My Splendid Concubine

by Lofthouse, Lloyd

  “I have heard that General Tseng Kuo-fan is someone the Dynasty can rely on to change the situation,” Robert said. “He has a talent for winning battles. From what I’ve learned, he would not be a threat to the Dynasty. His loyalty is beyond question. I urge you to give General Tseng Kuo-fan a chance. Put him in command of an army that’s fighting the Taipings.”

  He knew that the Manchu called Tseng Kuo-fan Head Chopper. Tseng was a Han Chinese officer that had risen in rank as high as the Dynasty would allow. It was time for the Manchu to make an exception. He hoped that the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi might be the one who tipped the scales and made that happen.

  Although Robert had never met the empress, he had learned enough to suspect that she was levelheaded, unlike many of the hotheaded Manchu living in denial of China’s tenuous situation. He suspected she had made the difference in the decision to bring the French and English into the fight against the Taipings around Shanghai.

  “This recommendation will be considered,” Prince Kung said. “Have you anything else to say?”

  Robert noticed the hush. Normally, the Tsungli Yamen was a noisy place with people coming and going. Now, no one was talking or moving. They weren’t watching either. Their eyes were glued on the papers they were reading or writing. However, he was sure every ear in the room was focused on his words.

  This was Prince Kung’s real reason for starting this conversation, Robert thought. He wants the others to hear, so he can sound them out later to see what they think. That is the only plausible reason this discussion is taking place in a public forum.

  He raised his voice so everyone heard. It was time to see if he could gain a big win. “China needs a modern navy.” Robert remembered the difficult trip upriver to Hankow the previous year. He’d also talked with General Li Hung-chang about this, and Li felt the same.

  “The Dynasty needs to control the rivers and coasts. I suggest that I go to Shanghai and work with Governor Xue Huan to see if we can generate enough money to buy a squadron of naval ships from Europe. China cannot stand on its legs if it has to rely on England and France for naval support.”

  “How can you possibly squeeze more money?” Prince Kung said. “All of China’s national, annual income goes to pay for war penalties imposed by foreign powers. The imperial ministers will be reluctant.”

  “Let me think about that.” Robert started to pace. Everyone watched him walking back and forth. Work had been forgotten. Losing the Opium Wars had created this debt for China, Robert thought. Why not use opium to solve the current crises? At least for a short time.

  He turned to Kung. “Lift the ban on opium,” he said. Someone gasped. Kung started to protest, but Robert held up a hand. “Hear me out. If we do this right, it will stimulate the merchants and boost trade. This will increase revenues. This is our only choice. I know it sounds like we are cutting out part of China’s lungs to patch its kidney but our immediate objective is to buy time. The opium trade cannot be stopped anyway. Instead of smugglers getting all the profits, we will get a share through taxation. A sacrifice must be made so China can survive.

  “We tried to tax opium,” Kung replied. “It did not work.”

  “The situation is different now. The corruption has been removed. I am confident that my people are ready to make this happen, and I trust them.”

  “I will take these recommendations to the Dowagers,” Kung said.

  Robert was sure that the imperial court would be buzzing about this.

  Later that night, when the Tsungli Yamen was almost empty, one of the lower-ranked Han ministers told Robert in confidence that the Han respected him for speaking out.

  “None of us could do that without risking assassination or getting beheaded. You are the only one who can speak out,” the Han minister said. “Forgive me, but even as a foreign devil, you are probably the only man in China the Dynasty will listen to.”

  That did not mean he would always win, Robert thought. He also realized that he must not let this go to his head.

  In a few days, Kung let Robert know that the Dowagers had agreed to his recommendations. General Tseng Kuo-fan was put in charge of the conflict against the Taipings. The general’s orders were to start marching toward Nanking, the Taiping capital.

  The imperial government appointed Robert to act on China’s behalf to purchase a small fleet from England. Robert returned to Shanghai and raised eight hundred thousand taels, enough to purchase a fleet of four medium-sized naval vessels and three smaller ships with equipment and ammunition.

  He wrote to Horatio Lay, who was still recovering in London from his knife wounds. He asked Horatio if he would act as China’s agent and purchase the ships since he was already there.

  Weeks went by before Horatio’s reply arrived. Lay suggested that his friend, Captain Sherard Osborn, an officer in Britain’s Royal Navy, command the fleet during the voyage from Europe to China.

  Robert replied with instructions to proceed.

  In September, Robert was in Hong Kong when he learned that Ayaou had given birth to a boy. On his way back to Peking, he stopped in Shanghai and stayed a few days.

  He named his son Herbert. That afternoon, he carried the sleeping infant to the garden and was tempted to wake the child so he could show him what Guan-jiah had done to the place. He hoped Herbert would appreciate nature, but he never woke up.

  Hours later, he said, “Herbert is quiet compared to Anna when she was this age.”

  They were in bed and Ayaou was resting her head on his stomach. She snorted. “You are not always here. Even Anna had her quiet times. When you go, Herbert will notice. Then he will wake the house. He knows who the master is.”

  “Herbert has a lot of dark hair. Have you been feeding him black sesame seeds?”

  “No,” she said. “I want his hair to be the same color as yours. When he is older, I will feed him golden sesame seeds.”

  “That won’t work.”

  “Of course it will.”

  He wanted to laugh. This sounded more like the Ayaou he’d known in Ningpo. “It’s not easy leaving,” he said. “I’m sick of being alone.”

  “You are an important man,” Ayaou replied. “We are proud of the work you are doing for China. With your rank and pay, you can afford to buy more concubines and have two or three in Peking, so you will not have to sleep alone.”

  “I know. Prince Kung has hinted the same thing.” He shook his head. “That won’t happen. I am determined that you will be my only lover. Besides, when I’m in Peking, I’m so busy, I wouldn’t have time.”

  “That might not be wise,” she said.

  “I want to talk about where Herbert should go to school. Now that I am going to be a rich man, I want him to go to Eton, Harrow or Rugby.”

  “What do you mean?” she said. “What is Eton?”

  “It is a boarding school in Britain where the children of the nobility and the wealthy go to live. Since the fathers are too busy to educate their boys properly, the children are sent to places like Eton.”

  “A school where Herbert would live?” She sounded worried. “But England is a smelly place. He will be lonely.”

  “Herbert will manage. Schools like Eton produce gentlemen. It is a luxury I never experienced. I was lucky to attend the Queen’s University in Belfast. Our son will have the best education money can buy. When he is old enough, he will live at the school with boys who will one day rule the British Empire, and his best friend could be a member of the royal family.”

  Robert was back in Peking a week later to discover that a letter had arrived from Horatio detailing what he would do to purchase the fleet. Robert presented the imperial court with the entire list of items, such as cannons, rockets, and the number of foreign captains, operators and technicians that should be recruited. The court did not like the idea of having their navy crewed by foreigners.

  Robert wrote to Lay. “There should be no more than fifty foreigners in the fleet, and I want them to train the Chinese.

>   “Once trained, the Europeans must leave. I do not see a need for the ships to arrive in China with full crews, since the goal is to have a Chinese navy.”

  The imperial court debated keeping Horatio Lay as China’s acting agent in Europe. They had not forgotten Horatio’s haughty, superior attitude.

  Robert had put his reputation on the line by recommending Horatio for the job. If anything went wrong, it would be his loss of face. He realized that he had to find someone he could trust to act as his agent. Maybe he should find someone he had already hired to work for him in China, and send that man to London.

  “Who else can work on our behalf?” Robert asked during a meeting with Prince Kung and the other Manchu ministers. “Horatio Lay’s father was in China for years as a diplomat for Britain. Horatio speaks Mandarin. He is still the inspector general. One day he will be back, and then I will return to Canton. He understands China’s needs better than a stranger.”

  The imperial court approved the recommendation. Robert remembered Horatio’s feelings about the Chinese being an inferior race and hoped he had not made a mistake.

  He sent Horatio a letter certifying him as the agent for China then asked Prince Kung and the cabinet to consider whom the Chinese admiral was going to be that would work with Osborn.

  Robert described the type of men who should be considered to crew the new navy in a report he submitted to the Tsungli Yamen. “The age of those young men must be more than eighteen and less than thirty,” he wrote.

  “Their jobs would be heavy in labor. I suggest selecting Hunannese as cannon operators, for they are known for their wits and bravery although they are small men.

  “I also suggest that you pick Shandongnese for sailors, for they are strong in physiques and have a traditional way of sharing brotherhood and loyalty with men who speak their dialect.

  “Last, I suggest that you pick Manchu bannermen for officers and key positions.”

  Filled with homesickness and a desperate need to see Ayaou, he returned to Shanghai. He had been away too long and was questioning what was more important: power and wealth or family and love. He wanted both. There had to be a way.

  They were in bed and Ayaou was beside him on her stomach. There were worry lines on her forehead. While he had been gone, she had slimmed down. They had just attempted making love, but he could not perform.

  “What is wrong?” she asked. “You have not had this problem since the fighting in Canton. You are always like a wild stallion. Have you found another woman? Have I lost the beauty you once saw? That would make sense. My family says I am no beauty and you are blind.”

  “There is no other woman, and you are still the one I dream of when I am alone. My mind is distracted by my job.

  “Have you any idea what I have to do in Peking to get anything achieved? It’s like swimming in sand. I have trouble sleeping waiting for the imperial turtles to move. I have urged the Manchu princes and the Dowagers to make faster decisions.

  “Instead, they go hunting or write poetry or make ink paintings. When news arrived that a Chinese army has been slaughtered by the Taipings, the Dowagers hired an opera troop to perform at the Summer Palace and invited the royalty. They don’t understand how important it is to train China’s new navy so they are ready when the ships arrive. They do not even call the Taipings rebels. Instead, they call them Longhaired Bandits as if they are insignificant.”

  Ayaou crawled on top of him and started to rub her naked body against his. “Maybe this will give your thoughts a rest,” she said.

  Robert laughed. “It seems that you have worked your magic again,” he said, and pulled her face to his to smother her with kisses. “I know there was a reason I had to come home.” He kissed her neck and licked an ear.

  A few months later, Horatio returned to China, and they met at the Shanghai, Imperial Maritime Customs building that faced the Huangpu River.

  “You will be pleased to learn that I purchased the fleet,” Horatio said. “Eight vessels. The flotilla should be here in a few weeks. I recruited six hundred British navy personnel to be led by Osborn.”

  “That’s not what I directed you to do.”

  “You have forgotten your position, Robert,” Horatio said in a scolding tone. “I am the Inspector General, and you work for me. There will be no need to find a Chinese admiral and illiterate Chinese peasants to fill out the crews. The Chinese are incapable of taking care of themselves, and owing to their childlike nature, they would never take to the discipline needed to create a sound navy.”

  “But, Horatio, this is not what Prince Kung and the Empress Dowagers expected.”

  Horatio held up a hand to stop him. “I also spent more than the budget you sent. I took out a loan for two-hundred-and-seventy-thousand taels in China’s name to purchase the navy I felt China should have. After all, as Inspector General of Customs, I will have control of the navy and the emperor will have to go through me to issue orders to Osborn.”

  “What have you done, Horatio?” Robert mind stopped working. He wanted to scream—to hit the man or break something. He felt hot and suddenly cold. A feeling of helplessness swept over him, and his face went numb. The rage in his chest was like a hurricane ready to wreak havoc. “I gave my word to the Dynasty,” he said, and thought, I trusted the wrong man. I handed China to a jackal.

  “It isn’t that bad,” Horatio replied. “We have faced worse. It will not take the Manchu long to know who rules China. God is on our side and everything will work out.”

  “Let me see that contract you signed with Osborn.” Robert held out a hand.

  Horatio rummaged on the desk and found it. “Here, I’m sure you will be impressed.”

  As Robert read the contract, a pain started to radiate from his chest, his stomach burned and his fingers tingled. The key elements were horrible. The worst parts were four and five.

  Robert’s voice trembled. “It says that it is understood that Osborn will have the right to refuse any form of an order, decree or edict that comes without your validation. It is also understood that you have the right to refuse any order, decree or edict from the imperial court that does not make sense to you.”

  “Precisely,” Horatio said. “The Chinese are incapable of ruling themselves, so I have solved that problem.”

  Robert’s vision blurred and he had trouble breathing. He had an urge to kill Horatio. His fingers curled. He imagined grabbing Horatio’s neck and choking him. The Chinese imperial government had paid for the fleet, but this contract made Horatio the owner. The man was worse than a pirate was.

  With an effort, he gained control over his emotions. “Horatio, there is no way that Prince Kung or the Dynasty will accept what you have done. Your blind ambition has undone both of us, because it is unrealistic that you can take control of China’s modern navy. I am advising you to reconsider your actions for the sake of our positions in the customs service, and more importantly the future of British influence over China. Cancel the contract with Osborn and return to the original plan that was endorsed by both Dowagers and Prince Kung as regents for the young emperor.”

  “Calm down, Hart. I will not comply with such nonsense. I am the Inspector General of Imperial Chinese Customs. That is not your job. Do not forget that you were acting for me. The purchase contract stays as I wrote it, and Osborn will be the admiral of China’s navy. Be advised, I am also writing a letter telling Prince Kung of this. He must know his place.

  “When I resume my post as Inspector General, my goal is to control China’s national revenue, and with Osborn in command of China’s navy no one will stand in my way. I have seen with clarity what must be done, as God is my witness. With money and weapons at my command, I see myself as a minister for Britain ruling China. In the end, China will be converted to Christianity at my direction. These heathens will have no choice.”

  Robert realized that Horatio had no idea what he had done. The Chinese people would not sit still and allow their culture to be taken over by someone li
ke him. There would be more rebellions. China would be torn into a hundred small countries. There would be great suffering and deaths. If the Chinese become Christians, it had to be their decision to convert and that might take centuries.

  Horatio smiled. “I will also request a palace from Prince Kung. It must be equal to a cathedral where I will conduct services for the Church of England.”

  Robert was sure that someone high in the British government or someone in the Church of England had fueled this insanity. He had no idea if there was anything he could do to avoid this tragedy. The unexpectedness of it all had left him numb. He had to find time to think, and he couldn’t do it here with this idiot watching him.

  Chapter 49

  Soon after Horatio arrived in Peking, Robert visited him. Since he had recovered from the shock of what Horatio had done, he was ready to deal with the Osborn issue.

  He discovered that Horatio had been assigned a small house in the Chinese City near the Lock Hospital some distance from the Tsungli Yamen. Peking was divided into two cities, the Tartar City where the Forbidden City had been built and the Chinese City. Although one wall surrounded Peking, another wall divided the two sections.

  Once inside the house, he saw that the furniture and floors were covered with a film of dust. Obviously, no one had cleaned the house before Lay’s arrival.

  The house had a small courtyard filled with dead bamboo and the garden walls extended twenty feet toward the sky making the courtyard feel as if it were the bottom of a dry well. It was depressing place.

  Robert suspected that having Horatio stay in this house was meant as a slap in the face, and he wondered if Horatio realized that the Manchu were not pleased with him. Probably not. Just because Horatio spoke Mandarin, didn’t mean he understood the culture.