CHINA: Tuchuns Clash

Tensed like a tiger ready to spring, Super-Tuchun Sun Chuan-feng waited throughout the week with 40,000 soldiers mobilized at his stronghold in Chekiang Province, on the seacoast between Peking and Canton.

Sun, thus waiting, was playing the usual game of a Chinese Super-Tuchun when not actually at war. He was trying to decide which of two contending armies was the stronger, so as to throw his soldiers on the winning side. Hourly telegrams arrived from Super-Tuchuns Wu Pei-fu and Chang Kai-check informing Sun that each of these death-grappled war lords believed himself soon to be victorious, but would pay heavily and gladly for re-inforcements from Sun.

The scene of conflict was of course Hupeh Province, the stronghold of Wu. Against this base the Cantonese troops of Chang Kai-check, subsidized by Russian gold, have been making steady progress (TIME, Sept. 13 et ante). They were reported last week to have driven Wu from Hankow on the Yangtze, but all information from the battle sector was admittedly untrustworthy.

The best proof that Wu was holding his own came in the form of a telegram from Sun. He, having pondered well the strength of Wu and Chang, telegraphed Chang a 24-hour ultimatum to get out of Hupeh province and moved up like thunder from the coast with his troops to the aid of Wu.