In recent years, an online article that has been widely circulated on the Internet said that during the entire liberation war, our army was the only one who did not allow Ma Bufang's troops to surrender. The eye-catching headline fiercely attracts the reader's attention. From the emotional standpoint level, there is no problem. However, what is the truth of the facts?
General Wang Zhen led the First Corps to liberate Xining, Qinghai
On September 5, 1949, 50,000 people from all walks of life in Xining solemnly welcomed the People's Liberation Army into the city. On that day, the ancient city of the plateau was full of jubilation, and the joy of victory shot straight into the sky. At this time, the Ma Bufang family, which had ruled Qinghai for 40 years, collapsed violently. Ma Bufang and his cronies carried gold, carried the great seal of the provincial capital, took a plane, broke through the clouds and fog, and fled Qinghai.
Ma Bufang (1903-1975), a native of Linxia, Gansu, served as chairman of the Kuomintang Qinghai Province and chief military and political officer of the Northwest China. This man was reactionary to the end, and from the winter of 1936 to the spring of 1937, he brutally surrounded and blocked the Red Army in Hexi, Gansu Province. In August 1949, Peng Dehuai's First Field Army fought with Ma Bufang's troops in Lanzhou. At the cost of more than 8,000 casualties, our army annihilated more than 27,000 enemy troops and eliminated Ma Bufang's elite troops. Thus, the gap in the peaceful liberation of the northwest will be opened.
Ma Bufang, king of Qinghai during the Republic of China
On the day that the People's Liberation Army entered Xining City, Wang Zhen, commander of the First Corps of the First Field Army, came to visit Ma Fuchen, an enlightened gentleman in Xining. Mr. Ma Fuchen is a patriotic and pioneering industrialist who has made great achievements in public welfare and basic education.
Ma Fuchen also has a layer of identity, his mother is Ma Bufang's aunt. More than 20 years ago, Ma Fuchen held a position in the ranks of his uncle Ma Qi, and later handled mining affairs in Qinghai, involved in industry and commerce. Ma Fuchen's nature is different from Ma Bufang's, and at the age of 68, he has been reading the world for a long time, tirelessly for good, and has a good reputation in Qinghai.
Xining Ma Bufang Mansion
Commander Wang Zhen visited Ma Fuchen, hoping to help the People's Liberation Army, and Ma Fuchen gladly accepted the order. Under ma fuchen's running, Ma Bufang's senior generals eliminated all kinds of concerns. On September 8, our army accepted the surrender of more than 550 officers and 1,863 soldiers, including Zhao Sui, deputy commander of the Kuomintang 82nd Army, Tan Chengxiang, commander of the 100th Division, and Han Youlu, commander of the 248th Division, at the Huangzhong Building in Xining. At the same time, it took over more than 60 units such as local finances, enterprises, schools, and hospitals. Among the people who came to surrender, there was one less heavyweight.
Ma Yuanhai, the commander-in-chief of infantry and cavalry who surrounded and blocked the Western Route Army
Who is this man?
Ma Yuanhai, Ma Bufang's cousin, is the chairman of the Qinghai Provincial Council of the Kuomintang. For many commanders of the First Field Army who grew up during the Red Army period, the name Ma Yuanhai is unforgettable. From the end of 1936 to the summer of 1937, Ma Bufang sent troops to encircle and intercept the Red Army on the West Road in Hexi, Gansu, and the commander-in-chief of the Qinghai Infantry cavalry was Ma Yuanhai.
In the Hexi War, Ma Yuanhai's military discipline was abolished, and he killed prisoners at will, which was extremely cruel to the red army's methods. Not only that, Ma Yuanhai also made a very bad start, soft and hard, and occupied Chen Shu'e, a pregnant female Red Army, and forced Chen Shu'e to be the fourth aunt. Ma Yuanhai escorted more than 400 female Red Soldiers back to Xining, most of whom were "rewarded" by Ma Bufang to their subordinates at will.
Ma Bufang and his brother Ma Buqing, and are known as Qinghai Erma
In September 1949, after the liberation of Xining, Wang Zhen, He Bingyan, and Liao Hansheng actively announced discipline and policies, and the officers and men who surrendered to the government were indeed guaranteed. All officers and men of our army will confiscate the weapons of all officers and men who have surrendered to the letter and carry out policy propaganda and education. After that, the surrendered soldiers were issued with travel expenses and severance certificates, and they were released to return home to work and produce. However, general-level officers must participate in the "PLA Officer Training Office" and reform and study.
Where did Ma Yuanhai flee?
When Ma Bufang escaped, he had no time to take care of Ma Yuanhai. Ma Yuanhai, member of the Kuomintang Qinghai Provincial Government and chairman of the provincial council, gathered hundreds of scattered soldiers who had retreated from the Lanzhou Campaign and fled to the sparsely populated western region of Qinghai. From the Triangle City Pasture on the shore of Qinghai Lake, they drove thousands of cattle and sheep as supplies, and turtles shrank in the area of Dulan County.
Dulan Grassland in western Qinghai
Ma Yuanhai, who has committed many crimes, believes that he is unforgivable. He dreamed of crossing the Qaidam Basin, passing through the desert of no man's land, going to Xinjiang, and then fleeing from Xinjiang. However, in the early morning of the day when he decided to leave, Ma Yuanhai suddenly could not get out of bed. He lived in a tent, lying motionless on a camp bed, paralyzed by a stroke.
After Ma Yuanhai was paralyzed, he had to sit on a stretcher on the road, and he could not take care of himself. Suddenly, the hundreds of scattered soldiers under their command had their own ideas, and many of them were reluctant to go to Xinjiang. There was a soldier who held a gun to blackmail Ma Yuanhai and asked Ma Yuanhai to send each person 20 oceans home, otherwise there would be infighting. Ma Yunhai negotiated with the gang and eventually spent money to keep him safe.
A glimpse of the ancient city of Xining in Qinghai, Republic of China
Ma Yuanhai sent away this part of the soldiers who were infighting, and then took the remnants on a stretcher to Gonghe County. When they arrived in Gonghe County, their soldiers disobeyed their orders and plundered and harassed the people. Ma Yuanhai felt that this could not last long, but it was uncontrollable. Sure enough, they were stubbornly blocked by the Cheji and Duxiu tribes, and they were obstructed everywhere.
The newly established Gonghe County People's Government and the garrison, saluted first and then soldiers, and sent people to publicize the policy to Ma Yuanhai and point out the future. On October 25, 1949, Ma Yuanhai led the remnants to surrender their weapons to our army. At this time, a funny scene appeared - thousands of local Tibetan households proposed that Ma Yuanhai should compensate all the looted property according to the price, otherwise it should not be regarded as surrender. Ma Yuanhai had no choice but to compensate the two thousand households with one pound of gold each, compensating for the loss of the thousand households in the grassland.
The one-armed general He Bingyan implemented the policy in Qinghai in 1949
What is the fate of Ma Yuanhai and the remnants of this gang?
In accordance with the policy, after examination and talks, our army has educated and dismissed the surrenderees, and most of them have been sent to the road to return home. However, a few outstanding performances were incorporated into our army as guides for our army in the local area. Ma Yuanhai, paralyzed on the camp bed, was 61 years old at the time, and did not have the flying and tumbling of the past.
General Liao Hansheng, who was in Qinghai with He Bingyan
In order to ensure the personal safety of Ma Yuanhai, a defector, two generals, He Bingyan and Liao Hansheng, in the provincial capital of Xining, sent a telegram ordering the local garrison to resolutely implement the policy and handle affairs according to regulations. The local garrison sent armed forces to escort Ma Yuanhai safely back to the provincial capital of Xining.
Xining Ancient City
The sinner who was chasing and intercepting the Red Army in Hexi, Gansu Province, never stood up again after being paralyzed by a stroke. In Qinghai, the people are masters of their own affairs. In 1951, Ma Yuanhai died of illness at his home in Xining. In the 1980s, Ma Yuanhai's second concubine, Ma Fengxian, had a difficult life, and the Chengdong District of Xining City paid a monthly living allowance.
A new look of Xining on the snowy plateau
This is the truth about our army's liberation of Qinghai. From the perspective of emotional standing, the rumors that our army liberated the Great Northwest and did not allow Ma Bufang's troops to surrender or revolt catered to the public's feelings. Many years ago, when I wrote ma Bufang's biography, I did not find similar literature, and none of the researchers I came into contact with held similar claims. Exactly 70 years have passed, and while we are celebrating warmly, we should not forget that the heroic sons and soldiers of the people, not only with loyalty and courage and bloody battles, but also with policies and discipline, quickly liberated the vast northwest of 3.2 million square kilometers. (Text/Fan Forward)