On 23 October the British destroyed four barrier forts. On 25 October a demand was made for the British to be allowed to enter the city. The next day, the British started to bombard the city, firing one shot every 10 minutes. Ye Mingchen issued a bounty on every British head taken. On 29 October, the Royal Navy blasted a hole in the poorly defended and inadequate city walls. The troops entered with a flag of the United States being planted by James Keenan (U.S. Consul) on the walls and residence of Ye Mingchen. Losses were 3 killed and 12 wounded. Negotiations failed and the city was bombarded. On 6 November 23 war junks attacked and were destroyed. There were pauses for talks, with the British bombarding at intervals, fires were caused, then on 5 January 1857, the British returned to Hong Kong.