Chapter 2

  The first to stir up this wave was Zuo Zongtang, the last iron-blooded general of the Qing dynasty. He led the elite Xiang Army, and after annihilating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he marched northwest with an unstoppable momentum. The Hui Muslim rebel leader Bai Yantiger fled to Xinjiang and retreated into Russia, while the Gansu Hui Muslim rebels defended the Yellow River in Hexi. No one expected that at the critical moment when the army was pressing in on all sides, the Hui rebel leader Ma Zhan'ao would launch a counterattack, using the "Black Tiger Heart-ripping" tactic to wipe out ten battalions of the Xiang Army. The Taizi Mountain and the banks of the Dashaher River were thus drenched with blood, turning the yellow earth into fertile soil, as if it had been nourished by sweet rain. General Zuo stood on the high dry riverbed in Hexi, his eyes wide with shock.

  Ma Zhan'ao led his victorious army in surrender and became one of Zuo Zongtang's generals, following the military expedition to Xinjiang and annihilating Yakub Beg.

  Ma Zhan'ao's sons and nephews were enfeoffed as officials, which was the beginning of the later "Five Ma" of the Northwest. Later, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacked Beijing, the fierce Mongolian prince Senggelinqin was killed by the Nian Army in Shandong, the Xiang Army and Huai Army were defeated, and the Mazhan'ao's army was ordered to enter the capital, using spears to resist the foreigners' cannons and machine guns, escorting Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi out of Beijing on a "Western Tour" to ancient Chang'an.

  Ma Haixian, who was in charge of escorting Xi Jinping on his "Western Tour", became the most prestigious military man in the Western Army.

  The five Ma brothers of Northwest China: Ma Anliang, Ma Fuxiang, Ma Qi, Ma Lin and Ma Zhan'ao.

  Da Ahou was invited by the Seventh Old Master to come to Xining. The Ninghai Military Academy is located here, and all the students are sons of Ma's military officers. The official position of the Ninghai Town Garrison Commander was bought with money by Ma Qihua. Among the same clan, Ma Fuxiang passed the Wuju examination and became the Ningxia Town Garrison Commander through his merits, which is considered a change of door and household. Ma Fuxiang's son, Ma Hongkui, has always looked down on Ma Bufang, and whenever he meets someone, he says: "Ma Zixiang can't compare with me, I am an official descendant, and his ancestors were bandits."

  The Ma family had always been ashamed of their bandit origins. With the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic, it was a good opportunity to change their ways. Nephew Ma Bu Ying looked down on his uncle's methods. "Bandits are just bandits, weren't Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang also bandits?" His father, Ma Bao, who was the commander of the Ninghai Army, was startled by his son's words. "Don't talk nonsense, child, your uncle is doing it for everyone's good."

  Ma Zixiang: Ma Bufang's courtesy name is Zixiang.

  "For him or for everyone?"

  "Don't be like that to your elders!" Commander Ma reminded his son, "Don't compete with your cousin, yield when you can."

  "I won't let you fall into the ditch!"

  "You're still a kid, but your heart has grown up too early and is now overly mature."

  You this I son: Northwestern dialect, second person singular pronoun, often used as an idiomatic expression.

  The thing that Ma Yinglong was worried about still happened.

  At that time, Ma Zhongying was attending Wu Bei Primary School, and his elder cousin Ma Bufang and younger cousin Ma Buqing were attending Wu Bei Middle School. Ma Zhongying's original name was Ma Bingying, but he changed it to Ma Zhongying after falling out with his elder cousin.

  Several brothers sat quietly in the hall, waiting for the arrival of distinguished guests. Here have come instructors from Germany and Japan, who highly admire the martial spirit of the Great Northwest, considering it comparable to the Yamato Bushido and the German Teutonic Knights. The Japanese instructor told his German colleague: this desolate loess has produced the most powerful Han and Tang dynasties in Chinese history, and after China's center of gravity shifted southward, it never became strong again. The German instructor said that the hard yellow soil here is like the ice and snow of our Northern Europe, which can produce a military temperament.

  The brothers were all guessing which country the noble guest was from, in their impression, German and Japanese soldiers were the best. Their elders, dressed in armor, accompanied Da A to walk in, and the children stood up to salute. Ninghai Town Guardian Ma Qi told the children: Da A wants to see your kung fu, to see who is the son of a child.

  Ma Qi hoped that one of his sons, Ma Bufang or Ma Buqing, would be chosen by the Dalai Lama, but the Dalai Lama's gaze fell on his nephew Ma Buying. The Seventh Old Master twirled his white mustache and narrowed his eyes without making a sound. The Seventh Old Master's Guan Gong eyes were always narrowed, and once they opened, it was like thunder and lightning, shocking heaven and earth.

  Ma Bu Fang and Ma Bu Ying drew their Heshan knives, the tips of the blades facing each other, like two leopards entwined together, killing each other with difficulty. The first round ended in a draw, and the second round had just begun when young Ma Bu Ying took the initiative to attack, not giving his older cousin a chance to breathe. Like surging waves, he continuously chopped at his cousin's vital parts with accurate and powerful movements that were tightly coordinated. Although Ma Bu Fang blocked the attacks from both sides, he exposed his own weakness, causing his opponent's blade to be pressed against his neck, making him turn pale with anxiety. After the trial ended, Ma Bu Fang was still standing in place. The Garrison Commander said: "Bu Ying is younger than you, but his knife skills are stronger than yours." Ma Bu Fang asked: "Is a knife more powerful than a spear?" The Garrison Commander slapped his son several times on the ears, causing blood to flow from the corner of his mouth, and a tooth was knocked out. The Garrison Commander said: "Swallow it." Ma Bu Fang swallowed the blood and tooth into his stomach. The Garrison Commander said: "A soldier's courage and bravery are all in his knife skills. Only by mastering knife skills can one lead troops." The Garrison Commander drew his knife and performed a few moves for the children, who were amazed. He patted his nephew's bald head and said: "Bu Ying is a good child." The Garrison Commander awarded his Heshan knife to young Ma Bu Ying.

  The intention of the garrison commander was very clear, his nephew Ma Bu Ying had already received his reward, and the great Ah Ke should also make a move towards Ma Bu Fang and Ma Bu Qing. The eyes of the Seventh Old Master opened wide, with bloodshot eyes, pupils red like roses, set in such narrow eyes that it made one's hair stand on end. The Seventh Old Master used this gaze to envelop the garrison commander tightly, the garrison commander was like someone who had been struck by a vital point, staring blankly as the Seventh Old Master and Ah Ke walked into the scripture hall.

  Da A Ge said: "Ma Bufang and Ma Buqing will take control of the Ninghai Army, **the little doll is Ma Buxiang."

  The old man said: "If Hexi can produce a fine horse, I will be delighted."

  Dahai said: "I will take him to Qilian Mountain, Shenma Valley, and let him stay for three years. After that, he will find it difficult to stand in the Ninghai Army."

  "We can't rely on Ning Haijun, there are plenty of sons and daughters on the mountain."

  "Qilian Mountain can save the child from disaster, but the child will become a wild horse. Wild horses are destined to roam the wilderness."

  "With the establishment of the Republic, even a wild horse can raise its head and breathe freely."

  "The doll is indeed a good doll, its knife skills are like the sea water, one wave after another. The book 'Rashomon' describes the big sea as being just like that."

  Dà āhōu led Mǎ Bùyīng into Qílián Shān's Divine Horse Valley.

  During the Ninghai Military Autumn Exercise, Ma Bufang was the most courageous of the three armies, and the garrison commander awarded him his favorite Japanese sword. Ma Bufang still remembered that he lost in a previous sword comparison, so he loudly told the officials and soldiers below: "The Hezhou knife is a tool used by bandits, and military personnel should wear this."

  At that time, the Chinese military was popular with the Japanese sword.