The Last Empress - Anchee Min [141]
"But Guang-hsu hates him."
Yung Lu sighed. "Yes, I know."
"And Li Hung-chang hasn't sent in Yuan's confirmation," I said. "Has he any reservations?"
"Li is concerned about Yuan's loyalty after I'm gone. He believes that Yuan Shih-kai is not likely to serve a lesser mind."
"Guang-hsu? How dare he!"
"Well, perhaps not a lesser mind but a less-driven mind. The Emperor doesn't inspire, and he doesn't care."
I could not disagree. "It's my misfortune." I sighed. "But he is my son."
"How can Guang-hsu expect Yuan's loyalty?" Yung Lu asked. "Yuan Shih-kai has our vote because of what he can do for China. But once you are gone, Yuan could stop considering China your son's China."
"Is this Li Hung-chang's fear as well?"
Yung Lu nodded.
"What should I do?"
"It's up to Guang-hsu to let Yuan Shih-kai know who the Emperor is."
The moment my train pulled into Peking's Paoting Station I was given the news that Li Hung-chang had died.
The band that greeted the train was in the middle of playing a gay tune when the messenger fell at my feet. I had to make the man repeat what he had said three times. My mind went blank as I struggled to hold my composure.
"Li Hung-chang is not dead!" I kept saying. "He can't die!"
Li Lien-ying held my arms to keep me from collapsing. The Manchu Dynasty as I knew it had ended.
"Yuan Shih-kai is here to see Her Majesty," someone announced.
Yuan appeared in front of me in a white mourning gown. He confirmed the news. "The viceroy had been sick," he said in a confident tone. "He forced himself to go on until the negotiations were completed."
"Why wasn't I informed earlier that his condition was critical?" I asked.
"The viceroy didn't want you to know. He said you would stop him from working if you were told."
Sitting on my makeshift throne, I asked if the Emperor had been notified and if Li Hung-chang had left any requests for me. Yuan Shih-kai replied that the viceroy had made several arrangements before his death, including that S. S. Huan take over the funding of the military.
I had no memory of when Yuan Shih-kai left. Yung Lu came in and said that he was delivering his friend Li Hung-chang's last wishes. It was his final confirmation of Yuan Shih-kai as his successor.
It seemed that besides me, only the Western powers had realized that Li Hung-chang had been the true boss of China. Li had been the one who protected and provided for the Manchu Dynasty, and his loyalty had sustained me.
I didn't have to use my imagination to know that the arduous negotiations had killed Li Hung-chang. He had fought for inches and pennies for China. It was too easy to accuse him of being a traitor. He had endured degradation and humiliation. The transcripts of the daily negotiations demonstrated his courage. Perhaps only future generations would recognize and appreciate his true value. Li Hung-chang went into the negotiations knowing that he had nothing to bargain with and that suffering would be part of any deal.
"My country is being raped" was his first response after being presented with drafts of the treaties drawn up by the foreign powers. "When a sheep is cornered by a pack of wolves, will the wolves allow the sheep to negotiate? Will the sheep help decide how she should be eaten?"
Li Hung-chang was a master of business, and his skillful bargaining had saved his country but cost him his life. "Carving up China means creating a nation of new Boxers," he pointed out to the foreigners when they threatened to abandon negotiations. "Calling on Her Majesty to step down makes for a bad business deal because everyone in China will tell you that it is the Dowager Empress, not the Emperor, who will see your loans paid."
Li volunteered for the role of scapegoat so that the Emperor and I could save face.
I was sure that Li had regrets. He had given me so much, yet all I offered in return was disappointment after disappointment. It was amazing that he didn't