Rügen, the largest island in northeastern Germany, boasts a mild climate and beautiful scenery, making it a popular destination for leisure vacations. Consequently, the island is dotted with palaces and villas belonging to royalty and nobility, with the German Navy's sanatorium also located here.
Though the German High Seas Fleet, upon its return from the Battle of Jutland, failed to break the British naval blockade, its courage and tactical victories against overwhelming odds made it a source of national pride. Most of those who participated in the battle received various forms of recognition. Among those promoted and decorated was Lieutenant Haino von Finkenstein, whose name was prominently featured on the promotion and honors list. For his dedicated service as a torpedo officer aboard the Seydlitz, and for bravely fighting despite being wounded, he was promoted to the rank of Navy Lieutenant, and awarded both the Iron Cross First Class and the Royal Wound Badge.
Soon after, the heavily damaged Seydlitz was sent for extensive repairs, and Lieutenant Haino, bearing severe wounds, was sent to the Navy sanatorium on the island of Rügen for recuperation. After an initial period of adjustment, Zhang Haino quickly adapted to everything in this era—no smartphones, no computers, no internet—just the quaint decor, traditional-style food, and nurses in long aprons.
"Hey, buddy, you're really living the life here!"
These words came from Sublieutenant Edwin, the first person Zhang Haino had seen since arriving in this era. His eyes, however, were fixed on the young nurse who had just passed by. It had been almost a month since Zhang Haino arrived, and Edwin, rumored to be his brother, had finally taken leave to visit him. But now, he seemed more interested in the nurses than in Zhang Haino's condition.
"Living the life? Can't eat seafood, can't drink alcohol, and getting injections every day! God, I swear I've never had this many shots in my life. Don't believe me? Look at my butt…" Zhang Haino said, pretending to lift his buttocks to show Edwin, who recoiled in horror.
"Stop it, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea! If you ask me, I'd rather be injured like you, get promoted twice, receive medals, and lie here leisurely every day while beautiful nurses give me shots! Seriously!"
"But didn't you also get promoted and receive the Iron Cross?"
"Yeah, I'm a Navy Sublieutenant now, but what about you? Lieutenant Haino von Finkenstein, should I salute you?" Edwin joked, pulling out a bottle from his bag. "Back at the Naval Academy, you were always better at drinking than me! Here, top-notch whiskey, I'll stash it in your cupboard!"
Was I really such a heavy drinker before? Zhang Haino wondered silently, but no one answered.
"Uh, thanks, Edwin, my best friend! But… I think I have to tell you a secret! A little secret!" Zhang Haino bit his lip, glancing at Edwin's reaction.
"Oh, come on! Is there anything I don't know about you?" Edwin said nonchalantly.
"Really, listen to me!" Zhang Haino motioned for him to come closer, then whispered, "This injury has caused me to lose some of my memories!"
"Lost memories?" Edwin almost exclaimed, but Zhang Haino quickly covered his mouth with his left hand.
"Shh… you want them to kick me out of the Navy as an amnesiac?"
Upon hearing this, Edwin calmed down, though his eyes still betrayed his skepticism.
"Lieutenant von Finkenstein, are you really not joking with me?"
Zhang Haino nodded earnestly.
Edwin scooted his chair closer and glanced around cautiously, making sure no one could overhear them before asking in a low voice, "Do you remember who you are? Your age? Who is your father?"
"I was born in May 1895, just turned 21 this year! My father is… old Finkenstein, uh… the memory is a bit fuzzy!" Zhang Haino closed his eyes, pretending to struggle to recall.
"Baron Kurt von Finkenstein, a true gentleman, but his only flaw was spending too much time at the card table, so when he passed away, he left you only with the baron title and a small, old estate!" Edwin said with a sigh.
"What about your mother?"
"I… I only remember her appearance, her name… seems very long?"
"Yes, it is very long, so long that I can't remember it! I only know that your mother was Bavarian, and you had an uncle, the Laurence family, they were both surnamed Lawrence, I mean before your mother married your father!"
It was evident that Edwin was beginning to believe Zhang Haino's story of amnesia.
"Alright, tell me what you want to know, and I'll see if I can help you recover those lost memories!"
This was exactly what Zhang Haino had been waiting for.
"Tell me about my family! The Finkenstein family! Uh… do I have any other family members?"
"That's a family with a long and storied history. Remember Albert von Finkenstein? You used to tell me he was a Prussian Army Marshal in the early 18th century, and your family descended from him! It seems like your family started declining from your grandfather's generation, but it still holds onto its military traditions! As for your family members... I think there's an old steward, a couple of servants, and oh, you have a fiancée too! Fenna! Remember?"
"A fiancée?" Zhang Hainuo was taken aback, but he quickly composed himself, shaking his head to indicate that he had "lost" that memory.
"What about the naval academy you mentioned earlier?"
"No way! You forgot about that too?" Edwen's expression was one of extreme surprise and disbelief, as if that should have been one of the most ingrained memories in Hainuo's mind.
"The Prussian Naval Academy?" Hainuo tentatively asked, although he had no idea about naval academies in the Germany of Wilhelm II's era.
"Oh..." Hainuo feigned innocence, his face showing that he found the name of Admiral Tirpitz both distant and familiar. Historically, Tirpitz had founded the German Imperial Navy's High Seas Fleet, but couldn't change its eventual fate.
After a moment of silence, Edwen asked with some trepidation, "Hainuo, you haven't forgotten everything we learned at the naval academy, have you?"
"I don't want to, but it seems like that's the case now!"
Taking a deep breath, Hainuo explained further, "Listen, Edwen, I've thought a lot about it. The most important thing right now isn't how to retrieve my lost memories because they might be gone forever! The doctor says my injuries have healed well, and I can return to duty in six or seven weeks, but I know nothing about the professional and command aspects anymore, as if I've never been to that naval academy in Kiel!"
"And the Seydlitz, you spent three years on that battleship, I suppose you've forgotten those things too!" Edwen added, somewhat resignedly.
"Exactly! So I must relearn everything I missed during this time! Edwen, only you can help me now!" Hainuo looked earnestly at him, and Edwen, though visibly startled by the request, eventually agreed to help him.
"Alright, Hainuo, maybe you really have exceptional abilities, but even if you don't, it's okay. We can stay on the Seydlitz. Don't worry, no one will trouble you there, and I'll do everything possible to assist you!"
"Thank you!" It was a heartfelt expression from Hainuo.
Edwen left and returned three days later with a whole box of books. Later, Hainuo found out that Edwen had gone to great lengths to collect these textbooks, even delaying his own return trip. In the disciplined German Navy, being late for duty was a serious offense, but since it was wartime and the Seydlitz was still in the dock, the duty officers showed some leniency, though they still confined Edwen to a week of solitary confinement.
Meanwhile, Hainuo started studying tirelessly in his hospital bed. At first, the diagrams and explanations in the textbooks made him dizzy, but with a do-or-die attitude, he persevered. Page after page, book after book, he finished "Torpedo Technology Principles" in the first week, followed by "Torpedo Warfare" and "How to Become a Competent Commander". By the third week, he was surprised to receive a letter from Edwen, describing some of their experiences at the academy and on the Seydlitz, along with a few photos of them together. It touched Hainuo deeply.
As time went on, the books in the box dwindled, while the stack of letters and notes Hainuo received grew taller, so much so that the nurses would jokingly commend him for it whenever they came to change his bandages or administer injections. But despite the praise, very few nurses would bother to tidy up his belongings during their shifts.