“Yes, Sir.” Ladone scuttled off with an enthusiasm that reminded Summerville of a young puppy. If Valiant was to be his flagship, he would need a signals staff and Ladone would suit him well as a junior member.
“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 Armistice 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 takeover 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 fall 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 businessfriendly 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 Germanequipped. 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.”