Political Events of 1923
The breach between different political factions continued towiden， and the political situation became more confused. In theCapital， President Li Yuan-hung"s Government was overthrown by acoup d‘état and he was compelled to flee to Tientsin.
Brigandage was rife throughout the country， and on May 6th，1923， an outrage occurred of a sensational character. The famous BlueExpress， from Pukow to Tientsin， was derailed by bandits at Lincheng，near the southern border of Shantung. They looted the train andcarried off into the mountains thirty-five foreigners， as well as someChinese， many of whom were well-known residents of Shanghai.
It is generally supposed that the affair was more than a daringattack of bandits， and that the latter were in the employ of a highofficial anxious to get possession of one of the foreign travelers. Owingto the difficulty of picking out the person wanted， the bandits took thewhole party of foreigners into their net.
However this may be， great delay was experienced in obtainingthe release of the captured party. The majority were set free in driblets，but eight were removed to the high peaks of Paotuku， and held untilnegotiations for their ransom had been completed.
On June 1st， a mass meeting was held in the Town Hall inShanghai to record its protest， and to strengthen the hands of theDiplomatic Body.
Before the release of the eight men could be secured， the Chineseofficials were obliged to agree to a general pardon and the enrolment ofthe bandits in the army.
The Diplomatic Body presented its claims for compensationand retribution on August 10th， asking for monetary compensationfor those who had been captured， the cashiering of Tien Chungyü，Tuchun of Shantung， and the appointment of railway guards，organized and officered by foreigners. The Chinese Government wasunwilling to comply with the demand in regard to railway guardsunder foreign control and organized a special force to give protectionto those travelling on the line.
Signs of a rupture between the Provinces of Chekiang andKiangsu became more evident. When general Hsu Kuo-liang， chief ofthe Shanghai and Woosung constabulary， was assassinated in YunnanRoad， off Avenue Edward VII， on November 11th， General Ho Fengling，Defence commissioner of Shanghai and Sungkiang in charge ofthe Kiangnan Arsenal， lieutenant of the Chekiang Tuchun， immediatelyappointed a successor， much to the chagrin of the Kiangsu Tuchun，who contended that as Shanghai was in his province， the appointmentrested with him. The peace between the two provinces was seriouslyendangered， but the break was postponed for a time.
After the coup d‘état in Peking， a large number of the members ofParliament fled to Shanghai， where an attempt was made to convenea session. Later on by extensive bribing， many of the M. P."s wereA Tuchun was the Military Governor of a province.
persuaded to return to Peking， so that a quorum could be securedfor the election of Tsao Kun as President， and for the adoption of aconstitution.
Russian Cadets
A Russian fleet of 27 ships under the joint command of AdmiralsStark and Bezoire left Vladivostok toward the close of 1922， on theincoming of the “Reds.” They had on board some 8，000 people， whosemain idea was to flee from the Red Terror. At first they took refuge atGensan， but were requested by the authorities to quit Japanese waters.
Some of the vessels， owing to lack of coal and food， were obliged toremain at the port， with 6，000 on board. The remaining 15 vessels hadsufficient coal and food to reach Fusan， but were not allowed to anchor.
After encountering a violent storm， in which one vessel was lost， theysought refuge in the Yangtze and anchored off Woosung.
The ships carried a number of orphans， who had no means ofsupport whatsoever. They were the sons of Russian officers killed inthe war， and Admiral Stark was anxious to find some place wherethey could be landed and taken care of. The Chinese authorities wereunwilling to have these ships remain in harbour， but offered to providethem with sufficient coal to reach the next port.
As Christmas was approaching， the hard fate or these people， andespecially the needs of the young Russian cadets—35 0 in number—
made a strong appeal to the sympathies of the residents of Shanghai.
Finally twelve of the ships left en route for the southern ports， butof the 1，800 people on board at the time of their arrival at Woosungonly 650 remained with their ships， the rest having gained permissionto land. The Bureau of Russian Affairs， which had been established inShanghai， had the difficult task of arranging for the refugees left onits hands. The 35 0 cadets， the majority of whom were orphans， werequartered for a time in a house at 4 Jessfield Road， and were supportedlargely by public charity.
In succeeding years the Russian refugee problem continued tocause considerable anxiety. The arrival off the Chusan Archipelagoof the “Eldorado” from Gensan on July 1st， 1923， with 700 fightingRussians on board， and quantities of arms and ammunition， causeda sensation. It was found that the real purpose of the “Eldorado”
was gun-running. Captain Kearny， an American， was arrested forcomplicity， tried and sentenced to pay a large fine.
On September 19th three more ships under Lieutenant-GeneralGleboff put in an appearance at Woosung， carrying some hundreds offighting men， but the Chinese authorities refused them permission toenter the harbour.
Signs of Decline in ProsperityIn the year 1923 it became evident that the rapid development ofShanghai which took place in 1921 and 1922 could not be continuedat the same pace.