Chapter 41 14. "Heroes of the Wilderness" Ma Zhanshan

If there was one flag for China's resisters during the Japanese invasion of the Northeast, it was General Ma Zhanshan. In Liaoning, the North Camp was easily occupied; in Jilin, Chief of Staff Xiqia actively surrendered to the enemy.Among the three provincial governments of the three northeastern provinces, the only one who refused to raise and lower the flag was Ma Zhanshan, acting chairman of Heilongjiang Province. On November 4, 1931, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the Jiangqiao garrison position.He ordered resistance, known in history as the "Jiangqiao War of Resistance", and fired the first shot in Heilongjiang's resistance against the enemy.He is not only an important patriotic general of the Northeast Army, but also one of the main leaders of the Northern Volunteer Army.

In Japanese historical materials, there is a photo of Ma Zhanshan (see the previous article "The Burning River Bridge").This photo was taken at the front line of Jiangqiao, and Ma Zhanshan was visiting the front line as the provincial chairman.To be precise, Ma Zhanshan in the photo is just a silhouette with an unclear face, and there are signs often seen in intelligence photos.Judging from the shooting angle and the use of light, it does not seem to be taken by Ma Zhanshan's subordinates. It is speculated that it was an image left by foreign reporters or Japanese spies in Heilongjiang at that time.But from the photos, it can be seen that Ma Zhanshan's skills are quite vigorous, unlike ordinary government officials.

Ma Zhanshan was born in Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province in the 11th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1885). He was of Manchu nationality. He came from a poor family when he was a child.Later, Zhao'an joined the Feng army and followed Wu Junsheng, the governor of Heilongjiang. Because of his repeated military exploits, he became the commander of the cavalry division of the Northeast Frontier Army and the commander of the Heihe garrison. During the "September 18th" incident, he served as the commander of the Heihe garrison and the commander of the third infantry brigade. After the "September 18th" Incident, Zhang Xueliang appointed him as the acting chairman and military commander of the Heilongjiang Provincial Government.

Although isolated behind the enemy, Ma Zhanshan rallied various ministries in Heilongjiang. As an important force of the Volunteer Army, he fought fierce battles with the Japanese army many times.In contrast to the two provinces of Liao and Kyrgyzstan that were basically captured in just two or three months, the resistance led by Ma Zhanshan in the capacity of the provincial government in Heilongjiang Province lasted from the end of 1931 to the beginning of 1933.In Jiangqiao and Qiqihar, Ma Zhanshan was forced to abandon the provincial capital after repeated fierce battles, but he still commanded his troops to retreat eastward, and rebuilt the provincial government in Hailun and other places many times to persist in the war of resistance.Official organized resistance in Heilongjiang Province did not cease until Ma withdrew from Manchuria into the Soviet Union.During his leadership of the Jiangqiao Anti-Japanese War, he was regarded as an anti-Japanese hero by the whole country, and Shanghai even produced "Ma Zhanshan" brand cigarettes, which were very popular.Unlike most resistance troops in the three northeastern provinces with poor equipment, Ma Zhanshan's troops, who were born in the regular army, were equipped with cannons and even a small amount of armored troops, and had a large number of elite black provincial cavalry.Therefore, when talking about the war of resistance in the three northeastern provinces, Ma Zhanshan is a figure that cannot be forgotten.

In addition to the halo of the anti-Japanese hero, Ma Zhanshan's experience has a history that is considered not very honorable. That is, in March 1932, Ma Zhanshan once served as the governor of the puppet Heilongjiang and the chief of the military and political department of the puppet Manchukuo.In this regard, some opinions think that the horse is a false surrender, and some opinions think that the horse is a surrender.But at that time, Ma Zhanshan's move caused a great shock, so that there was a lot of scolding inside the pass, and Ma Zhanshan's guards outside the pass robbed his hometown of Heihe.

Whether Ma Zhanshan surrendered or falsely surrendered at that time, today it is impossible to ask the person involved in the underground to clarify, but there are three things that cannot be denied: First, the most important condition for Ma Zhanshan to take up a false post is the "autonomy" of Heilongjiang Province, and the Japanese side must not interfere with it. internal affairs.This kind of practice of separatist regimes and preserved strength in name and fictitiousness was quite popular in the era of warlord melee.If it can be achieved, the Black Province may not be able to make a bold move.But the Kwantung Army, who was also familiar with oriental culture, did not abide by this condition.Second, during his false post, Ma Zhanshan tried every means not to sign the traitorous documents, and even claimed to be illiterate.It is true that Ma has a low level of education, but he can still write his own name. It is purely intentional to say so.Third, Ma Zhanshan only served as a pseudonym for one month, and then arrived in Heihe in April, where he immediately raised his righteousness and continued to fight against Japan.Ma Zhanshan, who escaped from the Puppet Manchukuo, obtained from the Japanese army more than 20 million yuan in cash (equivalent to two million silver dollars), 300 war horses, and more than a dozen trucks of various supplies from the Puppet Manchukuo, and became the leader of the Puppet Manchukuo since then. An important economic and material support for the Anti-Japanese War in Heilongjiang Province.The resignation of Honjo Fan, commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, has a lot to do with Ma Zhanshan's "anyway".

If Ma Zhanshan made a false surrender, he would probably be the most profitable fake surrender in the world.You know, Jiang Qiao's budget for sending troops in the war of resistance was only 300,000 silver dollars. It is worth mentioning that in Japanese historical materials, there are rich pictures and text introductions of Ma Zhanshan's army. Cheng Zhiyuan is a former general of the Northeast Army with mixed reputation.As the commander of the cavalry in Heilongjiang Province, he cooperated with Ma Zhanshan to resist the Japanese attack tenaciously at Jiangqiao, and the battle was quite heroic.Since then, he has fought against the Japanese army many times, and he can be regarded as a relatively good fighter among the early anti-Japanese generals.However, in February 1932, when Ma Zhanshan accepted the position of the Puppet Manchukuo, he also returned to Qiqihar with Ma Zhanshan to cooperate with the Japanese army.When Ma Zhanshan raised the flag of righteousness again, Cheng Zhiyuan failed to leave Qiqihar with him, and the Japanese side appointed him as the acting police commander of Heilongjiang Province.Afterwards, Ma Zhanshan agreed to fight against Japan, but Cheng refused. His troops took part in the ensuing battle with Ma Zhanshan's army.Therefore, most people regard it as a late festival.

However, recent historical data show that Cheng Zhiyuan did not respond to Ma Zhanshan's request for an uprising. It is impossible to go out, and it is impossible to lead an uprising. In 1933, Cheng met Zhao Zhongren, the key person who lured Ma Zhanshan to surrender in Changchun.Cheng Zhiyuan hated Zhao deeply, so after a banquet, he sent someone to assassinate Zhao.Afterwards, Cheng was placed under house arrest and died mysteriously the following year at the age of 56. The details are still unknown. From this point of view, although Cheng Zhiyuan is not guaranteed at the end of the year, there may be something behind the history written in ink that we don't know.

Cheng Zhiyuan has not left a photo in domestic historical materials so far, and this photo found in Japan may more or less fill a gap in history. Faced with such a complicated history, Sa is more willing to believe that Ma Zhanshan's actions at that time were a means used by the green forest under the internal and external difficulties.After all, before and after that, Ma Zhanshan's determination and achievements in resisting Japan can be said to be lessons from the sun. Because of such "blackmail", the Japanese army hated Ma Zhanshan to the bone.From June 10 to July 27, 1932, the Kwantung Army organized eight consecutive attacks on Ma Zhanshan, all of which were skillfully escaped or repelled by Ma Zhanshan.During this period, Ma Zhanshan fought tit-for-tat and repeatedly launched counterattacks in Qiqihar, Harbin and other places.

Due to the disparity in numbers and the isolation behind the enemy, the defense of Heilongjiang led by Ma Zhanshan and others ended in failure. On December 5, 1932, Ma Zhanshan withdrew from Manzhouli to the Soviet Union with Su Bingwen's army. On January 10, 1933, Dongning, the last important stronghold under the jurisdiction of the Heilongjiang Provincial Government, fell.So far, the entire territory of Heilongjiang Province has fallen.Ma Zhanshan, who withdrew from the Northeast, took the lead in responding to the Xi'an Incident and signed the proclamation. After that, he organized the "Northeast Advance Army" and once tried to counterattack the Northeast.For this reason, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces also sent General Wang Minggui's troops to cross the Greater Khingan Mountains and march west to Inner Mongolia to respond.

Ma Zhanshan was firm in resisting Japan, and his tenacious resistance also won the respect of the enemy.In the Japanese literature, Ma Zhanshan was called "the hero in the wilderness", and the Japanese literature at that time listed him, Zhang Xueliang, Wang Yizhe, and Tang Juwu together as the "four bandits" who posed the most serious threat to the puppet Manchukuo in the early days of the founding of the Puppet Manchukuo. ".