to keep his troops away from Jinan, avoiding what he viewed as a useless and potentially costly clash with the Japanese. Similarly, Japanese prime minister Baron Tanaka Giichi knew that the deployment of troops could result in a conflict with the Chinese, which, rather than protecting Japanese citizens and economic interests, could further endanger them. As it happened, in an attempt to resolve the split between the Wuhan and Nanjing factions of the KMT, Chiang was forced to resign from his post of commander of the NRA and halt the Northern Expedition in August 1927, avoiding conflict. With the threat of the NRA advance gone, the Japanese withdrew their troops from Jinan in September 1927. Chiang sought to avoid repetition of such conflicts and further Japanese interference, and on 5 November 1927, while he was nominally retired from leading the Northern Expedition, he met with Japanese prime minister Tanaka. During the meeting, Tanaka suggested that the Japanese would support only Chiang in China, and not interfere in Chinese domestic affairs. Chiang responded by saying he "understood" Japanese interest in China. When Tanaka said that Chiang should focus on consolidating his power in the territories under KMT control, rather than advance northward toward the Japanese sphere of influence in Fengtian clique-controlled Shandong and Manchuria, Chiang replied that this was not possible. The discussion, therefore, ended without a clear conclusion, though Tanaka was said to be hopeful for future meetings. Chiang, for his part, considered the meeting a failure, but maintained his approach of attempting to work with the Japanese to reach a solution that was amenable to both parties. Despite this, Chiang had only a tenuous hold on power in China, and relied in large measure on the promise to end foreign domination and re-unify the country to buttress his legitimacy. Events NRA troops arrive in Jinan By April 1928, Chiang Kai-shek had once again consolidated power, at which time he resumed the Northern Expedition. The NRA was able to quickly push back the forces of Beiyang-aligned warlord Sun Chuanfang, and advanced into Shandong. Sun retreated to Jinan by railway on 17–18 April, leaving the path to Jinan open to the NRA. When the Japanese learned of Sun's failure to defend Shandong, Prime Minister Tanaka, on the counsel of his military advisors, decided to deploy the 6th Division to Jinan on 19 April, in what was called the . Whilst Tanaka