“She sounds interesting, and your father might well enjoy her company for an evening. Has she said where in Germany her home is and who are her family?”
“Why, Magnus?”
He smiled and said he had a suspicious mind. She should invite the dear lady, and he would just send a cable to Captain Hawkins the while.
Hawkins answered within the day - he knew of no such countess, the family a mystery to him, not to be found in the more obvious reference books. Please to forward him a description of the mysterious lady and by all means dine her and encourage her to talk. He would send enquiries to London for them to pass onto the people in Berlin, but that process must take some weeks.
“It would seem possible that the dear lady is successor to Baron Hildesheim, Ellen. Do encourage your father to get to know her. Captain Hawkins will be much in favour of keeping in close contact with the dear soul.”
“Should she not be kept at a safe distance, Magnus?”
“No, not at all. Let her make your father’s friendship and then he can feed her false information if the need arises. He will also gain some idea of her contacts – always useful to know who the conduits of information are.”
“It seems duplicitous in the extreme, Magnus, to cultivate the lady with the intent of letting her betray herself. What if she is no more than she seems?”
“Carrying a probably false title, my love? I have my doubts. She might be no more than an adventuress, seeking a rich husband in a far distant land. Foolish if she is, for the telegraph can now allow enquiries to be made all around the world in a matter of days. The odds are that she is an agent of the German government – though she might be an agent provocateur, in the employ of Russia or France with the aim of embarrassing the Germans in the eyes of the British.”
This seemed particularly wicked to Ellen. She could not imagine that governments might stoop so low. Magnus assured her that they could, very easily.
“Not the political figures themselves, but their officials, acting on their behalf and knowing that the ends justify the means. Dishonesty is their stock in trade – ‘my country, right or wrong’, you know.”
She shook her head.
“Doctor Johnson said that patriotism was the last refuge of scoundrels.”
“He was wrong, Ellen – it seems to me that increasingly it is the first refuge.”
She was saddened – the world was not the simple, honest place it had seemed to her as a girl.
“Will the young lieutenants be here for Christmas, Magnus?”
“Only three weeks away… Yes, that can, and should, be arranged. Far from Home as they are, they should enjoy the festivities in the city.”
The dinner party was, of course, a success. Their chefs were able in both Chinese and English cookery and excelled in French cuisine; the combination suited every taste.
The wines were adequate – it was impossible that they should be more in Shanghai, having to be transported many thousands of miles to reach the table. The port was rather poor but was augmented by a palatable decanter from South Africa, a Madeira of sorts. Cognac followed and was of the best, suffering not at all from travelling. The men pronounced themselves well fed and the ladies were happy that their spouses would not be disappointed after the event.
Conversation at table had been limited – the normal colonial problem that news was stale and infrequent and secrets were ill-kept in their own small community – they were limited for scandal. The health of the Queen-Empress was a major topic, the feeling being that she was, unsurprisingly in decline.
The Jardine clan were united in deploring the prospect of the Prince of Wales finally becoming king.
“Won’t even keep his own name, Albert, but must be called Edward when he ascends the throne. Not a good name – been some unlucky Edwards in the past.”
There was a mutter of agreement and a feeling that changing his name might be the least of his sins.
The Countess Schoenberg ventured to be surprised that they might disapprove of their royalty.
“In Germany, all must show loyal to the Kaiser and accept his wisdom as their ruler.”
Magnus leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
“Our kings and queens no longer rule, ma’am. They can indeed give very few orders and none of great importance. They have influence, and few people of courtesy will wish to gainsay them, but the power in the land lies in the hands of the Houses of Parliament. The Prime Minister of the day, and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, will set out policy and will not expect to be checked by a mere monarch.”
She was quite amazed, wondered that the men of birth and breeding should tolerate such a thing.
“Many of them do not like it, ma’am – but power resides with wealth and the House of Lords is no longer representative of the riches of Britain.”
There was a general agreement with that statement. Magnus was the sole representative of the titled in the room and, apart from the naval lieutenants, he was by a long way the poorest man there.
“It is not the way of things in Vienna, my lord.”
Not Berlin, he noted – she was Austro-Hungarian, and therefore of little significance. The Habsburg Empire was in decline and could be ignored in the politics of Europe. In the end the Austro-Hungarians would be obedient to the Kaiser – no independence of policy there.
That brought the question of what she was doing in Shanghai. The Dual Monarchy had little to say in China, which was a state of affairs to be encouraged… Possibly, she might be working for Berlin, using her own nationality as a cover to deflect interest in her.
Not to worry, no doubt she would do no great harm.
Conversation in the drawing room ranged wider, considering the state of affairs in Peking.
“We hear there is to be a Peace Treaty with the Qing.”
Jardines tended to be in favour of Peace, provided it was properly organised.
“With a massive indemnity to be paid over many years, I do not doubt, Sir Charles. I expect the Qing will be forced to allow the foreigners to trade where they wish and in whatever goods they fancy. Unchecked Russian influence over Mongolia. The Japanese to have a free hand in Formosa and to expand in Korea. The rest of us, greater independence from Chinese law and officialdom, or so I suppose.”
Blantyre agreed.
“Japan and Russia to come closer to butting heads, no doubt, my lord.”
“It must come, I think, sir. The Japanese have had the opportunity to assess the fighting capacity of Russia – and that will encourage them to go to war, I do not doubt.”
Eyebrows raised among those present, all of whom had understood that the Russian Bear was a great military power.
“Are you to say that you were unimpressed by the Russian forces, my lord?”
“Poorly led, sir. Their officers were not distinguished by even the most basic military proficiency. Lazy men and too often leading from the rear. Their ships were mostly slovenly. The Japanese, on the other hand, showed a most remarkable degree of smartness and willingness to fight. Their officers were to be seen at the head of their men and to take any risk to carry out their orders. It seemed to me that the officers would always accept death rather than defeat. The gate at Tientsin provides an example – the Japanese lost more than half of their men to put explosive charges in place and could not set a fuse, so one of their young gentlemen placed a fiery torch to the guncotton, at arm’s-length.”
“But… Lord Eskdale! Could he survive such a wild endeavour?”
“No, ma’am. He was, as he knew must happen, blown to pieces. The gates fell open and the Japanese made entrance to the city.”
“Insane bravery! You say that is common among the Japanese, my lord?”
“It was not the sole example of suicidal courage, ma’am – and the Japanese regarded such conduct as admirable, but not exceptional.”
There was a concerted shaking of heads – such men were unstoppable in battle, it might seem.
“You are of
the opinion, Lord Eskdale, that the Japanese might well defeat the Russians if it came to war?”
Magnus bowed in his chair.
“I am, sir. I would go further and say that the Japanese might well seek such a war having had the opportunity to assess the Russians in action.”
The heads nodded and the leaders of the largest hongs in Shanghai reassessed their trading policies for the next years.
“Less exposure to Russia and more to Japan, it would seem, my lord.”
“It is possible that there will be a formal alliance signed between Britain and Japan, sir. Sir Claude is translated from Peking, to become ambassador in Tokyo. I believe he will be much inclined to encourage a British trading presence in Japan.”
The party broke up, Blantyre remaining behind for a few minutes.
“Your armed launches, my lord.”
“Ah, yes, sir – what have you discovered of them?”
“They were commissioned by Jardines in conjunction with Butterfields and the crews were initially paid by them. They were transferred to the Harbourmaster’s office only last year and now are paid for by the Harbour Board. “
“Where does the Harbour Board get its money, sir?”
“Harbour dues. Each steamer that docks pays a fee for pilotage – though there are no pilots as such at Shanghai. The Board has a surplus of cash, sufficient to pay for the boats and guns and crews.”
“I presume the Harbour Board is an office of the Qing?”
“No. British Concession, my lord. Effectively, the Harbour Board must report to the Municipal Council, except that it does not. The members of the Board include representatives of all of the major traders in Shanghai.”
“So… let me see if I have this right. The launches were provided by the great hongs and are now controlled by them, at one stage removed?”
“Precisely. The Senior Naval Officer Shanghai has a degree of authority over the Board, especially in time of war or unrest. But, were there to be, for example, a strike at the wharfside, the Board would probably wish to make use of the launches and I doubt that the Navy could stop them.”
“In effect, I have control of the launches as long as I don’t give them orders they don’t wish to carry out.”
“Exactly, my lord.”
“China never changes, does it? At least I know where I stand. What of the crews, sir?”
“Retired Royal Naval petty officers – not young men and earning a very respectable wage which they will not willingly surrender. The four men each being loyal to their previous employers – who might in fact still be their current masters. They are distanced from the hongs but are still wholly obedient to them, my lord. Should there be unrest at dockside, then the launches will take whatever measures they consider necessary to reduce the trouble.”
Magnus was not best pleased.
“You say in effect, sir, that the action will benefit the hongs while the source of the orders will be seen to be from me, as I apparently have command of the launches.”
“It is China, my lord. I do not doubt that you will be protected financially even though your reputation might suffer.”
“China giveth and China also taketh away. Blessed be the name of China!”
Ellen protested such blasphemy. Blantyre was inclined to be amused.
“It may not do your naval career a deal of good, my lord. You will certainly find yourself with your feet on the path of a most profitable commercial or political career in its place. I am afraid that the price of success in China can be high. Your service here has been marked by its success.”
“And now I may have the price to pay.”
“It is not a certainty. We do not know that there will be unrest on the Bund in the coming two or three years.”
Blantyre was right, of course. Magnus accepted all he said.
“If I am to appear to be the master of the launches, I must be seen to inspect them. I shall speak to the Harbourmaster and make the arrangements.”
A week later saw Magnus standing on a pontoon, looking down on six smart boats.
They were twenty foot sampans, he saw, each with a small petrol motor and a mechanic wearing a blue uniform, very neat and tidy. The hulls themselves were white painted and clean, very different to the ordinary run of river boats. Each had a deckhouse, no more than a shade from the sun and rain but with a small arms locker inside. The bows had a half-deck with a Maxim mounted and space for two men to stand, gunner and loader shoulder to shoulder. A single deckhand stood in the stern, hand on the tiller, while the master, the sole gwailo, leaned on the rail to his side.
Magnus nodded his approval.
“A smart turn out. You keep your boats in good order. You are officially under my command and if the need arises may come to me with any problems or requests. As far as I am concerned, I may need to call on you for assistance with the keeping of law and order along the Bund. You will not be sent out of Shanghai other than in the event of a war. I do not expect another war in China for a good few years.”
There were mutters in Pidgin as the six naval men translated for their hands. The Chinese bowed in response, having heard all they wanted.
“Thank you for attending at my order. Dismissed to your ordinary duties now.”
Magnus had not asked what they did all day, every day. He suspected it was none of his business. He returned to Lapwing in thoughtful mood.
“How are Lapwing’s boats armed, Mr Naylor?”
“Armed, sir? Well, fundamentally, as one might say, they are not. The crews would sometimes carry rifles, but that would be all. We no longer carry the old boat guns, sir.”
“They should have some means of protecting themselves, Mr Naylor. If they are sent away to examine a suspected gunrunner or slaver or outright pirate, it would be as well if they had something aboard.”
That was easily said but neither man could think of what that ‘something’ might be. The Navy would not supply Maxims for the purpose and there was no other practical, small machine gun. Available artillery was all far too large for the purpose.
“A rifle for each crewman is the sole sensible suggestion I can come up with, sir.”
“I am forced to agree with you, Mr Naylor. That and to keep the boats in close proximity. Never send a boat more than four cables from the ship so that it is under easy cover of the Maxims.”
They wrote out a standing order to that effect and circulated it to the flotilla, knowing that it would be forgotten when it seemed inconvenient.
“A week upriver and back, Mr Naylor, all five ships together. Brings us back to the Bund for the 20th of December, just convenient for Christmas.”
That was another excellent idea, Naylor thought.
It seemed to Magnus that Naylor regarded his every idea as excellent – flattering but valueless as a source of advice.
“I have never served on the Yangtse before, sir, or on any of the world’s great rivers. What precisely are we to do, sir?”
The flotilla had sailed upriver in line astern, all very smart, ensigns flying and guns uncovered and very visible. They had stopped no ships and visited no compounds on the way to Nanking and now were about to cast off and return to Shanghai.
“We are to exist, Mr Naylor. We fly the flag and acknowledge the salutes of our own merchant ships. Other than that, we have no function except to be ourselves, ready and willing to take action at a moment’s notice and hoping that the call will not come. The theory is, you see, Mr Naylor, that would-be pirates and slavers will see our presence and be deterred. Therefore, the fact that we are doing nothing, proves we are being most effective. If we have to take action, it will be because evildoers have not been deterred, which predicates failure on our part.”
Naylor remained silent for a while, no doubt digesting Magnus’ logic. Eventually he risked speech.
“We will be seen to be more successful the less we do, sir? If we do not catch criminals, it is because no crimes are being committed?”
“Precisely so
, Mr Naylor.”
“Does the Admiralty really believe that, sir?”
“Of course. It is a convenient belief and the Admiralty will never inconvenience itself.”
“But…”
“Exactly so, Mr Naylor. You will find that eventually we shall be informed of the existence of criminality on the River. We shall then act against it. One of the disadvantages of the Chinese insisting on speaking a foreign language – quite unnecessary, they would do so much better to use English – is that they cannot speak to us except through the services of an interpreter, rarely to be found on the River. As a result, they do not tell us what is happening. We presume, therefore, that nothing is happening as far as the bulk of Chinese are concerned. This, of course, is a very happy viewpoint, so we must not search to prove them wrong.”
“But we will occasionally be informed of trouble.”
“Yes, by Jardines or one of the other great hongs.”
Naylor remained silent for minutes of puzzled thought, eventually sought confirmation of his conclusions.
“Really, sir, you are saying that the Navy is subservient to the hongs. We do as the big firms bid us.”
“Yes, Mr Naylor. We will listen to the small firms and aid them as we can. If foreigners need assistance then we will provide it, as long as it makes sense to do so without jeopardising our own interests. If we are specifically and incontrovertibly ordered by the Admiralty, then we may run contrary to the interests of the hongs. We would do that solely in the possession of written and absolutely clear orders, which would have been forced on the Admiral from above him.”
“By the Governor, sir?”
“No. He would never thwart the hongs of his own volition. Such an order would come from London, probably from Downing Street. The hongs generate a huge income, a portion of which enters the Treasury and another part the pockets of the statesmen, so-called, of Westminster. Some amount goes as dividends to shareholders who are also Ministers of the Crown; a smaller sum – but still many thousands - is paid out as fees for services to the London offices of the hongs.”
04 Peking Nightmares (The Earl’s Other Son Series, #4) Page 21
