After General Ma Zhanshan had been driven from Qiqihar by the Japanese in the Jiangqiao Campaign, he retreated northeast with his depleted forces and set up his headquarters at Hailun from which he attempted to continue to govern Heilongjiang Province.

Colonel Kenji Doihara began negotiations with General Ma from his Special Service Office at Harbin, hoping to get him to defect to the new state of Manchukuo.

To justify the direct intervention of the Kwantung Army to assist General Xi Qia, Colonel Doihara engineered a riot in Harbin.

Although most Japanese forces had been withdrawn from northern Manchuria for use in the Jinzhou Operation, the 2nd Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Jirō Tamon, had returned to Mukden for a rest.

Possibly in an effort to embroil the Soviet Union, General Ding's artillery was posted in front of the offices of the Soviet-dominated Chinese Eastern Railroad but to no effect.

After General Ding had been defeated, Ma agreed on 14 February 1932 and retained his post as Governor of Heilongjiang Province in exchange for co-operating with the Japanese.

The next day, on March 1, the Manchukuo Government established with General Ma as its Minister of War, in addition to his post as provincial governor.