New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 23 We Cannot Understand Each Other

Liu Yulong outlined the general framework of his idea and asked Wu Qijun and his secretaries to advise and fill in the details.

Zhang Lexing arranged for two captains to leave the palace and go to the Court of State Ceremonial to convey the emperor's orders.

First, inform the officials on duty at the Court of State Ceremonial that the order has been given, and then go together to inform Palmerston, Staunton, and others to prepare to see the emperor.

The captains were responsible for relaying messages, while the officials on duty at the Court of State Ceremonial were responsible for arranging the details of the audience, explaining the emperor's situation, and the taboos.

It's impossible for the visiting envoy to not know who the emperor is when they meet; that would be a dereliction of duty on the part of the relevant government officials.

Such matters were originally the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, which also undertook some diplomatic affairs during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

After Liu Desheng established the Han Dynasty, he entrusted all foreign affairs to the Court of State Ceremonies, whose power and responsibilities were very close to those of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

However, Britain was not a formal tributary state, and its envoys would not meet the emperor in a formal court. It was more like a commoner from overseas being summoned by the emperor, so the rules were relatively simple.

Since Staunton had been there before, the explanation was basically finished in a little over an hour.

When Palmerston and his men approached the mainland of the Great Han, they were intercepted by the navy before they even entered Bao'an Wharf.

They were then escorted and monitored all the way into the capital city, where they stayed at the Libin Hotel of the Honglu Temple, without any opportunity to gather information.

They had no idea that the Han emperor was already the third generation until the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial informed them.

After the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial and the Imperial Guards officers left, Staunton first confessed to a few of his companions:

"I never expected that His Highness the benevolent Crown Prince would pass away just two years after ascending the throne."

"When I last came here, the current emperor had just been born, and I knew nothing about him."

"All the preparations we made according to the former crown prince's plan have become useless."

The others also looked helpless after hearing this.

"So what do we do next?"

"It's all bad news..."

"Even the gifts we prepared might not suit the tastes of an emperor who is not yet twenty years old..."

Palmerston muttered something that sounded rather strange in a heavy tone:

"These things are no longer important. Regardless of who the new emperor of the Han Dynasty is, the fact that they decided to meet with us so quickly shows that the previous exchanges have completely failed."

Palmerston and his entourage all had some political experience and knew that going directly to see the emperor so early was not actually a good thing.

In diplomatic activities, if the country is already familiar, the envoy will usually pay a visit to the monarch first.

Then the monarch would send his ministers to negotiate, and after the negotiations, they would go to see the monarch to finalize the results reached by both sides.

If the countries are not closely related, then the ministers should be allowed to make contact first.

First, the basic tone of the relationship between the two sides is discussed, and then envoys are arranged to meet the monarch to confirm the final outcome.

Although Britain and the Han Dynasty had interacted several times, their relationship always belonged to the latter.

Nothing has been agreed upon yet, and going directly to the emperor would essentially mean halting negotiations and abandoning this diplomatic effort.

Staunton understood Palmerston's meaning, and his expression turned even more unpleasant:

"We didn't reach any consensus before going directly to see the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. It must be that the Emperor was misled by the Han Dynasty's foreign minister."

"That minister urged the emperor to see us as soon as possible and then send us away quickly."

The remaining few people basically agreed with Staunton's analysis, and at this point they were all speechless with frustration.

In particular, the jobs of Napier, Davis, and Elliot, who were originally intended to be stationed permanently in the Han Dynasty, may now be completely lost.

After a moment of silence, Palmerston, who was in charge, felt this wouldn't do and quickly tried to reassure his colleague:

"Seeing the emperor directly is our last chance, since at least we'll have the opportunity to communicate with him."

"There are no Han officials among us, secretly passing on information that is detrimental to us."

"Moreover, according to Mr. Staunton's original introduction, the emperor of the Han Dynasty might be easier to communicate with than his subjects."

"The young emperor may be a bit reckless and arrogant. If we show enough sincerity, we might actually have a chance."

Staunton was not confident at this point. When he said that the emperor was easier to communicate with than his subjects, he was actually referring to the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, not the current emperor.

But Staunton knew that Palmerston was trying to boost the morale of his comrades, and he couldn't let the others down at this time.

"This is indeed our last chance. If we can win over the emperor, everything will be fine."

The other three agreed, saying it was the only option they could think of since things had come to this point.

Palmerston and his group of five returned to their room for a meeting, where they spent the entire day preparing, outlining the decisions they could make and the things they could say.

On the morning of the third day, they took a carriage arranged by the Court of State Ceremonial to the Wanshou Palace in the Western Garden of the Imperial City to pay homage to Emperor Liu Yulong of the Han Dynasty.

Wanshou Palace was built during the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty. Because Jiajing wanted to cultivate himself here, he used a typical Taoist palace name.

Most of the gifts brought by Palmerston and his entourage were temporarily placed in the Wanshou Palace and its attached palaces.

Since it was not a formal meeting, Liu Yulong, dressed only in the emperor's everyday clothes, received them in a side hall where calligraphy and painting instruments were stored.

Palmerston, Staunton, Lawrence, Davis, and Elliot entered the room under the guidance of the interpreter from the Honglu Temple and bowed directly to Liu Yulong.

Because Emperor Qianlong was very insistent that they kneel and kowtow three times and nine times, and those who did not accept this requirement would not be able to see the emperor at all.

However, after Liu Desheng unified the country, he only required them to bow once.

This created the situation where Emperor Qianlong demanded the roof be removed, while Liu Desheng suggested simply opening a window.

Furthermore, since it was a private meeting, the British accepted this etiquette and would tacitly bow to the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Looking at the people in front of him, all of whom were key figures in the Opium War, Liu Yulong felt a complex mix of emotions, unable to express them, as his memories from two lifetimes intertwined.

Liu Desheng scrutinized them for several seconds before finally slowly raising his hand to give the order:

"No need for formalities, please take a seat."

When Liu Yulong observed them, Ba Maizun and the others sensed that the emperor was somewhat unhappy, which made their already uneasy mood even more anxious.

After Staunton got up, he carefully sat down in the chair, about to deliver his prepared remarks.

Liu Yulong spoke first:

"According to the reports from the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies and my personal guard company commander, the talks between you two days ago seemed to have been very unsatisfactory."

"I also realized that the customs and laws of your Britain and the Ming Dynasty are so different that it is difficult for you to understand each other."

Staunton was stunned when he heard these words. He realized that the new emperor was somewhat similar to Liu Desheng back then, and he could see the problem directly.

Staunton quickly translated these words to Palmerston, who immediately replied:

"Your Majesty, we do not yet fully understand each other, but we can continue to deepen our understanding..."

Before Palmerston could finish speaking, and before Staunton could translate, Liu Yulong interrupted Palmerston:

"This is difficult. The difference between the Great Han and you Britons is not the difference between you and France."

"Between us are France, Germany, the Ottomans, Persia, India, and Southeast Asia."

"We are located at the eastern and western ends of the continent, which is probably the most different place in the world."

"Unless one has lived in the other country since childhood, it is difficult to truly understand their customs, principles, and customary law."

At this moment, everyone around, including Palmerston, Staunton, Elliot, and others, was stunned.

Zhang Lexing and Liu Yulong's guards, Wu Qijun, and the interpreter from the Court of State Ceremonial all visibly paused for a moment.

The translators on both sides were the first to realize that although Liu Yulong was speaking in Chinese, he could clearly understand what Palmerston was saying.

The interpreter from the Court of State Ceremonial held back his words, but Staunton couldn't help but exclaim:

"His Majesty can actually understand the British language!"

The interpreter from the Court of State Ceremonial seized the opportunity and immediately began to reprimand Staunton:

"quiet!"

Staunton quickly apologized:

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I lost my composure."

Liu Yulong could pretend he didn't understand English, but it wouldn't have much effect.

With a translator from the Court of State Ceremonial of the Han Dynasty present, it was impossible for Staunton and his associates to openly plot in front of him.

Demonstrating one's knowledge of the British language directly has a certain intimidating effect, making it seem as if one understands them better.

Tell them not to try any tricks on them, and not to try to fool them with fabricated European legends.

Liu Yulong was also pleased to see their surprised and frightened expressions, and smiled as he waved his hand, saying:

"You translate for your ambassador first; I have more to say later."

Staunton immediately apologized again and relayed Liu Yulong's words to Palmerston.

Palmerston listened without commenting, acknowledging that the two sides were indeed located at opposite ends of the continent, and their cultural differences were indeed enormous.

But what was the purpose of the young emperor telling him these things?

Liu Yulong continued:

"Take the inheritance system, which is of utmost importance to royalty and nobility, for example."

"The eldest grandson of the Han dynasty, in the order of succession to the throne and titles, is ranked only after his father, that is, the eldest son, and before all his sons, including the eldest son's half-brother."

"However, the eldest grandson's younger brother, the eldest grandson's half-brother, is in the order of succession after all the sons, including the sons born out of wedlock."

"In the traditional patriarchal system of the Han people, this is the rule and system that is taken for granted."

"But it must be very difficult for you to understand, right?"

"Even translation might be difficult, right?"

Staunton felt a chill run down his spine; he did know the concepts of legitimate and illegitimate children.

However, explaining these things to people in English is very troublesome.

Staunton didn't understand why the emperor was suddenly saying these things. Did they have any practical relation to today's meeting?

Is this simply an attempt to make things difficult for the translator?

Staunton could only refer to his eldest son as "the first son born to his legal wife".

The eldest son's half-brother is another son born to the eldest son's mother who is younger than the eldest son.

A son born out of wedlock is "a legitimate son born to a legitimate mistress."

Then there's the eldest grandson, the eldest grandson's half-brother, plus the relationships of illegitimate sons and grandsons, nesting similar interpretations together.

Staunton rattled off a whole bunch of words like son, brother, big, and little until his lips were numb.

Palmerston was still completely confused. These relationships were far too complicated. They might be understandable if drawn with a relationship diagram, but they had no idea what it meant to be told verbally.

Staunton finished translating with a heavy heart, emphasizing the last sentence: "Even translation is difficult, so you Britons can hardly understand it."

The patriarchal system in the East, which is based on the eldest son's succession, is not a "first son's succession system." It does not mean that the second son's turn can only come after the eldest son has died.

The European inheritance system is primogeniture; as long as there are still members in the first branch of the family, it is not the turn of the next branch.