Now, he said, at the behest of British Officials, he had come to Tianjin to request that his complaint be heard in Beijing. The Governor-general of Zhili, whose jurisdiction extended over Tianjin, then undertook to report Flint's complaint to Qianlong. Thus began a diplomatic incident that would become known as the "Flint Affair". On receipt of the complaint Qianlong responded:""This matter concerning a foreigner and the State must be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the clear laws of the Celestial Empire". The emperor went on to say that if Flint's complaint turned out to be true, Li Yongbiao and the others responsible would be publicly executed. Accompanied by a specially chosen Qing official, Flint found himself rushed back to Canton by land, the first British subject to ever make that journey. The General Commanding the Troops in Fuzhou (福州将军), Xin Zhu (新柱), hurried to Guangdong to conduct the investigation. There, he and Qianlong's chosen official arrested Li Yongbiao and Li Shiyao then confronted them with Flint's complaint, which listed seven grievances. However, the Englishman's real purpose in coming to Ningbo in the first place was to break through the single port commerce system and trade there he had clearly stated on arrival in Dinghai that the rear of his ship was packed with silver. While Flint was back in Canton, the British merchant ship "Chesterfield" arrived in the waters off Zhejiang, but its offer to trade met with a blunt refusal. The vessel's captain then claimed that he needed to stay for a few days to repair the ship's sails but after a short standoff, the merchantman withdrew. Qianlong viewed the episode with suspicion he believed that the ship's arrival was connected with Flint's complaint, which would serve as a distraction while his co-conspirator aboard the "Chesterfield" tried to open the ports of Zhejiang to trade. The "Chesterfield" and its crew would never been seen again. Qianlong's basis for deciding Flint's case focused on three principles:   According to written testimony from Li Shiyao, Li Yongbiao had not embezzled any government funds and had purchased goods on his own account for which he had not received compensation. Nevertheless, some of his relatives had taken delivery of goods from foreign traders and failed to pay for them. After deciding that Li Youngbiao had been blackmailed by his relatives, Qianlong stripped him of his position and sent him into exile.