A Choice of Evils - 1996

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd

Extract

From Chapter One.

Nanking, China 1937

The Japanese are only waiting for an opportunity to push further south, Bradley had written to Martha.  And who will stop them when they are ready? We don’t know what’s ahead except trouble…

Martha had known Bradly Reed since childhood. Their families met aboard a ship while returning to China after home leave in America.  After disembarking at Shanghai, they shared a further ride on a crowded barge up the Grand Canal to their respective missions.  It was the middle of winter and Martha wore a padded Chinese coat for warmth.  

The families huddled together in the small, cold cabin; on deck Chinese passengers chattered. 

Through the window she and Bradley peered out between a row of feet at market towns, earthen farmhouses, temples and everywhere graves, like large molehills littering the ground. 

Only the icy draught through a broken pane occasionally drove Martha back from the window. 

After the break in America she did not want to miss an inch of China.  She knew she was home when the stone walls of the city loomed before her.  Over its gates, like rotting gargoyles, were the decapitated heads of criminals.  She did not give them a second glance.  

The Chinese town she had alived in went by many names, but the sights were always the same.  She was excited to be back.  She had not felt at home in America; some vital ingredient was missing. 

The ease was almost uncomfortable.  Other children found her conversation outlandish and adults were shocked by her tales of discarded babies in dry riverbeds. 

From Chapter Ten

General Matsui was confined to bed in Soochow with tubercular fever when news of his promotion came through.  He dismissed congratulations with a disapproving silence.  All it meant was that he was no longer Commander in Chief of the army about Nanking.  There had been criticism in Tokyo of things in Shanghai.  The Emperor had wanted only a brief undertaking; instead the battle had stretched into months.  Now the Emperor had relieved him of personal supervision of the field.  General Matsui was elevated to overall command of the Central Chinese Theatre….Promotion rendered Matsui obsolete in all but responsibility.  He had no control of hour-by-hour movements and plans.  His command had been distanced from him.

He put a hand on the table and with an effort pulled himself off the hard bed.  He called an aide and gave orders to summon all staff officers.  The coughing began again.  It had not been easy to find a billet in good condition.  Soochow was in smithereens from ferocious bombing.  Little was left of the famous pagodas, gardens and ornate bridges.  In the past he had visited the city and been captured by its legendary beauty.  It saddened him to see its destruction.   Beyond the window of his room General Matsui looked out on a mess of smashed trees and stones…Soldiers were soldiers and war was war.  Incidents invariably happened but unnecessary excess was not to Matsui’s liking.  Ill health sapped his energy.  The dark hours on his sickbed were filled with terrifying premonitions.