Ma Zhongying, whose ancestral home is from Hezhou, Gansu.

At that time, he was the commander of the 36th Division of the Central Army and the new Army, with the rank of lieutenant general.

Ma Zhongying is young and ambitious, and has fought in Gansu for many years.

Later, he was chased and intercepted by Ma Bufang, and had nowhere to stay, so he joined forces with the leader of the Xinjiang Uygur riot and Ganiyazi.

He attempted to occupy Dihua and realize his ambition to dominate the northwest.

After Ma Zhongying captured Hami and Turpan, his troops were divided into two routes.

One route was led by his younger brother Ma Zhongjie, who led a large group of men and horses to capture Mulei Qitai along the Mulei River, in order to plunder property to replenish the troops;

Ma Zhongying personally threw two thousand elites, crossed the Tianshan Daban, and smashed Fuyuan through Guangquanzi.

Trying to open up a supply line to capture the eastern road of Dihua.

Ma Zhongjie, after dividing his troops with his brother Ma Zhongying in Turpan, led the army all the way along the Mulei River and easily occupied Mulei County.

After looting all the property in the county, he traveled west to the city of Qitai.

Qitai County was an important commercial port in the northwest frontier at that time.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, at the most, there were more than 40,000 camels transporting goods.

Historically, it was as famous as Hami and Yili, and was known as the four major commercial cities of Xinjiang.

It is known as the "Jinqitai dry wharf".

At that time, in addition to the local garrison, there were also some Tsarist Guards who had been scattered by the Soviet Red Army of the October Revolution and fled to Qitai, and some of the Mongol cavalry.

When Ma Zhongjie's troops pressed the border, several armed forces, in order to protect themselves, all worked together to defend the city.

He fought fiercely with the Ma army for two days and nights, repelled many crazy attacks by the Ma army, and killed the bandit leader Ma Zhongjie.

Ma Zhongying, with Chen Qingyu, the brigade commander of the defeated army who surrendered to him, originally planned to climb over the ice slab and take Fuyuan City directly.

After raising enough money and food, he joined forces with Ma Zhongjie and went straight to Dihua.

After resting in Guangquanzi for a few days, he was preparing to lead his troops to besiege Fuyuan.

But there was a rush of horses' hooves.

After a short time, the front sentry brought a signal soldier who was sweating all over his body and was so tired that he only had one breath left.

I saw that the man drank the water in the bowl in one go, pulled his crying voice, and said eagerly: "Deputy commander, ...... killed in battle."

Ma Zhongying listened to it, like a thunderbolt.

Suddenly, his body couldn't help but stagger backwards.

Then, he took a step forward, grabbed the man's shoulders with both hands, and shouted like crazy, "What the hell is going on? ”

The man wiped his eyes and said sadly: "In the first half of the night, the deputy commander personally commanded the siege of the city, and he didn't want to be shot.

As soon as you get off the horse, don't slow down any longer, and I'll slip to deliver a letter to you. ”

Ma Zhongying slowly let go of his hand.

As if suddenly unconscious, the man fell limply to the ground.

After a while, he leaped from the ground like a lion that had suddenly woken up.

shouted hoarsely: "Send troops to Qitai!" I want to wash the ancient city in blood! ”

Ma Zhongying rushed to Qitai in a hurry.

sat down next to Ma Zhongjie's corpse, and tears welled up.

The brothers have been born and died for many years, and have experienced dozens of vicious battles.

Unexpectedly, he fell on the small odd platform.

Ma Zhongying, mixed with grief and anger.

Immediately ordered the troops, hurry up and eat, and prepare to attack the city overnight.

When Ma Jun saw that Commander Ga personally went into battle to command, his morale was suddenly greatly boosted.

Shouting, scrambling to rush forward.

For a time, outside Qitai City, the sound of killing shook the sky, and guns and bullets rained down.

It was getting dark, and the local army defending the city couldn't resist it.

Wave the white flag and demand ceasefire negotiations.

The result: the local army, all disarmed and surrendered;

As long as the Ma army does not harm the people in the city, all military and political affairs are entrusted to the Ma army.

But after entering the city, Ma Zhongying's banditry was completely exposed.

With his brother's life, there is no blood in the city.

Therefore, regardless of the terms of the peace talks, he took the captured White Russian soldiers and dozens of Mongolian soldiers to the south of the city, and fired wantonly with machine guns.

For a time, the ancient city was full of blood, and people were panicked.

Ma Zhongying vented her personal anger, and pretended to do some activities to appease the people.

Although he shouted the slogan of rescuing and protecting the people of Qitai.

But the hand of forcible expropriation and brutality is not ambiguous at all. Their behavior is no different from that of banditry.

In order to raise more military supplies, Ma Zhongying actually adopted the practice of plundering people's wealth in Zhenxi Mansion that year.

The Qitai County Chamber of Commerce was ordered to print the "Qitai Chamber of Commerce Circulation Coupons" for the forced purchase of grain and military supplies.

And the "negotiable coupon", less than a month after it was issued, became waste paper.

Therefore, it caused serious damage and panic to Qitai's financial market.

As a result, the date of the alliance with Ganiyaz, the attack on Dihua is approaching.

Ma Zhongying only rested in the ancient city for ten days, and then divided into two routes.

All the way, he turned over the ice slab of Tianshan Mountain, directly joined with Ganiyaz, and attacked Dihua from the south.

And he personally led the army, detoured to Fuyuan, all the way to the west, and attacked Dihua from the north.

When passing by Fuyuan City, Ma Zhongying wanted to take Fuyuan City and replenish some military money and food.

But immediately in the distance, the small city stands quietly on the empty field.

The city gates were closed, and there was a faint surge of people on the city walls, and there was a murderous aura hidden in the city.

Ma Zhongying bit the root of his teeth, but still helplessly urged the horse forward.

Although he came with a large army, he did not dare to make a move against Fuyuan easily.

There are two reasons: First, he knows that County Magistrate Liu is scheming and a difficult master. A rash attack may not be easy to break the city;

Second, he and the Southern Route Army of Heganiyaz agreed that the time for attacking Dihua was approaching. Don't let a small be a big one.

Therefore, he had to make a detour to Fuyuan, through Santai Town, and approached Dihua.

Unexpectedly, in the muddy spring not far from Santai Town, he met the provincial army who had been waiting there.

Ma Zhongying's troops are fierce.

The tide rushed towards the provincial army positions in batches.

Provincial military machine guns, and armored vehicles and other heavy firepower, stubbornly resisted.

However, the Ma army did not care about the casualties of the soldiers and went forward one after another.

When one group fell, an even larger group poured up, causing great psychological pressure on the provincial army.

The positions of the provincial army were broken through several times by the cavalry of the Ma army.

Sheng Shicai, in the forward position, personally commanded the battle, and was almost captured alive by the Ma army.

However, the 500 elite soldiers led by Liu Kuaijiao played a great role in being responsible for holding the central position of the provincial army.

Most of Liu Kuai's subordinates were sharpshooters trained by him when he was a bandit in the northeast, and he was skilled in marksmanship and hit every shot.

Every time the cavalry of the horse army broke through the position from both sides, they were shot accurately by these gunners, as if by name.

Soon after such an engagement, the Ma army suffered more than 400 casualties.

Most of the soldiers on the front line of the Ma Army were recruits who were replenished after entering Hami.

Its combat effectiveness is not as good as the 3,000 Gansu soldiers who entered Xinjiang with Ma Zhongying.

At this time, seeing the huge casualties, he began to cower.

The provincial army took advantage of the situation to launch a counteroffensive and gradually formed an encirclement of the Ma army.

Soon, the sky was getting dark and overcast.

Suddenly, the rain was pouring down, mixed with hail from time to time.

The temperature plummeted below freezing.

The battle could not continue, and the two armies faced off all night.

When Ma Jun was out of the stage, he was issued with single clothes and trousers.

That night, in the rain and snow, many were frozen to death.

He was barely able to survive the cold night, but his hands and feet were stiff, and he could barely continue to shoot with a gun.

The soldiers of the provincial army, however, were issued leather coats in time, so they were able to persevere.

At dawn the next day, the provincial army, which had rested all night, launched another fierce attack.

Ma Jun was not given a chance to breathe at all.

Soon after the battle began, the Ma army lost more than 200 men.

Ma Zhongying's guards, nearly 500 people, were all provincial troops who surrendered in the ancient city.

Seeing that the general trend has gone, he has no intention of fighting again.

Immediately, taking advantage of the darkness, he surrendered to the provincial army in front of the battle.

As a result, Ma Zhongying appeared a big gap in the position, and the defense line collapsed immediately.

Ma Zhongying was unable to return to the sky, so he had to take 3,000 soldiers and flee eastward.

Ma Zhongying, panicked like a lost dog, fled to Shuixigou in Fuyuan County in one breath.

Seeing that the gunfire was getting farther away, he ordered the soldiers to bury the pot and make rice.

On the one hand, let people stay at the mouth of the ditch and collect the remnants of the soldiers.

Ma Zhongying, sitting on a lying cow stone.

After taking a sip of the hot water that had just been boiled, my body felt much warmer.

He looked up to the sky and sighed, muttering to himself: "It's really weird, who would have thought that it would be cold in June." ”

At this time, the battalion commander Chen Qingyu came over with a disgraced face.

Ma Zhongying asked with a dejected face, "What is that place?" Why is the weather so weird? ”

Chen Qingyu said with a slumped head: "It is the boundary of Fukang, called Zini Quanzi." ”

When Ma Zhongying heard this, she shouted in surprise: "What? Mud Spring? ”

Chen Qingyu looked at him suspiciously, and nodded solemnly.

Ma Zhongying, frustratingly slapping the big bluestone under her buttocks, muttered to herself: "No wonder! No wonder! ”

Chen Qingyu looked at Ma Zhongying blankly, leaned closer, leaned on the big bluestone, and asked cautiously, "What's the wonder?" Commander. ”

Unexpectedly, Ma Zhongying suddenly looked like an angry lion.

Shaking his head and yelling: "Horse mud spring! You don't understand? ”

was frightened by Ma Zhongying's sudden roar, Chen Qingyu's legs weakened, and he slipped into the ditch.

If you hadn't crossed your legs and hugged an elm tree that was lying on the edge of the ditch, you would have to fall into the river at the bottom of the ditch.

Before the sun set, Ma Zhongying gathered hundreds of people one after another, and he didn't dare to delay too long in Shuixigou.

Ma Zhongying knew in her heart that Sheng Shicai's people would come over soon.

Therefore, in order to speed up the eastward retreat, they had to leave behind the wounded who had difficulty moving, and the families of the accompanying soldiers and some baggage.

He personally led the elite soldiers, and quietly went out of the water stream ditch before dawn.

Ma Zhongying never expected that he would never come back when he went out of Shuixigou this time.

The wounded soldiers who remained in the ditch were all exterminated by the provincial troops who rushed to hear the news.

The family members were dismissed on the spot and remarried to local farmers.

It is said that among them are Ma Zhongying's thirteenth wife.