In the fifth month after the war ended, the Dardanelles Strait, the only maritime passage from the Mediterranean to Istanbul and the Black Sea, had already resumed its pre-war bustle. The once formidable mines that had troubled the Allied fleet were nowhere to be seen. However, the forts on both shores, with their black gun barrels faintly visible, still defended the last dignity of the Ottoman Empire.
At this time, negotiations between the Allied powers and the Turkish government were in full swing. By the time the Treaty of Sèvres was signed, this strait was supposed to come under international control.
Amidst the frequent passage of ships in this strait, a white, weathered cargo ship seemed inconspicuous. To the dignitaries on the larger vessels, it appeared like a rural pilgrim heading to Istanbul, emanating a scent of earthiness.
"From now on, he is Mitchell Braun, an Austrian businessman. He has his assistant Oliver Hubert and me, Engbert Link, his partner. You are still you, Arslan, our hired Turkish guide. Understand?"
Although this had been instructed before leaving the submarine formation, the matter was significant, so Zhang Hainuo couldn't help but reiterate.
The Turkish guide nodded obediently and pointed at Otto von Glencove, "Mr. Mitchell Braun, Austrian businessman," then at Sergil Shahed, the chief engineer of U148, "Oliver Hubert, assistant," and finally at Zhang Hainuo, "Engbert Link, partner!"
Zhang Hainuo, Otto, and Sergil exchanged knowing smiles. In addition to the Elgar family and Arslan, those who came with the fast boat also included Blatz, Simon, and another 12 sailors with experience serving on surface ships. Blatz and Simon's roles were self-explanatory, while these sailors were tasked with piloting the ship to the designated meeting point after Zhang Hainuo and his team purchased it. Sergil Shahed was familiar with the ship's power system and acted as an advisor for this ship-buying operation. As for Otto, being a military officer with a nobility background, he was chosen to lead this ship-buying operation—being a young nobleman from Vienna, while Zhang Hainuo acted as a partner, providing references and partial funding.
"Entering the Dardanelles, we are truly in Turkey. It is said that those who have been to Istanbul truly understand what a great city is!"
Sitting on the aft deck, Otto spoke these words as if reciting poetry. He told Zhang Hainuo that most of his knowledge came from the vast family library, which was a world of books. The shelves, several meters high, were filled with various books, and there were even wooden ladders shaped like large adult letters that were two stories high. As for how many books were in the library, even their butler couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that the family library had a history of over 200 years!
Suddenly, Zhang Hainuo wondered if there were many valuable rare books, manuscripts, and scrolls in such an ancient library. The value of a cabinet of books might far exceed that of a cabinet of gold. From this alone, one could see the strength of the Glencove family. Such a noble family, accumulated over dozens of generations, was obviously not comparable to the nouveau riche of the Lübeck family. Just thinking that a young man like Otto, who had just turned 20, could possess such rich knowledge made Zhang Hainuo understand wealth from another perspective.
After passing through the Dardanelles, the view ahead suddenly cleared. This was the Sea of Marmara, an inland sea located between the Dardanelles and the Istanbul Strait, and also the smallest sea in the world. It would take several more hours from here to reach the Turkish capital, Istanbul.
"Otto, don't you miss your family?" Zhang Hainuo asked, as during the investigation on the two submarines before, it was found that Otto had opted to go to the Americas rather than return to Germany.
"I miss my mother. She was the one who loved me most in the whole family, but unfortunately, she passed away when I was 10 years old! After that, almost all of my leisure time outside of school was spent in that large library, until I entered the Kiel Naval School at the age of 17!"
Otto's tone was flat, but his eyes seemed somewhat dim.
Seeing this, Zhang Hainuo gave up on asking about Otto's other family members and instead asked him, "What was your childhood dream?"
"A dream?" Otto looked down at the white spray rising from the stern. "To become a marshal, whether in the army or the navy! But now, that dream seems too far away!"
"My dream is to become a marshal too!" Zhang Hainuo raised his voice slightly. "I used to hope to be a land army marshal commanding thousands of troops, but now! Haha! It's to be a naval marshal commanding a powerful fleet!"
Otto glanced at him, and the gloom on his face seemed to dissipate with the wind, revealing a look of indifference.
"What about you, Sergil?" Zhang Hainuo turned his gaze to the shy chief engineer, who was a year older than himself.
"Me? Serve, become an officer, get married, have children!"
When Sergil said this, both Zhang Hainuo and Otto smiled kindly. This dream was simple and pure, and it was also the easiest to achieve among the three of them.
"Captain, do you think Germany will still have a powerful fleet?" The news of the High Seas Fleet being escorted to Paschaflour had already come, and now there were only a few months left until the famous Operation Rainbow. Although Otto couldn't predict this, he knew logically that the Allied powers would not return their thorns in the eye and meat in the throat to Germany!
"It will! Although Germany lost this war, the indomitable spirit of the Germans and the unwillingness in people's hearts destined that this country would rebuild its military strength in several years and have another fight with its old enemies!"
After a long time, Otto said, "Hopefully, we won't fail again!"
"We won't!"
Sergil suddenly said in an unusually firm tone. When Zhang Hainuo turned to look at the plain face, it was filled with the belief of battle.
Although the fastest boat was fast, it wasn't until sunset that they arrived in Istanbul. Under the setting sun, the immense city revealed a different kind of shock from an industrial metropolis—the majestic city walls, towering spires, and those cannons on display all showcased their might, even though the country behind them was at its weakest.
"Elgar, are you sure you can get enough authentic-looking Austrian passports in Istanbul?" Before the boat docked, Zhang Hainuo asked Elgar, who had long been running ships between Istanbul and Antalya before the war.
After Arslan translated the question, Elgar said, "Yes, as long as you can afford the price, my friend can even get fake British passports! In fact, the difference between these fake passports and real ones is just that they don't have corresponding files in the national database!"