The Emperor Behind the Dragon Throne

The Emperor behind the Dragon Throne

By Benjamin Ma

"Come out you traitor! The rat that hides behind the Palace Walls shall be brought before the swift eyes of vengeance" cried an officer as the soldiers garrisoned outside the Forbidden City. Yuan snarled as he caught sight of the army that was preparing to lay siege against his fortifications. He knew that his fate was drawing closer and closer, yet his desire to avoid his final confrontation and simply disappear overwhelmed him.

"I am the Emperor! The Throne is rightfully mine and will stay like that just as the prophecies had predicted. This Throne, this Empire, this Nation were all promised to me!" Yuan Shikai boomed as he walked outside onto the balcony of the Palace walls. His face became noticeable as he stepped outside of the shadows that had long kept his appearance in immense secrecy.

"You are the Emperor? Ha! What Emperor would murder his way to the Throne?! What Emperor would lie and deceive those who had put their uttermost trust in him? What Emperor would bribe and corrupt officials so that he could secure his power? A Tyrant, a Thief and a liar, I say! Sun Yat Sen had faith in you. He believed that you could have led China out of this political turmoil and you betrayed him, like the dog that you are. You treat this man as if he were a fool" cried the officer down below. The officer was young and strong and looked as if he was in his early twenties. Yuan on the other hand, was in his late forties and his feeble body looked like it had seen years. Yuan was in no shape to challenge the young warrior and this worried him greatly. The determined and staunch look on the officer's face did not help Yuan either.

The disgraced Emperor looked back at his early years and thought of how he got into this position. Yuan was once a popular general of the Qing Dynasty's new army, an army that had fought during the first Sino-Japanese War. Although it ended with the Qing dynasty's initial defeat, Yuan's courage and bravery allowed him to rise to fame and prominence. Not to mention his excellent military skills which were enough to earn him a place in the Royal court of the Manchu ruled empire. He was given honorary titles by Empress Dowager Cixi, the ruler of the dynasty at the time, and was recognised by the Revolutionary and Nationalist Sun Yat Sen as a heroic figure.

Yuan glanced at his armour which was stacked against the wall at the far end of the ancient palace hall. The armour of the red dragon had once belonged to the Qianlong emperor, a character of age old legends and tales. Yuan made his way to the Throne which stood magnificently at the centre of the hall and gazed at the interior of the exquisite building. The firm walls were decorated in vibrant colours and were built with various designs.  All of a sudden a thought manifested in Yuan's mind, "could Yuan Shikai, the Emperor of a five thousand year old empire, face his imminent fate or would he shy way just like he had done many times in the past?"

Yuan was promised with a life of luxury and power by a mystic during his time in Korea and it was evident that he would not give up on the prophecy. "Emperor you will become and none will stop your reign until your power is submerged into seven" the old and strange mystic had described to him.

Yuan put on his armour and fastened the leather straps that had held the steel plates together. He then descended down the stair until he reached the entrance of the great hall. He was ready to leave the building and confront the officer who had been waiting all his life to see Yuan's head on a wooden stake. The officer's sword had already been drawn out as if he were already anticipating the battle with the unpopular Emperor on the Palace grounds. As part of his official headgear, he wore a peaked cap with the noticeable symbol of a blue sky and white sun on it. His light blue uniform was well tended and his glossy boots looked as if it was polished a thousand times.

"Here at last! Song Jiaoren's ghost will be pleased to see you die before my blade", the young officer remarked amusingly. A glimpse of the past had flashed in Yuan's head. This time it was the oath he had took and the submission he underwent to become the second President of the newly established Republic that was founded right after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

 Sun Yat Sen had despised the Manchus and their absolute power over the nation and longed to see their overthrow. He also wanted his nationalist party, the Kuomintang, to assume power. However he was faced with many dilemmas including a weak military and needed to find a way for the Royal throne to abdicate. Sun had known of Yuan especially after the war and thought that he would be able to convince the Manchus to cede from their rule on the condition that Yuan would become President. Yuan knew that he had to do something to persuade the now reluctant Manchu Emperor to abstain from power, but he could not think of anything else but to bribe them with gold, tonnes and tonnes of gold to be precise. However Yuan did not give up since he saw this as a way to consolidate power and fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming Emperor as the mystic had predicted so long ago. In order for him to get his way, Yuan had to become more brutal and remorseless in his devilish plans.

Plucked as a toddler and declared as a living god, Puyi was chosen to be the next emperor to ascend onto the dragon throne. After the death of the late Manchu emperor, Yuan was ready to act upon his secretive schemes. He made his way to the place that housed the young emperor destined to be the forthcoming ruler of China and unleashed a series of threats onto Puyi's guardians. Yuan knew that he could only go so far, however he was determined to win in his ambitious quest to power. Yuan continued onto the close advisers of the Qing court, who were already corrupt, and made a number of agreements with them involving the young Manchu Emperor. When the advisors finally came to terms with Yuan, they sent thugs to harass the guardians. The guardians had enough of the threats and the harassments that occurred on a daily scale and decided that Puyi could no longer rule the old dynasty, thus ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China.

Once the Manchu throne was no longer an internal threat to Sun Yat Sen and his nationalist party, Yuan Shikai was sworn into Presidency. Becoming President was a step Yuan had taken towards his ultimate goal of becoming Emperor. Howeveras years passed, many opponents critical of his policies emerged, from outspoken critics to suspicious everyday civilians. One of Yuan's greatest obstacles was Song Jiaoren, a politician who had been elected as the Prime Minister of the Republic. Song was not Yuan's greatest fan and demanded more power to be handed down to him. Yuan knew that he could not hold his position as President forever and was very eager to remove Song from his path to absolute power. He finally decided to order his assassination. This was the first sign of instability present in Yuan's government.

Yuan drew out his sword. The young officer spat onto the ground and changed into his aggressive stance with his long blade pointing upwards, his piercing eyes like a volley of sharp arrows. Yuan stepped back a few paces, frightened. It was as if the young man's ghostly eyes were staring right through his black soul.

"Come on traitor! We all know of your evil deeds! We all know of your dirty little secrets and devilish plans! My sword at my bidding could lunge straight into your neck, cutting off the vital oxygen supply needed to keep that stupid head of yours from falling off. What man could have a more provocative and despicable name than Yuan Shikai?" The soldiers who had accompanied the young officer crackled into laughter as they watched the confrontation between the two men.

"How dare you! I am the Emperor! Is there no other way that you can address me than to call me a rat, a traitor and a thief" Yuan Shikai roared furiously. He was indeed the emperor even though he killed many to gain his title. "My title, my title is stained with the blood of innocence" Yuan whispered to himself as he thought back to the later years of his life when his rule was crumbling.

Yuan was faced with growing opposition after Song Jiaoren's death. Suspicions among the general public grew that Yuan had in fact ordered the assassination himself. Sun Yat Sen along with his political organisation no longer supported Yuan as they had discovered the amount of corruption present under his reign. Yuan left alone decided to crackdown on the Kuomintang, seeing the group as a leading figure in the opposition against him. When Sun Yat Sen had finally fled to Japan, Yuan declared himself Emperor, his lifelong ambition, and renamed the Chinese nation to the Chinese Empire, but at a price. He was no longer the notable and heroic general that he used to be during Qing era but rather a hated and corrupt dictator despised among the populous. His popularity dwindled as province after province rebelled in protest against his rule. Even the seven warlords that he had granted power to betrayed him, leaving the emperor completely isolated in his own country. A second revolution encouraged by the leader in exile (Sun Yat Sen) was this time targeted at Yuan's regime.

Yuan looked up and saw a blade strike towards him missing his broad chest by a narrow margin. He dodged and lunged forward. The officer whacked Yuan's sword out of his hand with one swift movement. Yuan was no match for this titan. Infuriated, the disgraced emperor took out his pistol in attempt to fire at the officer. The officer caught his arm and twisted it. Yuan cried out in agony and distress. He tried to pull his arm free from the officer's tight grasp but his old age and years of living a pathetic life in the cruel world would not allow him to.   Yuan collapsed onto the floor, tired and weary. He had enough of this ordeal and was ready to feel the cold clutches of death as the demon from Diyu slowly approached him.