Part 11 (2/2)

The Imperial bureaucracy and our own naivete led us to fall for j.a.pan's conspiracy. At first we tried to clarify that we were not to blame. Our Board of Foreign Affairs offered a carelessly worded response to j.a.pan's demand for reparations: ”We cannot be responsible for the actions of savages beyond the pale of civilization.” This was interpreted by the j.a.panese as an invitation to take over the island state.

Without warning, the j.a.panese army invaded, claiming revenge on behalf of the people of the Ryukyu Islands.

It was too late when our provincial governor there realized that he had not only let the j.a.panese supplant us in the Ryukyus, but also relinquished our authority over the 250-mile-long, vitally important island of Taiwan.

After days of discussion and delay, our court concluded that China could not take on the new military power of j.a.pan. We ended up paying 500,000 taels to j.a.pan as an indemnity, only to receive more bad news six years later, when j.a.pan ”accepted” the Ryukyu Islands' official ”surrender.”

The British were also determined to extract all they could from any incident. In 1875 a British interpreter, A. R. Margary, was murdered in our southwestern Yunnan province. Margary was accompanying an expedition to reconnoiter trade routes from Burma into the mountains of Yunnan, Kweichow and Szechuan, provinces rich in minerals and ore. The foreigners paid no attention to warning signs of danger from Moslem rebels. The interpreter was ambushed and killed by either bandits or the rebels.

The British representative Sir Thomas Wade forced China's hand over a new treaty, to which I sent Li Hung-chang, then the viceroy of Chihli province, to negotiate. The Chefoo Convention was signed, by which several more ports were opened for trade with Western nations, including my hometown of Wuhu, on the Yangtze River.

With his hair smoothly braided in the back, the fifty-five-year-old Li Hung-chang came to beg for forgiveness. He was in his black court robe, embroidered with the brown and red symbols of bravery and luck. Although thin-framed, Li's posture was erect and his expression solemn. He had a southerner's fair skin, and his small, single-lidded eyes glowed with intelligence. His nose looked long on his chiseled face, and his lips were hidden behind a neatly trimmed beard.

”The British are trying to send another expedition from India through Burma, to delineate the Burmese-Chinese frontier,” Li Hung-chang reported while on his knees.

”Are you implying that Burma has been annexed by Britain?”

”Precisely, Your Majesty.”

I believed that if I had the viceroy's devotion, I would have China's stability. Against the court's advice, I continued Li Hung-chang's appointment as China's most important provincial official. Li would hold the same post in Chihli for twenty-three years.

I purposely ignored the fact that Li was overdue for rotation to another part of the empire. It was my intention to allow him to increase his wealth, connections and power. I was behind Li's reorganization and modernization of the northern military forces, under the name of the ”New Army,” which wags called the Li family army. I was fully aware that the field commanders were directly beholden to Li Hung-chang rather than to the throne.

My trust of Li Hung-chang was based on my sense of him as a man of Confucian values. He trusted me because I had proven to him that I would never take his loyalty for granted. In my view, the only thing the throne could offer was the return of trust and loyalty. I believed that a rebel would be less likely to start an uprising if he was given a province to own. I not only gave Li free rein, but also made him want to serve me.

It was a good business for both of us. Li's profits were one of China's major sources of tax revenue. By 1875 our government was completely dependent on Li Hung-chang. For example, while Li's soldiers supervised the s.h.i.+pment of salt to Peking, which allowed him to oversee the salt monopoly, I received revenue from him to keep China running.

Li Hung-chang never asked the throne to fund his army. This didn't mean that he paid the soldiers from his own coffers. As a smart businessman, he used his own provincial treasury. I was sure that he spent a fortune bribing the Manchu princes who otherwise would have stood in his way. Li also provided so much employment for the nation that if he were to collapse, the country's economy would soon follow. Convinced that China should make widespread improvements, Li built weapons factories, s.h.i.+pyards, coal plants and railways. With my approval and support he also funded China's first postal and telegraph services, its first schools of technology and schools for foreign-language interpreters.

I was unable to push through Li's proposal to establish China's first navy because most court members refused to adopt his sense of urgency. ”Too costly” was the official excuse. Li Hung-chang was accused of scaring the nation in order to get his personal armed force funded by the government.

Letters of complaint from conservatives, especially the Manchu Iron-hats, kept coming in. Nothing Li Hung-chang did could please them. The Ironhats grumbled that he was taking their share of the profits, and they threatened revenge. If Li Hung-chang had not cloaked all his deals in secrecy and had his loyalists planted everywhere, he could easily have been a.s.sa.s.sinated. Still, he was blackmailed for taking kickbacks from commercial contracts and bribes from foreign traders. The conservatives warned me that it was only a matter of time before Li would stage a coup and put himself on the throne.

Li Hung-chang had his own way of fighting the court. He lived outside Peking and came to the capital only when seeking permission to expand his businesses. When he realized that he needed a political voice at court, he created partners.h.i.+ps with his powerful friends, Manchu and Han Chinese alike. Besides Prince Kung, Li had friendly governors in key provinces. His most important partners.h.i.+p was with the governor of Canton, Chang Chih-tung, who built China's largest modern iron foundry. Li made a deal with the Canton governor: instead of ordering the material for his railway from foreign companies, he got it from Canton. The two men were described as ”the Northern Li and the Southern Chang.”

I received both men in private audiences. Both deserved the honor, but I also realized the importance of staying involved. There had been enough incidents when I had ended up being the last to know.

Every governor was aware that my approval at the court carried weight, and winning me over had become a vital part of court politics. As a result, people wished to impress me, which led to flattery and dishonesty. Although outrageous lies would not pa.s.s my peasant's common sense, I couldn't avoid being fooled sometimes.

”People change,” I told my adopted son during an intermission at the court. ”Manchu royal decadence is a perfect living example.”

Guang-hsu was learning fast. One day he asked why Li Hung-chang bought me gifts, like the cases of French champagne that had recently been delivered.

”To secure his relations.h.i.+p with the throne,” I replied. ”He needs protection.”

”Are you pleased with the gifts?” Guang-hsu asked. ”What about the English toothbrush and toothpaste he sent? Wouldn't you have preferred an antique Han vase or some other beautiful object? Most ladies would.”

”I am more pleased with the toothbrush and paste,” I replied. ”And I especially liked Li's handwritten how-to manual. Now I get to protect my teeth from falling out and can also contemplate how to prevent the country from its own decay.”

I insisted that Guang-hsu attend my private audiences with Li Hung-chang and Chang Chih-tung. My son learned that it was I who had picked Chang to be the governor of Canton after he had won first place in the civil service examination as a young man.

Guang-hsu asked Chang, ”Did you study as hard as I do?”

The governor cleared his throat and looked to me for help.

”If you want to know the truth, Guang-hsu,” I said, smiling, ”you see, he had to compete with millions of students to win, while you-”

”While I won without sweat.” Guang-hsu understood. ”I can tell my tutor what grade I want and he'll give it to me.”

”Well, Your Majesty deserves the privilege.” The governor bowed.

”You know your good grades are not real,” I couldn't help but respond to my son.

”That's not totally correct, Mother,” Guang-hsu argued. ”I sweat differently. Other children can afford to play, because they don't have to bear the responsibility of a nation.”

”That's exactly right, Your Majesty.” Both governors nodded and smiled.

By the time Guang-hsu was nine, he demonstrated an admirable dedication to the role of Emperor. He even asked to be given less water to drink in the morning so that he wouldn't have to go to the chamber pot during an audience. He didn't want to miss anything.

His education included Western studies. For the first time in palace history, two tutors in their twenties were hired. They were from Peking's foreign-language school and were here to help teach the throne English.

I enjoyed listening to Guang-hsu practice his lessons. The young tutors tried to keep a straight face when he misp.r.o.nounced words. Playfulness seemed to be the best encouragement. I remembered how Tung Chih's tutors took the fun out of learning by disciplining him too much. When Prince Kung had attempted to introduce Tung Chih to Western culture, one senior tutor had resigned in protest and another threatened suicide.

My dream for Tung Chih was being realized through Guang-hsu. Tutor Weng was introducing him to the idea of the universe, and Li Hung-chang and Chang Chih-tung were offering him their knowledge of the world, gained through experience.

Li Hung-chang also sent Guang-hsu Western books in translation, which Chang also relished, telling the young Emperor stories of his dealings with foreign merchants, diplomats, missionaries and sailors in Canton.

I disagreed with Tutor Weng's emphasis on cla.s.sic Chinese literature. The cla.s.sics dwelled too much on fiction and fatalism. ”Guang-hsu must learn the true makeup of his people,” I insisted.

I felt so blessed with Guang-hsu's progress that I invited peony and chrysanthemum growers to come to the palace to check the soil in my garden. I couldn't wait for the time I would be able to spend my days thinking of nothing but growing flowers.

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