Ma Sien Was
Compelled To Beat A Retreat, And To Devote Himself To The Organization Of
The Many Thousand Ijen Or Lolos Recruits Who Signified Their Attachment To
His Cause.
For the successful defense of Yunnan Lin was made a Titu, and
gradually collected into his own hands such authority as still remained to
the emperor's lieutenants.
On both sides preparations were made for the
renewal of the struggle, but before the year 1858 ended Ma Sien met with a
second repulse at the town of Linan. The year 1859 was not marked by any
event of signal importance, although the balance of success inclined on
the whole to the Mussulmans. But in the following year the Mohammedans
drew up a large force, computed to exceed 50,000 men, round Yunnanfoo, to
which they laid vigorous siege. The imperialists were taken at a
disadvantage, and the large number of people who had fled for shelter into
the town rendered the small store of provisions less sufficient for a
protracted defense. Yunnanfoo was on the point of surrender when an event
occurred which not merely relieved it from its predicament, but altered
the whole complexion of the struggle. The garrison had made up its mind to
yield. Even the brave Lin had accepted the inevitable, and begun to
negotiate with the two rebel leaders, Ma Sien and the priest Ma Tesing.
Those chiefs, with victory in their grasp, manifested an unexpected and
surprising moderation. Instead of demanding from Lin a complete and
unconditional surrender, they began to discuss with him what terms could
be agreed upon for the cessation of the war and the restoration of
tranquillity to the province. At first it was thought that these
propositions concealed some intended treachery, but their sincerity was
placed beyond dispute by the suicide of the mandarin Hwang Chung, who had
first instigated the people to massacre their Mohammedan brethren. The
terms of peace were promptly arranged, and a request was forwarded to
Pekin for the ratification of a convention concluded under the pressure of
necessity with some of the rebel leaders. The better to conceal the fact
that this arrangement had been made with the principal leader of the
disaffected, Ma Sien changed his name to Ma Julung, and received the rank
of general in the Chinese service; while the high priest accepted as his
share the not inconsiderable pension of two hundred taels a month. It is
impossible to divine the true reasons which actuated these instigators of
rebellion in their decision to go over to the side of the government. They
probably thought that they had done sufficient to secure all practical
advantages, and that any persistence in hostilities would only result in
the increased misery and impoverishment of the province. Powerful as they
were, there were other Mohammedan leaders seeking to acquire the supreme
position among their co-religionists; and foremost among these was Tu
Wensiu, who had reduced the whole of Western Yunnan to his sway, and
reigned at Talifoo. The Mohammedan cause, important as it was, did not
afford scope for the ambitions of two such men as Ma Julung and Tu Wensiu.
The former availed himself of the favorable opportunity to settle this
difficulty in a practical and, as he shrewdly anticipated, the most
profitable manner for himself personally, by giving in his adhesion to the
government.
This important defection did not bring in its train any certainty of
tranquillity. Incited by the example of their leaders, every petty officer
and chief thought himself deserving of the highest honors, and resolved to
fight for his own hand. Ma Julung left Yunnanfoo for the purpose of
seizing a neighboring town which had revolted, and during his absence one
of his lieutenants seized the capital, murdered the viceroy, and
threatened to plunder the inhabitants. Ma Julung was summoned to return in
hot haste, and as a temporary expedient the priest Ma Tesing was elected
viceroy. When Ma Julung returned with his army he had to lay siege to
Yunnanfoo, and although he promptly effected an entrance into the city, it
took five days' hard fighting in the streets before the force in
occupation was expelled. The insurgent officer was captured, exposed to
the public gaze for one month in an iron cage, and then executed in a
cruel manner. Ma Tesing was deposed from the elevated position which he
had held for so short a time, and a new Chinese viceroy arrived from
Kweichow. The year 1863 opened with the first active operations against Tu
Wensiu, who, during these years of disorder in Central Yunnan, had been
governing the western districts with some prudence. It would have been
better if they had not been undertaken, for they only resulted in the
defeat of the detachments sent by Ma Julung to engage the despot of
Talifoo. Force having failed, they had recourse to diplomacy, and Ma
Tesing was sent to sound Tu Wensiu as to whether he would not imitate
their example and make his peace with the authorities. These overtures
were rejected with disdain, and Tu Wensiu proclaimed his intention of
holding out to the last, and refused to recognize the wisdom or the
necessity of coming to terms with the government. The embarrassment of Ma
Julung and the Yunnan officials, already sufficiently acute, was at this
conjuncture further aggravated by an outbreak in their rear among the
Miaotze and some other mountain tribes in the province of Kweichow. To the
difficulty of coping with a strongly placed enemy in front was thus added
that of maintaining communications through a hostile and difficult region.
A third independent party had also come into existence in Yunnan, where an
ex-Chinese official named Liang Shihmei had set up his own authority at
Linan, mainly, it was said, through jealousy of the Mohammedans taken into
the service of the government. The greatest difficulty of all was to
reconcile the pretensions of the different commanders, for the Chinese
officials, and the Futai Tsen Yuying in particular, regarded Ma Julung
with no friendly eye.
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Page 154 of 188
Words from 155960 to 156970
of 191255
