My Splendid Concubine (93 page)

The two generals had stopped talking and were watching him. “Is there something wrong, Robert?” Gordon asked. “You look like you just saw God.”

“
I’m going to have another child,” he replied.

“
Great news,” Li said. “May it be a son to carry on your family name.”

“
This calls for a drink.” Gordon slapped Robert on the back. “I happen to have some French brandy.”

The three men spent the night drinking jasmine tea and sipping brandy while toasting the fact that Robert was going to have a new addition to his family. Li took out an ink brush, had an aide grind some ink and bring rice paper. He painted Robert a picture of a peach tree with five birds in it.

Gordon commented on the delicacy of the strokes that portrayed the birds and the boldness of the lines that denoted the strength of the branch. That surprised Robert. It seemed that Gordon had a better grasp of Chinese art and what it meant than he had let on.

“
This painting should bring you luck, Robert,” Gordon said. “It looks like your family stands on a strong foundation. That means one-day your young birds will take wing and leave the nest, like you left Ireland.”

“
Precisely,” Li said.

“Ayaou,” Robert wrote in a letter a few days later, “the crisis was resolved. Gordon and Li have mended their differences and are cooperating again to end the Taiping rebellion. Gordon has returned to the Kunshan Heights to lead his Victory Army into battle against the Taipings.

“
I stayed with Li to find a decent translator for Gordon. It turns out that the translator they relied on for communications botched the job and created the crisis. I have offered the job to an interpreter I trained. You may remember him. He was the young Englishman named Hobson that I brought to dinner one night. I told you I saw a shadow of myself in him.

“
It wasn’t as easy as I make it sound. At first, Gordon didn’t want to let his old translator go. I had to tell him that his old translator was not good enough and that an inadequate translation might cause more difficulties in the future. Gordon eventually accepted my advice and took Hobson.”

In April, Li and Gordon’s armies worked together to trap the Taipings in Southern China, while Li’s mentor, General ‘Head Chopper’ Tseng Kuo-fan’s army approached the Taiping capital of Nanking from the north.

Satisfied that he had completed his job, Robert arranged to return home. However, while passing Changchow, where both Li and Go
rdon’s armies had gathered to deliver a major blow to the Taipings, he couldn’t resist their invitation to witness the battle.

“
Without you, this battle would never have taken place,” both Li and Gordon said.

Gordon assigned Robert a boat for his personal use and a squad of special men to protect him. That boat followed Gordon’s command vessel, and Robert had a clear view of the battle.

A few hours into the attac
k, Li sent people to fetch him, and he went ashore where Li was waiting. Together, they climbed a hill outside Changchow. From the hilltop, he had a grand view of the battlefield, an image he never forgot.

A tall, imposing medieval wall and a deep but dry moat su
rrounded Changchow. The defenders had burned all the bridges that spanned the moat. Outside the moat were trenches and wooden palisades to protect the assaulting armies from the defenders on the city walls.

The trenches reminded Robert of the spokes from a wagon wheel with the city as the hub of the wheel. However, it was an unfinished wheel. Some of the spokes and portions of the wheel represented by the wooden palisade were still being built.

Some of Li’s troops, several hundred in number, marched in formation toward the trenches, broke into what looked like ribbons as the individual lines went into the trenches to move closer to the city. A cannon fired and rebounded while its crew jumped away, then back to reload. The ball hit the city wall and chunks of granite flew.

A cannon replied from the city and the ball hit the wooden pal
isade that protected Li’s men near the front lines. Splinters flew, a man went down, and he writhed on the ground. It was too far away to hear the wounded man’s cries of pain, but Robert easily imagined the man’s mortal wound. A cheer sounded from the Taipings on the city’s wall.

Robert felt like Lemuel Gulliver in the land of Lilliput from Jon
athan Swift’s
Gulliver’s Travels
. Down in that valley, the Lilliputians, represented by Li and Gordon’s ant like armies, were taking the battle to their age-old foes, the Blefuscudans, represented by the flea like figures of the Taiping rebels on the walls of Changchow.

Unlike Gulliver, Ro
bert would not refuse to help, and he would not sail away. This fight in China differed from the feud between Catholics and Protestants. The fate of China was uncertain. The Taipings could not be allowed to win.

He left his perch on the hilltop and joined Li in the army
’s headquarters. The roar of a battery of cannons firing echoed off the hills.

“
Look at the battlefield,” Li said, pointing at the map. “It is so dark I can’t see to fight. It’s as if the map is obscured by fog.”

There was nothing dark about it. The inside of the hea
dquarters tent was filled with light, but Robert knew what Li meant. He was saying he didn’t know what to do to break the standoff. He was at a loss of how to proceed so they could take Changchow without great loss of life.

Li stepped aside to provide a better view of the map.
“If you were to shed light on this battle, it might help me see.”

Robert was stunned. Li was asking for his advice! He leaned over the map and studied the situation. Li had eight thousand men moving to tighten the encirclement of the city.

The only weak spot seemed near the city wall where Gordon’s army was struggling to break through. Then Robert remembered how Li’s men looked like ants marching in thin ant-like lines into their underground nests and saw the solution.

“
Contact Gordon and ask him to make a move that will divert the Tapings’ attention,” Robert said. “While Gordon is doing this, your men will dig a tunnel under the wall.”

“
You mean for us to enter the city through the tunnel?” Li asked.

“
Exactly. At first, this work must be done at night. You will cover some of your trenches with a roof and place dirt on top of that roof. That way, the defenders will not know what your men are doing. Gordon should attack from the other side of the city.

“
In fact, you should marshal most of your troops on that side of the city with your artillery so the Taipings will think that is where the assault is coming from. Meanwhile, your men will be on this side of the city digging day and night to tunnel under the moat and wall to get inside.”

Both Li and Gordon acted on Robert
’s suggestion. On May 11, 1864, the tunnel was completed. Gordon’s army went underground and took Changchow while Li’s army secured Soochow.

When Gordon and Li’s armies moved on in early June toward Nanking, Robert returned to Peking with news for Prince Kung that the Taipings’ defeat was assured.

He had been in the field for several months with Li and Gordon. His life had gained a new meaning and bringing Gordon and Li together was part of that changing picture. If his destiny was to play an important role in bringing harmony to China, then he was willing to pay the price even if that meant staying away from home months at a time.

At least, he was going home. Li and Gordon were not. They were marching off with their armies toward another battle and all the risk that entailed.

Chapter 59

After reaching Peking, Robert went to the Tsungli Yamen to report to Prince Kung.

“
Great news, Robert,” Kung said. “With Gordon and Li working together, the Longhaired Bandits are losing battles all across China.” He rummaged among the papers on his desk, pulled out one and waved it as if it were a flag.

“
This report arrived this morning from General Tseng Kuo-fan.” His voice went up an octave. “The Longhaired Bandits are in such a panic because of the defeat at Changchow, they have removed most of their armies from his path to Nanking and shifted the fight to Gordon and Li. The back door has been left open.” A rare smile creased his lips.

“
Tseng Kuo-fan’s army is moving toward the Bandit capital. Do you realize what that means? The Longhaired Bandits have panicked, and Head Chopper is going to deliver a killing blow. This could mean an end to the rebellion.”

He threw the report down and jumped to his feet.
“I am going to update the situation for the Empress Dowagers and the young emperor. I will request that you be rewarded.”

Before Robert could open his mouth to protest that he didn
’t deserve the praise, Prince Kung hurried to the door where he stopped briefly, and said, “Do not leave, I will be back.” Then the prince was gone.

He glanced at the reports scattered across the desk. In one of the reports, Li Hung-chang had praised Robert
’s contributions—not only for solving the dispute with Gordon, but also for the battle tactics that led to the fall of Changchow. A servant came with tea and preserved fruits.

An hour later, Prince Kung returned to the Tsungli
Yamen, and said, “Robert, before the year ends expect several honors and titles from the emperor no foreigner has been granted before. The imperial court also decided to display the silver and gold taels the Maritime Customs Service has contributed toward the cost of this war. This is a great honor and all China will learn of it.”

Not all the awards and the highest rank in China could di
spel Robert’s ache to be home with Ayaou and the children. When he was free, he hurried to his Peking mansion with the recently added eight-acre Inspectorate garden, which was another reward for his work.

Ayaou recei
ved him with her big belly looking as if she were carrying a large watermelon. Although she looked exhausted, she seemed in good spirits and in harmony with the world.

That night, he went to sleep thinking about how to tell her that
he’d decided to make her his wife. There had to be a way so she wouldn’t protest. After all, with what he had accomplished recently, this marriage would not cost him his future. The Ch’ing Dynasty wanted to please him.

In addition, his family and friends would have to deal with the r
eality that he had achieved great success and had a right to decide whom to marry. Besides, it didn’t look like he was going to be leaving China for some time. He doubted that he would ever find success like this elsewhere.

The next morning, he was in the kitchen eating a simple brea
kfast of rice porridge with yams. The baby had been in a kicking mood, so Ayaou had stayed in bed after a difficult night. “Guan-jiah, I’m going to marry Ayaou, but I want to do it on a lucky day. What do you suggest?”

“
I know the best date, Master,” Guan-jiah replied. “It is in August during ‘Qi Xi’, a festival for lovers. This is a most auspicious time to marry and will insure happiness and bring more children to fill this house with endless laughter.” The eunuch’s eyes sparkled. “I will take care of the details and arrange everything to perfection. That way, you will have beautiful memories to reflect on when you are both old. Anna will play the piano during the ceremony. She practices daily for hours, and this will give her a chance to show off what she has learned.”

Unfortunately, Robert’s job pulled him back into the Maritime Customs whirlpool. In China, it was easy to accept bribes and every man had a price if it could be found.

Less than a week after returning from Changchow, he was lea
ving again. With reluctance, he said goodbye to Ayaou and the children. He was tired. He never had enough sleep. Even in Peking, his workdays lasted twenty hours.

“
My love,” he said, taking her face between his hands, “I have no choice. Customs is like an infant, and I am the father. I have to deal with the growing pains and make sure it learns to walk properly.”

“
Customs is certainly a large baby,” she replied. “Since you have to travel all over China to wipe its ass and see to its feeding, you had better hurry so you can return home.” She was smiling when she said this, but she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes and voice.

He was tempted to tell her that they were going to be ma
rried soon. However, he decided to break the news when he was staying home instead of leaving. He held her for the longest time. “I want to be here with you,” he said. “It is lonely on the road, and I think of you often.”

At first, when he let go, her arms stayed around him as if she didn
’t want him to leave. “I am afraid I will never see you again,” she said in a trembling voice. Then she released her hold and stepped back.

Tears glittered in her eyes, and her lower lip trembled. He reached out to touch her chin and tilt her face toward him. He marveled at
how smooth and warm her skin felt. After he kissed her on the mouth, he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear. “You know that I would never abandon you or the children. You are my life and the reason I have become successful.”