After the meeting, Derby sent a written message to Prime Minister Disraeli and ordered an urgent telegram to be sent to Wittoma in China. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, Wei Tuma had already met with Bai Lang in Shanghai, Wei Tuma asked Bai Lang in detail about the details of the Margaret incident, and agreed with Bai Lang on a "unified voice", after receiving a telegram from the British Foreign Office in London, Wei Tuma did not immediately submit the "evidence" in his possession, but confidently sent a new negotiation plan, further expanding the blackmail conditions against China. After sending out the plan, he left Shanghai and went to Yantai to meet with A.P. Ryder, the commander of the British Navy in China, to discuss the issue of coercion.

It would not have occurred to him that everything he had done was already in the calculations of one person.

And he did not anticipate what the consequences of his rash arrogance and arrogance would be for him and for Britain.

After Guo Songtao replied to the British Foreign Office, the British side suddenly stopped moving on the Margaret incident, and at this time it happened to be in the "London Season", and Guo Songtao was suddenly in the middle of it, which can be said to be overwhelming.

The word "London Season", translated by Chinese as "London Social Season", refers to the custom of British high society to hold various social activities. In the middle of summer, the air in London was so foul and hot that the aristocracy and the wealthy moved their families to country houses to escape the heat. At the end of the year, when the National Assembly reconvenes, they fly back to the city like migratory birds, and various social activities are also launched. From mid-April to early August of the following year, more than 100 days will be the best time in Britain. At this time, the sunshine hours are long, the temperature is comfortable, the rain is not much, and there are colorful tea parties, dance parties, dinners, concerts, gardening exhibitions, equestrian performances and so on every day. The social season originated in the 18th century and was anchored in the affluent Victorian era.

Minister Guo Songtao, Deputy Envoy Liu Xihong, who had just established the Chinese Legation in the United Kingdom in London, and the attachés of the mission were just in time to participate in the activities of the social season.

Nothing surprised Chinese officials more than the palace ball. On June 22, Chinese envoys were invited to Buckingham Palace for the first time, and they saw thousands of men and women, dressed in dresses, dancing to the sound of music, from crown princes and princesses to high-ranking officials and noblewomen. Zhang Deyi, the attaché of the embassy, recorded:

"The prince, princess, princess, and relatives are set up on the front, and the ministers and attachés of various countries are set up on the left and right, and the music is played upstairs on the opposite side, and the civil and military members of the city are set up below. Men and women gathered, thousands and hundreds, all wearing court clothes, and going to the court and their relatives. The jump is divided into two classes: the crown prince and princess are one class for the next venerable, and the officials and men are in one class. In the music, men and women face each other and carry each other. The man wraps his right hand around the woman's waist, and the woman holds the man's shoulder with the left hand, and the dance is in the center. Every two, three, four, and five couples dance together, all of which stop after a few turns. However, if husband and wife do not coincide, brothers and sisters do not coincide, men and women who must be acquaintances of relatives and friends are coupled. ”

And Liu Xihong has a lot of complaints about such a ball:

"Men and women face each other and hold each other. The man holds the woman's waist with one hand, and the woman holds the man's arm with the other, and dances in the atrium. Every four or five couples dance together, all of them go around the court for several turns and then stop. The women are naked, while the men are neatly dressed. However, the pants under the men's dresses of other countries are dyed flesh colored, close to the legs and feet, and those who are far-sighted are as if they are naked in their lower bodies, which is very unsightly. …… Isn't it wrong to jump in the same way? Carnival Dadan, the story of the wine pool and the meat forest (he recognized Daji), see it now! So that China has this, how to be in a daze! ”

Guo Songtao's view is more profound: "Western customs are incomprehensible. From the outer palace gate to the inner hall, the guards are planted, all have constants, and there is no transgression. The dancing will move until the day, and the rules are still in order. The princes and the German princes are all among the dancers. In terms of Chinese etiquette, it is close to absurdity. And its style and religion are far better than China's, and they have never heard of etiquette. ”

In addition, there was a masquerade ball, which also stunned them:

"The Rothschilds Ball, men and women, strangely dressed, and the systems of various countries, mixed with fan's clothes and North Melica's savages. There is a woman with a sharp head, more than a foot high, and the British legacy is more than 100 years ago. There is also a woman with a high crown and cut clouds, which is more than ten stacks of different colors, and inquired about it, and the French lord Louis IV made this crown style, and each family prepared this kind of clothing to be gathered. This so-called child's play, but hundreds of years of crown clothing system, and the five different customs, under and the shape of the crown of the Miao, imitation trance, can also be used for the ancient and investigation of the various local clothing system. Five-colored, bizarre, shining in a room, depending on the tea party as a special view. ”

They also attend concerts. On behalf of the minister, Zhang Deyi went to the house of Mrs. Haseri to listen to the music. There are eight singers, six men and two women, all of whom are from Italy. Its voice is clear, its rhyme is delicate, and it is intoxicating to listen to, although Zheng Wei's voice is just that."

The most frequent attendance of the Chinese mission was the tea party. The so-called tea party is "to bait the fruit of the long feast of aged tea and wine, and to drink the guests." The door of the courtyard is full of flowers, and it is fragrant and pleasant." The drinks provided at the tea party are "coffee and tea", with sugar, cow cheese, accompanied by cake bait, and cloth on the side of the hall to drink it for the guests. If there are many customers, they will all talk about it".

Tea invitations are extremely frequent during the social season. In two days, they had 11 tea parties.

Zhang Deyi wrote in his diary: "I took a car with Guo Xing, and went to the tea party of Chen Tingxuan, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, during the day, at the tea party at Lu Zhongheng's house, the former thirteen lines of Guangdong, and at night at the tea party of the Jing Union and the Medical Center. The next day, he wrote: "He went to the Thirteen Lines of Pan and Wu with Guo Xing's envoy during the day, the former Shanghai Taxation Department, the late Fei Shilai's brother Fei Zilai, and the three tea parties of Orlandou and Mrs. Hooker, and the tea party and dance party at the two houses of Lin Chi and Rothchild Lord at night." "In two days, they rushed to 11 fields.

As Guo Songtao met more and more friends in London, various invitations for social entertainment came one after another. Some activities he had to attend, and some he sent his subordinates to do it for him. According to Zhang Deyi's diary, during the 69 days from May 15 to July 22 this year, he participated in social activities with or on behalf of Guo Songtao, including 57 tea parties, 6 concerts, 12 dance parties, a famous dog show, a gardening party, a fireworks show, a talk party, plus a charity auction and several dinners, and watched a boat race.

The Chinese with long braids and robes shuttle among the foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes, red men and green women, and the ladies are still "flesh" (Liu Xihong's descriptive language), and the feelings in their hearts can not be fully described by pen and ink.

Tea drinking originated from China, but at this time, the British tea party has surpassed ordinary living habits and become an important form of social interaction. Zhang Deyi's pen, the tea party of the Foreign Secretary Mrs. Deby, "thousands of men and women, crowded and quite hot", "Mrs. Geern's tea party, the pavilion is magnificent, men and women are mixed, elbows and shoulders, thousands and hundreds", and the tea party of Mrs. Dao Mocun's house, "there are thousands of men and women, there are thousands of people." The long feast of the mansion, the wine and delicacies are listed, the flowers are on the four walls, the fragrance is beautiful and pleasant, and the victory will also".

is often invited to participate in various social activities, which makes Guo Songtao germinate the idea of holding a thank-you tea party. Logically speaking, it is not polite to come and go. He consulted the cost, and heard that it would cost at least 500 pounds to run a game, or 1,750 taels of silver, "which cannot be reduced." In the evening of that day, Guo Songtao told Zhang Deyi that he wanted to hold a tea party next month. He also wanted to imitate the British custom of issuing invitations in the name of Mrs. Kwok (that is, the wife of the successor Liang who accompanied him abroad).

After hearing this, Zhang Deyi immediately tactfully expressed his objection: "According to Western customs, all tea parties and dance parties are all famous heroines, but this time China Qincha invited tea parties, which can be slightly flexible and do not need to be restricted." ”

Guo Songtao said disapprerovingly: "Follow the customs of the locals, why bother to be stubborn? And everyone in the UK knows that I am here with my family, so it is not impossible. ”

Zhang Deyi reminded Guo Songtao: "In the western country, if Mrs. Ru is famous, the natural system will not hurt. When this letter spread to China, I was afraid that people would be troubled, and it would inevitably be discussed. ”

Listening to Zhang Deyi's words, Guo Songtao remembered Liu Xihong, who had been avoiding him these days, and couldn't help but sigh, "Junfeng, what you said is very true, it's up to you." ”

Although Liu Xihong has not refused to participate in social activities these days, he has tried his best to avoid being with Guo Songtao, and more often than not, he writes a diary in his study, at this time Guo Songtao has already obtained a report from Li Jingmen, an attaché of the embassy, and knows that Liu Xihong "made up a diary and sent Shen Jingxiang and Li Lansun Shangshu on the 10th".

In order to prepare for this tea party, the Chinese embassy mobilized all the people to decide on the invitation list and make invitations, and they were very busy. On May 19, 1875, the Chinese Embassy in Britain successfully hosted the first reception in the history of Chinese diplomacy. The embassy vacated the public space in the building, along with the diplomats' quarters. From the gate to the second floor, there are lights and candles, flowers and red carpets on the left and right. The handrails of the stairs are decorated with white yarn, hung with red spikes, and interspersed with roses, peonies and camellias. The living room and dining room are hung with flowers and lanterns, and a long feast is set horizontally, including tea, wine, coffee, iced milk, snacks, hot soup, cold meat, and dried and fresh fruits. Knives, forks, cups and plates, neatly arranged, glass and silver porcelain, dazzling. Opposite the living room, arrange a band. Hanging flowers, drums noisy. A makeshift cloakroom is also furnished. A tent was set up outside the door, and six British policemen were hired to maintain order. At that time, the Chinese Embassy was located at 45 Portland Avenue, a five-story building along the street, and more than 800 guests attended.