On December 14, Ye refused them. After 12 days, The English and French ministers responded by stating that their army are now free to do as they wish. At the same time, the English naval commander sent messages to Ye. This time, he demanded the Qing army to retreat 90 miles away from Canton within 2 days. In the end, Ye still refused. Over the course of those 2 days, they took no action.