Ma Hongbin
Upon his cooperation with Chiang Kai-shek, he was named commander of the 22nd Division, 24th Army, within the National Revolutionary Army. He was governor of Ningxia from 1921 to 1928 and chairman of the government of Ningxia in 1930. However, Ma Hongbin caused and consequently lost a power struggle with his cousin Ma Hongkui, a fact that was exploited by Chiang Kai-shek to his own advantage by preventing Hongbin's total defeat. In 1930, Chiang named Ma Hongbin as the Chairman of the Provincial Council of Gansu, a post he held until 1931; Hongbin's control over Gansu remained very limited, however, as the province was mostly ruled by his rival Ma Zhongying. Even after Zhongying's departure to the Soviet Union in July 1934, Gansu's armies and civilian population was still loyal to Zhongying. Hongbin helped Ma Hongkui to fight off an invasion of Ningxia by fellow warlord Sun Dianying in early 1934.