Still, in spite of this, the leaders
refused to take warning, and although the political impasse was
constantly discussed, the utmost concession the monarchists were
willing to make was to turn China into a Federal Empire with the
provinces constituted into self-governing units. The over-issue of
paper currency to make good the gaps in the National Finance, now
slowly destroyed the credit of the Central Government and made the
suspension of specie payment a mere matter of time. By the end of
February the province of Kueichow was not only officially admitted
by the Peking Government to be in open revolt as well as Yunnan,
but rebel troops were reported to be invading the neighbouring
province of Hunan. Kwangsi was also reported to be preparing for
secession whilst in Szechuan local troops were revolting in
increasing numbers. Rumours of an attempted assassination of Yuan
Shih-kai by means of bombs now circulated,--and there were many
arrests and suicides in the capital. Though by a mandate issued on
the 23rd February, the enthronement ceremony was indefinitely
postponed, that move came too late. The whole country was plainly
trembling on the edge of a huge outbreak when, less than four
weeks later, Yuan Shih-kai reluctantly and publicly admitted that
the game was up. It is understood that a fateful interview he had
with the British Minister greatly influenced him, though the
formal declaration of independence of Kwangsi on the 16th March,
whither the scholar Liang Ch'i-chao had gone, was also a powerful
argument.
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