Ili Rebellion
The Kuomintang government ordered Ma Bufang several times to march his troops into Xinjiang to intimidate the Soviet puppet Sheng Shicai. That helped in providing protection for Chinese settling in Xinjiang. Ma Bufang was sent with the Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi by the Kuomintang in 1945 during the Ili Rebellion to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi (now Ili).