The rebels wanted to regain their former territories in Shandong from Liu Zhennian, the man who had defected from Zhang to the Nationalist government in Nanjing during the Northern Expedition.

In the end, the uprising failed to topple Liu Zhennian's rule over eastern Shandong, but resulted in high civilian casualties and widespread destruction at the hands of both sides in the conflict.

Although he was hated and feared by the civilian population due to his authoritarian methods, the so-called "Dogmeat General" commanded a relatively loyal army and managed to keep Shandong under his control for much of the late 1920s; in this he was aided by subordinates such as Chu Yupu and Liu Zhennian.

In order to regain his former power base, he began to plot an uprising with his long-time follower Chu Yupu and another warlord, Huang Feng-chi.

In the face of the Nationalist forces during the Northern Expedition, Zhang's followers had "melted away without putting up much of a fight",[16] and were even more lacking in training and weaponry now that they had been demobilized.

[21][23] Although de jure part of the NRA, Liu's forces were typical of the average warlord, and suffered from little training in comparison to regular armies.

[1][24][25] Security conditions in eastern Shandong were already deteriorating before the arrival of Zhang, as Liu's garrison at Longkou and Huangxian mutinied in late January 1929.

[26] In course of February, the rebels gained the upper hand and Liu was pushed back to the surroundings of Zhifu,[19][22] his de facto capital and the most important city of northeastern Shandong.

[5] It is likely that the whole mutiny had been organized or at least influenced by Zhang,[29] and when he, Chu and Huang landed with a small retinue[5][30] at Longkou on 19 February,[31] the mutineers promptly joined them.

Their opponent, Liu, had much fewer NRA soldiers at his disposal and would receive only "half-hearted" support from the central government during the rebellion: 200,000 rounds of ammunition and 50,000 yuans as war chest.

[5][32] His military position was further impaired by the fact that part of Shandong was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army that refused to allow NRA reinforcements through.

[21] What followed were weeks of "desultory fighting" during which government as well as rebel troops terrorized the local population,[1] while the warlord alliance entered negotiations with Liu in hopes of convincing him to surrender.

[32] Around this time, Zhang publicly announced that a coalition of warlords, including himself, Chu Yupu, Yan Xishan, Wu Peifu, Bai Chongxi, Qi Xieyuan, and a number Manchurian military commanders would soon launch a massive campaign against the KMT.

[35] Meanwhile, warlord soldiers razed six towns and 50 villages, partially in retaliation for the murder of a rebel officer and an assassination attempt on Zhang, but also out of frustration about the disappointing course of the rebellion as well as simple greed and vandalism.

[39][2] As result, several foreign warships, including the USS Trenton, HMS Cornflower, and Japanese cruiser Kiso, had arrived at Zhifu to prevent anti-foreign pogroms that could erupt due to the chaotic situation.

[2][40][41] This chaos allowed the Red Spear Society which already occupied parts of the hinterland to expand its influence, as many locals turned to the peasant rebels to protect them.

In Tung-nan County, at least three irregular armed groups were active at the time of the warlord incursion, namely the small "Southern Army", the 2,000-men strong force of Wang Tzu-ch'eng, and a White Spear Society branch.

[43][44] Initially, the warlord forces behaviour was relatively disciplined,[43][44] but on 6 April "they ran amok" in Zhifu, starting a six-day long crime spree of killing, looting and raping.

Eventually, the officers managed to regain control over their men and put a stop to the "worst outrages", though at this point the city was largely destroyed.

[12] As the siege progressed, Liu was eager to surrender, and was supported in this regard by Muping's chamber of commerce which hoped it could avoid the city's destruction through a peaceful solution.

Losing interest in fighting and preferring to loot the undefended countryside, many warlord soldiers deserted their posts, reducing the strength of Zhang's army.

[46] Thereafter, many women and girls committed mass suicide by jumping into the town's wells because they did not want to bear the perceived "shame" of being a rape victim.

Unlike any of the previous warlord rulers of eastern Shandong, Han actually proved to be relatively capable and popular as civilian administrator.