Chapter 27: The Ma Family Army

  The war clouds between Kham and the Qing government gradually dissipated, but a new war cloud gathered again on the plateau. However, compared to the war between Kham and the Qing government with hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, the battle on the plateau was much smaller.

  The garrison of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 10th Brigade was still busy despite the extremely cold weather. After discovering the bandit's trail, Wang Yuezhe ordered all officers and soldiers to intensify their fortifications. The 3rd Battalion's barracks already had well-established defensive fortifications. Spikes were set up around the barracks, enough to repel cavalry charges. At the same time, the heavy machine guns installed on the tower next to the main gate were also effective against cavalry. If the bandits attacked, they would be able to make them crash and bleed.

  The third company's soldiers continued to reinforce their fortifications simply because they didn't know how many bandits would be attacking. If it was just a few hundred, the third company could handle them. But if there were over a thousand, the third company could only hold out and wait for reinforcements!

  "What's the situation now, Ah Wei? Is there any news about the horse thieves?" Wang Yuze asked. The air seemed to have become tense, and all the officers and soldiers of the third battalion had already taken action.

  "No. We dispatched several cavalry teams to search for over a hundred kilometers north of Gasanka, but we still haven't found any traces of the horse thieves. They must not have come south yet, otherwise it would be impossible for them to escape our search. To avoid suffering losses, I didn't let the search team continue northward. However, Battalion Commander, I estimate that this time the horse thieves will definitely launch a large-scale raid. It's been several days already, they can't just stay in the north and not come south!" Wang Wei said.

  Wang Yuze nodded: "Now there is no other way, can only come and go, water and earth cover."

  "Commander, relying on the defensive fortifications of the barracks and our firepower, defending the barracks is definitely not a problem. But what about the herdsmen outside the barracks? Once we are besieged in the barracks, they will surely suffer slaughter at the hands of the bandits." Wang Wei raised the question.

  "In that case, send someone to inform the herdsmen and have them all move into the barracks! Bring all the grain, fodder, and cattle into the barracks as well. Not a single head of cattle or grain can be left for the bandits!" Wang Yuze thought for a moment before saying.

  "Even if we were to accommodate them, there are over a hundred people and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep. Where would we have enough space to settle them?"

  "Let them set up tents on the playground. Also, those living cattle and sheep, we can buy some, just as a supplement to the soldiers' meals. Anyway, this time the horse bandits came to raid, don't know how long it will last, let the herders' cattle and sheep all enter the barracks, at least we don't have to worry about food problems. As for the cost issue, I will report to my superiors, to Father's lordship!" Wang Yuze said. He also had no other choice, could only resort to this inferior plan. Can't just watch dozens of herder households being slaughtered by the horse bandits!

  "Alright." Wang Wei nodded.

  "Right, when letting the herdsmen enter the barracks, we must carefully screen them. We absolutely cannot let bandits sneak in. Any unfamiliar herdsmen or new arrivals must not be allowed to enter the barracks, and instead be sent to Nanjing's Liuqi. Even if herdsmen do enter the barracks, we must arrange for someone to take defensive measures. This time, the bandit attack is no trivial matter; we must make thorough preparations and absolutely cannot afford any mistakes!" Wang Yuez said. Even the sturdiest fortress can be breached from within. Although the barracks are sturdy, if bandits were to infiltrate, that would be troublesome.

  "Yes, Commander, I will be more careful!" Wang Wei nodded his head. As soon as Wang Yuze raised this question, he also realized the severity of it. If bandits really mixed into the herders and entered the military station, it would bring disastrous consequences.

  However, fortunately, there are only a few dozen herding households in Jiasangka, and they are very fixed, with almost no new herders coming. The soldiers at the military station are also very familiar with them, so it is impossible for horse bandits to mix in among them. In addition, the herders are also very supportive of the Chuanxi government, and the military station is their protector, so they naturally will not do anything harmful to the military station either.

  North of Jiasangka, it is the eastern extension of Mount Nianyong. One hundred and fifty miles north, it belongs to Qinghai's territory. However, now controlling Qinghai is the Ma family army that has surrendered to the Qing court. In recent years, the Ma family army has been wanting to move south, occupy the plateau, and threaten western Sichuan from the west. However, the ferocity of the Sichuan army is not something that the Ma family army can provoke. Alone, the 10th Brigade and the 4th Brigade stationed in Kangding have made the Ma family army suffer greatly. Later, the Qing court also hoped to maintain a peaceful situation with western Sichuan, naturally not wanting the Ma family army to provoke war either. Therefore, the Ma family army has also restrained itself a lot.

  However, the Ma clan army did not give up and instead chose another way to attack Western Sichuan. For example, in recent years, many of the bandits active on the plateau were actually shadows of the Ma clan army, and some were even directly disguised as members of the Ma clan army. However, the Western Sichuan army also took severe measures to suppress these bandits, which meant that the Ma clan army did not gain any advantage, but instead suffered heavy casualties.

  The Ma clan army originated from the Hezhou Uprising that broke out at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In 1863 (the third year of Tongzhi), under the influence of the uprisings in Shaanxi and Ningxia, Ma Zhan'ao, a Hui leader from Monigou, Hezhou, Gansu Province, launched an uprising against the Qing government. Ma Haiyan joined the army at that time and became one of Ma Zhan'ao's most powerful generals.

  In 1872, Ma Zhan'ao and others defeated the Xiang Army in a battle at Taizi Temple, known as "Black Tiger Plucks Heart". After this victory, he forced his way through opposition, with the support of Ma Haiyan and Ma Qianling, and surrendered to the imperial court. The insurgent army was then incorporated into the imperial forces, and its leaders were granted official titles. This event laid the foundation for the rise of the Ma family in Hezhou.

  At the end of the Qing dynasty, the military power of the various Ma armies during the "Western Army" period still continued the pattern when Ma Zhan'ao surrendered to the Qing, namely with Ma Zhan'ao's son system (Ma Anliang) as the leader, governing Ma Haiyan's son system (Ma Qi and Ma Lin) and Ma Qianling's son system (Ma Fulu and Ma Fuxiang).

  The current controller of Qinghai is the Blue Horse, 53-year-old Ma Haiyan, who was appointed by the Qing court as the Commander-in-Chief of Qinghai, commanding the 36 camps of the Blue Horse with over 30,000 cavalrymen. The entire Ma family army has more than 20,000 people in Ningxia and more than 40,000 people in Hexi, totaling over 100,000 people.

  North of Jiasangka, the small village of Lugouxia was just a settlement with dozens of Tibetan herders. But now, it has gathered thousands of people. The sound of horses and human voices makes the whole village very noisy. However, the original residents here have been brutally treated by the bandits. Over a hundred villagers, some young men were forced to collect fodder for the bandits. Women, regardless of age, even underage girls, have become tools for the bandits' lust. The fierce resistance from Tibetan men was instantly dissipated after the bandits beheaded over a dozen people. Despite feeling extremely resentful, they could only follow the bandits' orders and watch as their wives and daughters were...

  In a yurt, several middle-aged horse bandits were gathered together drinking and having fun. Each person's arms held a Tangut woman, although there was no stunning beauty in this small village, it was better than nothing.

  "Haha! Come, let's drink. Drink big bowls of wine, eat large chunks of meat, and play with women wildly - this is the life we should be living!" A man with a thick beard and rough features loudly exclaimed. In his arms, he was embracing a young girl from the Yi ethnic minority, who looked to be only in her early teens. The man held a wine bowl in one hand, while the other hand was freely groping inside the girl's clothes, completely disregarding her pain.

  "That's right, Old Horse said it! Now that we've gathered our forces from all four directions, who on the entire plateau would dare to provoke us? It's naturally time for us to have some fun!" Another slightly smaller and darker man chimed in. He had his arm around a woman who was not particularly good-looking but had a very full figure.

  This group of horse bandits is not a single gang, but rather an aggregation of four groups of horse bandits, which has gathered thousands of people.

  PS: The first update is here, please give me a push and collect!