 In July 1917, Sun Yat-sen arrived in Guangzhou from Shanghai, and telegrammed the original members of parliament in Peking to come to Guangzhou and establish a new government.The Naval Minister Cheng Biguang arrived in Guangzhou on July 22 with nine ships to support Sun Yat-sen.

On August 25, approximately 100 of the original members of parliament convened a conference in Guangzhou and passed a resolution establishing a military government in Guangzhou to protect the Provisional Constitution.The military government consisted of a generalissimo and three field marshals.