Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Three Kneels and Nine Kows (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
September 1901, a certain day.
In front of the New Palace in Potsdam, German Empire.
"So it has come to this in the end."
Prince Chun looked up at the imperial palace where the Emperor of the German Empire resided, his face etched with bitterness.
He had to enter that place now.
To perform the "three kneels and nine kows" before Germany's Emperor Wilhelm II as a gesture of atonement.
"Your Highness..."
Yangseong squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of the listless Prince Chun.
There had been no other way, but in the end, this forced a lifelong humiliation upon Prince Chun.
'It's all my fault.'
Yangseong's face twisted with self-recrimination and guilt.
He had no right to call himself a loyal servant of the Qing.
"Please execute this lowly subject. It is because of my incompetence and foolishness that things have turned out this way."
"Yangseong, how can you say all this is your fault?"
At the root of it all, they knew the Qing Dynasty had become a weak and impotent shell of its former glory, yet the German Emperor demanded the three kneels and nine kows simply to witness his humiliation.
And it was because of that cunning young baron of Joseon origin, who rivaled even the insidious English in treachery.
'Choi Hansu—no, Hans von Choi...!'
That bastard was a demon wearing the mask of a child.
How could he threaten to slaughter innocent Qing subjects just to inflict this one humiliation upon him and the Qing?
'Yangseong bears no blame.'
No ordinary man with a shred of humanity could deal with such a fiend who abandoned all human decency.
"You did your utmost for me and the Qing, Yangseong."
"Your Highness...!"
Yangseong looked ready to burst into tears at Prince Chun's sincere words of comfort.
The other Qing envoys reddened their eyes as well.
"For now, we must endure for the sake of reconciliation."
So let us never forget this humiliation today.
"Your Highness, it is time. Please enter."
A German official emerged from the palace and spoke in a curt tone.
The moment had arrived.
"...Very well."
Prince Chun nodded weakly and dragged his heavy footsteps into the New Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Qing delegation has arrived."
Why did time seem to fly by so quickly at moments like this?
After walking endlessly down the long corridor, Prince Chun arrived at the audience chamber and let out an inward sigh.
"Let them enter."
Kreeeak—!
With the Emperor's permission, the heavy doors opened with a grating sound.
Prince Chun and the Qing delegation entered the audience chamber with tense faces.
***
"Hans, is that the fellow representing the Qing, Zaifeng?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What ridiculous hairstyles they have. All of them."
"It's called the queue. A custom of the Manchu people, the nomadic founders of the Qing."
I spoke to Wilhelm II, who had been grinning from ear to ear since earlier, as if delighted.
He seemed as excited as a child receiving a Christmas present at the prospect of finally witnessing the three kneels and nine kows.
'Prince Chun's face looks ready to explode.'
The audience chamber was packed not just with me and the Kaiser, but also Foreign Minister Richthofen, Chancellor von Bülow, and other cabinet officials and military generals.
All here on the Kaiser's orders to witness Prince Chun's humiliation.
It was a clear declaration that he was mere spectacle, so Prince Chun had every reason to be furious.
'In truth, they should be grateful it hasn't gone further.'
Originally, Wilhelm II had planned to immortalize the scene with photographers and cinematographers.
Foreign Minister Richthofen and I had barely talked him out of it.
'What if Prince Chun couldn't endure and committed seppuku right in front of the Kaiser?'
Even so, that would be troublesome.
Zzt!
But the Qing folk, oblivious to my struggles, glared at me as if I bore full responsibility, looking ready to chew me up and spit me out.
Sigh. It felt like my image was the only thing suffering, caught between the Kaiser and Prince Chun.
Was this the plight of middle management?
'If only we could extract more concessions from China under the pretext of the kowtow.'
Unfortunately, the timing was off.
If Germany tried to squeeze more out of the Qing now using the ritual as leverage, the other great powers would cry foul and rebel.
The Boxer Rebellion had ended long ago, yet the Boxer Protocol was only being signed now, over a year later, due to the powers' jostling for greater gains.
Demanding more here would torpedo the treaty itself.
None of us—me, Foreign Minister Richthofen, or Chancellor von Bülow—wanted that.
'I must be content with my rising influence for now.'
Once the kowtow was secured, Wilhelm II praised me effusively and promised to seek my counsel often.
Richthofen seemed to hold me in high regard too.
'Who would have thought he'd actually pull it off. Impressive.'
Even the chancellor grudgingly acknowledged me.
That alone was gain enough for me.
Sorry, Prince Chun.
"Prince Chun Zaifeng, subject of the Great Qing Emperor, greets the Emperor of the Great German Empire."
""We greet you.""
With Yangseong's translation, Prince Chun and the Qing delegation paid their respects to Wilhelm II.
The Kaiser nodded gravely.
"Prince Chun of the Qing, Zaifeng, hear this."
The Kaiser slowly opened his mouth.
"On June 20th of last year, the Qing court allied with the Boxers and brutally murdered German envoy Baron Clemens von Ketteler, then desecrated his corpse."
"......"
"Furthermore, they committed indiscriminate massacres, looting, rape, torture, and even cannibalism against Germans and other whites—barbaric acts so vile they make one retch to merely speak of them. These are grave sins heaven itself would not forgive."
This was the absolute reason the Boxers were vilified in the modern world as China's Taliban.
"...We have no words, even with ten mouths."
"Yet I am magnanimous."
'What is he, Xerxes I?'
Far from magnanimous, this was a man who vied for the top spot in pettiness among European monarchs, and he spoke well.
"As atonement, you shall perform before us the... Hans, what was it?"
"The 'rite of three kneels and nine kows.'"
"Yes. Perform that, and I and the German Empire shall forgive the Qing's crimes."
"We are grateful, deeply grateful, for His Majesty's mercy."
Grind!
Prince Chun ground his teeth and replied.
Then, trembling with humiliation and rage, he took position to perform the three kneels and nine kows.
"Your Majesty, the rite requires a caller of commands. Might this subject perform that duty?"
At that moment, Yangseong bowed, unwilling to let Prince Chun bear the humiliation alone.
Wilhelm II flashed an inscrutable smile—clearly plotting some mischief—and glanced at me.
"No, that task falls to Baron Hans von Choi."
"Your Majesty?"
Why did he keep dumping everything on me?
"Don't refuse, Hans. It's rare entertainment. Come, stand by my side and call the commands."
"...Yes."
Fuck.
I cursed inwardly as I took my place beside Wilhelm II.
What irked me more was that he wasn't throwing me to the wolves—he genuinely thought I'd enjoy it.
What the hell did the Kaiser think I was?
Look at Prince Chun and Yangseong.
Their faces had gone from red to purple with rage.
They looked ready to collapse any second.
"Hoo... Then let us begin."
I opened my mouth toward Prince Chun, my whole body radiating sincere apology.
Not that he believed it.
"Kneel."
My voice echoed in the heavy silence.
In German, of course.
Traditionally it should be in Manchu, but I didn't know it.
But in this situation, the language didn't matter.
Only the intent did.
Thud!
Prince Chun knelt, his face screaming he wished for death, and slammed his forehead hard against the floor with a loud bang.
"Oh..."
"Good Lord..."
Gasps and murmurs erupted from the onlookers, shocked by the far more intense and violent display than they'd imagined.
"...Hans, is this rite normally that extreme?"
"Of course not. If it were standard, Qing officials would have bashed their brains out every time they met the Emperor."
Contrary to depictions in various media, even Emperor Injo didn't smash his forehead bloody before the Hongtaiji at Samjeondo.
The three kneels and nine kows was just an overly formal greeting.
"He's just that furious and humiliated."
Proof of how deeply he felt it.
I called the next command.
"Kow."
Prince Chun lifted his head and kowtowed three times toward Wilhelm II.
"Rise."
Prince Chun struggled to his feet.
His forehead was bruised red from the force.
"Sniff, Your Highness...!"
Yangseong and the Qing delegation finally burst into tears at the sight.
But Prince Chun smiled faintly as if it were nothing and turned to me.
'What are you waiting for? Continue!'
His venomous eyes demanded.
Anyone would think I was history's greatest villain.
'No, that's probably how they see me already.'
I sighed and called again.
This was all that damned Kaiser's fault.
"...Kneel."
***
"Rise."
Prince Chun clutched his trembling knees and stood at the final command.
At last, this hellish eternity had ended.
"Your Highness, your forehead is injured. Please, treat it quickly...!"
"It's fine."
His head spun from slamming it too hard, but it didn't matter.
If he hadn't vented this way, he'd have lost his mind to the pent-up rage first.
And seeing the foreigners' shocked faces improved his mood a bit.
"I have witnessed your sincerity. With this, I and the German Empire forgive the Qing's atrocities."
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction and left the chamber with his retinue.
As if their business was done.
Vile and cruel bastard.
"You have endured much, Your Highness."
But compared to this slimy Joseon brat who lingered alone in the chamber, grinning as he approached them, the Emperor was nothing.
As the saying goes, the instigator is more hated than the striker—Prince Chun loathed Hans even more than Wilhelm II for forcing this upon him.
"決不會忘記這個屈辱."
"Pardon?"
"He says he will never forget this humiliation."
Yangseong translated bluntly for the baron.
Normally he'd soften it, but even he was furious at this young Joseon noble.
"It may sound like an excuse to Your Highness and Lord Yang, but I hold no personal grudge against you or the Qing."
He had merely followed orders.
"The old saying goes: be a man before chasing success. But you've forsaken humanity, so your path is clear!"
"Forsaking humanity? That's an insult I can't overlook."
"Well spoken by the one who threatened to massacre Qing subjects if I refused the kowtow to the end!"
"Pardon? When did I ever say that?"
"What?"
At Hans's genuinely baffled expression, Prince Chun turned to Yangseong, who had relayed his words.
Could Yangseong have lied?
'No, why would Yangseong lie to me about this?'
If he had, Hans wouldn't look so righteously indignant.
Yangseong spoke up.
"What nonsense is this, Baron? You clearly said as much to me last night!"
"I said no such thing, Lord Yang. I merely smiled."
"W-what?!"
Hans's brazen denial made veins bulge on Yangseong's forehead.
So he'd tricked them?
"Didn't I tell you? Reparations and blood money were mere pretexts to uphold Prince Chun's honor."
"B-but...!"
"Did you think I'd slaughter innocents like Cao Cao at Xiakou? How hurtful."
Hans shook his head with a genuinely sorrowful face.
'This Goryeo bastard deserves to be torn apart!'
Of course, Prince Chun and Yangseong, fully hooked, only grew more enraged.
"No need for such anger. It all worked out in the end, didn't it?"
"What worked out?! I've tasted shame enough to regret being born on this earth a thousand times over because of you!"
Yangseong relayed Prince Chun's fury verbatim.
But Hans remained unflappable.
"Yet thanks to it, our Emperor is pleased, the Qing people suffer no more over this, and Your Highness and your retainers are safe."
In other words, the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Hans added, the sophistry unmatched.
"Th-this...!"
"Since you're alright, I'll take my leave."
Hans smiled brightly and departed the chamber.
"Arrrghhhh—!!"
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Soon, Prince Chun's rage-filled scream echoed through the now-empty audience chamber, with only the Qing delegation remaining.
Author's Note
Hans: I didn't lie.