Just when the 7 ships of the Beiyang Naval Division were still floating on the sea. The German Empire, however, was in mourning, and the founding monarch of the Second German Empire, who had led Prussia to a glorious victory 18 years earlier, proclaimed the great emperor of a united German state at Versailles in France, and Wilhelm I, died on March 9.

William I had been ill from the second half of 1887 onwards, and his health deteriorated rapidly after the winter. As a result, before the weather warmed up, he passed away because of pneumonia, and half a month later was his 91st birthday. At the moment of dying, the emperor who had been on the horse all his life was still thinking about national affairs, and the emperor, who was lying on the bed and could not see clearly, called his son to the bed and left his last words: "Frederick, you must remember that everything can be put on hold, but the alliance with Russia cannot be ignored." (Note 1). After that, the emperor fell asleep with a sense of relief, away from illness, away from heavy state affairs, and fell asleep forever. It's a pity that the last wish of the emperor, who had been fighting for Germany all his life, could not be fulfilled in the end.

The death of William I was mourned by the whole country, and the flag was flown at half-mast at the Reichstag. At noon, the halls of the National Assembly were solemn, the parliamentarians took their seats, and the corridors were crowded with mourning guests. Bismarck announced with great sorrow the death of Emperor Wilhelm I. Crown Prince Frederick, 57, took over the scepter as the symbol of the King of Prussia and became Emperor of the Second Reich under the Federal Constitution of the German Confederation, with the coronation taking place a day later.

When the bells of the Royal Chapel rang again, the choir sang the solemn "In the Arms of the Sleeping Lord" beside William I, who was resting among the flowers:

How happy it is to sleep in the arms of the Lord; No one will wake up and weep, silence, peace, peace, joy.

There will be no more enemy invasions.

How sweet it is to sleep in the arms of the Lord!

Everywhere is full of the warmth of love, and when you are awake, you sing with gratitude, and death is not a cruel tyrant.

How safe it is to sleep in the arms of the Lord!

Wake up to be blessed immeasurably, and save the day when the sovereignty can be revealed, and then worry about sorrow and hardship.

Sleeping in the arms of the Lord, although away from relatives, I will be happy to meet in the future, and how happy I am to sleep in the arms of the Lord!

No one will wake up and weep.

Amen!

In the cold spring of March in Berlin, Bismarck and Moltke followed the hearse of Wilhelm I and sang "Admiration for the Blessed Land" with all the mourners:

There is a place of great splendor that beckons me from afar and wide.

The Merciful Father waited there and made proper arrangements for me.

On this day, how pleasant, everyone gathered in the blessed land, and I went with the saints to the blessed land and sang the Lord God in unison.

God has given me eternal life, and heaven is blessed with endless joy.

On this day, how pleasant, everyone gathered in the blessed land.

My Father was so merciful in heaven that He gave his only Son to the earth to atone for his sins.

Kaifuyuan blessed the land to stay for all generations, and I sang and praised the happiness of the earth.

On this day, how pleasant, everyone gathered in the blessed land.

Amen!

King of Prussia, Emperor of the Second German Empire, Wilhelm I, full name Wilhelm Frederick Ludwig. He led Prussia to victory in the Prussian-Danish War (Second Schleswig War) in 1864 and laid the first step towards German unification; won the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 and unified North Germany, laying a solid foundation for the unification of Germany; In 1871, he defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War, completely completed the unification of Germany, and ended France's hegemony in Europe; Subsequently, he led Germany to the gold standard and developed rapidly; During his 17-year reign, Germany's industrial capacity quickly caught up with the European powers, and during his reign German steel production rose from 42.8% in Britain to 56.4%, and electricity generation rose from 99.6% to 145.8%. The great monarch who promoted the industrial revolution in Germany and the rapid rise of national power realized the unification of Germany, reproduced the glory of the empire, and laid a good foundation for the development of the empire. His death represents the end of an era and the beginning of a new era. Among the three great masters of the empire who assisted him in establishing the German Empire, Count Albrecht von Rone had long since died, and Count Helmut Karl Bernhardt von Moltke was 88 years old, with low energy and poor health. The founders of the Second German Reich will slowly retire from the stage of history with the funeral march of Wilhelm I.

March 10, Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace

The coronation ceremony is taking place here. His Majesty Frederick wore a military uniform, a German pointed helmet, a Medal of Merit (PLM, commonly known as Blue Marx) hung from his neckline, a Grand Cross Medal of Merit (a special PLM with a portrait of Frederick the Great), an Iron Cross, and the Brandenburg Order of the Red Eagle on his chest, holding a scepter, looking solemn. The upper echelons of the empire and the kings of the various states stood in the hall and swore allegiance to the new emperor, who was honored as Frederick III. At the end of the ceremony, His Majesty Frederick III, the second emperor of the Second German Empire, accepted the blessings of all.

And Bismarck, as the prime minister of the empire, is still dedicated to his duties and full of majesty, and at the age of 73, he is still so full of energy. A month earlier, he had also delivered a speech in the Reichstag on a military reform bill, with the intention that Germany could expand its military by 700,000 in the event of war. In the halls of the Reichstag, the iron-blooded chancellor declared: "Germany desires peace, peace with Russia, and peace with France." Only the irresponsible invective of foreign journalists threatens peace. We can be deeply moved by love and kindness. But threats don't work! We Germans fear nothing but God, but we have nothing to fear in this world! And the fear of God is enough for us to love and maintain lasting peace! This majestic speech was met with unparalleled praise and applause from the parliamentarians, demonstrating the Prime Minister's rising prestige and authority.

However, Jochen knew that after his grandfather died and his father ascended the throne, Bismarck's time was probably running out.

The chancellor of the empire could only be appointed and dismissed by the emperor, and his grandfather was tolerant of Bismarck during his reign. Whether it was the dispute over how to deal with Austria after the peace sue in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866; or the title of grandfather when he was crowned emperor in 1871 (Note 2); Or an arbitrary alliance with Austria-Hungary, which ended with grandfather's concession. And now, his grandfather has died, and when his father does not like this "iron and blood" prime minister, Bismarck wants to use his resignation to coerce the emperor, and he will only ask for his own hardship.

On New Year's Day 1870, his father wrote: "Even today, I still believe that Germany could have 'morally conquered' others and become a unified (Note 3), free and powerful nation, without iron and blood...... Our noble and extremely difficult task in the future will be to dispel the unfounded suspicions of the world today about our dear German motherland. We must show that our newfound power is not a danger to humanity, but a boon. Enlightened.

And today, at this solemn coronation, my father read out his first proclamation after his accession to the throne, "To My People". This enlightened proclamation, which proclaimed the spirit of a constitutional monarchy, made Bismarck's face look bad. Although it is true that it is not so appropriate to preach a constitutional monarchy in a country like Germany, where each state has its own small calculations, Jochen doesn't care, after all, his father is also a soldier who once led the 3rd Army to participate in the Franco-Prussian War, as long as he understands that as long as the kings of the states can't honestly listen to the imperial government, then weakening the imperial power is not good for the empire, and he will naturally understand what to do. And, in turn, constitutional monarchy can be used to weaken the power of those states. So things weren't as bad as Bismarck thought. But obviously, now Lao Zai is very dissatisfied with this idea.

And Jochen didn't mind continuing to add to Bismarck's troubles, and at his suggestion, Frederick III proclaimed Wilhelm I the Great, emphasizing his contribution to German unification and deliberately downplaying Bismarck's role.

In the first internal council after the new emperor ascended the throne, in order to maintain the stability of the imperial political situation, Frederick III still appointed Bismarck as the prime minister of the empire, while Count Moltke asked for retirement on the grounds of his advanced age, but Frederick III refused, Frederick III persuaded His Excellency the Chief of the General Staff to serve the empire for a while, after all, he had just ascended the throne, and the chief of the general staff left office, which was not conducive to the implementation of some plans and policies in the future. Moltke then agreed to remain in office for another year. Jochen, on the other hand, became the crown prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the crown prince of the empire. However, although his identity has changed, Jochen's life has not changed, and when he was the crown prince's grandson, his father was handling all government affairs, and when he became the crown prince, government affairs were handled by his father, who became the emperor. Jochen himself was still busy sorting out technical information, studying technical feasibility, writing new military papers, and figuring out how to make money. The days are still the same as usual, rigorous, fulfilling but without pressure.

Since His Majesty Frederick III was still the crown prince, and because of the physical condition of Wilhelm I, he had already begun to deal with military and political affairs, so the transfer of power after his accession to the throne was very smooth and smooth. And just when everyone thought that the imperial politics would remain the same for at least a while, a change was about to begin.

Note 1: Historically, Crown Prince Frederick was bedridden and unable to speak because of Crown Prince Frederick's throat cancer, so William I mistook his grandson Wilhelm II for his son.

Note 2: The title that Wilhelm I wanted at that time was Kaiser Von Deutschland, which means the emperor of the whole of Germany, that is, the supreme power of the state. At that time, in order to stabilize the other states, Bismarck hoped that Wilhelm I would be the title of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser), that is, the emperor of all German nations, which looked similar, but because the Second German Empire was a federal form of various kingdoms, the German Emperor was actually equivalent to the role of a martial arts alliance leader, and could not control the entire empire.

Note 3: The outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War was actually avoidable, as Prussia and Austria were the leaders when Germany was still a loose federation. And because the annexation of the Holstein region by Prussia caused Austria to be dissatisfied, almost all the other German states at that time supported Austria, and if Prussia made concessions, there would be no war, and Austria would not have seceded from Germany and then found the Hungarians to play the dual empire.