Bismarck

Can you imagine an aircraft carrier being sunk by a battleship? (Haha, I don't want to repeat the same glorious mistake... even if it was a battlecruiser)

"Zeppelin, do you know the 'Time Traveler Theorem'?"

"I know." I could only bite the bullet and say, may God bless me...

"We must survive and return to our homeland alive. Do you have the confidence?"

"That depends on that damn author..." I whispered to myself.

Bismarck stared at me: "What author?"

"Ah, nothing." I quickly raised my hand.

I seem to have let something slip...

"From today on, you must undergo rigorous training and become a real weapon, an invincible aircraft carrier." Bismarck walked to the wall, and a porthole appeared on the wall. She looked at the sea level in the distance. There, a fiery red sunset illuminated the sky, which was the direction of Britain.

"I..." I hesitated.

How could I possibly do that! The combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier depends entirely on its carrier-based aircraft. Without carrier-based aircraft and qualified pilots, an aircraft carrier is just a target ship, at the mercy of others. What a joke! How can I fight if I have nothing?

"Zeppelin, do you want to live?"

Now it’s not a question of whether you want to or not, but a question of whether you can!

"Sister Bismarck, I..."

"Zeppelin, when I first came to this era, I hesitated like you." She looked back at me, "At that time, I was wondering why I should continue to fight."

"As my captain, Lütjens is very kind to me, but also very strict." She fixed her eyes on me. "I must continue to fight, not only to survive, but also because of his concern for me."

Lütjens is still your lover, I thought to myself.

"You were probably thinking that an aircraft carrier cannot fight without carrier-based aircraft." She suddenly changed her tone, "So, next you have to learn how to fly an airplane."

I felt like I was struck by lightning.

I... my eyesight has been almost destroyed by electronic products in my previous life, and I also get airsick...

"But..." I mustered up the courage to retort.

"No buts, if you want to live."

"..."

Just give it a try, death is death whether sooner or later.

"I'll do it." I nodded softly, so softly that I couldn't even feel it.

"Remember, we are a battleship. We cannot hesitate."

She patted my shoulder, and a door appeared where I had been. "Let's go back, Zeppelin."

"Okay, Sister Bismarck."

ps: I wanted to post it for free in the book review section, but the damn book review section also has a word limit. It's so annoying. I gave up because I was afraid of trouble. The third person also let me do it. But it seems that I am not the most powerful one - someone's comments on the book have been V-ed! There is another chapter of the text updated today~

Chapter 103: Heading to Iceland

The Bismarck ended its hunting operation in the Atlantic and began to head north. Lütjens knew that the British navy must be desperately looking for him and the Bismarck, so he did everything he could to make the voyage more covert. He even changed the paint job according to the different sea areas.

Of course, on the way back, Bismarck would not give up his mission. Once he saw a merchant ship flying the British flag, he would send a signal in advance and sink it again. Of course, correspondingly, the number of prisoners on the Bismarck increased to more than 100. Lütjens still let the prisoners live with the crew, which was convenient for management and had no hidden dangers. However, he did not expect that the prisoners were used to hearing what the newspapers said on weekdays and thought that the Germans were devil-like people. As a result, after a long time of getting along, they found that the Germans were no different from themselves, and they also had things they liked and people they liked. They did not abuse them because they were prisoners, so after a few days, everyone became friends.

When Bismarck told the captain this, he couldn't help but smile.

"Next time you see merchant ships, let them go." Lütjens said with a smile, "There's no point in keeping them anyway."

"It's a pity that the ships we encountered these times were all British ships, and there were no neutral countries." Bismarck said regretfully.

"The British ships are fine. We just need to destroy their radio equipment so they can't report our whereabouts."

"Captain, you said the British were desperately looking for me in the Atlantic, but I secretly returned home. Would they go crazy?"

······

The Admiralty meeting room in London a dozen days ago.

A pile of cigarette butts from the generals filled the ashtray, filling the entire conference room with a choking cloud of sadness. On weekdays, they always acted superior in front of others, but now - they were arguing worse than shrews.

Marshal Pound lay tiredly on the backrest of the main seat, listening to the quarrel in the "vegetable market" below and staring at the ceiling in a daze. He had never expected the current situation. He had never expected that the Bismarck would have such a strong combat effectiveness.

Alas——he sighed slightly.

After the Battle of Narvik, the Royal Navy almost mobilized all its forces to encircle the main force of the German Navy, but not only did it get nothing, it also lost the Counterattack and a cruiser, and the Renown and two other cruisers were sent to the repair shop. It was a big loss, but after that, when the Bismarck broke through into the Atlantic, even the Resolution, which was arranged to escort in the Atlantic, could not block the Bismarck's guns. The escort fleet of CE15 was wiped out along with the Resolution, not to mention those despicable, damnable submarines that only took advantage of the situation to rob and help the evil... When the CE15 fleet returned to the British mainland after untold hardships, the number of ships had been reduced to a pitiful level.

The whole of Britain was shocked!

Under great pressure from Bismarck, the Royal Navy has now decided that all convoys must be covered by two battleships before they can be dispatched.... But how many battleships does the Royal Navy have at its disposal now? Not to mention that those are all old and obsolete from more than ten or twenty years ago... Now the Royal Navy has even planned to give up its "obligation" to protect the balance of power among the Mediterranean countries, and has transferred the two Queen-class ships in the Mediterranean to Gibraltar, ready to support the convoys in the Atlantic at any time. But even so, because the threat from Bismarck is too great, many ships now dare not go out to sea easily. Although the remaining ships have sailed to Britain at risk, they are aware of the difficulties in the supply of materials in Britain, and have come here to sell at high prices... The government is now in serious deficit and foreign exchange loss, and the market has begun to implement a rationing system. Although there are still several old battleships, but...

"Like me, these ships are old too... If we had fought harder to have our new warships built earlier, they would have been launched into service now... Alas..." Pound closed his eyes in pain, trying hard not to burst into tears.

No matter it is the army or the public opinion, all the accusations and pressure are directed at the exhausted old marshal, although it is not his fault... The British Empire, which once relied on its powerful ships and cannons to show off its might everywhere, has finally reached its twilight. After Rodney and Nelson were built by the Washington Treaty, the new generation of British battleships was actually built after Chamberlain adopted a policy of appeasement and bought time to restore the industry, and even the armor steel had to be bought from the Czech Republic... Before the new battleships were launched, they could only rely on old and dilapidated ships to hold on to the so-called past glory... Cricket has declined to this point in 20 years... Moreover, the previous disgrace in Norway was not enough, and the government issued a new combat mission.

Iceland——The Marshal couldn't help but sneer. This meant that the Royal Navy's battle line would be stretched again. If they were to face the elusive Bismarck...

As a soldier, you must obey orders no matter how great the cost or pain, but...

Feeling a little blocked in his heart, Pound took out a piece of aspirin from his pocket with a wandering look and put it under his tongue, forcing himself to come back to his senses, not looking at the mocking and suspicious eyes below, not thinking about the sad sacrifices, and forcing his attention to the words of the aide who was still reading the documents - although he had already heard Chamberlain's instructions once before at 10 Downing Street.

"......According to Iceland's situation...In the late last century, Iceland, which was still a Danish territory at the time, began to fight for autonomy...In 1904, Iceland gained internal autonomy in Denmark. In 1918, Denmark and Iceland signed a federal law. Denmark recognized Iceland as a sovereign state, but its foreign affairs were still controlled by Denmark. However, just a month ago, that despicable Bavarian corporal invaded Denmark. Now Iceland and Denmark have lost contact, and Denmark is no longer Iceland's sovereign state! Now, the damn Germans are slipping in and out of the Atlantic like rats, and we can't let them do this, let alone because Our connivance has allowed Iceland to turn to the irresponsible country on the European continent! So now, for the stability and order of the European continent! And for the maritime interests of my British Empire! Now, with the authorization of the wartime Parliament, in the name of Great Britain, I order: Instruct the Admiralty to come up with an action plan before the beginning of May! The goal is to occupy Iceland before mid-May!! Operation codename "Harpoon"!!!----Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty of the British Empire!" (PS: At this time, the Prime Minister was still Chamberlain, and Churchill was the Lord of the Admiralty. Pound was the First Sea Lord, a subordinate of the Lord of the Admiralty. The First Sea Lord is the highest position that a British naval officer can obtain.)

After the adjutant read out the objectives of the mission, the rest was the responsibility of the Navy Department. As usual, a group of generals and senior staff gathered around the chart table and began to point at the chart.

In fact, Pound was aware of Reger's idea of ​​"bypassing the Royal Navy blockade through Norway" long before the war broke out, and had already drawn up a related draft plan. Now all it needed was a slight revision, including the decision made in the previous Norwegian campaign (except for the variable Bismarck...).

Iceland is a very small country. Although it has a land area of ​​70 square kilometers, the national population is only about . The total number of young and middle-aged men is only , and most of them make a living by fishing, that is, they basically live on the coast. In terms of military force, Iceland has no army, and the only armed force is only policemen. In addition, the country is small, the society is stable, and the people are simple (easy to bully?). It is not a country or region with a martial tradition and a social atmosphere that is difficult to conquer. So after some evaluation and discussion, it is basically believed that occupying Iceland itself is not very difficult.

Soon, a plan was put forward to dispatch a Marine battalion of 700 to 800 men to occupy the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik under the cover of warships, and then slowly send follow-up troops to control the rest of the area after "cooperating" with the Icelandic government. However, this plan had only one variable, which they did not take seriously at first: "What should we do with the German devil battleship that comes and goes without a trace? We can catch up with it now, but we can't beat it, and we can beat it, but we can't run away from it..."

"Those World War I-level useless people on the Royal Ark should have been replaced long ago!!!" a general said gritting his teeth.

"Hey, don't mention it. The aviation industry is controlled by those people in the Royal Air Force. They want to suppress us and only allow us to do this kind of weird things..." Another general slammed the table angrily.

"Tell that old man to give his opinion to those lords in the parliament. He said he did, but who knows what will happen in the end..." Someone said, while secretly looking back at Pound who was resting with his eyes closed. Although he spoke in a low voice, his eyes were full of disdain. "This old man is simply a yes-man. He dares not go west when the government says east. Norway needs a transport team, the Atlantic needs an escort team, he does whatever the government says. Now, how many ships do we have?..."

There were several generals around who didn't say anything but had the same look in their eyes. However, before that general could continue speaking, he was patted on the back.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about anything else." The speaker was Admiral Tovey, the new commander of the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet. "At least he is still our superior. How is the draft battle plan?" Although he said this, he also secretly glanced over there.

"Everything else is almost done. A country like Iceland is easy to deal with. The Bismarck is a bit troublesome now. Her combat power is beyond our imagination..." The general who spoke earlier handed over a pile of drafts: "Do you think we should send a few more main battleships for escort? Although our manpower is not enough now."

Tovey hummed, and while reading the manuscript, he asked, "Where are the Bismarck and the Royal Ark roughly located now?"

"Last week, the Bismarck attacked the Apollo cargo ship on the route from Brazil to Dakar. The loss was not great, mainly some food." A senior staff officer flipped through the record book, "Well... when the Royal Ark received the distress telegram and rushed over, it was empty-handed. From last week to now, their whereabouts have not been discovered for the time being... Based on the intelligence analysis of this week, the staff group believes that there are many merchant ships sailing alone in the South Pacific, but none of them have found the Bismarck. Instead, there are reports of German disguised attack ships, and the Bismarck now has no opponents in the Atlantic, so it is estimated that they should have returned to the North Atlantic. In addition, the Royal Ark reported earlier today that their main engine had malfunctioned after a long period of full-load work due to chasing the Bismarck, and it could not be completely repaired at sea. It has now sailed to Gibraltar and is preparing to return to the country for overhaul..."

"Okay...have there been any losses in the North Atlantic convoy recently?" Tovey frowned and continued to ask.

It was like raining cats and dogs. This situation happened when there were already not enough warships. He was speechless.

"For the time being, there are relatively few. We have now controlled the merchant ships from going out to sea. We have strictly prohibited merchant fleets from setting sail without two battleships as escorts. Our battleships are now struggling. Hood is undergoing major modifications, Warspite and Reputation are undergoing major repairs, and Canada now has a large number of merchant ships waiting to go out to sea. However, the battleships only have Revenge. We have now sent Malaya and Sovereign with the return fleet. The fleet from Dakar to Britain is being escorted by Ramirez and Warrior halfway, and Gibraltar still has Barham to maneuver, although we still have to watch the French and Italians in the Mediterranean. Italians, make sure they don't fight each other... As for aircraft carriers, the main engine of the Ark Royal is broken and needs to be overhauled. The Valiant and the Glory have sunk; the Argus and the Wrath are no longer usable and can only train pilots in the homeland; the Hermes has limited combat power and is now providing anti-submarine escort for the Norwegian transport fleet in the North Sea; the Eagle is in the Mediterranean... Now among the capital ships, only the two "armed tankers" of the Home Fleet (Rodney and Nelson, of course) can be used, and they are already the last mobile forces of the Royal Navy..."

"Okay..." Tovey slammed the table and said, "Let's assume that the Bismarck will do something bad, so we have to let Rodney and Nelson escort us this time. And we have to mobilize four cruisers carrying two battalions of 1500 troops to Iceland! Even if we really encounter the Bismarck on the way and suffer losses, we can afford the losses. In addition, it is best to call back the gods of competition! Their observation ability is very important to ensure the success of the operation! Our speed may not be as fast as the Bismarck, but we must observe farther than her!" Tovey turned his head to Pound in the main seat and said, "Marshal, what do you think?"

Although he spoke in a businesslike tone from beginning to end, the atmosphere in the conference room was obviously a little off. The originally noisy conference room suddenly became quiet. Everyone's eyes were focused on the old man sitting in the main seat.

"Are you firing at an old man like me?" Pound, who had been ignored by everyone for a long time, thought calmly, but did not say it out loud. Instead, he thought about it for a while before saying softly, "I think we should allocate our forces more reasonably... My opinion is that the Hermes cannot be moved. They have to ensure that Norway and us will not collapse..."

"That won't do! I object!" Tovey stood up and immediately refuted, "Without the search capability, we will be very passive! The speed of the Bismarck is far more than the 32 knots we initially thought. According to the Royal Ark's current estimate, it is at least around 34 knots, and may even be higher! ! So I stick to my opinion! !"

"......Then what about the Norwegian battlefield?" Pound's headache was getting worse and worse. He held his forehead and asked softly.

"Norway? With the Hermes, the Icelandic campaign will be back in less than a week. Without the Hermes, will the 25000 Norwegian soldiers be wiped out by the Germans?" When it comes to Norway, Tovey is furious and says with a mocking look on his face. "Don't mention Norway! So far, we have lost so many ships there!! The Icelandic blockade is not much worse than the Norwegian blockade, but there is no need for such a huge loss! Wouldn't it be better to decide on Iceland at the beginning?"

The surrounding naval officers couldn't help but nod their heads, with expressions of mockery and disdain written all over their faces.

Pound sat in his seat, clenching his teeth and saying nothing.

"Besides, what do you think those politicians are like? They make blind decisions when there is nothing to do and look for scapegoats when there is something to do. Wasn't Admiral Forbes (the last commander of the Home Fleet) court-martialed because of the Norway incident?!"

"...You can't say that!" Pang De, a shrewd man, couldn't sit still any longer, and he slammed the table and stood up: "You can say whatever you want here, but don't say it outside. Soldiers who comment on politics must bear political responsibility! Everyone is responsible for the current situation of the war, but please continue to unite and work hard..."

Pang De suddenly stopped talking, gasping for air with cold sweat on his head. He held his head with his left hand and reached into his pocket with his right hand to grab something, but after shaking for a while, he collapsed on the chair, convulsing and vomiting acid. His hand fell out of his pocket, bringing out a small medicine bottle with "blood pressure medicine" written on it.

Everyone panicked on the spot. A general immediately rushed out to call for a doctor. Someone hurried to lay the old marshal on a blanket. Seeing the smoke in the room, they quickly opened the window to ventilate. In the end, Pound's adjutant was experienced. He directed others to lay the old man on his side, wiped the vomit in his mouth, grabbed the bottle of antihypertensive medicine and another bottle of nitroglycerin, poured a few pills into the old man's mouth, and then grabbed a pile of materials to pillow the old man's head. Some people wanted to massage the old man's head or move the old man, but they were stopped by the adjutant. "Don't move the old man in an acute attack of hypertension! Moving around can easily cause heavy bleeding!! Everyone, don't make noise!! Let the old man lie down well!! Keep quiet!!!..." (Everyone, please pay attention, this is the correct first aid method for hypertension. If there are elderly people with hypertension at home, you must remember it!!!) Soon, the doctor rushed to the meeting room with a medical box and an oxygen bag. After doing preliminary care, he directed several nurses to carefully move the old man onto a stretcher and carry him out.

A group of generals silently escorted the old marshal out for emergency treatment, and no one said a word...

That evening, the hospital announced that the old marshal had finally been rescued, but he had a brain tumor, so he might need long-term treatment and could not see visitors for the time being. A large number of visitors were blocked outside the door by the nurses. Among all the visitors, only Prime Minister Chamberlain went in to talk for less than five minutes and then came out. When Chamberlain was leaving, he happened to see Tovey in the corner of the corridor with a regretful look on his face. Chamberlain walked over to say hello.

"Come on, let's get in the car and talk?"

"Yes, sir..."

The two men sat side by side in the car. After a long while, Chamberlain finally said, "Pound is out of danger. He is fine now."

"...I'm sorry, I really want to apologize to him, I was too impulsive at that time..."

"No need." Chamberlain smiled. "You don't have to blame yourself. I know you don't think he is very good. There is a reason why you lost your temper. Pound said he doesn't blame you."

"This...?" Tovi was stunned.

"Because my reputation is not good, the appeasement prime minister or something like that." Chamberlain laughed at himself. "I was just impeached by Parliament today, and I'm planning to hand in my resignation."

Tovey didn't know what to say, even though he had always had a prejudice. Seeing Tovey like this, Chamberlain sighed softly, leaned back and took a puff of cigarette, and said, "Everyone has a bad opinion of me, and the same goes for Pound, but there are always some jobs to be done, and there are always some black pots to be taken." He flicked the ash and continued, "Do you know these two about King George V and the Prince of Wales?"

"I know. Are we going into the water now?"

"You know, that one was almost not made because the economy had been in recession before, and even the armor plates were almost impossible to make... The armor for these two was bought from the Czech Republic."

"I know something about this...but..."

"We can't do anything. We were seriously injured in the battle. It takes time to recover. So we can only sacrifice those people to stabilize them first and buy time for us to recover. It would be best to find an opportunity to provoke them to fight with the bear in the east... But now it seems that we have failed..." Chamberlain smiled bitterly, exhaled a puff of cigarette, and said slowly:

"The government knows your opinions. Pound told me about several things. Don't blame him for many things... Norway originally wanted to limit Germany's iron ore supply. Now it is stuck here and it is helpless because of the political influence of the alliance, but the government is now considering withdrawing. The second thing is that you all know that the performance of your carrier-based aircraft is poor. The Bismarck was beaten to a pulp, but it is too late for temporary research now, so we plan to buy them from the Americans. There is also a shortage of escort destroyers, so we also plan to buy a batch from the Americans, but the price offered by the Americans is very high. The government is now negotiating with them. In addition, we are considering whether to modify the Spitfire and Hurricane and put them on board. Although these will take time to resolve, they are indeed being dealt with..."

As they were talking, the car drove to 10 Downing Street. Even at night, there were still some protesters on the road, holding signs and slogans for Chamberlain to step down and shouting slogans such as "Get out of office!" Some people even threw stones and eggs at the motorcade when the riot police who were maintaining order were not paying attention. One egg hit the window next to Chamberlain.

Looking at the pool of egg yolk on the glass, listening to the sounds of stones being thrown and protests and insults outside, Chamberlain sighed softly and continued, "There is also the issue of the number and performance of capital ships... The new ships will not be put into service until the end of the year, so we can only hold on for the time being. Pound has already proposed a plan to recruit crew members and select officers in advance. Now he is training with Fury and Centaurs, striving to gather qualified officers and soldiers to operate the warships as soon as they are launched... Germany is one step ahead of us, and now we are very passive. There is really nothing we can do about many things, but no matter how others scold us, we still have to try our best to do these things..."

Tovey felt that he understood the old marshal who looked cowardly. He endured criticism and even insults while working until midnight every day. How much did the old marshal silently pay and bear? And the prime minister might have done the same... But before he could ask, the car had already stopped at the door of the prime minister's residence.

But Chamberlain did not get out of the car. He said to Tovey, "I probably won't be able to work for a few more days. I'm not in good health, so I plan to hand in my resignation in two days. But I still have some good news to tell you first. Pound and I mentioned the plan to increase the production capacity of escort ships and requisition civilian ships to convert them into anti-submarine ships. The wartime cabinet has approved it, and the relevant orders and production plans will be announced in the next two days. The funds for the comprehensive modification of the Hood have been allocated, and the latest models of equipment have also arrived."

Regardless of Tovey's stunned expression, he continued, "The shipbuilding industry representative told me that by the end of the year, two or three Glorious-class aircraft carriers and two King George V-class aircraft carriers will be put into service. In addition, the construction funds for the Lion-class battleships and the research funds for the 406 gun have also been allocated. Vickers has promised that the guns can be produced in about half a year. In addition, the Lion-class battleships were originally developed based on the King George V, so the wait won't be too long... But these things are confidential now, don't tell anyone else."

Tovey was dumbfounded. The Prime Minister and the First Sea Lord had done so much work behind the scenes, but they all... Chamberlain seemed to see something, chuckled, patted Tovey on the shoulder, opened the car door and said with a smile: "Hold on a little longer, the problem will be solved. Driver, take General Tovey back." He waved before closing the car door:

"You guys handle the situation over in Iceland, fight hard!! GOOD BYE~." Then, the old man closed the car door, glanced in the direction of the door, and his slightly hunched figure disappeared in front of the gate of the official residence.

ps: This time there are 7,000 words, does that count as overwork? ... I won't say anything else, please give me rewards, monthly tickets, etc. as soon as possible! ! ! !

ps: Thanks to the big sister!!!

Chapter 104: Denmark Strait

Since the Nazi German high-ranking officials believed that this voyage had achieved sufficient results, and both the mustache and Raeder were afraid that I, who was "wounded and injured", would be lost in the Atlantic due to "various coincidences", the German Navy Department finally ordered us to return home. For this plan, the Navy Department also planned to let the two pocket battleships Lützow and Scheer sneak into the North Atlantic to carry out the mission of disrupting trade when we returned, and continue to ensure the threat to the British shipping line.

For safety reasons, the captain ordered me to cross the Denmark Strait, go around Iceland, sneak into the North Sea through the waters near Narvik, and finally return to Germany with the support of the German Navy and Air Force. Now I am heading towards the Denmark Strait, leaving everything behind at a speed of 32 knots.

"Captain, telegram." The telegraph operator walked into the captain's room with a telegram. I was brewing coffee by the electric stove and hurried over to take the telegram and hand it to the captain.

"Weather report from the 5th Meteorological Squadron of the Trondheim Air Force: Affected by the East Greenland Cold Current, large icebergs and floating ice were found in the southwest of Jan Mayen Island moving towards the Denmark Strait... If it was the day before yesterday, with the floating speed of the icebergs..." The captain's expression became depressed, "...Xiaomi, I'm afraid we'll have to stick to Iceland if we go back."

“Is it because we need to avoid icebergs and floating ice?” I’m not really worried about this, although avoiding floating ice is still quite troublesome. But in this season, there is a strong North Atlantic warm current near Iceland, so there are relatively few floating ice in the surrounding sea areas. Generally speaking, it shouldn’t be impossible to go back, right?

"Yes, but this will bring us closer to the British. Fortunately, Iceland is a neutral country, otherwise it would be difficult if they had troops stationed there... By the way, where are we now?" The captain turned on the intercom and asked, "Chart room, what time is it now, and where are we approximately?"

Not long after, the voice of the navigator came from the microphone: "It is now 30: in the morning, Berlin Standard Time. We are now approximately nautical miles due west of Iceland, at the entrance of the Denmark Strait, which is the junction of West Zone and West Zone . It is two and a half hours behind Berlin, which is : local time."

The captain frowned, said into the microphone, "Increase alert, pay attention to submarines and aircraft" and continued to rest in the chair. Seeing that the coffee was almost brewed, I quickly poured a cup and brought it to the captain. It's just...Denmark Strait, I sighed for a long time when I heard this name from the navigator, because the Bismarck in that time and space became famous because of the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Although it was sunk in the next few days, her life was as gorgeous as a summer flower, and her death was as magnificent as the withering cherry blossoms, which still left a deep mark in my heart.

"I wonder where Hood is now?" I said softly. It can be said that Bismarck's fate is closely linked to Hood. Without Hood's success, Bismarck would not have become famous.

Love and hate each other? Maybe.

I was talking to myself but I didn't expect the captain to hear me.

"It's better not to run into Hood before you make a major change. We got intelligence before we set sail this time, saying that Hood went into the shipyard for a major change in order to specifically deal with you, otherwise Narvik wouldn't have said that he only wanted to deal with reputation and counterattack." He took a sip of coffee and nodded with satisfaction, which was obviously an affirmation of my cooking skills. "Not bad, it's getting better and better."

I gently rested my chin on the captain's hat and put my hands on his shoulders and gently kneaded them. This is something I have always liked to do, because I always feel that doing so will give me a faint sense of warmth.

"If it tastes good, drink more, Captain."

The captain sipped his coffee slowly, smiled, and said nothing.