Speaking of the "battle between the government and the court" between the president and Premier Duan during the Beiyang period, friends who are familiar with modern history are no strangers. After Yuan Shikai's death, Li, the former vice president, succeeded him as president, and Duan, the leader of Anhui Department, became prime minister. The two men hold their own opinions in many aspects, and the essence is a power struggle. Because the "warring sides" of this battle were the Presidential Palace and the State Council, it was called "the battle of the official court" in history. The most important and typical event in the "official court dispute" is the "declaration of war on Germany" event.

The "war between government and college" took place between 19 16 and 19 17, just at the end of World War I. President Li and Prime Minister Duan have great differences on whether to declare war on Germany-Duan insists on declaring war on Germany, while Li resolutely opposes it.

The following briefly describes the reasons why Duan insisted and Li opposed. People often say that there are no traitors in Beiyang, but not being a traitor does not mean not cooperating with foreigners. Beiyang warlords are supported by the great powers. Duan's backstage is Japanese, Li's ally is Feng, and Feng's backstage is American. The Japanese supported China's declaration of war on Germany because they wanted to take over Germany's interests in Shandong, China, while the Americans opposed China's declaration of war on Germany because they didn't want Japan to dominate Shandong. So Duan advocated declaring war on Germany, while Li opposed declaring war on Germany. After all, we still have to listen to what the big brother behind us has to say. Of course, Duan's claim to declare war on Germany is not entirely due to the Japanese proposal. Because the allied victory was a foregone conclusion. At this time, China joined the allied camp, which was tantamount to enjoying the fruits of victory. After the war, China, as a victorious country, can at least demand a reduction in the reparations promised to Germany in the Xin Chou Treaty. Why not?

Li's opposition is also understandable. On the one hand, it naturally stems from the pressure from the United States. On the other hand, he is also worried that there is any hidden deal between Duan and the Japanese. Besides Li, there is also a big coffee man who strongly opposes China's declaration of war on Germany. This man is Sun Yat-sen. Then why did Sun Yat-sen also oppose declaring war on Germany? Isn't it good to fight for the interests of a war country for China?

The reason for Sun Yat-sen's opposition is actually very simple. He wants to support lee's constitution instead of. According to the constitution, the decision to declare war on foreign countries belongs to the president, not the prime minister. Duan's self-esteem and contempt for the Constitution made Sun Yat-sen very dissatisfied. At that time, Sun Yat-sen was determined to overthrow the Beiyang government in the name of "protecting the law", so he had to stand up and support President Li's decision to show his determination to "protect the law". As for which is more important, the constitution or the national interest, that's a matter of opinion.

Another thing I have to mention is that Sun Yat-sen received money from Germany. Sun Yat-sen wants to engage in the "national protection movement" and confront the powerful Beiyang government. He needs money, and Germany is willing to support him. Taking advantage of others' short hands, since Sun Yat-sen received money from Germany, it is naturally not good to declare war on Germany again. As for the amount, it is generally considered to be 2 million marks, which was definitely a huge sum at that time. Sun Yat-sen used the money to recruit soldiers, win over all forces and set up the "movement to protect the people".