tatters. Any opposition was brutally suppressed; when a newspaper criticized his regime, Zhang promptly ordered its editor shot. Peasants banded together as part of the Red Spear Society, revolting against Zhang's reign in the countryside. Although poorly armed, these insurgents proved to be a major threat to smaller units belonging to Zhang's army. At the same time, Zhang set up his headquarters in Jinan like a "medieval court" with lavish entertainment and grand feasts. He also acted as benefactor for artists, writers, entertainers, arms dealers, drug kingpins, diplomats, and Western journalists. When the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) loyal to the Kuomintang (KMT) launched the Northern Expedition, Zhang remained firmly loyal to the Fengtian clique, briefly retaking Shanghai before his army was driven north. As his position in Shandong was threatened to be overrun, Zhang requested a resident German technician named Franz Oster to build more aircraft for his air force to counter the advancing KMT. Oster constructed a plane, but when it was shipped to Zhang's headquarters, it was found to be so badly designed that it could not even get off the ground. In 1928, NRA troops led by Bai Chongxi defeated and destroyed Zhang Zongchang's army, capturing 20,000 of his 50,000 troops and almost capturing Zhang himself, who escaped beyond the Great Wall to Manchuria. Regardless, he and the remnants of his army were able to escape northward with much loot from Shandong. The province was left in chaos following his flight. Even after the loss of Shandong and the murder of Fengtian leader Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Zongchang wanted to resist the NRA. When the succeeding Fengtian commander Zhang Xueliang (son of the former murdered leader Zhang Zuolin) intended to make peace with the KMT, Zhang and his follower Chu Yupu revolted and attempted to overthrow him. However, the combined NRA-Zhang Xueliang forces crushed Zhang Zongchang's army. In the end, even his Russian mercenaries betrayed him. Exile activities As his army disintegrated, Zhang fled to Japanese protection in Dalian, though remained unwilling to accept his reduced status. From Dalian, he hatched several plots to regain his former territories. Possibly enjoying covert support by Japan, Zhang, his long-time follower Chu Yupu and another warlord, Huang Feng-chi, returned to Shandong in 1929 and launched a major rebellion against Liu Zhennian, the Nationalist-aligned de facto ruler of eastern Shandong at the time. Gathering tens of thousands of demobilized soldiers who were