Sanssouci Palace is the royal palace of the Hohenzollern family. After His Majesty William I became the emperor of the German Empire, it was upgraded to the palace of the German royal family. When William II was reset, it left the Hohenzollern family for the second time. More than ten years later, it returned to the hands of William II again. Sanssouci Palace was built by King Frederick II of Prussia after the Palace of Versailles in France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Potsdam, the southwest suburb of Berlin. The entire palace and gardens cover an area of 90 hectares. Because it was built on a sand dune, it is also called the "Palace on the Dune."
Unlike the Palace of Versailles, the Palace of Sanssouci is not so magnificent. Compared with the Palace of Versailles or the Kremlin, the Palace of Sanssouci can even be called shabby. But for William II, who had stayed in a foreign country for more than 20 years, this place was indeed extremely friendly.
Wilhelm II seems to hate Hit? The base camp built by Le in East Prussia. During important meetings, he would rather go to the Capitol to hold meetings than go to the safer base camp. When meeting with generals of various military services, William II simply stayed at Sanssouci Palace. This has also become the place where it is easiest to see various senior generals in Germany besides the Supreme Command in Berlin.
Although Sanssouci Palace is not as majestic as the royal palaces of other countries, although it is small and has all the internal organs, Sanssouci Palace also has its own unique scenery. During the time of Friedrich Wilhelm I, the trees were cut down to build the city of Potsdam and to stabilize the muddy marshland. Emperor Frederick the Great ordered that this "desert mountain" at that time be reclaimed into a terraced terrace of grapes. The slope is organized into six wide terraces. In order to take advantage of the sun's rays as much as possible, the wall was built in the shape of a slight arch centered on the steps. The load-bearing walls were replaced with single grapevines from Portugal, Italy and France. Inside the 168 glass domes, fig trees were planted. The front end of the terrace is covered with green lawn. 120 steps are built on the central axis, and this terraced terrace is divided into six parts. There are ramps on both sides of the mountain.
The Sanssouci Palace built on Grape Mountain undoubtedly once again reflects the harmony between man and the environment. On one side of the Sansouci Palace, there is a pavilion that is not grand but splendid. The building is called the "Chinese Tower." The emperor was fond of various cultures and was full of curiosity and yearning for the ancient oriental country China, so he built this tower. . He tried his best to collect various items from the East, such as silk and porcelain, to decorate his Chinese building, striving to be luxurious in decoration to correspond to the rich and gorgeous Eastern world in his mind.
When Lin Wei came here, he was embarrassed and lost. If the guards inside had not led Lin Wei to the palace where Wilhelm II was, Lin Wei might have had to look for it for a long time. This is because during the Weimar Republic, although Germany The royal family has been exiled in the Netherlands, but the Weimar Republican elite, headed by Generalissimo Hindenburg, respects the rights and interests of the royal family and the Junckers very much, and protects some manors belonging to the nobility, and Sanssouci Palace is no exception. Wait until Hitt? After Hitler came to power, he basically complied with Hindenburg's policies. Hit? Although Le is an Austrian, he completely possesses Germanic ideas. In his view, these German buildings with a long history should all be protected. It is for these reasons that although Lin Wei has heard of the famous name for a long time, he has never been here.
Moreover, Lin Wei now felt that his identity was unusual, so he was embarrassed to ask others, but in the end he was discovered. When Lin Wei stood in front of William II, William II laughed without dignity. Even Navy Commander-in-Chief Raeder and Commander-in-Chief Marshal von Blomberg had strange expressions on their faces. It seems that he is forcing himself to endure something.
Lin Wei looked at the three old men in front of him who were almost 200 years old in total, and said helplessly, "Old man, just laugh if you want. Health is the most important thing. It's very hard to endure it all the time!"
"Haha..." The three old men completely lost their demeanor because of Lin Wei's words. If anyone sees these three imageless old men in front of them, they will never think that one of these three people is the emperor and the other is the chief. There is a Navy Commander-in-Chief. William II laughed so hard that he was out of breath and said: "Lampard, Gustave is a very serious person. I didn't expect that his son would be so, so..." After thinking for a long time, William II couldn't think of anything. If you don't have the vocabulary to describe your thoughts, you can only give up.
"Your Majesty, I want to report to you about the Battle of Gibraltar!" Lin Wei said seriously after everyone had laughed enough.
"Well, you're here just in time, and a few of us also want to ask you a few questions!" William II said.
"Oh?" This aroused Lin Wei's curiosity, "Your Majesty, please tell me!"
"I heard that in the Battle of Gibraltar, you captured two battleships of the British Mediterranean Fleet?" Reidel asked. The news that the Barham and the Warrior were sunk in the port has spread like wildfire. As the commander-in-chief of the German Navy, Lesser has certainly known the news. What are the weaknesses of the German army, navy and air force? Although Redel doesn't want to admit it, the fact is that the weak spot lies in the Navy. So when there is an opportunity to expand the German Navy, this man who has devoted almost his whole life to the German Navy will never let the opportunity slip away.
Redel's thoughts were not complicated, and were even the thoughts of all the German navy. Of course, Lin Wei knew what he was thinking after just a little thought. But Lin Wei knows that this is not the idea that can benefit Germany the most. So Lin Wei said, "Marshal Redl, I know that it makes you sad that the navy has many excellent sailors but not enough battleships, but I still advise you not to fight for the two sunken British battleships! This is simply not possible. Pointless!"
When Lin Wei said these words, the three of them were very puzzled. Redel asked eagerly, "Why? As long as we win the ownership of two battleships, after the Bismarck class and Scharnhorst class are repaired, we will have six A battleship can be on an equal footing with Italy and France in terms of large surface ships!”
"No, Marshal Redl, that will only improve the strength of the German Navy in the short term. In the long run, the Barham and Warrior are already very old and will be retired in a few years, and the two battleships Its speed is only 23 knots, which is not suitable for ocean warfare." Lin Wei said, "Since it has obtained two pieces of junk and damaged its relationship with France and Italy, it is better to give it to the French and Italian navies!"
"But what should we do? Are we going to seize the Nelson-class battleship with more powerful firepower after capturing England?" Reidel asked.
Lin Wei looked at Redel helplessly, realizing that all his words just now were in vain. Redel was still staring at the British battleship. Although he was doing the same thing, he had a longer-term vision than Redel. However, at this time, Lin Wei did not dare to let Redel guess. It was better to speak out his own thoughts: "Marshal Redel , we can even give up the Nelson-class battleships to France and Italy!" Seeing Redel about to speak, Lin Wei hurriedly said, "The British mainland is still building more powerful George V-class battleships, and our Bismarck-class battleships. The performance of battleships is similar. Although it is not as protective as our Bismarck, they still have their own advantages! Since we have given up these battleships to the French and Italians, they will naturally not compete with us for George V. -class battleships. Although these battleships have not yet been completed, according to my estimation, they are almost completed. As long as we land in the UK, these nearly completed battleships will be ours. You know, there are five George V-class battleships. So many. By then we will have nine of the most advanced battleships in the world, surpassing the navies of France and Italy in terms of strength and potential! We will replace the United Kingdom and become the most powerful maritime power in Europe!"
"Let me think about it!" Redel seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. The most powerful country among Germany, France and Italy is of course Germany, both in terms of economy and military strength. But in terms of navy, Germany has become the weakest country. Whether it is France or Italy, their navies are much stronger than Germany. Of course, if the navies of both sides fight within the combat radius of the German Air Force, Germany is not afraid of any country, but if it fights on the ocean, even if the Bismarck-class battleships are powerful, they will ultimately be weak.
There are two ways in front of Redel. One is to seize the battleships Barham and Warrior in Gibraltar, which are now controlled by the Axis powers. This can temporarily enhance the strength of the German navy, but doing so may harm the allies. Emotions caused ill feelings within the Axis powers. Another way is to give up all the current British battleships to others, as Lin Wei said, in exchange for being at the moral high ground when capturing the George V-class battleships. It is justifiable to take Britain's latest battleship into his arms. As the latest battleship of the British Navy, the George V-class battleship is not comparable in performance to several older battleships today. Moreover, there are as many as five ships. If you add Germany's own Bismarck-class and Scharnhorst-class, they are indeed a formidable opponent. And there are two powerful Bismarcks under construction. All the German Navy needs is time.
"Well, Lampard, you have once again succeeded in convincing me!" Redder said with a helpless smile.
"How could it be? In fact, the marshal can see that that plan is more beneficial to the German Navy!" Lin Wei complimented a little, "The German Navy will replace the British Navy within ten years. By then, not only will we The leading land power, and also a sea power!"