In the last few days of 1913, gray mists were shrouded in the streets of Berlin.

The withered maple trees, withered Bodhi and chestnut trees stood alone next to William Street, a little bleak. The right bank of William Street is vast in Tilgartto Park, the hour hand of the bell tower flies away, and cornflowers and daisies quietly accumulate strength in the mud. Baroque palaces, Gothic churches and monasteries, flying curtains and stacked domes are piled up on both sides of William Street, Charlottemberg Palace, Empire Capitol, and Humboldt University in Berlin are looming in the mist. At the end of the street under the Bodhi tree, the heavy Brandenburg Gate is towering high, and the Iron Cross and the goddess of victory standing on the four-horse chariot standing in front of the door.

The black car with a naval license plate was parked at a booth outside the German Empire Navy General. Taking advantage of the guards' inspection of their documents, Major General Franz Hippel, commander-in-chief of the Ocean Fleet's First Reconnaissance Fleet (Battlecruiser Squadron), poked his head out of the car window and waved to Lieutenant Colonel Erich Redell, the first deputy director of the Navy Intelligence Department who was guarding the duty room of the booth.

"Get in the car..." Major General Hippel pushed open the door and asked Lieutenant Colonel Raidel into the car. He couldn't wait to ask, "Lieutenant Colonel, what's the matter with me?"

The autumn of each year is the busiest season for the high seas fleet training. First, the Baltic Sea is calm and the waves are clear and cool, which is most suitable for large-scale ocean training. Second, at this time of year, newly graduated naval cadets and newly recruited sailors are replenished on warships. Through large-scale ocean training, it is very necessary to accelerate the running-in between the officers and soldiers on the ship and restore combat readiness.

The Ocean Fleet returned from the fjord in Norway to the port. As the front-line commander of the High Seas Fleet, Major General Hippel has been staying on the battle patrol of the First Reconnaissance Fleet's flagship, the Sedlitz, summarizing the gains and losses of this maritime training, organizing warship maintenance, and planning the training outline for the next quarter. It was so busy that the Christmas cocktail party organized by Emperor William II, Major General Hippel was able to take a break from his busy schedule and return to Berlin.

This morning, Lieutenant Colonel Redell called to ask Major General Hippel to go to the Naval Headquarters. Considering the position of Lieutenant Colonel Redell as the first deputy director of the Naval Intelligence Department, Major Admiral Hippel drove to the Naval Headquarters without hesitation, for fear of missing any confidential information.

"General, I know that your First Reconnaissance Fleet is still missing a general staff officer..." Redell glanced at the driving guard and took out a telegram from his briefcase. "Mr. Major General, there is a chance to get Captain Heidi Sileme back to the Ocean Fleet."

"Heidi Sileme?" Lieutenant Colonel Raidel's reckless Major General Hippel was worried, but the name Heidi Sileme, which had been unknown for a long time, greatly alleviated Major General Hippel's negative emotions. Major General Hippel was stunned for a moment, and his angry expression flashed across his dark face, and was immediately replaced by endless surprise.

As a professional officer, Major General Hippel was not in a hurry to pick up the intelligence paper, but instead consulted Lieutenant Colonel Redell with suspicious eyes.

"This is the intelligence sent back by our peripheral intelligence organization lurking across the strait. The confidentiality level is not high. Obviously, you have the authority to read..." Lieutenant Colonel Redell explained.

The telegram is not long, just a few hundred words, roughly introduces the ship purchase agreement reached by Britain and Turkey on the Rust (Sultan Ottoman I) super dreadnought and some new data and construction progress of Turkey's first super dreadnoughtnock Reshadijeclass [2].

In 1913, the Turkish government ignored the advice of its chief naval adviser, British Major General Douglas Gamble, and insisted on slapping the swelling face and pretending to be fat, and borrowed money to buy the Rust battleship abandoned by the Brazilians. On December 20, the Turkish ambassador to London began to negotiate with the British government and Armstrong on the purchase of the "Rio de Janeiro". On the same day, the "subjugation" of the National Bank of Paris paid a loan of 1 million pounds to London as a deposit. The negotiations ended on the 28th, and the "Rio de Janeiro" was renamed "Sultan Ottoman I" and will be in service in the summer of 1914.

"The British still sold the Rust..." Major General Hippel let go of Matsube Fukiki, snorted coldly, put the telegraph aside, and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel, I don't understand the causal connection between the Rust and Heidi-Silem."

The Rust is a joke about the battleship Rio de Janeiro that the workers at the Armstrong shipyard abandoned by the Brazilians.

Due to the development of the chemical industry, the rubber produced in Brazil in 1904 was comparable to that of the US dollar and British pound in the international market. The wealthy Brazilians were so energetic that they formulated a large-scale naval expansion plan and prepared to build a naval fleet including three battleships.

The stupid Brazilian opened Pandora's box. The poor and warlike South American countries could no longer sit still. They screamed and gathered money to prepare to fight a big fight with the Brazilians. A farce about the arms race began. The Chileans, who were always dirty with the Brazilians, hurriedly ordered two battleships from the Armstrong Shipyard. The South American power Argentina announced in 1908 that they purchased two battleships, while Uruguay, Venezuela, and Ester

Guador and other small countries also flocked to take second-hand goods that were worthless in the hands of Britain, France, the United States and Germany. It was in this trend of following the trend that the Brazilians restarted the third battleship plan that had already been cancelled. Given that Argentina and Chile both have two battleships, the Brazilians, who are highly keen and low-key, decided to implement a big-leap-forward, catch up with Britain, the United States and build the latest super-dreadnought.

The news of the tender came, and in the face of interests, the shipyards of the great powers were bloody. The upright Germans gave a relatively pragmatic plan and did not exceed the technical level at that time. In order to seize the order, the cunning British fought a price war and repeatedly weakened the hull structure and armor protection level. Various super-large caliber artillery, and scary secondary cannons with large quantities and calibers were installed on the deck desperately, hoping to obtain orders from Brazilians. Under the deception of the British, the Brazilians who lacked dialectic spirit quickly surrendered. In 1911, the famous arms dealer, the unscrupulous merchant Ian Goul [3] proudly announced: "This ship is ours..."

The good times did not last long. In 1913, due to the decline in rubber prices, the Brazilians could no longer support the high naval military expenses and announced the auction of the Rio de Janeiro. When the news came, designer Ian Goul turned white and the Armstrong shipyard was severely damaged. The unbuilt Rio de Janeiro was also discarded on the boat platform of the Tyne River. It was jokingly called the "Rust" by people due to the wind and sun.

"In 1897, Silame proposed the concept of 'asymmetric combat'. In 1906, the perfect battleship envisioned by Silame was launched. In 1909, the perfect cruiser predicted by Silame was put into service. In 1913, the Zeppelin was widely used in military patrols and communications. In Berlin, there were aircraft stunts almost every few days. In order to expand the attack range of submarines, we even built a submarine base on the island of Helgoland. History has long proved that the Marshal's 'risk theory' was wrong. The reason why the Marshal did not want the Silame Empire to be native to the land was just to retain his dignity as the founder of the high seas fleet..." Redel led Major General Hippel to Tirpitz's office. When he was about to reach the door, Raidel stopped and said loudly: "Since that's the case, let's give the Marshal a step..."

"Ltd. Col. Redell, are you sure you can change your mind by that old sailor who is irritable and never surrender?" Major General Hippel could guess Lieutenant Col. Redell's trick to secretly repair the plank road and travel to Chen Cang. He grabbed the telegram in his hand and said with a worried look on his face.

"God knows!" Lieutenant Colonel Redel's high momentum was instantly paused and said sincerely: "From the naval liaison officer to the gunboat gun captain of the East Asian fleet, to the mobilization staff of the Baltic Preparatory Fleet, the Marine Commander of the German East Africa, he finally fell to Turkey, where there was almost no naval gold. In the past ten years, Silem has been wandering overseas. Oden and I have been a lieutenant colonel, but he has only been promoted to one level. Major General, whether from the perspective of friends or from the perspective of national interests, I must get him back.

"The first Moroccan crisis in 1905, the Bosnian crisis in 1908, the second Moroccan crisis in 1911, and the two Balkan wars from 1912 to 1913, the situation in Europe became increasingly turbulent, and wars could break out at any time. Silame's talent should not be buried in the 'Sudan Maritime Barracks'[4]. The Ocean Fleet and the North Atlantic Ocean are the stage he should go to!"

【Note】

1. Sedlitz Battle Tour: On August 17, 1913, it became the flagship of the First Reconnaissance Fleet. Its flagship status remained until the official service of the Luzov in 1915.

2. Renesadih, a super-dreadnought ship ordered by Türkiye from the UK, an upgraded version of the British King George V-class battleship.

3. Eustas-Hue-Danison-Ian Goul, a ship designer at Armstrong Shipyard in the UK.

4. Sudan Water Barracks: At the end of the 19th and early 20th century, the Crescent Banner Navy, which once dominated the Mediterranean, continued to decline. The sailors were not diligent in training, the commanders were cowardly and fearless in fighting, and most of the ships were old and jokingly called the "Sultan Maritime Barracks".

ps: Should I add updates today?

;
Chapter completed!