Currently, we have just two leaders who are intended as puppet leaders / open collaborators for China in case Japan takes over: Yang Yuting and Tang Shaoyi. However, while the former works just fine, the latter has more issues and I think there is a better alternative: Chen Yi.
First: Who is Chen Yi? He was a politician and officer in the National Revolutionary Army OTL who is most famous (or rather infamous) for his mishandling of a crisis on Taiwan following the Nationalist government's retaking of that island from the Japanese after WW2. His bloody crackdown, the 228 Incident (or February 28 Massacre) caused much resentment between the Taiwanese population and their new mainlander overlords. Afterwards, he attempted to defect to the CCP but that was found out by Chiang Kai-shek and Chen was sentenced to death, being executed in 1950. In KRTL, he starts out as a military leader in the League of Eight Provinces.
Secondly: What is the issue with Tang Shaoyi as the replacement for Yang Yuting if he gets executed by one of the Zhangs in Fengtian? Tang seems to be a relatively good candidate for collaborator since a) He has already been a prime minister within the RoC government and is sort of an "elder statesman" who might garner respect from the Chinese population, at least in the view of the Japanese and b) He was approached by the Japanese in OTL as well and accepted their offer but was murdered before he could take up any actual post. Yet, we need to consider that Tang by the later 1930's is already really old (74 in 1936) and wouldn't be the most useful tool politically in the long term because of that.
Lastly: Why would Chen Yi be a good replacement for Tang Shaoyi? Aside from the fact that he attempted to defect to the Communists OTL and that he is an officer for the LEP in KRTL, both of which show his relatively loose committment to whatever side he is currently on, he was rumoured to be a strong Japanophile and studied at a Japanese military academy from 1902 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. This, of course, must not mean that he would immediately be a strong supporter of Japan and collaborate, since Chiang Kai-shek also received his military education in Japan for example. However, Chen has his strong opportunism that Chiang kinda lacked. So, opportunism combined with Japanophilia might lead Chen to collaborate with the Japanese and attain a high position, at least until his incompetence
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