Liu Xianshi's administration In November 1913, with Tang Jiyao returning to Yunnan after Cai E was placed under house arrest and stripped of his rank to take up his position as governor, power fell into the hands of Liu Xianshi, who assumed his position of military governor (
Dujun). , member of the Liu family With Yuan Shikai's declaration of the
Empire of China, the
National Protection War broke out. Liu Xianshi initially stayed neutral, but when the situation became urgent, he had to declare Guizhou's independence on January 27, 1916. Liu Xianshi held a military conference and decided to send the Yunnan Army Artillery Team, the Mechanical Team, and the 5th and 6th regiments of the Guizhou army. The 6th Regiment served as the right flank of the 1st Army of the National Protection Army. In June, after Yuan Shikai's death, Beijing appointed Liu to the position of Dujun, with Dai Kan becoming the civil governor. In August, Dai was transferred to the Office of Military Affairs of Sichuan, with the post of civil governor passed on to Liu Xianshi. Liu Xianshi consolidated his military and civil political power in Guizhou and implemented internal military rule. He supported Tang Jiyao's expansion into Sichuan, and formed and lead the Guizhou clique. As the Liu family hailed from Xingyi, their group is called the
Xingyi clique to differentiate them from the
Tongzi clique, which would be led by
Zhou Xicheng. The Xingyi clique itself was split into the Old and New factions. Liu Xianshi, with Liu Xianzhi, Liu Xianqian, and other members of the Liu family formed the backbone of the Old Xingyi clique, and
Xiong Fanyu,
He Linshu,
Zhang Xielu, and Guo Chongguang were called the "Four Pillars" of the clique. Xiong Fanyu was responsible for helping the Liu family with their schooling during the late Qing, and was the father-in-law of Liu Xianshi's son,
Liu Gongliang, as well as serving as Liu Xianshi's secretary and the leader of the Guizhou branch of the
Bank of China. He Linshu was one of the main leaders of the Constitutionalists in Guizhou and the father-in-law to Liu Xianshi's second son, Liu Junzhuo, who served as the director of the Guizhou Government Office. Zhang Xielu, who helped the Liu family with schooling in Xingyi, served as the director of the Finance Department under Liu Xianshi. While in power, Liu Xianshi expanded his army greatly. During a political crisis in 1916, Liu sent 400000 yuan to Shanghai from his treasury as an emergency fund in case he lost power. Liu Xianzhi and Liu Xianqian were each accused for taking 200000 yuan from Guizhou public funds. Wang had previously joined the
Kuomintang (then known as the Chinese Revolutionary Party) during a 1917 visit to Shanghai. Wang was unhappy with politics in Guizhou, and many members of the Liu family complained to Liu Xianshi about his tolerance of Wang and warned him of Wang being too powerful militarily. These warnings were largely ignored by Liu. Liu did, however, have a separate military force under the command of Liu Xianqian. At the center of Wang's plan was the Guizhou Military Academy, formed at the end of the Qing Empire. In 1917, Wang was successful in recruiting able young officers, and he rejected applications from candidates with relations to Liu Xianshi. In August 1917, Liu Xianshi and Liu Xianqian established a separate military academy in Xingyi called the
Suiying School. Another important factor in Wang Wenhua's support was his endorsement of the Guizhou student movement. With influence from the
New Culture Movement, newspapers in Guizhou by 1917 had started to print articles on Western ideas. Students began to discuss politics and ideology or demand for the curricula to be reformed to add certain subjects. In late 1918, Wang Wenhua and He Yingqin created a new student organization named the
Young Guizhou Association, inspired by the
Young China Students' Association in Beijing (which had been created in June) and modeled on
Giuseppe Mazzini's
Young Italy. The Young Guizhou Association called for students to call for the modernization of the province, increasing Wang's political power and taking the Liu–Wang conflict from the military scene to the student and civilian scene. He Yingqin was the nominal director of the movement, while Wang worked behind the scenes to hide his involvement. Students of the Institute of Law and Politics in Guiyang considered making a Guizhou branch of the
National Student Alliance, which happened in June as representatives from national student movement alliances came to Guiyang. Wang Wenhua and He Yingqin had formed a committee for the renovation of the Guizhou provincial government. They persuaded Ren Kecheng to chair the committee, who proposed that Liu Xianshi step down as military governor (Dujun) and appoint Wang in his stead, keeping Liu as civilian governor and handing over military power to Wang. Liu was furious and rejected the proposals, leading to a further divide between Liu and Wang. By late 1919, Wang had been using force to attack people who had disagreed with the loan and railroad project. It was, by then, clear that Wang was determined to remove Liu from power, but was kept from doing so, possibly from familial relations. In late 1919, the Young Guizhou Association launched a campaign against Zhang Xielu, denouncing him in a demonstration. His home was broken into, and many soldiers had joined in the demonstration. Another major protest against Zhang was planned to be on December 3, 1919, where local beggars would join in a mob to participate in a "Poor People's Conference" calling for Zhang's trial. The Young Guizhou Association Daily published several articles on Zhang's alleged mishandling of provincial finance. Wang plotted against Chen Tingce, sending an assassin after him. After a banquet at Wang Wenhua's house attended by multiple leaders of the Guizhou clique (including Liu Xianshi) to discuss provincial affairs on November 26, 1919, an assassin shot twice at Chen at 11p.m., leaving him wounded. The would-be-assassin was never caught. ==The Minjiu Incident==