中原大戰
After his falling out with Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren returned to Guangxi and devoted himself to that province's internal administration, with some success. In 1929 he supported Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan in his attempt to form an alternative central government based in Beijing, leading to the Central Plains War. Li led troops to reconquer Hunan as far north as Yueyang, before Chiang's decisive defeat of Yan and his ally, Feng Yuxiang, forced Li to withdraw back to Guangxi.