My Splendid Concubine (79 page)

As time passed and he learned about the culture, Robert knew that the Chinese had a strict moral code, which had its roots in Confucius
’s teachings about piety. Of course, there were flaws behind the mixed Confucius Taoist influence, but the shortcomings weren’t any worse than those found in Christian doctrine were.

“
You can’t force the Chinese to believe in God out of the end of a cannon or rifle, Horatio,” Robert said, as if he were talking to a child. “It also says in the Bible that ‘Those that are busy minding other people’s business probably do not have any worthwhile business of their own. Instead of being quiet, they’re busy causing great disturbances among their neighbors.’

“
Horatio, if you force the Chinese to believe in God, they will only believe what you want because they fear you. What you propose is no different from what the Spanish did during the Inquisition. Are you going to bring that horror to China? Isn’t it bad enough that Hong Xiuquan, a converted Chinese Christian, has caused so much suffering and death with his Taiping rebellion?”

Doubt appeared in Horatio
’s face. Robert dared not reveal what he was thinking. Instead, he forced his face and body to look concerned and caring. He wanted to pour water on that burning bush in Horatio’s eyes, so he led Horatio back to the topic of China’s navy. “Without the imperial court’s permission,” he said, “you can’t bring the fleet to China.”

After that, it wasn
’t long before Horatio agreed to renegotiate the written agreement he had forged with Osborn.

Robert thanked his father for making him memorize the Bible and all the lessons to understand what scripture meant
. Without that knowledge, he was convinced he would not have succeeded against Horatio’s religious fervor.

Every time Horatio quoted from scripture, Robert
’s mind had raced to think of the proper quote to counter him. It was like crossing a lake on thin, brittle ice. One wrong step and he would have plunged into the depths and lost.

A few days later, Horatio met with Prince Kung’s representatives. Robert had persuaded Kung to let General Tseng Kuo-fan, a levelheaded dogged Chinese, and Li Hung-chang talk to Horatio. The suggestion was another move to convince the Dynasty that the Han Chinese could get the job done and be trusted.

The negotiations lasted a month. In the end, Horatio relu
ctantly agreed to discard his original thirteen-item agreement with Osborn and establish a new one.

A Manchu commander, Cai Kuo-Hsiang, was assigned to be the admiral of the fleet with Osborn as his assistant. The new agre
ement stipulated that the fleet would be under the control of the governor of the province where any fighting was to take place. Horatio would have no say.

As Robert was getting ready to return to Shanghai, he r
eceived a report from the Yamen that Osborn had arrived in China and was refusing to take orders from a local governor.

He realized that t
his would be seen as an insult to the Dynasty, and that Prince Kung and the ministers would turn to him for help. Depressed, lonely and angry, he wrote Ayaou telling her that he would not be home as planned.

In June 1863, to add further injury to the insult and loss of face, Osborn sailed from Shanghai to Tientsin without orders. Leaving the flotilla anchored in the Bohai Gulf, he traveled overland to Peking to challenge the imperial court insisting that the original thirteen-item agreement be honored.

Robert was there when the confrontation took place with Prince Kung and the other ministers from the
Tsungli Yamen. General Tseng Kuo-fan and Li Hung-chang were also there.

Osborn, with several of his officers, entered the Tsungli Y
amen’s main audience chamber. The ministers stood along the walls beside the armed guards and watched.

Osborn was a tall imposing athletic looking man. He was dressed in his full dress uniform with a chest full of medals. His face was clean-shaven and his hair cut short. He did not nod or show any sign of respect. Instead, he marched across the room and stopped in front of
Prince Kung, who was seated in an intricately carved rosewood chair.

Several bannermen guards stepped forward from their pos
itions against the walls. Kung lifted a hand and stopped them, and they stepped back. The prince stared at Osborn without expression with eyes that were cold, dark stones.

Without waiting, Osborn said,
“The only man I will take orders from will be Horatio Lay. That’s the only way I will allow the ships I command to be part of the Chinese navy.”

Robert felt his face flush hot. He wanted to slap Osborn or better yet cut out the man
’s tongue. This insult could lead to another war with Britain and the other foreign powers. It could fuel the Manchu conservatives to sound the battle cry that died when Su Shun was beheaded. Millions of lives were at stake. What a fool Osborn was.

After Prince Kung heard the interpretation, he didn
’t say a word. Robert could tell he was angry by a slight tightening around the eyes. The tension in the room was like the silence before an earthquake.

General Tseng Kuo-fan
’s battle armor rattled as he threw himself on the floor in front of Prince Kung. He kowtowed several times and requested approval to have Osborn beheaded. “I will do it myself,” he said, “so we don’t have to wait for the executioner.”

Tseng Kuo-fan was not known as the
‘Head Chopper’ for nothing. Robert had heard that in battles against the Taipings, he was ruthless and took no prisoners. Those who were captured lost their heads.

From the look in Prince Kung
’s eyes, Robert guessed that he was about to agree. It was time to intercede. As much as he regretted what he was about to do, he saw no other choice.

He knew that violence was not going to solve this problem. The British officer had to leave Peking alive and in good health. Robert was thinking furiously how he was going to save the Dynasty
’s face. It wasn’t going to be easy.

If Osborn had talked to the Queen of England like this, he would have ended in the Tower of London and possibly hanged for sedition. If he had been defiant to a superior officer in the British navy, he could have been
keelhauled and his carcass hung from the yardarm of the flagship of the fleet, but this was taking place in China and there was a double standard involved.

Robert stepped forward.
“I agree with General Tseng Kuo-fan,” he said. “But if a farmer chops off the toe of an eight hundred-pound sleeping bear, which has already destroyed half his crop, what will happen to the farmer?”

“
Horatio told me about you, Hart,” Osborn said. “I don’t speak Chinese, so I don’t know what you are saying. However, from what I learned, I suspect you are telling them not to listen to me. I will have none of that. Your loyalty should be to Britain, not China. I want you to make these heathens understand that if they do not do as I demand, Britain will spank them as they have never been spanked before.”

Blo
od surge into Robert’s head, and he turned to confront Osborn. “You fool,” he said in English. “I’m trying to keep that head on your shoulders. You have no idea what mess you have stirred by your arrogance.”

“
I refuse to hear such talk,” Osborn replied. “You are a traitor if you support these little yellow men.”

Robert took a calming breath. It was all he could do to mai
ntain control. “You are in Peking with a handful of men. Thousands of Manchu bannermen that guard the emperor are stationed near the Tsungli Yamen. Even the guards stationed around this building number in the hundreds. Do you think your officers will be able to fight their way out once your head hits the floor?”

“
They wouldn’t dare,” Osborn said. “I am an officer in the royal navy.”

“
You are wrong. Harry Parkes made a similar mistake and almost lost his head. I know, because I negotiated the deal that saved his life, but the twenty men with him still died.”

“
You can’t speak to me like that,” Osborn said. His face was bloated with anger.

“
Shut your mouth, Osborn, and let me save that foolish ass of yours from a certain death. God knows I shouldn’t.”

“
You fool!” Osborn replied.

Without warning, he hit Osborn on the jaw as hard as he could. He hit him again on the nose and a third time in the gut. The naval officer staggered back and went to his knees with blood gushing from a split lip and nose.

The other British officers stepped forward, and the armed bannermen moved away from the walls. The room was a powder keg ready to explode.

Robert put a foot against Osborn
’s chest and shoved. The British naval officer sprawled on the floor unconscious. He then held up a hand to stop the other British officers. “Listen to me,” he said. “This idiot was going to get you all killed. Take him and leave. Do it now!”

When they hesitated, Robert pointed a finger at the door and in a co
mmanding voice said, “Consider that my rank in China is equal to a general. Osborn is only a ship’s captain. I outrank him. Get him out of here, and do it now! Osborn has just insulted China’s emperor. What would you do if a foreigner barged into Buckingham palace and insulted the queen by making such demands?”

The British officers looked at the
stern faces of the Manchu guards around the perimeter of the room as if gauging their chances. Then they studied General Tseng Kuo-fan, who had moved to stand beside Robert. The Chinese general looked as if he could chew iron, and he had a wicked looking sword hanging from his belt.

The Briti
sh officers hurried forward, picked Osborn off the floor then carried him from the room.

Robert turned to Prince Kung. He now knew what had to be done to save the emperor
’s face. “I have been honored to have the support of great men like General Tseng Kuo-fan to purchase a modern navy for China,” he said, “but I must now request that you cancel the purchase of the fleet and send it back to Europe. It is the only way to let the world know that China will not swallow insults from people like Osborn or Horatio Lay.”

Robert lowered his voice.
“I stand with General Tseng Kuo-fan and support his request to behead Osborn. However, if we do, we will have a war with the foreign powers again. Do not forget that China is recovering from the last Opium War, and the Taipings are still a threat. I urge you to consider my words.” Robert went down on one knee and bowed his head in submission. General Tseng Kuo-fan joined him.

Tseng Kuo-fan glanced at Robert and said softly so only Robert could hear.
“When the nightingale sings, its voice is sweet and true but the bird has the talons of a hawk. You are everything they say you are.” He made a slight nod to Robert.

Prince Kung acted immediately and dismissed Osborn and the e
ntire contingent of six hundred British sailors. It wouldn’t be until November 1863 that the ships would return to England and it would cost China another three-hundred-seventy-five thousand taels. Some of the money would be regained when China sold the fleet to other European countries.

When all was done
, the final cost was one-point-seven-million.

“Ayaou,” Robert wrote late that night, “I’m shattered. My misjudgment recommended Horatio to Prince Kung. Until now, the ministers and the Dowagers put their trust in me believing I could handle the most difficult tasks.

“
But now I have failed miserably. Although no one in the government has said a word about it being my fault, I accept the guilt. Clearly, I can do nothing to reverse this situation. What I must do is work hard to preserve my honor.

“
Besides, thanks to this fiasco and others like it, I’ve missed being home when our son was born. What have I done to deserve this? When Anna was born, I was also not there when I wanted to be by your side.

“
When it is late at night and I’m working at my desk, there aren’t any ghosts to see my tears and hear me sob. I miss you and our family. I crave your sweet, sensible voice to set me right as you have done in the past.”

Robert sealed the letter and set it aside to send to Shanghai with the next courier. He folded his arms on the desk and rested his head on them. The depression and the loneliness were more than he could take.

What a fool he had been. Life had seemed complex when he had lived in secret with his two concubines in Ningpo. Yet, that time was nothing compared to now. He had been twenty then and all he had to worry about was the safety of Ayaou and Shao-mei. He could see now how silly he had been agonizing over two women being in love with him. He should have welcomed their embraces. Instead, like a fool, he had almost gone crazy.

Now he was twenty-eight, and he felt the weight of an a
ncient empire on his shoulders. He also worried what was going to happen to China once Horatio Lay resumed his duties as Inspector General.

He thought of Captain Patridge, Parkes, and Sir John Bowring
. All had acted to further the interests of Britain and to fill their pockets with Chinese gold and silver leaving China almost bankrupt and a wreck. They were like intestinal parasites destroying the body of the host. He had met few foreigners willing to help China survive.