Kunming Uprising When the
1911 Revolution began,
Cai E, the commander of the 37th Brigade of the
New Army, revolted against the Qing government and quickly gained control over Yunnan. The local Qing administration was replaced with an independent government and educational reforms were enacted by Cai. He also reorganised the provincial military into a more cohesive independent force. In the following six months, all of Yunnan and southern
Sichuan, including the city of Chengdu, were unified under the clique's rule. Cai E was very popular among people because he denounced factionalism and supported a strong central government. In 1913, Cai E went to serve in
Yuan's government in
Beijing, leaving behind
Tang Jiyao as provincial governor. Jiyao came from a prominent Yunnanese family. That same year the Yunnan provincial police department established the provincial public health office. In December 1915, Yuan Shikai announced his plan to turn China back into a monarchy with himself as emperor. This enraged Cai, who was a supporter of the Republic. Shortly after the announcement, Cai E secretly left Beijing and returned to Yunnan to stage a revolt.
Independence On December 25, Cai E, Tang Jiyao, and
Li Liejun, on the advice of
Liang Qichao, declared Yunnan independent and expressed their opposition to
Yuan Shikai's monarchy. Tang would stay as governor, but Cai and Li would assume command of the Nation Protection Army. On January 1, 1916, Yunnan published an official denunciation of
Yuan Shikai's monarchy. The same day, three divisions of the National Protection Army marched onto Sichuan,
Guizhou, and
Guangxi, beginning the
National Protection War to restore the republic. After being informed of Yunnan's declaration of independence, Yuan immediately sent out three armies to crush the rebellion but suffered heavy losses in southern Sichuan by Cai's forces. After several campaigns in the province, it fell under Cai's rule, who became its governor till his death. In the following two months, other provinces declared independence and joined Yunnan in its fight against Yuan. By June, Yuan had been defeated and was replaced by
Li Yuanhong as president of the republic. The National Protection War made Cai a national hero, but he died shortly after from
tuberculosis. His chief lieutenant, Tang Jiyao, took over Yunnan and demanded that the
National Assembly be restored. When this was accomplished, Yunnan officially reunified with the national government but kept its provincial army separate due to the
Beiyang Army's grip on Beijing politics.
Guizhou Clique For a lot of its existence, the
Guizhou Clique, under
Liu Xianshi, had to rely on Yunnan for economic and military assistance. Liu, with help from Tang Jiyao, formed the Guizhou Clique and consolidated military and civilian power, practically bringing forth martial law in the province. Liu, however, did not contribute much to the National Protection War, and still refused to help Yunnan in any way. Due to this, Wang Wenhua began to challenge his rule. Wang Wenhua supported the warlord Cai E, and was also a staunch critic of Yuan Shikai. This led to a divide in the Guizhou Clique, which also thus led to Wang gaining power in Guizhou. This was not approved by Yunnanese generals or warlords, and as thus caused much friction between the two.
Rival government After the second dissolution of the National Assembly, the
Manchu Restoration debacle, and the complete domination of the central government by the Beiyang generals, Yunnan joined several other southern provinces in forming a rival government in
Guangzhou during the
Constitutional Protection Movement. Tang Jiyao was chosen as one of the seven executives of its ruling committee. Within the committee, there was a power struggle between
Sun Yatsen's supporters and the
Old Guangxi clique. Tang sided with Sun and helped in the expulsion of the Guangxi executives. In 1921, he was ousted by
Gu Pinzhen, whose rule was recognized by Sun. The following year, Gu's army defected back to Tang. Tang sided with Sun again during
Chen Jiongming's betrayal. Less than a week after Sun died in 1925, Tang claimed to be his rightful successor and made a move on Guangzhou in a bid to overthrow
Hu Hanmin and put himself in charge of the Kuomintang. His forces were routed by
Li Zongren during the
Yunnan-Guangxi War. Thereafter, Tang joined Chen Jiongming's
China Public Interest Party as its vice premier. In 1927,
Long Yun seized control of the clique; Tang died shortly after.
Long Yun's rule Long Yun was at first slightly supportive of
Chiang Kai-shek and the government in
Nanjing, however this would not last long, and eventually he began to criticize Chiang for his inadequacy at ruling China, and his aggressive warlord subjugation tactics. Long stringently guarded Yunnan's autonomy, and refused to provide much to the war effort in the
Second Sino-Japanese War. Long Yun provided Yunnan with much-needed economic resuscitation, expanding the Tin mines in the south of the country, and subsidising many areas of the economy. This unique style of development made him incredibly popular among the people. Long also gave minorities in Yunnan many rights, for he himself was a
Yi, and expanded the education of many ethnic groups in the rural areas. Yunnan, however, was crucial in the war effort nonetheless. The famous
Burma Road led to Kunming, running through Yunnan, and was decisive in getting supplies to the Chinese soldiers fighting off endless Japanese attacks. After the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was removed from office in the Kunming Incident. Chiang Kai-Shek ordered Long Yun to move the majority of his army (100,000 soldiers) into Indochina without reason, leaving the Yunnan Clique vulnerable to invasion. That night, 5 October 1945 ("the Kunming Incident"), rifles fired in Kunming and the next morning a score of bodies lay at the South Gate. For four days the battle continued as soldiers of Chiang Kai-shek's army assaulted the place. Only a few companies of Long's troops did any shooting; the warlord never had a chance. == International Relations ==