Over the next few days a great number of fresh troops poured into the area around the First Bar. Beside the Cambridge a fortified encampment arose, manned by a battalion-strength unit of tough, seasoned troops from Hunan.
It was evident from these preparations that the raft had become a key element in the safeguarding of Guangzhou: in effect it was the city’s last line of defence. Past this point the river branched off into many channels; there were so many of them that it was impossible to effectively block them all. This meant that if British warships succeeded in breaking through at the First Bar then Whampoa and Guangzhou would be at their mercy.
One night, looking at the campfires that were burning on both shores of the river, Neel burst into laughter.
Why are you laughing? said Jodu.
It just occurred to me, said Neel, that the responsibility for defending Canton has fallen on a motley crew of ‘black-aliens’.
*
Towards the middle of February Mr Burnham accompanied the expedition’s commanders on one of their periodic expeditions to meet with Qishan. On his return, he told Zachary that the Plenipot was losing hope of having the treaty ratified by the Emperor. At the most recent meeting Qishan had seemed very much cast down, not at all his usual polished self; his manner had been strangely evasive as though he were concealing something. Captain Elliot had garnered the impression that the Emperor had already made his decision: the agreement that he and Qishan had negotiated at Chuenpee had been repudiated.
As for Commodore Bremer, he and several other officers had long believed that Captain Elliot was on a fool’s errand; it was clear to them that the mandarins were just playing for time in order to shore up their defences. Of late many signs of a military build-up had been observed around the Tiger’s Mouth. Information had also been received that the Celestials were taking steps to block the river’s navigable channels with chains, stakes and rafts.
These preparations had caused much outrage among the British leadership: they were seen as a clear sign of Chinese perfidy, offering vindication to those who believed that the victory at Chuenpee should have been consolidated with an attack on Canton. These officers were now urging swift action: if the Chinese were given more time to prepare then it would only make their own job harder in the end. Many were pressing for an immediate attack leading to the seizure of Canton itself.
Yielding to the pressure, Captain Elliot had agreed to issue an ultimatum to Qishan: if the ratified treaty were not received within four days then Guangzhou would face attack.
Few were those, said Mr Burnham, who entertained any hope of a peaceful resolution. Preparations for the renewal of hostilities were already under way. Word was out that merchant ships would be needed to serve as support vessels for the British attack force.
At this a thought leapt to Zachary’s mind. ‘Is there any chance, sir,’ he said, ‘that the Ibis might be used by the expedition? She is sitting idle after all and there is nothing I would like more than to support our brave soldiers and sailors.’
Mr Burnham smiled and patted Zachary on the back. ‘Your enthusiasm does you credit, Reid! That thought had occurred to me too. I will try to put a word in the commodore’s ear — I cannot promise anything of course. Everyone is clamouring to lend their ships to the fleet, even the Parsis, so it will not be easy.’
The next few days passed in great anxiety for Zachary. Such was his eagerness to join the expedition that he found it hard to keep his mind on the construction of Mr Burnham’s godown. Only on the day that Captain Elliot’s ultimatum expired was the matter resolved: a beaming Mr Burnham came striding up to the work site, to announce that he had good news: the British attack would be launched in a day or two and the Ibis had been included in the list of six support vessels that were to sail with the fleet. Her job was to carry supplies of munitions and to serve as a holding-ship for the badly wounded.
Zachary was overjoyed: to witness a seaborne attack at first-hand seemed to him as great an adventure as he could ever have wished for.
‘And what about you, sir? Will you be sailing with the fleet too?’
‘So I shall,’ said Mr Burnham proudly. ‘I’ll be on the Wellesley again with Commodore Bremer. He has invited me to join him on his flagship. It is a signal honour.’
‘Indeed it is, sir, but it is no more than your due. But what about the Anahita? Will she remain here at Hong Kong?’
‘Yes,’ said Mr Burnham. ‘My wife has decided that she would like to remain here. The commodore has advised the merchant fleet to move to Saw Chow but I think he is being overly cautious. I cannot imagine that there will be any danger.’
‘I’m sure you’re right, sir.’
Mr Burnham glanced at his fob before giving Zachary a pat on the back. ‘You’d better be off now, Reid; I’m sure there’s a lot to be done on the Ibis.’
Eager to get to work, Zachary hurried back to the schooner — but no sooner had he stepped on board than he learnt of a minor setback. The Finnish first mate was waiting for him, on the maindeck. His shirt was splattered with blood and he was holding a large poultice to his face.
The door of his cabin had slammed into him, said the mate, knocking him off his feet. He suspected that he had suffered internal injuries as well; in any case, he was in no state to sail.
Zachary had suspected for a while that the mate was looking for an excuse to abandon ship: he paid him off and told him to empty out his cabin.
It was too late to find a man to take the Finn’s place, but Zachary did not allow that to dampen his enthusiasm: he was confident that he and the second mate would be able to manage well enough between them.
*
The night before the embarkation Kesri was summoned to Captain Mee’s tent, for a briefing on the plan of attack. On the captain’s field-desk lay a large chart of the defences of the Pearl River’s lower reaches.
The fortifications that had been reconstructed or newly built were marked in red ink, and the area around the Tiger’s Mouth was a sunburst of colour: the recently demolished fortifications at Chuenpee and Tytock had all been rebuilt, said Captain Mee. Chains had once again been slung across the shipping lanes and at certain points stakes had been sunk into the river-bed, to obstruct entry.
The most heavily reinforced forts were those on the island of North Wantung, which lay right in the middle of the Tiger’s Mouth, halfway between Chuenpee to the east and Tytock to the west. The island was now bristling with batteries: one set of guns faced the main shipping channel to the east; the other overlooked the lane to the west. In addition, a third battery had been built on the island’s peak.
Along with a number of other officers, Captain Mee had surveyed the fortifications of North Wantung from the deck of the Nemesis. The forts were undoubtedly impressive, he said: the island was now encircled by some two hundred cannon: the month before there had been only a few dozen guns on the island; that such a vast project could be so quickly completed was in itself an astonishing thing.