As Romania joined the Allied Powers and the Romanian Campaign began, overlooked by conscription into the Romanian Army, Caragiale drafted the first of "Craii de Curtea-Veche"'s three sections, titled "Întâmpinarea crailor" ("Meeting the Rakes"). He would later reflect on the importance of 1916, deeming it "end of the "Ancien Régime"". He did not follow the authorities and Take Ionescu's supporters as they redeployed in Moldavia when southern Romania fell to the Central Powers, and remained in Bucharest. He was still active within the Germanophile circles, including those who opted for collaborationism, and was held in high regard by the occupying forces: his brother Luca was employed by the new administrative apparatus, but Mateiu's own promotion to the rank of prefect was vetoed by puppet minister Lupu Kostaki. After the government of Alexandru Marghiloman signed the May 1918 capitulation in front of the Central Powers, he made known his support for the more pro-German Conservative Party: on June 29, 1918, he and Luca were among the signers of a letter addressed to the aging Petre P. Carp, the former Conservative leader, asking him to take over rule of the country. The political choice was highly controversial, and its exposure later contributed to the end of Caragiale's political career. In a 1970 biographical essay critical of Mateiu Caragiale, Cioculescu attributed Mateiu authorship of the document, and claimed that Luca had agreed to join in only as a result of his brother's pressures.