Things are never smooth sailing, and there are countless unexpected situations. When Samuel fell into the water and became seriously ill and fell into a coma, the British Legation in Beijing immediately issued instructions.
On the one hand, an urgent note was sent to the Qing court and the Chinese, requesting both governments to provide all resources to try their best to rescue this famous explorer loved by the British people.
On the other hand, the embassy sent professionals to the northwest immediately to investigate the truth!
At the same time, Gordon and his party, who had just arrived in Xi'an, immediately stayed at the post and waited for follow-up orders. Immediately afterwards, the British Minister in Beijing also sent an emergency notification telegram to London.
On the surface, everything was carried out according to normal diplomatic procedures, but everyone could feel the anger of the British. From beginning to end, they were determined to conduct an in-depth investigation of the case.
From what they said, this was a premeditated murder, not an accident!
Guiziliu and the others had never solved such a diplomatic incident before. The ministers of the Military Aircraft Department of the Prime Minister's Office were completely confused.
If the British protest, they will protest. If they are concerned, they will be concerned. If they want the Qing government to cooperate, then they will send a few people to have a look... What does this matter mean? Who is that Samuel? They don't know any of this.
Even in the minds of these officials, isn't it just that some explorer died? This kind of people have nothing to do all day long and run around all over the world. They are just bugs. They would be more worry-free if they died!
There is also something wrong with your big nose in the UK. Why should a person like you who is not engaged in production be investigated by the government? Isn't it just a person falling into the water? There are more than 10,000 people in the Qing Dynasty every day, if not 100,000.
In stark contrast to the Qing court's disregard, the Chinese attached great importance to it. When the British note was delivered to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese responded quickly in just 24 hours.
The entire Chinese media began to take action. What was completely unexpected was that all the Chinese newspapers actually gave the glory of discovering the Dunhuang Scripture Cave to Samuel Baker.
The front page headline released Xiao Letian's telegram of concern, in which the head of state highly praised Sir Samuel Baker's noble character and professionalism.
An expedition team formed from the UK traveled thousands of miles across the Pamir Plateau of Central Asia and went deep into the war zone to comfort the Qing soldiers who were fighting hard in the Western Regions.
What kind of spirit is this? This is the fearless internationalist humanitarian spirit! This is an act of kindness that can be compared with Nightingale, the goddess of the lamp!
Not only that, Mr. Samuel also used his most professional archaeological experience to discover an ancient scripture cave in Dunhuang that had been sealed for two thousand years! The ancient documents and cultural relics of the Western Regions from the Jin Dynasty have been released as a whole. Preliminary calculations indicate that the number of books and pictures exceeds 100,000...
…
The front-page headline almost made Samuel a saint, and as soon as this report appeared, it immediately caused an uproar in the public opinion community!
"Where is Dunhuang? Guazhou? Where did Marshal Zuo fight?"
"What are Mogao Grottoes? Why have you never heard of it? There is also a Buddhist scripture cave..."
"Hey, dear, the documents from the Jin Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty are all hidden? What a treasure!"
Chinese literati were completely shocked. Let alone talking about Buddhist scriptures and Taoism, let’s just say that those ancient calligraphy and painting works of art are priceless treasures. Especially the Jin Dynasty was an important historical period when Chinese calligraphy gradually matured.
The authentic artifacts left from this era are simply priceless!
Public opinion immediately became hyped. Ordinary people could not understand cultural matters but they could understand war matters. When they heard that a foreigner had crossed the desert no-man's land and risked freezing to death to help the emperor appease the frontline troops, That’s okay!
There has never been such a wonderful drama!
The ancient and unfamiliar name Dunhuang spread around the world at the speed of light. Thanks to the gradually formed global telegraph network, when Jiangnan became a sensation, Fusang, North Korea, Luzon, and Nanyang also knew about it.
It seems that within a week, everyone in London will be aware of it!
The staff of the British embassy in the Qing Dynasty did not expect that the Chinese would do this. The case was not fully investigated before they began to publicize it!
Many foreigners couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the Chinese really didn't do anything dirty? Otherwise, why would you take the initiative to promote it? Would a guilty person do this?
Before the British could understand Xiao Letian's trick, Emperor Tongzhi, who was about to board the ship in Shanghai, also made a sound!
Emperor Tongzhi sent a telegram of condolences to the British Embassy. In the telegram, he highly praised Samuel's great achievements and thanked him for leading the expedition across Central Asia. He called him a 'Friend of the Qing Dynasty'.
Although Emperor Tongzhi did not personally govern, he still issued decrees to the city of Beijing. Not to mention whether anyone listened to his attitude, he had to do everything he could!
The government is ordered to fully cooperate with the British investigation, and Samuel and his party must be treated at the highest level by officials along the way!
Good guy, the Chinese and the Qing court... of course the Qing court on Zaichun's side, completely praised Samuel as a saint, and tried their best to put all kinds of honor halos on him!
However, just as public opinion was trumpeting, an urgent telegram came from the northwest. The remaining rebels in the Hexi Corridor in Agub were transformed into bandits and were harassing the British expedition. As of the date of the dispatch, as many as 500 horse bandits were fighting against the official army. , Samuel was trapped near Yumen Pass, west of Jiayuguan, and had not moved for three days!
Good guy, under such publicity, there are still rebels who dare to harass Hexi. This is a great loss of face for the court.
The Military Aircraft Department and the Prime Minister's Office jointly sent a message to Zuo Zongtang, requesting him to send a large army to escort Mr. Samuel to ensure that no accidents occurred.
Immediately after the order was issued, there were waves of reports on the brutality of the Aquba rebels, and the Qing court also began to learn to use public opinion.
For a moment, the Qing Dynasty was agitated, and they all started to feel the same hatred towards the rebels in the northwest!
Outside Yumen Pass, six hundred Zuo Zongtang's cavalry set up a circular defensive position in the desert. Outside were the ferocious rebel horse bandits. The two sides had exchanged fire six times in three days.
Although there were very few casualties, the battle was extremely fierce. Samuel had been stuck here for three days!
His lips were pale and chapped, and his face was ashen. Samuel was already dying. He was surrounded by his disciples, assistants for many years, and loyal British soldiers.
When he came back to his senses, Samuel actually woke up temporarily. He opened his eyes slightly and looked at the familiar face, his lips trembled and wanted to say something.
He is going to leave his last words. He must at least tell his disciples that his precious personal notebook must be sent back to the country!
But God knows how much tiger and wolf medicine the doctor used. Samuel cried anxiously in the end but still didn't say a word.
He kept shouting in his heart, "The notebook...the notebook is sent back to the country...it has a secret..."
But I just can't speak, I can't even say a word!
The blond assistant burst into tears, "Sir, don't worry, we will definitely avenge you and catch the murderer!"
