The fight for the republic in China . ould be king. Being, how-ever, gifted with an astounding fund of patience, heprepared to sit down and allow the great game whichhe knew would now unroll to be played to its normalending. What General Li Yuan-hung desired aboveall was to be forgotten completely and absolutely—springing to life when the hour of deliverance finallyarrived. His policy was shown to be not only psycho-logically accurate, but masterly in a pohtical greatest ally of honesty in China has always beentime, the inherent decency of the race finally discredit-ing scoundrehsm i
The fight for the republic in China . ould be king. Being, how-ever, gifted with an astounding fund of patience, heprepared to sit down and allow the great game whichhe knew would now unroll to be played to its normalending. What General Li Yuan-hung desired aboveall was to be forgotten completely and absolutely—springing to life when the hour of deliverance finallyarrived. His policy was shown to be not only psycho-logically accurate, but masterly in a pohtical greatest ally of honesty in China has always beentime, the inherent decency of the race finally discredit-ing scoundrehsm in every period of Chinese history. The year 1914 dawned with so many obstacles re-moved that Yuan Shih-kai became more and more per-emptory in his methods. In February the young Em-press Lun Yi, widow of the Emperor Kwang Hsu,who two years previously in her character of guardianof the boy-Emperor Hsuan Tung, had been cajoled intosanctioning the Abdication Edicts, unexpectedly ex-pired, her death creating profound emotion because it. o rH Ci T—1 w I-H I-! ti HM P^ P iJ o i; t^ ^ PS c o H O A Q A § u^ < o hJ M Bi « -l fe O w w o rt A a S H o1 Pi ^ r^ ^< REPUBLIC IN CHINA 61 snapped the last link with the past. Yuan Shih-kaisposition was considerably strengthened by this auspi-cious event which secretly greatly delighted him; andby his order for three days the defunct Empress lay inState in the Grand Hall of the Winter Palace andreceived the obeisance of countless multitudes who ap-peared strangely moved by this hitherto unknown pro-cedure. There was now only a nine-year old boybetween the Dictator and his highest ambitions. Twofinal problems still remained to be dealt with: to givea legal form to a purely autocratic rule, and to findmoney to govern the countiy. The second matter wasvastly more important than the first to a man who didnot hesitate to base his whole polity on the teachings ofMachiavelli, legality being looked upon as only so muchpolitical window-dressin
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