Phan Bội Châu assistance from China, but the country was forced to abandon its suzerain relationship with Vietnam after the 1884–85 Sino-French War. Phan and Cường Để decided to seek aid from Japan, which had recently won a war against Russia, had successfully imposed reforms and seemed more inclined to help out revolutionaries in a nearby Asian country. Phan was selected to visit Japan to secure the funds needed to sustain Duy Tân Hội. Phan did not speak Japanese and had no contacts in Japan, so he sought help from Liang Qichao, who was living in Japan since being exiled years earlier. Liang
Pang Xi and Guo Si, the warlords controlling the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian. However, Ma Teng lost the battle and both Liu Fan and Liu Dan were killed. At the time, as Pang Xi was a family friend of Liu Yan, he turned to his network of friends for help in helping Liu Fan and Liu Dan's families escape from Chang'an (the imperial capital under Li Jue and Guo Si's control) and bringing them safely to Yi Province, thus preserving Liu Yan's posterity. Following Liu Yan's death later in 194, his youngest son Liu Zhang succeeded him as