At 8 pm, the train from Bremen to Baden-Baden set off on time. In order to win John Holland, an engineer and inventor who cannot be missed, Xia Shu spent a lot of effort asking the academy for three days off. After resting in the VIP room at the train station for half a day, Mr. Holland, who is over 60 years old, is no longer as tired as he has just got off the boat. On the train, he chatted with Xia Shu for a long time, and felt that the Prussian prince in front of him was "invincible". He did not understand every technical details of the submarine, but dared to make bold predictions on the development of submarine technology: the development of hull materials and welding technology will make the submarine's diving depth close to or even exceed 100 meters within ten years; the improvement of battery and motor technology can double their underwater range; in addition to launching torpedoes in the water, submarines can also be used to perform hidden transocean transportation and mine layout tasks, and even break into enemy ports like a wolf entering a sheep pen...

When talking about the rise and was stimulated by low-alcohol wine, Holland began to speak freely. He said: "I remember in the morning, His Highness mentioned the significance of using submarines for marine surveys and development. If this goal can be achieved, its significance will be no less than the first time humans use oil as machine fuel, and the world's economic and industrial structure will also change greatly. If huge oil fields comparable to Baku and Pennsylvania can be discovered under the high seas, His Highness will surely become the richest person in the world!"

This comes from an engineer who specializes in submarine technology. Even Xia Shu admires his understanding. With a hundred years later, the earth was full of undiscovered and developed "gold mines" in the early 20th century. The Europeans' inner Hubei and Baltic Seas contained rich oil and natural gas resources. However, these subsea oil fields have much higher requirements for mining technology and cost than onshore oil fields. Xia Shu's current strength is far from enough to carry out such a scale of investment and development. His near-term goal is those mineral resources that have not been valued and are not so difficult to exploit, such as the strategic value Venezuelan oil fields, the Texas oil fields in the United States and the oil fields in remote areas of Canada.

In this era of capital supremacy, it was discovered that oil fields did not mean that they had gold pockets. The fierce competition for mining rights was sometimes no less than a war. In terms of refining, processing and market operations, Rockefeller of the United States controlled the refined oil markets in Africa, Australia and Asia-Pacific with his strong strength. The Swedish Nobel brothers dominated most of the oil mined from the Baku region of Russia. Their kerosene almost "lighted half of Europe's lamp", and Shell of the Netherlands was also a newly emerging strongman. It is precisely because of this kind of commercial competition that integrates national politics and monopoly interests that Xia Shu did not carry a shovel to dig treasures. He could only accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity. Otherwise, even a European power like Germany, the attempt to monopolize Venezuelan resources would be defeated by the joint intervention of the great powers.

Xia Shu thought about it and replied cleverly: "Based on the principle of oil resources formation, the waters around Europe contain amazing reserves. Perhaps under the seas where fishing in the Irish era were fishing, there was oil comparable to the entire Baku region!"

Holland immediately widened his eyes when he heard this.

Seeing the other party's expression, Xia Shu knew that he was still concerned about his motherland, so he deliberately tempted: "Even if there is no oil, there may be gold or diamond mines under the sea water hundreds of meters deep. At that time, the locals will not have to go out to sea to fish in bad weather. These resources can live a good life."

Holland murmured: "I hope so, I hope so."

If he took this opportunity to express his intention to cooperate with the other party, Xia Shu felt that Holland was very likely to nod, but this was not conducive to his absolute dominance in cooperation, so he just looked at Holland with a smile. The two chatted for a while, and seeing it was too late, Holland said goodbye and returned to his cabin. Xia Shu put down the wine glass, asked the servant to put on a pot of coffee, and took out a thick tutorial "Ballistics" from his luggage, preparing for the upcoming final exam.

For a student who is both enviable and jealous, fighting at night seems common. After midnight, Uncle Weizel couldn't bear to persuade: " Staying up late is not good for your health. Your Highness, you should take a break early!"

Xia Shu raised her head and moved her neck and shoulders, turned her head and gave the uncle a smile: "It's okay."

The uncle blamed himself: "Your Highness works hard every day to maintain academic performance, and at the same time, he also has to distract himself from the shipyard affairs. This is really our negligence. If we can shoulder the burden of the shipyard with all our might, your Highness can also be more relaxed..."

While calculating theoretical formulas on paper, Xia Shu comforted him: "His Majesty the Emperor entrusts the shipyard to me to manage and manage it. This is a responsibility and also a training for me. Nicolas, you have helped me a lot. If these things are handed over to others, I will not be as safe as I am now. Don't look at me busy all day long, if I am really tired, I will pay attention to rest by myself."

The uncle still said worriedly: "But, Your Highness, you sleep less than the old man, the old man."

"Where are you old?"

Xia Shu joked, and after he remembered the formula through calculations, he put down his pen and stretched his waist, stood up and said to the uncle:

"Everyone may have more than once a chance to live, but not every time will be wonderful. I cherish my life very much, cherish every second here. I hope I can do everything well, from learning piano, practicing equestrian to running a shipyard, and accepting naval courses. One day, these efforts will become the cornerstone of my success."

Uncle Weizel looked at Xia Shu in surprise. For many years, he sometimes felt that he knew this royal boy very well, but sometimes he could not guess the real thoughts in his mind.

"I will set out for a long voyage in more than a month. By then, all the big and small matters of the shipyard will really be pressed on your shoulders," said Xia Shu.

Weizel replied seriously: "Don't worry, although I have limited capabilities, at least I can ensure that it works as you imagined."

Xia Shu simply packed up the table: "Okay, Nicolas, I'll go to rest now. Although there is not much time, it's not urgent yet. Let's go step by step."

Weizel nodded, and watched Xia Shu walk towards the cabin with kind and respectful eyes until he closed the cabin door, and then sighed softly.

The next morning, when Uncle Weizel came to the office reception area of ​​the carriage, Xia Shu was already buried in the book accompanied by a pot of milk tea. The train was marching on the banks of the Rhine River. On one side of the railway line was the beautiful Rhine River, and on the other side was the black forest with lush vegetation. Castles appeared on the surrounding hills or woods. They had a long history and unique shapes. Each of them had their own vivid stories. The strip flags on the spire danced in the wind, indicating their still vivid vitality.

There is more than one city in Europe called "Baden". Baden, Austria and Switzerland also have hot springs and sanatoriums, but none of them can be compared with Baden, the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany. Baden here was a well-known sanitation resort in the Roman Empire more than two thousand years ago. The Roman emperor also came here to take a bath. By the 19th century, almost all the big figures in the world lived in Baden-Baden for a few days. This city loved by Napoleon III also received Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Tsar Alexander of the Russian Tsus, and King William Frederick III of Prussia. Because it was favored by monarchs and great nobles of various countries, Baden's architecture was like an exhibition of all nations. Many of them were from famous architects. With the efforts of Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, etc., this city became the center of the so-called salon music in Europe hundreds of years ago...

May is not the best tourist season for Baden-Baden, but this small German town seems to be unpopular at any time. The German royal family has a place where they are not a palace, a villa built in the Prussian era, and can enjoy hot springs without going out. John Holland was very surprised to see his sister and family who still lived in Ireland. Although they still kept in letters, they had not met for many years. With Xia Shu's intentional arrangement, the family who had been reunited for a long time could even live here until winter, although they had no such plan.

During the two days of staying in Baden-Baden, Xia Shu neither invited Holland nor talked to him about technical issues, but instead looked for a moment of relaxation in the hot spring pool and quiet scenery here. On the last night, when he told Holland that he was about to return to the Naval Academy, the submarine master took the initiative to say that he could serve Xia Shu's submarine plan, provided that the submarine factory was opened in his birthplace, County Claire, Ireland, and promised to hire local Irishmen and pay them reasonable labor.

Since the funds of Friedrich's shipyard have been fully invested in expansion and upgrading, and the submarine dock and equipment are ready, it is not realistic to relocate the submarine facilities to Ireland or open a new submarine factory. Xia Shu calmly explained his difficulties to Holland. In order to win the joining of John Holland, he promised to invest in and open a shipyard with a size of no less than 500 people in Ireland within three years, pay the locals' salary according to the treatment standards of German workers, and give Holland a certain amount of shares in the shipyard. Within these three years, as long as Holland is willing, he can visit his family at any time, or Friedrich's shipyard will arrange for his family to stay in Germany temporarily.

After careful consideration, Horan gave a positive reply before Xia Shu left. The handshake between the two in Baden-Baden was doomed to have a new turnaround in the development of German submarines, which was May 12, 1905. If history had not changed, a full decade later, the British passenger ship Lusitania, which was full of passengers, would be sunk by the German Navy's U-20 submarine, killing more than 1,100 passengers, including a large number of American citizens and Irish people, and put Germany in the worst passive situation since the war began.

The butterfly wings of the summer tree are quietly changing the trajectory of history.
Chapter completed!