-horse brown carriage slowly moved towards the prince's domain, far away from the hustle and bustle. In the carriage decorated with black velvet cloth, a young lady with delicate eyebrows and a handsome appearance looked out the window at the snowy scene, and beside her, a young officer in a navy civilian uniform had a calm expression like a lake and a light temperament like a white swan.

Sitting across from them was a young man with clear eyes and red cheeks, sometimes looking at a beautiful lady and sometimes a handsome officer, with a shy smile on his face.

Seeing that he was almost at his destination, the naval officer said, "This snow looks like it will stop for a few days, Hickey?" ”

The young man put his hands on the stove and covered them, and looked directly at each other: "Winter weather, no one can predict it!" If the snow continues to fall, cousin Jochen, you can stay here with your fiancée for a few more days! ”

Seeing that the lady beside him was indifferent, the naval officer was too lazy to correct the mistake that the boy had just made in the title - the fiancée should refer to the relationship after the engagement and before the marriage, but now he and his sweetheart have not yet stepped on the threshold of formal engagement.

The boy continued: "I remember one year, probably at this time, when it snowed for many days in a row, and as a result, we couldn't go out for almost a month, and we stayed until after Christmas. ”

The naval officer smiled slightly: "Do you want to keep us so much, are you thinking about learning something from me, or do you really like to get along with us?" ”

The boy scratched his head: "My father has already agreed to let me apply for the Berlin Military Academy, so ...... I'm destined to be an army officer, and you're a navy officer, and the two don't seem to have much in common. As a matter of fact...... My greatest admiration for you is still the courage and wisdom to pursue love, your story is simply a legend, so wonderful! ”

The pretty young lady suddenly turned her head to look at the boy, and then turned her gaze to the naval officer.

The naval officer then asked, "How did you know about this?" ”

The boy laughed, "This is my secret. ”

The naval officer shook his head helplessly: "What a villain." ”

The young lady did not lift her lips, and when she turned her head to look out the window again, the carriage had already driven into the prince's domain. The royal domain, bestowed on Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich by the previous German emperor, is an open and fertile land, with a large building in the typical Gothic style standing in the middle of the territory.

The carriage drove all the way to the entrance to the building's main hall, and the naval officer carefully rolled up the cloak for the young lady, the thick fur cloak that kept her delicate body against the cold. As soon as he entered the hall, he took the trouble to help her take off her cloak, and then led her to the owner of the territory.

"Your Royal Highness, you ...... Is your body okay? ”

This greeting is just out of politeness, because when Natsuki first saw Prince Heinrich, who had been "sick" for several months, his face was not as haggard as Natsuki was worried about, and there was no exaggerated situation of a night of sadness and whiteness, and the whole person still gave people the feeling of such a graceful and elegant gentleman's demeanor, with short hair and a slender face showing the capable temperament of a professional soldier. With a tough and straight standing posture and a full complexion, Natsuki immediately realized that this "disease" was not in the body, but in the heart.

The prince deliberately avoided the question, he accepted the salute from Natsuki and Charlotte, and then said, "Thank you for coming so far to see me, and it must be very cold outside because of the heavy snow, so sit down quickly!" ”

Sitting down in front of the fireplace, Natsuki suddenly felt much warmer, and after drinking the hot tea, the chill was basically dispelled.

"Miss Hill, I only found out about you and Jochen not long ago. Speaking of which, I have known Duke Hill and General Robert Hill for many years, and they are both upright soldiers, and I have a good impression of your mother, whom I have met twice, and is a gentle, virtuous and well-behaved lady. ”

Charlotte said gently and kindly: "The whole of England has a good impression of you, and the newspapers call you the most personable man in Germany." ”

Prince Heinrich thanked him very politely and said: "I admire you for your courage and determination in coming together through all the twists and turns, and I sincerely wish you and hope that you will finally be able to dispel all prejudices and let the whole world bless your great love." ”

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness." Charlotte replied.

Natsuki's answer is "There is a long way to go, and we will move forward firmly." ”

After saying this, Heinrich was silent for a while, he did not shy away from Charlotte's presence, and said calmly to Natsuki: "I have submitted my resignation to His Majesty the Emperor. ”

"Huh?" Natsuki stared at the Navy Prince with wide eyes.

"I don't think I'm up to the post of commander of the fleet." When he said this, his expression was very gloomy.

Natsuki was certainly very surprised by Prince Heinrich's decision, but there were already signs of development. It was a reluctant choice made when contradictions had accumulated to a certain extent -- Prince Heinrich had always disagreed with his brother and Tirpitz, the de facto ruler of the German navy, in the general direction of the development of the German navy, and the latter two were keen to start a naval race with Britain to challenge Britain's maritime supremacy for 300 years, while Prince Heinrich advocated maintaining a benign cooperative relationship with Britain, and he was deeply worried about the repeated revision of the naval law and the reckless wave of shipbuilding.

In Natsuki's mind, Prince Heinrich was a quick-witted, steady, hard-working and dedicated man, and the only person he really admired among the royal family. Because of his royal blood, he may not have been the best choice for the commander of the High Seas Fleet, but he won the respect of most naval officers and sailors with his performance. Not only that, but he was proficient in naval operations, and in his early days he had demonstrated good command skills in many military exercises and diplomatic visits, and his international reputation was far better than that of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was fierce by nature.

"The loss of such a fleet commander as you would be a very heavy blow to the German Navy, and I beg you to consider it carefully......"

The prince waved his hand: "There is no need to persuade me, this is a deliberate decision. ”

"This ...... It's a shame......"

Natsuki's words have been spoken, but he feels that the wording is a little inappropriate, but fortunately, the frustrated Prince Heinrich has not lost his previous unruliness, and the close blood relationship also makes him extraordinarily cordial and lenient in front of Natsuki.

"There is nothing to regret about the fact that history has chosen a radical and adventurous path for Germany, which can suffer setbacks or make leaps. The reason why I made the choice now is because my personal personality is really not suitable for that path. Prince Heinrich's tone was very calm, but the worry in his eyes could not be hidden from Natsuki.

From Natsuki's point of view, Prince Heinrich's idea was not a sign of weakness and cowardice, but a solution to Germany's current strategic dilemma, which, if not avoidable, could greatly delay the outbreak of war or win a more favorable war situation for Germany, if not to avoid war with France and Russia. The crux of the matter lies in its feasibility, and in fact, the internal environment in Germany at this time is not suitable for the Huairou strategy. On the one hand, the martial spirit of the Germanic nation lasted for thousands of years, the unification of the German Empire was also based on a series of brilliant victories, and the ruling class and the popular class were keen on military adventures, on the other hand, the rapid development of Germany in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century benefited from the promotion of the second industrial revolution, but it also formed a "cartelized" social and economic structure, and the major interest groups represented by the Junker landlords and bourgeois industrialists were evenly matched, and the competition in the domestic market was extremely fierce. Seeking overseas expansion is not only an inevitable channel for interest groups to achieve redevelopment, but also caters to the people's pan-German sentiment and rising mentality. Under the influence and impetus of these two factors, Germany's military expansion was no longer able to be contained, and the resignation of a prince was like a praying mantis standing in front of a wheel, which was of no avail, and under the strong public opinion, even the rebellious Wilhelm II had to blame himself for the "weakness" he showed in the first Moroccan crisis......

"May I say a word?" Charlotte, who was sitting on the side, suddenly spoke.

The prince looked at her with a calm and relaxed gaze.

"A soldier's duty is to defend the country, but many people confuse defending the country with defeating the enemy. If there is a war, there will be deaths and injuries of soldiers and civilians, and the homeland will inevitably be ravaged by war, so I think that avoiding war is the first choice for soldiers to defend the country. Charlotte said calmly, and at the end, she looked at Natsuki meaningfully.

Natsuki suddenly fell into an embarrassing situation that he had never expected.

Prince Heinrich relieved him.

"You're right, Miss Hill, if most people could have had the same thoughts and consciousness as you, war could have been avoided. However, it is precisely because most people do not understand this truth, or because they value the gains and losses more than the lives of others, that the state is rashly involved in war. In the past ten years, the war between Qing and Japan, Britain and Buenki, the United States and the West, and Japan and Russia has never really subsided. Against this backdrop, if we were the only country to retreat for the sake of peace, we would not only be unable to avoid war, but would also put our own country in a mortal danger. I made the decision to resign because I was disappointed not only by Germany's military-political and diplomatic strategy, but also by the choices made by other European powers. ”

Charlotte looked at Prince Heinrich in surprise, and she asked unwillingly: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I don't really understand what you just said. Many of us felt that it was Germany's hard-line expansionist stance that threatened the peace situation, and if Germany made concessions, how could other countries have reason to attack Germany in turn? ”

The Prince replied very calmly: "With all due respect, Miss Hill, politics is far more complex than ordinary civilians and even military men understand. To answer your question briefly: the biggest conflict between Germany and France lies in Alsace and Lorraine, and the only way to quell the enmity of France is to return these two places to France, which is bound to arouse the indignation of the German people, cause domestic turmoil, and may even lead to a coup d'état or revolution. At the same time, after the French army occupied Alsace and Lorraine, the strategic situation on the border shifted in favor of the French side, the German people would lose their sense of security, fear and humiliation would create new hostility, and Germany's hostility towards France would not be eliminated. ”

Charlotte finally fell silent, but it could be seen that she was still trying to digest the logic and philosophy contained in Prince Heinrich's words, trying to find flaws and contradictions in them.

Xia Shu said with emotion: "I understand your painstaking efforts, Your Royal Highness, I don't want the country to develop in a peaceful way, but the historical law of human society is like this, whenever the contradictions between countries accumulate to a certain extent, they must compete for victory and defeat in a fierce way, and the winner will determine the pattern and mode of development." Since it is necessary to distinguish between the superior and the inferior, my vision is to win the victory in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost, so that the competitors will recognize our superior position and accept the development pattern that is beneficial to us, rather than razing their homeland with brutal war, or leaving our homeland in ruins. ”

"You have a point." The Prince replied in a position of neither affirmation nor denial, "Right or wrong can only wait for history to judge, and what is right may not have the right result, only the Creator can decide everything." ”

"So we can only pray." Natsuki turned her head to look at Charlotte, hoping that this unpremeditated conversation with Prince Heinrich would untie the knot in her heart, at least the one that was the most tangled.

Charlotte had returned to her usual self by this time, and when the men talked about military and political affairs, she either walked away quietly or stayed quietly and listened.

Prince Heinrich sighed heinrich: "May God bless Germany." ”

A few weeks later, while people were busy preparing for Christmas, the Imperial Navy Office issued a personnel order signed by the Kaiser: Prince Heinrich was dismissed from his post as commander of the High Seas Fleet on the grounds that he was too ill to perform his duties, and at the same time he was promoted to field marshal of the German navy and transferred to the post of chief inspector of the navy.

Such an easy job of discipline supervision is perhaps the most ideal and dignified solution for those who do not want to participate in the arms race, who do not want to witness the brutal fighting, but who do not want to leave the navy.

(End of chapter)