Lynn's invitation to Van Holke's dinner table was a warm courtesy, so he replied that he was thinking of going to the Netherlands when he first arrived, and that it would be a great honor to visit the Royal Dutch Navy base to open his eyes. Little after the weekend, Van Holck called the agency and said that he was returning to base from Amsterdam early Monday morning and that Lynn could take a ride if he could arrange time. Lynn, who was still ignorant of the rules of diplomacy, hurriedly went to von . Baron Mayne asked for advice, and the baron laughed when he heard this, saying that the agency had no special work in the past two days, and that it was convenient to contact Dutch friends to carry out work in the future, so Lynn was relieved to go with Van Holck.

Ten minutes later, Major Van Holke arrived at the agency in a Ford sedan, and Lynn got into the car with all the papers, and to his great surprise, Sara arrived. I saw her sit in the co-pilot seat with ease, turned her head sideways and smiled at Lynn: "Go to board. Helde visit? I promise you'll love it there, General Develis is a funny and friendly guy who doesn't hate Germans, especially those who haven't invaded their country with arms...... You certainly don't, but maybe paternal? ”

Lynn shook her head, Hugo. Horst's father was supposed to be an honest farmer, with nothing to do with war or politics. He looked curiously at Sara through the rearview mirror, the quiet little girl with glasses was wearing a bright yellow trench coat today, and she was still wearing a knitted dress underneath, it seemed that she had a soft spot for such an outfit. I thought she was following her to visit the Dutch naval base. saw that she was carrying a briefcase that did not match her body shape, so she speculated: "Are you going to work?" ”

"Using honorifics like 'you' makes me feel old-fashioned." Sara laughs, "I work at an institute in Alkmaar, which happens to be located in Amsterdam and Deng. In the middle of Heldhamn, but not always by chance, Major Van Holke returned to Amsterdam for almost three weeks. ”

After exchanging a few words with the baron in the foyer, Van Holke hurried back into the car, and when he sat in, the Ford sedan rose and fell far more than Lynn and Sara had caused.

"We've got to hurry." Van Holck said this. Lynn thought it was their base that had a set check-in time. However, Sara said lightly: "Actually, Dr. Diarmitt is not as strict as you think, he just hopes that every idea in his head can be transformed into an invention that will bring convenience to mankind as soon as possible." ”

"What a great and noble man." Van Holck started the car with a smile, and Lynn looked at them and herself in the rearview mirror, and everyone here seemed to be very relaxed. It was as if they had come out of the gloom of war and returned to peacetime, while in Germany almost everyone had apprehension and sorrow on their faces.

The so-called fireworks in March, the weather gradually warms up after entering April, and the seaside fields are full of life, but the wind blowing from the North Sea is still mixed with some chill. After driving, Van Holk didn't talk much. Sara turned her head to the right to look out the window, she had used a pale red plaid handkerchief to tie her hair today, a traditional way that made Lynn feel comfortable. After a while, he took the initiative to ask Sarah, "What exactly does your institute do?"

"Ship internal combustion power! In simple terms. It's about making the ship's engine system stronger, simpler, and more durable. Sara replied in the same unguarded tone as Van Holck, "Dr. Diarmitt is a leading expert in this field...... Top class in Europe! ”

"Oh, yes! Pretty good! Has he been working here? Lynn cautiously inquired. …,

"No," said Sarah, "he went to England during the German occupation, worked for the British for four years, and used the payment paid to him by the British to return to Holland and rebuild his institute. The Institute's income derives mainly from successful patent transfers, and we hardly take on maintenance or maintenance work, but on projects of military and political significance. The Dutch government will also provide some financial support, but in limited quantities. ”

"Huh. I don't have much research on marine machinery, and I feel like I'm dealing with the best metal parts and greasy lubricants...... Do you have any big projects lately? Lynn asked.

"You really sound like a foreign spy!" After saying this. Sara hid her mouth and laughed, and Major Van Holk laughed too, and said, "Look at you, frighten Mr. Horst!" He probably thinks the atmosphere here is as tense as Germany and Poland, but the Netherlands is very different, we are neutral now, and we will be in the future! ”

Hearing this, Lynn was a little relieved. Not only the Netherlands, but also Belgium were neutral countries, which neither participated in the military operations of the Western allies, nor did they encourage military or civilian participation in the international volunteer forces of either side. However, the Belgians were in a worse situation than the Dutch, and the key was their geographical location - if they wanted to attack France from Central Europe, it was difficult to deploy troops on the German-French border of less than 400 kilometers, and although the "Manstein Plan" in 1940 and the Ardennes counterattack in 1944 had already made people appreciate the complex terrain and the ability to carry out large-scale mechanized operations, the Soviets were able to break through the Polish and German defenses and reach Western Europe, and it was almost inevitable that they would attack France through Belgium.

Half an hour north to Alkmaar, Sara got out of the car in front of a beautiful three-story white house and happily waved goodbye to Lynn and Van Holck before leaving. Looking at her thin back, Lynn unconsciously thought of Dinah, in terms of appearance and figure, the difference between the two is flowers and green leaves, but before traveling to this era and doing earth-shattering things, Lynn's wish is to marry such an ordinary girl with a smart, quiet and lively temperament, and live a stable and happy well-off life, it's as simple as that.

Sara left, and the atmosphere in the car suddenly fell silent. Lynn and Van Holck, one of the land combat elite of the former Third Reich, and the other an officer of the Royal Dutch Navy who had served in the Allied camp, sat together peacefully. For a while, I couldn't seem to find a common topic. As he approached the port, Lynn saw the flat, sandy, deserted beach, which reminded him of the beach outside Copenhagen, of the German prisoners of war who risked their lives to clear mines. Or just change places and continue to venture out of nowhere?

Drip...... Drip......

When Van Holck honked the car horn, Lynn realized that the seaside area in front of him, which had neither high walls, power grids or machine guns, was the military base of the Royal Netherlands. Didn't even try to check Lynn's papers. Experienced special operations in the United States, the Soviet Union, and Germany itself. How could Lynn find it unbelievable that the Dutch would rather put themselves in an undefended position after the lessons of World War II?

Passing the sentry post, the car slowly drives along the asphalt road, and you can not only look out over the beautiful harbor surrounded by turquoise waters. You can also see the busy shipyard. In a row of open-air docks to the northeast, Lynn saw something similar to that of the submarine caverns at the "Vault" base: the flickering of welder flames in the huge open slipway, mountains of steel pipes, cables, lumber and gasoline drums, straight or curved steel members swaying in mid-air, groups of grease-covered men in dirty overalls, goggles and hard-shelled hats, and half-finished hulls parked on beams, supported by wood, and tilted toward sewage. Clearly, they are still using the traditional monolithic way of building. rather than the more advanced and efficient sectional construction method. …,

"Whoa! When we arrived, the two rows of beautiful houses were our barracks and offices. ”

Hearing Van Holke's warning, Lynn looked ahead, and there were two rows of beautiful bungalows on the light gray pier facing the land. Their color resembled mushrooms growing in the forest after a rain, and though they were not solid colors, they looked very vivid, while on the other side of the pier, on the turquoise water, six low-profile black submarines were moored in turn, and they looked indistinguishable from German U-boats, perhaps made using German submarine-building technology and equipment, or directly from the Allied naval trophies lists. By this time, the sun had risen, and the camp was full of walking figures. Before the arrival of summer, officers and soldiers wore dark blue uniforms that were more insulating. They are not lazy, they just give people a leisurely stroll. And in the calm harbor, a patrol boat, which is only a few tens of tons, is also moving slowly.

"You never worried that Soviet planes would bomb this place by mistake?" Lynn asked the question with clear intent.

"What's there to worry about?" Van Holck replied sullenly, "The Netherlands is a small country of only 40,000 square kilometers and a population of 7 million, and our army is perhaps less skilled at war than the Italians, so instead of making everyone nervous, it is better to spend one day a week praying and the remaining six days doing our job." ”

This way of thinking inevitably sounds a little negative, and Lynn thinks that the major did not say the subtext, probably referring to the fact that in 1940 they were also in the gap between the two major military powers, and until the moment before the German invasion still adhered to neutrality, since the cruel reality proves that the neutral status of a small country is as thin as a piece of paper in the face of the great powers, and militarily it is impossible to resist the invasion of a strong enemy in any case, and it is also a kind of resistance to fate to look at the enemy's aggression and trampling with his proud head high.

The car stopped in front of a row of houses with mushroom-colored roofs, and Van Holke quickly regained his chatty personality after getting out of the car, and he led Lynn into the base commander's office as he talked about the history and current situation of the base. General De Willis, whom Sara mentions in the car, is the head of the naval submarine base, and his long horse face, curly hair, sunken eyes, and high nose remind Lynn of the "king of the small box" of his era, the Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

"Ruhr told me on the phone yesterday that a particularly young and handsome friend is coming to visit the base, Mr. Horst, what a blessing!"

The gray-haired Dutch admiral, who was slightly taller than Van Holck, opened the black cigar box on the table and invited Lynn to smoke, not wanting to reveal his former illustrious status in small details, and Lynn declined the offer.

General Dvelis also did not smoke. He asked the orderly to bring refreshments, and then said in a tone similar to that of Van Holck: "The Netherlands is a neutral country, and submarines are the most dangerous offensive weapons in the world - most people understand it this way, and now the Netherlands has a total of 14 submarines, and there are 6 more under construction, which seems to be far more than a neutral country needs, or think that we are taking the armed neutrality of Switzerland and Sweden, in fact, ......"

The general paused and shrugged his shoulders with a look that didn't care what others said: "The elite Royal Netherlands Navy has the strength to defend the country's territorial waters. But it will not be abused at any time. In fact, compared to the annual military expenditure of the belligerents. The Netherlands spends very little on defense, does not have a decent modern air force, does not have a capable armored force, and does not have a mighty naval fleet. This submarine fleet is just a force for the Dutch to talk about masturbation. Do you understand? ”…,

The general used the honorific "you" in his words, and Lynn suddenly understood Sarah's mood when she said that. It is not necessary to use honorifics in interpersonal situations, and sometimes that can seem too rigid and utilitarian.

"Yes, I understand." Lynn hurriedly replied.

General Dvelis nodded deeply: "Sooner or later, the world will understand our suffering"

Lynn felt like he could understand this line of thinking, but on the other hand, in the Korean War of his plane. The Netherlands is also a member of the United States and a member of NATO. After the baptism of World War II, their neutrality mentality today may have changed from the long period of neutrality before World War II, and when the war started again. A wise leader should indeed weigh the pros and cons of going to war against the prospects of the war.

"Take our German friends around!" General Dvelis instructed Major Van Holke.

This military port is much smaller than Stettin, and more modern than Tromsø and Narvik in Northern Europe. Van Holck led Lynn around the harbor on foot, they didn't deliberately avoid the noisy shipbuilding area where submarines were being built, and the major also revealed to Lynn that most of the submarines under construction here were to be sold to foreign countries, and as for which "foreign country" it was, he didn't say, and Lynn didn't look deeper.

Near noon, the two finally transferred to the dock where the submarine was moored. Just as Lynn was wondering if he would have a chance to board these submarines to see what was going on, Van Holck seemed to have seen through his thoughts: "Let's go." Go check out our flag boats! ”

"Is that okay?" Lynn asked, feigned surprise.

"Don't you want to go?" The Major asked rhetorically, squinting.

"If that doesn't bother you or General Dwillis......"

Without waiting for Lynn to finish, Major Van Holker grinned. Made a "please" gesture.

The flag boat of the Second Submarine Detachment of the Royal Netherlands Navy is a large submarine with "S-029" painted command bulkheads, and cannons and machine guns on the fore and rear decks, rather than the modern, streamlined silhouette of XXI-class submarines. It looked a lot like a German submarine, surprisingly clean, shiny and neat. The diesel engine was as if it had never been driven, the red paint and brass fittings on it were not stained, and the gun crew looked as if it had just left the factory. After entering the cabin, Lynn took a special look at the signs next to the machine, which were neither German nor English, but the Dutch language that truly belonged to the country.

"Well, it smells good!" As she walked past the small kitchen on board, Lynn saw the white-clad cooks preparing dinner there, the pot rattling, and the aroma wafting through the relatively enclosed space of the submarine despite the fan turned on.

Van Holke looked back at him: "You don't want to eat on the boat, do you?" It's very narrow, but our food isn't too bad. ”

Lynn laughed, "I'm so happy to eat here." ”

So he ate face to face with the captain and the officers in the small officer's quarters, elbow-to-elbow, and felt more at home here than in a restaurant in Munich. The three young officers at the table were all thin-lipped, rosy-faced, golden-haired, shy, and had a German appearance and features, but their eyes were very different. Germans are rigid, rigorous, proud, and confident, while they appear more humorous and frivolous. The atmosphere quickly cleared up after Lynn's compliments on their submarine and Van Holke's joking replies, and they told Lynn stories of the stupidity and laziness of the workers in the Navy dockyards, the troubles of the submarine running into clogged toilet pipes, and the painful experience of their training in England: they had to clean everything very carefully, including the toilets, and they could even faint after working long hours on deck in the summer. The British believed that they could become better officers after such torture, but the Dutch apparently had their own understanding of this. They believed that this harsh and sadistic approach was outdated, and that the soldier's flexible thinking and enterprising spirit were more important in naval warfare than the blind obedience instilled in those tortures.

Speaking of the ongoing war, the young Dutch officers had their own opinions, some were nostalgic for the years when they fought side by side with their American and British counterparts, others felt that it was foolish to anger polar bears, and people here also heard rumors that the American fleet carrying atomic bombs had been ambushed by Soviet submarine groups. The development of anti-submarine technology and air-sea coordinated anti-submarine tactics has made it possible for submarines to attack ships without escort or with lax escort, and it is simply self-defeating to attack a fleet with a tight division of labor and high alert