中原大戦
In 1928, Zhang studied at the Japanese Infantry Training School, returning in 1929, when he began to work for the Fengtian Army. By October 1930, during the Central Plains War, he, with the support of Chiang Kai-shek and the recommendation of Kuomintang (KMT) elder Wu Tiecheng, became the police chief in Tianjin. In April 1931, he became the mayor of Tianjin.