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The Fengtian Government () was the faction that supported warlord Zhang Zuolin during China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support. However, the clique quickly came to control all of the Three Northeastern Provinces. The clique received support from Japan in exchange for protecting Japanese military and economic interests in Manchuria. The Fengtian Army frequently intervened in many of the conflicts of the Warlord Era.
Following the Zhili–Anhui War of 1920 and 1921, the Fengtian and exercised joint control of Beijing and the Beiyang Government. Tensions soon began building between the two, resulting in clashes for control of Beijing known as the First Zhili–Fengtian War (1922). The Second (1924) Zhili–Fengtian War started later over the Zhili invasion of the remnants of the Anhui clique, which had become allies of the Fengtian Clique, which resulted in a Fengtian victory, with the Zhili clique retreating as far south as Henan. The power of the Fengtian Clique began to decrease in the midst of the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition. In 1928, while he was retreating North, Zhang Zuolin's Japanese sponsors blew up his train, killing him. After Zhang's assassination, his son, Zhang Xueliang, took over the leadership of the clique. He preferred to work with the Kuomintang rather than the Japanese and symbolically pledged allegiance to the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. In practice, the Fengtian clique continued to independently govern Manchuria until the Japanese invasion in 1931.
In a conference between the Manchurian revolutionaries, provincial assembly, Viceroy Zhao Erxun with local officials, and the constitutionalist Wu Jinglian proposed that the Revolution was irresistible. They determined that Chinese of Manchuria should not blindly join in the domestic conflict, and instead stand guard against Japan and Russia. Song Gong and border patrol leader Zhang Zuolin pursued this policy of restraint. When Yuan Shikai was declared first President of the new Republic of China, Zhao pledged the Three Northeastern Provinces' loyalty to the Republic. Manchuria thus stayed as a part of China.Zhao Zhongfu, “Xinhai geming qianhou de dongsansheng,” 123Li Peiji, “Xinhai Guanwai geming cimoji,” Zhou Kangxie (ed.), Xinhai geming ziliao huiji, Vol. 4 (1980),
Zhang Zuolin, who had pacified the provincial assembly with the threat of force, was made the commander of the 27th Division. This Division would gradually grow into the Fengtian Army. During Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the Empire of China, Yuan tried to gain Zhang's support by promoting him to the position of military governor of Fengtian. When Yuan died in 1916, Zhang seized the opportunity to expel the military governor of Manchuria, Duan Zhigui. Instead of being punished for his subtle threats of force and expulsion of the military governor, Zhang was promoted by Duan Qirui, as he needed Zhang's cooperation, to the Inspector General of the Three Northeastern Provinces by late 1918.Chang Cheng, “Zhang Zuixiang shengping lueshu,” Zhang Tingfan, Zhang Wenge.
Many local elites of Fengtian, such as Yuan Jinkai and Yu Chonghan, who were beneficiaries of political chaos, supported Zhang Zuolin in order to wrest power from their political enemies. Zhang and these elites formed an alliance against orders and appointments from the central government.Hōten mantetsu kōsho, “Shinnin minseichō no hyōban,” 3/11/1913, GK, JACAR, Ref: B03050178000, slides 58-59; Kantō totokufu rikugun sambōbu, “chō dai 466 gō,” 6/11/1913, GK, JACAR, Ref: B03050178000, slide 71; Sai Hōten sōryoji Ochiai Kentarō, Hōtenshō This alliance between Zhang, military figures, and the local elite became known as the Fengtian Clique. The elite in the Northeast formed different "political parties", such as the Democratic Party (Minzhudang). Zhang exploited anti-tax protests to strengthen his local civil authority and his position to the Central Government. In 1916, Yuan Jingkai discussed with Zhang to expel Duan Zhigui. Zhang was assisted after his rise to power by local bureaucrats and civilian elites. However, he also invited people from the rest of China to Manchuria to serve as officials and officers.
The Zhili–Anhui War lasted for a week, with the remnants of the Anhui clique escaping to Zhejiang and Shanghai. While the Fengtian clique contributed little to the victory of the coalition, Zhang Zuolin did notably attack Shanhai Pass in the Great Wall. The Fengtian clique was allowed to form a joint government in Beijing with the Zhili Clique.
Shortly after, the Washington Naval Conference was held, leading to the Nine-Power Treaty and agreements that the foreign powers hoped would dictate the new order in East Asia and the Pacific. The Washington Conference also agreed on the implementation of the "Washington System", headed by the US, a system that would have guaranteed more customs revenue for China, strengthened its government, and dismantled grievances against foreigners. For a time, the Washington System was a system many in the West thought would be implemented. However, this never happened, partly due to wars, and, more importantly, due to the "Gold Franc Dispute", where some countries insisted that China pay its Boxer indemnity payments through gold specie instead of the Franc, which had by then depreciated in value,Arthur Waldron, From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924–1925, 31–32. a demand that V. K. Wellington Koo rejected adamantly, leading to France refusing to ratify the treaties.
The Fengtian Army consisted of, at first, a tight-knit group of militia commanders. After Zhang Zuolin took power, new officers were brought in, all with different military and educational backgrounds. One of these, Yang Yuting, brought other Shikan Gakkou graduates to Fengtian, and became Zhang's Chief of Staff. Other officers were brought in from the Staff College of Beijing, their informal leader being Guo Songling. The officers broke into their own internal cliques - the "Shikan Clique" and the "Staff College Clique".Hu Yuhai, 129–30, 132–4. The Shikan Clique wanted to intervene in Chinese politics more directly and actively, while the Staff College Clique opposed many military ventures. In 1924, Guo was given no posts in China proper, and rebelled in November 1925, causing the Shikan Clique to take control of military affairs and Manchurian politics until the execution of Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai.Nishimura Nario, “Nihon seifu no chūka minkoku ninshiki to Chō Gakuryō seiken,” Yamamoto Yūzō, Manshūkoku no kenkyū (1995), 12-20.
This civil–military system was rearranged in 1926 after the Fengtian victory in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War with the establishment of the Anguojun (National Pacification Army, not to be confused with Yoshiko Kawashima's army of the same name). The Anguojun Headquarters was very similar to the Three Northeastern Provinces Defense Headquarters, with its main difference being that it was located in Beijing instead of Mukden. In June 1927, Zhang Zuolin was appointed Grand Marshal (Generalissimo) of the Republic of China (not to be confused with Chiang Kai-shek). The Anguojun headquarters was reorganized into the Grand Marshal Government. The Three Northeastern Provinces Defense Headquarters was reorganized into the Grand Marshal Headquarters and was expanded to control the Anguojun under Yang Yuting. The Ministry of War controlled the operations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.Hao Bingrang, Fengxi junshi, 61–2. However, Zhang had the final say in everything, while power was delegated to his subordinates in these organizations, something which said subordinates exploited.
Fengtian chambers of commerce were also incredibly important. They were used to monitor the business environment and encourage commerce and trade. They assisted in supplying the Fengtian Army and levying taxes for Zhang Zuolin. Many business leaders came from the bureaucratic group that participated in the provincial assembly, so their interests were represented through Zhang Zuolin. However, business interests did come into conflict with Zhang's political interests sometimes, especially during and after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War. When wars did not provide immediate benefits for the Manchurian economy, doubts started to surface about Zhang. However, Zhang still held authority over civilian organizations and government organs in Fengtian. Zhang used these organs for his own interest, including using the Fengtian Chamber of Commerce in protesting against Japanese demands in 1927.
In order to cement their control over Manchuria during the Republican era, Russia and Japan continued to invest in railroads. Japan forced the Twenty-One Demands (shortened to thirteen after initial negotiations) as an ultimatum to President Yuan Shikai, extending their territorial lease, allowing subjects to have land loaned to them, and giving them the rights to the Jilin–Changchun Railway. Another Japanese coup was planned in 1915 but was aborted.Hsü Shuhsi, Essays on the Manchurian Problem, 44; Huang Dingtian, 276-7 The Japanese continued to exert their influence in China through loans, abandoning their aggressive stance. In 1918, the Japanese lent Duan Qirui the Nishihara Loans, of which ten million yen for the Jilin-Huining Railway and thirty million for developing industries in Jilin and Heilongjiang. Twenty more were used to invest in planned railways. However, most of the money was used to fund Duan Qirui's army and was used in the Zhili–Anhui War.F 2348/7/10, FOCP, Vol. 34, 343; Hsü Shuhsi, Essays on the Manchurian Problem, 47 Zhang Zuolin in Mukden borrowed three million more from Japan to reorganize his finances.
Throughout the late 1910s and early 1920s, Western Great Powers tried to limit Japanese influence in China. The Washington Conference of 1921 was seen by the Imperial Japanese Army as an attempt by the West to obstruct Japanese influence.“Mr. MacDonald to Sir C. Eliot,” 22/9/1924, FOCP, Vol. 28, 280-1. In order to preserve their influence, Japan supported Zhang Zuolin as long as it benefited them. Sir Charles Elliot, British ambassador to Japan, noted that the Japanese, "while anxious to keep on good terms with [Zhang Zuolin], thought it unwise to commit themselves unreservedly to the support of any one Chinese party.”“Sir C. Eliot to the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, 8/1/1923,” FOCP, Vol. 5, 352-3.
An ally and commander of the Fengtian clique, Zhang Zongchang recruited Russian White movement (tsarist) emigres for a detachment that he was forming in anticipation of the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. Russian mercenaries in China were numerous due to the previous Russian leased territory in Manchuria, the Chinese Eastern Railway, which still had many Russian employees. For many emigres, serving the northern warlords was a way to continue the fight against the Bolsheviks. Zhang's Russian forces were commanded by Konstantin Petrovich Nechaev from 1924 to 1927. Additionally, Zhang attached a Japanese company to his Russian company in 1924. The Russian units had the extensive experience in the First World War and the Russian Civil War, were the brave warriors and had a reputation in 1924–1926 as "Invincible", nicknamed by the Chinese "Lamoza". Russian engineers built several armored trains in the city of Tsinan (Jinan), which were used as the strike forces in the capture of cities. By 1927, the enemy, the "southern" Chinese groups, also learned to fight thanks to the Soviet instructors, and the importance of the Russian White Detachment became small. In 1928–1929, the Russian detachment of General Nechaev was disbanded, the losses amounted to over 1800 people, most of whom were buried in the cemetery in Jinan.
The Soviet Union, determined to retake the Chinese Eastern Railway and recover their influence in China, threatened Zhang Zuolin that they would recognize other warlords. The Soviets reached out to Zhang Zuolin in 1920 and 1921 to discuss Mongolia and the Chinese Eastern Railway, but Zhang maintained that he wanted to retake Outer Mongolia as soon as he could. In September 1924, an agreement was reached, in which Zhang agreed to recognize the Soviets and give them control over the railway in return for the Soviets withholding their plans for Outer Mongolia and subversive activities in China.Mr. MacDonald to Sir C. Eliot,” 22/9/1924, FOCP, Vol. 6, 282; Tony Saich, The Origins of the First United Front in China, 142; Tang Qihua, “1924 nian zhong-e xieding yu zhong-e jiuyue feizhi wenti: yi mijian yidingshu wei zhongxin de tantao,” in Jindaishi yanjiu (2006), No. 3, 22.
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