Audience Room, Bang Phitsan Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
“Thank you all for coming here today. On behalf of the government of Thailand, I welcome you to our country and will endeavor not to waste your time. You are all familiar with the events in Great Britain, I assume?”
There was a quick exchange of glances which resulted in John Keswick of Jardine-Matheson taking the plunge. Jardine’s was The Princely Hong after all, and taking the lead was its privilege, however much Butterfield-Swire might dislike it. “We are,
....,”
he stumbled not quite knowing what form of address to use.
“My apologies. I am the Ambassador-Plenipotentiary of the Royal Family of Thailand.” She smiled demurely. “That means I am the direct representative of the Thai political system. All of it, not just the official government. I answer to the King himself, but beyond that to the people of this country. I am Thailand’s official trouble-shooter.”
“By which you mean you shoot those who cause trouble, Madam Ambassador?” Keswick smiled, but his eyes watched The Ambassador closely. What he saw in her eyes scared him. This woman would have no compunction about killing those who threatened her country.
“Exactly. And because of the events in London, there is much we need to speak about. Are you aware of the terms of the Armistice between Britain and Germany?”
Keswick shook his head, “No, madam. Except that the Armistice has been signed, we have no knowledge of its terms.” He was embarrassed by that. The Princely Hong had a widespread net of information sources, all of which had let the group down. The only redeeming feature was that the other Hongs had failed equally badly.
“I have the text of the Annistice agreement here. Please accept a copy for each of you with the compliments of my Government.” Suriyothai had an impassive expression but inwardly she smiled. The Piccadilly Circus in London had come through in fine style, despite most of its leaders being out of the country. She waved slightly and one of her staff rose to her feet and handed out the documents. There was a rustling of paper as the taipans quickly read through the papers.
“This document was dictated by the Germans.” Keswick was in no doubt of that. “It shows no understanding of the structure of the Empire or the political constraints it operates under. The suggestion that a document such as this, negotiated and agreed in London, will extend its terms as a matter of course to the Dominions is ludicrous.”
“That is our thought also. We understand that Australia and India are mightily offended by the situation and also by the fact that they still have not received official word of what has happened. We believe, but do not know, that South Africa and Canada are equally displeased.”
Keswick nodded, noting the careful distinction the Ambassador made between what she knew and what she believed or deduced. There was something else as well. His own position of absolute authority gave him the skill of recognizing that power in others; the Ambassador had it. He guessed it was probably derived power, drawing on the influence of the Royal family, but power was still power. He looked at the Ambassador and understood that this woman not only had power, she knew how to use it. Ruthlessly. The comment about shooting trouble-makers had not been a joke.
“May I draw your attention to the section that relates to the status of British colonies? It appears to our analysts that this gives carte blanche for any German ally to make claim to any British colony that said ally believes was unjustly taken from them. We believe that this inevitably means Japan will claim Hong Kong. Your activities in China are already being restricted by the war being fought there. Those restrictions will increase rapidly and will soon amount to total exclusion. When Hong Kong is taken over, the exclusion will extend to you there. That will be the end of the Hongs, Princely or otherwise.”
Suriyothai let her eyes roam around the group of men assembled in the room. Her expression was polite, helpful and concerned at the threat facing them. Her mind was filled with a fierce joy at the opportunity that was now unfolding before her. She noted the apprehensive tones of the quiet conversations that went on around her. Her point had struck home.
“So, what do you suggest. Madam Ambassador?” Keswick took the lead again.
“You must get ready to move your operations out of Hong Kong. You have a number of options, I believe. Chongqing and Kunming have been mentioned and I believe that offices in Bombay are also to be established at this time.”
Keswick was stunned. The plans to move Jardine Matheson out of Hong Kong in the event of a Japanese take-over were a closely-guarded secret. She’d just named the three leading contenders for a new headquarters.
“She’s got you there, John.” Richard Leeming of Butterfield-Swire had a jeering tone in his voice at the obvious breech of the Princely Hong’s security.
“Do not be severe on Mister Keswick. Your own company has similar plans.” Suriyothai reproved the Butterfield-Swire taipan and was secretly delighted to see him flush. “So do the rest of you. I think though, that your choice of alternatives leaves much to be desired. Chongqing and Kunming will both fail to the Japanese in due course and you will face the same problem again. Bombay is more secure and has excellent telegraph communications with the rest of the world, but moving there will present you with all the problems of dealing with an entirely new business and cultural environment. Recruiting staff will also be a problem for you.”
Keswick nodded. All those factors had already been considered by his staff. “You have another suggestion, Madam Ambassador?”
“I have. Move here. Bangkok is a major city. We have telegraph services already and have allocated funds for a major upgrade of our system. If you elect to move here, we would invite you to sit down with the Telegraph and Telephone Authority and specify exactly what it is that you need in the way of communications. We will then build it for you. We have educated people here, graduates of British and American universities. We are business-friendly and, to put it bluntly, we will keep out of your way. We are close to being in the geographical center of this region, within relatively easy reach of east, west, north and south. Our business community is well-established, has excellent contacts across the world. It is also largely Chinese and provides a cultural environment with which you are already comfortable and into which your existing Chinese staff will fit well. This is a medium-large country with rich resources in food, gold, precious jewels, rubber and opium. The latter in particular will be needed across the world as the war continues. Wounded soldiers need morphine more than anything else and there will be many millions of those by the time this war ends. Finally, you will have the best army in South East Asia standing between you and any threat. Six divisions in regular service, four more as reserves. All German-trained and German-equipped. Gentlemen, the Germans taught us how to use our tanks and artillery well.”
“That claim to military prowess sounds impressive but, with respect, it is based on your word alone. Do you have experience to support it?”
Leeming’s voice stopped just short of being openly dismissive. “It is not as if your country has an impressive military reputation to date.”
Suriyothai looked at him, a sincerely helpful smile on her face. Behind that smile, she imagined herself flaying him alive before disembowelling him with a hooked knife. Then she dismissed that train of thought; brutality would not solve this problem. “As it happens, I hold the military rank of Colonel and have commanded an infantry regiment. I agree that our military history is not taught in Western staff colleges. However, we do have a six hundred year tradition of fighting every invader of our country to a standstill. We are still here and, I would remind you, alone in this region we have never been colonized. Before the colonial era, we took on the might of Han China and defeated them. I would refer you to the battle at Bang Rachan. There, a small group of villagers held off an entire army for eighteen months. The women fought alongside their men and died alongside them. That is where the tradition of Thai women wearing their hair cut short comes from. But, your point is well taken. However, given the scope of international events, I think you can be assured that a demonstration of our ability will be forthcoming.”
“And you want our agreement to move now, I suppose.” Keswick sounded amused but actually his mind was running over the prospect that had been outlined. It was unexpected and completely outside any of the analyses his staff had made. Yet, it had a hypnotic fascination.
“Of course not. Pressuring you to make a decision would be foolish. We cannot persuade you to make a decision, either here and now or at any time. You must make that decision on your own and for your own reasons. And in your own time. We stand ready to provide any information you need and to invest in the facilities you will require. But, we cannot interfere with the decisions that you might make. To do so would undermine the relationship which we propose to you. What we do suggest is that each of you open an office here and transfer the critical records and other things you need to continue your business to that office. If you choose to move to Bangkok, then your new headquarters will stand ready. If you do not, a regional office with a full reserve copy of your records will be a valuable property in its own right. Either way, a fall-back plan is always a wise precaution.”
Keswick nodded again. “That is certainly possible, but any final decision on the location of our headquarters would have to be attendant upon a demonstration of your country’s ability to secure and protect our investment here. Other than that, I have two questions, Madam Ambassador. How soon can Jardine Matheson set up this regional office here, and will you be involved in running this move?”
“Yes, I will be personally responsible for seeing that any move you choose to make. There will be no problem in you transferring key members of your staff here. We will welcome them and make them part of our community. As to how soon you can make your move, some property developers here have started to build an office block that seems entirely suited to your needs. It is called Sukothai House and has its own generators and air conditioning. I have the details of it here.” She handed over a leaflet that showed a typical European-style office building; one she had designed and built by European architects and paid for it out of her personal resources.
Keswick glanced at the sheet and then read it more carefully. That The Ambassador had it to hand was the factor that decided him. “Madam Ambassador, please advise the developers that this building is to be known as Jardine Matheson House and that we will take it in its entirety. Do you allow us to purchase buildings or should we lease?”
“You may purchase the building. The land it is on must be leased but we will offer lease terms that amount to your ownership. I assume Jardine Matheson (Thailand) is now an operable concern?”
“At the very least.” Keswick covertly cast his eyes around the room. Now that the Princely Hong had jumped into the offer being made, the others would follow. That meant Jardine Matheson was in the lead and would be well-established by the time the others got here. Also, he guessed that his lead would place the Ambassador in his debt and he had a feeling she always honored her debts.
Once her guests had departed for the Oriental Hotel, Suriyothai relaxed and stared out of the window. In her mind, the strange display formed again, a waterfall of lights and threads that represented the various options for the future. Now the tenuous thread that she had identified earlier was glowing much more strongly than before. What had been a pious hope a couple of days before was now a solid possibility.
“I have brought tea, your Highness.” Lani bowed deeply as she poured, taking great care that her head did not rise above that of Suriyothai. “The meeting went well?”
“Very well. We have made many promises and now we must keep them. Also, we made a few boasts that are no more than that. Boasts remain just words until there are actions to back them up. Now, we must look for the excuse to take such actions. We said we had the finest army in South East Asia. We shall prove it by destroying French power in Indo-China. Once our military ability is demonstrated, the Hongs will come here and they will bring economic strength with them.”
Trent Building, Nottingham University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
“Excuse me, could you tell me how to find the library?”
The soft voice broke through David Newton’s daydream and focused his attention on the speaker. A young woman with jet-black hair, strongly arched eyebrows and high cheekbones. There weren’t that many women in the University and very few that attractive. “Umm, there’s several, depending on which school you’re in. What are you studying?”
“Commercial art. I’m just starting. And you?”
“Chemical engineering. Second year. My name’s David Newton. The library belonging to the Fine Art School is along this way. I’m heading that way myself since the Engineering School is on the next floor. I’ll show you where it is.”
“I’m Rachael Cohen. Pleased to meet you David. To be honest, I was afraid when I got here. Everybody seemed very remote and distant. Nobody seems to want to talk.”
“I think everybody is a bit scared right now, to be honest. With the Armistice coming the way it did and all. We’d all assumed our call-up papers were on the way and we’d be Army conscripts by the end of the year. Now, the war is over we don’t know what is happening.”
“The war isn’t over, David. It’s just started. It has a long, long time to run yet. And then there’s the greater war as well.” Rachael looked at him out of the comers of her eyes, measuring him to see how he reacted to the comment.
