after the signing of the treaty of saigon, the huế court attempted to regain what it had lost militarily through diplomacy. vietnamese negotiators sought a reversal of the territorial cession, which they regarded as the most humiliating clause of the treaty. in late 1863, the vietnamese proposed extensive financial, economic, and political concessions in exchange for the return of the three provinces. tự đức sent gian to france to seek an audience with napoleon iii. there gian behaved in a helpless manner in an attempt to gain pity from the french monarch. gian promised that vietnam would pay large indemnities for the military conflicts, grant further commercial concessions and a protectorate over all six southern provinces. napoleon initially agreed, but the decision was reversed after lobbying from french officers.