Kapitel 105: Chapter 45 Return to Germany
Summer in the North Sea, the sunlight is as hot as a passionate Spanish lady, while the gentle sea breeze carries the taste of midsummer. However, in such an environment, the inner world of Karl von Donitz is still experiencing the harshest of winters.
In the past war, Germany built a total of 373 submarines, which made every British captain shiver with fear. More than 6,000 ships fell into the "shark's mouth" during the war, with a total tonnage of sunken ships exceeding 18 million tons! However, the German Navy paid a heavy price for this, losing 178 submarines, with only a small fraction of the crews lucky enough to be rescued by their own ships. The rest either sank with the submarines or became prisoners of the British Navy.
Compared to his comrades who still sleep on the seabed, Donitz is undoubtedly lucky. He spent a whole year as a prisoner of war in Yorkshire, England. During this year, he constantly reflected and pondered, with scenes of his capture often flashing before his eyes—using a single submarine to deal with enemy escort fleets was like sending a strong knight to charge against infantry formations. No matter how great the individual advantage of the cavalry, their fate was ultimately sealed by the spears of the infantry.
Later, Donitz thought of wolves. The strength of a single wolf is not greater than that of a tiger or a leopard, but a pack of wolves can make any prey, including humans, feel fear. They have keen senses of smell and good teamwork. Their alpha wolf is like an excellent commander, flexibly deploying its subordinates to attack the enemy from all sides until they reveal a vulnerability...
The German coastline is ahead. In the past year, the homeland's harbors haunted Donitz's dreams, but now he cannot find joy. Germany lost the war, and after Operation Rainbow, the German High Seas Fleet no longer exists. The current German Navy is a defensive force of no more than 15,000 personnel, unable to build new capital ships and submarines.
Without submarines, Donitz is no longer a submarine commander. What awaits him may be some idle position in the navy, or serving on a coastal patrol boat or torpedo boat, or even an inglorious retirement.
The ship flying the British flag eventually docked at the port of Hamburg. Looking at the city that had lost its soul, Donitz packed up and disembarked with extremely mixed feelings. He had to report to the Navy Department, but the road ahead for him was still very uncertain...
United States, New York.
The bustling summer in the metropolis means short skirts, beautiful legs, high-heeled sandals, and ice cream, but Zhang Hainuo has no interest in enjoying all of this. Before sailing from El Salvador, he sent a telegram to Barbás, informing him of his intention to conduct a transaction similar in scale to the last one, asking him to prepare in advance. When he arrived in New York, this savvy Jewish antique dealer did not disappoint him. After inspecting the "goods," he handed Zhang Hainuo a whopping $600,000 in cash within 36 hours.
Next, with Barbás's introduction, Zhang Hainuo purchased 4,000 tons of high-quality corn from a reliable local grain merchant, all within a short five days. After the corn was loaded onto the ship, Quick Number set sail again, this time heading straight for Bremen, Germany.
The Quick Number, laden with cargo, could only sail at a slow economic speed of less than 12 knots on the open ocean. Although the sailing time was extended, it gave Zhang Hainuo more time to ponder his next move. This time returning to Germany, most of the crew expressed their willingness to bring their families to Brazil. Zhang Hainuo and Hessen were no exception. Besides settling their families, the more important task was to recruit ship engineers, submarine experts, shipbuilding technicians, and skilled shipyard workers as much as possible. In addition, he planned to visit Munich to meet the devil who would make the whole world tremble in a few years.
On September 12, 1919, Zhang Hainuo and his crew finally saw the coastline of Germany from afar, and after more than ten hours, Quick Number entered the port of Bremen.
Bremen had undergone significant changes since Zhang Hainuo's first visit a few years ago. The change was not in the city's layout and architecture, but in the atmosphere—the once bustling port hardly saw any large ships, and the atmosphere on the docks was deeply depressing.
After Operation Rainbow, the angry Allied powers included Germany's last few dreadnought battleships, those large warships that were not yet completed, and civilian large merchant ships in the list of reparations. If those warships brought immense shame to Germany, what the extradition of the ocean merchant fleet as war reparations brought to Germany was a very unfavorable economic impact.
As soon as Quick Number docked, many German merchants waiting there inquired about the cargo on board. When they learned that the cargo ship was carrying a full 4,000 tons of high-quality corn, they eagerly offered to buy at a "high price." After understanding the current prices of various commodities in Hamburg, Zhang Hainuo found that the Mark had depreciated significantly since he left Germany, but that wasn't the worst part. According to historical developments, after France occupied the Ruhr area in 1923, Germany's economy would collapse rapidly, and the purchasing power of the Mark would approach zero!
Zhang Hainuo had never intended to profit greatly from this batch of corn. He eventually sold it at a relatively fair price and distributed the Marks obtained back to the crew as travel expenses, urging them to bring their families as soon as possible. Although he was eager to go home too, Zhang Hainuo and Hessen stayed at the shipyard for two more days, until three crew members whose families were in Bremen brought their families on board. Only then did they entrust Quick Number to these crew members for safekeeping and set off together.
Zhang Hainuo and Hessen's first destination was not their hometown but Wilhelmshaven.
"Hainuo! I can't believe it's really you! Haha!"
Redel, who was usually calm, couldn't contain his excitement when he saw Zhang Hainuo again and gave him a fierce hug. Although they had only known each other for three years, their common language in tactics, strategy, and naval weapons made them appreciate each other. Although the plans they jointly formulated were eventually rejected by the higher-ups, this did not stop their hearts longing for victory on this path. Even after becoming a submarine commander, Zhang Hainuo would sometimes run to Redel's place in his spare time, and they would sometimes chat all night. This friendship, based on mutual appreciation, held a very important place in both of their hearts.
Undeniably, Zhang Hainuo did harbor a bit of "self-interest" towards this future German Navy commander, but he genuinely admired Redel's talent in military knowledge and writing. In addition, Redel's calmness, humility, and to some extent, "obedience," gave him a good network of contacts in the Navy Department, something Zhang Hainuo envied!
"No need to doubt your eyes, it's really me!" Zhang Hainuo said excitedly.
After releasing his arms, Redel looked Zhang Hainuo up and down in his casual attire.
"You rascal, tell me, where have you been for over a year? We couldn't find you on the British Navy's list of prisoners of war, and we thought you had died in a misfortune!"
"We'll talk about that later! Come, let me introduce you, this is..."
Before Zhang Hainuo could finish, Redel exclaimed in surprise, "Roderick von Hessen! Oh my God, I've seen you at the Navy's award ceremony, aren't you..."
"Hello, Colonel Redel!" Hessen responded with a calm smile to this naval officer who had been promoted to colonel before the end of the war, "You also listed me as missing and thought I had perished with U21. Am I right?"
"You... both of you..." Redel tried to connect the disappearance of these two ace submarine captains, but for a while, he couldn't come up with an answer.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein