Same.

In the afterglow of Kiel Harbor, there is also a group of yellow-skinned and black-haired young people who are busy, feeling this great battle with their own eyes and hands, learning from experience, learning naval warfare, and hoping that through their own efforts, the Chinese navy will break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly.

Tuk-tuk.

Captain of the battlecruiser USS Seydlitz, Oliver Hakan, knocks on the door to his office.

"Please come in."

In the room, Hakan, who had a good personal relationship with Yang Qiu, was discussing the repair schedule of the Seydlitz with the officers, and his beloved baby had two turrets damaged in the Battle of Dogger Sandbank a few months ago and had to be sent to the dock for repairs, and he hated the boring life of not being able to board the ship for several months, so he would look at the repair schedule several times a day, and count how long it would take to go into the water.

Walking the 379th chapter in Europe (middle) is Bingwen, this young man who came out of Hanyang with Yang Qiu has completely changed his appearance, the straight German Navy uniform, shiny leather boots, and the faint stubble on his lips made him wash away his youthfulness and become a little more mature and calm. Two years of theory, one year of trainee training in destroyers, and then to trainee officer of guns and cannons on the Sedlitz, he took a difficult and glorious journey. "Captain, here's my report." After Bingwen saluted, he put the analysis report on the naval battle of the Dogger Sandbank that he had written on his desk. The officers all knew that Hakan had an inexplicable affection for the young man he had met in China, and when he learned that he had chosen the Navy to study in Germany and finish his destroyer internship, they used his connections to take him on his battle cruiser.

How valuable it is for a naval intern from a lagging country to be able to board a giant warship of tons and participate in multiple naval battles and operations in person. And he didn't disappoint Hakan either, even far beyond the imagination of the officers next to him! In the recent Battle of Dogle Sandbank, when the gunners were injured and the ship's telephone was out of order and could not coordinate the firepower of the whole ship, it was this young trainee non-commissioned officer who resolutely rushed to the second turret and commanded two naval guns to force back the British battlecruiser New Zealand that was trying to approach, so that the 379th chapter of the European (middle) Seydlitz was spared more damage.

So when Hakan read the report carefully, the officers smiled at him.

When you open it, you will see a neat summary report in German, which would take years for the average person to learn just to learn spoken German. But this young man only took half a year to pass the language barrier, and now he can write dozens of pages of naval battle reports. The report was very detailed, from the beginning to the end of the day and was completely documented, even the timing of the first shell of the Seydlitz was very accurate. What's even more rare. From the course of the naval battle to the losses, a very detailed analysis has been carried out, such as the design flaws of the hydraulic motor that drives the turret, the turret becomes unturnable after being hit by a shell, and the fireproof compartment needs to be reinforced, etc., all show that this young man who was a pure layman four years ago has become a very good naval officer.

"It's great, and I think your mentor will be very satisfied." No matter how beautiful things are on paper, they are an afterthought. So Hakan closed the report and prepared to test him: "It has been said that we have failed because we have not been able to break the naval blockade for Germany. ”

Bingwen did not reply immediately, and judging from the results, the German navy was almost completely defeated in the Battle of Dogle Sandbank. The Blucher sank, the Sedlitz was seriously wounded, and more than 1,000 soldiers were killed and wounded. On the other hand, Britain only had the battle cruiser Lion slightly damaged, so the outside world had a lot of complaints about this naval battle. In addition, the Battle of the Sea coincided with the sinking of Earl Spee and his fleet in the Falkland Islands, along with the death of his two sons. So the German Navy has fallen into a serious crisis of confidence, and if it were not for the outstanding performance of the submarine forces, perhaps the Navy would have lost face. So he sorted out his thoughts a little before saying, "We have a saying in China. There are gains and losses. The loss of Blucher is indeed regrettable, but through the war we not only discovered the weaknesses of the enemy, but also knew our own shortcomings! With all due respect, I personally believe that Germany has never been a true maritime power before, and although it already has a fleet comparable to that of the enemy, it is inferior to its opponents in terms of experience, use, and battle planning. So for me, the Dogel Sandbar is just a high school exam, although the score is very low, but the experience is gained, which verifies the fact that the German Navy ~~Shushu.com-Update Debut~~ is on the rise, and I am looking forward to meeting General Betty again next time! ”

"You're a good talker." Hakan smiled. Took out a small box and handed it to the first mate: "Convince me too." So here's what you deserve. The first mate opened the box, and inside was a 1914 Iron Cross, looking at the medal that every German ** person was eager to get, Bingwen was short of breath.

"It's a reward for saving the Sedlitz." After the first mate put on the medal for him, Hakan saluted with everyone: "Congratulations, from now on you have been promoted to second lieutenant. And I have decided to officially make you my assistant to the gun staff. I heard that your home country has purchased two battle cruisers from the United States, and maybe you will be able to become a real commander when you return home after the war. ”

"Thank you, Captain. Thank you. Bingwen was so excited that he almost wanted to jump. The former mainly learns the coordination and command of dangerous deck guns, while the latter means that you can step into the bridge and command tower of a battleship, have a better perspective of observation during engagement, and learn all the skills from navigation, formation, and combat command!

"No, no, don't thank me. In fact, Yang has already made a thanksgiving. Hakanha smiled, took out a large box of fine Cuban cigars from the drawer, and handed them to everyone as if showing off: "God, I really want to put my arms around him and kiss him twice, you know?" He brought me a whole case of Cuban cigars. Guess what I saw when I went to a meeting yesterday? A green look. The officers took the cigars, and Bingwen was amused by him. With the blockade of the North Sea becoming tighter, it was no longer possible for Germany to obtain such a luxury as Cuban cigars, so a whole box of excellent cigars, not to mention Officer Seydlitz, was afraid that even Wilhelm II would be crazy with jealousy.

But where did the box of cigars come from?

"France." Hakan glanced at everyone, and his tone was a little low, because this box of cigars was handed over to him by Yang Qiu to send the labor representative to France through Switzerland.

"I'm so sorry."

"Excuse me? No. It has nothing to do with you, from the very beginning every one of us Germans was ready to fight alone! Besides, I would do the same if I were to do that, for the sake of the national interest. Hakan shook his hand, picked up the cigar and put it under his nose to enjoy the taste of tobacco, and took a deep breath: "I just hope I don't see him on the battlefield." ”

While there was an uproar in Germany about the dispatch of laborers to France, the Allies rejoiced at the fact that it was a precursor to China's dispatch of troops to Europe. So Bingwen didn't know what to say. In fact, he didn't want Yang Qiu to officially join the war in his heart, because once the country declared war on the alliance, they would definitely take off their military uniforms, and it would be a lifelong regret for him who was eager to train himself through more naval battles. He saluted and was just about to leave, when he suddenly remembered the urgent telegram from the country, and turned his head to look at the crowd.

Hakan saw that he had something to say, waved his hand to dismiss the meeting and voluntarily closed the door: "Is there anything you want to say to me?" ”

Bingwen's eyelids jumped, he didn't know why Yang Qiu had such a guess, because Germany was very strict in password management, but he still said: "Captain, there is something I think is very strange. How would the British know we were going to the Dogle Sandbank? If it was a chance encounter, why did four battle cruisers appear at once, including the newest Tiger? Could it be that the British Navy had the luxury of giving the battlecruiser Tiger the daily patrol duty? Don't worry about our submarines? ”

The words made Hakan's body, who was about to light a cigar, suddenly shake, and this performance made Bingwen secretly relieved, and he could see that Yang Qiu had already reacted to what he had specially asked him to do, and continued: "If you can, I hope you can suggest that the Admiralty check the radio, and it is best to find a way to pay attention to whether the lost telegraph and codebook are still intact. ”

Hakan sat down thoughtfully, in fact, after the Dogger sandbank, he also had similar suspicions, thinking that someone had infiltrated the inside, and there was a spy, but now Bingwen's words brought another possibility. Radio Leak! This is not impossible, since the beginning of the war, Germany has lost a number of warships, some of which were lost in shallow waters, and if the code book is not destroyed in time, it is very easy to be salvaged by divers.

This was no small matter, and if this situation did occur, it would mean that all the actions of the German navy had been monitored by the British. Of course, the High Command will not believe it by groundless speculation alone, and it must be analyzed by a targeted and tentative action. Bingwen also knew that he couldn't just guess, and suggested: "Captain, can you convince the Admiralty to send a light cruiser to attack once, but use the capital ship call code to test it?" ”

This suggestion made Hakan quite moved, and His Majesty Wilhelm and the high command have recently developed some negative ideas about defending ships, and they will never let the capital ships move without a good opportunity, but it may be possible to use light cruisers to disguise themselves as capital ships to attack. "I'll report to General Scheer." After finishing speaking, his eyebrows gradually spread, and he lit a cigar and suddenly asked, "I heard that Yang is going to assemble two battlecruisers with American parts, why don't you build them yourself?" ”

At the beginning of last month, when the construction of the first two large cruisers of the Anhai class was laid at the shipyards in Bethlehem and New York at the same time, all European countries were jealous, and even British newspapers openly said that the United States had taken advantage of the opportunity that Britain could not get away from to poach the interests that should have belonged to them from the Far East. Bingwen: The Chinese Navy in Europe both envy and secretly despise the blackmail of the United States, because the cost of these four cruisers is enough to build 5 or 6 of Germany's newest Mackensen-class battlecruisers!

said: "You should know that our country does not have experience in building capital ships, and even if it does, it is a . Lack of equipment. ”

Hakan, who has been in the Far East for several years, is actually very aware of the current industrial strength and level in Yang Qiu's hands, even if Japan, which claims to have squeezed into Europe and the United States, must rely on Britain to provide the main equipment to complete the construction of the King Kong class. So after thinking about it, he quietly took out a document from the drawer and handed it to Bingwen: "The betrayed lover of our country (after Italy joined the alliance, Germany openly called him the betrayed lover) has recently made a small fortune. ”

After Bingwen took the information, his eyes instantly straightened!

Caporetto! Italy actually occupied Caporetto three days ago!! Bingwen is no longer a rookie in the navy, and his crazy study allows him to memorize even the current motorboat models in Europe and the United States, so when he heard the name of this place, he immediately thought of the T shipyard, the third largest shipyard in Austria-Hungary, "Monarch-class battleship (combined forces class, called the monarch class in Europe)", "battleship designer", "German metric standard" and so on.

"I know Yang has other tasks for you. But I'm not helping you, I just think it's insulting for those things to fall into the hands of the Italians! Please take me to tell Yang that what women in war need most is not love, but bread! Hakan made a witty analogy. Looking at his blinking eyes, a burst of ecstasy rushed to Bingwen's mind.

He was indeed right, the officers and students of the YMCA who came to study in Europe have their own tasks, and in addition to studying hard, they are also the eyes and ears of China to observe and understand Europe, among which Bingwen, Liu Mingzhao and Zhang Cai, the three YMCA officers in Germany, have the mission of helping the country to find all the skills and talents it needs.

Bing Xi Navy, responsible for naval shipbuilding. For example, with the first battle cruiser keel about to be laid in China, the shipbuilding industry is about to take off, there is still no set of machine tools and heat treatment beds for the construction of large warships, so China has been hoping to get a set of large-scale shipbuilding equipment recently, even if it is second-hand.

In particular, the large shipbuilding machine tool with a speed of 100 meters and the equally huge heat treatment furnace are the most difficult problems restricting the domestic naval industry, and because they must also match the equipment introduced before, they can only use metric equipment! That is to say, the British, French, and Russian equipment with imperial standards cannot be used even if it is shipped back. Not only did Germany have a lot of this equipment, but as resources were tightened, the shipbuilding industry was gradually abandoned, and many of them were idle, and the problem was that they would never sell these treasures unless they were defeated.

But now Hakan's information has given a chance!!

He didn't care how the Italian army, which was nicknamed "Noodles" by Europe, took Caporetto, he thought that Italy couldn't eat a shipyard in Italy, and even if he could eat it, it was useless because they used the British system, and he could contact Italy to buy the equipment in the T shipyard. Moreover, the Mediterranean Sea is still open, and the domestic labor ships sent to France can also bring the equipment back immediately, and happily, Hakan has also pointed out the direction, Italy has been in the depths of a serious food shortage in recent years!

"I'll go see General Scheer now, and I hope your guess isn't true! I don't want to help you wear the blue Marx Medal. Hakan said this very seriously, if it was finally determined that the password was real, it would undoubtedly save the entire German naval fleet! So not to mention a shipyard that has to pay a price, even if Germany provides it for free, it is very worthwhile. Throwing out a pass, he continued: "Take this and get all the way from here to Austria." You only have 3 weeks of vacation, and if you're late I'll personally kick you off my warship! ”

Bingwen saluted excitedly, he knew that Hakan was only doing this for Yang Qiu's bold guess, and he also had a little disgusting intention for the alliance, because France also took a fancy to the L shipyard and wanted to persuade Italy to hand over the factory to France. Although it is still necessary to use the brain to get it from under the nose of France, it has brought a ray of hope to the troubled domestic naval shipbuilding industry!!