Legate Zhengrui brings a letter to Macartney…
August 1793 CE
Macartney replies with instructions for Gower to continue on to Guangzhou, but Zhengrui secretly forwards the letter to the emperor at Rehe instead of dispatching it to Zhoushan.
Several men aboard the Lion had died of disease in August, and the squadron had stopped in Zhoushan to recuperate.
Having received word that the British ships are beset with illness, Qianlong instructs the viceroy of Zhejiang to ensure the British are quarantined at Zhoushan.
The court reprimands Zhengrui regarding his forwarding of Macartney's letter.
An imperial edict written by Heshen, a member of the Grand Council and a favorite of the emperor, stipulates that Zhengrui is not to make reports alone without the signatures of Jin Jian and Yiling'a, nor make decisions unilaterally.
As is typical of imperial edicts, the letter contains commentary in vermilion ink by the emperor's own hand.
Calling Zhengrui "contemptible and ridiculous", Qianlong orders him to send Macartney's letter to the viceroy of Zhejiang so the British vessels can leave Zhoushan.
People
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney
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Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
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James Dinwiddie
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John Barrow, 1st Baronet
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Joseph Banks
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Qianlong Emperor
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Sir George Leonard Staunton
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Sir George Staunton, 2nd Baronet
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Thomas Hickey
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William Alexander
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William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
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William Pitt the Younger
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