The world goes back and forth to live in a partial way, by the beach, by the river, by the road, and the outer circle of the castle.

- Hui proverb

The vast majority of the descendants of Abbas, the Mare of the Khorezm Empire, worked as farmers in Longjialiang in Dongxiang. One of them, Ma Wenlu, walked out of Dongxiang and came to live in the Taizi Mountains.

Taizi Mountain is very rich in animal and plant resources, not only rich in many precious Chinese medicinal materials, but also snow leopard, forest musk deer, Sumatra antelope and bearded vulture, goshawk, blue horse chicken and other birds and beasts.

Ma Wenlu relies on the mountains to eat the mountains and makes a living from hunting. He was a kind person, liked to help the poor around him, and was loved by the people, and became the leader of the hunters in the Taizi Mountains.

Due to the Hui uprisings in Shaanxi and eastern Gansu, the government imposed control on weapons such as knives and guns, which seriously affected the lives of the hunters.

Ma Wenlu then led the hunters to the Xining area to hunt for a living.

Soon after, another uprising broke out in Tay Ninh.

Ma Wenlu had to leave Xining in order to make a living, passed through the traffic pass of Qilian Mountain, entered the wide Hexi Corridor, and came to Qingtou Mountain, more than 160 miles southwest of Suzhou, set up a tent on the mountain, and continued to hunt for a living.

Ma Wenlu took the hunted mountain goods to the market in Suzhou to trade, so he often came to Suzhou City and had many contacts with the Hui people in the city.

Suzhou is located in the central and western part of the Hexi Corridor, at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains, and has been a famous historical and cultural city on the Silk Road and a transportation hub from the Central Plains to the Western Regions since ancient times.

Before the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiang and Rong people were the indigenous inhabitants here. The Qiang people mainly refer to the moon branch, and Rong is the transliteration of Wusun. Wusun first lived in the area of Ganzhou (today's Zhangye) west of the Qilian Mountains. The Yueshi lived in the area east of Ganzhou. Later, the Yueshi drove out Wusun and monopolized the entire Hexi.

In the Han Dynasty, under the persecution of the Xiongnu, the Yue clan also withdrew from Hexi, migrated to the upper reaches of the Ili River, conquered the Sai people there, and stayed. Historically known as the Otsuki clan. History said that the Yuezhi that stayed in Dunhuang and Qilian was Xiaoyue. For more than 50 years after that, Suzhou was the nomadic land of the Huns, called the right land of the Huns. In 121 B.C., Huo Qubing marched into Hexi and drove the remnants of the Xiongnu beyond Yumen Pass. The Western Han Dynasty immigrated hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese from the Central Plains to Hexi to settle down. In 106 B.C., Suzhou was named Jiuquan after the spring under the city and its water was like wine, and Jiuquan County was established.

In 602, Emperor Wen of Sui withdrew Jiuquan County, leaving only the state and county levels, and changed Jiuquan Town to Suzhou. In 624, Tang Gaozu set up Jiuquan County. From 763 to 852, the Tibetans occupied Jiuquan. From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, Jiuquan fell into the hands of the Uighurs. During the Great Song Dynasty, Jiuquan belonged to Western Xia. After the defeat of Western Xia, Mongolia owned Jiuquan and rebuilt Suzhou Road. Daming set up Suzhou Guard. During the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to Suzhou Zhili Prefecture.

In 1856, Suo Wen, the governor of Ganzhou, led people to escort the government's 50,000 taels of silver to Dihua (today's Urumqi), and walked to Huihui Fort outside Jiayu Pass and was robbed by the Tubo people in Nanshan.

As a result, the government built a checkpoint in Huihuibao and established a sentry post to ensure the safety of traffic from Hexi to Huijiang. The government posted a notice to recruit sentinels from the surrounding people, and the Suzhou Zhentai government paid salaries.

Ma Wenlu saw the announcement when he entered the city. He thought to himself, now that the beasts in the mountains are becoming more and more scarce, and the life of the hunters is becoming more and more difficult. It's better to lead the hunters down the mountain to be sentinels and have a regular income every month.

He led more than 200 hunters down Qingtou Mountain, joined the guard of the government, and came to Huihui Fort to garrison the outpost. Ma Wenlu was appointed by Sowen as a petty officer.

The hunters used to be free and loose, unwilling to accept the constraints of military discipline, and gradually had conflicts with the government, and there were often some small conflicts, but the disturbances were suppressed by the government.

With the spread of the Shaanxi-Gansu Huihui Uprising, the people's anti-Qing uprising also broke out in Huijiang. The Hui people in Suzhou were greatly encouraged.

In March 1865, the Hui people of Liangzhou (today's Weiwu) could not bear the brutal oppression of the town guard Mi Diance, and rose up to kill him and his relatives. However, the uprising was immediately suppressed by the Qing army.

The news of the failure of the uprising of the Hui people in Liangzhou spread, and the Hui people in the prefectures and counties of the Hexi Corridor were greatly shocked. The Hui people of the Yonggubao flood camp in Ganzhou were the first to rise up and rebel. The Hui people in Gaotai, Anxi, Dunhuang, Yumen and other counties in Suzhou Prefecture also secretly armed themselves and waited for the opportunity to raise troops.

The Hexi region was suddenly plunged into a tense atmosphere.

At this time, most of the Zhenbiao officers and soldiers in Suzhou were returning to Xinjiang to quell the uprising. The city's defenses were very empty. The mood of the common people to prepare for a rebellion is getting higher and higher. The atmosphere in the city is becoming tense.

Suzhou Zhentai Chenggui believed that he could not sit idly by and wait for death, and advocated a preemptive strike to suppress the people who were eager to try by means of force and intimidation. Zhizhou Chen Yong did not agree with Cheng Gui's opinion, but hoped to adopt peace negotiations to ease the sharp contradictions.

In March, Ma Wenlu brought more than 200 hunters from Huihuibao's outpost to Suzhou Zhentaifu to demand the salary withheld by the former town commander Dexiang.

The Zhentai government pushed back and did not properly resolve the contradictions, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the hunters.

Ma Wenlu led the Orions to the west to attack Jiayuguan, killed Zhang Kaixi and others, and occupied Jiayuguan, an important transportation town.

The next day, they contacted various hunters on Qingtou Mountain and gathered separately in Suzhou, preparing to launch an uprising.

After Cheng Gui learned the news, he felt that the problem was serious, and immediately increased the strength of the city defenders, closed the city gate, and set up a general cannon on the gatehouse of the eastern city. The muzzle of the cannon pointed directly at Dongguan, where the Hui people lived.

The people of Dongguan have repeatedly begged the state government for protection.

At noon on the same day, Chen Yong took a sedan chair to Dongguan to inspect without permission, and took the opportunity to find out the truth of the rumors of the uprising.

When it got dark, the rebels in Dongguan smashed the iron locks on the doors of the eastern, southern, and northern outposts, and opened the sentry gates for Ma Wenlu and others lurking outside the city.

Ma Wenlu quietly sat on Chen Yong's sedan chair, pretended to be Chen Yong, and was carried back to the city by the rebel soldiers.

As they approached the city gate, the rebels carrying the sedan chair shouted loudly from afar: "Open the door!" Lord Chen is going home. ”

The soldiers on the tower did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly ran down the tower to open the door.

The thick and heavy city gate had just opened, and the rebel troops hidden under the corridors on both sides of Dongguan swarmed in, shouting like thunder that shook the sky. The secret sentinels on all sides also set fire to it. The returning soldiers in the Suzhou Zhenbiao Army also suddenly defected.

Daotai Huan Ling heard that something had happened in Dongguan, and hurriedly led dozens of people to deal with it.

But the rebels poured into the city like a tidal wave.

Heng Ling was killed on the spot by an oncoming bullet. All of his entourage were killed. Most of the disheveled Qing army was routed by the rebels in the chaos.

The regimental training of the government rushed over to fight the rebels, but they were outnumbered and most of them were killed.

Cheng Gui stood on the bell tower with a huge wooden plaque of "Sonic Shock Huayi" and witnessed the tragic battle, and panicked in his heart. He knew that he had no power to return to heaven, so he had to abandon Suzhou and flee east to Ganzhou in a hurry.

After daybreak, the rebels occupied the entire city of Suzhou.

In order to prevent the rebel army from attacking the city, the landlord forces in the countryside united to organize a joint defense and jointly attacked Suzhou City many times, but they were all defeated by the rebel army.

The rebel army often went out of the city to attack the nearby Qing army and local regimental training, and even reached the county town of Jinta.

After discussion, Yang Zhanao, the governor of Gansu, and Cheng Lu, the governor of Dihua, decided to appease the rebel army in Suzhou.

Ma Wenlu took the opportunity to invite Yang Zhanao to negotiate under the city of Suzhou.

As soon as Yang Zhanao came to the city, he was held hostage by the rebel army who rushed to Suzhou City.

Ma Wenlu took Yang Zhanao as a hostage, threatened Cheng Lu to lead the Qing army to retreat to Gaotai, and demanded that it be attached to the imperial court.

Cheng Lu had no choice but to agree.

The provincial superintendent Mu Tu received a request from Cheng Lu, approved the annexation of the rebel army, appointed Ma Wenlu as the military commander in charge of Suzhou, and renamed him Ma Zhongliang.

Cheng Lu retreated to Gaotai, watched the drama every day and enjoyed himself, blackmailed the people of Gaotai, did not want to go out of the customs and return to Xinjiang, innocently killed the people, and lied about a complete victory.

After accepting the appeasement, Ma Wenlu secretly enriched his troops and expanded his military position, intending to continue to confront the Qing army. He led his troops to enter the three counties of Yumen, Anxi, and Dunhuang many times, and went west out of Jiayuguan, attacked Ejina, and robbed the property of Mongolian Turghut.

They went as far as the city of Kobdo (in the western part of present-day Mongolia). Ma Wenlu encountered a powerful counterattack from Badr's descendant Jirimutu in Kobdo, and finally retreated in a huff.

Zuo Zongtang quelled the uprisings in Guanzhong and Longdong, commanded the army to force westward, and first sent the general soldier Xu Zhanbiao to lead the 12th battalion army from Guyuan to Suzhou.

Xu Zhanbiao conquered Taerwan Fort in the southwest of Suzhou City, and even took 12 camps of the rebel army and marched to the city of Suzhou.

The rebels suffered heavy casualties.

The Qing army attacked the city for days.

Ma Wenlu was wounded in the battle and sent people out of the city to sue for peace.

Xu Zhanbiao thought that it was a delaying tactic by the rebel army, but did not allow it.

On the sixth day of the sixth month of June, more than 6,000 rebel troops, dressed in white and wearing white scarves on their heads, rushed out of the city with drums and shouts.

With foreign guns and artillery, the Qing army repelled the rebels and captured some camps.

Ma Wenlu had no choice but to send people to ask for help from the rebel army in Huijiang and Xining Province.

The leader of the Dihua Hongmiaozi rebel army, Tuo Dexuan, sent more than 1,000 people into the city to help. Xining also sent Bi Dacai, a rebel army from Shaanxi, to aid Suzhou.

Ma Wenlu was made a marshal by Tuo Dexuan. He successively recruited the rebel army in Naganzhou, Shazhou, and the retreat to the west into six battalions. The two battalions in Shazhou held on to the north of the city. The Ganzhou battalion was stationed in the east of the city. The Suzhou battalion was stationed in Dongguan. The Xining battalion was stationed in the south of the city. The Xunhua Salar camp was stationed in the city.

In February 1873, Zuo Zongtang, who was pursuing the victory, increased a large number of troops to Suzhou, so that the Qing army besieging Suzhou City reached more than 60 battalions, and the encirclement of Suzhou had been formed. Zuo Zongtang brought a batch of new cannons to Lanzhou to support Suzhou.

Under the pursuit of the Qing army, Mu Hemai followed Bai Yanhu and other rebel armies that had retreated from Guanzhong in Shaanxi and Jinjibao, Hezhou, Xining and other places in Gansu Province to retreat westward, and from Ganzhou to Fuyi City (today's Liquan Town, Linze County, Gansu) and the forts of Gaotai, and gathered in the Suzhou area.

Bai Yanhu led the army to attack the official army outside the city of Suzhou many times, but they were all intercepted by the Qing army, and it was difficult to enter the city to join Ma Wenlu.

Bai Yanhu attacked many times to no avail, and led the remnants to withdraw westward from Jiayuguan and flee back to Xinjiang.

The Qing army concentrated its forces on digging trenches, building earthen walls, and erecting wooden fences outside the city of Suzhou, and surrounded the city tightly. The people inside can't get out. The food from outside could not get in.

After more than eight months of siege, the city of Suzhou was finally cut off from food.

The rebels had no choice but to slaughter the cavalry's horses to satisfy their hunger. When the horses were finished, they ate the bark and bran. They ripped out the leaves of the trees in Suzhou and tore off the tender skins on the trees. Even so, the rebels resolutely refused to surrender.

Zuo Zongtang used mines to blow up the gap in the northeast corner, secretly dug tunnels in the southwest and southeast corners, filled the coffin with explosives and buried it under the city, and then bombarded the city with artillery in the south of the city, blowing up the flesh and blood of the rebels.

The rebels were in turmoil. Every day, hundreds of Hui Han people absconded from the city of Suzhou and surrendered.

Zuo Zongtang sent the surrendered Huihui leaders to shout to the rebel officers and soldiers in the city, persuading them to come out and surrender, and the government gave preferential treatment to the prisoners, giving them food and money to go home.

Seeing that the situation was deteriorating day by day, and the future of the uprising was bleak, Ma Wenlu's mind began to waver.

On November 4, in order to save the lives of the rebel soldiers, Ma Wenlu resolutely decided to surrender and sent a letter to the Qing army camp.

Zuo Zongtang agreed, and asked Ma Wenlu to hand over the weapons, horses, and the roster of Hui people first.

Ma Wenlu immediately sorted out a roster of more than 17,000 weapons and personnel, and led the rebel generals out of the city to Zuo Zongtang's camp to surrender.

Zuo Zongtang ordered all 9 generals including Ma Wenlu to be arrested and imprisoned.

He also ordered that the number of rebels be counted according to the roster. More than 800 people from the 1st battalion of Ganzhou went out of the east city gate and were managed by Song Qingdian. More than 700 people from the 2nd battalion of Shazhou are in charge of Beiying Jinshun inspection. More than 500 people in the 1st Battalion of Orion in Xining were taken over by Xu Zhanbiao. The Xunhua Salar Camp is supervised by Lau Kam-tang.

The rebels accepted by each army were placed in the nearby empty fort for a while, according to men and women, and waited for their fate. More than 6,300 local rebel soldiers in Suzhou remained in Dongguan.

There were originally more than 50,000 residents in Suzhou, but after nine years of war, only a few thousand remained.

On the afternoon of September 23 of the lunar calendar, Zuo Zongtang ordered Ma Wenlu and other 9 generals to be beheaded, and most of the remaining rebel soldiers were dismissed.

The last remaining base of the Shaanxi-Gansu rebel army finally fell after Ma Wenlu's nine-year insistence. The great uprising of the Hui people in Shaanxi, Gansu and Gansu against the Qing Dynasty came to an end.

This war caused great disasters and injuries to the people of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

Before the war, the population of Shaanxi was 13.94 million and that of Gansu was 19.45 million. Ravaged by war, famine, and plague, Shaanxi lost 6.22 million Hui to Han China, and Gansu (including present-day Ningxia, Xining, and Haidong in Qinghai) to nearly 14 million. The Qing army killed more than 50,000 rebels at Jinjibao, nearly 10,000 in Xining, and more than 20,000 in Suzhou......

The imperial court adopted the old model of the feudal dynasties of previous dynasties to "cut the grass and eradicate the roots" against the anti-Qing rebel army in Shaanxi and Gansu. In October 1867, Wang Baixin, the head of the Criminal Department, wrote to Zuo Zongtang for advice when he was still in the midst of a fierce battle: "I think it is necessary to get rid of the brave and cunning people among the Hui people. Since the rest could not be killed all, after they were afraid of surrendering, they sent troops to move them to Xining, Gannan, or the borders of Yan'an and Yulin, and set up Huihui villages alone, and could not live with the Han Chinese. ”

He advised: "Choose loyal and honest people among them to form a maintenance team to manage themselves, and don't come out to make trouble in the future." In this way, long-term peace and stability can be guaranteed. ”

As Wang Baixin put it, the imperial court forced the masses who participated in the uprising to carry out a disproportionate migration. The imperial court forcibly resettled more than 10,000 relatives of the Shaanxi rebels in Huapingchuan and Shengnuchuan on the border between Pingliang and Huating, and later escorted more than 3,000 families of the Gansu rebels to nearby desolate places. The imperial court also relocated more than 30,000 Guanzhong Hui people to remote areas such as Pingliang, Qingshui, Qin'an, and Anding in Gansu on two occasions, and drove all the Hui people who supported the rebel army in Suzhou out of the city.

The household assets and property of the people forcibly evicted from their homes were either confiscated and distributed to others, or set on fire. When the common people put forward a legitimate request to return to their hometown, the imperial court sternly stated: "No traitors will be allowed to enter the country again." ”

The resettlement of civilians displaced by the war was also placed everywhere, but with a different standard: Han Chinese could settle in places close to cities and roads, which were convenient for life. The Hui people must be dispersed and resettled in order to achieve the long-term goal of dismantling ethnic groups, lonely forces, and confiscating power.

The relatives of the rebels were forcibly resettled in remote and remote areas with poor natural conditions, most of them in the arid areas of central Gansu, where the "poor and poor people in the world" were located, and even in the mountains and rivers with the worst conditions in the arid areas. The climate here is dry, the land is barren, and water is scarce. When the destitute Hui people came here, they could only dig a cave on the hillside to shelter, and the bitter cold was incomparable.

Ma Zhanao not only assisted the Qing army in extinguishing the uprisings in Xining and Suzhou, but also faithfully performed his duties as an agent of the imperial court. Ma Zhanao and his descendants were the biggest beneficiaries of the suppression of the rebels outside of the imperial court. Together with Ma Haiyan, Ma Qianling and others, he was incorporated into the Hezhou Town Horse Team of the Qing Army, served as the commander, and belonged to Dong Fuxiang's Gan Army. After his death, he was succeeded by his son Ma Anliang.

Ma Haiyan also made many military exploits in the uprisings in the northwest of Dingding, and was promoted to the deputy flag. His two sons, Ma Qi and Ma Lin, and his grandson Ma Fang, later ruled the northwest and leaned towards one side.

The rise of Ma Jiajun in Ningxia and Ma Jiajun in Qinghai during the Republic of China was directly related to Ma Zhanao and Ma Haiyan. To be precise, Ma Zhanao and Ma Haiyan opened the door to power for the Ma family.

At the same time, relying on advanced firearms and institutional superiority, Russia controlled the Kazakh steppe, conquered the three independent khanates of Kokand, Bukhara and Khiva established by the Uzbeks, and finally crossed the Amu Darya River, controlled the homeland of the Turkmens, and privately divided the Pamir Plateau of the Tajiks and Kyrgyz with the British, completing the conquest of 3.9 million square kilometers of Khorezm's homeland.

The two empires, Russia and the Qing Dynasty, divided Central Asia and the Huijiang region.