In 1924, during the
Second Zhili–Fengtian War, Li was commanding the
Fengtian Second Army which aided
Zhang Zongchang in his decisive victory at
Longku; the engagement has been termed "probably the single most important engagement in Zhili's defeat." In November his troops occupied
Tianjin, where they picked up half of
Wang Chengbin's forces, and under his command a "repressive and predatory" regime was established--especially noted is the extent to which the local merchants were extorted. The US
15th Infantry Regiment, whose mission was to keep the
Peking-Mukden Railway open, was based in Tianjin, and small skirmishes occurred between US troops and Li's forces. Like many other warlords who ruled Tianjin, Li was a member of the
Green Gang. From December 1924 to December 1925 he was the administrator of Hebei province. On 11 August 1925 when newly unionized workers at the Japanese-owned Yu Da Cotton Mill in Tianjin presented demands for improved conditions they were stopped by military police deployed by warlord Li Jinglin, the workers called for a strike and caused significant damage to the mill. Workers chased some of the police and factory security forces into the mill courtyard, fighting the police with pickaxes and cutting the factory phone lines. 10 people were killed in a police ambush the following day with several hundred being arrested. The disturbances led to arrests, casualties, and the subsequent suppression of unions by Li Jinglin as well as sending police to surveil unions in foreign
Tianjin Concessions. Li Jinglin participated in the
Anti-Fengtian War of 1925-1926. ==Martial arts==