Sun became the military governor of
Fujian on 20 March 1923. He was based in
Hubei Province, and fought in the
Zhili–Anhui War of 1920. In March 1924, Sun defeated two
Anhui clique generals to gain control of
Fujian Province. In 1924, at the beginning of the
Jiangsu-Zhejiang War, Sun commanded the 4th Army in Fujian. One of his first acts was to support his ally
Qi Xieyuan, moving up from the south in a move that was responsible for the defeat of rival warlord
Lu Yongxiang and the capture of
Shanghai. He also subsequently became the director-general of the Shanghai-
Woosung port. He was subsequently rewarded with the military governorship of
Zhejiang (20 September 1924-19 December 1926). However, his Zhili allies in the north were defeated during the
Second Zhili–Fengtian War, ending with the Zhili clique losing all of its northern provinces to
Zhang Zuolin and
Feng Yuxiang's
Guominjun. In 1925 the Guominjun launched a joint Anhui-Fengtian expedition under
Zhang Zongchang, briefly retaking Jiangsu and Shanghai in January. Lacking support from Sun Chuanfang, Qi Xieyuan was forced to resign and fled to Japan, but not before transferring what remained of his demoralized and severely diminished army to Sun Chuanfang's command. Zhang Zongchang and Sun Chuanfang were now staring at each other over a battle line delineated only by Shanghai proper. For the remainder of the year the two opposing generals bided their time. Then, in the fall of 1925, the chance came: Sun launched a counterattack that drove Zhang Zongchang and his forces out of the Chinese districts of Shanghai. For the next two years Sun expanded his rule to include all of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian,
Anhui and
Jiangxi. He established his headquarters in
Nanjing as military governor of Jiangsu on 25 November 1925. At the height of his power he held an army which numbered over 200,000 men. The
Northern Expedition effectively ended his rule. His forces were decisively defeated twice and then were routed in the Battle of Lungtan, resulting in the collapse of his rule. Shanghai was captured by
Communist labor unions allied with the
National Revolutionary Army in March 1927 and Sun was forced to flee
Nanjing. He briefly sought the support of
Zhang Xueliang but, distrusting Zhang's motives, then fled to
Dalian in the Japanese
Kwantung Leased Territory. He participated in the
Fengtian clique's
Peking government until 1930, when he went into retirement after the
Manchurian Incident of 1931. == Death ==