The moonlight shines like water and the stars shine brightly, illuminating the towering buildings of Berlin like a gauze coat. The majestic Empire State Building stands proudly in the center of the city, and the huge eagle emblem at the top is ready to spread its wings. Hundreds of heavily armed guards were tightly guarded around it, and it was only here that the atmosphere of war exuded in the singing and dancing of Berlin.

A car embroidered with the Hohenzollern family logo made its way through the checkpoints and finally came to a halt in front of the main entrance. A young man with a tall figure walked out of it, it was Qingying. Facing the guards around him saluting in unison, he nodded slightly in response, and he didn't stop his feet, and went straight to the target room.

The corridors are open and the murals are exquisite. Although the building was the core office of the German military and political dignitaries, the interior of the Reichstag is still like a palace and full of elaborate art. After a short time, Qingying walked up the stairs and came to a purple-red sandalwood gate. A crisp knock on the door sounded, and it was particularly clear in the quiet night. When she heard a deep syllable, Qingying did not hesitate any longer, and raised her hand to push open the door of the room. Bookcases are spread out and chandeliers are hung high. In the spacious and bright room, an elderly man in his sixties is sitting behind a desk; The two signature parted beards were no longer as black and shiny as they used to be, and a large number of white colors were mixed in between, adding a bit of desolation to his whole face.

As if he didn't expect Qingying to appear at this time, Tirpitz, who was sitting behind the desk, was obviously taken aback, and waited until Qingying sat down next to him very familiarly. He hurriedly called the attendant to bring him a cold drink. After Qingying had dispelled the heat on his body, Tirpitz asked with some puzzlement, "Your Highness, why did you suddenly come to my office today as Secretary of State for the Navy?" ”

"I had just returned from the Royal Tractor Factory on the outskirts of the city, and I thought that the marshal was still here, so I came to have a look." Qingying put down the empty water glass in his hand, stared at Tirpitz's face, which had aged a lot, and said, "I've heard that you've had a bad time during this time, Marshal, but is it true?" ”

Hear Qingying's inquiry. Tirpitz's lips curled into a bitter smile. said: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern." I am sixty-four this year, and I have been given the unique rank of marshal of the present empire, and there is no one better in personal status than I am. It's just that. What I've been working on for 50 years. But at the last moment when it was about to be realized, it was pressed down. It's a situation that's hard for me to accept. Your Highness, you have just achieved an amazing victory on the land battlefield, I wonder if you can still experience it? ”

Qingying nodded when she heard this. I've been working with him for 20 years, and I know Tirpitz well; The reason why he is so resentful and frustrated. It is entirely due to the naval strategy of "avoiding war and protecting ships" formulated by the current German government.

In this respect, although the German navy was very close to the British Grand Fleet, although the naval battle in the Gulf of Helgoland ended with a German victory, and although Tirpitz, secretary of state for the navy, and Ingnoll, commander of the High Seas Fleet, all tried their best to advocate that the fleet go to sea and fight to the death with the British, the German government never responded positively to these demands. At the outbreak of war, Kaiser Wilhelm issued a decree: "I order the High Seas Fleet to be on the defensive for the time being," and sealed the sharpest sword in the world with heavy locks in the fortified fortress behind.

The reason why William did this is inseparable from his strange thinking that is different from ordinary people.

Perhaps it was because the Royal Navy had shown a majestic formation at the celebrations of the previous three kings, which left too deep an impression on William; In his subconscious, the British Navy has always been the most powerful and invincible force on the planet. Therefore, it is precisely because the German Navy has increased in the lineup of capital ships and in the number of well-trained officers and men, and because the German Navy's technicians have improved the Navy's shooting technology, shell armor-piercing ability, boiler output power, and a series of subsystem performance, that the German Navy has become a precious asset that should not be lost. There were no admirals like Drake or Nelson in German history, so even if the current Anglo-German navy was extremely close in strength, it was difficult for him to believe that the German navy could truly defeat the British navy. He couldn't bear to imagine his "heart baby" being burned and bloodied like the Prince Heinrich, or finally being battered like the York, and sinking to the bottom of the sea.

In addition, and perhaps more importantly, William did not want to "do nothing" in front of his British relatives. The Kaiser's matrilineal kinship, the British wives of the German princes and nobles, and the blood ties of the ancient Teutonic people were enough to make the German political elite feel a sense of kinship towards Britain. Prior to this, promises from the Army had made Wilhelm imagine that the war would end by July, and that a well-preserved high seas fleet would undoubtedly be a very heavy bargaining chip for Germany in negotiations with the British. As time passed, hopes for a quick victory dimmed, and the desire for the German fleet to survive the war and be used for bargaining at the peace table became stronger.

Historically, the German Navy had been as secluded as it is today, with long years of retreating to a military port defended by mines and shore artillery, and the drawbacks of this were already evident in another plane. With the two defeats at Helgoland Bay and the Battle of Dogger Beach, and Admiral Bohr, Chief of Naval Staff, who firmly adhered to the doctrine of "preserving the fleet", at the helm of the High Seas Fleet, these formidable ships were spared even symbolic cruises. Without much difficulty, the British sealed off their most feared adversary in the pond of the North Sea; Jericho's Grand Fleet is like a dutiful watchdog, forever watching his opponents in the harbor of Scappaflo. The Allies had complete control over the seas, and merchant ships flying the St. George flag and the red, white and blue flag sailed freely across the three oceans, sending war supplies to Britain and France. While Britain and France obtained blood transfusions, they also tied the United States, a leading country, to their chariot through economic means, and established themselves in an absolutely invincible position. It can be said that it was precisely because of the clumsiness of Germany's maritime strategy that they finally led to their complete defeat!

In fact, at the outbreak of World War I, the German Navy had a good chance. Because by 1912, the number of capital ships in Germany had reached seventy percent of that of Britain; It was only from 1913 that Britain was far behind in the naval arms race due to the army's intensified preparations. And in October 1914, the strength of the British Grand Fleet fell to its lowest point. The battleship USS Bold sank after a minebreak, and the battleship Orion was repairing a steam turbine malfunction; HMS Conquistador, Iron Duke, and Ajax are being refitted, the 2 capital ships that have just been hacked from the Turks have not completed their training, and the newly completed Tiger, Ben Bao and the Emperor of India also need time to debug their machinery. Counting the 3 battle cruisers that left the mainland to pursue Spee's fleet at that time, the number of capital ships that the British and German navies could dispatch was 22 to 18!

Even if it was due to secrecy, the Germans did not know that the Orion and other 4 ships were returning to the factory for repair, but the ratio of 26 to 18, which was less than 3 to 2, was enough to give them the confidence to take the initiative. However, it is a pity that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was wasted by the German Navy, which was bent on avoiding the war and protecting the ship. By 1916, when Schelti was transferred to the High Seas Fleet, although the number of capital ships available for German drive had increased to 22, the number of ships of the same type in the hands of the British had increased to 40, of which 5 Queen-class ships were equipped with 8 15-inch guns! Even if he is as aggressive as Scheer, he doesn't have any idea of fighting head-on with it at the moment; If he had known at the Battle of Jutland that the British were pouring out, he would have retreated long ago.

Although the situation in this plane changed dramatically from history, the German navy's strategy was also to strike preemptively against Britain in the early stages of the war. If it is delayed for a long time, not only will the blockaded Germany be starved of supplies, but the United States will also be tied to the Allied chariot because of their economic ties with Britain and France. In the case of the wartime economy, Germany, which was dominated by land warfare, was obviously far inferior to Britain in terms of shipbuilding speed; The longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation would be for the German Navy!

When Qingying sorted out the words and explained the crux of Tirpitz's heart, the father of the ocean fleet, who single-handedly pushed the German Navy to the second throne in the world, his face was full of relief, emotion, loss and pain. He let out a long sigh and said, "From the day the Empire decides to wage war over Morocco, I have built the High Seas Fleet to strike immediately. The core essence of the 'Fleet of Risks' is to inflict unbearable blows on the enemy and to breed peace in the fear of pain. However, our esteemed Emperor Xià regarded these warships as his personal treasures, and was reluctant to let them go shopping with the British. Pol and Miller, two idiots whose whole bodies are not as strong as my little finger combined, also supported His Majesty's behavior. This form of 'saving the fleet' will only make the British taste the pain and risk of war, and will encourage the confidence of the warmongers to continue to be our enemies, which will do us all more harm than good! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the tips of yinyu1990 and zhouyu1976~~

The second chapter is here, let's give some subscription to chat for encouragement