Lu Rongting is a Chinese general, former bandit, current Governor of Guangxi and the most powerful warlord in that region for more than 20 years, with multiple short interruptions. As the leader of the so-called "Old Guangxi Clique", an old warlord clique loyal to Lu since 1911, Lu Rongting is a well-respected and, even more importantly, well-connected man in Southern China, with some even calling him the “quintessential warlord”.
Lu is noted for his pluralistic policies towards Guangxi’s many ethnic groups and his willingness to cooperate with all kind of political groups as long as his own base of power remains secure; Lu has worked with the Kuomintang, the Zhili Clique and even the Germans in the past and, since the end of the Third Zhili-Fengtian War of 1927, is allied with the Federalist movement of Chen Jiongming: Due to the latter's guidance, Guangxi and Guangdong have formed a federal union within the League of Eight Provinces, known as "Liangguang". As an old man in his mid 70s, Lu has delegated most of the actual responsibilities of his post to his subordinates and is planning to retire soon.
Biography[]
Lu was born in 1859 to a peasant family and reportedly spent several years as a bandit along the Vietnamese border before joining the Qing army during the Sino-French War. In 1904 he was given command of the Guangxi Border Guards, which would later form the nucleus of the Old Guangxi Clique. Lu distinguished himself in the suppression of revolutionaries (including Sun Yat-sen) and was decorated by the Qing government.
Following the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai appointed Lu governor of Guangxi, where he once again suppressed an attempted KMT rebellion. However, when Yuan declared himself emperor, Lu switched sides and joined the Yunnan Clique in the National Protection War that eventually removed Yuan from the throne. During the strife, Lu invaded Guangdong and was later confirmed as governor of that province as well by the Chinese president.
Though he briefly became part of Sun Yat-sen’s Constitutional Protection Movement in 1917, Lu switched sides and aligned with the increasingly powerful Zhili Clique. In retaliation, Sun’s then-ally Chen Jiongming drove Lu out of Guangdong in the Yue-Gui War. Lu desired to retake Guangdong, but the instability along the Vietnamese border which came as a result of the German takeover prevented him from acting. Instead, in 1923 Tang Jiyao successfully invaded Guangxi from Yunnan forcing Lu into exile and resulting in the formation of the KMT-aligned New Guangxi Clique.
During his time in exile, Lu reconciled with his former adversary Chen Jiongming. When the KMT’s Northern Expedition began to fall apart in late 1926, the two launched a coordinated effort to retake their respective provinces, defeating the NRA and the New Guangxi Clique in the process. Lu recognized the new Zhili hegemony and allowed Guangxi to be incorporated into the League of Eight Provinces, and in return he was recognized as governor again by Beijing. He strengthened his ties with Chen through the Lianguang Treaty of Mutual Defence and Assistance and Chen spurred Guangxi to pursue military and administrative modernization. As he grew older, Lu delegated most of the actual leadership of the clique to his adopted sons Ma Ji and Lu Yuguang.