This is a detailed diplomatic visit schedule that is hundreds of pages long. It is a detailed arrangement made by the British side based on the progress of the Combined Fleet.
Since the Combined Fleet entered the Mediterranean, London has used Europe's telegraph network, which already has high coverage, to begin to learn more about the Combined Fleet's itinerary.
All the lighthouses and observation posts on the Mediterranean coast and islands were recording the journey of the Reach and feeding it back to London at any time. At the most exaggerated time, six telegrams were sent to London in a day.
It is precisely because of the accurate grasp of time that the British side came up with a welcome plan that was accurate to the hour.
The United Fleet will definitely not reach London today. The Zhiyuan should arrive at the Thames Estuary at dusk. The British side cannot prepare a welcome ceremony, so Xiao Letian and the others have to sleep on the sea for one night.
The next day, July 25, the Zhiyuan officially entered the Thames accompanied by the Victory, while the rest of the accompanying fleet anchored where it was. Most of Xiao Letian's envoy team would disembark here, and Take the overland route into London.
This plan was too detailed. The envoy Xiao Letian led not only included guards, but also royal cooks, dramatists, attendants, and many accompanying items and gifts.
These personnel and materials will be transported by thirty-six carriages provided by the British side, and will enter the head of state's resting place in London in advance, the East Palace, which is the old residence of the Duke of Marlborough.
At the same time that the entourage entered London, the Zhiyuan on which Xiao Letian and Zai Chun were riding began to enter the Thames River, anchored in front of Tower Bridge, and disembarked.
British Prime Minister Benjamin will lead all cabinet members to wait here to welcome him. Xiao Letian and Zai Chun will take the Prime Minister's carriage here to St. Paul's Cathedral.
The British Crown Prince, Prince Edward, will hold a small welcoming ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral. From here, the royal family will take over the welcoming ceremony from the British Prime Minister.
It was here that the envoys began to be divided into two parts. The first carriage was ridden by Prince Edward and His Majesty Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. They deserved to be in the first position.
Following closely behind, Prime Minister Benjamin and the Duke of Newcastle accompanied Xiao Letian in the second royal carriage, and then drove to Buckingham Palace.
Behind these two carriages were the carriages of Wang Huaiyuan, Sima Yun, Luo Huo and other high-ranking Chinese officials, who were also accompanied by high-ranking British nobles.
Xiao Letian frowned and continued to look down!
On both sides of the road where the carriage traveled, there was a spontaneous crowd of London citizens to watch the ceremony. It was initially estimated that there would be more than 50,000 people.
Queen Victoria awaits Eastern dignitaries at Buckingham Palace for a grand luncheon, at which the ballroom of Buckingham Palace will be temporarily open to European journalists for twenty minutes.
During these twenty minutes, speeches by the Queen and Emperor Tongzhi will be arranged. This is the first time that Zaichun has made a voice to Europe.
Director Wang clicked on the timetable, "You see, there is no us, no you, the head of state! There are only speeches by the Queen and Her Majesty, and then the interview will end and the banquet will begin..."
Xiao Letian waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'll look at it again, I'll look at it again, this is not a big deal..." He said this, but Xiao Letian felt a little unhappy in his heart.
This state visit is a unilateral contact between the Chinese and the British, and Zai Chun is just following me as my disciple!
You British people are not blind. Can't you see that more than 90% of the members of this mission are members of the Chinese ethnic group? The Qing Dynasty did not approve of this visit from beginning to end, but they had nothing to do with Zai Chun overseas.
However, in the schedule arranged by the British, it was obvious that Zai Chun had taken over the throne. The British placed Zai Chun above Xiao Letian. The entire welcome ceremony was centered around Emperor Tongzhi, and Xiao Letian did not even have a chance to speak publicly. .
Xiao Letian took a deep breath to suppress the irritation in his heart. He knew that the so-called face was empty. In diplomatic situations, Zai Chun was the emperor after all, and he was just a prime minister, and the prime minister of an emerging power. It was normal for the British to look down upon him.
Xiao Letian is a two-skinned person who only cares about Lizi and not much about face. As long as he gets real benefits in his pocket in the end, he doesn't mind giving face to Zai Chun, but he can't eat face.
Besides, after all, Emperor Tongzhi was fighting against his master and apprentice. It was also the duty of a master to build momentum for his apprentice. There was nothing to argue about.
Further down, the schedule stated that after the luncheon, the Queen would walk alone in the garden with Zai Chun and drink tea for an hour.
"Alone? What does this mean? Can't I also listen?" Xiao Letian looked at the Duke of Newcastle and asked in confusion.
"Yes, respected head of state, after the luncheon, only the Queen and His Majesty Emperor Tongzhi will meet alone. Don't look at me with such questioning. I don't know what the Queen will say..."
Xiao Letian knew that nothing could be learned from the old fox's mouth, so he continued to look.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, General Zai Chun and the Queen took the Queen's carriage, the highest level in the British Empire, and set off from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, where the British Bishops would welcome the visiting Eastern monarchs.
At the same time, you can also visit the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. At 5:30 in the evening, the envoys and the British royal family will go to the State Banquet Hall adjacent to the British Admiralty, where a grand dinner and reception will be held.
It is planned that the reception will end at ten o'clock in the evening, but now is the time for the nobles and dignitaries to rest, and the atmosphere of the state visit will become more relaxed. With music, alcohol and women in the company, the reception may be dragged into the night.
At this time, time is difficult to arrange. The Eastern Envoy will decide according to their own schedule when to return to their residence, which is the East Palace, the former residence of the Duke of Marlborough.
"What? Zaichun is going to live in Buckingham Palace after the banquet? Won't he live with us..."
It was only at this moment that Xiao Lecai knew what the atmosphere of the Wang Bureau was. It turned out that Emperor Tongzhi and his team of eunuchs and bodyguards were about to part ways with the Chinese after the reception.
Zai Chun was arranged to live in Buckingham Palace, but Xiao Letian could only live in the Duke's old residence five or six hundred meters away. This was Chi Guoguo's separatist mission!
It’s not that the Duke’s residence is not good. In this rare diplomatic event in history, the British will never provide a shabby house to the Chinese.
The Duke of Marlborough is also a high-ranking member of the British aristocracy. His old mansion must be magnificent and befitting Xiao Letian's status, but what does it mean to separate Zai Chun from himself?
"Your Majesty the Duke, what do you mean by this? Why do you make separate arrangements for Emperor Tongzhi and me? And I also took a look and found that the visit arrangements between Emperor Tongzhi and I are actually not consistent!"
"Tomorrow, we can do activities together, but starting from the next day, Zai Chun will act alone under your arrangement? I need to explain..."
