On November 5th, the British Envoy to China, Sir Sato, sent a telegram to Russia saying: On the 4th of this month, Li Hongzhang sent a circular to all foreign ministers, stating that the occupation of Baoding by the allied troops and the killing of Chinese officials was highly inappropriate. He mentioned that the behavior of the locals in Baoding was unruly and their actions were improper. The ministers of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy felt that Li Hongzhang's circular was disrespectful and returned it immediately. Most of the other countries' ministers also did not accept this circular.
On November 7th, Zhang Zhidong, the Governor of Hubei, sent a telegram to Russia again, saying: All nations agree that Yuxian deserves the death penalty, [text missing], but our Chinese government will definitely punish Yuxian and Dong Fuxiang.
On November 8th, the British King also sent a telegram to the Qing court, saying: We have received the two telegrams sent by the Great Emperor on July 3rd and August 14th through your Minister in England. I was deeply saddened to hear of the tragedy that has befallen your country. Later, I heard that our British missionaries and missionaries from other countries were killed in Shanxi, enduring significant hardship, which made me even more heartbroken. Besides those who were killed, there are many women and children left there. I hope that Your Majesty can swiftly restore order, punish the wrongdoers, regardless of their rank, and implement measures to prevent such incidents from recurring. I sincerely hope that your country will soon return to peace. Our British forces are here to help restore peace in China. If a peace agreement can be reached soon, not only will peace be restored in China, but the lives and property of foreigners living here will also be safeguarded.
On October 6th, Mr. Fuli wrote a letter to the Russian envoy, detailing the words of Zhang Zhidong, the Governor of Hubei. Zhang Zhidong expressed his strong hope for a swift resolution in peace talks. I asked Zhang Zhidong, "Your government has issued an edict to punish the Duke of Yuan and other culprits, but foreigners generally doubt its effectiveness. What do you think?" Zhang Zhidong explained, "The Empress Dowager has already begun to feel remorse and will definitely punish the main offenders. Foreigners who believe the edict is ineffective simply do not understand the situation in China. The Chinese government does not take this edict seriously, and it can be changed later. Because now the Empress Dowager and Emperor Guangxu are controlled by conservative ministers, they must proceed with caution. In this situation, to issue this edict is already quite courageous."
Zhang Zhidong also said, "As long as foreign troops are in Beijing, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Guangxu cannot reclaim their thrones. The Empress Dowager is very worried that once she returns, her power may be taken away by the allied forces." Zhang Zhidong further defended the Empress Dowager on multiple fronts: "What the Empress Dowager did in 1860, as well as her repeated efforts to quell major disasters, has garnered the loyalty of the Chinese people, and many foreigners have praised her too. Moreover, she has been in power for thirty years and has never harbored any hatred towards foreigners or disdain for Western culture; many items in the palace are of Western design, and she has a strong desire to befriend foreign women. Look at how in 1889 she returned power to Emperor Guangxu; this was something she genuinely wanted to do, which is enough to prove she is not someone who clings to power. Later, because Kang Youwei and his followers, under the guise of protecting the monarchy, plotted against her, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to resume her rule. From then on, she developed a strong hatred for the Reformists and even began to dislike foreigners. She felt that foreigners were protecting the Kang faction, and the newspapers of various countries followed suit, with the Shanghai Zilinxi newspaper being particularly excessive. Newspapers from various countries claimed that China was about to be divided and could hardly escape that fate, which instilled great fear in the Empress Dowager."
When I looked at places like Jiaozhou, Lushun, Weihai, and Guangzhou Bay, they had indeed all been taken by foreigners. Now Sanmen Bay was also being eyed by the Italians, which only strengthened my belief that foreigners were trying to carve up China! I had no choice but to associate with the hardliners and start listening to the words of Prince Duan, Xu Tong, and Gang Yi. Prince Duan and Xu Tong, apart from matters in Beijing, understood nothing else; as for Gang Yi, he had a vendetta against the emperor and thus advised the empress dowager to reject the foreigners and come up with schemes. At that moment, the empress dowager was completely oblivious until the Boxer Rebellion and Dong Fuxiang's forces flooded into Beijing, and only then did she realize the situation was dire.
On November 20, British Foreign Secretary Lansdowne sent a telegram to the British Minister in China, Satow, saying: "The Minister in China visited me today and showed me the order from the Qing court on November 13 to punish those responsible, and asked for my opinion on it. I replied, 'This order is very inappropriate, and we in Britain cannot agree to it; I doubt other countries would agree either.' The Minister in China said, 'I had anticipated this, so I have already telegraphed the Chinese government about the problematic aspects of the order.' He also said, 'Please recognize that the situations in China and abroad are not the same; China actually faces many insurmountable difficulties. Only the governors of Hubei and Hunan provinces might be able to persuade the two palaces to return, because these two governors hold significant power and can divert some of the military funds sent by the provinces.' This shows that Minister Luo (referring to Minister Satow) also thought that punishing those responsible was impractical. He further stated that the two provincial governors could intercept military funds to pressure the two palaces into returning; why wouldn’t the other countries listen to them?
