The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  The Trade Wind was almost alongside one of the junks before the first shot was fired by the Chinese gunners. It missed, the gunpowder in the ancient cannon being touched off before the gun was properly aimed.

  The gunners on board the disguised Trade Wind carried out their task with an almost contemptuous calm efficiency. Three guns on either side of the ship’s deck were fired in quick succession. Loaded with grapeshot they cut down every man standing on the upper decks of the war junks. Long before more Chinese sailors dared show their faces to man the antiquated marine cannon, the steamship had passed between them to safety.

  She-she looked back, expecting to see the war junks weighing anchor and setting off in pursuit to seek revenge. Nothing happened. The only movement among the fleet was that caused by the wake of the Trade Wind as the steamship rapidly passed beyond range of the Chinese guns.

  Seeing the sailors of the Imperial navy cut down in such numbers distressed She-she. Unlike Chang she could not share the jubilation of the Americans who had manned the Trade Wind’s guns, although Kau-lin too was caught up in their excitement.

  ‘You don’t like seeing your countrymen die, She-she? I regret it was necessary. If we hadn’t shown them our fire-power they’d have thrown everything they have at us. If they’d dared to come after us we’d have had a hell of a fight on our hands.’

  ‘It makes me unhappy to see anyone die, no matter whether they Chinese, American or English.’

  ‘Yet Kau-lin told me you loved an English Royal Marine, a man who was trained to kill others.’

  The mention of Kernow made She-she’s eyes suddenly burn and she was angry with Kau-lin for having spoken of her relationship with Kernow to this man. Defensively, she said, ‘Kau-lin should have said nothing of this to anyone.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Erin Veasey moved away, as though about to leave her. Instead, he suddenly turned back. ‘She told me he was killed when he went up the Canton River to search for sailors lost after the big typhoon last year. Is that right?’

  She-she nodded, not wanting to talk about Kernow, but the American persisted.

  ‘You know, I may be wrong about this, but on one of my trips to Hong Kong I heard someone talking about that. It seems the Royal Marine officer wasn’t killed after all. He returned to Hong Kong and managed to bring some of the missing sailors with him. Why don’t you ask Chang about it? From all accounts it caused quite a stir in Hong Kong. This marine officer was a big hero. Chang must have heard about it.’

  Chapter 4

  CHANG WAS BELOW decks with Esme, saying a prayer for the souls of the sailors killed on the Imperial war junks in the brief, one-sided battle. Unceremoniously interrupting their prayers, She-she tackled him about Kernow.

  Apparently unconcerned at not passing on news of the young lieutenant’s survival, Chang shrugged off She-she’s anger.

  ‘Why should anything that happens to a Fan Qui matter to a Hakka girl? Anyway, it all happened a long time ago. Yes, Lieutenant Keats returned safely to Hong Kong. He even came to see me, to ask about you.’

  ‘And you never told me of this? How dare you! How dare you decide what I should or should not know?’ She-she went pale with fury. As she stood facing Chang with fists clenched, Esme feared she might pounce on him and strike him.

  Moving between them, she said, ‘You should have mentioned something about it, Chang. After all, we were all together at the mission school and became good friends.’

  ‘Friendship between a Chinese girl and a Fan Qui man is not possible. Even if it were, no one would believe it. When the man returns home the girl becomes a Fan Qui cast-off, scorned by her own people. You deserve better than this, She-she.’

  She-she was on the point of retorting that there was more scorn attached to being a blue dress girl in the house of Li Hung. She stopped herself in time. The less said about the life she and Kau-lin had shared at Canton, the better it would be for both of them.

  When Kau-lin hurried from the upper deck to find her friend, Chang addressed her. ‘Perhaps you would like to know what happened to one of your “friends” at the mission? The son of the two missionaries named Calvin. I believe they did their best to keep it quiet, so you might not have heard in Shanghai.’

  ‘Do you mean Arthur? What did he do, run away from his mother and get married?’ Kau-lin tried to imagine Arthur defying his mother in such a way and the thought made her smile.

  ‘No, he did not marry, but he certainly escaped from his mother. He put a rope about his neck and killed himself. It happened on the very day you left Hong Kong for Shanghai.’

  Kau-lin’s face contorted with horror and anguish at being told the news of Arthur’s suicide in such a callous manner. Suddenly she turned and fled in the direction of her cabin, causing Chang’s eyes to narrow. He wondered what Arthur had meant to her. It was a good thing he had brought both the girls away from Shanghai when he did. A scandal involving Cousin Kau-lin could have tainted them all and might have damaged his chance of a senior post in the Taiping capital. It would have touched upon She-she too – and he had plans for her….

  ‘That was a cruel way of breaking such news, Chang. You disappoint me.’

  Esme was more than disappointed. She was dismayed to have witnessed a facet of Chang’s nature she had not seen before.

  ‘Why? Neither Fan Qui man could ever have meant anything to Kau-lin or She-she. Cousin Hung is most strict about such things. Among the Taipings for many years it was forbidden for women to mix with the men. He has relaxed the rule for married men and women, but immorality between single men and girls is punishable by death. It is best Kau-lin and She-she should understand this now. Women have full equality among the Taiping – but they are also subject to the same laws and punishments.’

  In Kau-lin’s cabin, She-she did her best to comfort her weeping friend. ‘Don’t upset yourself so much, Kau-lin. I’m sure the death of poor Arthur had nothing at all to do with you.’

  ‘It did, She-she, I know it. Arthur killed himself because I went away. I thought I had helped him become a man, but I only gave him someone new to lean on. When I left he was unable to stand by himself.’

  ‘Shh! You must not blame yourself.’

  Even while she was comforting Kau-lin, She-she’s own heart was singing. Kernow was alive and he had asked for her on his return to Hong Kong. One day she would see him again. She knew it as certainly as she was aware that Chang was someone she could not trust. Life had taken on meaning for her once more.

  The new arrivals to the Taiping capital received gruesome confirmation of Chang’s warning the next morning. The heads of about a hundred men and ten women were displayed for view on poles above the city gates. All had broken one of the many laws imposed by the ‘Heavenly King’ upon his people. The heads were intended to serve as a warning of the fate awaiting those who flouted the will of the Taiping ruler.

  The Taiping authorities were no different from the Imperial Chinese in exhibiting the heads of those they executed, but it was something She-she had never grown used to. She shuddered as she and the others passed beneath the high archway and entered the walled city of Nanking.

  The discovery by the Taiping customs officer that the Trade Wind was carrying a relative of the Tien Wang had caused great excitement. A messenger was sent into the city and it was not long before an escort of a hundred men came at the trot to take Chang and the others with them inside the great walls of Nanking.

  She-she was greatly impressed by the high walls that stretched for almost as far as the eye could see. She expected the city to match up to this first view, but she was sadly disappointed.

  Although the walls extended for more than twenty miles, only a small area within them was built up. There were many fields and open spaces inside the city’s perimeter – and extensive, depressing areas of ruined buildings.

  The houses left standing were meaner than those She-she had seen in Hong Kong and most required urgent maintenance. Even the palaces of the most influential
of the Taiping hierarchy were less than impressive. All except the palace of the Tien Wang were still under construction.

  The newcomers were escorted to the Tien Wang’s palace. Upon arrival they were met at the entrance by two girls dressed in yellow silk dresses. The captain in charge of the escort explained that the Tien Wang employed only girls in his palace. He gave as a reason for this the fact that the Heavenly King felt safer surrounded by women who were less inclined to intrigue than eunuchs.

  The smirk that accompanied this explanation made it clear that the officer might have given them other reasons for the arrangement.

  Only Chang was allowed inside the Taiping ruler’s palace. Esme, Kau-lin and She-she were taken to a large house where they were welcomed by a woman of no more than thirty, who carried an air of authority Esme had never before encountered in a Chinese woman.

  Introducing herself as General Su-san, the woman informed them she was in charge of one of the five regiments of women attached to the army of the Tien Wang. In answer to a question from Kau-lin she said the women had gone into battle against the Imperial army on a number of occasions, especially in the early days of the movement. Now, they were mainly used on non-combatant duties, although they remained trained for warfare, should they be needed.

  ‘Do you know whether any plans have been made for us? Will I be allowed to preach to the people of Nanking?’

  The question came from Esme. She was bitterly disappointed at not being accommodated in the palace of the ‘Heavenly King’. She was eager to meet the man who claimed to have been sent to earth to rid China of the ‘Devils’ who taught a false religion. A man who claimed heaven for his rightful home, and Jesus Christ as his elder brother, would have to be a remarkable being. The claims were preposterous, of course, yet Hung and his followers had achieved phenomenal success against those he sought to oust.

  ‘Such decisions will be made personally by the Tien Wang. There will be great honours for Chang, and for you too.’ She nodded in Kau-lin’s direction. ‘You are a cousin on your mother’s side to Chang, and he belongs to the Tien Wang’s earthly family. You are also the sister of Commandant Peng Yu-cheng. For the others … who knows? You are good friends of Kau-lin and have travelled to Nanking to be with her. The Tien Wang rewards loyalty, and he can be very generous.’

  ‘You hold a very high position in the Taiping army. Are you related to Hung … to the Tien Wang?’

  Su-san smiled. ‘No, Kau-lin. My husband was leader of a rebel band in Kiangsi province. He went to parley with the Viceroy under a flag of truce and was treacherously murdered. I took over the leadership of the rebels and won many victories against the Imperial soldiers. When the Tien Wang brought the Taiping army through Kiangsi, I took my rebels over to him and he made me general of a women’s regiment. We have seen good days and fought many notable battles, but I fear the best days are over.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’ Esme spoke with a new respect for this young woman.

  ‘There have been many internal dissents. Much Taiping blood has been shed by other Taiping factions. The Tien Wang is our leader and his visions have given us the paths we must travel, but a holy man is rarely a general. At this time we have need of a soldier. A brilliant soldier – yet one who has no ambition to take the Taiping throne. Perhaps the great God who guides the Tien Wang will send us one soon. I hope so because the Imperial army is slowly tightening a noose about Nanking. We must break out before it chokes us.’

  Chapter 5

  THE TING WANG, Heavenly King of the Taiping people, was convinced God had at last sent him the man to rejuvenate the Heavenly rebellion. During the course of the next ten days, Chang rose at breathless speed through the ranks of the Taiping hierarchy. Promotion came to him on a daily basis, his new rank promulgated each morning in edicts sent out from the palace of the Tien Wang.

  On the tenth day, he was given the title of ‘Prince’ and entrusted with the task of dictating the future course of the war against the armies of Imperial China.

  ‘It will not endear him to the leaders of the armies,’ commented Su-san, when she gave the news to Esme and the two Hakka girls. ‘Many have fought for the Taiping cause since the beginning of the rebellion, only to be rewarded with suspicion and accusations of plotting against the Tien Wang. Whenever there’s a lull in the fighting half the generals suffer demotion.’

  Su-san had been out in the cold and as she spoke she struggled free of her heavy, padded clothing. ‘Chang has never heard a shot fired in battle, yet he has been given the power to tell experienced generals how they must conduct the war. They will not like it.’

  ‘There must be a reason why Cousin Hung – the Tien Wang – has appointed Chang and not one of the generals who has been with him for so long.’

  ‘There is a very good reason,’ agreed Su-san. ‘The Tien Wang no longer trusts his generals. Soon after we came to Nanking they fell out among themselves and fought private battles, slaughtering families and followers too. For weeks people feared to walk the streets. Men, women and children would be stopped and asked to which faction they belonged. A moment’s hesitation before answering was enough to set the executioner’s sword singing. During those bloody months the Tien Wang lost some of his finest generals, and many of his closest advisers. Men he had trusted since the beginning of the rebellion.’

  She-she shuddered. ‘Why did the Tien Wang allow this to happen?’

  ‘Had he tried to put a stop to it they would all have turned upon him. Anyway, he was more concerned with visions of heaven and the affairs of his own palace than with what was happening to the Taiping cause. He still is.’

  ‘You seem to have a very low regard for the Tien Wang, Su-san. What would happen to you if he knew how you felt?’ The question came from Kau-lin.

  ‘I would be executed. But your own brother is also not happy with the Taiping leadership. When he was last in Nanking he made no secret of his belief that the Tien Wang’s two older brothers have far too much influence in Taiping affairs. Neither is very clever. Many good soldiers and officials have died as a result of their petty quarrels.’

  ‘Do you know my brother well, Su-san?’

  ‘Better than anyone else in Nanking. It was I who advised him to move his family out of the city and to take his army higher up the Yangtze valley. He is now garrisoned at Wuhu. He will return only if Chang is able to take full control of things here.’

  ‘I hope it is soon.’ Kau-lin stood up and began pacing the room. ‘I’m tired of sitting around here. I had expected Hung – the Tien Wang – to send for me before this. I thought he might give me something useful to do. Is there any way we can go to find my brother? He will be pleased to see me, I am certain.’

  ‘I’m fed up with being cooped up here with nothing to do all day too,’ declared Esme. ‘I came to Nanking to meet Hung Hsiu-ch’uan. To discuss his ideas on religion and see what could be done to guide the Taiping people to true Christianity. It might help to improve his image with the nations of Europe. Unless he sends for us soon I’m going out on the streets to start preaching. At least I’ll feel then that my journey here hasn’t been an entire waste of time.’

  ‘That would not be wise,’ said Su-san, genuinely alarmed. ‘Only the Tien Wang can decide what the people should hear about religious matters.’

  ‘When it comes to teaching the word of God there is a higher authority than Hsung Hsiu-ch’uan, whatever he decides to call himself – and I am the Lord’s servant, no one else’s.’

  As the venue for her first sermon to the people of Nanking, Esme chose the spot where the edicts of the Tien Wang were posted on the wall each day. It ensured she had a ready-made audience.

  Her arrival took the city-officials by surprise. They had not been informed she would be speaking to the people, but at first they could not believe she would dare to preach in such a manner without the authority of someone very high in the Taiping government.

  People gathered around Esme in hordes. Many of them had ne
ver seen a European woman before and they marvelled at her size. She dwarfed most of the men about her. Her voice too had a power that few men could equal. The content of her sermon hardly seemed important – until it was realised she spoke of matters over which the Tien Wang claimed sole jurisdiction.

  Esme had been speaking for two hours when the crowd suddenly scattered at the arrival of Taiping soldiers. She was placed under arrest by a guard force ordered to the scene by a minor court official who had listened to Esme with some alarm.

  The guard commander was in a quandary about what to do with the missionary woman. No Taiping had ever arrested a Fan Qui – and this one had come upriver with the newly created Prince Chang, a man of rapidly increasing power and influence.

  It was agreed that Chang himself should be the man to make a decision on her. Unfortunately he was out of Nanking for a couple of days, meeting with the commanders of the army of the north, many miles from the city.

  Requests for guidance on what to do with the Fan Qui missionary were passed to increasingly higher authority, until a palace official, prostrate on the ground before the Tien Wang, craved guidance from the Heavenly King on the dilemma facing a lowly guard commander.

  The request found Hung Hsiu-ch’uan in quixotic mood. That morning one of his favourite wives had given birth to a boy child. God was smiling on the world today. He ordered Esme brought before him.

  She arrived weighed down with chains that clanked on the marble floors of the Heavenly palace and brought an expression of pain to the face of the Taiping ruler.

  ‘Have them struck off immediately,’ were the first words Esme heard uttered by the being who claimed kinship with the Saviour of the world.

  A few minutes later she shook herself free of the last chain and as it dropped to the floor she was ordered to prostrate herself before the Tien Wang who had sent for her.