Given that he was the most accomplished and famous general in the Kuomintang, Tang believed he was the natural leader of the national revolution.

In actuality, Tang had declined this position when he learned it was inferior to Hu Hanmin's "vice generalissimo" rank.

In August the right-wing Hu Hanmin was blamed for the assassination of fellow party executive Liao Zhongkai and was arrested and exiled by Chiang and Wang Jingwei.

Chiang Kai-shek eventually ousted Wang Jingwei following the Zhongshan Warship Incident in the spring of 1926.

After the Nationalists' successful Northern Expedition, many of Tang's generals wanted to realign themselves with the Kuomintang.