Since visiting the port of Kiel for the first time since the invitation, the mood of the three majors of the Chinese Embassy in Germany has generally hovered between emotion and injustice.

Since the last time he had an awkward encounter with the reception officer named Hansen, Zhou Shuren has become more and more unhappy with this group of sub-allies, but he is not happy, work is work, as the third in command of the Imperial Navy in Germany, under the extraordinary situation of the first leader falling ill and the second leader having a meeting to explode, who else is he really going to do - want to find an excuse to shirk? No more.

This time, the receptionist's name was Braun, and he had a big round face that was very attractive, which somewhat eased Major Zhou's unhappy mood.

Ascending to the white lighthouse on the west side of the harbor on the Kiel Canal, the Second German Reich's Ocean Fleet was presented in full to the first-time Chinese naval officer.

From the mouth of the canal to the northeast of the harbor in the direction of the breakwater, three huge ships full of metal texture and the heavy feeling of the great industrial era are lined up side by side, the hull is like a mountain, the mast is like a forest, the turret is numerous, and the gun barrel is forested, which is magnificent.

"So many ships, so many big ships—"

With a group of giant ships in front, can you not be excited?

Although before the mission to Germany, Zhou Shuren had also witnessed the magnificent scene of his country's Zhenyang Fleet, but at that time, the Zhenyang Fleet only had six dreadnoughts in the southeast, northwest, and northwest, Longwei and Fengxiang, and the three ships in front of him were counted at a glance, a total of 21, of which there were no less than 15 dreadnought giant ships!

"The first one in the middle column is the flagship of our ocean fleet, the 'King', a new ship commissioned last year, equipped with a powerful 350 main gun, which is not inferior to the new capital ship of the British Navy in all aspects." Major Braun said proudly, pointing to one of the largest and most recently painted ships.

"You German man-made battleships look particularly heavy and sturdy." Zhou Shuren gave a polite thumbs up.

As far as he knew. The British Navy's latest Queen-class battleship, equipped with 380 main guns, has a speed of up to 24 or 5 knots, and its performance is overwhelming the "king" in front of him.

On the earth today, the only warships that can compete head-on with the "Queen" are the "Pinghai" class of our Chinese Empire, and the German warships with short guns and legs cannot even rush out of the small North Sea.

Braun was amazed when he saw Zhou Shuren, and proudly introduced the belongings of the Ocean Fleet: "Please look, the closest ship to us." It was the old battleship of the 2nd Battleship Squadron, and in view of the foresight of their design, they could still exert considerable power in the battle against the enemy dreadnoughts, and for the sake of strengthening their combat effectiveness, they were incorporated into the Ocean Fleet......"

The 2nd Battleship Squadron consisted of six old ships: five Deutschland-class ships - "Deutschland", "Pomern", "Silesia", "Hanover", "Schleswig-Holstein", and one older Brunswick-class - "Hesse", these six old ships were built between 1900 and 1904, the main guns were 2 twin 280 mm, the maximum speed did not exceed 18 knots, not to mention the weak armor. The watertightness of the hull is even worse, and the defense against underwater explosives is completely not taken into account. It is not surprising that even one or two torpedoes can be easily pushed down.

Zhou Shuren said to himself: It is not so much that they can "exert considerable power in the battle with enemy dreadnoughts", but that they can block shells for other new warships or salvage and salvage officers and soldiers who have fallen into the water.

In stark contrast, the flagship "King" led the shipship, the third squadron of battleships, which consisted entirely of the latest and largest so-called "super-dreadnoughts".

Among the seven giant ships, except for the first two "King" class "King" and "Elector" with five twin 350 main guns (eight guns on one side), the last five ships are all "Caesar" class with five twin 305 main guns (eight guns can be used on one side), namely "Caesar", "Frederick the Great", "Empress", "King Albert" and "Regent Louitport".

The farthest column, the 1st Squadron of Battleships, consisted of eight dreadnoughts of the early German Navy. The first four ships are of the "Helgoland class" - "East Friesland", "Thuringia", "Helgoland" and "Oldenburg", equipped with six twin 305 main guns (one side can be used for eight); The last four ships were the first of the "Nassau" class - "Posen", "Rhineland", "Nassau" and "Westphalia". It is equipped with six twin 280 main guns (eight guns can be used on one side).

"That's our new force over there—"

Braun motioned to Zhou Shuren to look into the depths of the port to the south, only to see tower cranes like a forest, several unfinished giant ship hulls and sardine-like dense submarines, destroyers and other small ships lying flat on large and small slipways. In the dry dock, just across the sea and deep below sea level, several brand-new giant ships lay down.

"Isn't the battleship in the dockyard unfinished? There are two that seem to be 'king' class? Zhou Shuren asked with his eyes glued to the binoculars.

"You've got a great eyesight. In the two dockyards on the east coast are indeed the 'King' class ground continuation ships, which should have been commissioned at the beginning of the year, after your country's victory at Pearl Harbor. Inspired by the relevant information provided by your country, China has decided to install anti-torpedo partitions on both sides of the hull while the two ships are still being outfitted, thicken the horizontal armor, and increase the number of anti-aircraft weapons. "Braun is really always there to answer questions.

"And the latest battleships on the slipway will also be revised accordingly, which is all influenced by your 'Pearl Harbor Miracle'."

Zhou Shuren smiled slightly, although he felt quite proud in his heart, but it was not good to show off too much in front of outsiders, and it was inevitable that he should first humble himself, which is the so-called "Chinese introvertedness".

"The new battle cruisers in the three docks on the south bank have also delayed the construction period for the same reason, no, not only that, but also learned the lessons of the battle on the Dogger sandbank, and the changes are much larger than those of the 'King' class, and I am afraid that they will not be completed until the end of the year."

"That's right...... In this case, following the example of our country and attacking Scapa with carrier-based aviation, I wonder if your country has such considerations? ”

Braun sent a procedural smile: "I'm sorry, that's not a question I can answer. ”

"Then let me change the question, as far as I know, Britain also has a sizable aircraft carrier force, and your airship base has also been attacked by carrier-based aircraft, if the British carrier-based aircraft group attacks, can the port of Kiel guarantee the safety of the fleet?"

Braun confidently spread his hands: "Of course it's fine. ”

"First, our warships have mine protection nets, and as you said, the US ships at Pearl Harbor did not have mine protection nets."

"Second, the port of Kiel is deep inland, and if enemy planes want to attack us, they must first cross Jutland, and we have set up anti-aircraft observation posts along the coast of the peninsula, and we have deployed patrol planes, and enemy planes will be detected and intercepted as soon as they approach the coast, and our fleet will have time to take measures to prevent it after receiving the warning."

"Thirdly, the ...... of anti-aircraft fire in the port of Kiel"

Zhou Shuren suddenly interrupted Braun with a slight apology: "I'm sorry, over there, it's the north, it's a black oppression—is it your plane?" ”