In 1905, the Viceroy of Manchuria Zhao Erxun set up the Fengtian Primary Army School, to which 22 year old Guo Songling was admitted.

Suspected of republican sympathies, Guo Songling was relieved of his command by Sichuan Governor-General Zhao Erfeng, only recovering it after the appeals of his patron Zhu Qinglan.

In May 1918, Sun Yat-Sen dissolved the Guangzhou military government under pressure from warlords, and Guo Songlian returned to Fengtian.

In May 1922, the First Zhili–Fengtian War broke out, and the Fengtian clique suffered heavy losses, but the elite third and eighth brigades were able to retreat without much casualties.

A sense that he was being under-appreciated, along with gradual encouragement by Guominjun rival Feng Yuxiang to help put Zhang's more liberal son on the Manchurian throne, led to his mutiny in mid-1925.

Marching his division north towards Zhang's headquarters at Shenyang on 22 November, Guo met success in the early weeks of the offensive.

However, when the city's Japanese garrison interfered in defence of Zhang and neither the expected popular support or assistance of the Guominjun appeared, his rebellion stalled.