My Splendid Concubine

by Lofthouse, Lloyd

  Ayaou had never been to Peking, so he described everything he’d seen in detail. He asked about Anna. He wanted to know if his baby girl had added any new words to her vocabulary besides daddy.

  After he finished the letter, he worked on the reports he would present to Prince Kung with recommendations to improve China’s financial situation.

  Most foreigners in his position would have lost patience as the days slipped by waiting for an audience. He, on the other hand, knew to ignore such feelings to achieve his goals. Besides, to the Chinese, he was a barbarian. His first challenge was to prove he wasn’t.

  After several days, he had a meeting with Minister Wen-hsiang at the Tsungli Yamen in a walled compound near the Forbidden City. The minister was Prince Kung’s right-hand man, but it still disappointed Robert that he wasn’t meeting Prince Kung first.

  Wen-hsiang was a small, bony man that looked like a peasant from the countryside, and he was dressed in blue, silk robes. Robert’s bow was a bit deeper than Wen-hsiang’s to indicate that he knew the minister’s rank and importance in the imperial government. He was careful not to stare.

  Wen-hsiang looked surprised. Few foreigners knew how to address a man of the minister’s rank properly. Robert realized that first impressions were extremely important. Once the greetings were completed, he turned and gave directions to the servants carrying his five suitcases.

  “What is this?” Wen-hsiang said. His tone sounded distrustful. The servants lined the suitcases in front of the minister’s desk as instructed then scurried from the office.

  Robert struggled to hide his nervousness. His hands were clammy. His insides churned. However, he looked calm and confident.

  Wen-hsiang examined the worn leather suitcases. His eyes shifted to Robert. “Did you bring your clothing with you?” he asked. “Are you planning to live at the Tsungli Yamen? We do not have bedrooms here. Only offices.”

  He suspects I am an idiot, he thought, and knew he had only one chance to prove he was not like the other foreigners. If he bungled this meeting, it would be almost impossible to gain trust in the future.

  Besides, if the minister had dealt with Horatio Lay, he had a right to be suspicious. Robert was sure that Lay had insulted the Chinese at every turn without even knowing he was doing it. Lay spoke the language fluently, but like so many others, he knew nothing about the Chinese people.

  Without saying a word, Robert picked up the first suitcase, put it on the minister’s desk and opened it. It was full of papers and notebooks.

  “What I have here, Minister, are my records from Canton going back more than a year showing how much revenue has been coming in from customs and how much the imperial treasury should expect. I’ve also worked on projections for each of China’s trading ports.”

  Wen-hsiang stared at the notebooks and papers. Then he looked at Robert, who forced a smile to hide his frayed nerves.

  He opened the first notebook and pointed at a row of numbers. “This shows the duties we collected in Canton over a period of one-week back in May of 1859. Here, at the bottom of each page, is the subtotal that was destined for the emperor’s treasury. It is unfortunate that I have no control over these silver taels reaching Peking.”

  Wen-hsiang leaned over the notebooks and hissed in astonishment. “That much just from Canton!” he said. “That amount did not reach us.”

  “That’s because no one is keeping proper records anywhere but Canton and now Shanghai. I have discovered that the imperial bucket has many holes in it. If you give me the authority, I will patch those holes.”

  “Hmm,” the minister said, “let me see more.” He fingered his chin. They literally rolled up their sleeves and spent the day going-over the numbers, first for Canton then Shanghai.

  “After I arrived in Shanghai, I set things right,” Robert said. “My clerks went through the documents for the last year and recorded the figures in new ledgers, which I have in another suitcase. I replaced half the staff to get the job done the way I wanted.”

  The minister asked many questions and Robert had trouble understanding him at times. Wen-hsiang’s Mandarin was mixed with imperial usages, which Robert hadn’t learned yet. He would have to hire another tutor to strengthen that area of his Chinese language skills. Because there were so many languages and dialects in China, that would always be a challenge. He was determined to do his best.

  Before the first meeting ended, he succeeded at proving to Wen-hsiang that he was not Horatio Lay and was not a fool. It was dark by the time they finished and closed the suitcases.

  He asked, “Would you have your servants carry these outside where my bodyguards are waiting? I want to take these ledgers back to my quarters. Tomorrow, we will go over my projections for the other ports.”

  “You will not have to return to that house,” Wen-hsiang said. “You will stay at the Tsungli Yamen.”

  Robert worried that he would be sleeping on top of a desk or the floor. He remembered the time he’d stayed at Guan-jiah’s house and slept on a thin rice mat on a hard floor. “Forgive me for my ignorance,” he said, “but I thought there was no place to sleep here.”

  “The guesthouse is across the street. It would be better if you stayed there. That way you would not have to travel far to reach the Tsungli Yamen. After today, I can see that we have much to discuss.”

  “Maybe I should leave my papers in your office,” he said.

  Wen-hsiang looked alarmed. “No, it is best they stay with you. Even with thousands of bannermen watching over the Forbidden City and the Tsungli Yamen, things have a way of vanishing. These papers are valuable, and we cannot risk losing them. We have never known how much money was being raised in the provinces before.”

  “I heard some time ago that thefts were taking place inside the Forbidden City,” Robert said. “I thought they were rumors.”

  “They are not rumors and the thefts have not stopped. Several eunuchs have already lost their heads and more will probably tumble. Occasionally, something valuable that belongs to the emperor or one of the empresses manages to sprout wings and vanish.”

  Wen-hsiang indicated the suitcases. “I would hate to see these papers disappear. They may not look valuable inside those worn suitcases, but those numbers will breathe new life into the Dynasty. Keep those papers away from prying eyes. Knowing how much revenue is going to be flowing into the imperial treasury might give a thief the idea to try something big.”

  “If there is anything I could do to help, I am more than willing,” Robert said.

  Wen-hsiang became silent. He glanced at the suitcases, then at Robert. “I am sure that a man of your talent might actually be able to do just that.”

  “Might I suggest something?” Robert felt elated and wanted to jump up and down and shout. Instead, he maintained his composure. He had succeeded. He’d gained the minister’s trust.

  He had learned enough about the Chinese thought process to know that because of the lack of scientific study in China, the ability to analyze a situation was sometimes missing.

  To the Chinese, telling a head eunuch to make sure nothing vanished then punishing him when something was taken meant punishing the one in charge. The reality was that it was difficult to stay awake twenty-four hours a day. Even the head eunuch had to visit the chamber pot and sleep. If Robert could do anything to stop the loss of an innocent life, he wanted to try.

  “I am curious,” Wen-hsiang replied. “How could you offer help when you have never been inside the Forbidden City?”

  “With analytical logic.” He pointed at the suitcases. “The same thinking I used to create the system I’ve put into place in Canton and Shanghai.”

  “Then, by all means, speak.”

  “Send spies into the city and have them discover who buys stolen goods like valuable jewelry. I would hazard a guess that most of the pieces taken were special and recognizable. I think a skilled jeweler would be needed to take each stolen piece apart and make something new.”

  “
Amazing idea,” the minister said. “I will suggest it to Prince Kung. I am sure he will send thousands of bannermen, eunuchs and servants into the city to ask questions.”

  “No, not that way,” Robert replied, alarmed. It took an effort, but he managed to control the sudden flutter of panic that burst like a bomb inside his heart. He didn’t want to be misunderstood.

  “I’ll write up a detailed proposal tonight with step-by-step directions on how the search should be conducted.” His plan did not include the Manchu or anyone living in the Forbidden City. They would have to recruit waifs from the Han majority—someone like a Chinese Oliver Twist or David Copperfield would blend in and not arouse suspicions.

  Those Han waifs would learn what to say and would not warn anyone they were part of an investigation for the emperor. It would be a challenge, but one Robert was sure he could make work.

  Wen-hsiang said. “I will be eager to see what you produce.”

  Robert felt confident that he had proved himself. He found Wen-hsiang a capable man. The minister now had a better idea about the taxes the imperial government should expect to earn from customs.

  It wasn’t going to be that easy. He would have to travel to every treaty port and interview each employee. In the end, he would probably fire many and replace them with people like Gerard, the Frenchman he had left in charge in Canton.

  The first thing he did after he moved into his new quarters was to write another letter to Ayaou, which he sent off with a courier the next morning.

  “My nights in Peking are lonely and cold without you,” he wrote. “I miss seeing our daughter’s bright eyes. I hope she is not getting into too much mischief, and that Fooyen and you are getting enough sleep.

  “I hate to tell you this, but I’m going to be staying in Peking for some time. I have no idea when I will be returning to Canton. I miss you and Anna horribly like a wilting flower deprived of water.”

  Chapter 44

  After several meetings with Wen-hsiang, Robert waited ten days before an audience was arranged with Prince Kung.

  Kung greeted him with great respect at his palace, The Garden of Discerning, in a hutong near the drum tower not far from the Forbidden City. A high wall surrounded the palace and garden. The audience hall was close to the gate. Kung’s family and the servants lived in the other buildings clustered nearby.

  Behind those buildings was one of the most beautiful gardens Robert had seen in China. Kung took him on a tour and stopped by a shadowy pond encircled by towering elms.

  “This pond is shaped like a bat,” Kung said. “The leaning trees protect the carp so hawks won’t take them. This is where I come to find tranquility.”

  Kung didn’t seem to remember he had rejected Robert six years earlier when Captain Patridge arranged an illfated interview in Shanghai. If Kung had forgotten that meeting, it was easy to understand why. Robert had failed miserably to show any understanding of Chinese history and literature, and his ignorance had been embarrassing.

  He had not forgotten the first question Kung asked, “Do you know the difference between the verses of the Tang Dynasty and Sung Dynasty and the style of ruling between Han-ti, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and Nurhachi, my ancestor, the founding Emperor of the Ch’ing Dynasty?”

  Robert could not answer.

  “This one does not grasp the complexities of Mandarin or Chinese history enough to serve us,” Kung said, before dismissing them.

  Prince Kung’s parting words had fueled Robert’s appetite for everything Chinese. He hated being ignorant.

  This time, he was confident with his answers. An hour into the meeting, the subject changed to foreign policy, trade, customs, taxation and finance.

  “My questions are like a child’s,” Kung said. “It is embarrassing that I know so little.” He asked to be enlightened.

  Robert found it ironic that this time he had answers to questions the prince didn’t know. His Mandarin carried him through explaining to Prince Kung the most difficult concepts about Western economy and culture, and the conversation went well after dark.

  That night, he slept for three hours before he was up writing the proposals Prince Kung had requested. Before leaving for the Yamen, he made time to write a brief reply to the first letter he’d received from Ayaou.

  Anna was still not sleeping through the night, and Ayaou and Fooyen were losing sleep trying to see what they could do to settle the child down. Anna had unlimited energy and was into everything. She demanded attention at all hours. If she didn’t get her way, she threw terrible tantrums. Once, Anna threw a book Ayaou was reading into a full chamber pot.

  Growing up with eleven siblings and being the oldest had taught Robert about babies, so he wrote, “You must deny Anna’s endless energy and curiosity when it is time for her to sleep. Make her go to bed. Let her cry herself out. Eventually, she will start to sleep through the night.”

  On June 6, he arrived early at the Yamen and found Prince Kung alone, and he was in a terrible mood.

  Kung revealed the cause of his distress when he pointed at a large map of China that was pinned to a wall. With a stick, he tapped an area north of Manchuria. “We just lost a war to the Russians. They have robbed this entire region from the Dynasty. This is terrible news for China, and the emperor’s health will suffer.

  “These wars are draining our treasury. We never start them. When they end in tragedy for China, the foreigners find more excuses to gnaw on our bones and demand that we pay for wars they started. Soon, we will not be able to buy rice to feed ourselves. Their greed is endless.”

  “Once I have Customs working properly,” Robert said, wanting to comfort Kung, “you will have enough money to pay these debts. I understand things are difficult and the treasury is almost empty, but I assure you that the money problems will soon be eased.”

  “And what can we do about the Germans?” Prince Kung asked. He stuffed his hands inside his loose sleeves and turned away from the map. “At present, I am negotiating a treaty with them, and they are being impossible. The French must feel they have not taken enough from China, because they are helping the Germans join in the robbery!” He threw up his arms in exasperation.

  “I believe I may offer the beginning of a solution that in time will solve these problems.” He knew that the ideas he was going to propose went beyond his responsibility as inspector general. Ayaou had warned him not to be so bold. However, he felt he had no choice and stepped closer to the map and studied it.

  When he saw Kansu province in the center of China west of the Great Wall, he remembered an American merchant he’d met in 1854, soon after arriving in China. The man had looked like Ichabod Crane, a character from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod had mentioned that Kansu was east of Shanghai when in reality Kansu was to the west. Until today, Robert hadn’t thought of that conversation.

  Now, he saw Ichabod as an example of how ignorant most foreigners were of China. At the time, Robert hadn’t noticed the error because he too had been ignorant of Kansu’s location. He was proud that was no longer true.

  He told this story to Prince Kung.

  “It is a sad truth that most foreign devils only come to China to steal from us or cheat us. They do not spend the time to learn about our people and culture. They sail in and sell their opium, buy Chinese women, defile them and leave the women with ruined lives. Unfortunately, the foreign generals are not as ignorant. They know where to send their troops.”

  The conversation went from that topic to buying modern weapons to solving the domestic problems caused by the Taiping rebels, to building railroads, installing a telegraph service, funding a navy, establishing a postal system, opening Western idea based schools across the empire and how parents should raise their children in the strict British tradition.

  It was a long day.

  “Write up these proposals we talked about,” Prince Kung said. “I want you to present them to key members of the imperial cabinet tomorrow.”

  The next day, he
had a meeting with Prince Kung, Wen-hsiang, and Kuei-liang, the prince’s father-in-law. At first, they seemed overwhelmed and confused with his ideas, but they listened.

  Robert was patient and took time to explain until they understood. He was excited to be speaking with the true rulers of China since the emperor listened to these men. He told them what Ayaou had said about modern foreign medicines.

  “There is a lot of sickness in China,” he said, “that can be dealt with if we buy modern medicines from countries like Britain and France.” He also mentioned that to buy loyalty, they should pay the imperial troops on time.

  “How do you know that the imperial troops are not being paid?” Kuei-liang asked. “We have sent enough silver to satisfy their hunger.”

  “If someone farts inside the Forbidden City,” Robert replied, “within days it is being talked about in tea houses as far away as Canton. Loose lips spread the news that the imperial bucket has leaks.”

  All three looked stunned. “We must discover who is stealing the money that was supposed to pay our troops,” Kung said.

  “Yes, and the thieves must lose their heads,” Wen-hsiang replied.

  Robert did not realize how much Prince Kung trusted him until the day he was criticized by one of the conservative, hard-liners, who was also a senior adviser for the emperor.

  “Prince Kung,” the conservative said, “you are too free with your words around this foreign devil. You should not discuss sensitive state secrets while he is in the room.”

  Robert tried not to make it look too obvious that he was straining to hear and interpret every word the conservative minister said. For as fluent as he had become in Mandarin, he still thought in English. Before he could understand anything said in Chinese, he had to translate it into English first.

  He wondered what the conservative would have thought if he knew Robert was sitting there going over the proposed treaties being negotiated with the Germans. He was taking notes and thinking of ways to offer acceptable counterproposals that would lessen the impact on China.