Chapter 25 first quarter

In the spring of 1934, the disastrously defeated Ma Zhongying and his 36th Division miraculously revived in the Tarim Desert.Sheng Shicai's troops and the Soviet Red Army surrounded them in two directions. The vast southern Xinjiang has been the sphere of influence of Britain and Russia since the end of the Qing Dynasty. The two countries set up consulates in Kashgar. Tsarist Russia fell and Britain's power increased greatly.When Sheng Shicai's new government in Dihua leaned towards the Soviet Union, the British were in a hurry. The British Consul General in Kashgar gave all his support to the various separatist forces in Xinjiang to launch a rebellion and established the "Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkey". It was a replica of the Bai rebellion; it was also the result of the British planning. Aguba had ruled Xinjiang for more than ten years, and was later wiped out by Zuo Zongtang's army.The British plan was very careful. Most of the officers and soldiers under Ma Zhongying were devout Muslims, just like Bai Yanhu, the Muslim rebel army in Shaanxi. Under the pursuit of Zuo Zongtang, he fled to Xinjiang and cooperated with Aquba, who was wiped out. Bai Yanhu led 5,000 Shaanxi Muslims across the border to seek refuge in Russia.Before he died, Bai Yanhu said to his subordinates: "If you have a chance to reconcile with the government, go back to your hometown and pat the door knocker of Xi'an City, it will be mine." The British are very confident that Ma Zhongying will cooperate with them. People came to Kuqa to meet Ma Zhongying.

"This is indeed an opportunity," Ma Zhongying said at the officer meeting, "but we are the new 36th Division, a soldier of the Republic of China. What are the British? They have bullied China since the Opium War, and our ancestors fought in Beijing. After passing the Eight-Power Allied Forces, we are worthy of our ancestors, we beat the Soviet Union and Britain, and beat the lackeys of the British." This was said to the secretary of the British consul.The older Hui people in Kuqa also advised Commander Ga not to mess around. In Xinjiang, we Hui people first followed others to rebel against the government, drove away the government and then punished us.

Behind the 36th Division there were chasing troops and there was a strong enemy in front. Ma Zhongying personally commanded the main force to attack Kashgar. After four days and nights of fierce fighting, the "Islamic State of East Turkey" was destroyed.The irony is that the national flag of this short-lived country is marked by a star and moon, and above the star and moon is the national emblem of the Republic of China. The officers and soldiers of the 36th Division all marveled at Ma Zhongying's accurate judgment. Fortunately, they were not fooled by the British. Cai Xuecun, a member of the Political Department of the 36th Division, is a member of the Communist Party of China and a student studying in the Soviet Union. He suggested to Ma Zhongying to get in touch with the Soviet Consulate in Kashgar as soon as possible and cooperate with the Soviet Union to seek a new future for the 36th Division. It is not the Soviets but Sheng Shicai who want to destroy us the most.” Ma Zhongying said to the officers and soldiers: “As you can see, the British are lying. The Soviets helped Sheng Shicai, and Sheng Shicai had the strength to defeat us. Only with the cooperation of people can we open up a new situation in Xinjiang." Cai Xuecun's liaison work went smoothly, and the Soviet Red Army stopped between Kuqa and Kashgar, and then retreated.

When Sheng Shicai received the report from the frontline commander Liu Bin, he was almost mad, "Don't pay attention to the Soviets, move forward quickly, take Kashgar, definitely take Kashgar!" Liu Bin led the Northeast Cavalry Regiment and Xinjiang's most elite armored unit to cooperate with the Soviet army and won consecutive victories. Sheng Shicai handed over almost all the Xinjiang army to him. He was very excited.He received a telegram from Sheng Shicai, and despite the opposition of the Soviet adviser, he led his troops to attack boldly.The cavalry took a shortcut around the south of Kashgar and attacked northward, while the armored unit attacked from north to south.Sheng Shicai's student army also drove to the front line for reinforcements, and more than a dozen aircraft from the aviation team cooperated with the armored unit.

Sheng Shicai led a capable staff team to bargain with the Soviet Union, and the battle in southern Xinjiang directly affected the future pattern of Xinjiang. The fighting in Kashgar was extremely fierce, and the two sides fought a tug of war for a whole week.The negotiations in Dihua took shape. Under the mediation of the Soviet Union, Ma Zhongying took office as the commander of southern Xinjiang, and designated Hetian Oasis as the 36th Division's defense area. Kashgar, an important town in southern Xinjiang, was finally handed over to Sheng Shicai. This was the focus of negotiations, and Sheng Shicai would never give up Kashgar.Ma Zhongying got the empty title of commander of southern Xinjiang, and Liu Bin made great contributions to Sheng Shicai and served as the commander of the Kashgar garrison.

Ma Zhongying admired airplanes so much, he was not very interested in tanks and armored vehicles. The heroes of the 36th Division had blown up many tanks and armored vehicles, but they couldn't deal with airplanes.This is the main condition for Ma Zhongying to negotiate with the Soviet Union. Let me fly the plane, and everything else is easy to talk about.Cai Xuecun and a group of CCP staff members repeatedly reminded him to divide Sheng Shicai's power and ask the Soviet Union to equip the 36th Division first.The Soviet consul looked at this cute big boy and shrugged, "Cai Xuecun, don't try to persuade him. The commander likes airplanes, so let him fly them. We have plenty of airplanes in the Soviet Union, but special training is required to fly them." "Then Train me." Commander Ga couldn't wait any longer, and the Consul General patted him on the shoulder, "You have to go abroad, to the Soviet Union, to Kyiv, to Moscow." "I thought you were going to the sky. The plane goes to the sky, and the pilot must live in the sky. Same as Sun Wukong."

The negotiations went smoothly. More than 10,000 officers and soldiers from the 36th Division assembled, and Commander Ga personally selected 240 strong young men.Standing on the ground in Hotan at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, the pregnant commander is looking up at the vast blue sky. He is imagining his future air force, 240 Hezhou heroes, each with a fighter plane, and a huge fleet of 240 planes; There are fighter jets and bombers, flying like a flock of birds.Cai Xuecun said with a smile: "Commander, there is also a reconnaissance plane." Reconnaissance. Who has ever seen an eagle stealthily doing reconnaissance, and another eagle went to catch it." Cai Xuecun was stunned by the training.

The 36th Division was headed by Ma Zhongying's brother-in-law Ma Hushan as the acting teacher. Ma Zhongying took a large group of young people to the Soviet Union to learn to fly. Xinjiang has finally ushered in peace.Sheng Shicai personally formulated six major policies, eliminated prostitution, whoring, gambling and opium, rectified the administration of officials, and was not soft on corruption, and executed a group of commissioners and county magistrates.At the same time, a special service agency will be established for civil servants to ensure that their lives are safe, and civil servants can only work conscientiously and conscientiously.The selection of cadres is even more unique. As long as a primary school teacher is capable, he can directly become the head of the department.The prosperous scene in Xinjiang is in great contrast to the corruption and inefficiency in the mainland.When Sheng Shicai returned from his visit to the Soviet Union, his self-confidence increased greatly, because the Soviet Union only implemented special supplies for a few high-level cadres, and the lives of most middle-level cadres were relatively tense, and the lives of ordinary people were even worse.Public service agencies in Xinjiang face all public servants.

The Soviet tank troops retreating from southern Xinjiang left a tank regiment in Hami, and the rest withdrew.This tank regiment is like a nail stuck in Xinjiang's gateway to the interior.Sheng Shicai was assisted by Soviet advisers and members of the Communist Party of China. The members of the Communist Party of China were all Chinese students studying abroad, but they listened to Moscow and were not under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.Out of self-interest, Sheng Shicai invited the CCP in Yan'an to send cadres to work in Xinjiang, but the Soviet Union only allowed CCP members to work in Xinjiang and was not allowed to develop organizations.In China at that time, Dihua was the most progressive place except Yan'an, attracting promising young people and progressive people from all over the country.

Drawing on the experience of the great purges of the Soviet Union, the great purges in Xinjiang also began, and the first to bear the brunt were spies and feudal princes sent by imperialist countries such as Britain and Japan.All the old officials in Jin Shuren's era were wiped out.This was also the only purge that Sheng Shicai launched to satisfy everyone's needs.Sheng Shicai's prestige was unprecedentedly high.His enemy Ma Zhongying is still in the Soviet Union, and the daunting 36th Division is still in Hotan Oasis. He had too many enemies, he didn't dare to think about it, the more he thought about it, the more hesitant he felt.

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