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

his former master was delighted. “Splendid, my dear Jiang. He weakens our defenses. I shall put this knowledge to good use.”

The next day was worse.

“My report on former governor Lin is complete,” the marquis announced briskly as soon as Shi-Rong appeared. “But it needs to be organized and written up more elegantly. You have until tonight. Then it will be sent to the emperor by the express courier.”

All day, therefore, Shi-Rong labored at this miserable task. Was he helping to compose his mentor’s death warrant? Dare he alter any of it, soften a word here or there, point out that Lin was, in fact, following the emperor’s instructions? And what if it were discovered that he was the one responsible for such an impertinence? There were terrible stories of former emperors executing officials who submitted unwelcome reports. One of the Ming emperors had sawn a man in half for doing so.

It was just as well that he did not tamper with it, for at the end of the afternoon the marquis insisted upon reading the whole report in front of him. Apparently satisfied, he dismissed Shi-Rong for the evening.

But what should he do about informing Lin? His old master would surely want to know exactly what the charges against him were. He wondered whether to go to Lin’s lodgings under cover of darkness, but there were always people about in the salt merchants’ guildhall who’d see him. Even if the marquis wasn’t having him followed, he’d probably hear of the visit and guess. There was nothing to do but wait for a better opportunity.

So he was quite astonished the next morning when the marquis received him kindly, told him to sit down, and remarked: “These must have been disagreeable tasks for you, Jiang.”

Shi-Rong hesitated, saw the shrewdness in the Mongol nobleman’s eyes, and decided it was wiser to tell the truth. “Yes, Excellency.”

“And have you informed Lin of the contents of my report?”

“No, Excellency. I have not.”

“Not yet. But you will. You are aware, however, that apart from the charge that he mishandled the British, which led to all this trouble—a charge he knows all about anyway—I have accused him of nothing else. His honesty and efficiency are not questioned.”

“I noticed, and I am glad of that, Excellency.”

“Make a copy of the report and give it to Lin, when you next see him. With my compliments.”

“Excellency.” Shi-Rong, astonished, rose and bowed low.

“You must be furious about the patrol boats,” the marquis remarked cheerfully.

“You are aware that I built the patrols up, Excellency. It would be foolish to deny that it was painful for me to disband them.”

“An honest answer.” The marquis nodded. “And you probably think it’s a bad idea.”

“I’m sure Your Excellency did it for a reason.”

“I did. Sit down again.” The marquis gazed at him thoughtfully. “The emperor’s immediate object has been to remove the British barbarians from the vicinity of Beijing. After that, we must persuade them to give back the island of Chusan.” He paused a moment. “So ask yourself: How can we do it? I’m sure you know the ancient tactic known as loose rein.”

“If destroying your adversary is difficult, soothe him instead.”

“We have been using it for two thousand years, ever since the Han dynasty. It’s the same technique used to tame a wild animal. Control the barbarians with kindness. Give in to some of their demands, and make them want to be our friends. This is not weakness. It merely requires two qualities that the barbarians seldom possess: patience and intelligence.”

“Your strategy is to coax them to do what we want.”

“Lin affronted the British. We remove the affront. We’ve already persuaded them to sail most of their warships back to the gulf here. Your dragon boats harassed them, so we’ve removed the dragon boats, too. Soon we’ll offer them more concessions, in return for their vacating Chusan. They won’t get everything they want, of course, but they need to trade, and this operation is costing them money.” The marquis smiled. “Accommodation will be reached.”

—

A day later, the marquis had offered the British five million dollars for the opium they lost. A week after that, the marquis told Elliot: “Your queen will be recognized as a sovereign equal in status to the emperor, and her representatives treated as such.” And when Elliot demanded to be given Hong Kong, the marquis mildly stated: “I can’t promise that at this moment. But as our kingdoms become better friends, I could see the emperor giving it to you in the future. What he won’t do is give it to you while you occupy Chusan. You must admit, that wouldn’t be reasonable.”

All these things Shi-Rong discreetly reported to Lin. But one thing puzzled him, and finally he ventured to ask the marquis: “Are you sure, Excellency, that the emperor will actually grant the British these concessions?”

“The art of being a negotiator is not only to persuade your adversary to see your master’s point of view,” the marquis explained. “It may also be to persuade your master to be reasonable. If I can show both sides that progress is being made, I can broker an agreement.”

“And if not?”

“The policy of loose rein can lead to two outcomes. One may convert the adversary to sweet reason. But failing that, we lull them into a sense of security, and when their guard is down, we strike.”

“So the emperor expects you to convert the British or…”

“Destroy them.”

“Can we do so, Excellency?”

“Patience, Jiang,” the marquis said. “Patience.”

The following morning they prepared a memorandum to the emperor to bring him up to date with the British talks. “They’ve really nowhere to go,” the marquis cheerfully wrote to the emperor. “A concession or two from us, and we shall wear them down.”

The next afternoon, a curt note came from Elliot. He had waited long enough. British trading must be allowed to resume at once, and he wanted several ports opened to them up the coast as well.

“What shall we do?” asked Shi-Rong.

The marquis smiled.