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66-530: The clique's main members were Duan Qirui , Duan Zhigui , Jin Yunpeng , Wang Yitang , Lu Yongxiang , Zhang Jingyao , Wu Guangxin , Chen Shufan , Zheng Shiqi , Xu Shuzheng , etc. The Anhui Clique was largely a collection of military officers with connections to Duan Qirui, either due to family ties such as Wu Guangxin , being from the same locality such as Duan Zhigui , or having a teacher-student relationship such as Xu Shuzheng or Jin Yunpeng . However,

132-697: A Japanese warship. Duan dispatched military police to disperse the protesters, and in the resulting melee 47 protesters were killed and over 200 injured, including Li Dazhao , co-founder of the Communist Party . The event came to be known as the March 18 Massacre . The next month Feng Yuxiang again revolted, this time against the Fengtian clique , and deposed Duan, who was forced to flee to Zhang Zuolin for protection. Zhang, tired of his double-dealings, refused to restore him after re-capturing Beijing. Most of

198-750: A hardline approach during the Constitutional Protection War , giving the revolutionaries his political support as Duan Qirui sought to become the President of the Republic. After the death of Yuan Shikai and his abdication of the Hongxiang Emperor the Beiyang government was restored to which Duan Qirui served as premier under the presidency of Li Yuanhong; Effectively giving Duan Qirui the leadership of China by controlling

264-493: A monarchist general, Zhang Xun , marched his army into Beijing and announced the restoration of the Qing dynasty on July 1, 1917. Outraged, the other Beiyang generals, led by vice-president Feng Guozhang , mobilized their forces and ended the short-lived restoration attempt. Duan was returned to power while Li Yuanhong, having had enough of Beiyang politics, resigned the presidency. A few days later, on August 14, 1917, China entered

330-644: A ploy to further pressure Feng to restore him to the premiership. However, Wu Peifu once again refused to follow his orders to invade the southern provinces. Faced with the threat from Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's coalescing " Zhili clique ," Duan attempted to strengthen his position by forming his own political party called the " Anhui clique ." He also used the funds from the Nishihara Loans to build up his military forces, employing Japanese officers to train his troops. President Feng Guozhang's term expired on October 10, 1918; in an attempt to placate

396-716: A powerful supporter. Xu was 45 years old. Xu had one wife and four concubines. His wife Xia Hongjun ( 夏红筠 , also named Xia Xuan ( 夏萱 )), died in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 1955. They had four sons and two daughters. First son Hsu Shen-chiao ( 徐審交 Xu Shenjiao) and third son Hsu Dau-lin ( 徐道鄰 , Xu Daolin) were active in Republic of China politics. Hsu Dau-lin wrote a biography, published in Chinese in 1962, entitled The Life of General Hsu Shu-tseng. Older daughter Hsu Ying Li ( 徐樱 Xu Ying, also named Xu Yinghuan ( 徐樱环 )), wrote

462-634: A protege of Duan, was appointed premier in August 1920. Other Anhui members secretly mediated between Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang , an important leader in the Zhili clique, when the latter decided to revolt against his former allies in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War . Feng Yuxiang's defection resulted in the defeat of Wu Peifu and the Zhili clique and forced them to withdraw to the south. The victorious Zhang Zuolin unpredictably named Duan Qirui as

528-404: A secondary purpose was to get him out of the country. He returned to China in 1924 after Duan's return as chief executive. In December 1925, while traveling from Beijing to Shanghai by train, Xu was kidnapped by Zhang Zhijiang , a member of Feng Yuxiang 's forces. He was assassinated at dawn the next day by Feng as revenge for the killing of Lu Jianzhang . This also deprived Feng's rival Duan of

594-417: A series of shaky coalitions (which often collapsed). Yuan's attempt to establish his own dynasty had destroyed the unity of China, and many provinces had achieved de facto independence from Beijing as early as 1915. In 1916, when Yuan Shikai was on his deathbed, he called several of the most important political and military figures in his government, including Duan, to hear his last political testament. Yuan

660-576: A vegetarian after the March 18 Massacre to repent for his involvements in the massacre. Douchi was his favorite food and was served at every meal. Duan also kept a hen farm at home to provide him with eggs, but kept no roosters, as he claimed that without fertilization, the eggs remained vegetarian. Xu Shuzheng Hsu Seu-Cheng or Xu Shuzheng ( traditional Chinese : 徐樹錚 ; simplified Chinese : 徐树铮 ; pinyin : Xú Shùzhēng ; Wade–Giles : Hsü Shu-Cheng ; IPA: [ɕú ʂùt͡ʂə̄ŋ] ) (11 November 1880 – 29 December 1925)

726-773: The Anfu Club . The Anhui clique had an uneasy co-existence with the Zhili clique and Fengtian clique in the politics of the Beiyang government , often finding itself at odds with the two cliques. During the National Protection War (1915–1916) Duan Qirui gave his support to the Kuomintang revolutionaries against Yuan Shikai . In 1916, after the death of Yuan Shikai and ending of the Constitutional Protection War , Premier Duan Qirui would become Premier of

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792-739: The Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of China on four occasions between 1913 and 1918, and from 1924 to 1926 he served as acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China in Beijing . A graduate of the Tianjin Military Academy , Duan studied military science in Germany and became a prominent artillery commander under Yuan Shikai . Following

858-735: The May Fourth Movement in 1919. His position weakened, Duan was eventually ousted from power after his defeat in the 1920 Zhili–Anhui War . He came out of retirement in 1924 to head Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang 's Beiyang government , but was again deposed after Zhang's victory over Feng in the Anti-Fengtian War . Duan subsequently retired to Tianjin before settling in Shanghai, where he died in 1936. Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui ( Chinese : 段啓瑞 ), his courtesy name

924-825: The New Army . Duan first saw action in the Boxer Rebellion , where he served Yuan in Shandong province and distinguished himself in combat against the Boxers. Yuan then gave him command over a Beiyang army division in 1904. In 1906 he was appointed director of the Baoding Staff College, which allowed him to begin recruiting his own clique of loyal junior officers. Yuan arranged for the marriage of his niece, whom he had adopted, to Duan in an effort to consolidate his power and solidify Duan's loyalty. After

990-695: The Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and the fall of the Qing dynasty , he became minister of war and premier in the Yuan cabinet. He opposed Yuan's restoration of monarchy in China and, upon Yuan's death, continued as premier and took effective control of northern China. His tenure was marked by political infighting as well as conflict with southern parliamentarians under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen . In 1917, Duan took part in suppressing another attempt to restore

1056-513: The Zhili–Anhui War and lasted from July 14 to July 18, 1920. Although Duan's army had been equipped and trained by Japan, it succumbed easily to Wu Peifu-led Zhili forces and their allies. His military power shattered, Duan fled to a Japanese settlement in Tianjin and became an apartment landlord. The Anhui clique began to lose its coherency, as some of its members became affiliated with either

1122-735: The "National Protection Army" in the southwest, which also claimed to support the constitution. Eventually Feng was able to persuade Duan to relent and the dissident government in the south agreed to dissolve itself when Parliament was reconvened. Nevertheless, the parliament and the country remained as divided as ever between north and south. Duan and the other Beiyang leaders refused to be dictated to by southern parliamentarians, composed mostly of Sun Yat-sen 's Guangdong-based Kuomintang party, backed by southern armies outside Beiyang control. Duan decided to take action against southern military commanders by reassigning them to other posts and thereby breaking their control. In order to do this he decided to oust

1188-704: The 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Divisions were led by Anhui Clique officers and were stationed in Anhui Clique-loyal provinces, along with several other mixed brigades. The last significant component of the Anhui Clique was the provincial military governors and local armies. Wu Guangxin commanded the Upper Yangtze Garrison, which controlled several brigades and a division in Western Hubei . Lu Yongxiang governed Zhejiang through

1254-517: The Allies against Central powers . However, Duan was opposed again by both the president and vice-president, along with most of the parliament. He was impatient to gain parliament's approval through negotiation and resorted to bullying tactics with organized mobs. In response, president Li Yuanhong in May 1917 dismissed Duan as premier after parliament had voted to ask for his resignation. At this juncture

1320-665: The Anhui Clique would grow to be defined by the policy of Unification By Force, which would was the strategy of uniting North and South China through military conquest rather than peaceful negotiation. Their rivals in the Zhili Clique were opposed to Unification By Force, fracturing the Beijing governments of 1916 to 1920. Because the Anhui clique organized itself very early, it was more politically sophisticated than its warlord rivals, with an associated civilian wing being organised as

1386-443: The Anhui clique had already sided with Zhang. Duan Qirui exiled himself to Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai where he died on November 2, 1936. Duan gained a reputation as tough and authoritarian, but without a great love for public office. He was observed to have a "Buddhist inclination", and enjoyed solitude. He delegated great authority to his subordinates, and generally supported their decisions. His chief professional interest

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1452-572: The Beiyang Army's failure to suppress the Bai Lang Rebellion as reason, he initiated reforms to purge the military of Duan's followers and raise a new army which was supposed to be more capable than the Beiyang Army while also being loyal to Yuan himself. As Duan fell sick in late 1914, he was unable to stop the President's plans, and he was thus dismissed as minister of war in May 1915. Having expected to eventually succeed Yuan in

1518-552: The Fengtian clique. The Anhui clique also had a political wing known as the Anfu Club (literally, Peace and Happiness Club , after a Beijing lane where they met; folk etymology claims it was a pun on Anhui and Fujian ) which consisted of politicians that threw their fortune in with Duan. Formed on 7 March 1918 by Xu Shuzheng and Wang Yitang , it ran for elections for the northern National Assembly and won three-fourths of

1584-678: The First Army in various positions on the general staff, such as chief of the Logistics Department, deputy chief of land forces and chief of land forces. In 1914 he founded a middle school called Cheng Da Middle School, which is the predecessor of today's Affiliated High School of the Capital Normal College. In 1918 Xu founded the Anfu Club , the political arm of the Anhui clique , which then won three-fourths of

1650-630: The First World War on the side of the Allies. Duan declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary Empire and took back Germany's settlement and Austria Hungary's settlement in Tianjin . By entering the war, Duan hoped for some quid pro quo from China's new allies, such as the cancellation of many of the indemnities and concessions that China had been forced to sign in the past. He also hoped that China could gain international prestige by involving itself in "The Great War". Duan's strategy now

1716-495: The Japanese plot to enthrone Puyi as emperor of Manchukuo 吳光新 - Governor of Hunan: 1920 倪嗣衝 曲同豊 陳樹藩 張廣建 李厚基 杨善德 王永泉 - Governor of Fujian: 1922 马良 Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (Chinese: 段祺瑞 ; pinyin: Duàn Qíruì ; Wade–Giles: Tuan Ch'i-jui , pronounced [twân tɕʰǐ.ɻwêɪ] ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord , politician and commander of

1782-662: The Ministry of War, originally named the War Participation Army, which was funded and trained by the Japanese and consisted of around 50,000 troops. Qu Tongfeng commanded the 1st Division, Ma Liang commanded the 2nd Division, and Chen Wenyuan commanded the 3rd Division. There were also five additional mixed brigades, stationed in Luoyang , Zhangjiakou and the suburbs of Beijing . Within the Central Army,

1848-799: The National Assembly were part of the Anfu Club. The Anhui Clique armies fought during the Constitutional Protection War , Zhili-Anhui War of 1920 and the Occupation of Outer Mongolia . The Anhui Clique has received aid in the form of military equipment, advisors and more mostly from the Japanese , they had also received aid from the French and British, most notably in the form of warplanes and armoured cars. The Anhui Clique purchased weaponry such as bolt-action rifles and ammunition from

1914-579: The Republic, with Li Yuanhong serving as the President of the Republic, Li Yuanhong acted as a puppet of Duan Qirui due to him being easily manipulated essentially giving the Anhui Clique almost complete control over the Beiyang Government . With Japanese support and the suppression of the Manchu Restoration in 1917, the Anhui clique became the most powerful faction in China from 1916 to 1920. The Anhui clique advocated for

1980-652: The United States, France and others. France provided planes used in the bombing of the Forbidden City . 段祺瑞 - Negotiated the Nishihara Loans with Japan in exchange for Shandong Concession, triggering the May Fourth Movement 徐樹錚 - Led expedition that reconquered Mongolia and temporarily brought it back under control 段芝貴 靳雲鵬 王揖唐 盧永祥 何丰林 - Subordinate of Lu Yongxiang 張敬堯 - Assassinated in 1933 after he became involved with

2046-685: The Zhejiang provincial army and He Fenglin served as the Military Commissioner of Shanghai . Chen Shufan , the nominal governor of Shaanxi , controlled most of the South of his province with several local armies under his command. The military governors of Shandong were subservient to Duan Qirui , although it was plagued by intra-clique rivalries due to Jin Yunpeng 's influence in the province and Jin's rivalry with Xu Shuzheng , who had subordinates such as Ma Liang and Qu Yingguang in

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2112-450: The Zhili clique or Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian faction. Only Zhejiang remained in the hands of the Anhui clique, although it eventually fell in 1924. Shandong was allowed by the Zhili clique to later be taken over by an Anhui warlord under strict conditions of neutrality. Nevertheless, some Anhui clique politicians remained active in government as the Zhili clique and Fengtian faction began to maneuver against each other. Jin Yunpeng , who had been

2178-778: The Zhili-Anhui War when the Assembly was disbanded. Their financial wing was the New Communications Clique (1916–1919) led by Cao Rulin , it was the rival to Liang Shiyi 's Old Communications Clique . Cao's conduct during the Paris Peace Conference led to the May Fourth Movement and his dismissal. The Anhui Clique, as opposed to their civilian partners in the Anfu Club , was primarily an association of generals and military governors. Duan Qirui commanded an army independent from

2244-465: The box was opened, Duan Qirui, Li Yuanhong and Xu Shichang were named. None initially wanted to take the presidency. Duan consulted with other senior military leaders of northern China, calculated that Li was the weakest and least popular of the three and then successfully pressured him to take the presidency, possibly under the rationale that a weak, unpopular president would be easier to manipulate. Duan served under Li as premier, but dominated him—and

2310-495: The exception of his son-in-law, who was also a patron of weiqi and was not afraid of defeating his father-in-law. Duan had four daughters. After Duan's retirement from politics he became a devoted Buddhist , built a worship hall within his own home and prayed every morning. Many of his former subordinates frequently came to pray with him. On the first and the 15th days of each month (lunar calendar), Duan would go to temples to participate in various Buddhist events. He supposedly became

2376-440: The main problems was that Duan began to amass influence over the Beiyang Army as minister of war, thereby undermining Yuan's own control over the soldiers. Realizing his growing power, Duan became more independent and gradually challenged the President over appointments and reforms in the military. As both had volatile tempers, their quarrels became ever more heated, and Yuan eventually started to counter Duan's rise. Using Duan and

2442-575: The monarchy , and spearheaded China's involvement in the First World War on the side of the Allies. He also negotiated a series of loans with Japan , with which he built up the Anhui clique and prepared for a conquest of the south. His secret dealings with the Japanese (including the 1918 Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement ) later came to light which, along with the Treaty of Versailles 's decision to transfer Shandong to Japan, paved way for

2508-400: The negotiations fell apart. With his clique's military power in a shambles, Duan's government was hopelessly dependent on Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin. Knowing that those two did not get along, he secretly tried to play one side against the other. On March 18, 1926, a protest march was held against continued foreign infringement on Chinese sovereignty and a recent incident in Tianjin involving

2574-474: The new Chief Executive of the nation on November 24, 1924. Duan's new government was grudgingly accepted by the Zhili clique because, without an army of his own, Duan was now considered a neutral choice. In addition, instead of "President" Duan was now called the "Chief Executive," implying that the position was temporary and therefore politically weak. Duan Qirui called on Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in

2640-469: The official national army of the Beijing Government , several generals and their divisions were loyal to the Anhui Clique. The 9th and 13th Division stationed near Beijing were led by Anhui Clique generals, Wei Zonghan and Li Jincai respectively, and the 15th Division led by Liu Xun would defect to the Anhui Clique following the death of Zhili Clique leader Feng Guozhang . Additionally, in 1919,

2706-564: The outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 against the Qing dynasty , Duan commanded the loyalist Second Army Corps against the revolutionary army in the Battle of Yangxia and succeeded in taking back Hankou and Hanyang . After Yuan Shikai altered the course of the Xinhai Revolution by forcing the emperor to abdicate, Duan supported him. For his loyalty Yuan appointed him military governor of both Hunan and Hubei provinces. He

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2772-531: The presidency, Duan thus came to oppose Yuan's attempt to declare himself Emperor in late 1915. After several provinces declared independence from Yuan's government, Duan tried to play the intermediary between the rebels and Yuan, just as Yuan had done during the Xinhai Revolution . Their friendship never recovered, even after Duan was given the premiership, partially because Yuan had shrewdly stripped that office of its powers. Duan served as premier intermittently from 1913 to 1918, under several governments, as part of

2838-509: The pro-Kuomintang military commander of Hunan; however, his cabinet refused to do so. In spite of this, Duan's right-hand man and Cabinet Secretary, Xu Shuzheng , issued orders on his own initiative to launch an attack on Hunan. In Europe World War I had reached a crucial point by 1916–17. Duan saw an opportunity to ingratiate China with the European powers and the US by declaring on the side of

2904-445: The province. Ni Sichong , governor of Anhui , was a major contributor to the Anhui Clique, and he controlled two armies in Anhui and Northern Jiangsu . The provinces of Gansu , Fujian and Zhang Jingyao 's Hunan were reliant on the Anhui Clique and led by Anhui Clique governors. Other provinces such as Xinjiang, Shanxi, and Fengtian were politically associated with the Anhui Clique during 1918-1919 as their provincial delegations in

2970-414: The rest of the government—and ruled for a time as the effective dictator of northern China, challenged mostly by semi-independent warlords. Neither Duan nor Li ever attempted to submit Li's appointment as president to a parliamentary or general election, indicating Duan's general contempt for constitutional reform. Duan Qirui, in his appointment as Premier, refused to recognize the old 1912 constitution. He

3036-461: The rest of the nation exploded in protest in what came to be known as the " May Fourth Movement " on May 4, 1919. Duan's rivals Cao Kun and Wu Peifu of the Zhili clique moved to corner him by organizing an alliance of military leaders, including Zhang Zuolin , who opposed Duan. They also engineered the dismissal of Duan's key subordinate Xu Shuzheng on July 4, 1919. In retribution, Duan forced the new president to dismiss both Cao and Wu even though there

3102-520: The right to station troops in Shandong province as well as the right to build and run two new Shandong railroads. There would be a high political price to pay when these negotiations came to light later on, but in the meantime Duan got the money for his army. This later became part of the reason for the Shandong Problem . After Feng Guozhang had restored him as premier, Duan Qirui quickly began preparations to mobilize troops for conquest of

3168-842: The seats in the National Assembly . Later that year Xu executed Lu Jianzhang after discovering that Lu was trying to persuade Feng Yuxiang , Lu's nephew, to fight against the Anhui clique. This would lead to Xu's own assassination in 1925. In 1919 Xu assumed command of the Northwest Frontier Defense Army, which invaded newly independent Outer Mongolia in October. On November 17 he forced Outer Mongolia to withdraw its declaration of autonomy, thus temporarily bringing Mongolia back under Chinese control. In 1920, after Duan fell from power, Xu lost his position and moved his forces back to confront his enemies. He

3234-450: The seats primarily because Anhui warlords bought the votes. The Anfu Club was a highly disciplined party created to push Duan Qirui's agenda through legal means such as electing fellow party member Xu Shichang as President of the ROC . Before the Zhili–Anhui War , it was also supported by the Fengtian clique, Xinjiang clique , and Shanxi clique . The Anfu Club was later destroyed after

3300-490: The south to restart negotiations towards national reunification. Sun demanded that the "unequal treaties" with foreign powers be repudiated and that a new national assembly be assembled. Bowing to public pressure, Duan promised a new national assembly in three months; however he could not unilaterally discard the "unequal treaties," since the foreign powers had made official recognition of Duan's regime contingent upon respecting these very treaties. Sun died on March 12, 1925, and

3366-460: The south, he agreed not to seek re-election provided Duan also vacate the office of premier on the same day. Duan's position was also weakening as rumours of his secret dealings with the Japanese began to surface. When the Nishihara Loans were exposed, along with the secret treaty between the Allies and Japan to transfer Shandong to the Japanese, at the Versailles peace conference , Beijing and

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3432-520: The south. The south responded by forming another rival government against the north and organizing the Constitutional Protection Movement . Duan dispatched two former subordinates of Feng Guozhang to the south to conquer Hunan, the linchpin of central China; one of these commanders was Wu Peifu . Wu supported Feng's preference for peaceful reconciliation with the south and refused to fight. Embarrassed by this fiasco, Duan

3498-614: The summer of 1924. ( Shandong was an anomaly, the Zhili clique appointed an Anhui general in 1923 there provided he remain neutral, see Shandong Problem . Zheng Shiqi ruled until 1925 when he transferred it to Fengtian's Zhang Zongchang per agreement with Duan.) After the Beijing Coup , Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin picked Duan to lead a provisional government. Lacking any significant military power, he and his few remaining supporters played Feng and Zhang against each other, they removed him from power and his last followers joined

3564-461: The weak President, the Clique would only rise in terms of power until 1920. In 1919 the May Fourth Movement weakened their influence and eventually led to the Zhili–Anhui War in 1920 which saw the surprise defeat of the Anhui clique. In 1920 Duan Qirui resigned and the clique lacked national leadership for the next four years when all their provinces were eventually annexed by the Zhili clique by

3630-407: Was Zhiquan ( Chinese : 芝泉 ). His grandfather was Duan Pei ( Chinese : 段佩 ), an officer in Li Hongzhang 's privately raised Huai Army (Huai Jun, Chinese : 淮軍 ). His father died early and he was raised by his maternal grandmother. In 1885 Duan Qirui entered Tianjin Military Academy ( 天津武備學堂 ), specializing in artillery, and graduated at the top of his class. After graduation, he

3696-471: Was a Chinese warlord in Republican China . A subordinate and right-hand man of Duan Qirui , he was a prominent member of the Anhui clique . Xu was born in Xiao County , Jiangsu (now part of Anhui province), with a scholar family background. He was one of the youngest persons ever to pass the Imperial examinations . In 1905 he was accepted into the Japanese School of Land Army Officials, and returned to China in 1910. From 1911 to 1917 he served in

3762-473: Was extensive opposition across China to return to imperial monarchy, and as a show of force, Duan Qirui ordered a Caudron Type D aircraft, piloted by Pan Shizhong (潘世忠) and bombardier Du Yuyuan (杜裕源) from Nanyuan airbase to drop three bombs over the Forbidden City, causing the death of an eunuch, but otherwise minor damage. This is the first recorded instance of aerial bombardment by the early-Republican era Chinese Air Force The conflict came to be known as

3828-418: Was forced to resign a second time as premier in November 1917. Nevertheless, Duan still exercised enormous influence in Beijing due to the various military commanders who were still loyal to him. Feng Guozhang was forced to reappoint him to the cabinet as Minister of War, and once again Duan dispatched troops to the south. He also ordered Zhang Zuolin , military ruler of Manchuria, to send troops to Beijing as

3894-467: Was further named to Yuan's cabinet as minister of war in 1912, then premier in 1913 while also keeping his position as war minister. Because he had publicly supported the Emperor's abdication while serving as an envoy of the central government in 1911, Duan's promotions were supported by the Kuomintang . Duan rose to power as a close ally of Yuan Shikai , but the two came to increasingly disagree with each other over various issues as time went on. One of

3960-427: Was no possible way to actually remove them from their posts. He also renamed his army the "National Pacification Army" and mobilized them for war with the Zhili clique and its supporters. Aisin Gioro Puyi was restored to the Emperor's throne at the Forbidden City by the warlord and Qing loyalist Zhang Xun in July 1917, and ordering his army to keep their queues in loyal service to the Qing emperor. However, there

4026-399: Was only able to say two words: "the Constitution", which no one was able to interpret. Yuan's 1914 constitution stipulated that, in the event of the impending death of China's president, the president would place the names of three men to potentially succeed him after his death. After his death, the box would be opened and one of the men named would be elected. Yuan died on June 6, 1916. When

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4092-438: Was opposed by both President Li Yuanhong and Vice President Feng Guozhang , the second most important Beiyang military commander after Duan himself. On June 15, 1917, the admiral of the Chinese First Fleet, Li Tingxin , along with China's most senior naval commanders issued a statement supporting the 1912 constitution and threatened to ignore orders from Beijing if the constitution was not restored, declaring their solidarity with

4158-412: Was replaced in Mongolia by Chen Yi, and Mongolia became independent again in early 1921 when Chinese forces were defeated by the Russian–Mongol army commanded by General Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg . Xu's forces were defeated in the subsequent Zhili–Anhui War and he was forced to take shelter in the Japanese embassy. In the early 1920s, Xu was sent to Italy as part of a Chinese diplomatic mission;

4224-438: Was sent to Lüshun to oversee the construction of artillery fortifications and came to the attention of Li Hongzhang , who sent him to study military science in Germany for two years. After returning to China he was first named as a commissioner to the Beiyang Armory ( 北洋军械局 ) and then an instructor at Weihai military academy. Soon he was able to gain the sponsorship of Yuan Shikai , who named him an artillery commander in

4290-413: Was the training of soldiers. In government, he favored a cabinet system, in which decisions were made among a small group of powerful men, rather than either the one-man dictatorship favored by Yuan Shikai or the open, consultative form of government proposed by Sun Yat-sen . Duan was also well known as a player and patron of weiqi (Go). He usually won because his opponents feared defeating him, with

4356-469: Was to negotiate financial loans with Japan, in exchange for concessions, to fund a military buildup for the conquest of the south. The political cover for this army was the entry of China into the First World War. With the poor state of the government's credit and European wartime expenses making both Western and domestic financing impossible, he secretly negotiated the first of the Nishihara Loans with Japan on September 29, 1917. In exchange he offered Japan

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