 Warlord Zhang Zuolin, known as the "Old Marshal," led the clique with support from Japan.Following the Zhili–Anhui War of 1920 and 1921, the Fengtian Clique exercised control of Beijing and the national government jointly with the Zhili clique.Tensions soon began building between the two, resulting in clashes for control of Beijing known as the First Zhili–Fengtian War (1922).