 In August, as hostilities between France and China erupted over Annam, half of the Chinese troops stationed in Korea were withdrawn.On December 4, 1884, with the help of the Japanese minister Takezoe Shinichiro who promised to mobilize Japanese legation guards to provide assistance, the reformers staged their coup under the guise of a banquet hosted by Hong Yeong-sik, the director of the General Postal Administration.The banquet was to celebrate the opening of the new national post office.