Churchill's Wrath

  News of the surrender of Admiral Whitworth's fleet to the Germans sent shockwaves across London.

  British Prime Minister Churchill held an emergency cabinet meeting, requiring all three service ministers to attend. He angrily asked the First Lord of the Admiralty: "Tell everyone about your actions in Norway! The British Navy has not had such a defeat since Nelson! You have lost the glory of the Empire on which the sun never sets, the pride earned by countless brave British sailors with sweat and blood, and the honor of Great Britain for hundreds of years was all lost in one day in the Norwegian fjords. Look at these newspapers from various countries. Our Navy has become a laughing stock around the world. What report did Admiral Whitworth send back before he surrendered?

  "Their reports, and the previous report from the fleet that was sent to search for Narvik harbor, have one thing in common: the Germans deployed a mysterious submarine at Narvik harbor. The search fleet's report said that this mysterious submarine is very good at hiding itself. They were unable to discover its activity before it attacked. Admiral Whitworth's report, which he sent back before surrendering, also said this, so it seems we can confirm that this submarine is difficult to detect. Moreover, Admiral Whitworth also said that this mysterious submarine used a mysterious torpedo, ordinary torpedoes can be avoided if discovered in time, but according to Whitworth's report, this torpedo, after failing to hit the 'Acasta' for the first time, would turn around and attack again, the 'Acasta' was unable to dodge and was hit in the engine room, losing power. Originally, the German fleet had retreated under our fleet's attack, but because the 'Acasta' was heavily damaged, the German fleet counterattacked. So it was this mysterious torpedo that played a crucial role in our defeat. Also, according to reports from German newspapers, the commander of this mysterious submarine is the same commander who sank our home fleet's 'Royal Oak', U-47's commander - Prien. He disappeared after attending a press conference about the 'Royal Oak' last year and there has been no intelligence on him since then. Until now, he reappeared. I suspect that he may have participated in the manufacture of this mysterious submarine at Narvik harbor, but I don't have any intelligence to confirm this point, it's just my personal speculation."

  Churchill turned to the head of the Cabinet Intelligence Committee: "Don't your intelligence agencies have any information about this submarine and that strange torpedo?" The person in charge frowned and said: "The Germans' secrecy work is extremely good, we didn't even know that the submarine existed. We also didn't know who the commander of the submarine was before. Let alone technical intelligence related to the submarine and torpedo."

  Churchill finally lost his temper; "You don't know this, you're not clear about that. What are you doing all day? What are your intelligence officers doing with the British taxpayer's money? Keeping foreign mistresses? You're all pigs, a bunch of good-for-nothings. Am I here to listen to what you tell me I don't know?" After Churchill panted heavily for a few breaths; "I give you one month to put the German's mysterious submarine intelligence on my desk, otherwise you'll be putting your resignation report on my desk. Hmph!"

  "What are we to do now?" asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Alexander. Churchill turned on him and said: "The Germans have got the advantage in Norway both at sea and on land, what can we do? We must withdraw, move our fleet to a place where it can blockade Norwegian waters, lock them in! Who has anything else to say? If not, let's get to work. Britain is facing a great crisis. So gentlemen, let's hurry up and go to work. Fortunately, the Army and Air Force are not so..." The Chief of the Imperial General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff exchanged smiles. Churchill ended the meeting in high dudgeon.

  When Zhou Tianlei and his submarine returned to Wilhelmshaven, there was no welcoming crowd on the dock this time, only batches of armed SS soldiers standing guard and patrolling. There were also some people who looked like secret police wandering around the dock.

  Zhou Tianlei didn't know what had happened. How did it become like this? He walked forward in confusion. Seeing a staff officer from the Navy Command, he asked him about the atmosphere on the dock and why it felt so cold and deserted. The staff officer told him that some British spies who were trying to steal intelligence on new submarines had just been caught in Berlin. Therefore, the relevant German authorities did not publicly disclose their return for fear of spies infiltrating the welcoming crowd and stealing information. Now he and his crew members must secretly go to Hitler's newly established Western Front Command Center.

  They boarded a plane to Cologne, the latest city of the Western Front Command. The plane landed quietly at a remote airport in Cologne. They were then taken away by car to a large hotel in Cologne, which looked no different from usual, but only after entering did they realize that it was loose outside and tight inside. There were many plainclothesmen vigilantly observing the inside and outside of the hotel.

  Zhou Tianlei entered his own room, half-reclining in the bathtub to soak in hot water. It had been a long time since he could take a bath on the submarine. After all, it was a conventional submarine, not a nuclear submarine, and it was impossible to have the luxurious equipment of a nuclear submarine. He felt the sweat and fatigue on his body slowly being washed away by the hot water.

  He put on his bathrobe after washing, lay down on the bed and stretched comfortably. He remembered what the naval staff had said to him today, he just didn't want to expose himself too early and asked not to reveal secrets. Unexpectedly, the British still smelled something unusual so quickly. (You don't think about it, the British say they are an empire where the sun never sets, most of their colonies are connected by sea, so the British are very sensitive to someone challenging his maritime hegemony) He thought now what kind of trick should I use? Now the submarine can only stay underwater for a short time, need to find a way to extend this time. His submarine is a conventional one, no nuclear power can be used. Can only use AIP technology, but the fuel cells used by Germans are not possible at this time, what to use? He thought and opened his laptop that he always carried with him.

  He suddenly came across a piece of information on his laptop, the AIP system from France, which uses inert gas as fuel and pure oxygen for combustion. The carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed into a container, where it is fully dissolved in seawater. The remaining gas is recycled. Its output power is relatively high, but not very durable. However, it's quite suitable for current situations. It should be usable. How did he miss this before? Looks like his fondness for Prien made him a bit too obsessed with fuel cells. He'll have to find Dr. Walter and research this further when he gets back. Previously, Dr. Walter had researched using seawater oxidation to produce hydrogen peroxide, which was then mixed with diesel for combustion, resulting in an astonishing propulsion power that still holds up today. However, he hadn't considered the highly unstable chemical properties of hydrogen peroxide, which can easily explode and also consumes a lot of fuel. This requires a large amount of space on the submarine to store fuel, which is unacceptable for a cramped vessel like this. Therefore, research was forced to stop 44 years ago.

  The next day, after breakfast, they arrived at the Western Front Command by car and saw the staff officer of the headquarters they had met before. They came up with a smile and said to Zhou Tianlei: "Hello, we meet again, but now I can't invite you to eat sausages in the Berlin restaurant." Zhou Tianlei also said to him: "When I was in military school, there were Chinese exchange students who invited me to have Chinese food, it was delicious. But Berlin can't find a Chinese restaurant, I heard Paris has one, when we occupy Paris, I'll invite you."

  The officer said: "Now the leader is very busy, he is now discussing the Western Front combat plan with senior army officers. It may be a long time before he receives you. Admiral D?nitz ordered me to tell you that as soon as you arrive, go to him first." Zhou Tianlei asked: "What about my subordinates?" The officer said: "Someone will take care of them, don't worry!"

  The staff officer led Zhou Tianlei into a very large room. On the walls were hung large military maps, and in the center was placed a large command sand table. Many low-ranking officers and secretaries were walking around here, constantly busy with their work. At this time, several people saw Zhou Tianlei come in. They were surprised that a low-ranking naval officer would come here. Then someone recognized the naval officer as the rising star of the German Navy - Gottfried Prinzen. They stood up one after another and gave Zhou Tianlei a salute. They knew about Zhou Tianlei's recent achievements, knowing that he must have come to receive a promotion and add several medals. Several secretaries even cast admiring glances at Zhou Tianlei.

  The officer had by now led him away from the hall and to a door with a naval insignia on it. The officer said inside, "General, Hauptmann Prien has arrived."