Why did China decline into warlordism after Yuan Shikai s death On Yuan Shikai s death a confused period of infighting among Beijing army commanders followed from which General Duan Qirui Tuan Chi jui emerged as premier Although his authority was very limited since central rule was breaking down in China he attempted to crush his opponents by force This resulted in violent clashes on the streets of Beijing Hoping to exploit the disturbed atmosphere General Zhang Xun Chang Hsun marched on the capital in June 1917 with the aim of restoring the Qing dynasty Zhang s efforts ended in confusion and failure and Duan Qirui retained office as premier The weakness of the republic The disorder and vying for power at the top that followed Yuan s death in 1916 clearly illustrated that central authority in China had become enfeebled The republican government under Duan Qirui continued nominally to function in Beijing but it exercised little real power It was split between rival factions the most prominent being the Anhui the Fengtien and the Chihli groups named after the regions from which they came Although they styled themselves parties none of them represented a clearly defined principle and they were barely distinguishable from each other They were no more than cliques bidding for power While the forms of central government remained intact it was evident that the republic was beginning to fragment The weakness of the republican government was most evident in its difficulty in maintaining an army strong and loyal enough to impose central authority on the provinces It became impossible to sustain civilian government in these areas As a direct consequence the local regions fell under the domination of what were in effect a series of private armies whose commanders in chief assumed civil as well as military authority The power of the sword predominated Within their own provinces the military commanders or warlords became autocrats who administered their own legal financial and taxation systems and invariably became a terror to the local people The