In 1860, during the Second Opium War, as the Anglo-French expedition force steadily approached Beijing, two British envoys, a journalist for "The Times" and a small escort of British and Indian troopers were sent to meet Prince Yi under a flag of truce to negotiate a Qing surrender. Meanwhile, the French and British troops reached the palace. As news emerged that the negotiation delegation had been imprisoned and tortured, resulting in 20 deaths, the British High Commissioner to China, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, retaliated by ordering the complete destruction of the palace, which was then carried out by British troops. The palace was so large – covering more than – that it took 4,000 men 3 days of burning to destroy it. Many exquisite artworks – sculptures, porcelain, jade, silk robes, elaborate textiles, gold objects and more – were looted and are now found in 47 museums around the world, according to UNESCO.