The China Station by Andrew Wareham

Author:Andrew Wareham [Wareham, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RO:NAV
Publisher: The Electronic Book Company
Published: 2018-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seve

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The China Station

The sedan chair arrived in mid-afternoon and Magnus was escorted to an audience with Ping Wu, wondering the while whether he seemed too much the supplicant. Did the people in the streets see him as the powerful foreign master going to lay down the new law or as a strong but inferior visitor being granted the honour of a meeting with their lord?

He was not sure that it mattered what the ordinary folk in the streets thought, unless it came to a possible mob uprising against the gwailos. If they regarded him as the source of potentially massive retribution, then they might not wish to join whatever outburst might occur; if they saw him as a lesser being, possibly they would be prepared to take the chance of wiping out the invaders. He did not know. He suspected that the people did not know either, that when the time came almost random events might decide for them what would happen.

He stood from the chair and nodded to Mr Ping, giving him permission to lead the way inside. It might be observed, could perhaps make a slight difference.

Ping Wu stood as Magnus entered his presence, a statement that he was not inferior, or not too much so.

Mr Ping formally announced him on this occasion.

“Captain Lord Magnus Campbell, of Her Majesty’s Ship Bustard.”

They bowed to each other.

“Ping Wu says that you are welcome here, Lord Magnus, both in Hanshan and in his palace.”

“Please to give him my thanks for his courtesy, and express my pleasure on behalf of the Royal Navy and Great Britain.”

Magnus was careful not to use the more correct term, ‘The United Kingdom’, at Captain Hawkins’ suggestion. Great Britain had no political significance, could not imply any diplomatic favour or meaning.

“The Royal Navy has already shown Ping Wu great honour, Lord Magnus, a circumstance of which he is well aware. He believes that no other country’s ships have given a salute to a mere provincial governor in such fashion.”

Magnus took the cue he had been given, insisted that ‘mere’ was an inappropriate term to use.

It was all very cosy, he thought – they were certainly jollying him along for a specific purpose. Possibly it was for no reason other than to keep him friendly; it might be gratitude; perhaps they wanted something more in the immediate future.

“You will wish to inspect the battery that Ping Wu has in construction, Lord Magnus, to use the most modern guns to their best while still allowing them to be mobile for the needs of the army. They are to look out across the estuary, Lord Magnus, though, regrettably, we do not have the ammunition, the ‘rounds’ you would say, that are the best to use against ships.”

“Armour-penetrating shot? Solid shot with a hardened steel tip - I do not believe that such exists for three-inch guns, Mr Ping. The best load for smaller field guns is high explosive that will cause substantial damage to the superstructure and, obviously, the men inside it.

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