 President Yuan Shikai recognized his rule and in return he supported Yuan's revival of the monarchy by inviting Republican anti-Yuan rebels to a banquet and decapitating them on New Year's Day, 1916.Yang believed a monarchy was the best system for China, and some western travelers noted — with approval— that Yang was a former Mandarin, unlike the Republican governors of the other provinces.Yang was made a Count of the First Rank () by Yuan Shikai.