contemporary Japanese government official, about 2,000 Japanese were living in Jinan in 1931, about half of which were involved in the opium trade for which the Japanese had a loosely controlled monopoly that was exploited with the participation of Chinese traders.
During the Warlord era of the Republic of China, Zhang Zongchang, nicknamed the "Dogmeat General", ruled Shandong from Jinan for a period that lasted from April 1925 until May 1928. Zhang was unpopular for his heavy-handed rule and in particular his heavy taxation. Besides heavy taxes, he relied financially on opium to finance his periodic wars. Zhang even planned to use some of the wealth extracted from these sources for building a living shrine and a large bronze statue for himself on the shore of Daming Lake, but these plans were not realized as his rule came to an end.
In the spring of 1928, the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition reached Jinan. On May 3, 1928, clashes developed between Japanese troops stationed in Jinan and the Kuomintang troops moving into the city (Jinan Incident). Cai Gongshi, a Kuomintang emissary sent to negotiate and members of his entourage were executed by the Japanese. In response to the incident, Japanese reinforcements were sent to Shandong and Japanese troops occupied Jinan for more than six months until they withdrew to their garrison in Tsingtao on the 28th of March 1929. During the Nanjing decade of the Republic of China, Han Fuju, a military commander form the warlord era who had aligned himself with the Kuomintang, became military governor of Shandong. He established his base in Jinan and is credited with curtailing banditry and drug trading, thereby bringing a measure of peace and prosperity to the city. However, from 1935 onwards Han was under heavy pressure from the Japanese consul in Jinan to declare Shandong an "independent state" allied with Japan.
After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese invasion force crossed the
