October 25, 1918, was the day when the German Navy swore to attack at Hakan.

When Bingwen and Liu Mingzhao walked out of the hotel, the port of Kiel, which had been quiet for two years, suddenly inflated like a balloon that had been injected with air. A convoy of supplies from nowhere quickly crowded the road, the oil depot piping connected to the warship, and heavy shells swayed around the crane cantilever. The long-lost signal flag and fleet flag were also raised, and the world's second-most powerful fleet seemed ready to show the world once again.

It's just that Bingwen frowned, he found a very strange thing, except for a few escort cruisers and destroyers, the chimneys of the capital ship group did not emit any noise. It took a long time for a battleship to go from starting a fire to the steam pressure limit. Generally speaking, when you sail at noon, you have to start preheating the boiler in the morning, so do you start to set off in the evening? Liu Mingzhao didn't understand the navy, so he asked, "What's wrong?" Still thinking about the past? ”

The two have become good friends since they were sent to Switzerland by Germany for supervision, so Liu Mingzhao also knew his feelings for this fleet and patted him: "Look ahead, when this mission is completed, one day we will also have a strong naval fleet!" ”

"Hmm." Bingwen nodded, stretched out his hand and stopped a rental carriage. The owner of the carriage was slightly stunned when he saw the two Chinese faces, but he still politely opened the door.

Bingwen and Liu Mingzhao's first target was the Kilhovat shipyard. This is a shipbuilding enterprise with an excellent history, although it is slightly inferior to the current four major shipyards in Germany, but it has mastered two of the world's most advanced shipbuilding technologies. Polar icebreaker and the world's largest oil tanker. Polar icebreakers are an extremely complex technology, the underwater structure is more complex than battleships, and at present, only Germany and Britain have deep heavy icebreaker technology in the world, and even the United States, the most powerful industry, and Russia, which is located in the Arctic Circle, are beyond the reach of the dust.

Large oil tankers are also not simple, this is not simple to expand the oil storage tank, explosion-proof, anti-vaporization, high-pressure oil pumps and so on are very complex. The plant was built in 1914 and has a displacement of 28,000 tons. It can carry 12,000 tons of crude oil at one time, and its own endurance is as high as 12 knots/13,000 nautical miles, and the Jupiter is recognized as the best oil tanker in the world's maritime industry. At that time, a total of three such tankers were built, but due to the outbreak of war, the latter two were only 80% complete. Since resources need to be invested in military merit first, the two ships have been anchored in the quiet waters outside the port of Kiel. And there is also a world's first exclusive technology on this type of cruise ship, a mechanical gear gearbox for large ships!

At present, ships all over the world use direct transmission. High-speed and low-speed rotation is achieved by adjusting the steam pressure, but the gearbox changes this mode of operation, allowing low-speed and high-speed switching while maintaining the same steam pressure, and even directly carrying out the originally complex reversing operation that requires tugboat matching! This technology from the Horvath shipyard has changed the slow response of large vessels. In fact, from Yang Qiu's point of view, the Horvath three-speed marine gear gearbox is still very primitive, but it cannot be denied that this is the ancestor of the world's marine gearbox. If the Republic of China can obtain this technology with the data machine, plus the problem of impulse steam turbine impeller vibration of GE that has been solved, and the high-priced introduction of Babcock-Wilcox Navy three-drum vertical high-pressure boiler technology from the United States, it can even directly announce that it will master the core power system of ships in the next 20 years.

But it is not easy to get the technology, at least Mr. Augusta-Albert is not very enthusiastic about these two Chinese visitors. As the current head of the Horvath shipyard. The rare middle-aged man without a beard shared the foresight of a businessman who understood the inevitability of German defeat, but also believed that even defeat would be a draw, and that the country could be protected from harm through the negotiating table.

"With all due respect, there's no way we're going to sell these technologies." Mr. Albert looked confidently: "Germany has not failed, your army has not even entered Belgium. So I think the most likely thing is to reach a fair armistice. ”

Bingwen and Liu Mingzhao glanced at each other and said with a smile: "Your Excellency has said a lot, but has your Excellency considered one thing?" Germany does have the most powerful army in the world, and anyone who wants to enter this country will pay a drastic and heavy price, but the question is, do you think it is still possible to fight? Famine, plague and disease are devouring lives, and people are no longer willing to continue the war. Lenin in the North has created a new model. Many people were attracted to him and tried to change their fate in that way. Once the armistice agreement is signed, millions of soldiers will lay down their arms, and if Britain and France, which have suffered heavy losses, put pressure on them, who will have the strength to reorganize an army that has laid down its arms? Sir, we used to be soldiers, and we know very well how morale comes about, and it is far more difficult to get a soldier to get him back up and fight when he puts down his gun than it is for an ordinary person to pick up a gun!

The food shortage problem is gradually being solved after Britain and France receive American support, but will they willingly let Germany maintain a strong army and industrial capacity after paying the price? No! This is a mistake that no politician can make, and they will surely frantically curb the development of your country and encircle you from all sides. I believe that they will remove all the core and important machinery, confiscate all the advanced technology and materials, rob your designer team, and confiscate all your property! ”

The corners of Albert's mouth twitched, and this action also made the sharp-eyed Liu Mingzhao see it, and he also said: "You are a successful businessman, and the Horvath shipyard is one of the greatest shipyards in Europe, but I can't imagine that you can keep the shipyard, keep those skilled workers, and keep the technology in the case of lack of capital and lack of market!" China and Germany have a traditional business relationship, and although for some reason we broke off contact for the sake of our own national interests, and we do not blame any German citizen for including us as enemies, war is war after all, and far-sighted people should think more about the post-war period. Interests are always the supreme existence, and national interests cannot be violated, so do you still have to hold on to them after the defeat of the country? The world after the war is different, and you have to start thinking about keeping the shipyards, the market, and the workers! Only in this way can we continue to serve the country in the future. In addition, I understand that you do not trust us, but please believe that our country has promised Britain and France to renounce the post-war demand for monetary compensation to your country! You'll see this very quickly. ”

Although he did not believe that his machinery and equipment would be moved by Britain and France, how to keep the workers and technical teams after the war was indeed the most worrying problem for the German entrepreneurs, and the transfer to other European countries was a good way, but except for Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, the rest were supporters of Britain and France. Even these countries are unlikely to have much development prospects due to their own markets, resources and geographical locations, so it is inevitable that German companies will enter a period of decline! Seeing that he was a little nervous, Bingwen threw out his price: "As far as we know, the two unfinished oil tankers are actually capable of sailing, and if there is enough funds, it will only take two more months to complete the full progress, I don't know if I'm right?" ”

The Jupiter-class large ocean-going tanker was the pride of the Horvath shipyard, even more so than the battleships he had built, because it was the world's first giant tanker with a capacity of more than 10,000 tons and the ability to control the cost of shipping. So he nodded and said proudly: "No, if the funds are enough, I think it will only take a month to completely finish!" ”

Bingwen smiled slightly, he believed Albert's words, and said: "To complete it, we will pay 4.5 million dollars per ship for shipbuilding drawings and technology!" $800,000 each for 2 icebreakers and $1.5 million for gear transmission technology transfer. Of course, if you are willing to send your technical team to our country to help us train workers who have mastered these skills, then we will not only cover their full salary in our country, but will also pay you an additional $500,000 in compensation, these technicians only need to work in our country for five years, and you can take them away at any time after five years. ”

This condition was too unexpected for Albert! Although the two cruise ships were his treasures, and the price of the Jupiter was $6 million, he was actually ready to cash out at a low price after the war. Originally, he thought that it would be good to sell 3 million per ship, but he didn't expect that the other party's offer was 1.5 million more, which means that selling at this price not only does not lose money, but also makes a small profit. As for the two icebreakers, he didn't care, although the price was lower, but the icebreakers could also be purchased from post-war Britain. He was reluctant to use gearbox technology! This is the culmination of several years of shipyards, and how can we ensure that the technical team sent to the Far East will be able to return safely in the future? And he still has doubts, even if he sells the ship and technology to them, how can he drive back?

"We have a shipping company in Denmark." Bingwen smiled slightly, and was about to continue to persuade him, when the door of the office was suddenly knocked on.

"Sir, look at the docks!"

"The docks? What's wrong? Albert was a big businessman, and he turned his head to look out of the glass window behind him. But when he turned to look outside, the cigar in his hand fell to the ground. Bingwen and Liu Mingzhao were also stunned by the scene they saw, only to see that the German Ocean Fleet, which was still ready to go just now, had all turned off its fire, and tens of thousands of people rushed out of the cabin to stand on the deck and control the docks and oil depots. Everyone is a smart person, especially Albert, a big businessman who lives in Port Kiel all year round, and knows better what this means! After a while, he turned his head, his cheeks were a little stiff and he looked at the two of them and looked outside, and his voice was much lower: "I want to think about it, how can I contact the two of you?" ”

The revolt of the sailors in the port of Kiel announced that the German behemoth had finally fallen completely, but Bingwen did not have any joy about the first goal, and at this time he only wanted to know what happened to Hakan, because it was not only about the fate of his old friend, but also about whether he could get more important technology from the hands of the behemoth Krupp!