After paying homage to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the head of the navy, Tirpitz, and the Imperial Chancellor Holwig, Natsuki selectively attended several high-class banquets. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info the generals who have won many battles are dazzling everywhere, this is true, whether it is in the Kaiserhof Hotel in the center of Berlin, or in the aristocratic manor of Brandenburg, whether it is in the hall of light singing and dancing, or in the dining room, Natsuki must be in the center of everyone's attention, and surrounded by greetings, praises and all kinds of curious questions. Even if not a single reporter is present, just to meet the group photo requirements of others is enough to be dazzled by the spotlight. This hot position made Natsuki, who was accustomed to seeing big scenes and tired of hearing compliments, feel unbearable, so in the last few days of Christmas, he politely declined all invitations, except for a few economists, and stayed in the Prussian royal palace, walking with the emperor, empress and Princess Louise in the morning and evening, and then summoned a group of corporate executives headed by Uncle Wiesel to Berlin to inquire them in detail about the operation of the Friedrichsyard, Hubert Aeronautics, and Hubert Ordnance Company.

It's true that war is the favorite of arms dealers. As early as when the clouds of war were shrouded, the German military sent large orders to various military industrial enterprises, and after the war began, the German troops participating in the war had a sharp increase in demand for various military supplies, including weapons, ammunition and equipment. From August to the present, Hubert Aviation and Hubert Weapons have received additional orders equivalent to the sum of the past three years, the former's aircraft production line has increased from six in 1913 to fourteen now, and the monthly output has increased more than threefold, which still cannot satisfy the "appetite" of the German army and navy, let alone export military aircraft to Austria-Hungary; The scope of production of the latter has expanded from a relatively simple marine machine gun and aviation machine gun to the three major fields of light weapons, armored combat vehicles, and auxiliary equipment, and the scale of the factory has expanded by six or seven times compared with two years ago, and the number of employees has also expanded from more than 600 to more than 20,000.

The Friedrich Shipyard, the cornerstone and heart of the Natsuki industrial empire, has been continuously developing and expanding since 1904. Although it had never had experience in building dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, nor did it try to compete for orders for naval capital ships, this did not prevent it from becoming the most modern large shipbuilding enterprise, in terms of technical strength and equipment level, Friedrich was enough to enter the top ten in Europe, and the light cruisers and large torpedo boats it built withstood the test of fierce naval battles, and established a good brand image in the minds of naval officers and even high-ranking generals. Because of this, the market value of the Friedrich shipyard is estimated to be more than 100 million Reichsmarks, equivalent to more than 20 million pounds, which is worth more than the old shipyards with the ability to build dreadnoughts and battlecruisers, such as Brame Wiesel, Kirgermania, Hamburg Volkne, Danzig Caesar the Great, etc.

In an equivalent exchange, the sale of the Friedrich shipyard would be enough to form a formidable colonial fleet.

On Christmas Eve, Crown Prince Wilhelm rushed back to Berlin from the front.

Together with the second prince Aiter stationed in the country, the third prince Adalbert who served in the Admiralty, the fourth prince Auguste who chose to enter politics, and the fifth prince Oscar who returned from vacation first, the Kaiser and his wife gathered in the palace to spend the first Christmas after the outbreak of war.

At the same time, more than 2 million German officers and soldiers and miscellaneous personnel deployed on the east, west, north and south fronts ushered in their first war Christmas in a foreign land.

In the midst of a cold winter, the German army maintained a jaw-dropping victory on all fronts, so in his Christmas message, Wilhelm II hoped that Germany would end the war with a perfect victory in the new year.

The so-called perfect victory, in the common understanding, means the complete defeat of every opponent, forcing the former vaunted monarchs and leaders to bow their heads and pray for peace.

The new world order will be built under the will of the Germans.

The Kaiser was confident in this.

Crown Prince William, who had just returned from the Western Front, was not as ambitious as his father, and it was clear that there must be something worrying behind his tired smile.

But this did not affect the atmosphere of the royal Christmas dinner in the slightest, the little princes pestered their father to ask questions, Cecilia looked at her husband and four sons with a happy face, and the whole royal family was immersed in sweet and warm family affection.

It wasn't until after dinner that it was smoking time that Natsuki had the opportunity to chat with Crown Prince William alone for a while.

"If only I could be like you." The tone in which the prince of the German Empire spoke was actually a little jealous and sour. After the experience of war, his still thin face has become a little more mature, and his eyes are no longer as frivolous as before, but have the fortitude and stability of a soldier.

Of course, Natsuki knew what he envied, but since ancient times, naval warfare has had characteristics that are completely different from land warfare. In the vast sea, hundreds of ships engaged in the battle, the so-called main force is those dozens of dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, the naval commanders face a much simpler and clearer battlefield situation than their army colleagues, and a battle between the main fleets can determine the outcome of the entire naval battle.

"If we had been transferred in the military, the result would have been similar to what it is now."

Crown Prince William laughed self-deprecatingly: "Ah...... Finally, it was our little Jochen's turn to comfort me. ”

Natsuki was choked by these words, but he was not in a hurry, not afraid, because this was the normal way for Crown Prince William to speak.

There was a silence between the two.

"If nothing else, I'm going to be King of Ireland." Natsuki spoke first.

Crown Prince William turned his head to look at his brother, there was no unkind look in his eyes, and there was a faint relief in his eyes to let go of his burden.

"Congratulations."

"It's a pity that I can't help you with military affairs anymore." Natsuki said to himself, "Thinking back to the experience of going from the Ardennes to Verdun, the mixed ideas I gave you show that I am still far from a qualified army staff officer. ”

The crown prince shrugged and said nothing.

"Our enemies are still stubbornly fighting and causing us problems, but we are very close to victory." This is not Natsuki's words to comfort Crown Prince William, nor is it his speculation out of personal subjectivity. With the end of the Battle of the Faroe Islands, the British Navy's sea cage used to blockade Germany has been opened, and the German merchant ships protected by warships can freely enter and leave the North Sea, and in the vast ocean beyond the North Sea, although the German merchant ships are vulnerable to the attacks of the Allied ships, the merchant ships of the Allied countries will also face the attacks of German ocean-going raiders and long-range submarines, and the situation of the two sides is basically equal, so that the situation of lack of materials in Germany will gradually be improved, and the German army will also have the conditions to drag down the opponent in the war of attrition.

According to Natsuki's estimate, if the will of the French ruling class is not strong enough, or if civil strife or even revolution breaks out in France, the war on the Western Front will soon end in a complete victory for the German army. The victory of the Allied army on the Serbian battlefield on the southern front, which triggered the war but was in a secondary position, was entirely dependent on the investment of the German army, and the two German regiments that had previously reinforced the Austrian army, including 6 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades, under the command of the famous German general Mackensen, who were able to fight well, broke through the Danube defense line painstakingly managed by the Serbian army with an infantry blitzkrieg, and then occupied Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, which was fortified, reversing the decline of the Austro-Hungarian army for a long time. It was only by virtue of the determination to defend the country that the Germans could quickly put in two or three corps and persuade Bulgaria, which had a deep feud with Serbia, to enter the war and quickly pacify the southern front. Although it was difficult for Britain on the northern front and Tsarist Russia on the eastern front to fight a quick victory, as long as France was resolved and Serbia was eliminated, neither the British Empire, which had lost its sea power and lost its glory, nor the Tsarist Russian Empire, which was weak and had a corrupt political system, could not stop the German army's victory.

It can be said that the crux of this war has been shifted from the sea back to land, and it is fixed on the Western Front.

Crown Prince William's 5th Army was the main force in the middle and late stages of the Rouen campaign, although it had a large number of heavy artillery and naval vehicles, the Crown Prince's troops still paid a very heavy price, so that after the defeat of the French army, the 5th Army Corps had no ability to pursue, and the French wartime cabinet collapsed, and the new prime minister who took office decided to exchange space for time, and took the initiative to abandon the northern part of France, and the German 1st Army Corps commanded by General Cluke occupied tens of thousands of square kilometers of French territory from Le Havre to Nantes without much effort, Crown Prince William was furious not only to watch the old Cluke receive the glory and praise that came his way, but also to suffer the consequences of the loss of his elite - this was the third time that the main force of the 5th Army had withdrawn to the rear to recuperate, and although the troop structure of the troops could be replenished soon, the large number of alternate officers and reserve soldiers would only repeatedly reduce the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Just before Christmas, the German General Staff drew up a new offensive plan for the Western Front, a large-scale offensive that would take the 3rd Army Corps in Hausen, the 4th Army in Albrest, the 6th Army in Ruprecht and the 7th Army in Heringen as the arrows, and attack the French defense line in the Loire River in four directions, while Kluke's 1st Army, Bilow's 2nd Army Corps, and Crown Prince Wilhelm's 5th Army were all included in the reserve echelon. Moltke Jr. planned to open the way with heavy artillery, and in one fell swoop put in 17 naval chariot companies and 26 wheeled armored chariot companies, and sent army aviation units plus more than 200 aircraft drawn from the navy, such a luxurious attack lineup, if not to annihilate the main force of the French army in one fell swoop, could further push France to the brink of defeat.

Watching the commanders of the corps all gearing up, Crown Prince William was already very depressed, but at the reception of the General Staff, some people used the power of wine to list the "hero list" in their minds, unfortunately, although Prince William commanded the 5th Army to fight four tough battles in the Ardennes, Verdun, Paris and Rouen, but the 5th Army Corps' casualty rate was the highest in the whole army, and some regiments even made the fifth replenishment, so they were criticized by this person as a reckless man who did not understand tactics.

This man was a famous man, highly regarded by Kaiser Wilhelm II, and gained unprecedented prestige by virtue of the German army's triumph on all fronts, even if he had a gaffe to the imperial prince, he still sat in the prominent position of chief of the army staff after sobering up.

(End of chapter)