In this world, some people have a bad career and are depressed; while others are rising step by step, repeatedly demanding demotion. This person was one of the founding generals of our country, named Wang Hongkun, who was the deputy commander of the navy of New China.
In 1909, Wang Hongkun was born into a peasant family in Macheng, Hubei Province. At the age of 18, he joined the Volunteer Army. At the age of 20, he officially joined the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. It is worth mentioning that the party representative of the large contingent he participated in was his cousin Wang Shusheng. When he was awarded the rank in 1955, Wang Hongkun was awarded the rank of general, Wang Shusheng was awarded the general, and the two brothers became the pride of their hometown.
From the moment he joined the Communist Party of China, he followed Xu Xiangqian and Wang Shusheng to battle, and in the Battle of Sujiabu in 1932, he served as the commander of the Red Tenth Division, leading the troops to a brilliant victory. On the afternoon of 8 May, on behalf of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he accepted the surrender of the Kuomintang troops for the first time.
In 1937, after the outbreak of the "July 7 Incident", the two parties began the second cooperation in history. At the end of September, on the orders of the Central Military Commission, Wang Hongkun led 1 brigade, 7 regiments and 4 independent battalions to stay in Longdong, northern Shaanxi, and the young people at that time came to join the army. As a result, an additional thousand people enlisted, and the expenditure exceeded 200 yuan, which was a lot of money at that time, which could be exchanged for 100 rifles. When Wang Hongkun requested reimbursement, Commander Xiao Jinguang did not dare to rush to agree, and asked him to go to Chairman Mao for approval.
At the beginning of 1938, when Wang Hongkun went to Yan'an to ask Mao Zedong for instructions to report on his work, he was excited and nervous, this was the person he had always admired the most, he repeatedly considered the questions he wanted to ask, hoping not to delay Chairman Mao's time, and directly report the situation. As a result, as soon as he entered Chairman Mao's cave, Chairman Mao cordially stood up and shook hands with him and warmly invited him to sit down and talk in detail. Chairman Mao asked, "Is it easy to solve the problem of grain in the troops?" He replied that the current situation was very difficult to eat grain, and also told Chairman Mao about the overexpenditure of more than 200 yuan, and Chairman Mao immediately wrote a note to Ye Jizhuang, who was then the minister of supply, agreeing to reimbursement, and said sympathetically: "It is difficult for you." This made Wang Hongkun feel moved.
Immediately afterward, he proposed to Chairman Mao his intention to study. He also explained to the chairman that he had never entered the academy since he was a child, could not read a single character, could not bear the revolutionary work at his current level, and was willing not to be a brigade commander. When Chairman Mao heard this, he felt that it was a good thing to be self-motivated, so he wrote a letter of introduction to the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in his own name to support Wang Hongkun's "study."
Unexpectedly, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was about to close its classes in a month, which made him feel terrified, and his cultural level had not yet been practiced well, and it could not be ended. He once again asked Chairman Mao for instructions and was willing to go to the Party School to continue his studies. When Chairman Mao heard this, he appreciated him even more, and some comrades were so studious that they must be encouraged, so he wrote another letter of introduction to Kang Sheng, who was the president of the Central Party School at that time. This time the original study system was one year.
However, at that time, the war situation was urgent, and the front line urgently needed the support of talents, and the students, including Wang Hongkun, announced their graduation four months in advance. The central authorities assigned Wang Hongkun to go to Eyubian to form the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army and serve as the commander of the division. This time, after making a comprehensive analysis of himself, he again made difficulties, feeling that his knowledge and experience were not enough, and it was difficult to be on his own, so he proposed to Kang Sheng that he should return to the 129th Division as his brigade commander, and could not because he had influenced the revolutionary work. He begged Kang Sheng to intercede with Chairman Mao, and a few days later, Chairman Mao approved his request for demotion, and the task of forming the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army fell on Li Xiannian's shoulders.
In July 1949, Wang Hongkun, who was already the first deputy secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, and Li Xiannian, secretary of the provincial party committee, joined the class and cooperated very well. However, in April 1950, Wang Hongkun suddenly received an order to let him go to Beijing to serve as deputy commander of the Navy, and this promotion was even more extraordinary, and Wang Hongkun was "flattered": The Navy was not yet engaged in this branch of the army at that time, and what was needed was high-tech and modern talents, and his own level was probably not competent. He begged Li Xiannian to apply to Chairman Mao for further demotion. Li Xiannian advised him to go to office first, and he could not always let Chairman Mao worry.
Wang Hongkun reluctantly went to Beijing to take up his post, but in the meantime, he secretly entrusted people to suggest to Chairman Mao that he was not a deputy commander of the navy, and as long as he was at the grass-roots level, he could do anything. Chairman Mao then pointed out on an occasion in which Wang Hongkun was present that some comrades found it difficult to perform their work, and he could not understand why these people did not want to build their own country and army well. Wang Hongkun listened to Chairman Mao's words and was very inspired. He kept in mind Chairman Mao's remark that no one is omnipotent and has learned from doing. At this point, he calmed down and worked hard for the naval cause of New China. The story of Wang Hongkun's four requests to Chairman Mao for demotion was spread for a while as a beautiful talk.