Chapter 20: Insurmountable Obstacles

After announcing the next phase of the Cretan Treasure Hunt plan, Zhang Hainuo and Hesen each rallied their crews. Then they proceeded with their first "dividend" since arriving in the Aegean Sea:

Each ordinary crew member received gold coins worth 5000 Turkish pounds and silver coins worth 2000 pounds. Petty officers received approximately 5500 pounds in gold coins and 2500 pounds in silver coins per person, while officers received about 6000 pounds in gold coins and 3000 pounds in silver coins per person.

Gold and silver, the two most familiar metals representing wealth, filled the small pouches made from fabrics purchased in Antalya Harbor and sewn by Aunt Elga's hands. Though slightly larger than an adult's fist, the weight inside made everyone feel the tangible reality of their newfound riches.

To prevent any incidents detrimental to unity on board, Zhang Hainuo and Hesen jointly issued two new regulations: firstly, crew members could gamble during card games, but each round must not exceed 10 Turkish pounds; secondly, in case of theft, the perpetrator would have half of their wealth confiscated the first time and be deprived of future dividends the second time.

With everything prepared, Simon, Bratz, the Elga family, and the young guide Alsarlan boarded the express boat to purchase the next batch of supplies in Antalya Harbor, while the two submarines set sail for the target waters near Crete.

Since the issuance of the first dividends, "What to do with the money" had become the hottest topic among the crew members.

"What to do with the money after having it" was also a question Zhang Hainuo had been pondering all along. To make a fortune quickly, profiting from national crises was a shortcut, but he would never choose this path. It wasn't because of some lofty sense of justice or patriotism, but rather, he knew well that once such actions became known to the public, his reputation would suffer greatly, making it difficult for him to thrive in military circles in the future!

Without profiting from national crises, engaging in business in the United States seemed like a good option. After all, during this era, many later-famous businesses and commercial figures were still relatively unknown. Coca-Cola's influence was limited to certain regions of the United States, while Pepsi-Cola wouldn't emerge until a year later. Brands like KFC and McDonald's, which would later have global influence, would take decades to appear. Additionally, some highly potential products hadn't been developed yet, like nylon, sunglasses, and jeeps.

In business, foresight meant significant opportunities and wealth. Due to his background in economics, Zhang Hainuo knew very well that in two years, in 1920, the United States would experience its first post-war economic crisis. In the nine years following that, the US economy would rapidly grow under the influence of "economic bubbles" in stocks, bonds, and so on, creating a miracle in the history of capitalist economies known as the "era of speculators." In 1929, another global economic crisis would sweep through, wiping out the entire financial market. Stock and house prices would plummet, but this would also present another opportunity for some speculators to make a fortune!

Whenever these thoughts crossed his mind, Zhang Hainuo couldn't wait to take Anna to the United States for a prosperous and peaceful life. But this beautiful and simple idea couldn't overcome his innermost goal—the Second World War!

During this time, Zhang Hainuo had been considering how to return to Germany. Directly reporting to the Navy Department was currently unrealistic. The "Wolfpack Trial" had already made him deeply aware of the conservative and rigid thinking of those high-ranking naval officers. Returning with two submarines wouldn't make him a hero; instead, there was a 95% chance he'd be labeled a deserter and face a long prison term!

As for these two submarines, the likelihood of the current German Navy daring to retain them was very low!

Not being able to bring the submarines back to Germany, did that mean everyone would have to live on this desolate Hesen Island for a year or two?

Zhang Hainuo didn't think this was a solution. Firstly, long-term drifting would erode the passion and morale of the crew members. Secondly, the longer they stayed, the higher the probability of being discovered by Turkish authorities or the British. According to his initial plan, the Caribbean would be a better hiding place than the Aegean Sea—there were numerous islands there, and the phenomenon of power struggles and power vacuums between countries was common. Although piracy wasn't as rampant as in the past with the onset of the industrial age, the Caribbean still remained a good refuge.

A group of pirates with advanced submarines—Zhang Hainuo thought this was a creative idea. Just imagine, among the Caribbean countries, no country's maritime power was strong enough to crush these two submarines. Of course, this was just an unrealistic idea because once these two submarines appeared in public, they would not only attract investigation from Britain and the United States but also face relentless attacks from the Allied navies!

No matter how powerful the two submarines were, they couldn't compete with a whole fleet!

"Captain, look, U21 seems to be in trouble!"

Upon hearing Otto's words, Zhang Hainuo, who had been observing the sea ahead, immediately turned his gaze to U21, which had been sailing alongside his own boat at a distance of 500 yards to starboard. It was now getting farther away—its speed noticeably slowing down!

"Is it malfunctioning again?"

The reason Zhang Hainuo said "again" was because Hesen had told him that U21 had experienced several mechanical failures during previous solo searches for sunken ships. It was only after the crew's repairs that it could continue sailing.

The crew on U21 quickly signaled with flags:

"Our boat has a malfunction and is being repaired!"

Encountering such trouble shortly after setting sail, Zhang Hainuo could only feel helpless. After all, U21 was a submarine that had been in service for over four years. It had followed Hesen on a long journey to the Mediterranean during World War I and had experienced dozens of battles, large and small. Its hull and internal systems had been damaged multiple times, undergoing major repairs twice. What's more, Hesen Island lacked proper repair equipment. Every time the submarines returned from a voyage, the crew had to perform maintenance and repairs themselves. Although U21 and U148 carried some spare parts, they could only deal with minor frequent malfunctions. Once the main propulsion system was damaged, they had to return to a naval base for repair!

Zhang Hainuo felt somewhat fortunate that his U148 was a long-range submarine that had been in service for only a little over half a year. The equipment on board was much better than that of U21, and apart from a minor scrape on its hull from a reef earlier, there hadn't been any major issues during this time. But that didn't mean it could drift indefinitely in the Mediterranean. With time, mechanical wear and tear would bring more trouble to these brave sailors.

"Ask if they need our help!" Zhang Hainuo instructed his communication officer to signal with flags.

The reply came quickly from the other side: "Please patrol nearby! We are trying to repair!"

Glancing into the distance, Zhang Hainuo felt relieved seeing that Hesen Island was still within his line of sight. If U21 couldn't be repaired immediately, they could still return to Hesen Island directly. However, if they wanted to continue their plans, they had to find a way to solve the issue of submarine spare parts!

Nearly an hour later, U21 sent another signal with flags:

"Our main propulsion engine malfunction cannot be resolved, and we can only rely on the electric propulsion engine temporarily!"

Zhang Hainuo had no choice but to escort this submarine with a damaged main artery back to Hesen Island. Upon returning to the island, he had his submarine's machinists and dedicated mechanical repairmen go to U21 for assistance, while he himself pondered over a sea chart in the command cabin of U148.

Shortly after, Hesen climbed down from the gangway, looking frustrated as he walked. "The gears of the engine are worn out too severely, and the central oil pipe of the engine is also damaged. Without spare parts, the submarine probably won't be able to move!"

If U21 were an ordinary German ship, they might have been able to buy spare parts in Antalya. But the parts used on submarines were specially designed precision military items. Even in some small naval ports, it might not be possible to acquire them.

"Do we want to try buying some parts from the Turkish Navy at a high price?"

Originally, Zhang Hainuo didn't have much hope for this idea, but at this point, Pola Harbor and other ports in southern Austria-Hungary had been ceded to the newly independent Yugoslavia. The ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy would be divided among the Allied powers and Yugoslavia. It was impossible to get help from them. That left only the Turks. After all, during World War I, Germany had sent ships to assist the Turkish Navy in combat. There should still be some repair equipment available with the Turkish Navy.

Hesen came to Zhang Hainuo's side, and although they had studied the eastern Mediterranean sea chart countless times, he still stared at the lines on it for a long while.

"It seems that there's a dock in Istanbul specifically for repairing submarines, but without connections, it's too risky for us to go there! Even if the Turks are willing to sell us the parts, there's no guarantee they won't leak the secrets of U21 and U148!"

These words almost blocked the way to Turkey to purchase submarine parts, because once this news reached the ears of Britain and France, they would definitely spare no effort to find these two German submarines. Letting such offensive weapons stay in the Mediterranean posed a significant threat to Allied shipping routes! Furthermore, the armistice treaty stipulated that Germany must surrender all submarines. If Britain and France used these two submarines as an excuse to violate the armistice treaty, Zhang Hainuo and his crew would be considered "criminals"!