Chapter 14: Returning Home

Zhang Hainuo and Reidel stayed at Telpitz Manor for a week. During this time, they not only met with Telpitz and chatted every day but also, at his recommendation, met with several senior staff officers of the Navy Department. Fortunately, the Sedlitz had no recent seafaring missions, and Vice Admiral von Launert had provided them with a 15-day official leave permit, so they didn't have to worry about time constraints.

On this morning, when they were summoned to Telpitz's large study again, they found the usually amiable Grand Admiral's expression to be somewhat somber. After they were seated, Telpitz, with his beard twitching, spoke:

"Young men, I regret to inform you that the senior Navy command has rejected this proposal!"

Although they were mentally prepared, hearing this news firsthand brought a feeling of indescribable disappointment to Zhang Hainuo, while Reidel, sitting beside him, was equally dismayed. He still, somewhat unwillingly, asked Telpitz:

"Respected Grand Admiral, did His Majesty personally review our proposal?"

Telpitz didn't directly answer but told them:

"The Naval Staff initially evaluated this proposal, deemed it feasible to a certain extent, and then submitted it to the Naval Supreme Decision-Making Committee composed of Field Marshals von Pol, von Mühler, and von Ingenohl for review. One of the Field Marshals endorsed the proposal, so it was sent to His Majesty's aide-de-camp as per protocol. His Majesty saw the proposal two days later, and it's said that he summoned the three Field Marshals to his study after reviewing it, but we don't know the contents of their discussion!"

"It seems His Majesty rejected the proposal..." Reidel reluctantly voiced out.

Zhang Hainuo, understanding the situation, knew that the German Navy was operating under the leadership of the Emperor and the three Field Marshals. Despite one or two of the Field Marshals supporting the proposal, it ultimately failed to pass Emperor Wilhelm II's scrutiny.

"But there's still hope!" Telpitz looked at Reidel. "His Majesty has always admired your talent, so I intend to arrange for you to go to Berlin to see if there's an opportunity to convince His Majesty in person!"

Early the next morning, Telpitz took Reidel to Berlin. Reidel initially suggested taking Zhang Hainuo along, but seeing Telpitz's hesitation and acknowledging his own lack of influence, Zhang Hainuo told Reidel that as long as he could convince Wilhelm II, and their jointly formulated plan could be implemented, he would be satisfied.

After Telpitz and Reidel left, Zhang Hainuo embarked on the journey back to Wilhelmshaven alone.

If this plan could be implemented, Zhang Hainuo hadn't seriously considered what role he would play. Becoming Chief of Naval Staff or Fleet Staff was out of the question, especially since he was only 21 years old. A 21-year-old naval lieutenant was already outstanding in Germany, but someone like Reidel, who was lucky enough to be appreciated by Telpitz and Wilhelm II, was already 40 years old and still only a Navy Major!

During the war, officers could travel for free by train with their officer ID and official leave permit. While waiting bored at the train station, Zhang Hainuo tried calling Wilhelmshaven. Despite the hassle of being transferred from line to line and being thoroughly questioned about his name, rank, and who he was calling, he managed to get through.

To his surprise, Eduard's voice came through in less than 2 minutes.

After briefly explaining the situation to Eduard, Zhang Hainuo told him that he would probably arrive in Wilhelmshaven the day after tomorrow. He had originally wanted Eduard to pick him up from the station, but Eduard gave him a suggestion that sounded good: Ostersleben was near Magdeburg, where the railway from Brandenburg to Wilhelmshaven passed through. Since there were still several days left on this official leave, why not take the opportunity to visit home?

Home...

This word had a very complex meaning for Zhang Hainuo. His real home was probably unreachable now, and as for the estate in the countryside of Ostersleben, that was the home of Hainuo von Finkenstein. However, if he wanted to continue living in this era as Hainuo von Finkenstein, going "home" would be an inevitable eventuality.

Before hanging up the phone, Zhang Hainuo said to Edwin, "Then please tell Lieutenant Colonel von Laurenz for me that I'm going home this time, and if necessary, the time spent these days can be deducted from my regular leave!"

"Don't worry! Your uncle, Lieutenant Colonel, won't make things difficult for you, right? After you arrive in Magdeburg, transfer to Ostersleben, remember the address, it's Fink Manor in the southern outskirts of Ostersleben!" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded relaxed.

Although it was wartime, German trains were still very punctual, and there were quite a few civilians traveling by train — after all, the main battlefields were in France and Russia, and English and French planes rarely flew into Germany's interior for bombing, so the domestic order in Germany was relatively stable.

Zhang Hainuo found an empty seat and sat down. Sitting opposite him was a young woman with her two children. The older one was a boy, about ten years old, with many freckles on his face; the younger one was a girl, at most three or four years old, with curly golden hair, looking like a cute doll.

The little boy held his mother's hand and looked at Zhang Hainuo timidly, but the little girl was not shy at all. In her milky voice, she asked, "Mister Officer, are you also going to France?"

Bending down, Zhang Hainuo said, "No, I'm going to Magdeburg, and then I'll transfer from there to my home in Ostersleben! Are you all going to France? It's a war there!"

The little girl probably didn't have much of a concept of "war" yet, and she said slowly, "My daddy is there! We're going to see daddy!"

At this point, the young woman smiled and explained, "My husband is a lieutenant in the army, and their unit happens to be withdrawing from the front lines for a rest. But it's difficult to get a long leave to return home, so we're going to France to see him!"

"I see!"

Zhang Hainuo then noticed that there were quite a few women and children on this train from Berlin to western Germany, and most of them were dressed similarly to the three opposite him. Although not particularly splendid, their attire was considered middle to upper class in Germany. It seemed that many of them were family members of military officers, and their ultimate destination was probably France too!

"You're serving in the navy, right?" The young woman looked at Zhang Hainuo's uniform, which was obviously different from what her husband wore.

"Yes, in the High Seas Fleet!" Zhang Hainuo didn't consider this confidential information, as almost all German naval personnel, except for various coastal defense units, were part of the High Seas Fleet.

"Which warship?" The boy suddenly spoke, his voice not loud.

Zhang Hainuo smiled and asked him back, "Young man, do you know the names of many warships?"

"I'm not a young man, I'm Moses Beil, ten years old this year!" The boy blushed, but then he rattled off a long list of ship names:

"I know Nassau, Westfalen, Rheinland, Posen, Helgoland, Ostfriesland, Thüringen, Oldenburg, Kaiser, Friedrich der Große, Königin, Albert König, Ludwig III Prinzregent, König Albert, Großherzog, Grenadier and Kronprinz Wilhelm!"

Wow, the entire dreadnought battleship fleet of Germany was listed here. Zhang Hainuo couldn't help but admire the boy in front of him.

"Are you serving on one of these warships?" The boy stared at Zhang Hainuo seriously.

Zhang Hainuo shook his head, "No, I'm not serving on a battleship!"

"Deutschland, Seydlitz, Moltke, Von der Tann?" The boy then rattled off all the battleship cruisers of the German Navy, except for Goeben, which had ostensibly been sold to Turkey (and Lützow, which sank in the Battle of Jutland).

"Moses!" The young woman stopped the boy with a reproachful tone, then turned to Zhang Hainuo with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, this child is obsessed with warships!"

"It's okay!" Zhang Hainuo looked at the boy, who looked wronged, and said softly, "This time you guessed right!"

"Which one is it?" The boy, reprimanded by his mother, lowered his voice this time.

"Keep guessing!"

The boy muttered the four names in his mouth and then looked up, "Seydlitz!"

Zhang Hainuo smiled without answering but secretly raised a thumbs up to him.

"Wow..." The boy quickly shook his mother's arm, "Mom, it's an unsinkable battleship, an unsinkable battleship!"

The young woman just smiled and patted his head.

"Seydlitz, the unsinkable battleship! Mom, oh, that's great!" The boy was so excited that he was a bit incoherent, until Zhang Hainuo gestured to him not to say it out loud, he quieted down slightly. But soon after, he jumped to Zhang Hainuo's seat, showing a completely different side from his initial shyness, bombarding Zhang Hainuo with questions.

For the boy's questions, Zhang Hainuo could only pick some non-confidential ones to satisfy his immense curiosity. Nevertheless, when he got off the train, the boy still idolized him as a top hero.

"When I grow up, I will definitely join the German Navy and go to sea to fight with Seydlitz!"

Outside the train window, Zhang Hainuo smiled and waved to the young boy, but deep down, he still felt somewhat heavy - if Reiderl couldn't persuade the German Emperor and the senior naval command this time, the ultimate fate of the Seydlitz would still be the icy depths of the Pas-de-Calais Bay!