The Mercenaries by John Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

Peking governments are broke, and they appoint the warlords to run their provinces and raise taxes. Unfortunately, they stuff the dough into their own pockets instead and recruit armies to make sure they can’t be slung out. They get their men from the coolies and the criminals and, if the warlord decides things are getting too hot for him and quits to go to Hong Kong or Singapore or Japan with all the dough he’s stashed away, his boys go on the rampage and in a few hours they’re nothing more than bandits.’
    ‘And what about the war? Who’s really fighting who?’
    Kowalski laughed. ‘This is getting to be a regular Gettysburg address,’ he said. ‘Chiefly, it’s just private scores being settled--like the one between Tsu and Kwei. The rest fight with silver bullets--dollars. When they meet, they bargain and one of them retires. Taxes are levied by the new guy--hell, sometimes fifty years in advance!--merchants are milked dry, a few heads fall, a few women get raped, a few boys get dragged off for the armies and a few crops get stolen, and the new regime’s installed. Cities are always being “liberated” but it makes no goddam difference because everybody who knew how to govern has gone or been murdered. The Americans, the British, the French and the Japanese stay out of the mess unless their nationals are in danger.’
    ‘And what about Tsu? Is he a warlord?’
    ‘Sure is.’
    ‘And does he support Peking?’
    ‘Officially. Unofficially, the only thing Tsu supports is Tsu.’
    Ira smiled uncertainly. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the Warlord of the South-West very much.
    ‘Is he any good?’ he asked.
    ‘As a general?’ Kowalski pulled a face. ‘Nope. Regular brass brain. As a tax collector? Yep.’
    ‘What about Kwei?’
    ‘He’s also a good tax collector but maybe he’s also a good soldier, too. I don’t know. He belongs to Chiang.’
    ‘Who’s Chiang when he’s at home?’
    ‘Chiang K’ai-Shek. One of the late Sun Yat-Sen’s boys and the latest candidate for over-all warlord of all China. He fancies himself as a dictator but he’ll go as far as all the others, I guess, and no farther. He wants to sweep away all warlords and foreign devils like you and me, and he doesn’t like Tsu because Tsu once called him a liar and a thief.’
    Ira sat back, staring at the American, overwhelmed by the intricacies of the Chinese internal situation. In time, no doubt, he’d sort out all these people with their tongue-twisting names and they’d become identities instead of mere labels belonging to political parties that meant nothing to him.
    ‘What’s your view?’ he asked. ‘On why I’m here, I mean.’
    Kowalski grinned. ‘Brother, take everything that’s going,’ he advised. ‘If you don’t, some other guy will. Steer clear of the Shanghai white women. The first thing they do is size up how good you’ll be in bed. Don’t eat the lettuce--you’d be surprised what they use for fertiliser--and watch out for the peasant. He’s up to all sorts of tricks behind his kow-tow. Get all you can out of it. In ten years’ time it won’t be possible. China’s been milked for generations by foreigners and they’re only just beginning to catch on. Any minute now there’ll be an explosion. So follow Tsu but, boy, make goddam sure you’ve left a line of retreat open to the coast.’
     
    While they had been talking, a tender had arrived alongside to take the Avro to the Chinese side of the river, and Ira went to scout Lawn from his cabin. He was aware of disappointment, and anger at being misled, and had a feeling that what he’d bitten off was likely to prove bigger than he could chew.
    Lawn showed no sign of enthusiasm as he explained what he wanted, and Ira knew at once he was going to trot out every excuse he could think of to avoid work. He was dressed for going ashore in a blue suit and solar topee, and he looked uncertain as Ira approached.
    ‘Geary’s not goin’ to like