The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  She-she was right. At dawn the following morning the British ships steamed back to the scene of the previous day’s action. This time they operated as a fleet and their gunfire was devastating. Not only did they destroy the gun battery that had fired on them, but the other batteries too.

  The Taiping casualties were heavy and when the British warships sailed away, the junks of the Imperial navy took advantage of the situation. No longer threatened by the Taiping batteries they sailed in close to the shore and pounded the suburbs of Nanking, their shells falling among the crowded houses that huddled against the city wall. The Taipings had paid a high price for the over-enthusiasm of one of their gunners.

  Prince Chang and his two escorting regiments left Nanking in a blaze of coloured uniforms to the accompaniment of drums, gongs and voices, all providing a great cacophony of sound. There were more than five thousand soldiers in his small army, half of them women. Marching ten abreast the men’s regiment marched ahead of Prince Chang and his retainers, with women soldiers forming the rearguard.

  Each regiment carried the flags of its sergeants, lieutenants, captains and colonel. They fluttered above the marching men and women giving a carnival atmosphere to the mile-long parade. At intervals among the ranks of the marching army rode the officers, men and women, mounted on wiry little Manchu ponies.

  Two hundred Taiping cavalrymen rode ahead of the main body. Their duty was to prevent a surprise attack by roving Imperial units. The lands through which they would travel were in the hands of the Taiping rebels, but their hold was a tenuous one. Possession was claimed by those on the spot.

  The mounted vanguard also appraised villagers along the route of the approach of Prince Chang. The villagers were expected to prepare food for the whole army and, if necessary, provide accommodation for the prince and his senior officers.

  The distance between Nanking and Wuhu was no more than eighty miles and the journey was expected to take the army five days. For the first part of the journey it was necessary to keep away from the river where the junks of the Imperial navy were gathered in considerable force. Farther upstream the danger fell away. The great river split into a number of channels for some miles. The channels with the deepest water were narrow and ran close to the southern bank, which was occupied by Taiping rebels. The Imperial navy would not run the gauntlet of the rebels’ ancient but frequently accurate cannons.

  Twice along the route the Taiping column came under attack from the Imperial army. The first incident was little more than a skirmish. A barrier had been thrown up across the road, manned by no more than three hundred Imperial bannermen. It was a foolhardy attempt to delay Taiping progress and the bannermen paid for such impudence with their lives. Those who survived the initial onslaught of the Taiping cavalrymen were rounded up by infantrymen and promptly beheaded.

  She-she was horrified at the summary execution of the Imperial soldiers, apparently without any reference to senior officers. She begged Su-san to ask Chang to spare their lives, but Su-san refused to intervene.

  ‘Once I might have done so,’ she explained. ‘But when we lost a battle against the Emperor’s soldiers at Wuchang, the women of the Taiping regiments were so badly treated they would have welcomed instant execution. Since then we have given no quarter to soldiers of the Imperial army.’

  Not all the Imperial soldiers died stoically. She-she rode to the rear of the column, hoping to escape their screams and hysterical pleas for mercy. Had she not done so the executed bannermen might have been swiftly avenged.

  The attention of the Taiping soldiers, men and women, was focussed upon watching the enemy die. They were not guarding against a surprise attack as they should have been. A belt of trees hid a valley that extended inland at right angles to the line of march. She-she was riding towards the trees when she glimpsed a splash of colour among them.

  Such colour was out of keeping with its surroundings. Reining in her pony, she stared into the shadows cast by the trees. At first the only movement seemed to be that of the undergrowth beneath the trees. Suddenly She-she realised it was not undergrowth, but the movement of men. Thousands of men, carrying green banners that merged with the trees. The barrier had been a diversion. The bannermen had been deliberately sacrificed in an attempt to lull the Taiping soldiers into a false sense of victory.

  She-she wheeled her pony and galloped back to the column, crying out for the Taipings to turn and face the new and far more dangerous threat of the soldiers advancing through the trees.

  She was only just in time. As Su-san spurred her horse through the ranks of confused women warriors, the bannermen broke free of the trees.

  Now, for the first time, She-she experienced all the horrors of a pitched battle involving thousands of men and women – and it was a close-fought engagement.

  When the Imperial bannermen realised they were faced by a regiment of women, they howled their delight. Victory was assuredly theirs. Once it had been secured they would enjoy the women before their bodies became separated from their heads. It would be a victory that would be told and retold around countless campfires for generations to come – and it would lose nothing in the telling. Those who were here today would be hailed as heroes, envied by their sons and grandsons. Or so they believed.

  Disillusionment was not long in coming to the bannerman warriors of the Chinese Emperor. The first shock came when the women of Su-san’s regiment failed to break formation and flee before the charging bannermen. Only a few of them were armed with modern weapons, but their muskets were discharged with devastating effect. Then pikes and swords were brought into play to bring the charge of the bannermen to a shocked and bloody halt.

  Before they had recovered from the shock of such unexpected and stiff resistance, Su-san called on the women to counter-attack.

  The response was instantaneous. Shrieking shrill defiance, the women counter-attacked with pike and sword, musket and bayonet.

  Their sheer ferocity threw the bannermen into astonished disarray. Even before the regiment of Taiping men ran to the aid of their sisters, the bannermen were in confused retreat.

  The retreat quickly became a rout and She-she found herself caught up in the pursuit.

  Kau-lin was in the forefront of the women, her sword rising and falling among the fleeing bannermen. She-she rode beside her, caught up in an orgy of killing. It did not cease when they had overtaken the bannermen. She looked back to see the slaughter being completed by the men of their fellow regiment.

  Suddenly, She-she began shaking uncontrollably. In a sudden fit of revulsion she threw her sword away, into the seething mass of men and women locked in furious battle all around her.

  She-she felt her stomach rise to meet her gullet and with the battle still raging all about her she was sick. Sick as she had never been before. Her revulsion at the bloodshed she was witnessing did not come to an end until Su-san was carried into view nearby.

  The commander of the women’s regiment had been seriously wounded by a pike that had passed through her chest and come out immediately beneath her right shoulder.

  Chapter 8

  THE MEN OF the Taiping regiment were jubilant at their victory over the Imperial bannermen. The celebrations of the women were more muted due to the serious wound sustained by their popular commanding officer.

  In addition to Su-san, another twenty-seven women had received serious wounds and thirty-five had been killed. In view of the numbers involved in the fighting the casualties were light, but it was a close-knit regiment and many of their number had been together for a long time.

  The wounds were also likely to prove fatal because there were no doctors with the party. It was still being debated whether they should carry the wounded women with them to Wuhu, or return them to Nanking, when the sound of a ship’s engine reached them. Minutes later three of the British naval vessels came into view from behind one of the many tree islands that dotted the river.

  A white flag waved vigorously at the water’s edge brought
the ships to a churning halt. As they edged in close to the shore a shouted conversation was carried on between Prince Chang and the officers and diplomats who crowded the deck of H.M.S. Furious.

  In reply to a question from the commanding officer of the Furious, Chang requested the services of a doctor for his wounded.

  ‘How were they hurt?’ The question came from Lord Elgin, who stood at the rails, flanked by some members of his large staff.

  ‘We were attacked by Chinese bannermen.’

  ‘Then we are unable to help you. We have agreed to remain neutral in your war with the Emperor.’

  ‘Most of our wounded are women. Unless you help they will die.’

  The information caused a stir upon the warship. The bulk of the women’s regiment had been sent to make a camp well back from the river, among some trees. Although Kau-lin and She-she were with Chang, they were dressed in padded coats and hats that made them as shapeless as their long-haired male counterparts.

  After some discussion on board the warship, the captain said, ‘I’m edging in to the bank. My doctor will come ashore. Do not try to board the ship without permission or you will be shot.’

  Chang had not held his exalted title for long, but it was long enough for him to resent being given orders. She-she saw his lips narrow, but all he said was, ‘Thank you. You are very kind.’

  The doctor was a young man with an athletic build. He jumped from the boat to the bank when there was still eight feet of water between them.

  It took him only a few minutes to ascertain that Chang had not exaggerated the condition of the wounded women.

  Calling to the titled diplomat on board the Furious, he said, ‘He was telling the truth, my Lord. Some of the women are so badly wounded I can do little here. Cruizer has more facilities than Furious for dealing with casualties.’

  Tactfully, he did not point out that this was because the Furious was over-crowded with Lord Elgin and the staff he had brought along for the river voyage.

  ‘Cruizer should be along in an hour or two. If you care to go on, I’ll have the wounded taken on board and conveyed to Nanking. It’s the least we can do, my Lord, for humanitarian reasons.’

  He spoke hurriedly, aware of the disapproving frown on the face of Lord Elgin and more than one of his entourage. ‘Most of the women will surely die if any attempt is made to move them overland.’

  There was another flurry of conversation during the course of which as many heads were shaken disapprovingly as were nodded.

  Eventually, Lord Elgin asked, ‘Is this your considered professional opinion, Doctor Latham?’

  ‘It is, my Lord.’

  ‘Very well, you may remain with the women until Cruizer comes up. If the surgeon on board agrees with you the women may be conveyed to Nanking. We will anchor there and try to persuade the Taipings to prepare for your arrival. Waste no time on the way. My invitation to go to Peking is probably awaiting me at Shanghai.’

  Once again there was considerable shaking of heads among the diplomatic staff on board the warship, but Lord Elgin had made his decision. Moments later the Furious steamed off, a heightening wave curling back from the upright bow as the ship gathered speed.

  It was four hours before H.M.S. Cruizer reached the spot where the doctor waited. The warship had suffered a delay caused by running aground on a mud bank. The ship had a slightly deeper draught than the Furious and the captain grumbled about having to manoeuvre his vessel alongside the bank where a plumb-line showed the depth to be exactly the same as the water drawn by the warship.

  However, the ship did not run aground on this occasion and the women were carried on board with great gentleness by the sailors. Although battle-hardened fighting men, they were distressed to see such wounds as the women had.

  On shore, Chang said to Kau-lin, ‘It needs someone with them who speaks English. You had better go.’

  ‘No!’ She-she said quickly. ‘The only reason we’re here at all is because Kau-lin wants to meet up with her brother. Anyway, she’ll be more use to you than I will. I’ve seen enough fighting today to know I was never meant to be a soldier.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s the reason you want to return to Nanking? It’s not because you wish to put off making a decision about marrying me?’

  ‘I have told you, today has given me enough soldiering to last a lifetime.’

  It was partly true. She-she was putting off nothing. She had already made up her mind that she would not marry Chang. But this was not the time to tell him.

  ‘Then I will approve your decision. I am not in favour of women pretending to be men and fighting as soldiers. We will speak again when I return to Nanking. Now I will write an authorisation for you to take the wounded women to Nanking. It will allow the doctor and as many men as he needs to enter the city.’

  There was a senior naval surgeon on board H.M.S. Cruizer. Even as the wounded women boarded the vessel he was having one of the mess-decks usually occupied by sailors converted into a hospital to accommodate them.

  For two hours She-she was kept busy following the doctors around, interpreting their questions into Chinese for the women, then repeating the answers in English.

  Two of the women needed to have limbs amputated, operations that She-she helped with, although the sight of so much blood caused her stomach to churn.

  Shortly before dusk, the engines of the warship slowed and there was a bump as another vessel came alongside. When the engines picked up speed once more, a sailor came to the mess-deck hospital and began to light a number of lanterns. However, it was still fairly dark when She-she became aware of a figure standing nearby.

  She was comforting one of the women whose arm had recently been amputated and did not look up until a voice said quietly, ‘My prayers have been answered at last, She-she. I was beginning to despair that we would ever meet again.’

  She-she gasped. As she swung around disbelief changed to uninhibited delight.

  Standing before her, the crimson sash she had made for him slung over one shoulder, was Kernow!

  Had Kernow and She-she not been standing in the shadows, his career prospects might have come to an abrupt end right there and then. As the long months fell away She-she began shaking, but when he held out his arms to her she came to him.

  The embrace halted her trembling, but it lasted for moments only. The sudden screaming of one of the girls as she was operated on reminded them where they were and they drew apart.

  ‘I thought you were dead for such a long time,’ said She-she. She searched her mind for something to say that would tell him how she felt at being with him once more, but the words would not come. Not here.

  ‘Didn’t Chang tell you I was alive?’

  ‘Not until we were on our way to the Taipings. I was very unhappy.’

  ‘I have more news for you. I’ve met your father – and one of your sisters too.’

  She-she’s exclamation of delight was so loud that the surgeon turned around to look in their direction.

  ‘How is he? And which sister?’

  ‘Who’s that. A marine? What are you doing here, sir?’

  Surreptitiously placing in her hand the pendant given to him by Hauming, Kernow said to She-she, ‘The one who wore this. We’ll talk later.’

  Replying to the surgeon he said, ‘I’ve been sent by the admiral to act as an official interpreter.’

  ‘Why? The girl’s doing very well – and she’s a damned sight more attractive.’

  ‘I agree, sir, but those are my orders from the admiral.’

  ‘Very well, but make yourself useful, sir. If you help to hold this young lady down we’ll get our task done a lot more quickly. Now where did I put that saw … Attendant, get some more lanterns in here. Immediately!’

  Chapter 9

  THE VOYAGE DOWNRIVER to Nanking took the British warship Cruizer a mere twenty-four hours. It was far too brief a period for Kernow and She-she but they managed to spend much of the time together.

  I
t was accepted by the two surgeons that She-she would stay awake with her fellow Chinese women. Some of them were very badly hurt and needed almost constant attention. Kernow was allowed to remain with her because he too spoke Chinese and could understand their needs. He was also available to warn off any inquisitive sailor.

  For many of the dark hours She-she and Kernow sat across a small table from each other in a shadowy corner of the dimly lit improvised hospital. Occasionally their hands touched but Kernow ached to hold her as he had all too briefly in the past.

  During the night they managed to narrow the yawning gap of the past year. There were tears from She-she when he spoke of her father’s concern for her, and smiles at the sauciness of her young sister.

  Not until the Chinese dawn outshone the light from the lanterns did the conversation move on to the present and their futures.

  ‘What will you do now, She-she?’

  ‘Remain at Nanking. What else can I do?’

  ‘Come to Shanghai. It won’t be easy, but I’ll persuade Lord Elgin to allow you to continue your journey downriver.’

  ‘What would I do in Shanghai, Kernow? Will you be there too?’

  Reluctantly, he admitted he would not. ‘My base is still Hong Kong – but I doubt if I’ll be spending much time there either. Events are moving fast in China, She-she. The most far-reaching changes your country has ever known are happening around us. The great ports are to be opened up to trade. But if you come to Shanghai I’m sure I can arrange for you to stay at one of the missions.’

  She-she shook her head sadly. ‘It cannot be. At Shanghai I would be made to live within the walled city, or in the French Concession where you would be noticed coming and going. We would neither of us be happy about that.’

  ‘Well, Hong Kong then. I’ll find a place for us there.’

  She-she shook her head unhappily. ‘Kernow! What would I do in Hong Kong? I could live with you while you were there, perhaps. Although if the missionaries found out they would have you sent elsewhere, never to return. And what would I do while you were away, perhaps for many years? I would always be tormented with the thought that you might never return to me – and I would never know!’