Have Empress Zewditu and Fitawari Habte Giyorgis die in the 1918 flu pandemic, allowing for Ras Tafari Makonnen to come to power earlier and completely consolidate his control over the Ethiopian government without much hindering his efforts. After gaining tacit French approval, Haile Selassie concludes the Treaty of Addis Ababa with Berlin which sees Weimar Germany receiving raw resources and investment opportunities while Ethiopia receives assistance in the modernization of her military. A German Military Mission is sent to Ethiopia, led by the famed von Lettow-Vorbeck who had been personally requested to come to Ethiopia by Haile Selassie while a steady supply of German equipment flows into the country. The Imperial Ethiopian Army is established in 1927-28, being a well-trained and well-equipped force of 90,000 men which makes Haile Selassie feel secure enough to institute land and tax reforms that have the nobility revolt. Their peasant militias are crushed by the IEA as Haile Selassie promises amnesty to the remaining men if they join his army, resulting in the Imperial Ethiopian Army growing to roughly 120,000 men who are rigorously trained and indoctrinated to make sure of their loyalty to the Emperor. Extensive reforms allow for much more revenue to flow into the coffers of the Ethiopian government as modernization progresses much faster than before, foreign investment adding to this as infrastructure and industry begin developing steadily.