Bruno's life over the following week was rather peaceful. He spent every day at home with his wife. Free from any real worries that may have otherwise caught his attention. Luckily for him, he was not being deployed to some far-away corner in the world.

And instead, when the time came to resume active service, he was still able to return home to his wife every night. As their old manor was located close enough to the military base to be considered within the acceptable range of off-base housing for those soldiers who were already married.

As for Bruno's new unit. He was attached to another Infantry Company. He had a new commanding officer and new subordinates. What with Heinrich and Erich being sent off to other units across Prussia? Bruno found himself in a new and unfamiliar setting.

As Bruno predicted, relations began to sour between the Russian Empire and the German Reich following the end of the Boxer Rebellion. No doubt due to the actions Bruno had taken, standing up in the face of war crimes committed before his very eyes.

And because of this, the Kaiser and the Tsar were currently meeting in neutral ground within Vienna to discuss their disputes. The Russians felt humiliated following the deaths of their soldiers at the hands of the Germans.

Despite thorough investigations into their War Crimes, they refused to admit any wrong doings, specifically because China had not signed nor ratified the Hague convention in 1899, and because of this was not protected by its regulations.

With this mentality, they pursued justice in the face of their losses at the hands of the German Army. The Kaiser, of course, had no intentions of condemning Bruno for doing the right thing. Nor did he plan to keel over to Russian demands.

While relations worsened between the German Reich and the Russian Empire. The German Military had taken advantage of a great opportunity. One which few of the Great Powers fully realized at this moment.

Spurred on by the recommendations of an instructor at the Prussian War College, having himself received inspiration from one of his students. The German Army's high command approved the deployment of Military Observers to the ongoing war in South Africa between the local Boers and the British Colonial Army.

It was perhaps the first real example of modern warfare in the world. With extensive trench systems, widespread use of machine guns, and the mass deployment of more modern artillery systems.

Because of this, the German Military sent several officers to observe the conflict, record what they witnessed, and to make their own observations about whether or not such warfare would in the future be present on the European continent.

The trip to Manchuria would easily take a month and a half, perhaps even longer. Because of this, Bruno spent his days getting accustomed to the crew of the SMS, Hansa, and the officers on board it.

When he wasn't smoking on the deck, chatting with the sailors, and gazing off at the many seas and oceans of the world, then he was within the interior, either playing poker with Heinrich and Erich. Or chatting with the Captain and his subordinates.

Life in the Navy was different than that of the army. And when having dinner with the Captain of the vessel one night. Bruno made a humorous remark about this.

"Quite frankly, I'm not the kind of man to spend my life at sea. I'd rather not drown in the ocean should the ship go down. Give me a bullet to the dome, or a quick death by artillery any day of the week. The sailor's life is not for me!"

The rest of the journey to Manchuria was rather smooth. Albeit a boring one. Still, by the time Bruno stepped foot at the naval base which the Japanese were using as a foothold in the region, Captain Hermann von Humboldt had grown quite fond of Bruno.

His initial goal of establishing relations with a promising naval officer had succeeded. And Bruno promised to keep in touch with Erich's older brother as he and his attaché stepped foot off the SMS Hansa, and entered the Japanese naval base.

There were both members of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the Imperial Japanese Army stationed within it. Seeing as how they were dressed in foreign uniforms, they were quickly approached after stepping foot onto the docks by representatives of the Japanese General Chief of Staff.

How exactly did Bruno find himself in this situation, despite holding the rank of Generalmajor? Well, if he had to reflect on his actions that led to this point. He would say that he made an error when calculating human nature versus the societal conditioning.

For years in his past life, he had learned that the Empire of Japan and its soldiers were fanatically loyal to their Emperor, so much so that they were willing to charge through machine gun fire with swords in hands in order to achieve victory.

And while that may be true for the individual soldiers that are composed of the Army. The same level of zeal and bravery evidently could not be found in the Japanese leadership who were not compelled by Bruno's challenge and instead used him as a scapegoat to mask their repeated failures.

Though Bruno was not consciously aware of it as his thoughts were currently towards more pressing matters. The investments he had made upon receiving compensation from his family for his designs that thoroughly paid off, and it had only been a handful of years since then.

Taking advantage of his knowledge from his past life, Bruno reached out to several key historical figures who would be making a major name for themselves in the coming years. For example, the Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and twelve other investors who created the company with a mere 28,000 US dollars.

Granted at the time that was a lot of money. But to Bruno who gained millions from his designs. He was able to reach out to Henry Ford and fulfill the role of those 12 investors in exchange for 50% of the company.

The journey to Japan was a brief one. After all, Manchuria was but a stone's throw away from the land of the Rising Sun, and because of this Bruno was soon greeted by the envoys of Emperor Meiji himself when he landed in Tokyo.

The man who had restored Imperial power, and ended the reign of the Shogun. He was an imposing figure in Japanese History and one whose exploits Bruno was all too aware of. The attendants made sure Bruno was precisely aware of the proper etiquette that should be maintained in the Japanese court.

In addition to this, they made sure he was properly groomed. He had after all spent the better course of a month in an active Warzone, and another two months prior to that at sea. But when Bruno stepped out of the bath, and clothed by the servants who attended to him. He looked in the mirror and saw that he was much better looking than normal.