 When some of the Yunnanese revolutionaries wanted to join Cai E in rebelling against Yuan Shikai, he beheaded them at a New Year's banquet in 1916.The National Protection War symbolized the beginning of the separation between the North and the South after the establishment of the Republic of China.Yuan Shikai was a legitimate president of the Republic, but his attempt to become Emperor was thwarted by the military opposition of the southern provinces.