The air is fresh after a rainstorm and the sea is beautiful when the waves subside. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Under the bright moonlight, the cadets sat or stood on the foredeck, listening intently to the story of the most thrilling experience of the man who had fallen into the water, while his rescuer, the intrepid Prince Joachim, sat with a classical guitar in his arms, occasionally plucking the strings and making a few soft tones.

When the man in the water finished speaking, a tall cadet teased: "Siriakos, you kid is really lucky, we all thought you were going to Poseidon as a staff officer." ”

Someone then teased: "Yes, Siriakos, when we are on the shore, invite all of us to a beer to celebrate!" ”

The small Cyriakos smiled shyly, his green face looked particularly delicate in the moonlight, in fact, he was born in 1891 and was a year younger than Natsuki.

"There is no such thing as good beer in Russia!" Natsuki relieved him and said, "Why don't we ask Siriakos to sing a song!" ”

Siriakos hurriedly said: "I sing so badly that if I had a piano, I might be able to play a song." ”

Natsuki smiled at him: "It's okay, sing the song you are most familiar with, and I will accompany you." ”

Sometimes, a smile is a magic key that can open a knot in people's hearts. Siriakos nodded: "Then sing the wild rose!" ”

"Wild Rose" is a popular ballad with a simple rhythm and a beautiful tune. To the melody of the guitar, Siriakos sang softly, and in the second stanza, some of the students also hummed along. In this way, Natsuki unobtrusively saved Ciriakos, and after singing "Wild Rose", he fine-tuned his guitar and began to play a tune that the students had never heard before—Maria. Kelly's "Hero" with a deep and vicissitudes of life:

There'sahero

Ifyoulookinsideyouheart (if you look inside you)

Youdon'thavetobeafraidofwhatyouare (You don't have to worry about who you are)

……

andthenaherocomesalongwiththestrenghtocarryon (the power of the warrior will take you forward)

andYoucastYourFearSasideandYouKnowYouCanSurvive (If you can beat cowardice, you know you have learned to survive)

SowhenYouFeelLikeHopeisgoneLookInsideYouAndBestrong (When you feel hopeless in life, reflect on yourself and become resilient)

……

The melody of modern lyrical songs is quite different from that of classical ballads, but not so unconventional that it is difficult for ordinary people to understand. After all these years of accumulation, Natsuki's playing and singing skills are not inferior to his swimming skills, and the just right emotional outpouring deeply attracted the naval cadets present. In this era of relatively monotonous literary and artistic expressions, how many people have ever listened to such a melodious and inspirational light singing?

After singing the song, the naval cadets standing around Natsuki made him not feel the sea breeze, and the slightly wet hair of the prince smiled lightly, and then sang the Beatles' "yesterday" and "ADayInTheLife" for everyone, these classic lyrical slow songs are suitable for singing on this quiet moonlit night, suitable for this group of young and ignorant and high-spirited teenagers to express their feelings and imagination. With the previous feat of fighting against the wind and waves, Natsuki's small concert was also free from the misunderstanding of showing off, and this may be the first time that naval cadets from different backgrounds, different personalities, and different philosophies gathered around him with joy and convincing.

After a wonderful night of musical lyricism, Natsuki's status on the "Charlotte" has changed substantially. Although Feng. Lieutenant Commander Kells did not immediately promote him, but asked him to follow him - on the training ship, the first mate, the navigator and the boatswain all arranged for midshipmen and alternates to study with them, and only the captain was always alone. From this understanding, Natsuki, who had a bad start, won the opportunity to challenge the hidden role of "trainee captain" through an unavoidable opportunity, and he was proud that whenever he gave orders in place of the captain, the whole ship obeyed, and after the previous stage of training and running-in, the performance of the naval cadets became more and more mature and stable.

On the last Sunday of July, the "Charlotte" arrived at St. Petersburg, Russia, the second stop of the expedition training. It has not been established for a long time compared to the famous European cities, but it has witnessed the rise and prosperity of a powerful empire that still plays a pivotal role in Europe and the world today.

In Natsuki's eyes, St. Petersburg is not inferior to Hamburg and Bremen, but also has the majestic atmosphere of a great capital, and different styles of buildings such as Byzantium, Russian, Baroque and Greco-Roman constitute a very exotic and beautiful picture. Although Russia had not yet recovered from the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the nationwide strikes and riots (the 1905 Revolution), the bustling streets, brightly dressed pedestrians, and the white, blue and red flags waving in the wind under the bright sun showed the country's vigor (in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tsarist Russia gradually embarked on the path of capitalist industrialization, and its development in the fields of industry, economy, and finance grew faster than most of the great powers).

Given that the vast majority of the cadets had followed the rules during their short stay in Karlskrona, Sweden, and that one of the main purposes of the voyage was to increase the knowledge of the young men, Lieutenant Commander Kells gave the cadets half a day off as usual, but Natsuki and Christian were grounded for a past criminal record, and they had to spend the quiet weekend on the ship.

Natsuki had no interest in the identity or content of cargo ships, cruise ships, and private boats of all shapes and sizes coming and going in the harbor, but rather with the country's naval power, which would have been a rival to the German navy if the First World War had gone its way through history.

The defeat in the Russo-Japanese War left Tsarist Russia with a few barely replenished armored ships and cruisers. Although the thriving Russian heavy industry gave the navy hope of a resurgence, the reconstruction of the fleet was destined to be a long and painful process.

Now in the Baltic Sea, the Russian Navy has only one "Glorious" to support the scene. It belonged to the Borodino class and narrowly escaped the Second Pacific Fleet's expedition due to its slow construction, but the crushing defeat at the Battle of Tsushima left the Russians with no confidence in this seemingly formidable class of battleships. As a result of this, the construction of the St. Andrew's class (also known as the Pavel I, an expanded and improved version of the Borodino class), which had been built before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, was suspended, and the designers learned the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War and made major modifications. The old ships have been lost, the new ones have not arrived, and the demoralized Russian Baltic Fleet is even inferior to the Swedish shore defense armored fleet.

The Portsmouth Treaty, signed in 1905, ultimately did not allow Russia to pay a single ruble in war reparations, but the huge war costs themselves were a heavy financial burden. In addition to this, the Russian government had to pay pensions for the families of the dead and disabled officers and soldiers, and the resettlement of post-war repatriates and the reconstruction of facilities damaged during the war almost emptied the treasury of the Russian Empire -- no matter how desperate the desire of the Russian military and civilians and even the Tsar himself to rebuild the navy was, the Russian government could not afford to pay for the reduction of the shipbuilding program in the short term. In order to maintain the dignity of a great power and make up for the strategic disadvantage of the navy, the Russian navy had no choice but to seek assistance from abroad. They had hoped for a loan from their French allies, but the French government's finances were not in good shape, and Britain's stance during the Russo-Japanese War was always a source of resentment for the Russians.

At this time, the cousin of Tsar Nicholas II, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, took the initiative to throw an olive branch. Although the German-Russian alliance turned into a ridiculous farce, the meeting between the two emperors led to a cooperation: German bankers agreed to provide the Russian government with a loan to help the Russian navy tide over the crisis, with the condition that at least 50 percent of the loan be used to order warships from German shipyards. As a result, the Russian naval delegation made a "scenic trip" along the German coast, signed contracts for the construction of ships with seven German shipyards, and ordered a total of 3 submarines, 10 large torpedo boats, 50 high-speed torpedo boats, and 6 auxiliary ships. The Royal Friedrich Shipyard has also received orders from it, and some high-speed torpedo boats and the first small inshore submarine have been delivered to the Russian Navy.

In view of the corrupt political system of Tsarist Russia, in order to compete for the follow-up orders of the Russian Navy, Natsuki asked the Friedrich shipyard to send special personnel to St. Petersburg, and their task was to establish good relations with Russian officials and grasp the shipbuilding plan of the Russian Navy at the first time. Due to the lockdown restrictions, Natsuki asked his companions to carry a message, and it wasn't long before two shipyard representatives arrived at the docks.

After obtaining Lieutenant Commander Kells' consent, Natsuki had them board the training ship, but only to talk on deck.

"Because of the huge war expenses and the continuous investment in the Trans-Siberian Railway, their financial situation is very unsatisfactory, and the State Duma vetoes the proposal for a supplementary budget for the Navy for the second time, and it is estimated that they will not make any new orders within the year. However, the young officers of the Admiralty had strong support from the Emperor, and they were drawing up a detailed, pragmatic, and comprehensive naval plan, and allowing foreign companies to participate in the rebuilding of their navy through competitive bidding. ”

The two leaders of the shipyard's expatriate representatives, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard and shrewd clothes, succinctly reported the information they had gathered here, and Natsuki listened silently as he pondered the value proposition of the shipyard's expatriate agency—in order to maintain its operation, the Friedrich shipyard would need to invest at least 4,000 marks a month, which is equivalent to the profit of building 12 "Thunderbolts" in a year, which is expensive but also worth the money. Judging from the information obtained so far and the network of relationships laid down, Natsuki feels that it is more inclined to a military intelligence structure than a purely commercial representative office, and military intelligence should be collected by a dedicated government department. From the standpoint of the state, the strategic information obtained by citizens should be provided to their own intelligence departments in a timely manner, but if it has been done free of charge, it is too selfless, and if it can obtain intelligence subsidies from the government for this commercial representative office, the two complement each other, and it is also a good way.

After listening to the report, Natsuki's thoughts returned to the topic. The Trans-Siberian Railway, which began construction in 1891, was a strategic project comparable to that of St. Petersburg in Russia's history, and the Russian Empire, which was not very wealthy, was exhausted in order to build this railway of astonishing scale and difficulty. In the decade from 1801 to 1901 alone, they spent 14. 600 million rubles on this railway, far more than the military expenditure of the same period, and in order to ensure absolute control over this strategic lifeline of the empire, the Russians did not spend a penny of foreign funds, and all the sources of construction funds were borne by themselves. The railway would certainly bring immeasurable economic benefits to the Russian Empire - one only need to think of the endless abundance of natural resources in the vast expanse of Siberia, but in the short term it would not bring significant benefits to the Russian government, on the contrary, for a long time the Russian government would have to continue to pay for the railway in rubles for the construction of supporting facilities along the railway line and to maintain the daily operation of the railway. Until the flowers of prosperity brought about by the Trans-Siberian Railway bloomed, it could only be a sponge sucking the imperial treasury, straining the already strained state finances even more.

"In your opinion, will a foreign company be able to win an order for the capital ship of the Russian Navy?"

The middle-aged man and his young assistant looked at each other, and the former first said: "With the national pride of the Russians and the existing scale of shipbuilding, at most orders for warships of the cruiser class will be handed over to foreign shipyards, capital ships...... Almost unlikely. ”

The latter then added: "Unless there are some particularly important political considerations." ”

Natsuki nodded, and asked again: "How are the major shipyards in Russia doing now?" ”

The middle-aged man's lips trembled neatly: "During the war, the government repeatedly urged them to speed up the construction of ships, and added some new orders, for which each shipyard increased the number of employees, and as soon as the Portsmouth contract was signed, the government immediately canceled a large number of orders, and even the four battleships under construction were stopped, and almost every shipyard suffered heavy losses as a result, and life was very difficult." ”

Natsuki's thoughts raced quickly, the rapid development of Russian heavy industry was inseparable from the stimulation of the war project, and reached its peak in the wartime, once the war was over, a widespread depression was completely reasonable, and now should be a more opportune time to buy those troubled and verge bankruptcy, if the identity of the investor can be properly disguised, it can continue to compete for Russian naval orders under the guise of Russian shipyards - the Russian warships built here will not have any technical secrets to speak of.

"Keep an eye out for Russian shipyards that are looking for cooperation or mergers due to financial difficulties, especially those with qualifications to build large warships."

After receiving Natsuki's clear instructions, the middle-aged man and his assistant just agreed without asking a word.

The Friedrich shipyard was doing very well at the moment, but it was not well funded enough to buy a large old Russian shipyard, and Natsuki's strategy had to rely on the strength of the state, which could not be approved by the Reichstag, in order to prevent leaks, that is, it needed to use the secret reserves of the empire, which were held by the country's supreme ruler, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

(End of chapter)