The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  His deep thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside as a Tartar horseman, riding hard, galloped into the camp, arms and legs urging his horse on. The animal seemed to have captured the excitement of its rider and caused havoc among the men who were sitting down for a meal. Without dismounting, the Tartar shouted for Kernow.

  He hurried outside. When the horseman saw him, he shouted, ‘You must come quick to the valley over there. The Taipings have made a surprise raid. Shalonga is in trouble.’

  The Tartar did not stay to tell Kernow what he needed to know about the strength of the Taiping force and the exact position of Shalonga’s camp. Wheeling his lively pony about, the wild cavalryman galloped back the way he had come, scattering Chinese soldiers along the way.

  Many of the men in the training camp had heard the news shouted by the Tartar horsemen and it was quickly passed on to others. Kernow knew they were waiting to see what his reaction would be. Having received extensive training under his guidance they were fit and ready to fight the Taiping rebels. They were also fully aware of the restrictions placed upon Kernow by his government.

  He hesitated for only a moment. ‘Sound the bugle for the men to fall in prepared for battle. Break open the ammunition boxes. N.C.Os, get the men moving the moment they’re ready. Officers, come and see me as soon as your companies are formed up. We’ll talk on the march.’

  The trainee soldiers fell over themselves in their eagerness to be among the earliest to move off. The first company was on its way in a matter of minutes. The remainder were not far behind.

  Kernow had more than three thousand men under his command. The majority had never been tested in battle, but he hoped surprise would prove a decisive element in the fight that lay ahead.

  He had not gone far before the sounds of conflict came to him. He realised he and his men had been fortunate. Had the Taiping rebels not fallen upon Shalonga and his men, they might have stumbled upon the training camp and taken them by surprise. The slaughter would have been horrific.

  Taking his men at a trot through a copse of tall, spindly trees, Kernow suddenly came out in the valley where the battle was taking place. It was a desperate fight.

  The Taipings had managed to surround Shalonga’s Tartars. During the initial engagement they had succeeded in driving off a great many of the horses. Those men who had kept their mounts were so hemmed in by the enemy they were unable to make use of them.

  Fortunately, there was a small hamlet beside the Tartar camp and Shalonga had managed to rally most of his men here. Nevertheless, when Kernow and his men appeared on the scene the Tartars were engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand battle for survival.

  The arrival of three thousand Imperial reinforcements took the Taipings by surprise and Kernow launched his men straight into battle where the fighting was most ferocious.

  The move threw the Taipings into a fatal confusion. While some continued the attack against the Tartars within the hamlet, others turned to meet this unexpected threat.

  Shalonga was an experienced general. Realising that the advantage had shifted heavily in his favour, he ordered his men to charge from the hamlet and take their revenge upon the Taiping attackers.

  Caught between the two Imperialist forces, half the Taiping army broke and ran, causing the attack of their colleagues to falter.

  The Taipings fled, some up the slopes of the surrounding hills, others along the far side of the valley itself. The mounted Tartars galloped after them, cutting the rebels down as they overtook them. Kernow feared his own men would also take part in the disorderly pursuit. But the many tedious weeks of training insisted upon by him now bore fruit. Flushed with the excitement of their first battle, and their first victory, some did continue to chase the Taipings, but the great majority returned to where he waited. Some even brought prisoners with them. As the Chinese custom was summarily to execute any prisoners taken in battle, Kernow knew beyond all doubt that his training methods had been successful.

  ‘Hello, my English friend.’ Shalonga reined in his pony beside Kernow. Hot and black-faced from gunpowder smoke, he grinned as though he were enjoying himself. ‘I think I owe my life to you and your training regiment. Another half-an-hour and we would have been overwhelmed and annihilated.’

  Shalonga jumped from his pony and embraced Kernow warmly.

  ‘It seems I’ve paid back at least part of the debt I owe you. I hope there will never be another occasion as closely fought.’

  ‘It was a brief but glorious battle. Unfortunately, I had only my advance guard with me when the Taipings attacked. My headquarters and my main army will be here by evening. You must come and eat with me.’

  That evening Kernow made his way to the Tartar camp and found Shalonga relaxing in a huge tent. Hung inside with expensive silks, it was more reminiscent of an Emperor’s pavilion in its splendour than the tent of a general in the field.

  Kernow was also surprised to find a great many women in the tent, all obviously belonging to Shalonga. When he expressed his surprise the Tartar general looked at him quizzically. ‘It appears unusual to you? Why? Because a soldier spends most of his life fighting it does not mean he should forego all the things other men enjoy. No, my friend. Women are attracted to men who go to war. Why should I deprive them of their simple pleasures? You ought to have your own women too. Would you like one … or more? There is an attractive Korean girl who came to me the other day. I have had no time for her yet. Take her.’

  ‘No thanks, I don’t need one at the moment.’

  ‘Ah, yes, your little Hakka girl. Where is she now?’

  ‘I thought she was in Shanghai, but I received a letter this morning telling me she has gone to Ning Po with a missionary woman who has befriended her.’

  ‘When did she go?’

  The question came back so swiftly that Kernow felt a sense of alarm. ‘About three months ago. Why do you ask, is the timing significant?’

  ‘I was curious, that is all. I was myself in Ning Po a few months ago. However, it would have been before your Hakka girl and her friend arrived there.’

  Shalonga switched the conversation and for the remainder of the evening the two men discussed the fighting of the day and the need to train more men.

  The next morning Shalonga went off without saying goodbye to Kernow or leaving word of where he was going. With him he took only a couple of hundred men. Kernow was a little surprised, but Shalonga was an autocratic general. He was not in the habit of discussing his movements with anyone.

  Kernow soon stopped wondering where Shalonga might have gone. He was very busy. The soldiers he had been training had proved beyond all doubt that they were ready for active service. As soon as it could be arranged they would be sent to fill the ranks of other regiments. He had to interview and commence training a few thousand more.

  Kernow did not know Shalonga had returned until he sent Kernow an invitation to go to the young Tartar general’s camp for an evening meal once more. At first, Kernow was inclined to turn down the invitation. He had a great deal of work to do if he was to organise another training course. Thousands of volunteers had turned up at the camp in the last few days. They were fired with enthusiasm by the victory won by the training regiment. They too wanted to join the Fan Qui’s victorious army and fight the Taipings.

  The recruits would wait until tomorrow. Kernow always enjoyed Shalonga’s company. He put down the work on which he was engaged and took himself off to the Tartar general’s camp.

  ‘Ah! There you are, my English friend,’ Shalonga greeted Kernow at the entrance to his tent. ‘I was beginning to think you were not coming.’

  ‘I very nearly didn’t,’ Kernow confessed. ‘We have enough volunteers to form two training regiments and I think we should take them on while they’re still keen.’

  ‘So we shall, but we will talk of this later. I have a number of plans I wish to discuss with you. First I have some guests I would like you to meet. They have been awaiting you eagerly.’

>   Puzzled, Kernow followed Shalonga inside the tent. The Tartar general had introduced him to some of his colleagues on other occasions, but few could have been said to be eager to meet him.

  Once inside the tent, Kernow’s puzzlement turned to utter disbelief. Here, seated at a low table filled with food, were Esme – and She-she!

  ‘What…? How…?’ Kernow’s amazement at seeing She-she was so great he was lost for words. He could not shift his gaze from her. She looked well, much improved from the last time he had seen her. He wanted to touch She-she. To hold her. Yet he dared not while others were present. He would not be able to control his emotions. Her expression of sheer joy told him she felt the same way. But it was Esme who heaved herself up from the table first. Hugging him to her, she called him her ‘Dear boy! Very dear boy!’

  She-she was slower to her feet. She would have bowed low before him had he not taken hold of her shoulders and drawn her to him. She yielded for only a moment and then drew away, her face more flushed than he had ever seen it. He would never know that inside she was singing. Kernow had acknowledged his feeling for her in front of Esme and the Tartar general. It was a moment she would cherish forever, whatever might happen in the future.

  ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were at the mission in Ning Po.’

  ‘General Shalonga brought us here. He was only just in time. The Taipings were within a mile or two of the town.’

  When Kernow looked accusingly at his friend, the Tartar general shrugged. ‘You can thank your training methods, Englishman. Your men took prisoners and mine questioned them. One captive was a senior Taiping officer. He told me that the great Taiping army of the East, led by Chang himself, was advancing upon Ning Po. He boasted they would have the town within the week. He was not wrong. We were only just in time.’

  ‘You knew of this the last time we met, yet said nothing? Why?’

  ‘What would you have done had I told you? I will tell you. You would have jumped on your horse and galloped off to Ning Po. Along the way you would have met up with Taiping soldiers and they would have killed you. My army has need of you. It was better that I go instead.’

  Smiling at the expression on Kernow’s face, Shalonga said in French, ‘Now I have met She-she I understand why you think so much of her. She is exquisite. I almost understand too why you would not accept one of my girls.’

  ‘I am sure She-she will be pleased to hear that.’ Esme’s French was excellent, if halting.

  ‘You speak French!’ Shalonga was delighted and not at all embarrassed. ‘It is my favourite language. Come, we will leave Kernow and She-she together. You can speak to me while I show you where your quarters are to be. I have given you a room in the house where my own women are living. I have no doubt you will be a good influence upon them. If you wish to promote Christian ideals while you are there I have no objections.’

  As he spoke, Shalonga guided Esme towards the door of the large tent. Suddenly excusing himself, he returned to Kernow.

  In a low voice he said, ‘I have taken the liberty of having your things moved to new quarters. The District Magistrate has had to make an unexpected journey. His family has travelled with him.’ Shalonga smiled warmly. ‘He has kindly placed his home at your disposal.’

  Switching to French once more, he added, ‘Do not concern yourself with the formidable Esme. She will be quite content in her new quarters. Besides, I find her quite charming. We will no doubt still be discussing the merits of the various religions when the sun rises. Relax for a few days with your She-she. After that we will discuss the plans I have for your future.’

  When the young Tartar general had gone, Kernow felt slightly embarrassed as he explained to She-she, ‘Shalonga has assumed you will be staying with me. He has given us the District Magistrate’s home.’

  After a few moments’ silence, She-she said, ‘Is this what you wish?’

  ‘It is what I’ve always wanted. For you to share your life with me. But when we last met …’ Kernow shrugged without completing the sentence.

  ‘When we last met I was very unhappy. I was also confused and frightened. You said many things to me. Kind things. It made me think a great deal. You remember?’

  ‘I remember.’

  ‘Do you still feel the same? You have not changed?’

  ‘I’ll never change the way I feel about you, She-she.’

  ‘That makes me very happy, Kernow. Esme has taught me much about Christianity. The love of God fills her life. She needs nothing more. That is good for her. It would be good for me too, perhaps, but to fulfil my life I need your love too. I think I have always known this, but I am more certain now. If you love me and want me, I will stay with you wherever you go. We will be very happy together. If one day you say you have to go back to your own people it will not matter. I will be happy with my memories then.’

  Almost too choked to speak, Kernow said, ‘You will never have to rely on memories to find happiness, She-she. You say you love me and I know I love you. I think I always have and I know I always will. Everything will work out for us, you’ll see.’

  Reaching out almost shyly, he took her hand. ‘Come, let’s find the way to our new home.’

  Chapter 37

  THE NEXT FEW days were very happy ones for Kernow and She-she. The departed magistrate had left behind a beautiful house and gardens at their disposal. The servants were falling over each other in their eagerness to please the Fan Qui war lord who had defeated the Taiping rebels on their very doorstep.

  It did not matter that the ‘unexpected journey’ of their master had not been entirely voluntary. In fact, it added to their pleasure at serving the Fan Qui and his lady.

  Such an idyllic existence could not last forever. Five days after their taking up residence, a Tartar officer called at the house. He found them in the garden feeding giant carp in the absent magistrate’s pool.

  The message for Kernow was that Shalonga wished to see him. At that moment She-she knew that their brief carefree period was over. It had served its purpose well. They had learned to know each other again and it was even better than the weeks they had spent with the Strachans.

  Kernow was aware of this. When they were staying at the Strachans’ house his relationship with She-she had been a clandestine one, kept hidden from the view of his fellow Europeans. Here, among the Chinese people, such a relationship was accepted without question.

  The realisation disturbed him. He wondered whether such disapproval would be restricted to the European colonies in Hong Kong and Shanghai, or whether he and She-she could expect the same in England. It disturbed him because he wanted everything to be right for them. He did not want She-she to have to face the disapproval of his fellow countrymen and women.

  He would dearly have liked to discuss his feelings with Esme, but the missionary had thrown herself into the serious business of teaching Christianity to the women of Shalonga’s harem with her customary enthusiasm, oblivious of all else that was happening around her.

  When Kernow entered the meeting hall it was immediately apparent that this was to be no friendly chat between himself and Shalonga.

  It was being held in the building where taxes were usually gathered by the Imperial government and Shalonga was not the most senior soldier present.

  At the head of the long table sat a thickset man who exuded an air of great natural authority. He was surrounded by army officers who wore Mandarin buttons denoting impressive ranks.

  Shalonga was seated beside the authoritative man, whom he introduced to Kernow as his father, General Tingamao, the great war lord who ruled China’s borders with Vietnam.

  General Tingamao fixed Kernow with his dark eyes and did no more than incline his head. It was enough for the senior officers present to defer to Kernow and move up to make room for him at the table, alongside the war lord’s son.

  When Kernow was seated, a conference of war was convened. It was immediately apparent that the war lord possessed an impressive grasp of t
he situation affecting the whole of China. As details were unfolded realisation dawned on Kernow that the men in this one room commanded all the armies of China.

  The war lord did not ‘discuss’ strategy. He dictated to his fellow officers what he proposed, and what he expected from them. Only when they had been told where they and their armies would operate were the commanders allowed to speak.

  In the main, they all spoke of the need for more men. In only one case did a speaker with local knowledge of the country in which he would be fighting suggest alternative routes. He also asked for more time to move men to the objectives he had been given.

  Unfortunately for the commander, the war lord possessed an equal knowledge of the area. He agreed to the alternative routes, but declared that by taking them the commander could arrive a day earlier than had been proposed.

  During the briefing, Kernow listened carefully to hear the orders for Shalonga. They did not come until the very end.

  ‘You, my own son, will take ten thousand of my men to fight the Taiping rebels’ Eastern Army. They have taken Ning Po and we have received many complaints from the Fan Qui authorities about disruption to their trade. You will drive the Taipings from the port.’

  Shalonga bowed over the table. ‘I hear your orders and I will do as you ask. But I too would like to take more men with me. I have in mind the three thousand men of the training regiment. They have proved their worth in battle and will do great credit to the Emperor. I also wish to have the Englishman, Major Keats, to lead them for me.’