Chapter 3: German West Africa (III)

  In mid-October, the terrible military basic training finally ended after a ten-day exercise assessment. Oden unexpectedly took first place, with Redel closely following behind. Wang Haitian, the otaku, somehow managed to get fifth place, which made Colonel Stenzel, who didn't think highly of Wang Haitian, almost pull out all his hair.

  Sailing training is no easier than military training, even with the help of pulley groups and rudder directions, and the careful guidance of old sailors. It's not easy to operate a sailboat. Fortunately, sailing warships have been eliminated, and now it's the era of steam power, and sailing training is just an appetizer for primary navigation training.

  At the end of October, accompanied by the Baltic Sea's morning mist, the Friedrich Carl torpedo training ship set sail with 42 naval cadets on board, heading for German Southwest Africa.

  German West Africa is thousands of miles away from Kiel, Germany. Wang Haitian originally thought it was a relaxing trip like a picnic, but the reality turned out to be just the opposite. As the training vessel approached German West Africa, all that was on his mind were land, beer, women, fresh vegetables and fruits, and romantic holidays.

  After leaving Kiel Bay, Friedrich Carl first sailed around the Skagerrak and crossed the English Channel to pay a friendly visit to Portsmouth in England. After entering the Atlantic Ocean, Friedrich Karl rested for about three days at Lisbon Port in Portugal, conducted a moderate-scale exercise with the Portuguese Navy, and then headed south all the way to German South West Africa.

  Since the Friedrich Carl set out to sea, most of the ports or oceanic transfer stations where they replenished coal and water were British territory. Almost every stretch of water had Royal Navy warships with the Union Jack flag cruising around, and almost every island with development value had subjects of the British Empire.

  The Royal Navy's arrogance made the young and vigorous German Navy blush with shame, the naval cadets lying on the ship's side, gazing at those old-fashioned cruisers that could sail across the seven seas with just a pennant flag, secretly planting the seeds of rivalry in their hearts.

  "Xilaimu, the training vessel seems to have deviated from its course, we are heading towards the equator..."

  The scorching heat near the equator is terrifying, and if you throw broken eggs onto the deck, you can harvest fresh poached eggs in less than a minute. But that's not all - the cabin inside is also very humid, and the clothes I just changed into can be wrung out with a puddle of water in just a few minutes. The high temperature, humidity, and lingering foul smell, combined with the constant roar of the steam engine, have turned the Friedrich Karl into a purgatory on earth.

  Wang Haitun shrank into the hammock, a hairy leg dangling down at an angle, mumbling weakly: "Could it be that you miscalculated and the equator isn't even on our route..."

  Although it is the equatorial region, the angle of sunlight will not tilt down, and there are almost no places to cool off on the deck. However, this does not deter Wang Haitian. He spotted a small shaded area under the lifeboat hanging from the middle of the ship's hull, where Riddell set up a canvas hammock.

  Ship handling, anchoring, anti-collision avoidance, damage control, lighting control, and endless geography coordinates and chart positioning, navigation speed measurement, buoyage and signal flag signal lamp identification, meteorology and hydrology and foreign military knowledge. The non-stop exercises and classes made a group of young and energetic naval cadets almost breathless. Wang Haitian and Xilem almost calculated the position of the training ship every day, comparing it with the military chart, counting on their fingers, and calculating the nightmare days that had passed.

  In the era without GPS, sextant was the best instrument for positioning at sea. Using a sextant to quickly determine one's position on a chart was also an essential part of basic navigation training. Wang Haitian got out of bed, took the sextant handed over by Leder, and deduced it for a long time after getting the data.

  "Rader, you're right..." The original text is in Chinese. Here is the translation:

  "Rader, you are right...". He couldn't stand the hot weather and didn't just cut his hair short like Rader, Oden, and Herman. Instead, he shaved it all off. Wang Haitie touched his smooth and shiny bald head, hesitating.

  Germans are known for being conservative and once a plan is made, they will complete it on time with guaranteed quality unless there are unavoidable factors. The unusual navigation of the Friedrich Karl has led some otaku to sense a conspiracy.

  In these days of going out to sea, those instructors and old soldiers who have been mixed in the ocean for many years did not suffer from them. The new recruits were already a common phenomenon at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. Various real and fake combat drills were countless. Wang Haitie and Leder looked at each other, wondering if this was another test of their adaptability.

  Just as Wang Haitian and Lede were in a state of extreme nervousness, the warship's horn sounded, which was an emergency assembly alarm. The naval cadets who had just achieved some small success in their training came out of the cabin, gathering on the scorching deck in a state of panic.

  The students lined up, but no matter how long they waited, the instructor didn't come out. The students were getting anxious and resentful towards the instructors who had lost their conscience and abandoned their humanity. Just then, the normally stern and expressionless naval instructor and old sailors arrived late, wearing all sorts of strange clothing, holding high-pressure water guns and exuding a fierce aura as they emerged from the corner. As soon as they saw the students, they started spraying them wildly.

  Dizzy and disoriented, King Haide was the first to fall victim, being swept away by a jet of water that crashed straight onto the training vessel, plunging headfirst into the sea.

  The loose sailor suit quickly inflated, and Wang Haitian emerged from the sea with a grin, gently swinging his hands and feet to let himself float on the surface of the water. Without the help of the gangway and rope, Wang Haitian couldn't get on board, and even if he could, the chaotic scene on the deck where the demons were dancing wildly and howling would have made the timid otaku retreat in fear.

  Just as Wang Haitian was hesitating, the sound of falling water echoed in his ears again. He looked up to see that it was none other than his old rival, Bernhard von Oden.

  "How did you end up getting washed away too?" Wang Haitie wiped her wet face with her hand, spat out a mouthful of salty seawater, and said with a hint of schadenfreude.

  "How am I supposed to know?!" Auden exclaimed, pointing his mouth at the sky: "Look, Redel has also been thrown down..."

  With a splash, a black shadow fell from in front of Wang Haitian, and a huge wave surged forward to greet him.

  "How could I have forgotten this..." Reddell, who was left dazed and confused, rubbed his bald head and suddenly realized: "This is a rookie gift. Every time a newcomer crosses the equator for the first time, old sailors will pretend to be sea gods and monsters and play some tricks on them. I wonder why they would let the ship deviate from its course, it turns out they were trying to trick us!"

  ****

  In 1888, William I died and in 1890 the Iron Chancellor resigned. A brilliant era came to an end. The German war machine that made Europeans tremble with fear began to shift gears. The newly enthroned emperor tried to surpass his father's glory and establish a German Empire that belonged only to him, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Hohenzollern. Meanwhile, the German Navy was sharpening its blades under William's wings, ready to set sail across the great ocean.

  The old prime minister had a profound understanding of diplomacy. Diplomacy is, after all, an art that balances contention and compromise. Bismarck was well aware of the British desire to dominate the seas and John Bull's war potential. To create a favorable international environment, he facilitated the Triple Alliance with one hand and suppressed the French with the other, maintaining European continental hegemony. In order not to touch the sensitive nerves of the British, Bismarck deliberately ignored naval construction. Regarding the expansion of imperial overseas colonies, Bismarck was quite cautious, as in 1890 when he exchanged Zanzibar Island from the British for Heligoland Bay.

  In the era of the old prime ministers, Germany did not attach much importance to its overseas colonies. Many colonial administrative organs were not officially recognized and were more like commercial or personal activities of some colonial businessmen and missionaries. They went deep into Africa, ran horses in the vast plains and rainforests, hired soldiers on their own to guard their territories, set up management agencies on their own, and paid a small amount of taxes symbolically to the imperial government every year.

  Unlike the old Chancellor's far-sightedness, Emperor William was impulsive by nature. As soon as he ascended to the throne, he waved his sword and hastily shouted to the world: Germany wants to get its "place in the sun", and "redivide" colonies from the "dying" imperial powers.

  After Wilhelm Emperor came to power, the attitude of Germans towards colonies changed rapidly from previous indifference to enthusiasm: the imperial government began to send governors to colonies, improve the governing institutions of colonies, build new ports and cities, and the headquarters of the Imperial Army and Police also sent a small number of soldiers to German East Africa to suppress the resistance of local indigenous people. The emerging industrial and commercial class also invested large sums of money in the colonies.

  German West Africa was a small colony acquired by the Empire around 1884, located in western Africa, its territory is now Cameroon and Togo, with the capital being Douala.

  In mid-November, the aged Friedrich Carl finally steamed into Douala, the capital of German Kamerun in West Africa.

  The nearly month-long voyage was absolute torture for Wang Haitao, to the point where even his dreams were shaking. Now, he can finally stand proudly on solid ground again.

  The captain gave the order for free action with a smile, and at this time, whether it was naval students or instructors, they couldn't help but cheer and jump up, hooking their shoulders and going ashore to have fun.

  "Drink two cups?" Redel changed into a suit of clothes and asked with his head turned around.

  "I was just thinking of that!"