Chapter 14: Going Home

  Zhang Hainuo and Lederle stayed in Tirpitz's mansion for a whole week, during which they not only met with Tirpitz every day to chat, but also met several senior naval staff officers under his introduction. Fortunately, the Sedlitz had no offshore tasks recently, and General von Laurence gave them another 15-day business trip certificate, so the two did not have to worry about time problems.

  That afternoon, when they were again invited to Tirpitz's large study, they found that the naval marshal, who had been in high spirits recently, looked somewhat solemn. After asking the two to sit down, Tirpitz spoke with his mustache twitching:

  "Guys, I'm afraid the top brass in the Navy has vetoed this plan!"

  Although he had already mentally prepared himself, Zhang Hainuo still felt a sense of indescribable loss when he heard the news. Similarly, Lederer, who was sitting beside him, looked extremely disappointed and asked Tirpitz with some lingering hope:

  "Your Excellency, Field Marshal, has His Majesty personally reviewed our plan?"

  Tirpitz did not answer directly but told him:

  The Naval Staff first assessed the plan and found it to have some feasibility, then submitted it to the Navy's highest decision-making body composed of Admirals Pol, Müller, and Ingénieur for review. One of the three admirals agreed with the plan, so according to convention, it was sent to His Majesty's aide-de-camp. It is said that His Majesty saw the plan two days later, after which he summoned the three admirals to his study, but the content of their conversation is unknown!

  "It seems Your Majesty has rejected this plan..." Redel said reluctantly.

  Zhang Hainuo on the side also understood that the current German Navy is operating under the leadership of the Kaiser and three marshals, although one or two of the three marshals support this plan, but ultimately it still can't pass through Wilhelm II.

  "It's not entirely hopeless now!" Tirpitz said, looking at Raeder. "His Majesty has always appreciated your talents, so I plan to arrange for you to go to Berlin and see if there is an opportunity to persuade His Majesty in person!

  The next morning, Tirpitz took Raeder to Berlin. Raeder had originally suggested that Zhang Haino also go together, but seeing Tirpitz's embarrassment and being a completely unknown small person himself, Zhang Haino told Raeder that as long as he could persuade Wilhelm II and their jointly formulated plan could be implemented, he would be satisfied.

  After Tirpitz and R?der left, Zhang Hainu embarked on his journey back to Wilhelmshaven alone.

  If this plan were to be implemented, what role would he play? Zhang Hainuo hadn't thought about it seriously. It was absolutely impossible for him to become the Chief of Naval Staff or Fleet Chief of Staff overnight; after all, he was only 21 years old. A 21-year-old naval lieutenant in Germany was already outstanding, and someone like Raeder who had been fortunate enough to be recognized by Tirpitz and Wilhelm II was now a naval captain at the age of 40!

  During the war, officers could take a free train ride with their officer's certificate and official business travel permit. While waiting for the train in boredom, Zhang Hainuo tried to make a phone call from the train station back to William Harbour. Although the phone was transferred from one line to another, and before reaching William Harbour, he was carefully asked about his name, military rank and who he was calling, although it was very troublesome, he finally got through.

  Something unexpected happened to Zhang Hainuo was that Edwen's voice came from the other end of the phone in less than 2 minutes.

  After roughly telling Edwin about the situation here, Zhang Hainuo told him that he would arrive at Wilhelmshaven around the day after tomorrow. He originally wanted to ask Edwin to drive to the station to pick him up, but Edwin gave him a suggestion that sounded pretty good: since Ochsensleben was just near Magdeburg, which was on the railway from Brandenburg to Wilhelmshaven, and there were still several days left in this business trip, why not take the opportunity to go home and see his family?

  Going home...

  This word has a very complicated meaning for Zhang Hainuo, his real home is probably gone now, as for the manor in Oshersleben, that's the home of Heinrich von Finkenstein. However, if he wants to continue living in this era with the identity of Heinrich von Finkenstein, then going "home" is also an inevitable thing.

  Before hanging up the phone, Zhang Hainuo said to Edwin:

  "Then please tell General Feng Lao Lunz that I'll take this opportunity to visit my home, and if necessary, these few days can be deducted from my normal vacation!"

  "Don't worry! Your uncle will not make things difficult for you, will he? After arriving in Magdeburg, take a transfer to Oschersleben. Remember the address is Finke Manor in the southern suburbs of Oschersleben!" The voice on the phone sounded very relaxed.

  Although it was wartime, German trains were still very punctual, and there were not a few civilians taking the train out - after all, the main battlefield on land was in France and Russia, and British and French planes rarely flew to Germany's inland to bomb, so the order within Germany was relatively stable.

  Zhang Hainuo casually found a seat in an empty spot and sat down. Across from him was a young woman with her two children. The older one was a boy, around 10 years old, with many freckles on his face; the younger one was a girl, no more than 3 or 4 years old, with curly blonde hair, looking like a lovely doll.

  The little boy held his mother's hand and looked at Zhang Hainuo with a hint of fear, but the little girl was not afraid at all. She asked in a soft voice:

  "Officer, sir, are you also going to France?"

  "Down went Herr Kahn's head, and he said: 'No, I'm going to Magdeburg, and from there I'll take the train back home to Oschersleben! Are you all going to France? Why, that's where the war is!' "

  The little girl probably didn't have any concept of the word "war", she said slowly and clearly: "My dad is there! Let's go see my dad!"

  At this time, the young woman laughed and explained: "My husband is an army captain, their troops happened to withdraw from the front line for rest, but it's hard to get a long vacation back home, so we went to France to see him!"

  "So it was!"

  It was only then that Zhang Haino noticed that there were still quite a few women and children on this train from Berlin to western Germany, and most of them were dressed similarly to the three opposite him, although not particularly luxurious, but in Germany it can be considered mid-to-high-end. It seems that many people here are family members of military officers, and their final destination is likely France too!

  "You're in the navy, aren't you!" The young woman looked at Zhang Hainuo's uniform and obviously found it very different from what her husband wore.

  "Yes, in the High Seas Fleet!" Zhang Haino thought this was not a secret, because German naval officers and men, except for those on shore-based defense units, basically all belonged to the High Seas Fleet.

  "Which warship is it?" The boy suddenly interjected in a low voice.

  Zhang Hainuo smiled and asked him back: "Little friend, what are the names of warships that you know?"

  "I'm not a little kid, I'm Moses Bayers, and I'm already ten years old!" The boy's face turned red, but he then rattled off a whole list of ship names:

  "I know Nassau, Westphalia, Rhineland, Posen, Heligoland, East Friesland, Thuringia, Oldenburg, Kaiser, Frederick the Great, Queen, King Albert, Regent Prince Louis, King, Elector, Governor-General of the Frontier and Crown Prince William!"

  Good grief, Germany's entire dreadnought fleet is all here, Zhang Hainuo couldn't help but look at the little boy in front of him with new eyes.

  "Did you serve on this warship?" The little boy stared at Zhang Hai No seriously.

  Zhang Hainuo shook his head, "No, I didn't serve on a battleship!"

  "Derfflinger, Seydlitz, Moltke, von der Tann?" The little boy had rattled off all the German battlecruisers except for Goeben, nominally sold to Turkey.

  "Moses!" The young woman called out to the little boy in a reproachful tone, then turned to Zhang Hainuo with an apologetic expression: "I'm so sorry, this child is just obsessed with warships!"

  "It's okay!" Zhang Hainuo looked at the little boy with a wronged face and said softly: "This time you guessed it right!"

  "Which one is it?" The little boy who had been scolded by his mother also lowered his voice this time.

  "Keep guessing!"

  The little boy muttered those four names in his mouth, then raised his head, "Sedletz!"

  Zhang Hainuo smiled and didn't answer, but secretly gave him a thumbs up.

  "Wow..." The little boy hastily shook his mother's arm, "Mom, it's an unsinkable warship, an unsinkable warship!"

  The young woman just smiled and patted his head.

  "Seidler, that's the unsinkable battleship! Mom, oh, it's so cool!" The little boy was excited to the point of being incoherent until Zhang Hainuo put his index finger to his lips indicating for him not to say this out loud, and he calmed down slightly. But before long, he jumped onto Zhang Hainuo's seat on this side, completely unlike his initial shy demeanor, pulling at Zhang Hainuo asking this and that.

  For the little boy's questions, Zhang Hainuo had to pick some non-confidential ones to satisfy his great curiosity. Nevertheless, when he got off the bus, the little boy still worshiped him as a number one hero.

  "When I grow up, I will definitely join the German Navy and follow Seydlitz into battle at sea!"

  Outside the car window, Zhang Hainuo smiled and waved at the little boy, but deep down in his heart, he still felt a bit heavy - if Rader couldn't convince the German Emperor and the naval leaders this time, then the final destination of the Sedlitz would still be the icy bottom of Pasca Bay!