Opium (poppy) farming was already thriving in Suiyuan by the time Ma Fuxiang became the military governor in 1921, due to the fact that soldiers were not being paid their salaries at all, so they resorted to dealing with opium farmers to make money. Poppy farming had been banned by Ma Fuxiang in Gansu, but he admitted when he was appointed as Military Governor of Suiyuan that since the opium trade in Suiyuan was so rampant, that he both could not and would not deal with the situation.