Chapter 31 Across the Shore

As the war came to an end, the once formidable German submarine force, which had caused headaches for the Allied navies, disappeared from the oceans. According to the Compiegne Forest Armistice Agreement, these sharp offensive weapons, along with 74 surface vessels of the German Navy, were escorted by Allied fleets to Scapa Flow. Their fate was no longer in their own hands, and soon, once the Allies negotiated a suitable division of spoils, they would be taken away by their new owners.

The once glorious German High Seas Fleet met such a fate, causing nostalgia among those familiar with that period of history, including Zhang Hainuo. Now, he alone had preserved the last spark for the German submarine force, but he did not feel particularly proud of it. On the contrary, he felt a responsibility not only to protect this spark but also to ensure that Germany's top-notch submarine technology was preserved and passed down through his efforts.

Post-war Germany was experiencing a dual blow to both material and spirit, with a significant brain drain occurring. Some left by emigrating to distant lands, while others were hired by countries like Britain, France, and the United States. In Zhang Hainuo's memory, although Germany had secretly collaborated with countries like the Netherlands in the late 1920s and early 1930s to develop submarines, the results were only a few coastal submarines comparable to the submarine technology level of World War I. It wasn't until after the outbreak of World War II that the German submarine force gradually regained its former glory. Some advanced submarines, electric torpedoes, and radar systems were successively developed and equipped, but those familiar with the history of German submarine warfare in World War II knew that these elite equipment came too late, and their quantity was limited, similar to jet fighters. Although technologically ahead of other countries, they still couldn't change Germany's fate of defeat.

"In the name of God, I swear never to disclose any secrets related to U21, U148, and the wealth associated with them to anyone, including my closest family and friends. If I violate this oath, may my soul suffer eternal torment in hell and never find redemption after death!"

After the last crew member determined to return to Germany swore this oath with his hand on the Bible, Hessen nodded at Zhang Hainuo and began distributing their rightful share of wealth to these crew members.

Two days later, the Fast Number docked in the eastern Spanish port of Malaga. Twelve officially disembarking crew members would leave here. They could either take a train to a northern Spanish port and then take a cruise back to Germany or try to return to Germany by land through Spain and France.

With 8000 pounds of Turkish gold and silver coins, which could fit into a small money bag, and the ancient gold coins and gold artifacts salvaged from sunken ships carefully hidden at the bottom of their luggage, the crew members all left their naval uniforms on board. Dressed in civilian clothing, they didn't look much different from a group of disbanded sailors.

With everyone's consent, Zhang Hainuo handed an extra bag of gold coins to Yank, the upright gunnery sergeant of U148. He volunteered to distribute this money to the families of other crew members promptly upon returning to Germany, so that they would not suffer from livelihood worries before the crew members returned to Germany.

The Fast Number only stayed in Malaga for 24 hours. Yet, during this brief day, Zhang Hainuo quickly finalized two transactions at the port: one involved purchasing as many as 12,000 leather products, which were also one of Spain's specialties. However, buying these leather goods had some coincidental implications because Zhang Hainuo's original goal was the most famous sherry in Spain. However, near the docks of Malaga, he encountered several merchants selling leather goods who were well-dressed but wore troubled expressions. Upon inquiring, Zhang Hainuo learned that they had signed a large-scale leather trading contract with a German chamber of commerce three months ago. Unexpectedly, the German chamber of commerce went bankrupt, leaving these merchants desperate to find buyers for the leather they had prepared.

After inspecting the leather and confirming that it was not an elaborate scam, Zhang Hainuo generously bought the leather at a price 20% lower than the original. Although Turkish pounds were hardly in circulation in Spain, Turkish gold coins were welcomed by most merchants.

Afterwards, Zhang Hainuo went to the local wine industry association and bought 400 crates of sherry from local suppliers at a price of 7 Turkish gold coins per crate. All of these were loaded onto the Fast Number before it set sail. At this point, the Fast Number had become a cargo ship loaded with various goods bound for the Americas, and the registered 40 crew members and 8 passengers were all in place. Even after transferring 16 crew members from U148, there were still 29 people remaining on the submarine, which was more than enough for U148's normal operation.

On the afternoon of departure from Malaga, the Fast Number sailed into the Strait of Gibraltar. To Zhang Hainuo's surprise, the British authorities stationed there only took some time to confirm the identity of the Fast Number but did not send anyone to board and inspect the ship. It seemed that although the Allied and participating countries had not yet signed a peace treaty with Germany, each victorious nation was thinking about how to extract more benefits from the Germans. As for the war, it had already ended with the abdication of the German emperor and the signing of the Compiègne Armistice Agreement.

What surprised Zhang Hainuo even more was that the anti-submarine alert line at Gibraltar had been removed two months earlier. To prevent merchant ships from accidentally hitting mines in the area, the British simply used conspicuous buoys to mark the minefields. Perhaps in the minds of these British people, every German submarine was already under their control! The various control measures during wartime were supposed to end when they should, and the sooner the order of the sea lanes was restored to peacetime, the more beneficial it would be for Britain's developed overseas trade.

Zhang Hainuo had originally been somewhat worried that the British might be suspicious of a Turkish-flagged freighter with an all-German crew. Now it seemed that he had been overly concerned. The Fast Number passed through the Strait of Gibraltar unscathed, and by midnight, U148 had also crossed the strait. Unlike when Zhang Hainuo had sneaked in with a Spanish freighter, Hessen used a method of shutting down the engines and drifting with the current. Of course, this method was only suitable for a commander who was very familiar with maritime conditions. It wouldn't be suitable for someone like Zhang Hainuo, who had come from a different background and was not very familiar with various ocean currents!

After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, the route to the Americas was basically unimpeded. The Fast Number was loaded with a large amount of fresh water, rice, and an ample supply of live cattle, sheep, vegetables, and fruits. As a result, the food on the tables of the crew and the sailors on U148 was very abundant. Brats and Moltke, specialized in European-style dishes, made the main course, while Mrs. Elgar would roast a whole sheep or half a cow in Turkish style every day, along with many Turkish-style dishes, which made everyone, including Zhang Hainuo, very satisfied!

Each of the remaining sailors volunteered to go to the Americas, so Zhang Hainuo and Hessen could safely rotate them: after all, ocean freighters were better in terms of space and comfort than submarines. So a batch of sailors only needed to stay on U148 for a few days before they could switch to the Fast Number to rest for a while and enjoy the sunshine and relatively spacious space on the ship's deck.

A week later, the Fast Number arrived at the Azores for refueling and replenishing water. After passing through this transit station, this special convoy consisting of a ship and a submarine entered the vast central Atlantic Ocean. Before reaching South America, they encountered some bad weather, although it was quite rough, the combination of ocean freighters and a submarine was commendable in terms of seaworthiness, and the waves did not cause them too much substantial trouble.

On June 4, 1919, the crew finally caught sight of the American continent from afar. According to their plan, the first stop of the Fast Number would be the port of New York in the United States. Unloading the carpets and textiles shipped by the owner was just an incidental purpose; Zhang Hainuo's main intention here was to exchange some of the sunken gold coins and gold jewelry into the currency widely used in most parts of the Americas: the US dollar!