The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  ‘They are not my people, Englishman – and they would be the first to say I am not one of them. I am a Tartar. A Manchu. We took the throne of China more than two hundred years ago – much as the Normans once took the throne of England. But you accepted your conquerors and became one with them. The Chinese, in particular the Cantonese, have never forgiven us.’

  Shalonga’s words astounded Kernow. ‘You have a remarkable knowledge of Western ideas – and of English history.’

  ‘Not English but French. My father is a great general, a war lord who rules on the borders of the country some call Annam, others the land of the Viet. We call it Vietnam. He has won many battles there, conquered much land – and acquired many women. Among them was a Frenchwoman, kidnapped from a trader. She became my father’s favourite concubine. As a small child I would spend many happy hours talking with her.’

  ‘Did you learn to speak French?’

  ‘I did, even though it was forbidden. You too speak French?’

  ‘It’s my favourite language.’ Kernow responded in French and Shalonga beamed with delight.

  ‘We will talk some more of this, Englishman.’

  It seemed Shalonga was about to ride off and Kernow asked quickly, ‘What do you intend doing with us?’

  ‘Who knows? If I enjoy talking to you I might keep you here. Find you a few women, perhaps, and come to speak to you sometimes.’

  Kernow had a feeling the Tartar captain’s reply was not entirely made in jest and he said hastily, ‘My ship will go back to Hong Kong and report our capture by you. My admiral will take action.’

  ‘So? You are on our land. China and your country are in dispute. His Imperial Majesty could protest that this is an act of aggression. He might justifiably order your heads be cut off.’

  ‘He could, but it would be a barbaric act. I came looking for missing sailors.’

  ‘The truth is often put to one side when diplomacy dictates it should be so, Englishman. Fortunately for you I believe you tell the truth. Ah, here is the village headman.’

  The headman’s low bow drew only a perfunctory nod of the head from the Tartar officer and he snapped, ‘It is possible some Fan Qui sailors were driven ashore by the great storm. Do you know anything of them?’

  ‘I do. We captured them. Rounded them up like goats and handed them over to the Tao-tai’s men. There is a Viceroy’s reward for the capture of Fan Quis. May I humbly remind you it was my message that led to the capture of these enemies of the Emperor too?’

  ‘Send for the Tao-tai to come here.’

  The village headman paled. The Tao-tai was the district magistrate, a very important official in the rural communities of China. ‘I would not dare to demand that such an esteemed official come to my humble village.’

  ‘I would – and I do. Tell him Shalonga of the Red Banner would speak with him.’

  The name appeared to mean something to the headman and he bowed himself out of the presence of the Tartar bannerman.

  As the headman departed, one of the villagers edged closer to the sailors. In his hand he held a heavy bamboo pole and there was little doubt of his intentions.

  ‘Keep away, or I will turn the pole upon you.’ Kernow spoke in the Cantonese dialect. The man lowered the pole and backed away.

  Shalonga turned and saw with some amusement that the problem was in hand.

  ‘You wear the uniform of a soldier, Englishman, yet you speak the language of the Chinese as though you were a missionary. You also use the dialect of the Cantonese as though you were a Hakka. Did your father have Chinese concubines, perhaps?’

  ‘No, he too was a soldier-sailor, like myself. Although he fought the Chinese twenty years ago I doubt if he had any concubines, Chinese or any other nationality. But you are right. I am learning Chinese from a missionary in Hong Kong. At the same time a Hakka girl is teaching me the dialect of the Cantonese.’

  Shalonga smiled. ‘I have seen some of your missionary women, Englishman. I think I would find learning from a Hakka girl more enjoyable. Come, we will find someone to cook food for your men and mine while we wait for the Tao-tai to come and explain his actions to me.’

  As he followed the Tartar officer, Kernow wondered when She-she would hear news of his capture and how she would take it.

  Chapter 17

  THE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE did not put in an appearance until the late evening, by which time Shalonga’s patience was wearing thin. Nevertheless, he took pains not to allow his displeasure to show while he was conversing with Kernow. It did not surface until the magistrate finally arrived, and stepped gingerly from his carrying-chair to the mud of the village street. Dressed in expensive silken robes and wearing the hat and insignia of a Mandarin of the eighth grade, the Tao-tai carried the weight and the airs of a pampered Chinese official.

  When the village headman hurried to the soldiers’ camp to tell Shalonga the magistrate had arrived, the Tartar captain waved him away and continued his conversation with Kernow. He kept the magistrate waiting for more than an hour in the village street, by which time the local dignitary was furious.

  When Shalonga finally announced his readiness to speak to the Tao-tai he kept Kernow with him. The presence of an unfettered and apparently unhumiliated Fan Qui in the company of the Tartar captain came as a great shock to the magistrate. When he recovered himself, he presented a shallow bow to the bannerman and announced himself.

  ‘I am Ho-kin, His Imperial Majesty’s magistrate for this district. You wished to speak with me?’

  Barely acknowledging the greeting, the Tartar soldier replied, ‘I am Shalonga, captain of the Red Banner regiment, sent by Imperial orders to serve the emperor and put down the rebellion of the Taipings. I commanded your presence. Fan Qui sailors, driven ashore by the typhoon, were given into your keeping. Where are they?’

  The Tao-tai had already realised that his tardiness in obeying the summons of this apparently junior officer had perhaps been a grave error. Shalonga wore a golden sash about his waist which signified a close relationship with the family of China’s Imperial rulers. It far outweighed his own very junior Mandarin rank. However, he was taken aback by the presence of Kernow and puzzled by Shalonga’s interest in the fate of a few Fan Qui seamen.

  ‘I have them in cages, exhibited for all to see.’

  ‘Why?’

  The district magistrate was more than ever puzzled by such a question. ‘The Fan Qui are enemies of our people. They landed in an area that is forbidden to them and were captured. They will be kept on public view and then executed.’

  ‘They were driven ashore by a typhoon that brought destruction to Chinese and Fan Qui alike. You will bring them to me, here.’

  ‘They came to attack the people of the Middle Kingdom. This I know. One of their number has made a full confession.’

  ‘I would speak with the man who made such a confession. Where is he now?’

  The Tao-tai dropped his gaze. ‘Unfortunately, he died only hours after signing his confession – but I have witnesses.’

  ‘Witnesses to a confession extracted under torture! How many more of the Fan Qui sailors have died in your hands?’

  ‘Only three.’

  ‘Four Fan Quis dead and only a single confession?’ Anger was mixed with Shalonga’s mockery. ‘All your “confession” will achieve is to bring the armies of the English to avenge their sailors. Who will be waiting to fight them and drive them back to the sea? You?’

  The Tao-tai inclined his head once more. ‘I regret, I am a mere magistrate, not a soldier of his Imperial Majesty.’

  ‘You are a fool! Do you think the Emperor will thank you for bringing Fan Qui ships to sink our junks? Fan Qui soldiers to take our cities?’

  ‘Surely with your brave Tartar bannermen to fight them off, we need have no fear of the puny Fan Qui armies?’

  ‘You do not fight the wars, Tao-tai, neither do you usurp the powers of the Emperor by dictating policy. I and my soldiers are here to drive the Taiping rebe
ls from lands that Tao-tais like yourself should have held against their depredations. You will order the immediate release of the Fan Qui sailors.’

  This was more than the district magistrate would accept, even from a man who wore a sash of the Imperial colours. ‘The Fan Quis were arrested in a forbidden area. The Viceroy himself has decreed that any foreigner found outside the Canton factories area must be arrested and put to death.’

  ‘Viceroy Yeh is a man who has washed his hands in the blood of a hundred thousand of his own people. His attitude towards the Fan Quis will as surely bring about the deaths of a hundred thousand more. You will order the release of the Fan Qui sailors, or I will send you to Hong Kong with this English officer. He will carry with him a full report of how you deal with men driven by storms to the shores of your district. I will write it myself.’

  ‘You wouldn’t dare. The Viceroy …’

  ‘My father is General Tingamao. He will be in the province before the new moon. With him are fifty thousand bannermen, most of them Tartar horsemen. Such an army brings its own laws. Even a Viceroy would dare not dispute them. Viceroy Yeh will not raise so much as a finger to help you.’

  Tao-tai Ho-kin knew Shalonga spoke the truth. He accepted defeat with as much grace as he could muster. ‘I am sorry, Your Excellency. I was not told I had been summoned by the son of the great war lord Tingamao. I will go and arrange for the release of the Fan Qui sailors immediately.’

  ‘You will stay here and answer to me should anything go wrong. Issue your orders for the release of the sailors. Half my men will go with your messenger to bring the Fan Quis back here.’

  When the cringing magistrate had bowed himself from the presence of Shalonga, Kernow tried to thank the Tartar bannerman for his actions. He was waved to silence.

  ‘What I told the Tao-tai was the truth. You are a Fan Qui. What would your people do if news reached them that the sailors who survived the typhoon were executed on his orders?’

  ‘They would come upriver, destroy the Bogue forts yet again, and raze to the ground every village and town for miles around.’

  Shalonga nodded. ‘It is as I said – and more. In the event of such an attack I and my bannermen would be forced to take part in the battle. Until my father’s army arrives we are not enough to defeat you. The only winners would be the Taiping rebels we have come here to fight.’

  Yet again Kernow found himself impressed with the sound forward-thinking of this Tartar officer. He wished that some of the officers in the Royal Marines and Royal Navy who were contemptuous of the Chinese character might have an opportunity to meet Shalonga. Unfortunately, the only time they were likely to meet would be in battle. At such a time neither side could he expected to appreciate the finer qualities of the other.

  There were eight survivors from the Royal Navy frigate Fury. Thirteen had miraculously made their way to the Chinese shore when the frigate capsized and sank, but five had died as a result of the beatings they had taken from the villagers and the torture inflicted upon them by the Tao-tai and his men.

  Incensed by their weak condition and the stories they told of the brutal treatment they had received, Kernow protested to Shalonga.

  Surprisingly, the Tartar officer shrugged off the complaints, saying, ‘They were treated no differently to a Chinese who is taken prisoner by a Tao-tai.’

  ‘Is that supposed to make it all right? It’s barbaric – and you have the nerve to call us “barbarians” and “foreign devils”?’

  ‘In China we would consider it bad manners to enter another’s home, uninvited, and proceed to criticise the way he runs his household. I do not say that all we do is right, nevertheless it is our way.’

  ‘This is true, and you have saved the lives of these eight men – and the lives of myself and the sailors I brought ashore. I am sorry, Shalonga, you deserve my gratitude, not my censure. I am grateful, but I’d like to be in a position to deal with that Tao-tai.’

  ‘You would like to take him to Hong Kong with you? It would not be impossible to arrange.’

  Kernow opened and closed his mouth twice without uttering a sound, before saying reluctantly, ‘The admiral wouldn’t thank me for handing him the problem of dealing with a Chinese magistrate. Besides, you’ll have enough explaining to do as things stand now. It wouldn’t do to have to tell the Viceroy you’ve sent his Tao-tai to Hong Kong to face trial for torturing Fan Qui prisoners.’

  ‘I have no fear of Viceroy Yeh. More of a problem to me is how to return you to your own people in Hong Kong. I fear there is not a junk left afloat in the whole area. I will need to send to Canton. In the meantime, we will enjoy each other’s company, Englishman. By the time we part I may be speaking French once more and you will be more familiar with the language of the Mandarins.’

  Chapter 18

  THE DAY AFTER Kernow’s capture by Shalonga, Hannah Jefferies called She-she to her office in the typhoon-battered mission hospital.

  All lessons had been suspended and She-she and Kau-lin were helping Esme Pilkington in the very busy hospital kitchen. Since the destruction of the shacks on the slopes behind the mission, the kitchen had been kept fully occupied providing food for the survivors. They were also brewing tea continuously for the sailors and troops who had been sent in by the island authorities. The servicemen had spent all the daylight hours and much of the night searching through the debris for survivors from the worst typhoon the colony had suffered in living memory.

  She-she was happy to be working at something she felt was useful. It also warded off her guilt that in the midst of such horror and devastation, she had somehow found a new and very special relationship with Kernow. It gave her a warm feeling deep inside whenever she thought about the night hours spent with his arm about her.

  She had not felt this way about any man before and would never have believed it could happen with a Fan Qui! But Kernow was like none of the Fan Quis she had ever seen. He was not hairy but smooth-skinned, like a Chinese….

  Entering the office, She-she smiled at Hannah and an expression akin to pain crossed the missionary’s face.

  ‘Please sit down, She-she.’ Hannah motioned the Chinese girl to a chair. ‘I have something to say to you.’

  Disturbed by the missionary’s manner, some of the happiness left She-she. As she perched on the edge of the chair she asked, ‘I do something to upset you? I make you unhappy? I sorry …’

  ‘No, She-she, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong at all. I trust you – although I must tell you that I was disturbed by what I saw when I found you the morning after the typhoon. I felt you and Mister Keats were far too friendly. It’s him I have brought you here to talk about.’

  ‘We do nothing wrong! I like him very much, but we do nothing wrong!’ She-she was genuinely upset that something that meant so much to her should be misjudged by anyone – especially this missionary woman who had been so kind to her.

  Hannah stood up and walked around the desk to She-she. Crouching before her, she took her hand. ‘I believe you, She-she. I really do. I don’t doubt that you and Mister Keats are genuinely fond of each other. Unfortunately, it makes what I have to tell you even harder.’

  Squeezing She-she’s hand tightly, she said, ‘Mister Keats was sent up the Canton River yesterday morning, to search for sailors feared lost in the typhoon.’

  She-she’s eyes opened wide. ‘Something happen to him? He die?’

  ‘I don’t believe he’s dead, She-she, but he went ashore and was seen to be taken prisoner by Chinese soldiers. I’m very sorry to be the one to tell you about this, my dear, but I wanted you to hear it from me and not from some complete stranger.’

  For many minutes She-she looked down at her lap, saying nothing. When she looked up again there was nothing in her expression to show the numb despair she felt inside as she said, ‘If he taken by soldiers, better he dead. Viceroy Yeh hates Fan Qui. Says all should have heads cut off.’

  Despite her fierce determination to be brave, tears
welled up into She-she’s eyes. As they spilled over and began to roll down her cheeks, Hannah said sympathetically, ‘You’d better return to the house for a while. I’ll go and tell the others.’

  ‘No. Better I work, then no time to think. I go now.’

  In the kitchen Kau-lin was speaking to Esme when She-she came through the doorway. One look at her friend and she stopped in mid-sentence.

  As Esme turned to follow her glance, Kau-lin hurried across the kitchen. ‘What’s the matter? Is Mrs Jefferies cross with you about something?’

  ‘No, she’s not cross. She wanted to tell me about First Lieutenant Kernow. He sailed to the Canton River to search for sailors lost in the typhoon. He’s been taken prisoner by Viceroy Yeh’s soldiers.’

  Kau-lin’s face expressed the dismay she felt on behalf of her friend. Suddenly She-she let out a wail of anguish that caused every head in the kitchen to turn in her direction. Hurriedly drying her hands on the apron she wore, Esme advanced across the kitchen and held out her arms.

  Gathering She-she to her, she said, ‘You poor child. I am so sorry. I know how much you think of him – and he of you. He is such a nice boy. Perhaps they’ll let him go when they learn he meant them no harm.’

  ‘Viceroy Yeh never let go of a Fan Qui. I never see First Lieutenant Kernow again.’

  Suddenly, She-she pushed Esme from her. Turning away from the two women, she said, ‘We work now. Plenty work.’

  Late that same evening Kau-lin’s cousin Chang came to the mission hospital. He had received a letter from Kau-lin’s brother, the Taiping rebel commander. Writing from Nanking, the rebel capital, General Peng Yu-cheng disclosed that news of his sister’s arrival in Hong Kong had reached him. He suggested both she and Chang should come to Nanking.

  Because Peng Yu-cheng was a general and he and Kau-lin were distantly related to the Taiping leader, she would be welcome in the city. As Chang was a full cousin to Hung Hsiu-ch’uan – the Tien Wang or ‘Heavenly King’, leader of the Taiping rebels – he was assured of high office. All Hung Hsiuch’uan’s close relatives received privileges in keeping with their blood ties with the man who claimed to share divinity with Jesus Christ.