WI: Northern Expedition Failure

There aren't many threads on the warlord era here, so I want to know what would happen if the Northern Expedition was a failure. Would the Zhili or Fengtian states unite China? Or would China be divided between a Beiyang North and a Nationalist South? Would Japan be more/less successful in China or would there even be a war?

Thanks in advance.
 
Too many Japanese business leaders & Imperialists saw advantages in taking control of China. Given the Japan of OTL war wi China was near inevitable. The character might change significantly with two Chinese states, but there still a war.
 
What is the timeframe of your POD?
I mean its up to you, but lately I've been sketching out ideas of a Central Powers victory and I've hit a roadblock with China. Soviet Russia is a failure as Germany-Britain-Japan intervene on behalf of the Romanovs. This would probably impact the amount of support the Nationalists would get as they depended on Soviet aid during the mid 20s. I'm curious what would happen here and OTL.
 
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