]
In spite of his undisputed power, matters however did not improve.
The police-control, judiciously mingled with assassinations, which
was now put in full vigour was hardly the administration to make
room for which the Manchus had been expelled; and the country
secretly chafed and cursed. But the disillusionment of the people
was complete. Revolt had been tried in vain; and as the support
which the Powers were affording to this regime was well understood
there was nothing to do but to wait, safe in the knowledge that
such a situation possessed no elements of permanency.
CHAPTER IV
THE DICTATOR AT WORK
(FROM THE COUP D'ETAT OF THE 4TH NOVEMBER, 1913, TO THE OUTBREAK
OF THE WORLD-WAR 1ST AUGUST, 1914)
With the Parliament of China effectively destroyed, and the
turbulent Yangtsze Valley dragooned into sullen submission, Yuan
Shih-kai's task had become so vastly simplified that he held the
moment to have arrived when he could openly turn his hand to the
problem of making himself absolutely supreme, de jure as well as
de facto. But there was one remaining thing to be done. To drive
the last nail into the coffin of the Republic it was necessary to
discredit and virtually imprison the man who was Vice-President.
It is highly characteristic that although he had received from the
hero of the Wuchang Rising the most loyal co-operation--a co-
operation of a very arduous character since the Commander of the
Middle Yangtsze had had to resist the most desperate attempts to
force him over to the side of the rebellion in July, 1913,
nevertheless, Yuan Shih-kai was determined to bring this man to
Peking as a prisoner of state.
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