World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

Beside the repair dock of the "Seidlitz", a group of sailors climbed on scaffolding, watching the port entry ceremony from afar.

Karl Heinrich—the engine room mechanic—was among them. His left arm was still bandaged, a burn from a steam leak during the Battle of the North Sea ten days earlier. The doctor told him to rest, but he insisted on coming to see the doctor.

"My God..." A young sailor next to him exclaimed, his mouth agape. "Is that really a ship? It's like a floating castle."

"I heard that a single shell from the main gun weighs a ton," another sailor said. "A ton! Our 280mm gun shells only weigh 300 kilograms."

Karl remained silent. He stared at the sleek lines of the two ships, his mind wandering to their engine rooms. To reach 30 knots, how high must the boiler pressure be? How fast must the turbines spin? How was the cooling system designed? During the Battle of Jutland, the Seydlitz suffered a severe heatstroke in its boiler room due to a cooling system malfunction, resulting in the deaths of three engine room crew members.

If our ships had this technology...

An old soldier patted him on the shoulder: "Stop looking, kid. Even if you keep looking, it's not ours. It was made by Lanfang, and the Germans bought it."

"But why can't we build it?" Karl blurted out. "We have Krupp, we have Rheinmetall, we have the best engineers in all of Europe..."

The veteran gave a wry smile: "Because of money, kid. Because of resources. Because of the war. How much would it cost to build a ship like this? Enough to build twenty submarines, enough to produce a million shells, enough to feed 500,000 soldiers on the front lines for a month. The emperor chose to buy, not build, because buying is faster and more direct."

Karl fell silent. He recalled what his instructor had said at the marine engineering school: "Technology has no borders, but engineers have a homeland." Now, the engineers of his homeland couldn't build such a ship and had to buy it from others.

This filled him with an indescribable sorrow.

At the dock, the "Yellow River" slowly approached Pier 1. Mooring lines were deployed, bollards tightened, and the massive hull gently touched the crash pads. The engine noise gradually subsided and finally ceased. In the ensuing silence, only the cries of seagulls and the suppressed breathing of the crowd could be heard.

Then, the gangway on the side of the bridge was slowly lowered.

Major General Litt was the first to step off the gangway and onto German soil.

Central Plaza of Port William Naval Base, 2:30 p.m.

The square had been transformed into a ceremony venue. A temporary platform was covered with a red carpet, with a backdrop of a huge Iron Cross emblem and the German Imperial Navy flag. Naval honor guards lined both sides, soldiers in crisp dress uniforms, holding Mauser rifles, their bayonets gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

More than 20,000 people gathered around the square: naval officers and soldiers, government officials, diplomatic envoys, and journalists. All cameras and eyes were focused on the platform—where Emperor Wilhelm II, Field Marshal Tirpitz, principal officials of the Admiralty, and Rear Admiral Litte, representing the Lanfang handover team, sat.

Wilhelm II was clearly in a good mood today. He wore a white summer dress uniform for a Grand Admiral, his chest adorned with medals, held his marshal's baton, and wore a rare smile. In the past two months, progress at Verdun had stalled, pressure at the Somme was immense, and domestic tensions had escalated; he hadn't shown such an expression in a long time.

Tirpitz sat to the Emperor's right, his expression far more complex. He maintained the standard military posture, but deep in his eyes lay a lingering weariness and… a kind of shame. As the architect of the German Navy, his lifelong dream had been realized by another nation, while his own fleet lay battered and bruised in the dock.

The master of ceremonies stepped to the front of the stage and announced in a loud voice, "The ceremony begins! Play the national anthem!"

The military band played "Germany Above All Else." Everyone stood, right hand over their chest. The officers, including Litte and Lanfang, simply stood at attention, without giving the German salute—a pre-arranged detail: they represented a sovereign state, not a vassal of Germany.

The national anthem ended. Wilhelm II walked to the podium without a prepared speech.

"Gentlemen! Admirals and sailors! Citizens of Germany!" The Emperor's voice resounded throughout the square through the loudspeakers, "Today, we gather here to witness a historic moment! We are witnessing not only the commissioning of two warships, but also the beginning of a new era for the German Navy!"

A thunderous applause erupted. Wilhelm waited for the applause to subside before continuing, "Over the past two years, our naval officers and men have demonstrated the power of the German spirit with unparalleled courage and sacrifice! From Coronel to Falkland, from Dogg Beach to Jutland, the German Navy has never feared any enemy!"

More applause followed. Tirpitz noticed that the Emperor deliberately avoided mentioning the North Sea skirmish ten days earlier—a "victory" that came at the cost of the Seydlitz being almost totaled.

"But," Wilhelm changed the subject, "war is cruel. We lost brave sailors, we lost precious warships. Some people doubted because of this, some wavered because of this. Some even said that the German naval dream had been shattered!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire room: "Today, I will prove those people wrong with facts!"

The emperor pointed towards the dock. All eyes turned to him. On the bows of the two giant ships, objects covered by canvas were being slowly unveiled.

"Look! This is the future naval power of Germany! This is our answer to all doubts!"

"Now I will name two super battleships!!!"

The warship on the left: "BISMARCK".

The warship on the right: "TIRPITZ".

A moment of silence fell over the entire arena, followed by a deafening roar of cheers. People chanted "Long live the Emperor!" "Long live the Navy!"

Tirpitz froze. He stared intently at the bow of the ship bearing his name, his lips trembling slightly. As an old-school Prussian soldier, he rarely showed his emotions, but at this moment, he felt something stuck in his throat.

Wilhelm II turned around, walked up to Tirpitz, and extended his hand.

"Alfred," the Emperor's voice was soft, barely audible to those on the platform, "this ship is named after you. Not because you were a Grand Admiral, not because you served as Minister of the Navy, but because... you are the soul of the German Navy. For the past twenty years, without you, there would be no fleet."

Tirpitz stood up and took the emperor's hand. His hand was trembling.

"Your Majesty, I... I am unworthy of such an honor. We did not achieve a decisive victory at Jutland, we suffered heavy losses in the North Sea campaign, and our High Seas Fleet is still blockaded in port..."

"But you're still here." William gripped his hand tightly. "You're still fighting for the German Navy. Alfred, I know we've had disagreements, I know you're not happy with some of my decisions. But please believe me, I've always respected your professional judgment and always understood your caution."

The Emperor paused, lowering his voice even further: "These two ships are our hope for breaking the deadlock. But I need you, I need your experience, I need your wisdom, to turn this hope into reality. So, stop saying 'unworthy.' Only you deserve the name 'Tirpitz.'"

Tirpitz closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, a light rekindled in his eyes—the light of a nearly extinguished torch being reignited.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." His voice was hoarse but firm. "I will make this ship worthy of the name you have bestowed upon it."

William smiled, a genuine smile. He turned to Litte: "General, now, please formally hand over these two warships to the German Imperial Navy."

Li Te stepped forward and took two thick documents from the adjutant. They were handover certificates, written in both German and Chinese, signed by Chen Feng and stamped with the national seal of the Lanfang Republic.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellency Marshal," Li Te said in fluent German, "On behalf of His Excellency Chen Feng, the Grand Commander of the Lanfang Republic, and all officers and men of the Lanfang Navy, I hereby formally hand over the battleships 'Bismarck' and 'Tirpitz' to the Imperial German Navy. May these two warships contribute to the maintenance of peace and justice."

He handed the certificate with both hands. William took it, then turned and gave it to Tirpitz.

"Now, they are yours," Litt added. "My technical team will assist your navy in familiarizing itself with all the operational systems over the next two weeks. After that, we will leave. These two ships, and the hopes they carry, will belong entirely to Germany."