My Splendid Concubine (90 page)

“
Enough,” Robert said. He glanced at the Manchu commander. “I am done with him. Do whatever you want.”

The officer nodded. Robert walked away.

“Get back here, Hart!” Fiske said.

That was the last time Robert saw him. Fiske was taken to the Forbidden City and died slowly from
chi-lin
, the death of ten thousand cuts. Robert later heard that the pain drove Fiske mad before he died. The first thing the royal torturer did was peel the skin from his face as if it were an orange.

While they were steaming north along China’s coast toward Tienstsin and home, Robert and Ayaou went on deck. They stood by the rail. The children were in the cabin sleeping while Guan-jiah watched over them.

Robert had an arm draped across Ayaou
’s shoulders. He could smell the salt water and sun in her hair. A look of tranquiltiy was on her face.

“
While I was in that temple waiting to die,” she said, “I reached a place of peace I have never known. I was not afraid. I knew that my beheading was going to take place soon. That you might not be able to save me.

“
I had come to my own wisdom,” she said. “I understood what nature had long hinted at us to understand through the moon and the river. The river flows day and night and like the moon it never disappears. It does not stay full at all times. But it is always there.”

Chapter 56

It was a cold day in February when Robert returned to Peking with his family. On the way back, he stopped in Shanghai then Tientsin where he left the men who had fought beside him, which was a luxury he did not have, and he envied them for it.

It never occurred to him that with power came sacrifice, such as living away from home for weeks and months at a time while his children grew without him. He
’d been in China almost ten years. When he first arrived, his dreams had never reached this high, and he questioned if achieving more than he had wanted was a curse.

Unlike the men who worked for him, he had to be satisfied with a few days at home before he was off again dealing with challenges brought on by the turmoil in China. He was still rebuilding the mess he had
inherited from Horatio Lay, and he prayed he could turn it in to an efficient organization that one day would run itself like a well-oiled machine giving him more time at home. What a luxury it would be to sit down daily for supper with Ayaou and the children as his father had. They could talk, and he could ask Anna and Herbert what they had done that day.

Soon, he
’d be gone on another inspection tour. He couldn’t ignore the fact that he had three children, and the most challenging child was the Chinese Maritime Customs service, which he ruled as if he were a king.

Robert both celebrated and regretted making love to Ayaou that night. When he left in the morning,
he would be gone for weeks and hating every moment away from his family. He could have had other women, but there was only one he wanted. It was important for him that he be loyal to her.

While they were making love, he heard a creaking sound ou
tside the door and wondered if Guan-jiah was in the hall. The door was locked and there was no crack or hole to spy through. If his loyal servant was out there, all the eunuch could do was listen.

Long after Ayaou had fallen asleep, he stayed awak
e staring into the darkness comparing his feelings for Ayaou in 1855 to the way he felt now. He had changed. Although he still found her attractive and desirable, he didn’t lust after her as he once did.

What he enjo
yed more was the companionship and the things they shared. They spent their evenings talking about art, poems and books. Once a week on Sunday afternoon, they walked in one of the city’s imperial gardens. They went to operas where he spent more time watching her responses than watching the drama unfold on stage. When he wasn’t with her, he missed these moments.

The pain in his guts started to burn
again. Not wanting to wake her, he suppressed a groan and pressed against the spot where it hurt.

The next morning before he left, he said, “Guan-jiah, I’m counting on you to write and tell me everything that is happening to Ayaou and the children.” Robert handed his house manager a schedule of dates and locations. “When you said you wanted to be the adopted uncle for my children, we didn’t realize just what that would mean. You have to take my place when I am not here. Make sure Anna practices the violin and the piano daily. Do not neglect their language lessons. I want them to speak English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese perfectly.”

“
I will write often,” the eunuch replied. “If Anna loses a tooth, you will read about it.”

“
Thank you.” He put a hand on the eunuch’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here, Guan-jiah. With you watching the children, I’m sure they will become fine, upstanding individuals even if their father is absent.”

Guan-jiah blushed and stared at the floor. The paper with the list of locations and dates slipped from his fingers and fluttered away like a butterfly. He scrambled after it.
“Sorry, Master.”

He did not like
it when Guan-jiah called him master. He had tried to stop that, but this time he didn’t say a word.

In October, Robert ate lunch at his Shanghai house with Major General Brown, the commanding general of the British troops in Hong Kong.

“
Have you heard about Charles Gordon?” the general asked.

Robert sipped Spanish sherry.
“Yes,” he said, putting the glass down. “One of my people mentioned that he fought in the second opium war. He also took command of
The
Ever Victorious Army
soon after Ward died at the battle of Tzeki. I’ve heard he has been defeating the Taipings.”

“
You do keep up with events, don’t you?” General Brown said. “You are as sharp as they say. Gordon is doing an excellent job.”

“
I don’t know much about Gordon beyond what I’ve heard,” Robert said. “I know that he took part in the destruction of the Summer Palace outside Peking. What else was he involved in?”

“
He fought under Staveley around Shanghai when they drove the Taipings from the city.”

“
If Gordon took part in the destruction of the Summer Palace, I wonder how he gained the command of
The Ever Victorious Army
.”

General Brown snorted
and then laughed. “That is a complicated and ironic story. The Chinese were not happy with Ward’s first replacement and the governor of Jiangsu province asked Staveley to appoint a British officer to take command. I don’t think the Ch’ing Dynasty knows Gordon blew up most of their precious Summer Palace.”

“
The Dynasty must have been impressed with how Staveley handled the Taipings outside Shanghai to ask for his advice.” Robert picked up a knife and cut into the roast chicken on his plate. He took another sip of sherry.

The general nodded.
“Gordon held the rank of major when he took command of that army. He immediately marched his troops forty miles northwest of Shanghai to drive the Taipings from the town of Chansu. He did such an admirable job that he won the respect of his men. Under Ward, they weren’t much better than an unruly mob. Gordon trained them and created a disciplined, military force.”

Robert signaled a servant to refill the General
’s wineglass and bring out the plum pudding. When the servant refilled the glasses, the general took another sip. “Excellent sherry,” he said.

“
I’m glad you approve. I have several cases. Take one when you return to Hong Kong.”

“
Thank you kindly.”

“
How has Gordon done since Chansu?” Robert asked.

The General finished chewing a mouthful of chicken. He sp
eared a piece of boiled potato dripping with butter. After he chewed and swallowed, he wiped his mouth. “After Chansu, he captured Kunshan, but it cost his army heavy casualties. He’s there now bringing his forces back to strength before joining Li Hung-chang’s army to take the city of Soochow from the Taipings.”

“
Li Hung-chang and I worked together once,” Robert said. “I rely on him to verify information I’m gathering from my custom’s offices about what’s going on in China. He has an excellent spy network.”

“
Why don’t you join me tomorrow? Gordon sent one of his gunboats, the
Firefly
, to bring me to see what he is up to.”

“
I’d love to see what Gordon has done with this army,” Robert said. “I fought under Ward soon after I arrived in China. He made me an officer in command of men.”

“
You fought in Ward’s army?” the General said, surprised. “I didn’t know that. How did that go?”

“
I only fought in one battle. Ward blundered and it almost cost my life.”

“
I’m not surprised. Ward made mistakes on the battlefield. He was a man without fear, but he lacked common sense. On the other hand, you will be impressed with Gordon. He has built a fortress at Kunshan. When we sail tomorrow, I want to hear more about your adventures with Ward during the trip.”

“
I would not call it an adventure. More like a tragedy.”

That night rebels boarded the
Firefly
as she lay at her moorings, and the gunboat was burned and sunk. The boat’s engineers vanished. The trip to meet Gordon did not take place, and General Brown returned to Hong Kong. Robert’s friend, Li Hung-chang and Charles Gordon joined forces in December 1863 to take the city of Soochow.

Another crisis was about to threaten the Ch
’ing Dynasty.

Prince Kung called Robert to his palace early in March 1864. The messenger didn’t tell Robert the reason except that it was serious.

He knew what such meetings usually meant.
Our Hart
was the man to call when a crisis appeared others could not solve. He assumed that this was another such challenge.

The meeting took place in Kung
’s garden. It was a fairy tale scene with trees full of birds and ponds stocked with brightly colored carp flashing about under the surface of the reflecting water. It was hard to remember that outside the tall walls surrounding this lush palace there was so much danger and suffering.

“
An incident has taken place between Charles Gordon and Li Hung-chang,” Kung said. “It could put the Dynasty in a position of risk that may lead to defeat by the Longhaired Bandits.”

“
What kind of incident?” Robert asked.

“
The generals had a disagreement, and Gordon does not trust Li. Gordon took his army and returned to his fortress in the Kunshan heights. The Dynasty wants you to solve this. Li and Gordon must join their armies and continue to defeat the Taipings.

“
We estimate the Taiping armies in central China number two million troops. However, they are in disarray. The Dynasty cannot risk letting these armies regroup. We feel that you are the only man capable of bringing Gordon and Li Hung-chang back together before it is too late.”

Li Hung-chang wasn
’t exactly Robert’s friend. When Li was in Peking, they often ate a simple breakfast together of rice porridge with yams. They had come to rely on each other and shared information. It was more of a business relationship.

Li was the head of the imperial army called
Huai
from the Northern Yangtze River provinces. The
Huai
was known in China for its toughness. Gordon and Li working together had proved invincible.

The Taipings were retreating, as they had never done. The r
ebellion had killed millions on both sides. Robert thought it ironic that the leader of the Taipings, Hong Xiuquan, had named his realm the
Kingdom of Heavenly Peace
. “What are the details that caused this distrust?” he asked.

“
The fracture between Li and Gordon took place during the battle for the city of Soochow,” the prince said. “Weeks went by and they couldn’t break through the thick walls. Deciding that another strategy might work better, they agreed to use a secret agent inside the city and sent a message to King Nah, one of the two Taiping leaders. They asked him to organize a coup for money, control of half the city of Soochow and an imperial title.

“
The deal was made and ten days later King Nah murdered his partner King Mu. Nah opened the gates and surrendered Soochow to Li and Gordon’s combined armies.”

“
A brilliant move,” Robert said. “I don’t understand how that caused a problem between Gordon and Li.”

“
I will explain,” Kung replied. “Gordon was responsible for making this deal with King Nah. Before the coup, Gordon had secretly met King Nah and had given him his word that Nah would be safe. However, on the second day of the Soochow occupation, Li ordered King Nah and eight Taiping generals beheaded.”