The Three Horses of the Northwest refer to Ma Bufang in Qinghai, Ma Hongkui in Ningxia, and Ma Hongbin in Gansu, all three of whom were warlords who were entrenched in the northwest during the Republic of China. Although they often fought openly and secretly for territory and power, when the Red Army crossed the border, they fought with the Red Army in unison, causing great losses to the Red Army, and the Western Route Army was defeated under the joint attack of the three horses. In the later stages of the Liberation War, Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui fled abroad and eventually died in a foreign country, while Ma Hongbin stayed on the mainland and became a high-ranking official at the deputy ministerial level.
Ma Hongbin was born in 1884, and his father, Ma Fulu, held military positions in the Qing government. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Ma Hongbin, along with his uncle Ma Fuxiang, defected to the Beiyang government and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in the army. After that, Ma Hongbin led his troops to participate in the Zhiwan War and the Zhifeng War, and once served under Feng Yuxiang. After the Battle of the Central Plains, Feng Yuxiang went to the wilderness, ma Hongbin again defected to lao Jiang, was appointed chairman of Gansu Province, after which Ma Hongbin continued to expand his power, and excluded dissidents, and soon became the tu emperor of Gansu.
In late August 1935, in order to contain the enemy in Shaanxi and Gansu and to coordinate the central Red Army to move north, Wu Huanxian led the Red 25th Army to advance westward and arrived at the town of Baishui on the river in Jingchuan County, Gansu. Ma Hongbin sent Ma Ji'an to lead 3 battalions of troops to tail-chase and harass the Red Army, but was defeated by our army. On August 21, the Red 25th Army came to the vicinity of Sipo Village in Wangcun Town, preparing to cross the Wei River in the south. The vanguard troops led by Wu Huanxian had just passed halfway through when they suddenly encountered a flash flood, and several soldiers were swept away by the flood. Wu Huan saw the situation first, and hurriedly ordered everyone to untie their leggings, form ropes, and tie them to the trees on both sides of the river, dragging them across the river.
After Ma Hongbin learned of the news that our army was crossing the river, he thought that this was a rare opportunity, so he sent Ma Kaiji to lead a cavalry unit of more than 1,000 people to sneak attack our army. Xu Haidong, then deputy commander of the Red 25th Army, immediately commanded the rear guard to block the enemy and ensure that the main force of the Red Army crossed the river. Due to the small number of rearguard troops of our army, the battle was temporarily deadlocked, and Wu Huan saw the situation first, hurriedly led some fighters to rush to reinforcements, and launched an attack on the rear of the enemy's flank. In the fierce battle, Wu Huanxian was shot in the chest and died heroically, only 28 years old.
Wu Huanxian's sacrifice grieved the entire army, and they pounced on the enemy like a fierce tiger descending the mountain under the leadership of Xu Haidong, and finally annihilated this enemy and killed the enemy regiment leader Ma Kaiji. After that, Ma Hongbin commanded his troops to fight against the Red Army in Quzi Town, Huan County, and the Baiyang River area in Guyuan, but they were all repelled by our army. After these few battles, Ma Hongbin lost his troops and broke his generals, and he no longer dared to act rashly. After the outbreak of the Liberation War, Ma Hongbin cooperated with Hu Zongnan and our army several times to fight, but he lost more and won less. After the liberation of Lanzhou, our Xiye army took advantage of the victory to march to Ningxia and Gansu. Ma Hongbin knew that the general situation was gone, and together with his son Ma Xiaojing, he led an uprising. After the founding of New China, Ma Hongbin successively served as vice chairman of the Northwest Military and Political Committee, member of the National Defense Commission, and vice governor of Gansu Province, and died of illness in 1960 at the age of 76.