Bismarck

It’s late September in the Arctic Circle, but it’s already snowing…

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With the sound of sneezing still lingering, Top put on his new military uniform and walked out, but he didn't expect that there were some uninvited guests on his ship.

"What are you doing?"

After receiving the report from the sentry, Top looked at the two gendarmes standing at the gangway and asked dissatisfiedly, what the sentry was arguing with them about, both sides were very angry, and the crew on the ship also gathered around, and it was estimated that a fight would break out in a while, just looking at the comparison in numbers, the gendarmes would definitely be beaten into pigs.

"Captain, they said they want to take over our post." The sentry said loudly, and the tension in his words was self-evident.

"Take over? What do you want to do?" Top first dispersed the soldiers around him, and then asked the two gendarmes.

"Captain, although you have been released from confinement, the higher-ups have already initiated an investigation into you. So to ensure your safety, the military police will be on guard here 24 hours a day. Please forgive me."

They say it's to ensure safety, but in reality it's just to keep Top under surveillance and keep him on the boat so he doesn't have to walk around, which makes it easier to catch him later.

Top was furious when he heard this. What difference is this from putting himself under house arrest? - Is this putting even his own ship under house arrest?

“This is simply too much”

The sentry was also filled with indignation.

"What right do you have to restrict my freedom?" Top pointed at his chest and said word by word.

"Captain, we are not restricting your freedom, we are just ensuring your safety." The military police said, "You can still go anywhere, just report your destination to us."

"Haha, I, the captain of Prince Eugen, actually got off the ship and have to report to you?"

"You are so shameless." Top laughed in anger.

"I'm sorry, Captain. This is the commander's order. We have no other choice. Please understand." The military police knew that the person in front of them was a colonel, who should never be provoked under normal circumstances. But there was no other way. This was a direct order from above and they could only execute it.

Toph glared at them for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

Why would he be angry with a soldier? If he was angry, it was with the person behind him.

"Okay, you just stand here." He said, "You don't have to stand guard. From now on, the sentry posts on our ship will be cancelled and the gendarmerie will be in charge." He instructed the soldiers on his ship.

"Yes." The soldier responded hatefully, glared at the gendarme, and retreated angrily.

Looking at the military police standing at the gangway of the warship, Top said nothing and turned to walk towards his cabin.

Although I didn't say anything, I was still very angry.

It seems... Kumetz and his gang probably think that if even Eugen is unreliable, they want to threaten him with house arrest.

Although the information is fine for investigation, I still need to make a copy as soon as possible just in case, in case there is no evidence.

After all, God knows what these people will do. The world is so big, anything is possible...

And if that's the case, I have to find a chance to go back to Berlin to appeal. I can't just sit on the ship and surrender with just a piece of paper.

After several incidents, Top no longer had much hope in that old man Redel, but he still had to at least give it a try.

If it really doesn't work, I can just disgust those guys...

If that doesn't work, make a worst-case plan.

"Forget it, let's take it one step at a time... At worst, I can let them keep Eugen's real body. I'll write a report and take Eugen and the brothers to the Mediterranean to find Commander Lütjens."

With the sound of leather shoes stepping on the steel floor, Top's figure gradually disappeared in the dark corridor of the Prinz Eugen due to energy control...

Chapter 525: I’m going to petition!

The military police's investigation lasted for more than ten days.

However, since it was a wartime military investigation after all, the matter was very simple, so the investigation was completed quickly.

Ever since Bismarck rescued his admiral from the gendarmerie during the Battle of the Castle, the responsibilities of naval patrols, which were not originally under the jurisdiction of the German wartime military police, were now included.

Kumetz and even Raeder still have a few acquaintances in the navy, but even so, there is no guarantee that the investigation will be carried out according to their wishes.

Heydrich and Himmler were still watching from behind, ready to catch him at any time.

If someone catches you with evidence of maliciously slandering others and reports it to the head of state, no one will be happy. Are you still fighting among yourselves in a state of war? Do you want to get out of this mess?

Besides, the information about the Battle of Bear Island is not difficult to investigate.

Moreover, according to Nazi German law, although the police and gendarmerie had investigative powers and certain judicial powers, the people who actually judged guilt were not military personnel, but judges, prosecutors, and lawyers recruited from the Gestapo, the court system, and the German Ministry of the Interior Police Department.

This group of people is not someone that Redel can manipulate at will.

Therefore, the survey results are fair and not overly biased.

"According to the conclusion of the investigation team, the charge of desertion by Colonel Friedrich Karl Top is not established. As for the issue of beating a colleague due to a conflict, since the circumstances and consequences were relatively minor, and according to military law, he has already been punished with confinement for a week, the punishment will not be repeated here. From now on, his personal freedom will be restored, and his reputation will be restored!"

The investigator ignored the bitter faces of Kumets and the deputy captain and read out the conclusion of the investigation report. Before he finished speaking, the audience behind the dock suddenly cheered.

Top, who was happy to have regained his freedom and reputation, turned around and saw Eugen, who also had a smile on her face, and the excited sailors from the Prince Eugen behind her.

The joy of regaining his freedom made Top rush directly from the dock to the audience seats, jump over the guardrail in one step, and without thinking twice, hugged Eugen in his arms.

Eugen was completely stunned.

Later, the sailors began to sing and whistle.

"Hey, hey, hey? Top! Let me go!"

"I won't let go of such a well-behaved secretary, haha!" Top laughed, which was particularly obvious amid the booing of the people around him.

Faced with Eugen's obedient "struggle", Top shamelessly hugged her even tighter.

Amid the increasingly loud jeers from the sailors behind him, Eugen, whose face was already flushed with anger, suddenly became at a loss.

The reserved and shy girl wanted to struggle and run away, but was afraid of hurting Top. Deep down, she didn't really want to run away, but she felt shy to be hugged like this in public.

Alas, that’s what a girl’s heart is like.

He jumped up and down.

On the other hand, the officers and sailors from other warships behind Kumets and the deputy captain did not have much aversion to this. Although some officers and soldiers had unfriendly looks, most sailors still watched the fun and did not mind the dog food - although they could not watch the fun for long before they were driven out of the venue by their own officers, causing a large area of ​​light bulbs in the venue to dim.

Under the gaze of these people, Eugen's face became increasingly hot. After struggling weakly for a while, Eugen had no choice but to bury his head, then raised his foot and "gently" stepped on the upper of Top's big leather shoes...

Although Eugen doesn't weigh 50,000 tons like his sister, his slender body of more than 10,000 tons is still enough to give Top a hard time.

"Ah! My feet..."

When Top, who had been stepped on, jumped in pain holding his foot, Eugen, whose face had turned as red as a lobster, had already struggled to free himself from Top's bear hug, lowered his head, and ran away.

Leaving behind was Top, who was grimacing in pain, holding his foot, standing on one leg, looking confused and enduring the pain.

"this···"

Top was still confused, but the sailors had already started to make a noise:

"Captain, Secretary Eugen has run away, chase him."

"That's right! Captain, hurry up and chase after Secretary Eugen..."

"Chase, chase, chase, Captain! Chase us quickly! Remember to give us wedding candies when you catch us."

Top finally reacted after being teased by his subordinates. Even though he was thick-skinned in front of Eugen, he felt a little embarrassed when he was teased by his own officers and soldiers. He raised his head with a red face and shouted angrily: "You bunch of stinky boys! Go back and wait for me!" Before he finished speaking, he covered his hat and didn't care about the slight pain of being stepped on, and hurriedly chased after him.

Behind the two people, there was only a bunch of good-natured laughter in the temporary courtroom.

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"What? Isn't the investigation over? We still can't go out to sea?"

After finally coaxing the cute little Eugen, he returned to the ship holding the red-faced secretary, who lowered his head and covered his face with the brim of his hat. But who knew that he would receive a notice from Kumets right after he returned.

And the officer who came to deliver the order happened to be the "former" deputy captain.

"This is a decision from above, saying that the ban on 'saving sorties' issued last time has not been lifted, and now your ship's electricity and heating use must also be controlled."

This guy was interrupted by Top before he finished speaking:

"Control? Who said we need to control it?! Did you know it's snowing already? Do you want us to freeze to death by not providing electricity or gas?"

"Top, this is an order from my superiors. I am only here to pass on the message. It is useless to yell at me. If you have the energy to yell at me, why don't you go talk to Commander Kumets?"

Although this guy has a businesslike tone on his face, he actually looks down on others and even has a hint of contempt for the imperial envoy.

Well, it’s good enough that I don’t ridicule you.

“Kumet, fuck, you—mmmm…”

Top was about to lose his temper with his bell-like eyes. Eugen, who was standing by, saw that his captain was about to speak out of turn, so he quickly covered his captain's mouth and held him down.

Although Top was tall, he was easily defeated by Eugen's strength. He felt that Eugen almost broke his teeth...

terrible.

Seeing Top with his mouth covered, the deputy captain knew that he would not hear anything that could be used to incriminate him. He had no choice but to say something sarcastic: "Top, I didn't expect your secretary to be so strict with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left.

For a soldier, being controlled so strictly by a woman would definitely be a laughing stock in the army. His words were meant to mock Top.

Watching the man walk away, Top pulled Eugen's hand down and shouted at the back of this troublemaker in a bad mood: "Be careful when you go downstairs, I won't see you off."

Eugen, who was worried that he might upset his captain, saw that Top looked unhappy, so he hurriedly made a cup of coffee, lowered his head, and carefully handed it to Top who was still sulking.

"Top, I'm sorry, just now I..."

Eugen still cared about what the deputy captain had just said and Top's temper.

However, Top would not be harsh to his secretary ship. After all, Top looked down on those who were incompetent and would only go back and vent their anger on their own people when they were humiliated.

"It's okay. I know I was trying to sow discord. Besides, that villain Kumets is probably waiting for me to say something else. You were right not to let me speak just now."

He waved his hands to show that he didn't care, but his face was still gloomy.

After all, Kumets was deliberately causing trouble.

"Oh..." Eugen blinked and felt a little relieved. But seeing Top's expression, she continued to walk up and carefully placed the coffee next to Top's hand.

Although he was standing aside, he looked worried and cautious, and Top was a little depressed.

Did I scare her?

Am I that scary? I just cursed... cough cough, oh, it seems I have to learn to control my temper.

Wait, isn't his mentality right? Shouldn't he think about how to deal with Kumets? How come he was healed by his own ship girl?

I don't know why, but Top suddenly felt complicated and wanted to say MMP to himself.

Anyway, when Top reached out and took the coffee, drank it all, and put the cup down, his anger had already subsided. Looking at Eugen, who was still a little worried, Top, who was forcibly cured, smiled helplessly.

"It seems that Kumets is deliberately trying to cause trouble. But if things continue like this, you can't go out to sea, and you have no ammunition. If the British come to attack us by air, we will be sitting ducks. Besides, the brothers will probably get sick sooner or later if they stay here. Winter is about to come, and we can't go on like this."

"Ah."

Eugen stood quietly aside and hummed as he watched Top calm down.

For matters like this, let your captain make the decision.

Toph continued to speak his mind:

"Eugen, I think we should go back to Berlin and do some work in the next two days. Whether it's filing a complaint, writing a report, or petitioning, we must give you and our brothers an explanation and a way out."

After expressing his thoughts, Top looked at Eugen, and the obedient secretary immediately nodded.

She just does whatever Top says, there's no question about it.

"OK, all right."

"Hehe, so good." Top pulled Eugen's braid again.

Twin ponytails are so cute!

Top's request for "annual leave" was soon delivered to Kumets' desk.

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Under the dim light in the office of the Arctic Fleet Command, Kumets, with his round face, big eye circles, thick lips and no beard, looks like a person who works in a profession exclusively for people with acquired disabilities in some imperial palace in an ancient oriental country.

Looking at Top, who had a blank expression on his face and "insisted on taking a vacation", Kumets knew very well that Top was probably going back to petition, but he had no excuse to keep him.

The investigation was over, Top was acquitted, and the order not to dispatch the Prinz Eugen that he had approved 20 days ago meant that Top had not arranged any combat missions at all. If he needed time, he had time, and if he was free, he had time, and there was no way to stop him.

But Kumets was a bureaucrat after all, and after thinking about it he came up with a solution.

"I agree to your request for a vacation, and to let the navigator of your ship take charge of the warship. I wish you a pleasant vacation."