By the middle of April five
provinces--Yunnan, Kueichow, Kwangsi, Kwangtung and Chekiang--had
declared their independence, and eight others were preparing to
follow suit. A Southern Confederacy, with a Supreme Military
Council sitting at Canton, was organized, the brutal Governor Lung
Chi Kwang having been won over against his master, and the scholar
Liang Ch'i-chao flitting from place to place, inspiring move after
move. The old parliament of 1913 was reported to be assembling in
Shanghai, whilst terrorist methods against Peking officials were
bruited abroad precipitating a panic in the capital and leading to
an exodus of well-to-do families who feared a general massacre.
An open agitation to secure Yuan Shih-kai's complete retirement
and exile now commenced. From every quarter notables began
telegraphing him that he must go,--including General Feng Kuo-
chang who still held the balance of power on the Yangtsze. Every
enemy Yuan Shih-kai had ever had was also racing back to China
from exile. By the beginning of May the situation was so
threatening that the Foreign Legations became alarmed and talked
of concerting measures to insure their safety. On the 6th May came
the coup de grace. The great province of Szechuan, which has a
population greater than the population of France, declared its
independence; and the whole Northern army on the upper reaches of
the Yangtsze was caught in a trap.
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