June 27, Port Kiel. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

At the invitation of Germany, Britain, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries sent naval vessels to participate in the celebration, and the German Navy held a grand welcoming ceremony for the visiting ships or fleets of each country.

This time, the Russians sent their "Tinder" in the Baltic - the Borodino-class battleship "Glorious", which survived unfinished during the Russo-Japanese War. Five years ago, it was the world's best-in-class new warship, but in just a few years, the dreadnought trend led by the Royal Navy has revolutionized the Navy's capital ship technology. Both the German Nassau-class battleships and the British sent to visit the Dreadnought battleship were enough to dwarf the 13,000-ton "Glorious". Deeply concerned about this disparity, the Russian Navy has secured itself a huge project of shipbuilding, including the dreadnought battleships of its dreams, and these large warships will be tendered for the first time by foreign shipyards, which could theoretically be handed over to foreign shipyards for construction.

Sweden, another traditional Nordic naval power, is no longer what it used to be, and it cannot keep up with the ever-changing trend of naval development, and its naval combat sequence is full of outdated coastal defense armored ships and gunboats, and the only ones that can be mentioned are the newly completed and distinctive cruiser "Figia" and the "Thunderbolt" high-speed torpedo boat imported from Germany. In Kiel, their "Figia" was completely hidden from the dreadnoughts of the British and German navies, but compared to the slightly older cruisers of Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark, this cruiser with a fully enclosed twin main gun turret and 6-inch guns still had its advantages.

As in previous years, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who attaches great importance to naval development, visited Kiel to attend the Naval Port Festival and presented senior medals to distinguished naval personnel. For his outstanding contribution to the design and construction of ships of the German Navy, Natsuki was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle of the First Class - Feng. Count Warren devoted his life to receiving such a medal, and Prince Joachim received this honor at the age of 19......

After the ceremony, on a terrace facing the harbour at the Royal Palace of Kiel, former college students were reunited. Less than two years after leaving the Kiel Naval Academy, these young naval officers have not changed much in appearance and figure, but their temperament and mental outlook have changed significantly. Xia Shu's calm and capable style is as good as ever, and he has seen the style of a handsome general between his gestures; Christian still seems to be the cynical young man of the royal family, but his words and deeds are much more stable and mature; Von Kaganac seems to be an innate military material, resolute, rigorous and arrogant temperament in line with the consistent image of a German officer, after being honed in the naval staff, his eyes, his expression and the way he speaks give people a more down-to-earth and heavy feeling; There are also Eckerle, Dinger, Peters, Siriacos, etc., whose real military careers have gradually polished them from vigorous naval cadets to excellent naval officers.

When it comes to talent, Natsuki's brilliance is unmatched, and the rest of his classmates are the same excellent and different expertise. Although Christian had an arrogant and lazy royal temper, he was not infected with arrogance and arrogance, and he showed good command and organization skills in the unit formed on the basis of the high-speed torpedo boat test group, which was not outstanding, but also performed well in all the drills, and he himself won many honorary awards for tactical improvement and tactical innovation.

Judged as "a man with the potential to become a first-class staff officer" during his college years, he was also recognized as the "best newcomer" in the Naval Staff, and was highly regarded for his quick thinking and superior judgment, and he quickly rose from the ranks of many junior staff officers to become the staff assistant to the Chief of Staff von Ingnoel, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, and his future was bright.

Natsuki and Christian were among the first of their classmates to advance to the rank of colonel, thanks in large part to their illustrious backgrounds, while Kaganac was a representative of the aristocracy, graduating with the rank of lieutenant soon after graduation and then rising to the rank of captain in his third year of service. As for Eckerle, Dinger, and Peters, their talents and unremitting efforts have also entered the ranks of lieutenants in the navy. At the same time, most of the graduates of the Kiel Naval Academy during the same period were still ensigns.

"Wouldn't it be nice for Your Highness to be an officer and a ship-building supervisor like before?" Ekelle, who worked on the battleship "Hesse", asked curiously.

Natsuki didn't answer immediately, and Kaganak replied helpfully: "In the past, we started to build a first-class capital ship in 4 to 5 years, but now it is almost 2 years old, and the design tasks have increased exponentially, and with the significant increase in the tonnage of the ships, the complexity of the design work is not comparable to before. Although our Highness Joachim is a genius, it is difficult for him to take care of several heads at the same time! ”

"It's too!" Eckerle seems to have accepted this explanation.

"To be honest, the ship design work is really important, but it is quite tedious after a long time." Natsuki sighed, "Sometimes I envy you. ”

"It's fine when the warship is anchored in the port, but once it leaves the port, isn't life at sea also boring?" Dinger, who first served on the battleship "Prussia" and recently transferred to the armored cruiser "Gneisenau", asked rhetorically.

Lieutenant Siriakos, a "gunnery specialist" in the same academy who accidentally fell into the water during a training voyage and achieved Natsuki's heroic deeds, interjected: "This is the case with the military profession, and there won't be much difference between different positions in this regard!" ”

"Not necessarily." "I recently had the opportunity to go to Brazil as a military counselor, far from Europe, but to gain useful insight," said Peters, who served in the Navy's Office. What do you guys think? ”

"Very good!" Kaganak replied unhurriedly, "Whether you turn to politics or stay in the military in the future, the experience of serving abroad will be very useful." Brazil is far from Europe, but there are a lot of immigrants from Germany and the level of social development is better - much better than in Africa. ”

Natsuki smiled: "If I choose it, I will go." ”

"Your Highness is also interested in this?" "Oh yes," said Petus, "I heard that our naval attaché in the United Kingdom, Admiral Retmayer, is about to retire, and this important position requires a man of great prestige and alertness. Your Highness? ”

Natsuki smiled, he had known the news for a long time, and his own uncle, Prince Heinrich, the commander of the High Seas Fleet, had advised him to follow the path he had taken. As Kaganac said, being stationed abroad is an important opportunity to improve one's horizons and accumulate seniority, and it is an unattainable stepping stone for many professional soldiers, and the position is based in London, England, the city where Charlotte is located at this time. But after careful consideration, Natsuki gave up this opportunity, but it did not mean that he gave up going to the UK. In fact, in order to ease relations between the two countries, the Kaiser recently approved a talent exchange program to admit a group of British Army officers to Germany for study and training, and at the same time send a group of German naval officers to Britain for further study.

Although he is known as the most talented naval designer in Germany and even Europe, Xia Shu still has a clear understanding of himself: in terms of ship design, he relies on theoretical knowledge beyond the times and a modest and diligent learning attitude. In terms of fleet operations, his theoretical literacy is strong enough, and he has a good psychological quality and a keen reaction nerves, but the shortcomings of practical operation need to be made up for with great efforts, and the British Navy is undoubtedly at the forefront of the world in this respect, and it should be of great benefit to be able to draw experience from them. Because of this, Natsuki hoped that he would be able to participate in the exchange and was approved by the Kaiser, but Tirpitz was concerned about this, fearing that Natsuki's trip might be maliciously used by people with ulterior motives to belittle the German Navy's officer training system, which in turn would affect the confidence and morale of the officers and sailors.

……

After 5 years, Natsuki once again met Duke Hill at the royal dinner at the Kiel Military Port Festival. Because of his age, the veteran, who had dedicated his life to the British Navy and had participated in many colonial expeditions and interventions, no longer continued to serve in active duty, but instead took a job with the Royal Navy Commission and was employed as a visiting professor at several British naval academies, all of which Natsuki learned during his time with Charlotte.

This time at the Kiel Military Harbor Festival, the role of the Duke of Hill changed from fleet commander to the king's envoy. Although the current king of England, Edward VII, is the uncle of William II, he does not like this nephew who "talks about cannons", and the envoys he sent are nothing more than the same three things: peace, friendship, and tolerance.

Shouldering a hopeless task, Duke Hill's mood does not seem to be high. Xia Shu originally wanted to get close to this future father-in-law, but considering that he was going to go to the United Kingdom to learn art in an impersonation way, and it was possible to run into each other in the classroom of the British Naval Academy, he had to avoid it for the time being.

Life is unpredictable, sometimes the person you want to see can't see if you want to, but the person you don't want to see may appear at any time. Towards the end of the banquet, Duke Hill's muscular and burly body suddenly stood in front of Natsuki.

"Ahem...... Your Royal Highness, Prince of Prussia, we have not seen you for a long time. ”

Facing the duke's torch-like gaze, Natsuki reluctantly soared his acting skills, and he shook hands with him happily and said, "Oh, honorable duke and admiral, hello! Nice to meet you! Is the Duchess in good health? How are General Hill and his wife doing? ”

"Thank you Your Highness for your concern, everything is fine with your family." The Duke replied in his somewhat vocal tone.

Natsuki squeezed a friendly smile on his face: "Since I brought Princess Louise to Hill Manor as a guest that year, I haven't had the opportunity to thank Your Excellency for your hospitality. I wonder if you have the pleasure of inviting you to visit the Despicable Lord's territory in Blomburg? ”

Of course, these were just polite words, and Natsuki knew that Duke Hill would not accept the invitation. Sure enough, the other party replied very officially: "I am deeply honored to be invited by His Royal Highness the Prince, but unfortunately I still have official business this time, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to make it next time." ”

Natsuki still had a smile on his face, and he digressed the subject, "By the way, it's really gratifying to hear that Admiral Hill has been promoted to rear admiral and appointed commander of the first 'new armored cruiser', adding a new honor to the Hill family. ”

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern." A contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of Duke Hill's mouth, "Our Charlotte is a child after all, we don't know what to say and what not to say, and I hope Your Highness will forgive us." ”

Natsuki did get the news of Admiral Hill's change of position from Charlotte, but in peacetime, when the British and German navies maintained normal exchanges, it was easy for Natsuki to get this news.

Without waiting for Natsuki to speak, Duke Hill preemptively said: "Xia Luo can be friends with such a noble Prussian prince as His Royal Highness, our entire family feels very honored, and we hope that this pure friendship without any bad intentions can be maintained for a long time." I think that with His Royal Highness's amazing talent, not only His Majesty the Kaiser loves you in every way, but also the princesses of many countries regard you as the best life partner. When His Royal Highness gets married, including Xia Luo, our entire Hill family will send our most sincere wishes. (Charlotte's nickname)

With that, Duke Hill bent his arms and bowed, leaving Natsuki there alone to reminisce about the conversation just now.

Natsuki reluctantly turned to look at the back of Duke Hill's departure, the last thing he wanted to happen, and it was something he knew he couldn't avoid. During the twenty-one years of Wilhelm II's accession to the throne, Britain and Germany evolved from a relationship of cooperation and checks and balances to antagonism and even hatred, and the usual cross-border marriages between them became increasingly unpopular. With the status of the Hohenzollerns and Hills in their respective countries, he and Charlotte are not without a little opportunity, but the road ahead is destined to be full of bumps......

(End of chapter)