Long live Joachim

Chapter 99: Under the Banner of San Andrea At dawn, in the military port of Kronstadt, 29 kilometers away from the Russian capital St. Petersburg, warships were like sleeping sea beasts, quietly anchored by the dock, and even the sailors on duty were mostly motionless at their posts. Among these ships, whether new or old, big or small, there was a large warship with three chimneys. The sound of footsteps could be heard continuously on the deck, and as they followed, they saw a person wearing a single shirt running in circles. At this moment, the temperature on the water surface was less than ten degrees, so when he stopped inside, a faint white aura emanated from his head to neck. The sky turned slightly white, and Andrei Denisov's expression dimmed as he looked at the Saint Andrew flag on the stern flagpole. The young man who used to be full of vigor and vitality is now a father. His rough beard makes him look much more mature, but his experience working in the Navy Staff Department did not make him rise to fame. After the outbreak of the war, his experience studying in Germany left him feeling marginalized. Old classmates, some resigned in anger and humiliation, some sought a satisfying death on the battlefield, and some silently endured and waited like him. His military uniform hanging on the living quarters hanger still wears the captain's shoulder patch, not to mention those of his peers from noble families. Even if they entered the ranks of officers later than him, those who did slightly better had already become school officers. Leaving aside his own circumstances, Denisov's beloved country has also felt disheartened by the recent situation. Since the end of the war, the Russian economy, which had lost a large amount of European territory, claimed to have a "good recovery momentum" to the outside world. However, due to various reasons such as corruption, bureaucracy, capital shortage, poor transportation, and fierce international market competition, the economic situation has stagnated, and the industrial scale is not even half of what it was before the war. Most factories, in order to obtain profits, adopt methods such as extending working hours, increasing labor intensity, and hiring women and child laborers with low wages to exploit workers. In addition, in recent years, agricultural disasters have occurred frequently, resulting in reduced grain production. Landlords, wealthy farmers, and merchants control a large amount of essential goods for daily life, hoard and speculate, leading to soaring prices. The lower class people are on the brink of hunger, and almost every month there are worker strikes and peasant riots. The society was in turmoil and the people were complaining. The Bolsheviks, who had fallen into a low tide due to the failure of the 1905-1907 revolution, became active again. They entered factories, rural areas, barracks, and fleets, and their ideas were welcomed by ordinary laborers, grassroots soldiers, and sailors. Their strength rapidly developed and grew, making them a major concern for the Russian ruling authorities. In the Baltic Fleet, once someone is found to have joined the Bolsheviks, they will receive extremely severe punishment, and may even be executed by firing squad. However, even so, secret Bolshevik groups exist on almost every warship - a situation that makes officers tremble but powerless to change. As the gunner of the armored cruiser "Rurik", Denisov was able to find clues in the eyes and behavior of some sailors, but he disdained to use the blood of revolutionaries to claim credit and reward like some officers. In his view, these Bolsheviks were not traitors, but hoped to save and change the country through a different path. However, as a highly respected officer, he also disdained joining the ranks of revolutionaries, even if he swore allegiance to the wrong person. Therefore, he repeatedly drove away sailors who tried to impress him with Bolshevism, putting himself in an awkward position of being on two sides. With a heavy and contradictory heart, Denisov turned back and walked towards the ship's hold. The sailor on duty is a young man who has just turned 18 years old. Life on the warship did not allow him to develop a strong physique. Looking at his thin and emaciated figure and a face full of vegetables, Denisov just silently saluted him. Like most of the sailors on board, the young man looked at Denisov with awe and caution, his military salute seeming powerless. Returning to the cabin, Denisov drank a large glass of water and stood in front of the porthole, silently gazing at the still sleeping harbor. Since October, St. Petersburg has been experiencing cold weather and sudden drops in temperature, requiring more food to withstand the chill. However, flour prices have risen by 60% within a week, and most factory owners have ignored workers' demands for higher piece rate wages. Under the call of Bolsheviks, workers in St. Petersburg have gone on two large-scale strikes, while people in cities such as Moscow, Kharkiv, and Baku have shown their support through strikes and demonstrations. Some ministers and legislators representing the interests of the bourgeoisie called on the Tsar to ease the conflict through social reform, but the Tsar simply ignored it and sent police and military to disperse the striking crowd, and ordered a city wide curfew, making the situation in St. Petersburg unprecedentedly tense. Although the Kronstadt military port is relatively closed, in recent days, Denisov has noticed something unusual from the expressions and demeanor of the people around him. It seems that a powerful undercurrent is surging in an invisible place, trying to find a loophole, and then erupting uncontrollably. At breakfast, in addition to the usual fried eggs, bread, butter, and milk, there was also a tempting bacon on the table, and an arrogant naval colonel appeared next to the table. His age is not much older than the officers present, but the first-class George Cross medal he wears on his chest is very convincing, because only heroes on the battlefield can receive such an honor. Before the meal, the colonel who boarded the ship temporarily announced a very serious order to the officers present: the country is currently in a period of frequent riots, and the military must fulfill its duties, resolutely resist the erosion of anarchism and liberal ideas, and especially take strict preventive and punitive measures against the extremely dangerous separatists - Bolsheviks. After this order, the colonel added that if the police and army forces cannot control the situation, the fleet may be transferred to St. Petersburg to maintain order. At that time, in order to ensure the safety of the royal family and safeguard the overall interests of the country, the fleet may need to use force. In addition to resolutely executing the order, each ship must also be careful of those sailors who are betrayed. Officers have the right to execute these people by firing squad without reporting or trial. After the colonel finished speaking, there was a complete silence in the officer's dining room. Then, Captain Mikhailovich said, "Order everyone to hear clearly?" and announced the start of breakfast. The officers immediately started, devouring food without any elegance, and soon there was only a pile of empty plates left on the dining table. The captain and all the officers reacted in this way, but the colonel's face remained calm. After breakfast was over, he spoke up, "It seems that we shouldn't have brought such a heavy topic to everyone early in the morning. Let's talk about something easy! I heard that the King of Ireland will visit St. Petersburg with his newly married queen, which will be about two or three weeks later. Ireland is very interested in our plan to build and modify ships, and there are reports that they are willing to upgrade a large warship for us free to show their respect to His Majesty the Tsar. At that time, the Navy Department may choose the 'Rurik', so everyone present will go to Ireland with the ship and enjoy a good vacation there Captain Mikhailovich said in a muffled voice, "But the 'Rurik' has only been in service for 9 years, and all the machine parts are still shiny and shiny But according to the assessment of authoritative experts, it is no longer a match for the modernized Scharnhorst class The colonel appears polite on the surface, but his words conceal sharpness. General Mikhailovich immediately retorted, "Ha! Joke! Just because they defeated the oldest battleship cruiser of the German Navy in artillery training, is it concluded that they are stronger than the 'L ü rich'? If it were in actual combat, neither of the two Scharnhorsts would be a match for the 'L ü rich', which is a battleship of the same class as the 'L ü rich'. Even if they cannot defeat the German battleship cruiser, they are still more than enough to confront an armored cruiser The colonel didn't argue forcefully, but gave a cold smile and said, "What I'm saying is just hearsay and may not necessarily be the final result. It's just that among our navy's main ships, only the 'Rurik' was ordered from Britain, and the Irish shipyard has more experience in repairing and retrofitting British military ships. The Tiger battleship cruiser, which weighs over 30000 tons, has been turned into a super large aircraft carrier in their shipyard. Perhaps the experts in the Navy Department think we should also have one or two aircraft carriers. If His Majesty the Tsar adopts their suggestion and sends the 'Rurik' to Ireland, dismantling everything above the deck, building an empty wooden deck, and installing a group of planes, you can shake it up. It's quite interesting to have transformed into an airplane commander General Mikhailovich was so angry by these words that he grew bearded and stared blankly. Fortunately, he had already eaten breakfast, otherwise he would have choked half to death, which would have been a tragedy. Will 'Rurik' accept the Irish people's free modification in the future? The most important thing now is to pray that our country can overcome the difficulties as soon as possible. When it comes to the critical moment of testing, I hope there won't be any trouble on the 'Rurik'. In that case, none of us will have a hard time, understand Although Mikhailovich had a higher military rank than himself, the arrogant colonel didn't take him seriously at all. He calmly stood up, shook his leather gloves vigorously, coldly said these words, and walked away. After the colonel left, General Mikhailovich did not complain or speak ill of him. He was a sensible person, and these officers under his command may not necessarily have the same heart as him. Although military orders are like mountains, if we really want to open fire on civilians, even if the sailors below are willing, they will inevitably bear the blame of history in the future. Therefore, if we can avoid it, we can be vague. There is no need to turn our heads and be the scapegoat. Watching his colleagues with different thoughts, unable to even achieve the most basic appearance of harmony and detachment, Denisov remained silent from beginning to end. Looking back on the days when I thought that the arrogant German prince might not be able to become a great person, I never thought that he was like a dragon in the water, waiting for the right opportunity to soar into the sky, shocking the world. I was proud and full of ambition, but ended up in such disappointment. If we had the chance to meet again this time, how could we let go with a sigh?