Chapter 2 The Sound of Guns in Helgoland Bay (Three)

  In the previous chapter there was a bug, David Beatty became the commander of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron in 1913, I mistakenly wrote it as the 1st Fleet...

  In the sixteenth year of the German-British naval arms race, both Britain, an old industrial power, and Germany, a rising star, were somewhat exhausted. In 1914, the British attempted to reach an understanding with Germany on the issue of the naval race without any memorandum, and the friendly visiting fleet that came across the sea was the British probing stone.

  The British fleet stayed in Kiel military port for nearly a week, during which both sides agreed not to take the opportunity to pry into each other's military secrets. After endless official welcoming ceremonies and mutual visits of warships, high-level talks and exchanges between officers, Admiral David Beatty finally had time to visit Wang Haitie.

  The otaku had long since moved out of his illegal dwelling in the lower district of Kiel, and on another side of Kiel facing the sea stood a row of somewhat old and dilapidated grey foreign-style houses, among which was the otaku's new home.

  In the not-so-spacious living room, a long table was placed in the center. On the left side was a fireplace, and above it hung a moderately sized oil painting with an elegant style. In front of the long table stood a portrait with half-length images of William and his son. Below the portrait was a delicate and exquisite cabinet, on which were displayed numerous medals, certificates, and awards. Some of these medals belonged to Queen Wilhelmina, while others belonged to old Admiral Fricke; some were excellent service medals or second-class Iron Crosses awarded by the German or Prussian governments, while others were honor medals awarded by the Navy Department and the Turkish government. As for the certificates, most of them belonged to the beloved daughter of the house, Aveline, who attended St. Lorenz elementary school in Kiel.

  Sir Fisher is again taking the post of First Lord of the Admiralty, as a matter of course. General Jellicoe, the mainstay of the "Fisher faction", has replaced the aged Sir George Callahan as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet. The voices calling for him to take command are growing louder by the day. These past few months have seen turmoil at the top of the Royal Navy, with the flag changing hands repeatedly, but it doesn't affect me much, haha, I'm Churchill's man! David Beatty had just sat down when he hastily asked about his friends' recent situation. "I heard that this time during the Kiel Regatta, all the main ships of the High Seas Fleet have gathered at Kiel, how come I haven't seen Auden?"

  "Auden served in the Far Eastern Fleet, as a lieutenant commander on the battlecruiser Scharnhorst." After tea and dinner, Wang Haidi poured a cup of afternoon tea with a strong British flavor for her old friend Betty, and explained with a hint of spring in her eyes: "As for me, I just returned from desolate Istanbul, helping General Hipper with some work."

  Although Betty was extremely cautious, there were no secrets between the German and British navies, and she could easily infer some useful information from Wang Hai-Ti's occasional words.

  "Since the supposedly brilliant Bernhard von Oven is serving in the East Asian Squadron, it seems that the German East Asia Squadron cannot be underestimated and its strength should not be overly weakened. Silex has returned from Turkey, which suggests a trend of easing contradictions between Tirpitz and him, this is not good news for the Royal Navy."

  As she thought of this, Betty couldn't help but glance at Heiti with a worried look. The strategic insight and sharp eyesight of the young military officer in front of her, who had been friends for over a decade, were all too clear to her. He was the one who proposed the concept of "asymmetric warfare" in 1898, when naval technology had not yet reached its peak, and accurately predicted the military use of aircraft and airships, showcasing his exceptional strategic talent.

  "Thank goodness for the obstinate and conservative German Naval Minister Tirpitz, or else the Royal Navy's position as the world's number one would have been overthrown by the Germans long ago if he hadn't put the sharp-edged Scheer on ice and ignored his far-sightedness," Betty said thankfully.

  "Bettie, the Germans and Anglo-Saxons are among the best races in the world, yet they are rushing headlong into war on the battlefields, and it is almost a necessity..."

  Betti seemed still digesting the news she had just heard, and Wang Haidi didn't rush to chat, remaining silent for a long time before speaking:

  "Suspicion and hostility have become a habit between the two nations, just as I hear you say that Jellicoe is to take command of the Grand Fleet and immediately think that after the outbreak of war the British Navy will adopt a conservative strategy. Just as you hear that I am being recalled from Turkey by the Admiralty and immediately think that my concept of 'asymmetric warfare' has found a market in the High Seas Fleet."

  The words of the otaku were deafening, pulling Betty back from her reverie. As a confidant, Wang Haitian's frankness and straightforwardness made Betty feel ashamed and unable to show her face, having been indulging in fanciful thoughts.

  In 1900, Zhai Nan and Betty met by chance in the old and desolate Beijing, a place of smoke and flowers - the Eight Great Hutongs. They became fast friends after their initial encounter and spent countless nights chatting through the night in the embassy district, discussing the development of world navies with grand gestures. As fellow naval officers, they shared exceptional talents and formed a deep and unbreakable bond over food, drink, and other vices. Their friendship had lasted for fourteen years, despite distance and occasional estrangement, but never faded. Against the backdrop of severe opposition and potential war between Germany and England, this nationality- and stance-transcending friendship was all the more precious. With one Hussein-Rauwolf-Ober already in existence, Wang Haide did not want to taint this friendship with too much realistic self-interest, making Betty a second Rauwolf.

  Unfortunately, the otaku can't do this, just like Rauf becoming the captain of the Iron Duke will unconsciously alienate Wang Haitian. In fact, Rauf is not a naturally cruel person, but rather due to national interests, just like now, the Royal Navy uniform wrapped around Betty and the German naval cap on his head are constantly reminding him to be vigilant at all times, lest he leak his country's military intelligence.

  "I'm sorry..." The once carefree and drunkard has now become cautious, even when facing someone they consider a close friend. This feeling is strange, not just for Wang Haitian, but also for Betty. Past the age of 40, Betty held her cup of afternoon tea, her angular face gradually disappearing into the rising steam of the scalding hot water, before finally letting out a long, aged sigh. "I really want to see Auden one more time, as friends! Sylheim, we both understand the situation in Europe very well. Perhaps next time we meet, we'll be enemies, and it will be either you or me who dies; perhaps next time we meet, one of us will only be a handful of yellow earth, and all we can do is place a bouquet of flowers on the other's grave..."

  The British Admiralty intended to appoint him as the commander of the battlecruiser fleet, while Scheer was the Chief of Staff of the First Battlecruiser Squadron (Scouting Force) of the High Seas Fleet. This fate-like duel, similar to Wagner's opera, made Beatty shudder with emotion.

  "Bettina, if war is the destiny of soldiers..." Despite Wang Haitian's humble identity and Germany's bleak prospects for war, despite the inferiority of the High Seas Fleet, the otaku still stood up from the sofa, clenched his fists and said with determination: "Even if we are in the wrong time and place to fight a wrong war, as a German, Chief of Staff of the First Reconnaissance Squadron, I will do my best and never go easy on you and your First Battlecruiser Squadron!"

  The Great Ocean Fleet is right behind Germany, and the Kiel that the otaku deeply loves has already settled down in Germany. Wang Haitian, who has already established a family and career in Germany, has no choice but to fight with his back against the water since war cannot be avoided!

  "Pride is the habit of the Empire where the sun never sets, and honour is the creed of the Royal Navy!" Betty set down her cup, rose with elegance, like a brave knight going into battle, waved her hand gallantly and said: "God save the King!"

  "Haha, well I can only wish you good luck......" Wang Haiting couldn't help but laugh.

  "And I'll leave you a life raft..." Betty patted Heidie's not-so-broad chest with a fist, a smile spreading across her handsome face.

  ****

  After the laughter, there was an awkward silence. The clock's hands ticked away, and time seemed to have passed for a long while, yet not too much had flowed by. In the spacious living room, only the soldier's helpless sighs remained.

  The door was pushed open, and the salty sea breeze blew in, accompanied by the sound of an old man and a young girl teasing each other. Betty turned her head unconsciously, and saw Evelyn pushing a wheelchair in, wearing a floral print dress, with that collie named Danny trotting in behind her.

  "Uncle Freesi..." Freesi sat in his wheelchair, a woolen blanket draped over his arthritic legs. Betty sprang up from her seat and greeted Freesi, who was wearing a sailor suit and a navy cap at a rakish angle, then bent down to pick up the doll-like Evie and planted a kiss on her rosy little face.

  "Avery, miss your uncle?" Betty lowered her head and used her short, hard whiskers to tickle Avery's small face, raising an eyebrow.

  "Uncle Betty is so annoying!" Evie dodged and weaved in Betty's arms, giggling uncontrollably, her small hands waving wildly as she tried to escape Betty's clutches. "Every time you come, you pinch me with your whiskers, just like Ferrency!"

  When she heard her daughter address Feresi by his full name, Wang Haitian couldn't help but furrow her brow, adopting a stern fatherly demeanor, and rolled up her sleeves to scold her daughter. Before the posturing young master could step forward, the aged Feresi's single sentence sent Wang Haitian flying into a rage, leaving her standing aside in embarrassment, speechless. "Xilaimu, back then you didn't even call me dad..."

  Betty stepped out to help the otaku, pinched Hailey's cute nose and said seriously: "Little Hailey, you can't call your elders directly, it's not ladylike..."

  The stubborn and obstinate naval officer, Freeci, was doting on his granddaughter to the point of having no bottom line, so much so that he had almost given up on educating his daughter, watching helplessly as she strayed further and further down the path of rebellion in her youth. And then there's this saying: "One thing subdues another." As soon as General Betty opened her mouth, her daughter Evie responded like a chick pecking at grain.

  "It seems that being handsome and charming is an advantage...” Avril, who was at the age of being restless, had just calmed down for a moment before becoming uneasy again. She struggled out of Betty's arms and rode on the back of the sheepdog Danny, stumbling and staggering as she ran to the small garden outside to play. The otaku looked at his daughter's innocent and romantic back, feeling a bit envious.

  "That's... thinking back to when we bravely explored the Eight Great Hutongs in Beijing..." Betty's words flowed like a river that had burst its banks, unstoppable and endless. From the dusty faces of the Eight Great Hutongs to the Polish prostitutes with lingering charm in Tianjin City, from the daily night shifts at the Forbidden City to the thundering cannons below Shanhai Pass. Wang Haixia's face changed unpredictably with Betty's passionate or soothing tone, from initial shyness and shame to later exchanging flirtatious glances with Betty, to finally becoming disheartened and hopeless."

  Betty finally realized the situation was not good, and she barely managed to steer the conversation away from it, but unfortunately, it was too late. In an instant, Silas's ears were pulled, and the room was filled with Annie's teasing voice: "Silas, is Ba Da Hutong fun?"

  Heidekamp, the first of the three aces of the High Seas Fleet and one of the two strategic aces, was afraid of his wife. This is known to almost everyone from the logistics soldiers at the Kiel base to the submarine soldiers on Heligoland Island, from the reserve officers waiting for appointment in Wilhelmshaven to the naval landing team in Qingdao Bay in the Far East.

  Frasier, who was worried about his son, tried to mediate, but didn't know where to start. Betty, an outsider, was even more at a loss for what to do, when suddenly, there came a hurried knock at the door.

  "Attention all students at Xilem Middle School, urgent notice from the Navy Department!"

  Wang Haitie was overjoyed, as if she had just encountered a long-awaited refreshing rain. She flung open the door with excitement, rubbing her swollen ears and wiping the sweat from her forehead. The messenger stood at attention beside the doorway, panting slightly, and said in a serious tone: "What's the hurry? It's not as if the British fleet has entered the Heligoland Bay..."

  "Staff officer..." The communications soldier looked at David Beatty, who was wearing a Royal Navy vice-admiral uniform, with a complex expression. He lowered his head and pulled out a telegram from the canvas bag. "Major, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated on the streets of Sarajevo, the Balkan crisis is back..."

  "No, Lieutenant!" Wang Haitian put away his serious expression and hastily scanned the telegram, then looked up at the calendar hanging on the wall. After a moment of deliberation, the robust and capable body of the otaku slightly trembled as he grasped the communication soldier's arm with an ominous tone: "This time it's not just the Balkan crisis, war has begun!"

  On the snow-white wall, the date on the German calendar was prominently displayed as June 28, 1914.