The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  The Imperial commissioners occupied an imposing tent, surrounded by still more soldiers of the Imperial army. The Chinese officials extended a lavish welcome to the British party but Kernow’s first question concerned the numbers of soldiers they had passed on the way in.

  ‘You must not worry yourself about them,’ declared the oldest of the three Chinese, speaking as though the matter was one of little importance. ‘It is necessary for there to be Imperial soldiers in the area. Not all the people of China wish to welcome the Fan Quis to our land. Most of the soldiers are here merely to keep the peace. Others have been given the task of gathering food for the army which accompanies your ambassador. All will be well, you will see.’

  The reply was too glib. Too conciliatory. Hastily scribbling a note telling General Grant of his fears, Kernow sent off two of the troopers to carry it to the British commander-in-chief. He explained to the Chinese commissioner that it was part of a pre-arranged plan to inform the British general of the safe arrival of the negotiating party.

  The remainder of the day was spent in discussion. The readiness with which the Chinese agreed to almost every proposal made by the British only served to increase Kernow’s fears still more.

  That night he spoke at length to Elgin’s private secretary. It was agreed the diplomat would return to the advance guard of troops the following morning and acquaint Grant and Elgin personally with Kernow’s fears.

  The secretary set off at dawn with an escort of ten cavalrymen. On the way he passed even more Chinese troops and these had a considerable number of artillery pieces with them. Such weapons were hardly necessary to keep the local populace in order and would not assist them in the gathering of stores.

  Meanwhile, Kernow and the others went to inspect the site where Grant and his army were to make camp. To Kernow’s consternation, there were even more troops here than had been encountered along the route to Chang-kia-wan. They would outnumber Grant’s advance guard by at least three to one. The countryside was swarming with Chinese soldiers.

  ‘What the devil are the Chinese playing at?’

  The angry question was put to Kernow by a cavalry colonel sent with the party by Grant to mark out the camping site. His task was to allocate spaces for the various regiments and army units.

  ‘I don’t know,’ declared Kernow. He was genuinely concerned by now. ‘There’s only one way to find out. You stay here with the rest of the escort. I’ll take one of the troopers back with me to speak to the commissioners.’

  While these events were unfolding, General Grant had pushed his advance guard on with uncharacteristic speed. He was no more than a couple of miles from his destination when he suddenly found himself faced with a Chinese army numerically vastly superior to his own small force.

  There was a low hill nearby. Taking this as his centre, Grant immediately put his troops into a defensive position. From the top of the mound he could actually see the red uniforms of the troopers with the colonel at the place where the British and French armies should have camped. He thought it ominous that the red jackets were heavily outnumbered by the grey uniforms of the Imperial troops.

  Shortly afterwards a Chinese officer rode into Grant’s position, saying he had come to guide the British soldiers to their camp ground. Calmly, Grant informed the Chinese he would wait where he was until his men returned from the Chinese lines.

  Suddenly, one of Grant’s staff called out that the British troopers were galloping towards them through the Chinese lines.

  Only four men of Kernow’s escort reached the British lines: the colonel left behind by Kernow, a commissary officer and two cavalry troopers. They told how, as they awaited Kernow’s return, the attitude of the Chinese soldiers about them became insolent and ever more threatening. Eventually one of them seized the colonel’s sword. In attempting to take it back the colonel’s hand was very badly cut. Realising the lives of he and his men were in imminent danger, he called for them to gallop at full speed to the British lines.

  The men had put spurs to their horses, bowling over Chinese soldiers who stood in their way. As they made their escape they were fired upon. Two of the men had been wounded and they, with the remainder of the escort, had been taken prisoner.

  The incident was the signal for a general opening of hostilities. Chinese artillery and gingals opened fire and the British and French came under very heavy bombardment.

  Fortunately, Grant had artillery with him and the fire was returned. At the same time he ordered a regiment from his small force to probe the Chinese lines. With them he sent one of his irregular cavalry regiments, Probyn’s Horse, to protect them from the Tartar cavalry.

  Probyn’s Horse had been seriously weakened by having a great many of its cavalrymen sent on detached duties. Their present strength was a mere one hundred and six men. Riding from the Chinese lines to oppose them were more than two thousand Tartar horsemen.

  The odds did not deter the cavalrymen, all of whom had volunteered their services from India. With a wild yell that frightened their own infantry almost as much as it did the enemy, they drew sabres and charged the Tartars. Breaking right through their lines, they turned and repeated the charge.

  The King’s Dragoon Guards were sent by Grant to give support to Probyn’s Horse and between them they drove the bewildered Tartars from the field.

  Heartened by the success of their cavalry the British infantry, spearheaded by a Punjabi regiment and supported by artillery, drove into the Chinese lines. Reeling from the ferocity of the attack, the enemy fell back.

  Before long the retreat had become a rout. The Chinese fled leaving guns and equipment on the field of battle. Advancing with his men, Grant saw for himself the numerous camps that had been set up in the area. It needed only a cursory examination of them to confirm that the Chinese had acted in bad faith throughout the whole of the negotiations. The commissioners from Peking had been bait to draw Grant and the combined armies into a trap.

  The trap had backfired seriously upon the Chinese, who had suffered a severe defeat within sight of their own capital city. But Grant knew they would strike back at the Fan Qui in some way. In the mean time he had to secure his small force until the main body of his army and that of de Montauban arrived.

  Ahead was the fortified village of Chang-kia-wan. Learning that it had housed the Chinese army which had attacked his own force, Grant gave permission for it to be given over to plunder.

  That night Grant’s small army lay down to sleep well housed and their bellies filled with the choicest pickings of the town.

  General Grant did not sleep as well as his men. He lay in a tent, gazing up at the moonlit canvas, wondering what was happening to Kernow and the remainder of the men held by the Chinese.

  Chapter 28

  IN SHANGHAI THE Taiping threat was of more immediate concern than the fate of the joint British and French military expedition to Peking, even for those whose hearts were with the men who might be fighting for their lives. News of the advancing rebel army dominated everyday life.

  ‘How will everyone find room inside the city?’

  She-she asked the question of Nan Strachan as they watched refugees streaming in through the gates of the walled city from the surrounding countryside. Mostly women and children, they all carried pathetically small bundles which, along with their lives, was all they had been able to save from the advancing Taiping armies.

  Whichever side won the long war, Imperial Chinese or Taiping rebel, these were the losers. Once they would have been safe from harm at the hands of the Taipings, but those days had gone. The Tien Wang no longer exercised the iron grip he once had on his followers. Taiping soldiers were almost as rapacious as the soldiers of the Manchu Emperor of China.

  ‘When the magistrate decides the city can take no more people, he’ll have the gates closed against them.’

  As Nan spoke, her gaze followed the long line of weary, unsmiling people. It stretched as far as could be seen across the flat, featureless countrysi
de surrounding Shanghai.

  ‘What will happen to those left outside?’

  ‘The same as always happens when such people flock to the cities in times of trouble. They’ll fill the suburbs and hope the Taipings will be turned back before they reach Shanghai.’

  ‘I hope so too. I’ve had my fill of the followers of the Tien Wang. I wish Kernow hadn’t had to go away.’

  ‘We’ll be all right, She-she. If the Taipings get this far they’ll be after the city, not us. Besides, we have French and British soldiers to defend us. Colin is with the other men right now. They’re busy digging trenches around the foreign settlements for our protection.’

  Nan’s confident words seemed less reassuring when the refugee stream stopped abruptly that same night. It was a sure indication that the Taipings were very close. Soon afterwards many of the French and English soldiers were withdrawn from the settlements. To the surprise of everyone they filed inside Shanghai itself. Taking their artillery with them, they took up positions on the city walls alongside soldiers of the Imperial army.

  More ominous still, other soldiers moved through the suburbs that had sprung up in the shadow of the city wall. Ejecting residents and refugees alike, they set fire to the houses. Razing them to the ground would give the soldiers manning the walls a clear field of fire all around the city.

  The destruction of the suburbs left the house of She-she and the Strachan family very exposed. The French were more liberally minded than either the British or the Americans, but they drew the line at having mixed-marriage families in the heart of their settlement. Colin Strachan had been obliged to house his wife and family at the very edge of the French community. However, they could draw comfort from the knowledge that they had a line of French troops, albeit a much diminished one, between themselves and the as yet unseen troops of the Taiping army.

  When Colin Strachan returned home late that evening he carried a musket and wore an unaccustomed air of authority.

  ‘They’ve mustered all the men from the ships in the foreign anchorage,’ he said. ‘I’ve been put in charge of twenty of them. We’re guarding the waterfront in case the Taipings try to land by boat.’

  ‘I thought the English and French were neutral in the war between the Imperialists and the Taipings,’ said Nan. ‘Why are you fighting the Imperialists in the north and yet fighting with them against the Taipings here at Shanghai?’

  ‘Bruce has explained that,’ said Colin Strachan. Frederick Bruce, brother of Lord Elgin, was in charge of the British community at Shanghai. ‘We’re at war with the Chinese government at the moment, but only until we sort out a few differences. It doesn’t mean we want the Taipings to take the Chinese throne. Nor do we want them to take Shanghai. It will set trade back ten years.’

  ‘Why?’

  Nan’s single word question left her husband groping for an answer he did not have.

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Nan shrugged. ‘You and I belong to neither side, my husband. Only to one another. Sit down and I will bring you food.’

  ‘I only have time for a quick meal.’

  ‘You are going out again?’ Nan was genuinely dismayed. ‘Where?’

  ‘We all need to stand-to tonight, in case the Taipings try to take advantage of the darkness and move in on the city.’

  ‘What of us, your family? Who will take care of us?’

  ‘You’ll be all right. There are French soldiers all around the Concession. No Taipings are going to get in to bother you while I’m away. Tomorrow I’ll see if I can’t get moved to the French Concession so I’m closer to home.’

  When Colin Strachan had gulped down his hurriedly prepared meal and left the house, She-she asked, ‘Do you think the Taipings will really try to take Shanghai?’

  ‘I doubt it. Not now the English and French have taken sides against them. They’ll probably turn around and return to Nanking.’

  The Taipings reached Shanghai the following day. They did not attack the city. Indeed, there were only three thousand of them and they came openly towards the west gate of the city, as though they expected to be welcomed by the Shanghai inhabitants.

  From their house in the settlement She-she and Nan could see the advancing Taipings and She-she caught her breath as she recognised Chang riding at the head of the troops of the Tien Wang.

  The Taiping party had almost reached the gate when a rain storm swept across the flat countryside and enveloped them in its grey, clammy grasp. As though it were a heaven-sent signal the guns of the soldiers on the wall of the city opened fire on the unsuspecting Taiping soldiers.

  When the squall had passed on, dragging the curtain of grey behind it, three hundred Taiping warriors were left lying on the ground and the remainder were in full retreat.

  The Western nationals were as jubilant as the Imperial Chinese cowering inside the walled city. The Taipings had attacked and been repulsed. Few paused to consider why the Taipings had chosen to ‘attack’ Shanghai with a mere three thousand men. Or why, with a huge army at their disposal, they had accepted ‘defeat’ without firing a shot in return.

  In their mood of euphoria, a protest from Chang, delivered to the British and French consulates the following day, was ignored. In it he complained bitterly that he had been invited to Shanghai by the French and promised safe conduct. What was more, he had received information from his spies within the city that if he advanced to the gate and called upon the garrison to surrender, Shanghai would be his. The Europeans had broken their promise of neutrality. Chang demanded an explanation.

  That night Colin Strachan returned to his home boasting as though he had been involved in the rout of the Taipings. He was also slightly the worse for drink. It was the first time in their married life that Nan had seen him in such a condition.

  ‘Well, what better occasion could there be for a celebration?’ he declared when Nan chided him gently for raising his voice and startling their youngest child. ‘We’ve won a great victory today. A handful of men has beaten off the Taipings. Frederick Bruce himself congratulated us. He said he’ll be sending a letter to London telling them how we rallied when danger threatened. Then he opened bottles for everyone who helped in the defence of the city.’

  Nan doubted whether Bruce’s praise meant she and her husband could now move into the British settlement and be accepted by her husband’s people. She said nothing. Today, at least, Colin Strachan was a man among his own people. Tomorrow would be soon enough for him to become once more ‘the man who has married a Chinese girl’.

  The Taipings had been thwarted in their plan to take Shanghai, but they were able to carry out a swift and unchallenged raid during the hours of darkness.

  She-she was in a pleasantly drowsy state, hovering between wakefulness and sleep, when the door to the small Strachan home was kicked in. Before anyone was fully awake the house was filled with Taiping soldiers.

  Everyone was pulled from their beds, including the children. When the baby began to scream in terror, Nan went to him. None of the Taipings attempted to stop her. Instead, the leader of the small group pointed to She-she.

  As he turned away two of the Taiping soldiers grabbed her and began to drag her outside.

  ‘Here! What d’you think you’re doing? Leave her alone. She’s a guest in my house.’

  Still befuddled from his evening’s drinking session, Colin Strachan protested to the Taipings. Instead of replying, one of their number raised the axe he carried and brought it down on Colin Strachan’s head.

  Nan screamed as her husband dropped to the ground and lay still. Fortunately the Taiping soldier had hit him with the flat edge of the axe blade. Colin Strachan was merely knocked unconscious.

  As Nan, still clutching the baby, dropped to her knees beside her husband, the men left as swiftly as they had entered. With them they took She-she.

  She was on her way to Chang, commander of all the armies of the Tien Wang.

  Chapter 29

  A BLEARY-EYED BRITISH army captain listen
ed to Colin Strachan’s story in growing confusion as he repeated it for the second time.

  ‘How many Taipings do you say?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe ten … it could have been twenty.’

  ‘And they only took this one woman? Did they take liberties with your wife?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Where are these Taipings now?’

  ‘Gone.’

  ‘I don’t understand … Look, old man. There’s nothing I can do about this. If I’ve grasped your story correctly all this happened in the French Concession. They’re damned touchy about any British interference in their area. I’ll bring it to the attention of my commanding officer in the morning, of course, but in the meantime I suggest you report this to the duty officer in the French army camp. I think you’ll find them under canvas somewhere near the Catholic Cathedral.’

  Colin Strachan got even shorter shrift from the French duty officer. He too had been celebrating and made no attempt to help Colin. He spoke no English, and after trying unsuccessfully to make sense of Colin’s limited French, he reached the conclusion that Colin was a drunken Englishman. Ordering a sergeant to throw him out of the camp, he turned his back and returned to bed.

  It was the early hours of the morning when Colin woke the residents at the mission house where Esme Pilkington was staying. She came down from her room untangling cloth curlers from her hair, but when she heard what Colin had to say, all else was forgotten.

  ‘This is shocking! We must get help right away.’

  ‘I’ve been trying to tell British and French officers about it but no one wants to know. A British captain said it was a French matter and the French officer thought I was drunk.’

  ‘We’ll soon put them right! How long ago was She-she taken?’