The first outward sign that the heavy hand of Chang T'so-lin on Peking might lead to trouble with General Wu Pei-fu was the news of Chang's mobilizing on February 16. Throughout the subsequent campaign General Wu steadily maintained that he fought only to avert a military dictatorship in Peking, that he would fight again for the same cause, but otherwise did not intend to interfere in politics. On April 10 Chang Tso-lin began to bring his troops to Peking. On April 12 Wu Pei-fu began to move northwards: The two armies came into touch on the Hun river south of Peking on April 27. Some days followed of outpost skirmishing and the consumption of much powder,-which extended to the Tientsin-Pukou railway at Machang. On May 3, at Changsintien, a little south of Peking, Wu Pei-fu combined a frontal attack with a turning movement from the west and Chang's forces fled. They got back to the Great Wall, not being seriously pressed, and on May 13 Chang Tso-lin declared his independence and entrenched at Shanhaikuan, where he was followed at leisurely pace by Wu's troops. On June 9 negotiations for an armistice were announced which. promptly led to a rather sharp but resultless engagement; but on June 16 the armistice was actually signed. Other events of this period were a rising by Chao Ti, Tuchun of Honan, in Wu Pei-fu's rear, which was easily put down; and mutiny in Kirin against Chang Tso-lin, also quelled and subsequently punished with great severity. Chao Ti was cashiered by mandate of May 10 and with his brother, Chao Chieh, fled in disguise. Their leaderless arm-ties were left to prey on the province, of which more presently. The rain of proscriptions from Peking with which President Hsu attempted to justify himself in the eyes of Wu Pei-fu, in-eluded Chang Tso-lin, who paid scant attention to it. Consolidating his power in Manchuria, ha was reported by the end of July to be as strong as ever and there appears no doubt that he is. On September 29 he was reported to be buying arms in large quantities from abroad. At the close of the year the expectation of a further trial of strength between him and Wu Pei-fu to take place in the coming spring was general.
The Dragon Festival (May 81) found Peking as usual pen-niles. Tung Kang, the Minister
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.