At dusk, the blood-red sun shines on the calm waters of Kiel Harbour. www.biquge.info German officials, soldiers, and ordinary people, who had been anxiously waiting for a day, finally saw the forest of masts at the canal locks, and the crowd boiled, and countless people cheered selflessly, and countless people burst into tears because they were moved......

Following the return of the warships, the majestic and domineering main force of the High Seas Fleet reappeared in front of the German public, and although each battleship was more or less scarred, their triumphant return brought the atmosphere of the port to a climax. The marching band played "Long Live the Laurels of the Victors", men and women of all ages joined in the chorus, flowers and handkerchiefs transformed the pier into a sea of joy, and on the makeshift viewing platform, Kaiser Wilhelm II stood proudly in a crisp white military uniform and gave a solemn military salute to the temporary flagship of the High Seas Fleet, the King.

The Kaiser personally came to Kiel to greet the fleet's triumphant departure, and Natsuki and Ingnoll and others were already aware of it when the fleet passed through the canal. Unlike the exhilarating state of mind of the officers, Natsuki has returned from the initial joy to a calmer state of thought. On a tactical level, the German Navy won an undoubted victory, sinking nearly half of the British capital ships at a very small cost, and thus seizing the initiative in the North Sea region, but at the strategic level, such a victory was not enough for the Germans to seize maritime supremacy, and they had not even really broken the North Sea cage - to quote the Americans, it was like "a prisoner beating a jailer, but still remaining in prison".

Therefore, in Natsuki's view, after the victory of this naval battle, the German Navy could not sit back and enjoy the victory, and must continue the offensive in one go, either forcing Britain to withdraw from the war, or completely defeating the British Navy. In short, German ships could not enter and leave the North Sea safely for a single day, and the pace of the offensive could not be stopped for a single day.

Because of the geographical location of the port of Kiel, the main ships of the German High Seas Fleet were assembled here during the war, and most of the participating ships returned directly to Kiel, except for some light ships that went to Wilhelmshaven. Standing on the bridge observation platform of the "King", Natsuki looked around and calculated the current situation of the High Seas Fleet: the flagship "Frederick the Great" was injured in successive collisions, and it is unlikely that it will return to the battle sequence in two or three months; "Catherine", "Osterfriedland", "Westphalia", "Posen" and "Seydlitz" were all structurally damaged, and even if the workers worked day and night shifts, it would take more than a month to repair them, and it is unknown whether they will be restored to ideal conditions; Nassau, Rhineland, Helgoland, Thuringia, Blucher, and Moltke were more optimistic, two weeks if they were fast, or about a month if they were slow, and they would be able to repair their damage and return to battle. Excluding the old battleships of the Second Battleship Detachment, it is estimated that only six capital ships, "The King", "Regent Louispold", "Caesar", "Oldenburg", "De Fllinger", and "Goeben", were able to fight in a week's time -- the strategic situation of the German Navy was far less rosy than the impression of the naval battle itself.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, the "King", which had been urgently cleaned by the crew, docked at the dock with a relatively neat appearance, and the royal attendants rolled out the red carpet to the gangway, and then boarded the battleship, laying the red carpet and setting up sound equipment on the bullet-ridden foredeck, while the naval soldiers with rifles lined up at the dock, and the brightly dressed royal guards also hurriedly boarded the battleship. Seeing this posture, one can already guess what is going to happen next.

"All the staff are lined up on deck!"

To the shouting of the officers, the sailors who had participated in the Anglo-German naval battle with the ship left their positions and cabins and boarded the deck, and the port and aft decks of the new dreadnought were soon filled with officers and sailors wearing blue shirts and white trousers. Although many were covered in gauze and their clothes and trousers were stained with oil, no one would accuse them of being untidy, on the contrary, the experience of bloody combat gave them a truly heroic temperament.

Seeing the Kaiser walking along the red carpet surrounded by a group of admirals, Natsuki silently put away the objective analysis in his heart and went to the gangway with Ingnoll to greet him.

On the pier, the cries of "Long live Your Majesty" were heard incessantly, and Wilhelm II, who was in a good mood, waved to the people outside the cordon as he walked. Although Germany's decision to enter the war was opposed by some people, the majority of public opinion in the country was surprisingly unanimous in favor of the German royal family and government, and at the beginning of the war, the German navy won a decisive victory against a weak enemy, and the Kaiser's personal prestige had reached an unprecedented height - exactly what Wilhelm II had dreamed of in the 26 years since he ascended the throne.

When Wilhelm II came to the gangway, Admiral von Ingnoll was the first to speak: "Your Majesty! On behalf of all the officers and men of the High Seas Fleet, I would like to salute you! ”

Regardless of what happened in the course of the naval battle, nominally he remained the undisputed first commander of the fleet.

Seeing that Ingnoll had no scars on his body, a trace of surprise flashed in Wilhelm II's eyes, but he still held Ingnoel's hand with glory on his face and said: "Today, you are the national heroes of Germany, and your heroic achievements will forever be written into the glorious history of Germany!" ”

"This victory is God's tribute to the German nation for its outstanding performance, a reward for His Majesty's dedication to the construction of the Navy, and an immortal feat of extraordinary wisdom and courage of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim!"

With that, Ingnoll took a step sideways and let Kaiser Wilhelm II face to face with his favorite little prince.

Natsuki smiled slightly: "It is my infinite honor to be able to dedicate this victory to Your Majesty. ”

Wilhelm II's approving smile was incomparably bright, and he extended his right hand to Natsuki - due to the relationship between father and son, the two shook hands no more than ten times on various occasions combined.

Xia Shu said: "I respectfully ask Your Majesty to review the battleship!" ”

The German Emperor then walked up the gangway with a firm and steady pace. When he reached the deck, he looked up at the four-story bridge observation deck, where it had been one of his dreams to command the fleet in battle, but unfortunately this was no longer the era when the monarch was present on the battlefield in person, and he could only imagine the glory of battle in the training exercises of the navy.

Natsuki explained: "Because the 'Frederick the Great' was badly damaged in the naval battle, we had to change the flagship halfway, and then a heavy armor-piercing bullet hit the bridge, but fortunately, God blessed us to stand here unharmed. ”

Seeing the scorched black marks left by the explosion, Wilhelm II nodded thoughtfully.

Natsuki took the opportunity to say: "Although we have been hit hard, our opponent, the British Navy, is still very strong. We need to repair all warships as soon as possible, and force them to lift the naval blockade of us by combat or deterrence, relinquishing the rich maritime interests they have enjoyed for centuries. ”

Wilhelm II looked at him, said nothing, and then, accompanied by Tirpitz, Müller, and other high-ranking naval officers, went to the bow deck, stood still in front of the loudspeaker, and paused, his deep, steady voice through the horn throughout the port of Kiel, which was attended by more than 100,000 naval personnel and ordinary people.

"Sons of Germany, brave and warlike admirals: last night and this morning we fought an unprecedented naval battle in the waters of Jutland, and the German navy was at a clear disadvantage in terms of the number of ships and the total tonnage of the British home fleet with all its capital ships, but with the stubborn will of all the officers and men, with the composure of the commanders of the ships, and with the blessing of heaven, we crushed the mighty British fleet and won the victory in this naval battle. For hundreds of years, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Russia, ...... A feat that no European country has ever achieved, the Germans have achieved! ”

"Our intention in this war was not to conquer Britain. It is well known that we have treated Britain with a tolerant and benevolent heart, hoping to be friendly with it for generations, but under the misery of some people, the British royal family and government have chosen a path of alliance with our enemies, and have declared war on Germany four days earlier. Today's Germany has first-class strength in the military, industry, economy, and other fields, and all the states and people are united, and such a Germany is not afraid of the challenge of any country. In the face of the British naval blockade, the first large-scale naval battle fought by the German Navy since its formation showed unparalleled strength, this is an incomparably sharp sword, we will use it to defend Germany's sacred maritime rights and interests, and use it to fight against all enemies hostile to Germany, encircling Germany, and oppressing Germany! ”

"To-day, people of Germany, we share the glory of victory in naval battles, and on the Western Front, our invincible army is advancing on France, and it will not be long before our battle flag will be raised over the city of Paris, and we will win this war, and we will win the peaceful environment for our children and grandchildren, so that they will no longer live under the encirclement of the enemy as we do. Until then, we still need to go all out, as you have seen, our ships are scarred, our opponents still have a force to be reckoned with, and we need to repair these ships in the shortest possible time, so that they can go back to their strongest posture and let them appear in every ocean of the world with the German flag! Let's shout hooray, long live Germany, long live the German Navy! ”

At the call of Wilhelm II, hundreds of thousands of people chanted in unison, and the shout of hooray resounded through the port of Kiel. On the warships that docked at the port, the officers and men of the German Navy were all moved to tears under the influence of supreme glory, and the national sentiment, patriotic enthusiasm, and military honor were tightly condensed, and the morale of the military reached its peak, but the more than 4,000 German officers and men who died in Jutland could never hear this fanatical cheer, nor could they look forward to the glory of the future. They lie quietly on the shallow seabed of the North Sea, and their widows will have to try to make sense of the cruel reality of the death notice with sad faces and dry eyes......

(End of chapter)