Chapter 04

Summary

• Robb Struan is welcomed aboard a ship by Captain Isaac Perry.
• Culum Struan enters with important messages and reports that a flag indicating a meeting of the Noble House has been raised.
• Perry comments on the size of the fleet and the success of the opium trade.
• Culum mentions that the British fleet plans to crack down on opium smuggling and Robb speculates on the possibility of a war between the British and the Chinese.
• Culum mentions that the new governor, Sir William Longstaff, plans to meet with the Tai-Pan to discuss the situation.
• Perry expresses concern about the safety of the fleet and Culum suggests that they sail to Hong Kong for protection.
• Robb agrees and orders the fleet to set sail for Hong Kong.
• Struan and Longstaff are in a conversation about the recent treaty signed by the British with the Chinese.
• Struan is concerned that the treaty is a mistake and that it will lead to the British losing power in China.
• Struan is also concerned about the Chinese appointing a mandarin to govern Hong Kong, as he believes it will lead to the Chinese having too much control.
• Longstaff is more sanguine about the treaty and believes that it is a good deal for the British. He is also annoyed by the interference of the merchants and the navy in the treaty negotiations, and believes that the Chinese should be allowed to develop their own trade separate from the British.
• Robb and Struan are brothers who run a company together. Their company is in bankruptcy.
• Robb wants to leave the company and take half of their remaining money with him.
• Struan refuses to give him the money and tells him to stay and help them rebuild the company.
• Robb and Struan's daughter Karen enters the room and asks if she is ugly.
• Struan reassures her that she is not and tells her to ignore negative comments.
• Karen tells Struan that she is going to marry the man she loves, even if he is poor.
• Struan advises her to wait until he is more successful and tells her that he will give her a dowry.
• Karen tells Struan that she is pregnant and that the father is her lover, who is poor and not of a high social class.
• Struan becomes angry and tells Karen that she has to get rid of the baby.
• Karen refuses and Struan tells her that she is disowned.