Feng Guozhang in the context of Governor of Jiangsu

The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the death of Yuan Shikai, the President of China after the Xinhai Revolution had overthrown the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1912. Yuan's death on 6 June 1916 created a power vacuum which was filled by military strongmen and widespread violence, chaos, and oppression. The Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government of Sun Yat-sen, based in Guangzhou, began to contest Yuan's Beiyang government based in Beijing for recognition as the legitimate government of China.

The most powerful cliques were the Zhili clique led by Feng Guozhang, who controlled several northern provinces; the Anhui clique led by Duan Qirui, based in several southeastern provinces; and the Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin, based in Manchuria. The three cliques often engaged in conflict for territory and hegemony. In mid-1917, after Yuan's successor Li Yuanhong attempted to remove Duan as premier, the general Zhang Xun forced Li to resign and made a brief attempt to restore the Qing dynasty, which was quashed by Duan's troops. Feng became the acting president, but was forced to step down by Duan in late 1918 and was replaced by Xu Shichang. In mid-1920, the new Zhili clique leaders, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, defeated Duan in the Zhili–Anhui War in an alliance with Zhang Zuolin. A power struggle broke out between Cao and Zhang which ended with Cao's victory in the First Zhili–Fengtian War in 1922. Cao was president until 1924, when during the Second Zhili–Fengtian War he was betrayed by his subordinate Feng Yuxiang, who joined with Zhang to stage a coup against Cao. Feng and Zhang shared power and recalled Duan to serve as president before Zhang removed them both in 1926; in 1927, he declared himself Generalissimo.

The Zhili clique (Chinese: 直隸系軍閥; pinyin: Zhílì xì jūnfá) was a military faction that split from the Republic of China's Beiyang Army during the country's Warlord Era. It was named for Zhili Province (modern-day Hebei), which was the clique's base of power. At its height, it also controlled Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hubei.

The Beiyang Army fragmented following the death of Yuan Shikai, who had been the only person keeping regional factions from contesting territory throughout China. Unlike other cliques, Zhili was formed by army officers, who felt they had been snubbed by Premier Duan Qirui regarding appointments and promotions. These officers rallied around President Feng Guozhang, who had to share power with Duan's dominant Anhui clique in the Beiyang government. Lacking strong bonds, they were more willing to abandon or betray one another.

Wu Guangxin, (simplified Chinese: 吴光新; traditional Chinese: 吳光新; pinyin: Wú Guāngxīn; Wade–Giles: Wu Kuang-hsin; IPA: [ú ku̯ɑ̄ŋɕīn]; 1881–1939) Army general of the Republic of China. Military and Civil governor of Hunan in 1920. Army Minister 1924–1925.

Wu Guangxin was born in 1881 in Hefei, Anhui, China. He graduated from the Japanese Army Military Academy in 1904 and the War College in 1910. A career officer in the Beiyang Army, he had close professional ties to his brother-in-law Duan Qirui. After the Republic of China was established, he held command of the 20th Division. In 1916 he was given the task of re-establishing northern military control over Yuezhou in northern Hunan. In August 1917 Duan obtained Feng Guozhang's appointment of Wu as Commander-in-Chief of the Upper Yangtze River and concurrently Inspector of Sichuan, with orders to advance into Sichuan to resolve its internal conflicts.