Bruno was quick to send a runner back to his company commander, informing him that the Russians had already assaulted the village. In response, he was given the order to regroup with the company in the town and help reinforce the Russian position.
By the time he and his men managed to do this, the Russians had gathered a group of civilians, both men and women, and of all ages. Where they had tied their hands behind their backs, while lining them up against a wall to be executed.
The situation in the town was a disaster zone. It was one thing to shell an enemy position that was entrenched among civilians, and disregard those civilians and the casualties that would result in pursuit of destroying the enemy. But it was another thing entirely to loot, rape, burn, and pillage a village after victory had already been achieved.
From Bruno's perspective, callous as it was, these things were simply unacceptable and truly met the definition of the term "war crimes." Because of this he did not immediately approach his company commander when he regrouped with his units, rather he walked up to the Russian officer in charge, restraining the urge to deck the man across the face, and instead shouted at him in Russian as if he were a Moscow native.
"What the hell do you and your men think you are doing!?!"
The Russian Captain was surprised to see that a German officer spoke Russian so perfectly, and after snapping out of his daze was quick to respond to Bruno's question with a conceited smirk on his face.
"These savages attacked my men as we peacefully entered the area with the intent to establish security in this war-torn region. We are only executing those responsible for crimes against the Tsar and his Royal Army!"
Bruno could not believe the audacity of these words. The people who were lined up to be executed were very clearly civilians who had been affected by this vicious retaliation.
At the same time, women and girls were lying in the streets, whether lifeless, or in shock by the horrific crimes they had endured. Bruno did not know. All the while children appeared to be lying on the ground in pools of their own blood.
The town itself had been set ablaze, and anything remotely of value was gathered in the center, where Russian soldiers carefully inspected it all to make sure it was something they could sell for profit. This wasn't retaliation, this was a complete and total massacre.
Because of this, Bruno was completely and utterly disgusted by such reprehensible behavior. This was not how an officer in the service of a Monarch was supposed to behave, let alone a nobleman, which, judging by the fact that Russia had just abolished serfdom a few decades prior, these officers most likely were of such status.
With all of this in mind, Bruno could hardly control his temper as he grabbed hold of the Russian captain's tunic and chewed him out as if he were the man's superior officer.
"Have you gone utterly mad? These are clearly civilians! Even if there were boxers among them who attacked your troops, does that justify such a massacre? And what of the women and girls I see lying in the streets, stripped naked and murdered by what I presume to be the hands of your men? How will you justify that?
You are no better than common brigands! I will report these crimes to your commanding officer as soon as I am back at base. Just you wait! You and your men will be lined up in front of a firing squad before the week is over!"
The Russian Captain, seemingly enraged by Bruno's threat, was quick to pull his pistol on the German Lieutenant. An act of clear hostility against the German Empire. He tried to intimidate Bruno while his men were still harassing the locals in the background.
"Lieutenant, you must be new here, so allow me to give you a fair warning. This is how things are done in this backwards country. We are free to do as we wish now that the Qing Government has surrendered!
If you intend to cause problems for me and my men, then I have no qualms burying you in this savage wasteland!"
The fact that the Russian officer had pulled his revolver on Bruno had provoked a response by the German company of riflemen, who quickly raised their weapons towards the Russian soldiers who were roughly equal in number. Albeit too focused on their criminal actions to notice immediately what had happened.
Bruno acted on instinct, quickly grabbing the muzzle of the Russian Captain's m1895 Nagant revolver and shifting it aside, while kneeing the man in the groin. Ripping his revolver out of the man's hand, and pointing it towards its owner's temple, who had fallen to his knees and was throwing up his guts after having one of his testicles bust open by the vicious strike.
There was a stoic expression on Bruno's face as he said the final words the Russian captain would ever hear before outright executing the man on the spot.
"You pulled a weapon on an officer in the Kaiser's Army and deliberately threatened him in front of his men. Do not blame me for my lack of mercy!"
*Bang*
The shot resounded in the air as Bruno pulled the trigger, blasting the Russian officer's brains onto the grass by the wayside. The gunshot finally attracted the attention of the Russian soldiers, who were clearly intoxicated, no doubt having drank their fill of the village's local spirits.
Upon seeing that an officer beneath his command had clearly been threatened by the Russian Army, the German Captain had no choice but to order his men to round up the Russian soldiers who had engaged in brigandry. His orders were expressed while he glared daggers at Bruno for provoking such a mess.
"Men! Apprehend these brigands, and if they dare to resist open fire on them!"
The Russian soldiers, having been too intoxicated and focused elsewhere to realize what had happened, quickly turned around to face the German soldiers with their rifles in their hands. Provoking a response from Bruno who ordered his men to massacre the Russians.
"Open fire!"
The German soldiers of Bruno's platoon opened fire on the Russian soldiers, killing dozens of them on the spot. Meanwhile, Heinrich, who was equally enraged as Bruno, if not more so due to his more empathetic nature, was quick to command his men to do the same.
After all, the company commander had ordered the men to shoot the Russians if they resisted, and they were clearly doing so.
"You heard the Lieutenant, open fire!"
The German Captain felt as if he had just watched the world burn, as the situation rapidly spiraled out of his control. The Germans soldiers, acting under the orders of their officers, gunned down the Russian soldiers. Who themselves were only able to fire off a few wild shots before being riddled with bullets.
The exchange of gunfire only lasted a moment. But it was enough to cause a major international issue. Even so, once the Russian company was dead with their corpses bleeding in the streets.
Bruno approached the various civilians who had been lined up for execution. He pulled his bayonet out of its scabbard and began cutting the ropes that bound their hands. Speaking in mandarin to them as he did so.
"Go! This village is no longer safe for you. When the Russians hear what has happened here, they will retaliate further!"
Bruno had shocked Heinrich with his mastery of two foreign languages. And was quick to approach Bruno commending the man, while the Captain cleaned things up in the background.
"You speak Russian, and Chinese? Since when?"
A bitter smile formed on Bruno's face as he looked at what had happened here in this village. He shook his head before responding to Heinrich's words, almost as if his mastery of multiple languages was a simple thing.
"I had a lot of spare time growing up, so I learned a few languages. It's not a big deal. Still, if you spoke Russian, then you would know what that bastard said to me. He said this is just how things are done here… So apparently, Russian soldiers aren't the only one engaging in such criminals acts across Northern China… The Reich might be just as guilty as the Russians are…."
As Bruno finished saying this, the Captain in charge of his company came up to him, practically foaming at the mouth as he slapped Bruno across the face.
"You insolent cur! Do you have any idea what you have done here!?! If not for the fact that we have eyewitnesses who can attest that the Russian officer threatened you, this whole incident could spiral into a war between the Reich and the Russian Empire!
Why did you have to open your stupid mouth? This is war, not some knitting contest! And these things are bound to occur! Stupid, naïve child! That's what you are! I'm going to have to report this to the Lieutenant Colonel when I get back to base! You should be prepared to face the consequences of your actions!"
Bruno had already known when he decided to confront the Russian officer that things would likely develop into the mess that they had. But if he had to sit idly by and watch innocent civilians be executed and raped in front of him. Then he would rather put a bullet in his brain than live with such guilt.
It was one thing to be ruthless in the pursuit of victory, or even to enact violent retribution upon partisans who unlawfully took up arms and attacked your soldiers. But… To behave so viciously towards unarmed civilians after the battle had already been won? That was simply the act of a savage, no matter how civilized he may proclaim himself to be.
That was a solid belief that Bruno stood by, no doubt inspired by the ideals of the 21st century, which he had lived in during his previous life. And he would not forsake these ideals no matter what may happen to him as a result.
Because of this, he was fully prepared to accept any consequences that might follow this conflict between German and Russian soldiers within Qing China that he had caused, and in doing so altered the timeline in ways he could not possibly have imagined.
---
Upon returning to the base, the incident at the Chinese village was reported up the chain of command. Bruno was initially apprehended and put in the brig for his actions.
But when the Colonel reported the incident to the General in charge of the German occupation in Northern China, a man by the name of Alfred von Waldersee, the General himself reported the incident to the Kaiser, as this was an international incident he did not want the responsibility of handling.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was at home, peacefully enjoying his breakfast in Berlin when he received word of what had happened in China. And how the Tsar's forces were gearing up for retaliation against the German East Asian Expeditionary Corps for the massacre of their soldiers.
Normally he wouldn't care about such a petty matter, and would instead order the execution of the man responsible for causing the incident in question as a means of appeasing the Russians. But when he heard the name Bruno von Zehntner, he was quick to take an interest in the subject.
"You said the man responsible is Lieutenant Bruno von Zehntner. You mean the ninth son of Lord Bruno? How very interesting? Tell me exactly what happened…."
Once the Kaiser heard that the Russian soldiers were engaging in acts of Brigandry against the local population, and that Bruno had valiantly confronted the criminals in question. Only to be threatened with a pistol to the forehead for daring to say that he would report them to the proper authorities.
The Kaiser was quick to scoff at the absurdity of the Russians and their attempts to spin this whole situation as if they were the victims. In fact, it truly aggravated him. The Kaiser was a man who had lofty ideals of warfare and notions of chivalry. Because of this, he became quite outraged at the whole scenario.
"My God, did such a thing really happen? Then why exactly is the Lieutenant being held in the brig? If what you say is true, he confronted a group of brigands and responded appropriately to the situation. It's not like he ordered their execution on the spot, instead he stated only that he would be reporting their crimes to the proper authorities.
To think the Russian Officer in charge had the audacity to pull his sidearm on one of my officers? Bruno should be commended for his actions not condemned. Release him at once. Meanwhile, I will contact the Tsar and settle this whole dispute once and for all.
Oh, and Chancellor… I want an immediate investigation to be held to see if any of our own soldiers are engaging in such unlawful activities during the occupation. If so, have them stripped of their ranks and titles before facing a firing squad!"
The Chancellor was not surprised the Kaiser would react this way upon hearing what really happened, or at least what happened from the perspective of the German soldiers who were there. As for the conversation between the Tsar and the Kaiser the effects that discussion would have dire effects on future relations between the Russian Empire and the German Reich.
By the time the German occupation of Northern China was over, it was found that over 100 German soldiers had been engaging in similar crimes, resulting in their execution, as well as the stripping of their ranks and noble titles.
In doing so, this sent an example to the German Army that the rules of war must be followed at all times even during an occupation of what many considered to be a savage land.