Chapter 44: Renown Inside and Outside

"We are American citizens, Herr German Officer!" a young woman's voice choked up. "Could you please take us to an American ship?"

In response to this somewhat naive question, Zhang Hainuo replied calmly, "I'm sorry, madam! The United States and Germany are currently at war. If we encounter an American ship at sea, it's either we sink it or it sinks us. There's no third possibility!"

The woman covered her mouth with a crying expression, and the others, whether American, British, or Canadian, did not raise any further questions.

"Alright, I will now announce the first rule here!" Zhang Hainuo raised his voice. "Some of you may still have weapons such as knives or pistols on you. To ensure everyone's safety, please voluntarily throw these things into the sea. If anyone is found to still have weapons later, I'm afraid I'll have to ask that person to swim to England themselves!"

About half a minute passed, and people began to rummage through their clothes and throw out what they found into the sea.

Zhang Hainuo watched closely; it was a small revolver.

"Very good. I hope others will follow suit!" Zhang Hainuo's voice encouraged.

With Zhang Hainuo's encouragement, two more men threw pistols or knives into the sea.

"You can keep any other personal belongings you have, except weapons!" Zhang Hainuo shouted again, and this time, another person joined those who disposed of their weapons.

"Is that all?" Zhang Hainuo scanned the crowd, and indeed, no one else was pulling items from their clothes.

"Good. Since I've already made it clear, anyone found with a pistol, knife, or any other weapon, once discovered, will be mercilessly thrown into the sea! Now, I announce the second rule here! Until you are transferred to a neutral ship, you will have two meals a day, breakfast at 10 a.m., and dinner at 6 p.m. No one is allowed to move around freely. If you need anything, raise your hand and find me!"

The words sounded easygoing, but looking at these civilians, who outnumbered the crew by more than one and a half times, Zhang Hainuo still had some concerns. However, his concern wasn't whether these people would behave, but rather the ever-changing weather on the North Atlantic. Late spring and early summer were typically times of relatively heavy rainfall, and the ocean was not as calm as the land; it often churned with waves. Usually, submarines endured some discomfort in such weather, but now, with the deck crowded with people, a big wave could easily sweep some of them into the sea. No one wanted to see such a tragedy unfold.

"Now, I want to know if there is a captain, first mate, or anyone else in charge of the ship you were on!" Zhang Hainuo deliberately looked at the sailors among them, and after a while, one tall and thin young sailor raised his right hand.

"Sir, the captain, first mate, second mate, and chief engineer didn't make it out! I was responsible for cleaning the anchor chain, ropes, and the foredeck on the SS Newmanport!"

"Newmanport..." Zhang Hainuo had not heard of this ship. Indeed, there were dozens of passenger ships sailing in the Atlantic, and this relatively small passenger ship naturally had no fame. Looking at the clothing of these survivors, it was evident they were not from high society.

"Alright, come with me to the submarine's interior. I have some questions for you!"

Upon hearing Zhang Hainuo's command, the man first glanced at his companions, then followed Zhang Hainuo downstairs nervously.

From him, Zhang Hainuo learned the general situation of the ship, including its name, tonnage, and standard crew complement. However, this low-ranking sailor didn't know how many passengers were aboard for this voyage or what cargo they carried.

After getting a rough idea, Zhang Hainuo instructed his communications officer to send another encrypted message to Wilhelmshaven. The previous one reported that U171 had sunk an American liner and rescued survivors, but this time, along with reporting the situation, he also offered his opinion: either to contact a Danish freighter to take these survivors or to directly transport them to Iceland or the Faroe Islands under Danish sovereignty.

During World War I, the Kingdom of Denmark strictly adhered to neutrality.

Four hours later, a delayed reply came from Wilhelmshaven. The Admiralty did not evaluate Zhang Hainuo's rescue of enemy ship survivors but informed him that the matter had been submitted to higher authorities for a decision.

Submitted to higher authorities again!

Zhang Hainuo was beginning to resent these words. His strategic plans were denied by higher authorities, and there was no response to his wolf pack plan submitted to them. He had no idea what kind of 'insight' the higher-ups would provide this time.

Nevertheless, Zhang Hainuo ordered the submarine to head towards the Faroe Islands. After all, U171 would have to pass this route on its return journey from the northwest waters of Scotland to the North Sea. Since Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare and designated the waters around Britain as a war zone, to avoid being mistaken for British-bound merchant ships and sunk by German submarines, most Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish merchant ships abandoned the northern route through Scotland and instead sailed between the Faroe Islands and Iceland (in fact, British warships often intercepted them and forced them to Scottish ports to sell their cargo to the British government, preventing these neutral countries from secretly supplying Germany).

For the next twelve hours, Zhang Hainuo and his crew almost felt forgotten because there was no word from the command headquarters after they received that telegram. By the evening of the next day, U171 was less than 50 miles from the Faroe Islands. However, a telegram from the German Admiralty forced them to turn towards Iceland.

The reason was simple: according to reports from German spies stationed in the Faroe Islands, a British destroyer fleet was cruising in the vicinity of the Faroe Islands.

U171 had to make a wide turn on the surface, as Iceland was about 240 miles from the Faroe Islands. This distance wasn't far, but with the cruising speed of a UBIII-type submarine, it would take a full day of non-stop travel. When food and fresh water on board were running low, U171 encountered the Danish freighter Wathna in the southern waters of Iceland. A few hours later, all 41 survivors from the SS Newmanport boarded the neutral freighter, which would take them to Iceland and then on to their respective destinations.

The ordeal didn't end there. Because the captain of the Danish freighter refused to provide provisions to U171 on the grounds of neutrality, Zhang Hainuo and his crew had to endure two days of semi-starvation. Perhaps no group of submarine crew members had ever returned to Wilhelmshaven in such a sorry state.

Four torpedoes expended, one cargo ship and one liner sunk, totaling 9,000 tons. Zhang Hainuo's mission this time had no commendable achievements in terms of combat record, and the Admiralty did not publicly reward or criticize his actions of rescuing survivors. However, he heard that his actions had angered some high-ranking officials. A few days later, he was invited to tea by the Naval Provost Marshal's Office, where officials informally warned him not to take similar actions without reporting to and obtaining approval from the Admiralty in the future.

Despite the displeasure of the higher-ups, Zhang Hainuo received some titles from naval officers privately: "Knight of the Seas." Shortly after, American newspapers also reported on U171's rescue of the survivors of the SS Newmanport, offering rare criticism and praise to a German officer.

Coincidentally, the title they gave to Zhang Hainuo also had to do with knights because the German Navy used the Black Cross flag, so they called him the "Black Cross Knight." As for his caricature, it was somewhat humorous and ironic: he was depicted as a bearded German captain holding a torpedo in one hand and flowers in the other, and his submarine beneath him turned into a charming shark.