Chapter 20

  This book is quite good-looking, it's a wonderful book. If you have any opinions, leave a comment.

  They marched for three days and nights, covering over 400 kilometers, crossing the desert, and suddenly appeared in the oasis east of Hami, shocking the entire province. This was literally the speed of a falcon. For thousands of years, this route had been an absolute military dead end, taking at least half a month to traverse. The provincial army had planned to wait for them to tire themselves out, but Gao's 500 strong men were not tired at all, and they marched as easily as horses, like playing a game of football. Everyone often played football with Gao. The Gobi Desert was flat and even, and Gao marched his troops across it, kicking the ball all the way to Hami's gate, Huanglu Gang. The provincial army's garrison at Huanglu Gang was caught off guard and scattered. The provincial army then sent two more regiments to block them at Xi Yao Quan, with thousands of soldiers and horses occupying advantageous terrain, firing cannons and guns.

  Those five hundred strong men rushed from the lowland to the top of the mountain in one breath, without even panting, swinging their knives and firing their guns slowly but surely, with every shot hitting its mark, like a nail being hammered into place. The provincial army's gunfire was suppressed, and the slow and steady gunshots suddenly became drawn out, chasing after the fleeing enemy. The provincial army's gunfire completely fell silent, cannons were abandoned on the battlefield, and rifles were left behind, no one had the heart to fight anymore. Whether on foot or on horseback, the entire mountain was filled with defeated soldiers, their panting and chaotic footsteps sounding like a swarm of bees, people constantly falling down, some even collapsing in despair, sitting on the ground with their heads tilted back and legs stretched out, like dry trees. The two regiments dispersed in this manner. The commander collected the surrendered weapons, piling them up into a small mountain, everyone exchanged their old guns for good ones, and the remaining weapons were hidden away, as the main force of Su Zhou lacked arms.

  The garrison of Zhenxi surrendered without a fight. The commander gained an additional thousand men. He and Heganiz Aji met at ? Dun, and the Uyghur troops were formed into a regiment. Aji and the commander took a photo together, like father and son - the bearded commander and the baby-faced commander. Not to mention fighting, just that forced march had shaken Heganiz Aji! "That place, even wild camels have to run for ten or eight days, but you guys came over in three days, it's too impressive!"

  Aji was overjoyed. After the Hami uprising, he had been blocked by the provincial army in the mountains and had to hide everywhere, and it was getting harder to hold on.

  The commander shouted loudly and swept Hami clean like a strong gust of wind. Aji laughed loudly.

  "Let's go beat up Di Hua and catch that old scoundrel Jin Shuren."

  General Gashi told Aji that Jintongren had wet his pants and he must send a large army to Hami to dry them.

  Sheng Shicai, who had been sitting on the cold bench for many years, finally took control of the military power. Even the foolish master did not dare to give any power to this kind of family minister. Sheng Shicai was still the chief of staff of the Eastern Route Army, assisting Lu Zhonglin in resisting Ma Chung-ying. When they were about to arrive at Hami, Sheng Shicai suggested deploying troops along the mountains, defending the main passes, and waiting for an opportunity to attack. The brigade commander, Du Zhiguo, did not take Sheng Shicai seriously, thinking that he was just a naive and inexperienced young man who needed to be taught a lesson.

  "Feng Yuxiang is not a doll, it took 50,000 troops of the Northwest Army to suppress him."

  "Old Sheng's dog is thin, eat more peanuts, peanuts are good for dogs."

  Du Zong led his five thousand cavalrymen to attack the fortress of ? Dun, but couldn't find the commander.

  "Hide and seek is over, you're just a doll after all. Xinjiang isn't Gansu, the Gobi Desert has scared you to death."

  Commander Du's troops were camping in the open wilderness, and it would have been fine to just send the bandits back to Gansu without a fight! But at midnight, five hundred bandits arrived, overturning the entire camp, with flames, gunfire, and the neighing of warhorses. Commander Du had just exited his tent when he was hit by a stray bullet, lying on the ground groaning, guarded by two sentries. The 5,000-strong troops vanished in an instant. A battalion commander under General Ga rushed over to ask who this was, and the sentry replied that it was their brigade commander.

  Du Zong's head was still breathing, and the company commander who wanted to make a name for himself cut off Du Zong's head and took two guards to see the general. The general listened to the report and patted the shoulders of the two guards, "It's rare that you two have a heart, the officer didn't bring you in vain."

  The troops gathered together, and the commander ordered the company commander to repeat what had happened. As soon as the company commander finished speaking, the commander beheaded him with one sword and threw his head to the ground.

  "Ptoo! I'm disgusted."

  Du Zhi's entire army was defeated, but Shengshicai was about to launch a large-scale attack. Lu Xianzu was a scholar and had already been frightened out of his wits, with no heart to fight again.

  "You're a military expert, come up with a plan for us to retreat, as long as we can escape it's a victory."

  "An army that is overconfident will surely lose, and even in his dreams, Ma Zhongying would never have thought that we would launch an attack."

  "Look what my legs are doing?"

  Lu Xianzu's legs were shaking like a snake. Sheng Shi couldn't ignore this problem, as Lu Xianzu had introduced him to Xinjiang when he was struggling in Nanjing. He couldn't sit on the hot stool and forget his old friend. He could only give up this opportunity, and under the name of chief of staff, ordered the destruction of the Qijiajing military depot, allowing the army to retreat to Qitai. Commander Gai found it difficult to detect the true strength of the provincial army and did not pursue them.

  Jin Shuren again transferred the Eighth Army from Ili, with Sheng Shicai as chief of staff, to counterattack against Ma Zhongying. Lu Xuzhou did not dare to fight, and Sheng Shicai led his troops to counterattack against Ma Zhongying.

  Sheng Shicai's troops had several thousand White Russian soldiers, all of whom were fierce Cossacks. When General Zhang saw the Cossacks' gleaming sabers, his eyes lit up. He didn't want to fight anymore; fighting against Jin Shuren was too boring, far less exciting than fighting the Northwestern Army, and even less thrilling than crossing the Gobi Desert. Just as he was about to retreat, a group of majestic Cossack soldiers charged forward, and he suddenly found Xinjiang interesting again. He cut down two Cossack soldiers, shouting with excitement - this was what it meant to be a soldier, to fight and be fought, to be tempered like steel. As he clashed swords with the enemy, sparks flew everywhere. The lone surviving Cossack returned, his horse trembling with fear as he stared at General Zhang in shock and confusion. Few people had ever escaped alive from General Zhang's blade. With a fierce cry, General Zhang charged forward, leading his troops to victory as the Eighth Division and the White Russian army collapsed.

  Sheng Shicai withdrew his troops and retreated to the city of Qitai. Ma Zhongying led a fierce attack, and the defenders on the city wall fought to the death. The crossfire wove a wall of flames. Ma Zhongying was all too familiar with this tactic. "Who is the commander on the city wall?" He asked Haji Niya. "It's Sheng Shicai, the chief of staff of the Eastern Route Army."

  "What does he do?"

  "Not clear."

  The Uyghurs in Hami only know Jin Shuren, and all of Jin Shuren's subordinates are from Hezhou, speaking a single sentence in the Hezhou dialect can get you a rifle.

  "When fellow villagers meet, their eyes are filled with tears. Is this great talent also from Hezhou? A capable person like this emerges from the city of Hezhou, could it be that my eyes, Ma Zhongying's, have gone blind?"

  Ma Zhongying did not believe that Sheng Shicai was a person from Hezhou, as the people of Hezhou were either Han or Hui. The fact that Sheng Shicai was a Han from Hezhou was too astonishing. Ma Zhongying sent someone to capture a live prisoner, preferably an officer. The special operations team quickly captured one, who was a battalion commander in the provincial army and a student soldier at the military academy, one of Sheng Shicai's most trusted soldiers. It turned out that Sheng Shicai was originally from Northeast China and had studied in Japan. Ma Zhongying suddenly became spirited, "Haha, I've finally found the right place! Jin Shuren has such a treasure under him, this old dog Jin Shuren is really something. First, let's deal with Sheng Shicai, then we'll deal with Jin Shuren."

  Ma Zhongying and others were not prepared, and they shouted loudly: "Sheng Shicai, come out!" Sheng Shicai was very cunning, and he flashed a glimpse of himself on the city wall. Before Ma Zhongying could see clearly, he heard the sound of the city gate opening, and Sheng Shicai led a group of cavalrymen riding high-headed horses, charging over. Everyone else held up their sabers, but Sheng Shicai held an unusual curved knife, which was the same kind that Ma Bufang wore on his belt. Ma Zhongying pointed at Sheng Shicai and shouted: "Catch him! Take away his curved knife and break it!" Two of Ma Zhongying's soldiers rushed forward, but they only saw Sheng Shicai's curved knife flash lightly, and the two cavalrymen fell to the ground together with their horses. Their heads rolled on the ground along with those of the horses. Ma Zhongying shouted loudly and charged forward, and the warhorses clashed, their blades colliding. The strength of both sides was evident at once, and they retreated like fierce beasts, neither daring to underestimate the other. In the next round, they no longer used brute force but instead employed technique to target each other's weaknesses. After a dozen or so rounds, there was still no winner. Sheng Shicai's bodyguards were all old students of the military academy, and in their hearts, they only respected their teacher and not Jin Shuren, let alone Ma Zhongying. One of the bodyguards shouted loudly as he rushed forward from the side to protect his teacher, but he was killed by Ma Zhongying's knife. As he fell off his horse, he suddenly threw himself at Ma Zhongying's horse's front hooves without regard for his own life, and another iron hoof crushed this brave bodyguard's head. The headless bodyguard stiffened on the horse's hoof, and the horse knelt to the ground, throwing Ma Zhongying off its back. Ma Zhongying rolled on the ground and sprang up with a fish-like movement. Both sides no longer engaged in classical-style fighting, and their guns fired involuntarily. A group of bodyguards blocked the bullets to cover Sheng Shicai's retreat into the city. The brave White Russian soldiers guarded the city gate, which was still open. Ma Zhongying did not have time to mount his horse and rushed towards the city gate on foot. The White Russian soldiers fired at him with a burst of gunfire, but he tore through the hail of bullets, stumbled, and was hit by a stray bullet in his right foot. The commander became lame, and he hobbled forward, chopping down the Cossack soldiers who charged at him. He chased after them, cutting them down, and cleared out all the defenders at the city gate. Fortunately, the big gates were closed; otherwise, this lame wolf would have charged inside.

  This lame wolf doesn't care about bullets, he runs back and forth in the rain of bullets, dragging his injured leg, constantly chopping and shooting, and people keep falling off the city wall. Everyone didn't even have the courage to look at him.

  General Garside bled profusely and limped away from the green oasis in the eastern border.

  That ferocious shadow still lingers in the sky above Tian Shan. People see Ma Zhongying as another Tamerlane, the lame Tamerlane who once rampaged across Central Asia.

  Timur: Central Asian Turk, self-proclaimed heir of Genghis Khan, once shook Eurasia, established the Timurid Empire, during the Ming Dynasty wanted to conquer the Central Plains, mysteriously died on the way.

  Ma Zhongying's troops withdrew halfway and heard this glorious title, he liked this place too much, this desolate land, producing sand, stones, storms, snow, and also producing rare heroes. He erected many wooden signs on the spacious official road that Han and Tang as well as Zuo Zongtang had walked through, with the words: "Ma Zhongying's troops left on May 23rd, will come back in the future." Ma Shiming stayed behind to fight together with Haji and Gan Yazi. Ma said: "Leave such a good place for you dog day, don't dislike Jin Shuren being old, just fuck his dog son, fuck the old dog son rotten, if not I won't come back."

  Ma Shuming guarantees it. However, Commander Gao doesn't listen to these words, Commander Gao wants his actions, he wants him to be as ruthless as Jin Rensheng.

  Ma Sui led five hundred men out of Jiayuguan, leaving two hundred men for Ma Shiying. When he returned to Suiganzhou, it was an army of four thousand men and eight thousand guns.

  Ma Shi-ming abandoned Pingchuan and entered Tianshan. A team of hundreds, plus fast horses, shuttled back and forth in the mountains, several times almost breaking into Dihua. Jin Shu-ren was not at peace. Only a prosperous world can fight wars, Jin Shu-ren had to use Sheng Shi-cai.

  Ma Shengming made a big fuss, and the official position of Sheng Shicai became even greater. Sheng Shicai was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Route, and Jin Shuren handed over Turpan and Hami entirely to Sheng Shicai. Sheng Shicai led his troops to recover the lost territory in the east. Ma Shengming again fled to the outskirts of Urumqi to rob the provincial army's grain supplies.

  The most powerful one, Ma Shuming's troops rushed to the foot of Hongshan, and the provincial army defending the city didn't even have a defensive posture. It wasn't until Xiong Shicai arrived in time from Hami that Dihua was saved. He and Gada Meiren and Rao Lao Bo Si held back Xiong Shicai in the big mountains of Hami and Turpan, while Ma Shuming responded to him, and in all of Xinjiang, only Xiong Shicai could lead his troops to maneuver.

  The two younger brothers of Xinjiang Provincial Chairman Jin Shuren held military and political power, making Xinjiang a dark and gloomy place. They were also cowardly and did not dare to fight outside the city. The people of Tian Shan were filled with complaints. At this time, a large number of Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies retreated into the Soviet Union after failing to resist Japan, gathering in Dihua from the border town of Tacheng. The White Russian soldiers in the provincial army could not tolerate the arrogance and rudeness of Jin Shuren's brothers and were eager to take action. On April 12, 1933, Tao Mingxu, Li Xiaotian, and Chen Zhong, under Jin Shuren, joined forces with the White Russian soldiers to launch a coup, killing Jin Shuren's two younger brothers. Jin Shuren retreated to the Red Mountain fortress in Dihua City under the protection of his guards, and both sides were at a stalemate.

  The Northeast Volunteer Army, being a passing guest army, only wanted to return safely to the interior and had no intention of intervening in local affairs. Sheng Shicai, who held heavy troops, became a crucial force. The Sheng army arrived at the northern suburbs of Dihua and stopped advancing after one successful cannon shot, watching from the sidelines as the situation unfolded. The troops inside the city were no longer afraid of Sheng Shicai and launched a fierce attack on Hongshan, forcing Jin Shirong to retreat. With the provincial government's power vacuum, the temporary government formed by various parties invited Sheng Shicai into the city. The leaders of the coup, Tao Mingxue, Li Xiaotian, and Chen Zhong, wanted to monopolize power, but their seniority, prestige, and strength were no match for Sheng Shicai's. Sheng's deputy officer spoke first, proposing that Zheng Runcheng, a Northeast Army brigade commander, take over as temporary supervisor. Zheng expressed his desire to return to the interior and not intervene in local affairs. He hoped that his fellow townsman Sheng Shicai would take power and receive support. The leader of the White Russian troops, who had supported the coup, loudly exclaimed: "We only want to live a peaceful life, and only General Sheng has the ability to protect us in Xinjiang." Sheng Shicai calmly took control of Dihua and was appointed temporary border defense supervisor. The leaders of the coup were forced to swallow their anger and asked for positions such as provincial chairman, secretary-general, or garrison commander. In the leadership team announced by Sheng Shicai, Tao Mingxue only received the position of deputy secretary-general, Li Xiaotian was given the position of aviation department head due to his ability to fly planes, and Chen Zhong, a young and ambitious Huangpu Military Academy graduate, was appointed as the chief of staff for the Eastern Route Army to assist in suppressing Ma Shuming. The three men were furious but had no choice. The military and political power in Xinjiang fell into Sheng Shicai's hands, and he began to implement reforms, bringing new changes to Dihua City. Sheng Shicai designated April 12 as the anniversary of the revolution, and the 412 coup became the 412 Revolution.

  One Cannon Success: In the northern suburbs of Urumqi today, when Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, his general Liu Jintang set up a large cannon here. Before firing the cannon, the Akhoondzada regime collapsed, hence the name One Cannon Success.

  Everyone saw Jin Shuren's desperate situation, and Jin Shuren fled to Wusu. The Soviet Union found him and promised to help him counterattack Dihua and retake the throne. Jin Shuren was a proud man with some dignity, "I cannot rely on foreign power to sit on the throne." The old man dressed neatly and returned home via Suiyuan. Ma Shiming sent a message to the commander: Commander, come quickly, Jin Shuren can't hold on, he's running away with his pants in hand.

  Ma Zhongying in Gansu's Jiayuguan received the news and shouted loudly: "Ma Shiming is a hard nut, after two years of effort, he finally crushed Jin Shuren's dog. Sheng Shicai is just a hard walnut, let's go crack Sheng Shicai!"

  In the summer of 1933, Ma Zhongying led the newly formed 36th Division with 10,000 men to re-enter Xinjiang. This action was secretive and swift, with a large army of 10,000 people rushing through the Gobi Desert, and Dihua had no awareness of it. Within a month, the 36th Division captured Hami and Turpan, and suddenly rushed to the most critical stronghold - Qitai.

  Ma Zhongying's younger brother Ma Zhongjie was the commander of an infantry brigade, and seeing the cavalry brigades winning one after another, he became impatient and wanted to use his infantry brigade to attack Qitai. Ma Zhongying agreed. Qitai was a key town in the eastern border region, with a garrison of 4,000 men, mostly brave and warlike White Russian Cossacks.

  The siege lasted for five days and nights, with the troops advancing and retreating seven times. Ma Zhongjie personally led the dare-to-die squad into battle. They charged through the East City Gate, where a hail of bullets from the White Russian machine guns awaited them. Ma Zhongjie was hit and became a bloody mess, standing upright with his rifle dangling to the ground. Before he fell, Ma Zhongying let out a loud shout and rushed forward, followed closely by a large group of soldiers who dashed past Ma Zhongjie's side. The gap opened up by Ma Zhongjie was immediately widened, and the entire city of Qitai was torn apart. Ma Zhongying, in a frenzy, leapt onto the machine gun position, slicing through all the gunners like cutting open a watermelon, their skulls bursting with white steam, like hot buns.

  The fight has stopped, Ma Zhongjie is still standing, his blood has dried up. Ma Zhongying says with a sob: "Brother, you've bled to death, rest now!"

  Brother is not resting, brother is still on the way.

  Ma Zhongying raised his machine gun and fired "rat-a-tat" at the White Russian officer, shooting down 27 of them before Ma Zhongjie fell.

  My brother was buried at the foot of Mount Tian, on a golden grassland. That's the paradise for fine horses. "Brother, you'll hear the neighing of horses every day. You can ride whenever you want."

  Ma Zhongying slept for three days and then sprang back to life with renewed energy. He told his aide Yang Boqing, "My brother is dead, my spirit is not good, I killed so many White Russian officers, the provincial army will fight to the death."

  Yang Boqing said: "Our opponent is an old fox, far from being comparable to Jin Shuren."

  "Let's soften him up first."

  The fall of Kizil Caves shocked the whole Xinjiang region.

  Sheng Shicai was busy consolidating his regime, but the powerful men of the Jin Shuren era were not reconciled, and the various lords of the Tian Shan mountains north and south were watching with bated breath. Ma Zhongying stirred up another storm, and the new government in Dihua was on the brink of disaster. Sheng Shicai resolutely took to the field, leading his military academy students into battle against Ma Zhongying.

  Three battles in a row, the prosperous world fell and the flowers flowed. Ili Zhang Peiyuan stood on Ma Zhongying's side, and Gani Yakub's Uyghur troops were also on Ma Zhongying's side. The vanguard of the 36th Division crossed the Tianshan Mountains and controlled Tarim, with the entire Xinjiang province except for the area around Dihua under Ma Zhongying's control.

  Another detachment of 300 men from the 36th Division rushed to Tacheng, linking up with Soviet forces, and it was impossible to open up Xinjiang without relying on the Soviet Union.

  After doing all this, Ma Zhongying's main force began to approach Dihua. This time it was not Ma Shengming's mob that besieged Dihua, but an elite army of over 10,000 people. The Eighth Division of Ili Zhang Peiyuan is rushing towards Dihua day and night.

  Dihua has almost no troops that can fight in the wilderness, Ma Zhongying has gnawed them clean like a dog gnawing bones. People can't remember what kind of army Dihua still has. The elite White Russian soldiers of the provincial army will remain neutral at this moment when the ruler is changing because they are not the masters. The only troops left are the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army who returned to China via the Soviet Union, it's hard to say whether they will send troops or not.

  Sheng Shicai steeled himself and went out to battle, finally persuading the Northeastern old comrades-in-arms, the Yiyongjun, and the White Russian soldiers. Sheng Shicai personally took to the field. It was a scorching July day, Ma Zhongying's troops wore white uniforms, marching hastily in the desert. The two armies clashed at Zimudun Spring. By dusk, Sheng's army could not withstand the attack, and as with previous wars, the troops dispersed. Sheng Shicai and several bodyguards hid in a broken house, afraid to move. Outside, the 36th Division cavalry came and went, searching for Sheng Shicai, shouting "Capture Sheng Shicai alive!" A group of cavalrymen rushed over and asked: "Where is Sheng Shicai? Come out! Are you coming out or not?" The bodyguards pointed in that direction, saying he had run that way. The cavalrymen chased after him on horseback. This was the most perilous moment in Sheng Shicai's life. Suddenly, the temperature dropped to minus 30 degrees Celsius, hail pounded down, followed by a violent gale whipping up flying snow.

  The officers and men of the 36th Division were all frozen stiff, those with good endurance couldn't see each other, opened fire on each other, and their own people fought each other until dawn, so they had to withdraw from the battlefield. Sheng Jun had leather jackets and escaped danger.

  This is the Battle of Ziniuquan. Snowflakes in July, a rare occurrence in history.

  Sheng Jun confronted the 36th Division in the Dasake Castle area. Sheng Shicai secretly returned to Dihua. A fire broke out in the backyard, Tao Mingxue, Li Xiaotian, and Chen Zhong forced Jin Shuren to step down, but instead of coming up with a new leader, they staged another coup; before they could take action, Sheng Shicai suddenly returned from the front line and had the three men shot dead in the courtyard of the governor's office.

  The officials present were all frightened, including the cadres sent by the Nanjing government to take over the entire Xinjiang government. Machine guns were installed on the roof, and high-ranking officials fled in a hurry. Nanjing soon announced Sheng Shicai's appointment as the Supervisor of Xinjiang Border Defense.

  These few months are crucial, the regime has grasped power, intercepted Ma Zhongying's liaison team sent to Tacheng, Sheng Shicai followed suit and personally negotiated with the Soviet consul. The socialist books he read while studying in Japan came in handy, and he quickly became a comrade of the consul. The Red Army raided Zhang Peiyuan's old nest from Ili, Zhang Peiyuan's main force was on its way to Dihua. Another route of the Red Army entered the border from Tacheng and rushed straight to Dihua.

  In January 1934, a division of the Red Cavalry Army was defeated by Ma Zhongying in the outskirts of Dihua near Toutun River. The Soviet armored motorized troops and air force arrived, dropping bombs like rain on the positions of the 36th Division, which collapsed.