Phan Bội Châu out his final years, his children and their families came to visit him, but never his wife. When she died, she instructed her children not to tell Phan so as to not distract him. Phan spent the first five years of the 20th century living in Huế and traveling the country. Phan drew up a three-step plan to get the French out of Vietnam. First, he would need to organize remnants of the Cần Vương movement and other sympathizers of the cause. Second, he would need to attain support from the Vietnamese imperial family and the bureaucracy, many of whom
Pang Xun of the men of Xu Prefecture was carried out, gathering some 30,000 men. Xu Ji and the others offered the titles of General Tiance (天冊將軍) and "Brilliance Prince of the Congregation" (大會明王) to Pang, although Pang only accepted the General Tiance title at that time. Pang, leaving Xu and his father Pang Juzhi in charge at Xu Prefecture, departed Xu Prefecture on May 23, first attacking the Weibo troops, which had been attacking the rebel-controlled Feng County, Jiangsu, catching Weibo forces by surprise. He crushed the Weibo forces, and Taining forces, hearing of Weibo forces' defeat, also withdrew. Pang gathered