The 10th Panchen Lama sought revenge on the Dalai Lama by leading an army against him, and requested aid from Ma Bufang in September 1949.[44] However, the Chinese Nationalist government, facing defeat from the communists, requested the Panchen Lama's help instead, formulating a plan where 3 Khampa divisions would be led by him as a broad anti-Communist base in Southwest China,[2][45] but the Panchen Lama decided to defect to the Communists instead. The Panchen Lama, unlike the Dalai Lama, sought to exert control in decision making.[46][47]