December 31, the last day of 1914.

As is customary in previous years, in order to welcome the upcoming New Year, a grand New Year's dinner will be held in the palace, and the theme of this year's dinner was named "Song of Victory" by Wilhelm II.

Rainey got up early in the morning, and for almost the whole morning, he watched the situation in the palace through the window. It was clear that the fire and the killing of two guards a few days earlier had made everyone here nervous, and the palace was much more heavily guarded than usual, with heavily armed Janissaries and several ornately decorated armored vehicles parked at the intersection.

Apart from the soldiers in grey uniforms, there were few pedestrians in the palace, and even the attendants preparing for the dinner were replaced by reliable Praetorian Guard soldiers.

"It seems that the emperor thinks that this will ensure that nothing goes wrong!" Rainey lifted the curtain in a corner and lowered it again, muttering to himself.

Sometimes, even a soybean can kill a person.

Thinking of this, Rainey couldn't help but touch the ninja logo on his chest.

After a day and a night of travel, the train carrying the Orlis passed through Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, and by this time they had entered the borders of Hungary, and after passing through the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire, they were about to return to their homeland.

On these more than 10 trains, more than 8,000 officers and soldiers of the German expedition appeared very calm, and their faces did not have the tiredness and war weariness of people imagining that they had been fighting abroad all year round, on the contrary, they had a kind of arrogant self-confidence and indifference, and this extraordinary temperament was gradually formed in the process of dealing with death again and again.

An ordinary army, no matter how long it is trained, cannot have such a temperament. This group of people was tempered by the fire and blood of war, and it can be said that it is the most powerful army unit in Germany at present.

In a seemingly ordinary carriage, General Ollie gathered the officers of the corps above the battalion level and arranged the most loyal soldiers around it.

"One more day, tomorrow morning, we will return to our homeland! In accordance with the instructions of the War Office, we will enter Berlin on January 3rd to be inspected by His Majesty the Kaiser! Ollie said as he quickly glanced at the expressions of everyone present, all of whom had anticipation written on their faces, for German soldiers, it was the highest honor to be inspected by the emperor and to be awarded medals.

In this regard, Ollie couldn't help but feel a little worried, he didn't know what Chentian's specific plan was, if he directly opposed the emperor, he felt that these officers and soldiers would not all be on his side. Of course, he also believed that Chen Tian would not have taken such a stupid and powerless action.

"On January 1, tomorrow evening, we will arrive on the outskirts of Berlin, where the War Office has prepared new uniforms for us, and we will rest for the day in the barracks there. In the early morning of the 3rd we set out for the barracks in the suit of the new army, and then proceeded along the Frankfurt Boulevard to Alexanderplatz, where we would meet His Majesty the Great Emperor and the ministers and generals of the Empire! As for the specific queue order and other arrangements, I will send the relevant documents to you when I arrive at my destination! Also," Ollie paused suddenly, and when he was sure that every regiment below was one hundred percent focused on him, he continued, "from now on, I ask you and every soldier to be on alert until we enter Berlin!" ”

As soon as Ollie finished speaking, the German officers, who had always regarded obedience as their first creed, were taken by surprise, after all, in their opinion, approaching Berlin in a quasi-combat posture was a great disrespect, and even a threat.

"General, with all due respect, security in the vicinity of Berlin has always been the responsibility of His Majesty's Guards and Forbidden Army, and your request for us to be on alert may mean that we will be stationed on the outskirts of Berlin with loaded guns and loaded soldiers into Berlin!" An infantry regiment commander asked cautiously.

"Is this an order from the War Department? I wonder if they're mistaken! "It was a major of the Panzer Regiment who spoke, and as was customary, the troops under the Emperor's review were to unload all their ammunition before entering Berlin.

"General, is there something unusual going on in Berlin? Or is someone threatening the safety of His Majesty the Emperor? The questioning infantry major stared at Ollie with wide eyes and a look of surprise.

Ollie didn't rush to speak, but waited for everyone to be quiet again.

"Guys, given the secrecy of this matter, I can't explain it to you right now, but I beg you to believe that everything we do is loyal to the Empire! In the event of an unforeseen circumstance, I need your absolute obedience! I believe that if the Empire needs your sacrifice, you will never back down, because you are the strongest, most loyal and proudest soldiers of the Empire! ”

Many of these officers have been following Orin from the beginning, and after he said this, the legions did not say anything more, and many years of fighting side by side together have made them have a special tacit understanding and trust, which is also the so-called difference between descendants and non-descendants.

"From now on, ministries are not allowed to use radio to communicate with the outside world, and my staff will be responsible for all external liaison matters. When the train stops at various points along the way for replenishment, no one is allowed to get off the train or talk to outsiders without permission, otherwise they will be severely punished! When Ollie said this, his expression was as cold as the snow outside the window.

At this time, not many people paid attention to the troops who were about to return home for leave, and everywhere the train passed was white, although it was approaching New Year's Day, the atmosphere of the Austro-Hungarian New Year was not strong, the people of this country were not like the Germans who could enjoy the joy of victory while eating bread, the economic situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was really not optimistic, their main army was fighting against Italy at this time, most of the domestic supplies were used to supply the soldiers on the front line, and the already poor people had to welcome their New Year in hunger and cold. Moreover, foreign wars may attract the attention of most of the people, but they cannot hide the fact that the country ******** a serious conflict.

The Orly Corps did not feel much of the smell of war in all the places they passed, because at this time the fighting took place on the distant Apennine Peninsula. There, the Allied forces were constantly pushing forward, and the Italian army, known for its weakness and incompetence, could not even launch a decent counterattack. Rome was already in disarray, and the Italians had recently sent envoys to Vienna to try to make peace, but Emperor Joseph did not intend to stop there, and the Austrians were envious of the lands and benefits gained by Germany after a complete defeat of France, and Austria-Hungary had an extremely favorable international environment at this time, so they would not easily give up this opportunity to expand their territory.

Compared with the lifeless Austro-Hungarian Empire, the atmosphere in the German towns was much more harmonious, and the German people were still under the pressure of the war, but with the surrender of France, the temporarily conscripted army units had begun to return and disband, and the demand for ammunition and supplies in the British War was far less great than in the French War, after all, there were only 2 Army groups fighting on the front line at the moment, instead of 8 during the French War. More importantly, the outcome of the war across the Channel was basically out of suspense, and the British had no ability or opportunity to drag Germany into the quagmire of a large-scale, protracted war.

For the German people, the new year will be one of enjoying the fruits of victory.

"Peace negotiations? The British have finally opened their minds! A truce is not impossible, it depends on whether they are sincere enough! After learning that the British had expressed their intention to the German government to armistice through neutral countries such as Norway, Chen Tian, who was still on the flagship of the Scheer fleet, said lukewarmly to the generals. For Chentian, the British were not idle when he was brewing a great change from within Germany, and according to his latest information, a disheartened George V was planning to end the war by abdicating, if so, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Lloyd's would also collapse, after all, they jointly dominated Britain's attitude towards the war towards Germany.

Although these things seem to be decided by Wilhelm II, Chen Tian also needs to make the best plans, if all goes well, it will not be long before he will realize his biggest dream of coming to this world.

Admiral Schell, who was standing next to Chentian, had more of a disdainful expression on his face, for the German Navy, the British had already been defeated a few months ago, and the German admirals had already set their sights on more distant places, and at this time, Schell was more concerned about how the German Navy could expand its influence to the whole world. Germany needed not only the world's largest and most combat-ready navy, but also a leader who was heroic enough, and the moody Wilhelm II was clearly not yet famous.

"Your Royal Highness, your Special Liaison Officer has sent a telegram from Berlin that a New Year's dinner will be held tonight as scheduled, and His Majesty the Emperor regrets that you will not be able to attend, and he wishes you and the army a speedy and triumphant return! In addition, your liaison manager also said that today's gala dinner will be very exciting! "It was not Hoffman who came to report to Chentian with a telegram, but another staff officer of the General Staff of the Army Group, who had been concentrating on other things since a few days ago.

"Oh, got it!" After listening to the report, Tatsuten stood in front of the porthole of the battleship for a long time, and when night began to fall, his mood became extremely worried. Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, everyone, including Chentian, is in their respective positions, and everything is normal now!

At 7 p.m. on December 31, 1914, the train of the Orly Corps slowly stopped at Vienna Station, which would be the last stop they had made before entering Germany, after which all trains would go straight to Berlin.

At their destination, Berlin, Wilhelm II raised his glass with his right hand in the banquet hall of the Imperial Palace, and after a long greeting, he announced the official opening of the dinner.

At this moment, Chentian's special liaison officer, Rennie, stood 10 meters away from the emperor, looking at the ruler of this huge empire with extremely indifferent eyes.