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the withdrawal of his own forces from the fighting line at Yochow as soon as he received from Tang confirmation of the arrangements arrived at. That very evening, during a conversation with Chan Ka-mo, the then tuchun
of Hupeh, where Wu Pei-fu was, Chan Yau-ka heard a remark from him, which he regarded as a warning that his own, Chan Yau-ka's, safety was in danger, owing to Wu's advisers disagreeing with what they called "Wu's too ready acquiescence to what was adroitly forced on him by
a clever talker". Chan Yau-ka, taking the hint, immediately returned to Hupeh, travelling by a British steamer instead of by the gunboat by which he came from
Human.
14. Ten days after his return, hostilities
recommenced from Wu Pei-fu's side with redoubled vigour;
and consequently Tang had no option but to agree to ally himself with Kwongtung. Pei Chung-hsi and Chan Ming-shu immediately informed Canton of the alliance. The gate of Hunan facing Kwongtung was opened, as it were, and
Kwongtung reinforcements poured in, with the result now
known to the world. Tang was really unwilling to
fight Wu Pei-fu because at the time he had under him only
a little over 30,000 men as against 120,000 under Wu.
15. Chan Ka-mo was captured when Tan Seng-chi's
forces went into Hupeh, but through the intervention of
Chan Yau-ka he was not executed but kept in comfortable
captivity till Tang Seng-chi himself was forced out of
Hunan and Hupeh by Pei Chung-hsi. Although this is now "ancient history", Chan Yau-ka gave it as being an interesting and impottant episode which had helped to make history.
16.