Except for the Cantonese people, no one likes that kind of bitter Guangzhou herbal tea, but when I heard that this herbal tea was named by the prime minister, the previous complaints were immediately inaudible. Herbal tea is not delicious, but everyone loves the set of exquisite towels and bright silk scarves given by the emperor. Zhejiang is a place where silk embroidery is produced, but looking at the silk quality and embroidery on the silk scarf, it is obviously a craft only available to the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau.

Obviously, the towel is for men, and the scarf is for the family, but for other lieutenant officers, this combination is extremely reasonable, but for these naval captains who are far away, the final departure of this bright royal silk scarf can only be sent back to their hometown, and some people even send the royal towel back, they probably want to let the family put this thing in the ancestral hall to offer, of course, there are also people who are very flattering, only send the set of towels back, and the silk scarf is left to 'hook the girl'. ’

Cantonese people have always been bold, more than a month later, the reprimanding and scaring Zhang Guiling to kill the head of the Cantonese Abiao was taken away by the military police, the guy left with a colorless face, after three days of confinement when he came back with a beaming face, as soon as he entered the barracks and looked at his colleagues who stared at him, he said: "Lose that mother, Lao Tzu is going to get married!" ”

The people in the barracks laughed when they heard this, this person made the German woman's belly bigger, and the woman's parents made trouble with the army, and the students of this batch knew everything. Lieutenant Colonel Chen Ce, who is also from Guangdong, was deeply ashamed, but the troops listened to the political commissar in non-war times, and the officers and men made the bellies of women near the garrison bigger, and there was a precedent for the Fourth Army, which had been stationed in South Africa for a long time. At that time, the disposition was reported to Yang Rui, and Yang Rui thought that as long as it was not used, as long as it was not in love during official duties and training. It can be tolerated, but the confinement must be closed. The rank will be lowered, as for whether to marry the woman who is pregnant with the child. Then it's up to the soldiers themselves.

There is no obstacle for a yellow person to marry a black person, but it is a big deal for a yellow person to marry a white person. Although the remuneration of officers of the submarine force is not only higher than that of the army, but also higher than that of officers of the same rank on surface ships, a second lieutenant like Ah Biao has almost twenty-two yuan a month, which is forty-eight marks a month, or more than six hundred marks a year, and this income can only be said to be average in Germany, only better than that of ordinary workers; Moreover, religious differences are extremely fatal, and German fathers do not like their daughters to marry a pagan.

The marriage was supposed to be yellow. But fortunately, the German government has been promoting the excellence of the new Chinese dynasty for half a year, and the military, based on the position of secrecy, has constantly emphasized to the woman's father that this 'sinful and unforgivable child' is a subordinate of Duke Wilhelm, and the family believes in Protestantism, so the final result of the matter is to take Ah Biao's entry into Protestantism as a condition for marriage, so as to solve it satisfactorily.

One day, half a month later, the officers and men who were on the same ship as Ah Biao and the colleagues who shared the barracks went to the church to attend his wedding. The woman's father was a stern and thin German with a mustache and round eyes, and the family had many children but not many relatives, and these people were still slightly shabby in their dresses; On the man's side, there is a group of Chinese dressed in German naval officers' uniforms and standing extremely straight. The Western-style wedding process is extremely simple. However, the public kiss allowed by the priest made the hearts of all the officers and soldiers present tremble, but from then on, these little cubs who were less than twenty years old understood the routine of marrying a foreign woman home. But although they understood the routine, the fifth batch of students was about to return to China by boat. In just one week, it is not possible to deal with the belly of a German woman in any case.

"Our route home is ......," Lieutenant Colonel Ouyang Lin pointed to the map of Africa on the Eurasian continent at the pre-departure meeting, "from the port of Kiel." At night, the Guò Canal reaches the North Sea and then goes north around the Faroe Islands. Further south to Africa, the trip avoids major international shipping lanes. Eventually arrive here in German South-West Africa...... "Whip Point at the bottom of the African continent," and the second port of Ludeli. Looking at the young faces in the room, Ouyang Lin said in detail: "How many surface ships a country has cannot be hidden, as long as they go to sea, anyone can count them, but how many underwater ships there are, the more top-secret the better." Therefore, this voyage must be kept secret, and no outsiders can peep into the entire fleet, especially the British Royal Navy. The Azores, Cape Verde, St. Helena, these are all regular voyages of British merchant ships to South Africa, so be careful when approaching them. In addition, Lieutenant General Tian Shijie has been appointed commander of this detachment, and he will lead everyone back to China, and he will take care of the following matters. ”

The commanders of the submarine force are all young people, and even if the General Staff tries to suppress these young people from exaggerating the difference in age and rank, they still can't jump the limitation of being tall among the short. But if you want to put an army in order, you have to recast its traditions, if you want to recast traditions, you have to change its habits, and if you want to change your habits, you have to pin your hopes on young people. They are people who have not been contaminated with bad practices, they have dreams, pursuits, dedication, and sacrifice, and as long as they are used properly, they can certainly refresh the mental outlook of the army, but what if they are not properly operated? When Lieutenant Commander Tian Shijie spoke, Qian Bocong didn't know how to think of these things, maybe these navy commanders in their twenties were promoted too quickly.

Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie, who graduated from the third phase of the Yantai Naval Academy, spoke in a somewhat Shandong accent and had a very strange tone, and after he finished explaining the specific tasks, the end was handed over to Qian Bocong. Looking at the more than 100 baby faces in front of him, Qian Bocong suddenly felt a little worried about their voyage of tens of thousands of miles, but he would leave the port tomorrow, and he couldn't say too many frustrating words, just smiled: "Comrades, you will return to China tomorrow, this more than 10,000 nautical miles will be the last assessment of your training, I wish you a safe journey!" The commissar's words were unexpectedly short, and after he finished speaking, he raised his hand and saluted, and more than a hundred officers of these thirty submarines also saluted him.

The voyage began the next afternoon after dark, and during the day the sailors were asleep, and the officers of each submarine carefully inspected the submarines three times, and when night fell, they sailed out of the port of Kiel one by one. The sea was calm, and the afterglow of the setting sun was completely nowhere to be found, except for the twinkling stars in the sky. It was no secret in the German submarine forces that the Chinese submarines were leaving, and before the curtain fell, the waterways were full of Germans on both sides. There was also a small military band playing a farewell.

After six months of comprehensive training, Hu Qinzhai rose to the rank of lieutenant. And he was the acting captain of the U-52 submarine. Most of the people on the ship are like him, the eggs of recruits for emergency training. The only exceptions are the engineers, political commissars, and radio communicators. The former is a young worker from Tonghua Diesel Engine Factory, who used to build diesel engines, and after training, he went to the German shipyard to supervise the construction of submarines, which can be said to be built from under their noses; And the latter was taken out of the army company, and the two of them were dizzy as soon as they got on the boat, but in the end, they were young people, and they got used to it after throwing up a few more times.

The canal, which is less than a hundred miles away, passes in a few hours, and after the Guò locks is the North Sea. U-52 followed the front team through the water all night and waited until dawn. It was already off the coast of Denmark, and at this time thirty submarines were lined up in a diamond-shaped formation, with two 1,600-ton Type B transport submarines in the middle, and two Type A submarines on each side of the periphery. Hu Qinzhai stood on the bridge, admiring the neat queue of the fleet, but at the same time he was very worried about the white tracks left by the submarines on the calm sea, if the British had airships. The whole fleet can't be hidden even if it dives. His idea was soon overturned by himself - except for himself, who would use airships to cooperate with submarines, I am afraid that no other country would do this.

As he pondered, the submarine on his right suddenly sank, and the officer who had been looking at it immediately shouted, "Sir." Alert! Then he quickly slid off the bridge, and with his shouting, the electric bell for the emergency dive inside the submarine had already sounded. The officer inside the boat shouted the order: "The hatch is closed!" Host Shutdown! Main drain ready! ”

The sailors were a little flustered at the sound of the electric bell, but it was only for a moment. Emergency diving is a common training subject. By the time Huqinzhai slid down, the people who should be busy were already in place. The people who shouldn't be busy all ran to the front compartment to increase the weight of the front compartment, and with the command of the officer on duty, the submarine dived to the bottom like a fish, and the political commissar looked at Hu Qinzhai who came down from above and asked, "What's the situation?" There are enemy ships? ”

"I don't know. It was the submarine on the right that was the first to dive, maybe some merchant ship. Hu Qinzhai replied, and then ordered the engineer and helmsman, "Keep the periscope depth and move forward at full speed a third." ”

His order was immediately passed down, and he himself leaned over the periscope and began to inspect the surrounding ships. Although the submarine dived urgently, it was not a combat operation after all, and the atmosphere inside the submarine was still relaxed, and some people among the sailors were speculating that this was another exercise, but the officers immediately stopped this useless speculation.

Half an hour later, the submarine on the right surfaced, and the U-52 also came out of the sea, and the U-43 on the other side reported to the flagship in the middle in the flag: "It's a Danish fishing boat." The ships that saw this signal were relieved.

The North Sea bypassed the Faroe Islands, and in order to circumvent the main international routes, the fleet would go deep into the depths of the Atlantic, which would make the entire voyage 8,000 nautical miles long, with an estimated voyage of 45 days. In order to be sure, the transport submarine, which was not the flagship, was also loaded with 150 tons of diesel fuel, as well as a lot of spare parts and repair tools. Hu Qinzhai didn't have any worries about the voyage, although 8,000 nautical miles was long, but the previous training at sea was not in vain. Habitually looking at the nautical charts, he looked at South-West Africa and then to the east of his motherland, and finally wanted to go back.

The first batch of submarines was to return to China, but the domestic navy was to be sent to New York for a visit -- as the situation in the country became more and more stable, all countries except Britain and Japan had already recognized Great China, and as the country continued to rearm and fight and get close to Germany, relations with Britain and Japan became worse and worse, and the British government ordered the sale of the national bonds in London to be cancelled after only more than three million pounds were sold.

In addition to cutting off the source of funds, the arms contract between China and the United States has also been frequently protested by Britain and Japan, especially the 12,000-ton hydraulic press, which is a big killer weapon that 'destroys peace in the Far East', is the focus of protests, but the contract has already been signed, and the hydraulic press is after all a shipbuilding equipment and not just a cannon manufacturing equipment; in addition, before President Wilson came to power, the hydraulic press has been almost built under the supervision of the operation of the Chinese government, once the contract is canceled, then who will this thing be sold to? There is also a package of contracts related to hydraulic presses, which allows members of the US Congress to justifiably oppose government interference in normal commercial trade. Only, is it really that simple?

Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Ministry of the Navy, Japan. Chief of Staff of the Navy's First Fleet Tetsutaro Isa. Facing the Minister of the Navy, Minoru Saito, and the head of the Military Command Department, Goro Ijiin, spoke solemnly, "My lord. The hydraulic press ordered by China will be loaded back to China soon, and once the machine is shipped back to China. Then the navy will face a 40-millimeter cannon. Therefore, I request that a special fleet be sent to sink the merchant ship carrying the aircraft in the middle of the way. ”

Izo Tetsutaro's Kenyì Ijiin Goro did not speak out against it, and Minoru Saito knew at this time that this should be a matter that had already been discussed within the Navy, and today he proposed to himself that he would come forward to persuade the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister to support the matter. It was supposed to sink the huge hydraulic press, but it was supposed to be an American merchant ship to transport the hydraulic press, and once the United States learned about it, it would be an extremely serious diplomatic incident.

Minoru Saito groaned slightly, and Goro Ijiin next to him thought he didn't want to. said: "Your Excellency, there will be a war between China and Japan, and after the United States sells this hydraulic press, it is absolutely impossible to sell it again next time, if we don't seize the opportunity to sink it this time, then ten years later, the shells of the Chinese Navy may fall on Yokohama!" ”

"The people of China have already sent cruisers to the United States to escort this merchant ship, and even the American Far East Fleet will escort it, are you trying to provoke a war?" Minoru Saito saw that the two men were bent on sinking the merchant ship. I couldn't help but ask.

"Your Excellency, the news from London is that the U.S. Navy will not escort the merchant ship, and the cruisers in China are not a problem. As long as it sinks in the depths of the sea, then it can be said that it is a storm. Ijiin Gorou said.

"Storm?!" Minoru Saito looked at him with a smile, "Are you sure it's a storm?" ”

"Your Excellency. In the summer, there are often storms in the Pacific Ocean, very big storms! Ijiin Goro emphasized.

"If it's a storm. Then I will report this to the Prime Minister, but you have to remember. It must have been a storm, and no one survived. Saito said that he would no longer speak.

As the Japanese say, storms often occur in the Pacific Ocean in the summer, and storms occur in the Indian Ocean in the summer. After a 44-day voyage to the port of Ludlici in southwestern German Africa for five days of rest, the submarine unit followed the planned route directly through the Indian Ocean and headed straight for German New Guinea, this section of the voyage was not much shorter than the previous section, but because there was only one international route across the Indian Ocean, the submarine force should not always have to sink urgently to avoid ships along the way, as before, this section of the voyage only takes about 30 days. But why not just go back to your home country?

On the submarine that was struck by the storm, Tian Shijie, commander of the fleet, thought that this problem would not be good for sending to China, so he had to ask the political commissar of the fleet, Colonel Wu Fan, who was born in the army. "This..., if you want us to go to German New Guinea, why don't you go back to China directly, the range of the submarine is enough, I'm afraid there is something wrong, right?"

"You'll know when you get there." Political Commissar Wu Fan was staggered by the tenth-level wind and waves, but he finally didn't vomit, looking at Tian Shijie, who was a little uneasy, he said with difficulty: "Don't we know when we get there?" General Staff...... I don't know why the General Staff ordered this. ”

Since the political commissar did not know about it, Tian Shijie had no choice but to give up, but when the fleet arrived in New Guinea a month later, a new order came, and the General Staff actually asked the submarine fleet to escort the convoy.

"Peiqing, I don't know more than you." Wu Fan also read the order, he looked at Tian Shijie, who had a wrong face, and said frankly: "It's just that I guess it should be the American-made hydraulic press that is going to return to China, otherwise there is no need for us to escort it." ”

"But it's not a Navy thing...... No, should it be a cruiser thing? We have been drifting at sea for more than two months, and the sailors are very tired, and besides, the submarine is extremely slow, and if it is really an escort, I don't know if it can keep up with the speed of the merchant ships. Tian Shijie's expression was a little sluggish, although he was a navy, this mission was still a little unbearable, especially the storm in the Indian Ocean made everyone exhausted.

"Don't talk so much nonsense, it's important to carry out orders. If the General Staff had a way, they would not have asked us to escort us. Wu Fan looked at and complained to Tian Shijie with some disdain, if he wanted the army, he would have scolded him a long time ago, and if he had the conditions to carry out the order, he would have to go up if he didn't have the conditions, so much nonsense.

"Okay. I'm going to organize the manpower right away. Wu Fan's tone made Tian Shijie a little uneasy, he compromised without insisting, in fact, he wanted to say that the navy and the army are different, if it works, it won't work, if you can't do it, you can't say it, if you can't do it, if it's not good, you will destroy the ship and kill people, but the system of the Fuxing Army is the political commissar supervision system, and he can only obey it.

This is how the first official mission of the submarine force began, and the captains who received the escort order not only did not complain, but were extremely excited, and of course, after the excitement, some people asked, "Report to the chief, since you are worried that the Japanese navy will attack merchant ships, why don't you send a fleet to escort the ship?" ”

"The domestic Haiqi and Hairong have already gone to the United States, and the Feihong cruiser ordered in the United States will also be escorted." Political Commissar Wu Fan looked at these excited subordinates and felt a little uneasy, could it be that China's coastal defense could only rely on these dolls to resist? He was stunned and soon returned to normal, and continued, "But the largest of these cruisers is the Haiqi. With only two 20 mm guns, Japan could sink him with any cruiser, so ......"

He looked at the excited face in front of him, "We have to go escort." The merchant ship is equipped with a 12,000-ton hydraulic press, which can make 40 mm dreadnought main guns, and can also build 40 mm thick dreadnought armor. I know that the 40 mm naval guns, shore guns, and armor have nothing to do with our submarine fleet, but the country needs this kind of machine, which can be used not only on the navy, but also on other industries. Comrades, if there is no industry, there will be no national defense, and without national defense, you will be beaten and reparations will be made. ”

"I don't want to!" The officer in front of him replied in a loud voice.

Wu Fan smiled when he heard this, and then said, "Okay!" Then it's up to the commander to talk about it. ”

"All submarine overhauls are to be completed by twelve o'clock tomorrow evening, and torpedoes, diesel, and all kinds of supplies are to be loaded. Except for the personnel concerned, all other officers and men are resting and awaiting the final order of the General Staff Staff. Disband! Compared with the political commissar, Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie's words were very brief. He is now in deep thought, the submarine force used to practice how to sink merchant ships and ships that act alone, but now the task is to escort ships, how to do this?

Rear Admiral Wen Shude of the Navy Office, as well as Shen Honglie and Xie Gangzhe, staff officers of the Navy, were discussing with Xu Jingxi about the matter of escorting submarines -- when the Intelligence Bureau detected any changes in Japan, they came up with this method, but in fact it was the only way.

"Did the Intelligence Bureau detect the warships sent by the Japanese Navy?" There was nothing else to do, so Wen Shude had to ask about the situation of the Japanese. He is the one who knows the most about naval warfare in the Fuxing Army, of course, this 'most' is also unworthy of the name, and the one who has really participated in naval battles is still the old Min family.

"Not yet." Xu Jingxi replied. "Japan has been moving warships a lot lately, and we can't lock down which warships are in port and those warships are not. I would like to ask you to come this time, if you are ordered to avoid the main voyage, then whether you will avoid the Japanese navy and return home safely? ”

Xu Jingxi is only in the army, and he is not familiar with things at sea, so Wen Shude just sighed when he asked him like this: "I think this is impossible, or very unlikely." If the Japanese navy really wanted to attack a merchant ship, then they would definitely send spy ships to follow the merchant ship, or spread the merchant ship along the way, tracking its whereabouts by radio. Even if there was no wireless telegraph in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese used cable telegraph to complete the tracking of the Beiyang Navy. Judging from the past and the present, no matter how much the merchant ships avoid them, as long as they go through the Pacific Ocean, they will not be able to bypass them. ”

Wen Shude said that Xu Jingxi only nodded, and Shen Honglie next to him said: "Sir, since the US Navy is unwilling to escort the ship, can it be a detour to Europe, or ask the German East Asian Fleet to escort it?" ”

"No, you can't. Merchant ships could not reach Europe by taking the Atlantic, where there was the British Navy. As for the German East Asian Fleet, the diplomatic situation is now complicated, and it is very diplomatically involved to do so, and the Russians are now opposed to us getting close to Germany, so we will not consider this for now. Xu Jingxi said, "It seems that it can only be escorted by those little ghosts." Zipei, since that's the case, then you go back first, now the only way is to rely on submarines, I hope they can complete this task. (To be continued......)