structural:scholar_edition, information:extraction
Pearl River campaign

The defence of Guangzhou was declared a diplomatic success by Yishan. In a letter to the emperor, he wrote that the barbarians had begged "the chief general that he would implore the great emperor in their behalf, that he would have mercy upon them, and cause their debts to be repaid them, and graciously permit them to carry on their commerce, when they would immediately withdraw their ships from the Bocca Tigris, and never dare again to raise any disturbance." However, General Yang Fang was reprimanded by the emperor for his agreeing to a truce rather than forcefully resisting the British. The emperor was not informed the British expedition had not been defeated and was very much intact. The imperial court continued to debate China's next course of action for the war, as the Daoguang Emperor wanted Hong Kong retaken.