These words sounded to Prince Gong, and he glanced at it and saw that it was Zhang Peilun, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, who spoke. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Thinking that there were still a few sober people among the Qingliu, Prince Gong's mood became a little better.

Prince Gong withdrew his gaze from the Qinglius, and he turned his head to look at the seats of the foreign legations.

As he expected, the seat of the Italian minister was empty.

Present today were the ministers of Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan, who arrived early after being notified by the Prime Minister's Yamen. At this time, they were all sitting in their chairs, and they all looked leisurely and chatted, as if they did not feel the slightest uneasiness about the Europeans who were to be executed today. The foreign journalists present were taken aback.

After the end of the Second Opium War and the forced signing of the Treaty of Beijing, foreigners enjoyed extraterritoriality in China. The Western powers justified the so-called "uncivilized" states such as China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, Iran, Thailand and Turkey, which were incapable of adjudicating a fair trial and therefore had to resort to coercive measures to protect the unilateral extraterritoriality of their nationals. Consuls in the West are therefore granted the right to deal with all civil and criminal cases related to their own citizens, i.e., consular jurisdiction. This kind of extraterritoriality is actually a serious violation of the sovereignty of the host country, and it is natural that it has been strongly opposed by the people of the host country. When the news came out that the three Italian murderers who had assassinated the Chinese envoys had been extradited to China for trial, the Chinese government and the opposition were extremely angry, and the ministers of various countries in China were in an uproar, believing that this was an interference in extraterritoriality, and they called their own governments one after another, expressing their opposition to this and hoping that the government would respond accordingly.

To the surprise of the various ministers in China, this time governments did not support their ministers (except for the Italian government), such as the US Minister Samuel Wells Williams (Samuel Wells Williams) wrote to the US government asking "whether it is appropriate for the Chinese government to try Italian prisoners", US Secretary of State Hamilton? Hamilton Fish's reply was: "I and the President himself do not think that there is anything wrong with this, that the Chinese envoy is a representative of the Chinese government, that he is visiting on behalf of the Emperor of China himself, that any terrorist act against him will be regarded as directed against the Emperor of China himself, and that no government or diplomatic institution of any country has the right to shelter anyone accused by the Chinese Government of such a serious crime." Foreigners in China enjoy consular jurisdiction, and the atrocities committed outside Chinese territory are not entitled to this right under the relevant treaties and laws, so the U.S. government considers the Chinese government's request to be justified. ”

Of course, the U.S. Secretary of State also pointed out that "the Chinese government's trial of Italian prisoners should also abide by the relevant treaties and laws, and should not treat foreigners in accordance with some of the most barbaric traditions in China's own criminal law." It is necessary for us to follow the proceedings of this case and to ensure that the prisoners are treated fairly and that there will be no horrific torture of foreigners like the 'Summer Palace Incident'......"

The replies of other governments, represented by Britain and France, to their envoys in China are generally the same as those of the US Government, and it cannot but be said that Lin Yizhe has done an excellent job in this public relations campaign in Europe.

After it was difficult to convince their own governments legally, the envoys of various countries in China played the "moral" card, believing that if China were to conduct the trial, "the three Italians would inevitably be tortured by the Chinese and finally executed by cruel methods."

In fact, it is not only the ministers in China who are concerned about the humane treatment of prisoners, but also in Italy and the United States, some newspapers have begun to use the horrific style of reporting on "Jack the Ripper" to portray the inhumane treatment of three Italians in Chinese prisons: "...... The Chinese took the three Italians back to Beijing, where they were tortured for two days, some say. They made the Italians kneel on chains, pierced their legs with wooden sticks, and the people also stood on the wooden bars. The nails of all three Italians were plucked raw. They tied chains around the Italians and poured boiling water over the chains until they were embedded in the bones. They clamped the tongues of the Italians. They crush the most sensitive parts of the Italians. In all kinds of tortures that are worse than death, the executioner's sword has become the most painful ......"

These articles, which were carefully described and illustrated with copper engravings in order to attract the public's attention, caused an uproar among the parliaments of various countries for a time, but Lin Yizhe's telegram reminded him that the prime minister of the Qing Empire, Yamen, was quite in place to send a special note to the ministers of various countries, assuring that "the public law of all nations is the rule" and that "there will be no abuse", and allowing journalists from various countries to visit prisoners in prison, watch their living conditions, and draw pictures (at that time, photographic technology was not widely used, mainly copper engravings). Soon, the publication of these news items quelled all the speculation and discussion that had been very unfavorable to China's international image. At this point, the ministers of various countries in China finally had nothing to say.

After a week of public trial, in the face of various facts, the three Italian murderers finally confessed to their crimes, but insisted that they were not instructed or hired by any government, "They did this terrible thing with the sole purpose of destroying the relations between France and the Kingdom of Italy, hoping that the death of the Chinese envoy would prompt the resumption of war between France and the Kingdom of Italy, and use the power of France to overthrow the corrupt and incompetent Italian government and establish a 'young Italy'." …… More than once in the courtroom, the prisoners chanted 'Long live Mazzini!' 'Long live young Italy!' 'and other slogans, so overwhelming Chinese judges that trials are often interrupted......"

After the truth of the case was revealed, the Criminal Department reported the results of the trial, and the imperial court's reply soon came down, "According to the laws of all countries, the prisoners will be executed, and the punishment will be carried out at noon, and the ministers of various countries will be invited to watch the punishment in order to set the record straight."

After a while, a group of Chinese soldiers with rifles, tasseled hats, and uniforms appeared, these were the foot soldiers of the Shenji Battalion, their steps were neat, and the weapons they carried were no longer shotguns that made foreigners laugh when they saw them, but real rifles.

"These are the guards of the Chinese emperor, I don't know if they will use their weapons well, I heard that the Chinese don't even know the numbers, I doubt their marksmanship." The British minister, Thomas Francis Wade, noticed the weapons of the Chinese soldiers and said with a smile to the French minister next to him, Louis de Geoffroy, "I am really worried about the Italians, how many shots they have to take before they die." ”

"Mr. Vader, I don't think you should doubt the performance of the American Remington rifle." "As far as I know, the rifles used by these Chinese Royal Guard soldiers are the latest Remington rifles that Governor Li Hongzhang purchased from the United States, and his Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau is already capable of producing Remington rifles. He said, turning his head to look at the Chinese soldiers, "Even as you say, those Italians don't feel much pain. ”

"The performance of the French-made Chasebo rifle is not inferior to the Remington rifle, but because the governor of Zhili is closer to Beijing than other provinces, it takes advantage." Not to be outdone, Refolly listened to the words of the American minister, and said, "Now, the gun factory under the Fuzhou Ship Administration Bureau (referring to the Ship Administration Gun Station) has been able to produce the new French Chasebo rifle, and I think that soon the French Chasebo rifle will occupy the market of the army in the southern provinces of China." ”

Hearing that the words of Gerfley and Williams seemed to show off the military cooperation between France and the United States and China, Wittoma's face became a little difficult to look at.

"Good luck to those three poor Italians." In a sarcastic tone, "If they really can't end the pain right away, I'm happy to lend the pistol to the Chinese." ”

The ministers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria burst out laughing when they heard Wittoma's words.

Prince Gong heard the bursts of mocking laughter coming from the foreign ministers' seats, and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, Wen Xiang noticed the anger on his face, pulled Prince Gong's sleeve, Prince Gong glared at the foreign ministers, and sat down in the chair.

Soon, three wooden-wheeled prisoner carts appeared, and the American Minister Williams raised his binoculars and was surprised to see that the three Italians were not wearing heavy flails, but all squatting in the cars, looking very complacent.

Several Chinese soldiers stepped forward to open the prisoner car, and three Italian prisoners stepped down, their bodies were not as colorful as Chinese prisoners often encountered, there were no signs on their backs, they were still wearing suits, and they were very neat, their hair and faces were groomed, there was no trace of abuse, only the handcuffs and leg irons they were wearing, and their heavy steps reminded people of their true identity.

The three Italians were brought to stand in front of the pillar, when a Chinese official beckoned, and several ministers noticed that a bearded priest in a black robe holding a cross had entered the execution ground and came to the Italians.

Seeing that the Chinese had called a priest for the three Italian prisoners and prayed for them in their final penance, Williams' face was full of approval, and there was a low uproar among the foreign journalists watching the execution. Some of them took out their brushes and sketched on their boards.