Duan Qirui, leader of the Anhui clique, favored aggressive action against the South, and after becoming premier of the state department (Guowu Zongli, 国务总理) advocated a military solution.

In November 1919 Zhili clique leader Gen. Wu Peifu met with representatives of Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting at Hengyang, where they signed a treaty entitled "Rough Draft of the National Salvation Allied Army" (救国同盟军草约).

In April 1920, while visiting a memorial service at Baoding for soldiers who died in Hunan, one-time presidential-candidate Cao Kun added more warlords to the anti-Anhui clique alliance, including the rulers of Hubei, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhili.

Various Zhili and Fengtian generals—such as Cao Kun, Zhang Zuolin, Wang Zhanyuan, Li Shun, Chen Guangyuan, Zhao Ti and Ma Fuxiang—signed a denunciation of the Anhui clique and its political arm, the Anfu Club, which was led by Xu Shuzheng and Duan Qirui.

[1] In early July 1920 the Anhui clique gathered five divisions and four combined brigades to form the so-called National Stabilization Army (定国军), with Duan Qirui as its commander-in-chief.

Zhili and allied forces gathered a division and nine combined brigades to form their own "Traitor Suppression Army" (讨逆军), with Wu Peifu as its front-line commander-in-chief.

Upon learning of the collapse of the western zone, Anhui's eastern commander, chief of staff Gen. Xu Shuzheng, fled Langfang to Beijing, leaving his troops to surrender to the combined might of the Fengtian and Zhili cliques.