Li Yuanhong succeeded Yuan as president on June 7.
Due to his anti-monarchist stance in Nanjing, Feng Guozhang became vice president.
Duan Qirui retained his spot as premier.
The original parliament elected in 1913 reconvened on August 1 and restored the provisional constitution.
There were three factions in parliament now: Sun Yat-sen's Chinese Revolutionary Party, Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique, and Tang Hualong's Constitution Discussions Clique.

The first order of business was the creation of a national army.
This was problematic as the southerners reacted suspiciously in fear that they may be deprived of their commands to untrustworthy Beiyang generals.
No progress was made on this issue.

The second issue was World War I. Premier Duan and Liang Qichao was in favor of entering the war on the Allied side.
President Li and Sun Yat-sen were opposed.
Duan managed to strongarm parliament into breaking ties with the German Empire.
Li fired Duan when his secret loans from Japan were revealed.
Duan denounced his removal as illegal and set up base in Tianjin.
Most of the Beiyang generals sided with Duan and demanded the dissolution of parliament.
In June 1917, General Zhang Xun offered to mediate and went to Beijing with his soldiers.
Backed with German funds and arms, he occupied the capital and forced Li to dissolve parliament.
On July 1, he shocked the country by restoring Puyi as emperor.

After escaping to the Japanese legation, Li reappointed Duan Qirui as premier and charged him with protecting the republic.
Duan led an army that quickly defeated the Manchu Restoration.
Li resigned as president and was succeeded by Feng Guozhang.
Duan refused to restore parliament due to his unpleasant experiences with it in the past.
He argued that his victory over the Manchu Restoration counted as a second Xinhai Revolution and set out to craft a new provisional senate which will draft the election rules for a new parliament.
This senate cut the number of seats in the future parliament by nearly half.

His opponents disagreed claiming that under Duan's argument, he should resign as the premier's position cannot exist independently from parliament.
Sun Yat-sen and his followers moved to Guangzhou to set up a rival government under the Constitutional Protection Movement with the backing of the Yunnan clique and the Old Guangxi clique.
A rump of the old parliament held an extraordinary session.

The Beiyang government declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917 and began sending labor battalions to France and a token force to Siberia.
Duan took out large loans from Japan, claiming that he planned to build an army of a million men to send to Europe but his rivals knew this army would never leave the country, its true purpose was to crush internal dissent since it existed outside the jurisdiction of the army ministry.
Meanwhile, the war between the northern and southern governments led to a stalemate as neither side could defeat the other.
Duan's favoritism in promoting relatives, friends, Anhuites, and proteges to high positions in the military and government caused strong divisions within the Beiyang army.
His followers became known as the Anhui clique.
His detractors rallied around President Feng and formed the Zhili clique.
The Zhili clique favored peaceful negotiations with the south while Duan wanted to conquer it.
Duan resigned as premier due to the president's interference but his underlings pressured Feng to restore him.

The 1918 elections for the new parliament were rigged to favor Duan's Anfu Club which took three-fourths of the seats.
The rest went to Liang Shiyi's Communications Clique, Liang Qichao's Research Clique, or to independents.
Because President Feng was simply finishing the five-year term Yuan began in 1913, he was obliged to resign in October.
Duan replaced his archrival with Xu Shichang as president, the closest to a normal transfer of power in this government's history.
Duan promised Feng's ally, Cao Kun, the vice presidency but the Communications Clique and the Research Clique opposed it after ne
Li Yuanhong succeeded Yuan as president on June 7. Due to his anti-monarchist stance in Nanjing, Feng Guozhang became vice president. Duan Qirui retained his spot as premier. The original parliament elected in 1913 reconvened on August 1 and restored the provisional constitution. There were three factions in parliament now: Sun Yat-sen's Chinese Revolutionary Party, Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique, and Tang Hualong's Constitution Discussions Clique.
The first order of business was the creation of a national army. This was problematic as the southerners reacted suspiciously in fear that they may be deprived of their commands to untrustworthy Beiyang generals. No progress was made on this issue.
The second issue was World War I. Premier Duan and Liang Qichao was in favor of entering the war on the Allied side. President Li and Sun Yat-sen were opposed. Duan managed to strongarm parliament into breaking ties with the German Empire. Li fired Duan when his secret loans from Japan were revealed. Duan denounced his removal as illegal and set up base in Tianjin. Most of the Beiyang generals sided with Duan and demanded the dissolution of parliament. In June 1917, General Zhang Xun offered to mediate and went to Beijing with his soldiers. Backed with German funds and arms, he occupied the capital and forced Li to dissolve parliament. On July 1, he shocked the country by restoring Puyi as emperor.
After escaping to the Japanese legation, Li reappointed Duan Qirui as premier and charged him with protecting the republic. Duan led an army that quickly defeated the Manchu Restoration. Li resigned as president and was succeeded by Feng Guozhang. Duan refused to restore parliament due to his unpleasant experiences with it in the past. He argued that his victory over the Manchu Restoration counted as a second Xinhai Revolution and set out to craft a new provisional senate which will draft the election rules for a new parliament. This senate cut the number of seats in the future parliament by nearly half.
His opponents disagreed claiming that under Duan's argument, he should resign as the premier's position cannot exist independently from parliament. Sun Yat-sen and his followers moved to Guangzhou to set up a rival government under the Constitutional Protection Movement with the backing of the Yunnan clique and the Old Guangxi clique. A rump of the old parliament held an extraordinary session.
The Beiyang government declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917 and began sending labor battalions to France and a token force to Siberia. Duan took out large loans from Japan, claiming that he planned to build an army of a million men to send to Europe but his rivals knew this army would never leave the country, its true purpose was to crush internal dissent since it existed outside the jurisdiction of the army ministry. Meanwhile, the war between the northern and southern governments led to a stalemate as neither side could defeat the other. Duan's favoritism in promoting relatives, friends, Anhuites, and proteges to high positions in the military and government caused strong divisions within the Beiyang army. His followers became known as the Anhui clique. His detractors rallied around President Feng and formed the Zhili clique. The Zhili clique favored peaceful negotiations with the south while Duan wanted to conquer it. Duan resigned as premier due to the president's interference but his underlings pressured Feng to restore him.
The 1918 elections for the new parliament were rigged to favor Duan's Anfu Club which took three-fourths of the seats. The rest went to Liang Shiyi's Communications Clique, Liang Qichao's Research Clique, or to independents. Because President Feng was simply finishing the five-year term Yuan began in 1913, he was obliged to resign in October. Duan replaced his archrival with Xu Shichang as president, the closest to a normal transfer of power in this government's history. Duan promised Feng's ally, Cao Kun, the vice presidency but the Communications Clique and the Research Clique opposed it after ne
Beiyang government