On November 18, 1915, Emperor Qin Tian of the Empire personally traveled to Wilhelmshaven to welcome back Field Marshal Falkenhayn and the other generals returning from the British battlefield, along with the first batch of troops withdrawn from Britain.
For the generals and soldiers of the Imperial Army, this was undoubtedly an immense honor. After all, Oscar had played an enormous role in enabling the German Empire to win this war. Throughout the German Empire, there were already faint signs that he was being deified.
This brought Oscar both joy and concern. He was pleased because it would further consolidate his power, perhaps even expand it, until his personal will became the will of the entire nation and he became a supreme dictator whose every word carried the weight of nine tripods. But he was also worried, because people like that often came to no good end. Wasn't the Führer an excellent example? Thus, Oscar had always sought ways to avoid this—to avoid his own mistakes bringing immense losses upon the nation. Fortunately, from the looks of things now, he was still fairly clear-headed and would not have such problems. Yet even he himself could not be certain whether, as he grew older, he might become a muddleheaded old fool.
Of course, that was still a very distant matter for Oscar. He was only twenty-seven years old, yet he was already the emperor of the most powerful empire in the world, arguably the most powerful man on earth.
At nine in the morning, the transport ship carrying Field Marshal Falkenhayn and the others docked. Field Marshal Falkenhayn took the lead in descending the gangway. Behind him came General Kluck, General Hutier, Lieutenant General Ludendorff, and the others.
"You have worked hard, my Field Marshal! And my generals as well! I