In the panelled chamber of Whampoa’s Hall of the Moon Wind, a slender man with a flat Manchu face, seated in a rosewood armchair, was talking to the Englishman George Fanshaw. Abutai, the Co-Hung’s chief mandarin, wore a long string of amber beads over his pale green robe and spoke in slowly enunciated Chinese.
‘The Co-hung wishes to continue trading with the Honourable East India Company after we welcome the new ships you promise to send us from England, Mr Fanshaw. Therefore,’ he stressed, ‘we do not wish to inflict harm on any person affiliated with the East India Company, not even those men called the Bombay Marines whom the Maritime Guards captured last night on the Pearl River.’
Abutai had informed Fanshaw at the start of this morning’s meeting that an Englishman and his crew had been seized last night and were being held prisoner at an undisclosed spot here in Whampoa.
Fanshaw remembered to follow Chinese etiquette as he replied: ‘Excuse me for speaking in your illustrious presence, noble Abutai, but the Bombay Marines do not belong to the East India Company. Not in the same way as do officers aboard Company Indiamen. Marines are mere brigands and cut-throats. They are recruited from prisons. They are retained as a man keeps a dog to guard his house from strangers.’
Abutai kept both hands tucked into his embroidered sleeves. ‘An officer’s uniform was found in the captain’s quarters. There were also instructions from Governor Pigot of Madras to the captain—Adam Horne.’
Chinese protocol frequently bordered on the ridiculous, as Fanshaw had learnt during his many visits to China, but he easily and quickly adapted to an obsequious role. His difficulty now was finding out whether the Company had sent the Bombay Marine in pursuit of him. How could he discover what crafty Abutai had learnt from reading Horne’s orders?
‘Despite my unworthiness to be in your esteemed presence, great Abutai,’ he began, ‘I can only suggest that I offer my services to read the written orders and tell you if they are authentic or false. I do not know this man, Adam Horne, whom your Guard arrested last night. But I suspect his mission is not what it seems. Could it be, Your Excellency, that he has come to China to make contacts for the East India Company with the independent merchants trading illegally along your southern coastline?’
The chief mandarin’s angular face remained stony. ‘You presume to know a great deal about China, Mr Fanshaw, by speaking about illegal trade on our southern frontier.’
‘Abutai so eminent, if an ignorant man such as myself knows about those cursed merchants plying an illegal opium trade against the noble wishes of the Imperial Co-Hung, how many other foreigners must know the same fact? Including Governor Pigot. I can only hint to you, learned great one, at the way the East India Company could profit from not one but two trading sources with China. Not only with the Co-Hung but with the lowly coastal merchants. It would not be the first time that England has dealt with contraband.’
The mandarin considered Fanshaw’s syrupy words. ‘There was also an interpreter travelling aboard the Marine ship, Mr Fanshaw. He upholds the captain’s story about being in search of your ship, the China Flyer.’
Damn it! So his worst fears had come true. The Bombay Marine were here in pursuit of him. And the Chinese knew.
Fanshaw also cursed his oversight in not realising that Pigot would send someone to translate for the Marines and the Manchu officials.
Boldly, he replied, ‘As always, you are gracious as well as erudite, great Abutai. I am forever indebted to be reminded that the East India Company will try to frustrate my every move. Humble as I am, every word I say to you poses a great threat to their monopoly of the rich China trade.’
Then, more hesitantly, he said, ‘If the eminent Abutai wishes, my humble service could be of even greater use to his far-reaching power. I could interview this interpreter travelling with the Bombay Marines …’
Unmoved by the proposal, Abutai answered, ‘Before such a thing can happen, Mr Fanshaw, the Co-Hung wishes you to appear once more before them.’
Bowing deeply to the mandarin, Fanshaw just restrained himself from dropping to a complete kowtow. ‘I am honoured to appear again before the august body of the Co-Hung. I consider it my duty to disclose all I know about the cur-like soldiers, the Bombay Marines.’
‘The Co-Hung will want to hear about other matters as well. Particularly about the new company of English merchants you are proposing to introduce to China.’
‘O eminent Abutai, I shall tell the Court of the Co-Hung the same facts that I am and have been honoured to tell you—that the new board I represent from London is sounder than the East India Company. Its chairman, Sir Jeremy Riggs, until recently represented the Company’s pepper trade. He has told me that he has grown tired of the Company’s duplicity. The presence of the Bombay Marines here in Whampoa attests to the Company’s treachery. Next they will be sending in troops to attack the Chinese. You have no reason to fear military action from the gracious gentlemen whom I am representing to you.’
‘Further debate is needed, Mr Fanshaw,’ Abutai insisted, ‘before the new English trading company is put on the Co-Hung’s privileged list.’
‘Excuse such presumption, Your Grace, at raising such a question in your presence. But earlier in this audience which you are charitable enough to grant me, your lofty Eminence said that the Maritime Guard seized the Bombay Marines last night on the Pearl River. I was too stupid to understand whether the Marine’s ship had appeared on the Hoppo’s privileged list or had stolen unawares up the Pearl River.’
‘Captain Horne requested permission from the Hoppo in Macao to proceed up the Pearl River. He presented the Hoppo with opium. Suspecting that the Marine might be here for ulterior reasons, the Hoppo accepted the cumshaw and allowed him to proceed.’
Fanshaw was wondering why Abutai was divulging such facts to him when, unexpectedly, the chief mandarin added, ‘Do you think the time will come, Mr Fanshaw, when there are as many spies in trade as there are in warfare?’
What did the mandarin mean? Was it a veiled Chinese warning? Fanshaw had no time to ponder it. There were too many other questions in his mind.
He tried again. ‘The military protection of your waterways greatly impresses me, illustrious Abutai. Is it difficult to take custody of a European ship here in Whampoa, while the captain remains in command?’
‘The Marine’s ship will not be kept in Whampoa.’
‘Ah, there is more opium aboard!’ It was a gamble but Fanshaw wanted to know. ‘The Marine’s ship will be taken down river to Kam-Sing-Moon and unloaded at the depot. Of course.’
The flicker of annoyance in Abutai’s dark eyes told Fanshaw that his observations were going beyond the permitted limits.
‘That is no concern of the Marine commander, Adam Horne,’ said the mandarin. ‘Captain Horne need only contemplate a future in the Dragon Prison of Canton.’
The Bombay Marine captain gaoled! The idea thrilled Fanshaw.
‘Your cleverness should not surprise me, Your Eminence,’ he exclaimed, ‘but I constantly marvel at the shrewdness of your mind. Yes, by imprisoning the leader of the Bombay Marine in the Dragon Prison, you will show the East India Company that they must not take lightly the Imperial Co-Hung. The great Manchu powers act on their own volition. They are not a court to be intimidated by the East India Company.’
Fanshaw’s mind worked quickly as he savoured the idea of Horne being imprisoned. The East India Company would never jeopardise their position with the Chinese to rescue a lowly Bombay Marine. They would probably not even risk insulting the Chinese by negotiating for Horne’s release. The Company was anything but loyal to its men. There was also the time factor. Fanshaw’s new trading company would soon be incorporated and in operation.
But the alternative would also benefit Fanshaw. If the Company did try to save Horne and were stupid enough to rescue him, the action would corroborate everything Fanshaw had said, that they had no respect for China or the Chinese.
Fanshaw resumed his obsequious style. ‘High Abutai, if I can not be of use to you by interviewing the Marine’s interpreter, perhaps I can offer my humble talents to speak to the Bombay Marine Captain, Adam Horne.’
The chief mandarin surprised Fanshaw by promptly agreeing. ‘A meeting might be arranged in the next few days. But it must be soon because Captain Horne will appear next week in front of the Co-Hung.’
‘On trial?’ blurted out Fanshaw, forgetting all about etiquette.
The doors opened at the far end of the hall. Abutai rose from his armchair and Fanshaw knew that he had gone too far in his questions.
Hoping to redeem himself by the ultimate form of respect, he fell to the floor in front of the chief mandarin, hands out in front of him, hauches in the air, and knocked his forehead one, two, three, four, five times on the thin silk carpet spread before the dais.
Above him, Abutai proclaimed, ‘You shall receive word as to when and where you can interview Captain Horne, Mr Fanshaw. Be waiting at your rooms tomorrow for the Co-Hung’s instructions.’
When Fanshaw raised himself with the help of his ivory staff, he saw only the back of the chief mandarin’s robes floating behind him as he departed from the panelled room.
* * *
Fool of a barbarian Englishman. Abutai moved swiftly down the corridor from the Hall of the Moon Winds, thinking how like rodents Englishmen were, running this way and that when they saw their ambitions becoming endangered. Fanshaw’s offer to visit Adam Horne in his prison provided Abutai with a convenient excuse to detain the former agent in Whampoa.
The Co-Hung had yet to decide about putting Fanshaw’s new British trading company on the Privileged Merchants List. Abutai slowed his step, wondering how the council would react to the news that Fanshaw possessed knowledge of local merchants trading opium illegally along the country’s southern coastline. Only a stupid barbarian would divulge that he possessed such valuable information, especially someone proposing to send trading ships to China.
Approaching the copper doors of the Co-Hung’s Jade Chamber, Abutai decided that, most certainly, fate had delivered the Bombay Marine captain to him to use in dealing with George Fanshaw. Yes, he would allow Fanshaw to visit Adam Horne in his prison tomorrow.