Black Flag Army

At noon on February 1, 1914, in Suiyuan, Okto Banner, the sun was shining brightly, and the fat Ma Hongkui was still sleeping in bed with his concubine in his arms, until someone reported outside the door: "Brigade Commander! The intelligence team in Shenmu County, northern Shaanxi has received news that a large-scale caravan has set out from Baotou, has passed Fugu County, and will arrive in Shenmu County tomorrow."

When Ma Hongkui heard this, he was refreshed, and he quickly pushed his concubine away, got up and put on his clothes. Last time he led troops to Shenmu County, attacked a caravan, and robbed goods worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. When he returned to Yinchuan to report the victory to his father, Ma Fuxiang, the general and governor of Ningxia, praised him a lot. When he was proud, his younger brother Ma Hongcai said that he was just lucky and had made a big deal occasionally. Ma Hongkui was furious when he heard this, and he pushed Ma Hongcai down and beat him up. At the same time, he also decided to make another big deal when he had the chance, so that Ma Hongcai could see it.

Ma Hongkui put on his military uniform, strapped on his pistol, and said to the guard outside the door: "Lead the horses and set out. Notify the First Cavalry Regiment to send troops to Shenmu County."

Chief of Staff Ma Qianxian hurried over and said, "Brigade Commander! We just seized a batch of goods last time. How dare the merchants in Baotou take this road again? Will the defense be strengthened this time and become a tough nut to crack?"

Ma Hongkui laughed and said, "You are just too timid. What if it is a hard bone? If you can't chew it, you don't have to chew it. We are cavalry, we come and go like the wind, and we will follow them closely. I don't believe they won't reveal their flaws."

The guard captain Ma Hu said, "It has been more than two months since we last seized a batch of goods. Merchants only care about food and not fighting. We haven't touched the small caravans recently. They think they are safe."

The guards led out a tall white horse, and Ma Hongkui jumped on it. More than 1,500 cavalrymen in gray cloth uniforms quickly gathered and, led by Ma Hongkui, galloped towards Shenmu County.

About a regiment of Ma family cavalry was galloping on the highway in Shaanxi, but the regiment leader Ma Yuanqing was full of doubts. Although this man was a subordinate of Ma Hongkui, he was a dozen years older than Ma Hongkui, so he was relatively cautious in his style of doing things. He rode his horse to catch up with Ma Hongkui who was running in front, and asked him: "Brigade Commander, I still think this caravan is very suspicious. Di Congmo of Baotou is not such a careless person. He was able to defeat the Mongols and Yan Xishan successively. It is hard for me to imagine that he would make such a mistake, especially after being robbed by us once."

Ma Hongkui was only 22 years old that year. He was young and energetic. He said nonchalantly: "What are the Mongols and Yan Xishan? That kind of army is no different from beggars. They are not heroes even if they win. That Di Congmo is just a man with a false reputation. If he was really capable, he would not have said a word when I robbed so many things. In my opinion, he is just a coward. This caravan only cares about food and not fighting. Most of them think that after a long time, we will not rob them anymore. In the final analysis, they are both timid and have no memory. You, my friend, are really worrying too much."

After hearing what Ma Hongkui said, Ma Yuanqing did not dare to say anything more and silently returned to the team. However, in the shadow of a bush in the distance, there were several figures hiding here. The leader was Wu Chunfeng. He had been observing for a long time with a telescope. After a long time of observation, Wu Chunfeng had determined that this group of cavalry was the Ma family army. Li Laoshi asked: "Chief Wu, what's going on? Can we send a signal to Shenmu County?"

Wu Chunfeng put down the telescope and said, "It's almost time. I see there are several officers in that group, and their ranks are at least those of regiment commanders. Ma Hongkui or Ma Hongcai is probably among them." As soon as he finished speaking, several horses around him took a shortcut to Shenmu County. A "surprise" prepared for the Ma family army was quietly being arranged in Shenmu County.

Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province is located in the northern part of Shaanxi, where the three provinces of Shanxi, Shanxi and Suiyuan meet. The Yellow River flows southwards and the Great Wall stretches westwards. The county has a total area of ​​more than 7,000 square kilometers, making it the largest county in Shaanxi Province.

Shenmu is located in the south of the Hetao area and the north of northern Shaanxi. It has been rich in water and grass and dense in forests since ancient times. In ancient times, it was a good place for various ethnic groups to live as nomads. The Shimao ruins in the area are more than 4,000 years old. According to historical records, in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the northwestern region of China, including the county, had tribes such as Xunyu (Hunzhou), Yanyun, Rongdi (same as Di), and Linhu living here.

At this time, in the suburbs of Shenmu County, a caravan of about 300 people was walking in a canyon. It was the end of winter. The sky was blue, without a single cloud. There was still a hint of chill in the air. The sunlight was pale yellow and shallow. From time to time, there would be gusts of cold wind, making it hard to forget that it was still winter. The escort team of this caravan had about 200 people, about 100 of them were cavalry, and the rest were infantry, most of them carrying rifles. However, the team seemed quite lazy. The leader of the escort team was Wu Guozhu, who was now a battalion commander of the Baotou Guard Regiment. He was responsible for the task of transporting the goods this time. The merchants seemed to be quite tired, and their pace seemed quite slow. Due to their drag, the team had not been able to get out of the canyon, but Wu Guozhu was not in a hurry. He always kept the escort team's speed consistent with the merchants, and soon asked the tired team to stop and rest.

Soon, there was a loud noise in front of the escort team. A shell landed near the caravan, and several soldiers were blown into the sky. At the same time, a burst of machine gun fire rang out in front, and more than a dozen escort soldiers fell to the ground in an instant. The merchants immediately fell into fear. They ran around everywhere, and the whole caravan fell into chaos. Shouts and horse neighs were everywhere, and the escort team could hardly reorganize their formation. At this moment, a burst of chaotic rifle fire rang out in front of the canyon, and more than a dozen people were shot and fell to the ground. Then, rows of gray cavalry suddenly appeared in front of the caravan, all of them holding their sabers high and with ferocious faces. They were naturally the cavalry regiment led by Ma Hongkui. The caravan in front seemed to be their prey. Seeing that the caravan was close at hand, these cavalry began to show joy.

At this time, something unexpected happened to the Ma family army. Several barbed wires suddenly stood up on the ground in front of them. The cavalry in the front rows had no time to stop and were tripped to the ground one after another. The cavalry behind them could not stop either. Some horses jumped over the first barbed wire and were tripped by the second one. Nearly a hundred cavalrymen fell to the ground in a mess. At this moment, the originally chaotic caravan suddenly became quiet. Several soldiers took out a heavy machine gun from a cargo box. A "merchant" raised a light machine gun at some point and fired at the Ma family army in front. The dense bullets instantly turned the Ma family soldiers who fell to the ground into sieves. At the same time, several mortars in the front row of the caravan were also set up, accurately bombing the Ma family army in the rear. The soldiers also stood firm one after another, raised their rifles and started shooting at the cavalry behind them. The sound of artillery and machine guns on the hills on both sides also rang out. The cavalry of the Ma family army seemed even more panicked, and casualties began to increase. This caravan was a trap set by Di Xiong. In fact, there were no merchants in this team of more than 300 people. All the merchants, shop assistants, and drivers were soldiers in disguise. All of them were Wu Guozhu's subordinates. The goods were full of various ammunition and guns. There were even soldiers hidden in some large boxes. At this time, they all jumped out to join the battle. Di Xiong's troops were also ambushed on the hills and in the woods on both sides. Including Wu Guozhu's fake caravan, the security brigade dispatched a total of two regiments and six battalions to ambush Ma Hongkui, plus an artillery company.

Because it was the first time fighting against the Ma family army, in order to ensure that this ambush was won and ended quickly, Di Xiong personally served as the commander-in-chief. Liu Zhendong and Leng Hanbing also joined in. The three sharpshooters of the Justice Party went into battle together, and it can be said that all the elite forces were concentrated.

However, the Ma family army was not as easy to collapse as the Jin army or the Mongolian army. They quickly adjusted their formation and began to counterattack. Some cavalrymen also picked up light machine guns and began to shoot at both sides. Bullets crisscrossed the valley, and fire was everywhere. The whole valley was filled with smoke and blood. Wu Guozhu's troops were also attacked continuously. Despite the cover of the carriage, they still suffered heavy casualties. A company commander was also shot through the head by a stray bullet, and the barbed wire began to be dismantled. However, the ambushed cavalry was more like a live target than the infantry because of their high targets. There were dozens of roaring machine guns in the mountains on both sides. The cavalrymen fell down one by one, and the survivors hurriedly dismounted and hid. The situation was still quite unfavorable for the Ma family army. In order to dismantle the barbed wire, they suffered heavy casualties, up to more than 300 people. At this time, Ma Hongkui in the cavalry regiment finally realized the problem. His face turned blue and he began to fall into fear. Ma Qianxian on the side quickly said: "Brigade Commander, this is obviously an ambush of the Baotou regular army. Give the order to retreat immediately, otherwise we will all be stuck."

Ma Hongkui, who was still in shock, said quickly: "Yes! Yes! The whole army... the whole army retreats, quickly withdraw from this hellhole!" The Ma family army, whose front and rear teams were changed, immediately galloped on horseback, and rows of cavalry rushed to the exit of the canyon like arrows from a bow. However, something even more bizarre happened. The cavalrymen who rushed in the front were blown away again, along with their horses. It turned out that there was a minefield on the road where the Ma family army retreated, and it was not detonated until the Ma family army began to retreat. Some brave cavalrymen thought that there were only a few mines, and continued to charge on horseback. However, the explosion did not stop. Dozens of cavalrymen were blown over by mines one after another. Some Ma family soldiers who were not killed also had their bones broken and lay on the ground covered in blood, looking very scary. Not knowing how many mines there were on the way of retreat, the cavalry of the Ma family army were terrified and at a loss. Now they were in a dilemma, with barbed wire and ambushes in front of them and minefields behind them. No matter how brave the Ma family army soldiers were, they didn't know what to do. The team in the rear gradually fell into chaos. The cavalry near the barbed wire began to abandon their horses and look for cover to continue exchanging fire with the Baotou army. The corpses of both sides gradually began to pile up. However, the Ma family army was at a considerable disadvantage in firepower. Their biggest problem was that their weapons and equipment were not good enough.

The news of the minefield in the rear finally reached Ma Hongkui. Their senior officers were hiding under a big rock, and their subordinates had different opinions. Chief of Staff Ma Qianxian suggested: "Brigade Commander, let's quickly organize a suicide squad. The number of mines in the rear must be limited. As long as we pay a certain amount of casualties, we can definitely rush out. As long as we rush out of the canyon, we can go home."

However, the regiment commander Ma Yuanqing objected: "Can you guarantee that there is no enemy ambush behind the mines? Who knows if the enemy has an ambush outside the canyon? I suggest that we charge forward. The barbed wire in front has almost been dismantled, and the enemy's blocking force has only a few hundred people. Once we can rush through, they will be nothing but lambs to be slaughtered."

The guard company commander Ma Hu retorted: "Don't talk nonsense, who knows how many enemy ambushes are ahead? I heard that there are also many cavalry in Baotou. When we rush over, there may be enemy cavalry waiting for us. I think we should surrender. There are enemies everywhere in the mountains. Can we save our lives if we hold on?"

Seeing Ma Hu say such discouraging words, Ma Qianxian was very angry. He stood up, took out his pistol and shouted at Ma Hu: "You bastard who disturbs the morale of the army. You say there are enemies in front and behind. The enemies did not grow out of the ground, how could there be so many of them? You are misleading the people and you deserve to die. I will kill you..."

Before Ma Qianxian finished speaking, a gunshot rang out and he suddenly fell to the ground. Ma Hongkui looked closely and saw that blood was flowing from the front and back of Ma Qianxian's head. It was obvious that he was shot through by a bullet. It was obviously shot by a sharpshooter at such a long distance. The others were so scared that they fell to the ground. Seeing this situation, Ma Hongkui, who was already terrified, became even more scared. After all, he was just a young man in his twenties and had little combat experience. He had basically fought with the wind in his hands. He had never seen such a scene before. Seeing the chief of staff die in front of him, Ma Hongkui was so scared that he sat on the ground and shouted to Ma Yuanqing next to him: "Order all troops to put down all weapons quickly. We surrender! We surrender!"

Ma Yuanqing said, "Commander! Last time we robbed Di Congmo of his goods, he hated us to death. If we surrender now and fall into his hands, will he kill us? Or make us do hard labor for the rest of our lives?"

Ma Hu said: "No, he is a businessman, he wants money. As long as the brigade commander writes a letter to General Ma, General Ma will pay the money and redeem us."

Ma Hongkui said: "Yes, yes, yes! Isn't it just for money? My father has plenty of money, quickly give the order to surrender!"

As they were talking, several more officers fell under the guns of the enemy sharpshooters, and the Ma family army quickly raised the white flag. At this time, apart from the dead and wounded, the remaining Ma family officers and soldiers were less than 500.