Ma Bufang, this name always has a little haze in our impression. He is a controversial figure, from warlord to exile, with a bumpy and tumultuous life.
Born in 1903, Ma Bufang has lived in a military family since he was a child, and started his military career at the age of 14. With his extraordinary military talent, he soon made a name for himself in the northwest.
In 1926, he joined the Northwest Army and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the chairman of Qinghai Province, ushering in his reign in Qinghai.
During this period, Ma Bufang's monopoly on minerals and exacting taxes left a bad impression on the people.
What is even more reinventing is his brutal treatment of women. Those living tragedies still make people feel palpitations when they think back today.
In 1949, after the People's Liberation Army defeated Ma Jiajun, Ma Bufang fled to Hong Kong with his family and treasures, and then went to Saudi Arabia.
In order to reach Saudi Arabia, they did not hesitate to charter a plane, with more than 200 people, and it took three days to reach Riyadh.
When he arrived in Saudi Arabia, Ma Bufang was also received by the local king and received a car. However, out of pride, he refused the king's kindness and bought four cars for his own pilgrimage to Mecca.
During the Hajj, Ma Bufang's younger brother died of heat stroke, which caused him to lose his loved ones. Eventually, Ma Bufang decided to settle in Cairo, Egypt. He bought an apartment and a house for his people to live in.
In Cairo's life, Ma Bufang studied Arabic and the Quran every day, as if seeking solace through faith. In the evenings, I often catch up with my friends and forget my inner pain and anxiety for a while.
From Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Ma Bufang's exile career was difficult. A former "respect of a country", but in the end can only live the life of a refugee, this huge contrast is really embarrassing.
During his days in Egypt, Ma Bufang thought that he could live the life of the emperor he dreamed of, but he never thought that his every move in Saudi Arabia had already attracted attention and criticism from the outside world.
At the beginning, Chiang Kai-shek also sent a large sum of gold to Ma Bufang, hoping that he could contribute to the great cause of "anti-communist salvation" in Saudi Arabia.
However, Ma Bufang's actions have turned him from a highly anticipated "envoy" to a notorious existence.
In just a few years, his position as Saudi ambassador has existed in name only, and the Saudi overseas Chinese have avoided him.
The most discredited thing about Ma Bufang is his unfortunate encounter with Ma Yuelan. After being tortured, Ma Yuelan finally escaped from Ma Bufang with the help of others and made his evil deeds public.
With Ma Yuelan's accusation, the spearhead of public opinion quickly pointed at Ma Bufang. The voices of the silent endurance of the past began to rise to the top, and more and more victims came forward to speak out about their suffering.
This storm of public opinion is undoubtedly the key to shaking Ma Bufang's power base. Eventually, the Taiwanese government had to remove him from his post and deprive him of all his political rights.
The loss of power seemed to make Ma Bufang return to his original form in an instant. From the respect of a country to the target of everyone, his later years can be described as lonely and desolate.
After losing everything, Ma Bufang lived a life of seclusion until his death in Mecca in 1975.
Ma Bufang's life was brilliant and bleak, his power and wealth faded with age, and in the end he could only take all his evil deeds and sins with him, silently walking into the dust of history.
Looking back on Ma Bufang's life, it is not difficult for us to find that he has both wisdom and ambition. The balance of the two has contributed to his remarkable ability as a leader of a generation of warlords.
Wisdom is reflected in his control of the overall situation. When Ma Bufang was young, he understood that in order to consolidate his position, he must first stabilize the source of troops and consolidate military power.
Therefore, he never interfered with the government and gave the generals of the army maximum freedom. This adaptation to the situation, avoiding internal friction, won him valuable time to rule.
Ambition is reflected in his desire for power. With his skills, Ma Bufang eventually became the first brother in Qinghai Province and started his dictatorship in the northwest.
During that period, his monopoly on minerals and his exorbitant taxes on the common people fully demonstrated his greed for power.
This kind of iron-fisted method is often only dared to be done by those in power. As the overlord of one side, Ma Bufang will never allow anyone to shake the foundation of his rule.
Even when it came to the final defeat, Ma Bufang still made the choice to flee with wisdom and determination.
Although this caused controversy at the time, it was actually his careful consideration based on the pros and cons of reality.
Ma Bufang saw that continuing to fight would only sacrifice more innocent lives in vain, so he resolutely chose to flee and save his family's lives to the greatest extent in this way.
From this point of view, Ma Bufang's decision to flee reflects his sense of responsibility to his family and shows the human care that a commander should have.
He would rather abandon all his glory and wealth than waste more of his life in vain.
Therefore, to evaluate Ma Bufang comprehensively and objectively, we should not only look at his personal gains and losses, but also look at the various efforts he has made for power and his family and country.
We should re-examine his spiritual values and historical status from the perspective of development.
Although Ma Bufang was criticized in his later years, his life reflected more the wisdom, ambition and responsibility that an outstanding military strategist and politician should have.
It is with a leader like him that the Northwest has been able to stand tall for so many years in turbulent times.