The fruitless negotiation continued until nightfall when Anna came in to remind him, "Your Highness, dinner is ready. Shall I have it brought here?"
Normally, Wilhelm would eat in his office, but today was different. "No, we have guests today. We'll eat in the dining room. Go bring the two young princesses here."
Queen Elizabeth spoke up, "I have no appetite. Your Highness Wilhelm, I'll go back to rest."
Wilhelm raised an eyebrow. "That wouldn't be right. Letting guests go hungry isn't very hospitable, and if word got out, people might think we mistreat our guests. Besides, I've heard that resources are scarce in Britain, with the royal family leading by example in economizing, eating potatoes and grilled herring every meal. Honestly, British cuisine leaves much to be desired." When one thinks of British food, images of bread, fish, and chips might come to mind, but there's also the infamous "British dark cuisine."
The notorious "Stargazy Pie" tops the list, followed by the equally unappetizing eel jelly, and the universally loathed haggis...
Of course, German cuisine isn't much better; in essence, it's a plate of meat, potatoes, salad, and sauerkraut, which feels overly "rustic."
Seeing Wilhelm's insistence, Queen Elizabeth's face showed a hint of helplessness, and she replied, "Then I'll go change."
The etiquette of the British Royal Family is quite complex; they change clothes at least three times a day for meals. Breakfast requires one to be fully dressed before eating, and for luncheons or formal dinners, even more thought goes into attire. After breakfast, they must change clothes before going out for hunting or strolling in the garden. Upon returning in the afternoon, they must bathe and change before having afternoon tea. Before dinner, they must change into evening attire.
Of course, the German royal etiquette is similarly elaborate, but Wilhelm thought it was too troublesome and simplified most of the formalities, earning him a reputation for being approachable.
Wilhelm arrived at the dining room first, and soon after, Queen Elizabeth and her daughters, having changed clothes, were led there by a secretary.
Margaret ran over excitedly. "Brother Wilhelm, there are so many beautiful fairy tales in the library!"
Wilhelm gently patted her head. "If you like them, you can take any you want."
"Really?" Margaret exclaimed with joy. "Thank you, Brother Wilhelm!"
Little Elizabeth asked, "Brother Wilhelm, what did you mean by finding the 'Little Prince's' homeland? Are you going to write a sequel?"
Wilhelm gave a mysterious smile. "Not a fairy tale story; I really will send people to find it."
"Ah?" Little Elizabeth opened her mouth in surprise, and even Queen Elizabeth glanced at him.
Little Elizabeth asked curiously, "How will you go about it?"
Wilhelm had an attendant fetch a small blackboard. "It's actually quite simple. Have you heard the Eastern story of 'Chang'e flying to the moon'?"
"Heard of it!" Margaret shouted.
At this point, an attendant brought in a small blackboard, and Wilhelm drew a few circles on it. "This is our solar system. Margaret, do you know what the solar system is?"
Margaret shook her head in disappointment. "No."
Wilhelm smiled. "It's normal not to know at your age. Elizabeth, do you know?"
Little Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. In the middle is the Sun, followed by Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto."
"Correct. This is our Earth, and this is the Moon. We'll build a very big, very fast airplane to fly from Earth to the Moon, just like 'Chang'e flying to the moon.'"
Here, Wilhelm remembered an interesting theory from the future. It suggests that Houyi and Chang'e were aliens who escaped to Earth. Nine alien ships came to capture them, appearing like nine suns in the sky to Earthlings. Houyi shot down all nine ships, but his own ship was damaged in the fight.
Houyi found materials on Mount Kunlun to repair his ship, but it could only accommodate one person (perhaps due to issues with the propulsion or life support systems). Chang'e secretly took the ship and left Houyi alone on Earth (she might have made a stopover on the Moon or crashed into it). Unable to leave, Houyi became a king among humans, often drinking and hunting due to his bad mood, and was eventually killed by humans.
"This big plane will fly for several days and nights before landing on the Moon. Then, we'll send more planes and engineers to build houses, cultivate land on the Moon. The Moon will become humanity's outpost, a stepping stone for further exploration to Mars..." As he spoke, Wilhelm sighed inwardly.
In the original timeline, after WWII, the U.S. and the Soviet Union became the world's superpowers, engaging in a "Space Race" to claim the title of the world's leading nation by exploring space.
Initially, the Soviets were far ahead, launching the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, and then sending the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space in 1961. However, the Americans, not wanting to be left behind, worked diligently on their Apollo program. In 1969, American astronauts successfully traveled from Earth to the Moon, marking the first time humans set foot on another celestial body, igniting the dream of space travel.
Since the late 1980s, humanity has been preparing to land on Mars, aiming to make it a second home. Initially, scientists considered Venus, Earth's "sister planet," due to its proximity, but upon exploration, Venus proved too hostile for human habitation, leading to Mars being the next target.
Data shows that Mars is at its closest 55 million kilometers from Earth, with this proximity occurring about once every 16 years, and at its farthest, it's 420 million kilometers away. The distance between the Moon and Earth is only 380,000 kilometers, highlighting how far Mars is in comparison.
In the vast journey through space, one must consider energy supply, safety, and many other issues. Clearly, reaching Mars is far more challenging than landing on the Moon.
For example, traveling from Earth to Mars, at the closest distance of 55 million kilometers and with the maximum speed of space probes (approximately 21.2 km/s), the journey should theoretically take about 30 days.
However, in reality, due to various factors (speed, spacecraft trajectory changes, acceleration and deceleration processes, gravitational slingshot maneuvers), the trip from Earth to Mars takes around 6 to 7 months.
Moreover, upon arrival, astronauts need to spend a considerable time on Mars for data collection and other tasks. After that, it takes a long time to return to Earth, making the round trip several years long. Additionally, space is full of unpredictable events, and without a fully developed plan and 100% certainty, sending astronauts on such a mission is imprudent. This is why, decades after the Moon landings, we still haven't set foot on Mars.