During the Republic of China, many cunning people had dreams of restoration and longed to become emperors themselves. But very little can really be done. Among them, a man named Ma Hongkui, with the help of Chiang Kai-shek, became the Tu Emperor of Ningxia, and he was a figure with great influence in Ningxia and held the supreme power.
Later, due to the coup d'état, he fled to the United States with his three wives and 8 tons of gold, and since then there has been no news, but in his twilight years, he suddenly wanted to return to the embrace of the motherland, but was ruthlessly rejected.
First, the period of warlord chaos
Born in Hezhou, Gansu, Ma Hongkui was a senior general in the Northwest Army of the Kuomintang and the son of Ma Fuxiang. At an early age, due to the influence of the family's religious martial arts practice, he began to learn martial arts when he was still an adult, and the perennial uninterrupted martial arts training allowed him to cultivate a burly figure, much stronger than his peers.
Later, he entered the Gansu Army Academy, during which he participated in anti-Qing activities and secretly became a member of the League. Unfortunately, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Qing army, and eventually released on bail because of his father's relationship, and was spared death. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Ma Hongkui served as the commander of the New Army in Ningxia, taking charge and gradually establishing his own prestige in the army.
On September 15, 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out, and Ma Hongkui was ordered by his superiors to garrison jinji and Lingwu areas. During this period, he constantly recruited troops, expanded the source of troops and engaged in relations, so that the strength of his army was greatly improved; during the Northern Expedition, he annihilated the enemy army in one fell swoop with his own ability, and finally won the victory in the Battle of Shaanxi.
With a certain basis for military achievements, Ma Hongkui was favored by Feng Yuxiang and promoted to military commander by the Kuomintang. Unfortunately, later, because of the ineffective encirclement and suppression, the Nationalist government was furious. Seeing this situation, the comrades who had fought side by side stood up one after another and interceded for him.
Second, turn to Chiang Kai-shek
In May 1925, Ma Hongkui, in conjunction with his own listening letters, used the form of radio to convey their anti-Feng pro-Chiang kai-shek signals; subsequently, Chiang Kai-shek himself responded quickly and praised Ma and Han. In the same year, Chiang Kai-shek expanded the Seventeenth Division of Ma Hongkui's army into the Eleventh Army of the Rebel Army, and together with the relevant provincial leaders, issued a certain amount of salary and silver in case of emergency.
During the Great War of the Central Plains, the army led by Ma Hongkui went to Shandong non-stop and attacked Tai'an. Unexpectedly, the former comrades-in-arms of the same window actually defected and plotted against Chiang Kai-shek. Not only that, but he also sent an army to monitor his movements day and night; for this reason, he thought twice and decided to tell Chiang Kai-shek everything.
When Chiang Kai-shek learned of this news, his face was instantly angry, but he had expected that something would happen. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the relevant personnel to take timely countermeasures, closed all channels, and cut off the rebellious actions of anti-Chiang Kai-shek people. With the assistance of Ma Hongkui, the spread of the bad situation was finally curbed.
After this incident, Chiang Kai-shek trusted Ma Hongkui even more; from then on, he acquiesced to his mission to encircle and suppress the Red Army. After that, his career was smooth sailing, and he participated in many important campaign activities, which were unanimously recognized by the National Government inside and outside.
III. The "Earth Emperor" Passed Down by Everyone
In August 1932, Chiang Kai-shek formally appointed Ma Hongkui as the chairman of Ningxia Province, with the right to rule and govern the Ningxia Autonomous Region for a long time; after that, Ma Hongkui began to become the so-called "Emperor of the Earth" in Ningxia, during which it can be said that he was a deterrent to the four sides, and no one dared to argue with him. The people of Ningxia were very afraid of him.
Ma Hongkui is a drama addict, and his biggest hobby is watching drama. As soon as he had time, he would run to various theaters to watch the performances of the plays; because of this, he had met three of his wives, all of whom were from dramas, and Ma Hongkui loved them all, never got angry with them, and gave them the right to manage property to a certain extent.
Although he takes good care of his wife, it is still a relatively troublesome management; in stark contrast, he is not a "good man" to the ordinary peasants in society. From the beginning, he is the image of a bully, who is extremely sleek and impersonal, and after a long time with him, the kind peasants will be afraid of him.
In addition, due to the remoteness of the Ningxia region, it was very difficult for Chiang Kai-shek to manage. As a result, Ma Hongkui's boldness grew bigger and bigger, and he successively planted tobacco, used tobacco trading to obtain profits in a big way, and at the same time built a large number of civil engineering projects, and his life was extremely luxurious; in addition, he also used his power to embezzle huge sums of money and engage in interest relations.
4. Flee to the United States
Time flies like a white colt, and Ma Hongkui's children have grown up. Unfortunately, the relevant leaders of the Taiwan authorities demanded that he take the main responsibility for the defeat in the northwest region and immediately heard that Ma Hongkui should be dismissed and investigated; at this time, Ma Hongkui felt panicked and tried everywhere to help his family escape.
He successively claimed that his aunt was in poor health and needed to be transferred to a higher hospital for convalescence, so he applied to leave Taiwan and go to Hong Kong for medical treatment; and then took the opportunity to go to the United States; in this way, he took his family to the United States, and it is said that he fled to the United States with 3 wives and 8 tons of gold, and lived in the United States for a lifetime until the money and wealth on his body were spent.
Ma Hongkui settled in the United States for a full ten years, and in the past ten years, he and his family have had a good life, and the family is happy; in addition, because the medical care in the United States is relatively developed, his physical health has been good.
Fifth, in his later years, he wanted to return to the embrace of the motherland
In his later years, Ma Hongkui's physical condition became worse and worse, although there were some people around him who took care of his living quarters regularly; but unexpectedly, his heart played a plan to return to the motherland, wanting to return to the land of the motherland and raise his life; therefore, he entrusted people to apply for returning to China, but they were unsuccessful, and they were ruthlessly rejected.
On January 14, 1970, Ma Hongkui died of illness in Los Angeles, USA, at the age of 78. In his later years, he was a lonely man, without the company of his relatives, many relatives around him continued to leave him, and even his ashes could not be brought back to the country and buried in the land where he was born and raised. This once-mighty figure finally came to an end.
6. Summary
During the warlord chaos, all sides were evenly matched and fantasized about becoming the rulers of a territory. Ma Hongkui, with the support of the Kuomintang government, became the ruler of the Ningxia region. During this period, he did nothing evil, and went around collecting wealth and oppressing the people, making the lives of all the people miserable.
Later, he went to the United States with huge assets and family, living a life of luxury. In his later years, he suddenly wanted to return to China, but was ruthlessly rejected. His story tells people that a person who once betrayed the motherland will never be able to get people's support and recognition, even if he reforms evil and returns to righteousness, it will not help, and he must know how to be grateful.