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496 after the flight of Hsu Shih-chang, President elected by the so called Tuchun's Parliament. On the eve of leaving Tientsin for the Capital, he issued a flaming denunciation of the Tuchun System and his consent to resume the Presidency was only secured after he had received the assurances from the Northern military leaders, particularly General Wu Pei-fu, that they would support him in the policies of destroying the Tuchunate, bringing about the disbandment of superfluous troops and restoring the rule of law. Immediately after his assuming office, General Li convoked the Old Parliament and dissolved the Tuchuns' Parliament. He remained in his office just about one year during which time he was not able to exercise his power nor to carry out his wishes. The pledges of the military leaders to support his policies did not forthcome. In June 1923, a campaign was waged in Peking to oust President Li who finally abandoned what was obviously a hopeless struggle and left for Tientsin. Shortly afterwards, he proceeded to Shanghai and then went to Japan. He remained in that country until May 1924 when he returned to Tientsin again.