Anhui clique
In 1918 Xu founded the Anfu Club, the political arm of the Anhui clique, which then won three-fourths of the seats in the National Assembly. Later that year Xu executed Lu Jianzhang after discovering that Lu was trying to persuade Feng Yuxiang, Lu's nephew, to fight against the Anhui clique. This would lead to Xu's own assassination in 1925.