Chapter 6: The Falsified History (4)

  No energy, no state, but I still have four update tickets. God, I won't be free until Saturday at the latest. Okay, two updates on Saturday, at least 7,000 words, is that okay? This chapter has too many typos, might as well revise it in the middle of the night.

  Kiel's autumn end is always beautiful, the withered leaves under the Bodhi tree, the white waves hitting the beach, the sailboats returning to Kiel Bay, the salty and humid evening wind, and the afterglow printed on the horizon.

  Annie's culinary skills hadn't improved, the smoked meat had a burnt flavor, the chicken salad was tasteless, and the bread was strangely shaped. The family hastily finished their miserable dinner and walked out of the slightly dilapidated grey villa, strolling along the seawall in Kiel Fjord as the sun set behind them.

  After completing the naval inspection mission, the Navy Department gave Wang Haitie a one-day holiday, and the house man who had been busy running around in various shipyards finally got a chance to breathe. Although Wang Haitie was anxious about the preparations for the upcoming Dogger Bank Battle, he did not return to the Wilhelmshaven base from the Danzig Neptun Shipyard, but instead followed the instructions of Admiral Ingenohl and Admiral Hipper to head north to Kiel.

  The sun was setting, Mr. and Mrs. Shrek led the way, chattering incessantly about the battle situation; King Hatty walked in the middle, occasionally interjecting with a distracted expression, lost in thought as he pondered the flaws in the plan for the Dogger Bank Battle; his wife Annie held their daughter Evie's small hand, walking in tandem and treading on King Hatty's elongated shadow due to the sunset, playing happily.

  Listening to the silvery laughter of his wife and daughter, Wang Haiting's restless mood gradually calmed down, and a certain string in his heart was plucked. The crystal-clear waters of the Baltic Sea, the intoxicating sea breeze, the swirling seagulls, and the lingering sunset all brought back memories of Kiel. It was still the same Kiel he remembered, no matter how many ridiculous mistakes he had made as a confused young man at the cargo terminal and naval academy in 1984, no matter how angry he had been in front of the priest at the small church in the poor district in winter 1902, or how he had cursed the desolate city in his dreams in Istanbul in 1912. Yet, he couldn't shake off Kiel, because the air was filled with a feeling called home.

  "Xī Lài Mǔ, wàng le gàosù nǐ, wǒ jiā xiǎo tiān shǐ liàn ài le……” ān ní wú shì nǚ ér ài wēi ěr de zhāng yá wǔ zhāo jīng tou, diào xiào dào.

  Translation:

  "Xilemu, I forgot to tell you, our little angel has fallen in love..." Annie said with a smile, ignoring her daughter Avril's exaggerated facial expressions and gestures.

  "Not at all, Brandeis is Daddy's die-hard fan, that's why I admire him!" Eight-year-old Avril explained with her hands on her hips, her pouting and embarrassed expression making the whole family laugh out loud.

  The scene of his previous life's little girlfriend nagging him while he ignored her was now real in front of his eyes. The former rich and handsome man did not develop a vulgar and unbearable reverse psychology, but instead found the taste of happiness. Wang Haitian, who was used to putting on a strict fatherly appearance in front of his daughter, couldn't help but laugh secretly.

  "It's precisely because of happiness that we cherish it, and it's precisely because we cherish it that we're willing to risk everything!" Unbeknownst to him, Wang Haiting had found the best annotation for his nine deaths and one life.

  "Annie, I'll be going out to sea in the middle of this month..." Wang Haiting wanted to entrust something with her family, but was afraid that careless words would worry them, so she carefully considered it for half a day before finding a suitable phrase - "combat cruise".

  Annie's footsteps paused, she fell silent for a moment, then lifted her head and tucked back her hair, saying calmly: "Xilem, don't worry, I'll take care of everyone."

  It is clear that the naval wife could understand her husband's hesitation, knowing that he was using the absurd excuse of "combat cruise" to deceive her and set foot on the battlefield and command the Battle of Heligoland Bight.

  His wife's calm tone made Wang Haitie slightly taken aback, and he couldn't tell if it was the unique temperament of a German girl or if Annie had already made a more resolute decision than dying on the same day. Anxious, Wang Haitie tried to find the truth in his wife's firm eyes, but someone interrupted him.

  Accompanied by Avril's astonished cry, a boy of about ten years old slipped out from the beach under the breakwater, his small eyes staring at Wang Haitian, excitedly exclaiming:

  "Are you General Heidi-Syleham?"

  Just as the 36-year-old young uncle Wang Haitie was at a loss and didn't understand, Annie smiled and explained that the little boy was Brandes, their new neighbor, Wang Haitie's admirer, a crazy naval enthusiast.

  "General, the newspapers say you're the greatest naval commander, Germany's unbeatable Heilmann, and I think so too!" Ten-year-old Brandeis tried his best to look mature, and with a big smile, he begged: "General, considering how much I admire you, can you make an exception and let me join the navy? I've gone behind my father's back to the naval recruitment office more than once, but the recruiter always makes an issue of my age. General, I'm not little anymore, I'm already ten years old!"

  Hermann is a national hero of Germany. In the year 7 AD, Hermann led the Germanic troops to defeat the invincible Roman army in the Teutoburg Forest near Osnabrück in northwestern Germany, causing the furious and desperate cry of the Roman Emperor Augustus: "Varus, give me back my legions!"

  In fact, the ordinary German people never thought that their High Seas Fleet could defeat the renowned Royal Navy, and it would have been a good outcome if they had been evenly matched. However, the seemingly weak German Navy's stunning performance on the high seas left this continental nation in shock. The effective submarine warfare at the beginning of the war, the brilliant Battle of Heligoland Bight on August 23, the disappointing land battles in November, and the relentless attacks by the naval patrol boats in the North Sea all left the Germans stunned and then ecstatic. Although Wang Haitao was only a major general, German newspapers apparently fell in love with this thirty-six-year-old young man, and under the editor's skillful pen, Wang Haitao became the most dazzling star of the navy, the future Nelson, and the dormant Heilmann.

  Brandt's innocent romance made Heidemann laugh out loud, he patted the boy on the head and narrowed his eyes to promise: "If I become the commander of the Grand Ocean Fleet, I will definitely let you join the Imperial Navy and serve on the best battleship!"

  ****

  In mid-November, the situation in the Atlantic became increasingly bizarre. The British South American Squadron, which had been loudly calling for the annihilation of Spee's squadron just a short time before, fell silent after the Battle of Coronel and allowed Graf von Spee to swagger unchecked into the South Atlantic. At the same time, the North Atlantic also became noisy.

  On November 9, Rear Admiral Muir led the British Second Battlecruiser Squadron, consisting of HMS Indomitable, New Zealand and Australia, to sneak out of Scapa Flow under cover of night. The British secrecy was naturally not hidden from German intelligence personnel and neutral naval officers who were well-informed about the situation. A few days later, the British Admiralty finally reluctantly admitted that the Second Battlecruiser Squadron had secretly left its base at Scapa Flow. The British explanation for this was "routine combat patrol, specific location involves military secrets, cannot be disclosed!"

  On November 10, the newest battlecruiser of the German First Scouting Group, Derfflinger, disappeared from its anchorage in Jade Bay, sparking rumors. The High Seas Fleet's spokesperson flatly denied them, stating that Derfflinger was out for training exercises. However, according to reliable information obtained by British intelligence agents, "Derfflinger had to return to the yard for repairs due to boiler design issues."

  To confirm the message, British agents with extensive connections rushed to the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg and obtained blurry photos of the Defflinger-class battlecruiser being overhauled in a dry dock.

  The situation was mysterious and suspicious, the major powers all sensed the ominous signs of war looming ahead, pairs of eyes with ill intentions stared intently at the gradually rising waves.

  On the morning of November 14, a decoy fleet consisting of two battlecruisers and one large armored cruiser from the First Scouting Group moved forward into Jeddah Bay for a routine "battle cruise". Unlike previous times, the route of these three warships was not the Heligoland Bight 100-mile patrol line, but rather patrolling along Dogger Bank.

  "These damned bastards!"

  Wearing a dark naval uniform, with a stern expression and binoculars swaying on her chest, Wang Haitian stood atop the command tower of the Maukei battleship-cruiser, pointing at the calm North Sea as she scolded the Second Reconnaissance Fleet and the He Wan Patrol Fleet up and down.

  According to Wang Haitian's plan, the decoy fleet led by him would cruise near Dogger Bank, under the pretext of chasing British fishing boats and merchant ships, and then approach the British coastline, shelling the weakly defended civilian ports.

  It was clear that Wang Haitie underestimated the imagination and ambition of the Heligoland Bight patrol fleet, which originally belonged to the Heligoland Bight Defence Command. According to the pre-war plans of the German Navy Department, the German patrol fleet mainly patrolled within 100 nautical miles of the Heligoland Bight defence line. However, since Wang Haitie took office as the commander of the Heligoland Bight Defence Command, the German Navy's definition of this boundary had become increasingly broad. Before the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the patrol line of German light vessels had already approached Dogger Bank. After the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Emperor ordered that the main force of the High Seas Fleet was not allowed to launch a counterattack, while at this time, the patrol line of the non-main force Heligoland Bight patrol fleet had already approached the coast of Great Britain.

  The decoy fleet set sail, and on the vast surface of the North Sea, not a single British patrol ship could be seen, let alone the bold American fishing boats and merchant ships. The wind was blowing gently, and the performance had become a solo show, with no opponent, nor even an audience. Wang Haitie thought for a long time, then pulled over the intelligence officer and communications officer, whispering in their ears for a long time.