The first outward sign that the heavy hand of Chang Tso-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 armjes came into touch op 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 arising by Chao Ti, Tuchun of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.