China by Edward Rutherfurd (historical books to read TXT) 📕

All that remained was for the treaty to be formally ratified, when ambassadors from Britain, France, and America came to the Chinese capital the following summer.

—

And so it might have come to pass without further ado, had it not been for Lord Elgin’s younger brother, who, arriving as ambassador the following year, came with troops rather than tact, got embroiled in a dispute down at the forts, decided to barge through like the bully he was, and this time found that the Chinese had repaired the forts and learned to defend them better, and they gave him the drubbing he deserved and sent him packing. So all Lord Elgin’s work was brought to naught.

Can you believe it, my dear cousin? Poor Elgin was staying with the royal family at Balmoral when news of the catastrophe arrived. He’s mortified. What words he will say to his younger brother when they next meet doesn’t bear thinking about. He’s being asked to go back and sort out the mess. You may be sure he has no wish to go, but feels duty bound. I imagine he’ll set out in the new year. It’s possible that I may encounter him before he departs. If so, I’ll write you word of our meeting.

Yr affectionate cousin,

John Trader.

◦

On a February morning, in the year of Our Lord 1860, a single slim middle-aged Chinese man in a long robe might have been observed making his way swiftly up the lane from the waterfront towards the house of Cecil Whiteparish. There was nothing about him to attract attention. Nobody would have suspected that the plaited queue that hung from his hat down the center of his back was false, and that a few months ago the hair on his head, though grey, had been thick and free. In short, no one would have taken him for a Taiping warrior.

Nio hurried up the lane. Hong Kong was bigger than he’d expected, with building sites everywhere. Down at the dock, they’d given him directions to the missionary’s house, but twice he’d had to pause to ask the way.

He could hardly believe that he’d made it to the British island alive. Getting past the Manchu camps and patrols between Nanjing and the coast had been the hardest. He might have been killed or captured a dozen times. But it seemed the Heavenly King had been right when he’d assured him, “My Elder Brother, Jesus, has promised me: You are under divine protection.” And therefore the Heavenly King might also have been right when he ordered: “First, you must get the support of Cecil Whiteparish. He is the key to everything. He may be the man upon whom our entire future depends.”

Sometimes it had seemed to Nio that the Heavenly King, with his strange moods, when he’d hardly speak for days, and his religious visions, might be going a little mad. But there was nothing mad about the plan. The plan could work.

Nio had seen many things. Things that haunted him, things he’d like to forget. But if the plan worked, they might have been worthwhile.

—

Just before Cecil Whiteparish left his house, he kissed his wife. Minnie was pregnant again, with only two months to go before the baby was due. This would be their fourth.

He went to the door and opened it. A bright morning. Small white clouds scudded busily across a pale blue sky. He closed the door and was about to step into the lane when he saw the lone figure coming towards him. “Good Heavens,” said Cecil. There was no mistaking Nio. He hardly needed to notice the scar on his cheek.

—

The two men had been closeted together in the dining room for half an hour before Minnie Whiteparish made her appearance.

“Sit down, my dear,” said Cecil, “and let me tell you the remarkable news my friend here has brought. You remember how Daniel left last year, hoping to get to Nanjing?”

“How could I forget?”

“Well, not only did he reach Nanjing. It seems the only people the Taiping Heavenly King trusts now are his own family; so when his cousin and childhood companion turned up, he was overjoyed. He’s made our friend Hong his closest advisor.”

“I hope Daniel will be a good influence on him,” said Minnie calmly.

“That’s just the point,” replied Whiteparish. “It seems he put his plan into effect with notable success. He sends us assurances that the community at Nanjing is, if not perfect in every particular of doctrine and behavior, so hugely reformed that we should have no hesitation in pronouncing them Christian.”

“Does the Heavenly King still believe he is the brother of Christ?”

“Hong particularly sends me word that the king and the Taiping now believe themselves to be brothers and sisters in Christ, just as all good Christians do.”

“Let us hope so,” said his wife.

“I don’t think we need quibble too much on every point.”

“Has our visitor been to see Daniel’s poor wife and child? They’ve been waiting up at the mission here for a year without any word from him, not knowing if he is alive or dead.”

“He is going there directly, as soon as we have finished,” Cecil answered.

“I’ll leave you, then, so that you can conclude your business quickly,” said Minnie, with a nod to Nio as she withdrew.

Once she was gone, the two men resumed their conversation in Cantonese.

“You said when you arrived that you had come to me for help,” said Whiteparish. “What can I do for you?”

“I have a message for the British government’s highest representative. It is of greatest importance.”

“I see.” Whiteparish was thoughtful. “There’s no one really senior on Hong Kong at this moment. But someone’s probably on the way.”

“Whom do you think they will send?”

“Well…”—Whiteparish hesitated only a moment—“the word is that it’s Lord Elgin.”

“It will be Lord Elgin,” Nio said with certainty, though how he could know such a thing Cecil had no idea.

“Then you’d better wait and deliver your message to