How Did a Warlord Lose a War in 7 Days? | 1922 China (Shorts) · 神州大地 · 第一季

How does a 120,000-man army lose a war in seven days — without being wiped out? In the spring of 1922, Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian army marched into the pass to fight Wu Peifu's Zhili clique. A week later, he was driven back beyond the Shanhai Pass, still in command of his home province.
The real story wasn't the battlefield. It was one telegram that revived a two-year-old grudge, and one division that switched sides at the worst moment. And through it all, Beijing's newspapers kept printing — every shot, every telegram, on page one.
This is the 180-second version of Episode 23 of Shenzhou Dadi (The Land of China). Watch the full 28-minute episode for the cold open at a grain depot, the 21-year-old who fought his first battle, and the open question of where China was headed.
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Shenzhou Dadi, Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu, First Zhili-Fengtian War, Beiyang, Republic of China, Zhang Xueliang, Chinese history, documentary