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But to no purpose; one nation after another went down before those Hun-trained half-Huns from the north-west. In 257 Chau Tsiang king of Ts'in took the Chow capital, and relieved Nan Wang, the last of the Chows, of the Nine Tripods of Ta Yu, the symbols of his sacred sovereignty; the mantle of the Caliphate passed from the House of Wen Wang and the Duke of Chow.
A Chinaman, in Chau Tsiang's place, would merely have reshaped the old order and set up a new feudal-pontifical house instead of Chow; which could not have lasted, because old age had worn the old system out. But these barbarians came in with new ideas. A new empire, a new race, a new nation was to be born. Chau Tsiang died in 251; and even then one could not clearly foresee what should follow.
But opposite to the Russian stronghold of Port Arthur was the German province of Kiao Chau, in which the Kaiser took a deep interest. His resolve to play a leading part in Chinese affairs appeared in his speech to the German troops sent out in 1900 to assist in quelling the Boxer Rising.
In spite of Turkey's hostility, the tone of the Allied Press lost little of its buoyancy. Japan, who had declared war on Germany in August, had since captured Kiao Chau and that achievement coupled with the results of four months' warfare in Europe were held to be promising.
Great Britain, jealous of this movement on the part of Russia, forced from the unwilling hands of China the port of Wei Hai Wei, and Germany demanded and obtained the cession of a port at Kiau Chau, farther down the coast, in retribution for the murder of some missionaries.
In area it is, as I have already remarked, somewhat larger than Texas; its population is about equal to that of New York and Pennsylvania combined. It consists of five states: the colony of Cochin-China, the protectorates of Cambodia, Annam and Tongking, and the unorganized territory of Laos, to which might be added the narrow strip of borderland, known as Kwang Chau Wan, leased from China.
At the same time Long Sin advanced a step to meet them, holding his arms outstretched as if to compel silence while he delivered his message. Long Sin struck several blows on the resounding gong and then raised his voice in solemn tones. "Ksing Chau, the Terrible, demands a consort. She is to be foreign fair of face and with golden hair."
"Major Elbertson has the key. He has the only key. Without it, the station cannot be removed from Earth control. Earth is in control. They can turn it off, captain." Dr. Johnston's voice took on as firm a tone of authority as that of the captain. "Chau ... Chau ... You!" barked the captain. "Get that key!"
The worshippers kowtowed reverently to him, while at the back again stood the aged Chinaman patiently turning his prayer wheel. Two braziers, or smoke pots, had been placed on the dais, one of which Long Sin touched with a stick causing it to burst out into dense fumes. Standing before them, he chanted in nasal tones, "The white consort of the great Ksing Chau has been found.
"Why should our great Ksing Chau desire a white devil? I, a great grandfather, demand to know." The effect on the worshippers was electric. They paused in their obeisance and stared at the speaker, then at their high priest. Shaking with rage, Long Sin ordered the intruder off the dais. But the aged devotee refused to go. "Throw him out," he ordered his attendants.
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