When Lynn heard the invitation from Van Holk at the dining table, he thought it was a kind of warm and politeness, so when he answered, he said that he was just in the Netherlands and wanted to see everywhere. It would be a great honor to go to the Royal Dutch Navy base to open his eyes. Unexpectedly, just after the weekend, Van Holk called the agency and said that he returned to the base from Amsterdam early on Monday. If Lynn could arrange time, he could take a ride. Lynn, who was still confused about diplomatic rules, hurried to Baron Von Mayn for advice. The Baron laughed and said that the agency had not had a special job in the past two days, and contacting friends with Dutch could facilitate future work, so he asked Lynn to go with Van Holk with confidence.

Ten minutes later, Major Van Holk came to the agency in a Ford sedan. Lynn brought all his ID into the car. To his surprise, Sarah also came. She saw her sitting in the passenger seat with a familiarity, turned her head and smiled slightly at Lynn: "Go to Deng Helder to visit? I promise you will like it there. General DeVilles is an interesting and friendly person. He doesn't hate Germans, especially Germans who have not invaded their country... You certainly don't, but maybe your father?"

Lynn shook her head. Hugo Horst's father should be an honest farmer and had nothing to do with war or politics. He looked at Sara curiously through the rearview mirror. The quiet girl wearing glasses was wearing a clear yellow windbreaker today, and she still wore a knitted dress. It seemed that she had a special liking for such a dress. She thought she was visiting the Dutch Naval Base. But she saw her carrying a briefcase that was not very compatible with her body, so she guessed: "Are you going to work?"

“I feel old-fashioned with respect like ‘you’,” Sarah laughed. “I work in an institute in Alkmaar, which is located right between Amsterdam and Denheld Harbor, but not every time I happen to get on the bus, Major Van Holk basically only went back to Amsterdam in three weeks.”

After a few greetings with the Baron in the foyer, Van Holk quickly returned to the car, and when he got in, the ups and downs of the Ford sedan were far greater than those caused by Lynn and Sarah.

"We have to hurry up." When Van Holk said this, Lynn thought that their base had a prescribed registration time. However, Sarah said lightly: "In fact, Dr. Dilmitt is not as strict as you think. He just hopes that every idea in his mind can be transformed into an invention that brings convenience to mankind as soon as possible."

"What a great and noble man." Van Holk smiled and started the car. Lynn looked at them and himself from the rearview mirror. Everyone here seemed very relaxed in their mentality. It seemed that they had escaped the haze of war and returned to peacetime, and in Germany, almost everyone had nervousness and sorrow on their faces.

The so-called fireworks are March, and the weather gradually warms up after April. The seaside fields are full of vibrant scenes, but the wind blowing from the North Sea is mixed with some chill. After driving, Van Holk stopped talking. Sarah turned to the right and looked at the scenery outside the window. She used a light red plaid handkerchief to tie her hair today. This traditional method made Lynn feel very comfortable. After a while, he took the initiative to ask Sarah: "What specific work does your institute do?

"The internal combustion power of the ship! Simply put, it is to make the turbine system on the ship stronger, simpler and more durable." Sara replied in an unpredictable voice like Van Holk, "Dr. Dilmitt is a top expert in this area...a first-class European!"

"Oh, not bad! Very good! Has he been working here?" Lynn inquired carefully.

Sara said briskly: "No, during the German occupation, he went to Britain, worked for four years for the British, and used the compensation paid to him to return to the Netherlands to rebuild his institute. The income of the institute was mainly derived from successful patent transfers. We hardly took on maintenance and maintenance work. On some projects of military and political significance, the Dutch government would also provide some financial support, but the quantity was limited."

"Haha. I don't have much research on marine machinery. I feel like I'm dealing with ** metal parts and greasy lubricants... Are there any major projects recently?" Lynn asked.

"You really sound like a foreign spy!" After saying this, Sara covered her mouth and burst into laughter. Major Van Holk also laughed, and he said, "Look at you, scared Mr. Horst! He probably felt that the atmosphere here was as tense as Germany and Poland, but the Netherlands was very different. We are now neutral and will do the same in the future!"

After hearing this, Lynn felt relieved. Not only the Netherlands, but also Belgium was also a neutral country. They neither participated in the military operations of Western allies, nor encouraged soldiers or people to participate in international volunteer forces on either side. However, the situation of the Belgians was worse than that of the Netherlands. The key was their geographical location. If they wanted to attack France from Central Europe, it would be difficult to deploy troops within 400 kilometers of German-France borders. Although the "Manstein Plan" in 1940 and the Ardennes counterattack in 1944 had already allowed people to appreciate that complex terrain could also launch large-scale mechanized troops, it was almost inevitable that the Soviets could break the Polish and German defense lines to reach Western Europe, and it was almost inevitable that Belgium would attack France through Belgium.

The car drove north for half an hour and arrived at Alkmaar. Sarah got off in front of a beautiful three-story white house. Before leaving, she happily waved goodbye to Lynn and Van Holk. Looking at her thin back, Lynn unconsciously remembered Dinah. In terms of appearance and figure, there is the difference between flowers and green leaves. However, before traveling to this era and doing earth-shaking things, Lynn's wish was to marry such an ordinary girl with both intelligence, quietness and liveliness, and lively temperament to live a stable and happy well-off life. It's that simple.

As Sarah left, the atmosphere in the car suddenly became deserted. Lynn and Van Holk, one of the former land combat elites of the Third Reich, and a Royal Dutch Navy officer who had served in the Allies' camp, sat together peacefully. For a moment, it seemed that they could not find common topics. When they were about to arrive at the port, Lynn saw a flat, sandy and desolate beach, which reminded him of the beach outside Copenhagen, and of the German prisoners of war who risked their lives to clear mines. Is the life of living a day counting as one day? Or just changed places and continued to take risks without a choice?

Drop... Drop...

When Van Holk sounded the car horn, Lynn realized that the coastal area ahead without high walls, power grids and machine guns was the military base of the Royal Dutch Navy. The sentry with a rifle was quietly looking into the car. The major told him that this was a friend who came to visit the German agency, and the sentry was released. He did not even try to check Lynn's ID. After experiencing special operations in the United States, the Soviet Union and Germany, Lynn felt that the things in front of him were really incredible - after having learned from World War II, the Dutch would rather put themselves in an unprepared situation?

After passing the guard post, the car slowly drove inside along the asphalt road. This place not only saw the beautiful harbor surrounding the blue waters, but also saw the busy shipyard. In a row of open-air docks in the northeast, Lynn saw a similar scene as the "Sanctuary" base submarine repository: the huge open-air boat platform welder flames flashed in the stars, and the mountains of steel pipes, steel cables, wood and gasoline barrels were piled up everywhere. Straight or curved steel components were shaking in the air, groups of dirty work clothes, goggles and hard shell hats, and the greasy men were busy working, and there were also half-finished hulls parked on cross-wood, supported by wood, and leaning towards the sewage. Obviously, they were still using the traditional holistic construction method instead of the more advanced and efficient segmented construction method.

"Here! Our station has arrived, and those two rows of beautiful houses are our barracks and offices."

Hearing Van Holk's reminder, Lynn turned his gaze forward, and the light gray pier faced toward the land, two rows of beautiful bungalows stood. Their colors were like mushrooms growing in the forest after the rain. Although they were not solid colors, they looked particularly vivid. On the other side of the pier, six low-shaped black submarines were anchored in turn on the blue water. They looked no different from German U-boats - perhaps they were made using German submarine construction technology and equipment, or directly from the list of naval trophys of the Allies. At this time, the sun had risen and the camp was full of walking figures. Before the summer came, the officers and soldiers wore dark blue uniforms with warmer effects. They were not lazy, but just gave people a sense of leisurely strolling in the courtyard. In the calm harbor, a patrol boat with about a few dozen tons was moving slowly.

"You're never worried that the Soviet airplane would blow up here by mistake?" Lynn asked this question with clear intention.

"What are you going to worry about?" Van Holk replied muffled, "The Netherlands is a small country with only 40,000 square kilometers and 7 million people. Our army may be less good at fighting than the Italians. Instead of making everyone nervous, it is better to spend one day a week praying devoutly and do your job well for the remaining six days."

This way of thinking sounds a bit negative. Lynn felt that the major did not say the subtext probably meant that in 1940 they were also in the cracks between two major military forces, and they still adhered to neutrality until the moment before the German army launched an invasion. Since the cruel reality proved that the neutral status of a small country was as thin as paper in the face of the power of a big country, and no matter what, military could not resist the invasion of a strong enemy, glaring at the enemy's aggression and trampling with a proud head was also a kind of struggle against fate.

The car stopped in front of a row of houses with mushroom-painted roof walls in front. Van Holk quickly regained his talkative personality after getting off the car. While he talked endlessly, he led him into the office of the base commander. General DeVilles, whom Sara mentioned in the car, was the head of the naval submarine base. He had a long horse face, curly hair, deep eyes and high nose reminded Lynn of the "King of Small Forbidden Zones" who once dominated the green field in his time - Dutch striker Van Nistruey.

"Ruer told me on the phone yesterday that a very young and handsome friend was coming to the base to visit. Mr. Horst, what a blessing!"

The gray-haired Dutch Navy general was slightly taller than Van Holk. He opened the black cigar box on the table and asked Lynn to smoke. He did not want to reveal his former prominent identity in small details. Lynn declined the other party's kindness.

General DeVillis did not smoke either. He asked the orderly staff to send refreshments and said in a tone similar to Van Holk: "The Netherlands is a neutral country, and submarines are the most dangerous offensive weapon in the world - most people understand it so. Now the Netherlands has 14 submarines and 6 are under construction, which seems to be far more than the number required by a neutral country, or we think we are armed neutral like Switzerland and Sweden, in fact..."

The general paused for a moment, shrugging with a look of not caring about what others said: "The elite Royal Dutch Navy has the strength to defend the country's territorial waters. But it will not be abused at any time. In fact, compared with the annual military expenditure of the belligerent countries, the Netherlands' defense expenditure is pitifully low, there is no decent modern air force, no armored troops that can be taken advantage of, and there is no huge naval fleet. This submarine fleet is just the Dutch's power to masturbate. Can you understand?"

The general used the honorific "you" in his words, and Lynn was suddenly able to understand Sarah's mood when she said that. People do not have to use honorifics in a straightforward manner in which they interact. Sometimes it will seem too rigid and utilitarian.

"Yes, I can understand." Lynn replied quickly.

General DeVillis nodded deeply: "All people will understand our difficulties sooner or later."

Lynn felt that he could understand this idea, but on the other hand, in his time and space Korean War, the Netherlands was also a member of the United Nations and a member of NATO. After World War II, their current neutral mentality may have changed from the long-term neutrality before World War II. When the war broke out again, a wise leader should indeed weigh the pros and cons of participating in the war and the prospects of this war.

"Take our German friends around!" General DeVillis ordered Major Van Holk.

This military port is much smaller than Steding, and is more modern than Tromso in Northern Europe. Van Holk led Lynn to hike around the port area. They did not deliberately avoid the noisy and were building submarines. The major also revealed to Lynn that most of the submarines under construction here were to be sold to foreign countries. As for which "foreign" it was, he did not say it, and Lynn also tactfully did not inquire deeper.

As noon approached, the two finally transferred to the dock where the submarines were berthed. Just as Lynn was wondering whether he had the chance to board these submarines and saw what they were like, Van Holk seemed to have seen through his thoughts: "Go. Go and see our flag boat!"

"Is that OK?" Lin En asked in surprise.

"Don't you want to go?" the major asked with his eyes narrowed.

"If this doesn't make you or General DeVilles feel embarrassed..."

Before Lynn could finish speaking, Major Van Holk grinned and made a "please" gesture.

The flag boat of the Second Royal Navy Submarine Detachment of the Royal Dutch Navy is a large submarine with the "S-029" in the command bulkhead, with cannons and machine guns on the front and rear decks, rather than the modern streamlined outline of the XXi-class submarine. It looks very much like a German submarine, which is surprisingly clean, bright and neat. The diesel engine seems to have never been opened, with the red paint and brass accessories on it without any stain, and the gun crew seems to have just left the factory. After entering the cabin, Lynn looked at the signs next to the machinery and equipment. They are neither German nor English, but Dutch that really belongs to this country.

"Well, the smell is very fragrant!" When walking past the kitchenette on the boat, Lynn saw the cooks in white preparing dinner there. The pot was sizzling. Although the exhaust fan was turned on, the fragrance was still floating in the relatively closed space of the submarine.

Van Holk turned around and looked at him: "You don't want to eat on the boat, right? It's very narrow here, but our food is not too bad."

Lynn smiled and said, "I'm so happy to eat here."

So he faced the captain and the officers on the boat, huddled in the narrow officer's room with elbows to elbows, and felt that it seemed more comfortable than the restaurant in Munich. The three young officers on the same table all had thin lips, rosy faces, golden hair, shyness, and looked quite like Germans, but their eyes were very different. The Germans were rigid, rigorous, proud, and confident, while they seemed more humorous and frivolous. Hearing Lynn's compliment to their submarines and Van Holk's joking answers, the atmosphere quickly relaxed, and they told Lynn about the stupidity of the workers in the naval dock.

and the story of laziness, as well as the embarrassing incidents of a blocked toilet pipe during a submarine sailing, and their painful experiences when they were trained in the UK: they had to clean every link, including the toilet, and work on the deck for a long time in the summer to make people faint. The British believed that they could become better officers after such torture, but the Dutch obviously had their own understanding of this. They believed that this harsh sadistic approach was outdated, and that the soldiers' flexible thinking and enterprising spirit were more important than the blind obedience instilled by the torture.
Chapter completed!