My Splendid Concubine (85 page)

Guan-jiah stared at the floor and shuffled his feet.
“I am unworthy of your praise, Master.” Robert detected a smile of pride tugging the corners of the eunuch’s mouth. “How are we going to save the mistress and the children?”

“
By doing something the Taipings least expect,” he replied. “We are going to give everyone the slip, including the bannermen who are my guards. Even if the Taipings have spies watching, if we move fast enough, we will arrive in Ningpo before any message they could send.”

“
We are only two, Master. How are we going to defeat a Taiping army?”

“
I’ll think of a way.”

Guan-jiah stared at him as if he had gone mad.

An hour later, Guan-jiah and Robert, looking like peasants wearing rags with dirt smeared faces, managed to avoid the guards and slipped out of Peking unnoticed. Once outside the walls, Guan-jiah bought two horses.

Impulsive thoughts raced through Robert
’s mind while they rode the eighty miles to the coast and Tientsin. He rejected one far-fetched scheme after another. It was crazy to act impulsively, but he had to do something. If he didn’t keep moving, the fear and panic would take control. Then he would be useless. He also knew that if he acted with too much caution, the Taipings would kill Ayaou and the children before the deadline.

If he asked Prince Kung for help, he was sure the prince would shrug it off as futile and let Ayaou and the children die. After all, to Kung and the other Manchu princes and ministers, Ayaou was a worthless Chinese boat girl and the children were bastards. Prince Kung wanted Robert to marry a Manchu princess anyway, and this was a perfect opportunity to achieve that goal.

Halfway to the coast, a possible solution materialized. Just as he’d constructed the plans for China’s future, he knew what had to be done to have any chance to save his family.

It was reckless, a total gamble, but the audacity of it might work.
With luck, they would have the same results Patridge had all those years ago when he made that daring raid against the Taipings. With overwhelming odds against him, Patridge took back his opium and freed the boat people. Robert planned to do something similar but more dangerous.

By sunset, they were almost to Tientsin and could see the city
’s ancient walls in the distance. Tientsin was thirty-seven miles up the Peihao River from the ocean and had been opened to world trade in 1860. It now had foreign concessions similar to Shanghai, and because it was a major port, Robert should find a steamship to speed him south. A steamer would be much faster than a junk, which he assumed was what the Taipings were using to spirit Ayaou and the children away.

Ningpo was seven hundred miles by water from Tientsin. He planned to put together a force of trusted men from Tientsin and Shanghai. They would have to
come from the customs service since he couldn’t trust anyone else.

Modern weapons were stored in Shanghai. He knew what was in the warehouse, and the shipment that should be there now was exactly what he wanted. Without modern weapons, he wouldn
’t have considered going ahead with his wild scheme, and the weapons Robert had in mind were special.

Once in Tientsin, he gathered a group of his employees in a large back room at the customs house. They were all men he had carefully selected for their courage, loyalty and honesty.

Under the Chinese system of government, Robert was like a king and his kingdom was the customs service. The only higher authority was the emperor of China. Since the emperor was a child, that meant Kung and the Dowagers ruled the empire, three who called Robert ‘Our Hart’.

“
I have always had a difficult time asking for help,” he said, “but since most of you are family men, I think you will understand.

“
I know everyone here as if we were members of the same family. I attended one wedding in Tientsin.” He looked at Anwar Cardiff, a wild looking Welshman, but one of the gentlest men he’d ever known.

“
Not long ago,” he said, “a certain Welshman was pining for his love, so I arranged, without him knowing, for her to come from England to join him. I was even his best man at the wedding. And one of you asked me to be godfather to your last newborn child.” He looked at Henry Cooper, who grew up on a farm in Devon, England. “We’ve worked many long hours together.”

Robert struggled to fight back the tears that were sparkling in his eyes. This time when he spoke, his voice cracked as he struggled to maintain control.
“The woman I love and my children were kidnapped by Taipings.” He had to stop. Taking several breaths, he calmed down.

“
I can’t count on the Dynasty for help—at least not in the time left before my family will be executed. I need your help in a risky venture to save my family from certain death. If you are willing, please step forward. If you aren’t, I will understand.”

Everyone stepped forward, which caused a balloon of grat
itude to swell inside his chest. The expressions on their faces caused tears to escape from his eyes, and he turned away to hide his face as he struggled to regain control.

These were his men. Among them were Italians, Germans, Ame
ricans, and British citizens and even one Chinese, Guan-jiah.

Other Chinese worked here, but he doubted that any had ever handled a weapon. This was China, the land of Confucius and Taoism, which respected scholarship and learning above all else.

The Chinese warriors were either in the army or were bandits and as such were considered below the status of a scholar. Even the wealthiest merchants were not equal to the poorest scholar, and the Chinese who worked in customs were all scholars of some sort—men who spent their free time writing poetry and painting ink on rice paper.

“
One more thing,” he said, after he wiped the tears from his face. “I must be assured that all of you know how to use firearms and ride horses, as we may have a tough fight. My plans are to arrive and leave by ship but if circumstances warrant, we may have to use horses to escape.”

Anwar, his Welshman, chuckled. His gentle voice did not fit his appearance.
“No worries there, Sir. I was with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry at Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, and I’m not the only veteran here.” He gestured toward Cooper, a thirty-year-old whose head was bald as the moon. “Cooper was with the 93rd Highlanders in the Crimean War.”

“
I fought in second Opium War in 1857,” Leopold Huber, a German, said. Leopold had a weak chin and a thin nose. “That’s what brought me to China, and I decided to stay.” Two others nodded to include themselves in that war.

“
And I served in the second Maori War in New Zealand with the 14th West Yorkshire regiment in 1860,” another man said.

“
Every man here can use a musket or shotgun,” Cooper said. “We’ve all hunted wild game, and you’ll have a hard time finding better marksmen.”

“
What about horses?” Robert asked.

“
That’s like asking if a duck has wings and can float,” Anwar said. “None of us grew up in a city like London. We are all country boys. Since Britain has been in so many wars around the world, I doubt you’ll find many of us that haven’t served somewhere. Fighting is what took us away from home. Then after we saw some of the world, it was difficult to go back because we wanted to see more. You could say we’re the adventuresome sort.”

This was why Robert had decided to talk to these men.
It was gratifying to know he’d judged correctly.

“
Guan-jiah,” he said, “I dare not risk leaving this building with these men until it’s dark in case there are spies watching. However, you will not be noticed, as you are Chinese. I want you to go and find us a suitable, fast ship.

“
Once you find one, go aboard and talk to the captain. Introduce yourself. Mention my name. Tell the captain that we have pressing business in Shanghai and Ningpo. Say that I will make it worth his while if he gets underway immediately once we are on board.”

“
No one will listen to me, Master,” Guan-jiah replied. “They will see a skinny Chinese and ignore me.”

“
That will not happen,” Robert said. “I’ll write a note. That should work.”

The eunuch returned after dark and took them to the
Nanzing
, which was bound for Shanghai with passengers and a cargo of wheat. The
Nanzing,
owned by the British firm of Trautman and Company,
was a steamship that worked the coast from Shanghai to the northern ports.

The captain met Robert the moment he stepped on deck. He st
udied Robert’s face and nodded. “Just wanted to make sure you are who the Chinaman said you were. I was suspicious of that note.”

They shook hands, and Robert said,
“You understand that we have pressing business and must be on our way.”

“
The Chinaman didn’t say much about what that business was.”

“
But he did tell you what I’m willing to pay?”

The captain nodded.

“Then you know what’s important. To earn that money, you must have us in Shanghai then Ningpo as soon as possible.”

“
Well, the Chinaman—”

“
His name is Guan-jiah,” Robert said. “How soon before we are underway?”

The c
aptain’s eyes went from Robert to the serious faces of the dozen men standing behind him. “We were planning to raise anchor in the morning.”

Robert pulled out his pocket watch.
“Morning arrives in ten hours. It’s eight now. You know who I am, so take what I say seriously. If Trautman and Company wants to continue doing business in China, we will be underway sooner, within the hour. Do we understand each other?”

The captain looked startled then nodded yes.

“When will that departure time be?” Robert asked.

“
Tonight before nine.”

“
Make it faster!”

In thirty minutes, the
Nanzing
was steaming from Tientsin. During the voyage, Robert stood next to the captain in the wheelhouse and watched every junk they passed for any sign that it might be the one carrying Ayaou and his children to their fate.

Of course, he couldn
’t see inside the junks and to stop and search each boat would have been futile. Still, he had to do something and sleep was not a choice.

The
Nanzing
reached Shanghai in less than three days and unloaded the wheat and the passengers. Robert recruited nine more men from the customs office there.

After he finished, he went to the warehouse where he o
rdered the Chinese men who worked there to load several heavy crates on a wagon to be delivered to the
Nanzing.

Once on board
ship, with Guan-jiah’s help, he went to work cleaning the weapons and loading them. It would have been easier to have someone else do this job, but he didn’t want anyone messing with the hardware.

While steaming the hundred miles to Ningpo, he gathered his small army of twenty on the aft deck and stood by the crates that were covered by a canvas tarp.
“I understand that most of you are good shots and know how to use muzzle loaders and shotguns, but what I have here is something most of you may never have seen before.”

He pulled back the canvas tarp and Guan-jiah stepped fo
rward with a pry bar and used it to remove the top off a wooden crate. Robert reached in and took out one of the revolvers. “This is an 1860, .44 Caliber United States Army Colt Revolver. It weighs two pounds and eleven ounces. It also holds six black powder bullets.”

He lifted the revolver and aimed at the waves as the
Nanzing
steamed along. Squeezing the trigger, he fired the first shot. He then cocked the hammer and squeezed the trigger again. After the sixth blast died away, he said, “This weapon has a revolving cylinder. It will fire as fast as you can cock the hammer and pull the trigger. We have enough of these Army Colts so each man has two, and you will have leather cartridge boxes holding fifty .44 caliber bullets for reloading.”

“
What about holsters?” Anwar asked. “I hope we don’t have to shove those beauties under our belts. That barrel looks mighty long.”

“
Eight inches,” Robert replied, and handed Anwar the Colt. He then reached into the crate and brought out a belt with two hip holsters. Leather cartridge boxes filled with bullets were fastened to the belt. He handed that to Anwar, who took it and strapped it to his lean waist before he took a step toward the crate.

“
Hold it,” Robert said. “I’m not done.” Anwar took a step back to stand with his colleagues. He examined the Colt as if it were priceless and then ran his fingers through the unruly mop of curly brown hair that covered his head and smiled.

Guan-jiah pulled back the tarp to reveal a larger, heavier crate. He used the pry bar to open it.

“How fast can you load a musket and fire?” Robert asked.

“
If you’re good,” Cooper said, “maybe two or three times a minute but you have to be fast. And if you panic, you might forget to pull the ramrod out and shoot that. Then you’re in trouble.”

Robert reached in and took out the first rifle.
“This is a lever-action breech-loading Henry repeating rifle. It holds sixteen .44 Caliber bullets.” He lifted the weapon to his shoulder, aimed at the ocean and pulled the trigger. After he fired, Robert worked the lever, ejected the spent cartridge and loaded another bullet.

“
You can fire up to twenty-eight rounds a minute when used correctly. Before I bought this shipment, I was trained to use this weapon, and I am going to teach you what I learned before we get to Ningpo. You will all be experts on the use of the Henry and the Colt before we arrive.”

“
Who made these rifles?” Anwar asked. “I’ve never even heard of anything like this before.”

“
It was made in the United States to be used in fighting the Confederate Army. You have heard that there is a Civil War going on over there now?”

“
I’ve read about it,” Anwar said, and several others nodded. “Those damned Yanks are inventive. No wonder we lost the colonies to them. When do we get started? My hands are itching. Seeing a weapon like that excites me more than if I were with a virgin in a hayloft.”

The others laughed.

“Be my guest,” Robert said, and handed a Henry repeating rifle to Anwar. “Go ahead, men, the crates are open. You will have fifty rounds for each rifle. Keep that ammunition in the larger leather pouch that will hang around your neck and shoulders. We also have a small crate full of bullets for practice. Those rifles cost the emperor forty-two American dollars each so after this is over, I would like to return them to the rightful owner.”

“
I am glad the Chinese didn’t have these during the last Opium War,” Leopold said, as he stepped up to the crate and reached for a Henry repeating rifle. “Oh, this is a beauty.” He kissed the barrel.

“
Not to worry. I couldn’t buy enough of these to outfit an army. There aren’t that many in production yet. Only the emperor’s personal guards will have them in the Forbidden City.”

Robert trained his
clerks how to operate the weapons, and they practiced by shooting at driftwood and other floating objects in the water. Since all of them were hunters and many were war veterans, it didn’t take long to learn. It sounded as if a war was being fought on the aft deck of the
Nanzing.
A few times, he saw the ship’s Captain and some of the crew watching with worried expressions.

He
hoped that the little time he had to get his army ready for the coming battle was going to be enough. Then it hit him hard when he realized he could be taking all of these men to their deaths. What if he were fooling himself, and there was nothing he could do to save Ayaou and the children? These loyal men could die for nothing.

Chapter 53

The
Nanzing
was steaming along the crowded Yong River covering the last sixteen miles to Ningpo.

Since the Manchu general had fled with his troops in D
ecember, the Taiping army had occupied the city without a fight leaving the battlements in good shape. Taking the city back was not going to be easy, because the walls were made of granite.

A Chinese army was already gathering
, and Robert had helped select a capable general, so he knew that in a few months war was returning to Ningpo. This time it was going to be bloody and many would die.

“
I’m uneasy taking the
Nanzing
this close to the Taipings,” the captain said. “I’ve heard they have cannons that can reach across the river and shell the Western settlement.”

“
You have nothing to worry about, captain,” Robert replied. “I have it on good authority that the Taipings are cooperating with the foreign merchants so trade will flourish. Ningpo is the only major port the Taipings have. They cannot afford to have it blockaded by British and French warships. If they fired on the missionaries and merchants living across the river or any Western ships like the
Nanzing
, the British and French navies would react. Your ship is safe.”

Harry Parkes had told him the two Taiping generals contro
lling the city had assured Western representatives that trade would continue as usual, and that all foreigners would be respected and protected. It was unfortunate that Ayaou wasn’t a foreigner.

“
We will cooperate with these blasphemous creatures for now, Robert,” Parkes had said during a recent visit to Peking. “British policy is to support the Ch’ing Dynasty in this rebellion, not the pretender, who claims he is the younger brother of Jesus Christ. Ningpo is too important for foreign trade to see the port closed. We know why the Taipings are doing this. Until now, they’ve had trouble getting their hands on modern weapons. With Ningpo, they now have the access they wanted.”

Robert knew things
Parkes did not know. The Ch’ing Dynasty was negotiating with Apak, a notorious Cantonese pirate, and that Apak’s pirate fleet was going to support the Manchu army when it arrived.

“
We don’t have a navy,” Prince Kung had said. “Without Apak and his fleet, we will only be able to attack by land. We have no choice.”

“
Apak is a monster,” Robert replied. “Innocent people will suffer.”

“
It is the price the inhabitants of Ningpo must pay for cooperating with the Longhaired Bandits.”

Robert thought of the fift
y innocent Chinese in Canton that had lost their heads during the Arrow War. The Manchu could be brutal, and he didn’t always approve of their methods.

He also had not forgotten what Cantonese pirates had done to Port
uguese pirates in Ningpo while he had still worked for the British consulate. Some of the Portuguese had pounded on the locked gate to the British consulate begging for sanctuary. He had wanted to let them in but Dr. Winchester, the acting vice consul, said no. The Portuguese that survived to surrender were put on one of their ships and then that lorcha was set on fire with them in it. Apak had been the leader of the Cantonese pirates.

Once the
Nanzing
was anchored near Ningpo, Guan-jiah went ashore to spy, while Robert stood by the rail and studied the foreign settlement across the river where the Christian missionaries and merchants lived. He had crossed the river many times his first year in China to have dinner on the Sabbath. That had been a lonely year. There had even been a British widow he liked with one leg shorter than the other. Then he had met Ayaou.

A few hours later, Guan-jiah was back.

“I entered the city through one of the water gates,” he said. “As hoped, I was not challenged.”

“
The Taipings are lax and inefficient,” Leopold said. His German accent was thicker than usual. “They will be easy to kill.”

“
Most are just peasants with little or no military training,” Robert replied, “but do not underestimate them. What they lack in training is made up for with an intense zeal.”

“
Once night comes, the water gates will be lowered,” Guan-jiah said. “We must be inside before dark.” Guan-jiah spread a map of the city on the deck of the ship.

“
I found Mistress Ayaou and the children,” he said. “They are imprisoned at the Yen-ch’ing temple near the city’s south gate.” He hesitated as his eyes jerked nervously toward Robert and away. “I saw posters announcing the date of their beheading.”

Robert face went numb and a chill invaded his heart.

“Bastards,” Anwar said. He lifted his rifle and shook it. “This weapon is the right tool to wreak vengeance on these devils. With this, our numbers will sound like hundreds. They won’t know what hit them.”

But they will know
soon enough, Robert thought. If we lose the element of surprise, even the Henry repeating rifles will not make a difference.

“
With these weapons, we will sound like an army,” Cooper said. “Without reloading, twenty men can fire hundreds of rounds a minute.” His baldhead was covered with a floppy bush hat.

“
What date was on the posters?” Robert asked, afraid of the answer. However, he wanted to know.

“
February twelfth,” Guan-jiah replied. His eyes met Robert’s eyes. “I am sorry that I protested before we left Beijing. You were right, Master. If we had come on the fifteenth as the note demanded, the children would have been dead. It was a trap, and Ayaou and the children were the bait.”

“
Yes,” he managed to say. A lump in his throat was strangling his ability to talk clearly. It was as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff in danger of falling. He had doubts and considered moving the assault up several hours. He was afraid the Taipings might close the gates early. The raid had to take place that night, and there wasn’t going to be a second chance.

It took all his discipline to suppress the urge to move soo
ner. Once inside the city, one mistake, one slip and all could be lost—they’d be slaughtered with Ayaou and the children. He could not abandon the original plan. It was their best chance.

“
How about these Taipings?” Anwar asked. “How are they armed?”

“
Mostly spears and swords,” Guan-jiah replied. “Maybe two hundred have ancient muzzle loading muskets, but they probably are not good shots. They do not have enough gunpowder to practice. However, that is changing. The Taiping generals have been buying modern cannons and munitions. The new cannons have been installed on the river wall. More shipments arrive daily, and I discovered that a shipment with several thousand muskets will arrive soon.”

“
How good is this information?” Anwar asked.