The Hunan petitioning delegation, having been in Beijing for more than two months to secure the removal of Zhang Jingyao, had submitted memorials to both the Presidential Office and the State Council over a dozen times and sought audiences with officials on no fewer than a dozen occasions, yet the central government remained silent. Even the most recent large-scale petition resulted only in the dispatch of an undercover investigative team. Recognizing that relying solely on the central authorities to bring about Zhang’s full punishment would be extremely difficult at present, the delegates resolved to intensify efforts in areas where local forces were strong—namely, in Hengyang, Chenzhou, Guilin, and Guangdong—and to establish contacts wherever such influence existed, in order to garner support.  Accordingly, they sent representatives to Baoding to approach Cao Kun, the Pacification Commissioner for Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong, requesting him to exercise his official authority and lend every possible assistance. Delegates Luo Zonghan, Xiong Kexian, Liu Ying, and others traveled to Baoding to confer with Cao and other leading officials, earnestly expressing their willingness to cooperate. On the 17th, the Pacification Commissioner’s office dispatched an emissary to the delegates’ lodgings to arrange a meeting with the secretary-general and the chief of staff. On the afternoon of the 18th, the delegates proceeded to the commissioner’s office and laid out in vivid detail the myriad ways in which Zhang had brought disaster upon Hunan; at particularly harrowing passages, everyone present was deeply moved. Secretary-General Wang remarked: “The crimes committed by Governor Zhang in Hunan, as set forth in your written submissions and as you have personally recounted, are still less comprehensive than what we ourselves know from our daily observations. Moreover, Chinese and foreign newspapers have long been abuzz with these matters, so much so that they are now widely known. Commissioner Cao expresses profound sympathy with your petition.” The delegates then presented Cao with several documents, including “A Brief Account of Hunan’s Calamities,” “An Account of the Liling Uprising,” “An Account of the Baoqing Uprising,” “Hunan Monthly,” and “A History of Zhang Jingyao’s Crimes,” compiled by citizens of the two counties of Huoqiu and Yingshang in Anhui. As for specific measures to be taken, they stated, that could only be determined in light of future developments; at this juncture, it was impossible to predict. (Report by the Civil News Agency)