The founding generals are familiar with Su Yu and Chen Geng, and today we are talking about a relatively unpopular figure, who may be friends who love military affairs or have some knowledge of history, but other people are not very clear. This man was also one of the founding generals, and his name was Xu Guangda. In 1955, Xu Guangda was awarded the rank of general, and during the revolution he followed He Long on his southern expedition to the north, and was praised by Peng Dehuai as the first tiger general in the First Field Army.
Xu Guangda
It was such a general who took the initiative to apply to Chairman Mao for demotion three times, but he was not approved by the chairman, so why did he apply for demotion, and why did the chairman not approve his application? Xu Guangda was not too famous, not even as good as Xu Shiyou, nor did he participate in the Long March, so why could he still be awarded the rank of Great General? Let's talk about it.
Rural children herd cattle
In November 1908, Xu Guangda was born in a poor peasant family in Dongxiang Radish Village, Changsha County, Hunan Province, whose family were honest and dutiful farmers, who had always relied on the sky and their own hard work to eat and rely on farming for a living. Children who grow up in such families are generally quite capable, as the old saying goes, "The children of poor families are in charge of the family early." Since childhood, Xu Guangda has been very sensible and obedient, often helping his parents to do farm work, and working in the fields very early.
At that time, many children in the village went to the academy to study, and seeing other peers carrying school bags to school, Xu Guangda was very envious, and he also longed to be able to go to school and read like other children. This matter was also noticed by Xu Guangda's parents, they were aware of their son's thoughts, and especially wanted their son to go to school, but the family conditions really did not allow Xu Guangda to go to school, in order to meet the child's wishes, the father could only secretly go to his eldest brother's house for help.
Rural children
When Uncle Xu Guangda saw his brother (Xu Guangda's father) pleading so bitterly, he inquired from many sources and learned that Xu Guangda was indeed a good child and really wanted to go to school, so he agreed to sponsor Xu Guangda to go to school. That year, Xu Guangda was seven years old, and he was finally able to carry his school bag to school like the other children in the village. With the sponsorship of his uncle, he came to Changsha County Xujiayuan Primary School to study, and he cherished this hard-won opportunity to go to school, so he paid special attention to his studies.
During the day, Xu Guangda went to school, and after school in the afternoon, he still went home to help his parents do farm work, and every time he came home from school, he had to cut firewood for his mother by the way, and when he returned home, he immediately went to help his parents herd cattle, so that the sensible and self-motivated children were praised by many people in the village. Although Xu Guangda worked farm work while going to school, his academic performance was not lagging behind at all, and he even ranked among the best, and he was admitted to the high school of Changsha County No. 1 Primary School with excellent results, and then was admitted to Changsha Normal School.
The child is in school
During his studies at Changsha Normal School, Xu Guangda came into contact with the Communist Party and communism, and he was deeply attracted by the contents, believing that this was a good thing that could change the fate of the peasants, and he repeatedly studied and studied it, and then he founded that chairman Mao's "Xiangjiang Review" was very useful, so he studied it repeatedly. In 1925, Xu Guangda successfully joined the Communist Party of China and became a glorious Communist Party member.
In 1926, Xu Guangda was dispatched by the Party Central Committee and was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy with excellent results. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup, wantonly slaughtered our Communists, created white terror, and the National Revolution was declared a failure. They wanted to force Communists into the Kuomintang through the "Cadet Political Face Registration Form."
Whampoa Military Academy
At that time, many people in the Whampoa Military Academy chose to join the Kuomintang, and some students chose to leave the Whampoa Military Academy in order not to join the Kuomintang, and because of this, Xu Guangda's artillery brigade reduced the number of ordinary cadets. This is a huge test for the Communist students who remain at the Whampoa Military Academy, because by joining the Kuomintang at this time, they can be promoted to higher ranks and become rich, and their future careers will be smooth, on the contrary, if they choose to continue to stay in the Communist Party, not only will they not have such treatment, but they may incur the disaster of killing themselves.
Xu Guangda hated these Kuomintang reactionaries very much, believing that they were untrustworthy, betrayed the revolution, and slaughtered innocent communists and revolutionary masses. He could not accept such a leader. So Xu Guangda made a surprising decision, and he wrote on the "Registration Form for the Political Appearance of Students": "Death will not quit the Communist Party." Then handed it to his classmate Liao Ang.
Liao Ang was stunned to see this form, on the one hand, he admired Xu Guangda's courage and fearlessness, on the other hand, he was worried about his safety, it was definitely not okay to write like this, there would be a disaster of killing. As a classmate of Xu Guangda, Liao Ang was afraid that his friend would be trapped because of this, so he persuaded Xu Guangda not to be impulsive, to be calm first, and to save his life. But no matter how Liao Ang persuaded, Xu Guangda did not agree or waver.
Chiang Kai-shek
At that time, Xu Guangda had a belief in his heart, that is, to work hard to learn military knowledge, improve his military level, and let himself learn more, so that he could better serve the party and serve the revolutionary cause. Finally, Liao Ang, who was useless in persuasion, left in anger, and before leaving, he said to Xu Guangda: "I hope you will not regret what you did." Xu Guangda naturally did not let up, he replied: "From the day I joined the Communist Party, I will not regret it." ”
Soon after, Xu Guangda received orders from Chen Yi to go to the Second Front to accumulate military strength and be ready for an armed uprising. In this way, Xu Guangda came to the Second Front army as a platoon commander. In August 1927, Xu Guangda received an order from the party organization: "Return to Nanchang quickly and participate in the uprising." "Because I was still in the Kuomintang troops at that time, I needed to find a suitable opportunity to get out of here." He waited for a long time, and finally took the opportunity to leave the troops while they were eating breakfast.
Nanchang Uprising
In order to avoid the Kuomintang's search and interrogation, Xu Guangda took a small road all the way, and it was still smooth, but his heart was always uneasy, thinking that something would happen, and sure enough, when he came to the edge of the Ganjiang River, he found that there were heavy guards on the opposite side of the Ganjiang River, and at the same time there were notices posted on the city wall.
Seeing that Xu Guangda was impatient here, he guessed that the party organization might have been transferred, and he decided to find a way to find the party organization. In this way, he searched all the way along the Fuhe River, and finally found the large army a few days later. He encountered many difficulties along the way, but he also overcame it, and his ability made his companions who traveled with him very much recognized and admired.
Repair the bunker
After that, Xu Guangda participated in large and small battles, and also rose from soldier to platoon leader and company commander. He was also wounded many times during this period, but for the sake of the revolution, he never complained, and immediately after his wounds were healed, he would return to the army to continue fighting and continue the revolution. This is his duty as a Communist.
In 1928, under the arrangement of his parents, Xu Guangda and his wife Zou Jinghua married, but just 10 days after the marriage, Xu Guangda left his wife because the enemy was chasing him, and embarked on the road of finding an organization. At that time, the pursuing people chased too tightly, and there was no way but for him to choose to hide temporarily, and died and went to Tangshan to dig coal.
Later, after contacting the organization, he was sent by the organization to the Xiang'e Western Soviet District as a division commander, and in 1930, he led three brigades of the division headquarters to cover the retreat, and the casualties of this retreat were extremely large, and He Long later said: It was Xu Guangda who saved us. It is enough to see that Xu Guangda played a great role in this special historical period.
Xu Guangda and his wife Zou Jinghua
Later, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xu Guangda served as the principal of the third branch of the Kang University, the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 120th Division, and the commander of the 2nd District, which was the main force of the Anti-Japanese Resistance, and this status showed that Xu Guangda was highly valued. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xu Guangda continued to participate in the War of Liberation, serving as the commander of the Third Army and later as the commander of the Second Corps, participating in the Battle of Fumei and the Battle of Lanzhou, and played an important role in it.
After the founding of New China, Zhou Enlai wanted to recruit Xu Guangda to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but Xu Guangda himself thought that he did not know anything about diplomacy and hoped to be able to engage in the artillery cause he was familiar with, and later under the command of Chairman Mao, he became the commander of the armored corps. Although these armored troops are small in number, they played a huge role in the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Zhou Enlai said that Xu Guangda was really indispensable.
Judging from Xu Guangda's qualifications, it is not an exaggeration to say that he was awarded the rank of Grand General, it is completely deserved, and there is no inappropriate place.
So why did Xu Guangda's three applications for demotion not be approved by Chairman Mao?
Shock
As we all know, Xu Guangda and Xiao Ke are both senior generals of the Red Second Front, and Xiao Ke's position is higher than Xu Guangda' and is Xu Guangda's commander, but when he was about to be awarded the title in 1955, Xu Guangda learned that he was awarded the rank of general, and Xiao Ke was a general, and he was very uneasy in his heart. At that time, the number of conferred generals was limited, basically every level of each front army had hard indicators, often based on the past qualifications of each general and the position at that time, from these two points, Shawke was not inferior to Xu Guangda, and even Shock was stronger.
When Xiao Ke was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Second Front, Xu Guangda was only a division commander because he had healed his wounds in the Soviet Union in his early years, and then in the 120th Division, Xiao Ke was the deputy division commander, and Xu Guangda was the brigade commander. Shock's official rank was always higher than Xu Guangda's, and Xu Guangda did not participate in the Long March, in his own words: "At that time, the Red Army was eating bark in the meadow, while I was eating foreign bread in the Soviet Union." He thought that his seniority was far from being a general, at most a general, and that he could not be higher than his own commander. When he learned that his rank was higher than that of Shock, he felt that he was really unworthy, so he took the initiative to apply to Chairman Mao to lower his rank.
Chairman Mao and the Conferred Generals (Film and Television Stills)
He wrote to Chairman Mao three times to apply for a reduction in his rank, writing in his application: "I have been informed of the news that I have been awarded the rank of general. I thank the Chairman and the leaders of the Central Military Commission for their high regard for me. In addition to being happy, panicking...
My contribution to the Chinese revolution is, realistically, insignificant. Don't say that compared with the generals, you are ashamed in your heart, and you are not ashamed of yourself compared with some of the more senior generals.
For the sake of peace of mind and for the sake of justice, I have asked Vice Chairman He to be demoted. I now sincerely and solemnly apply to the President and the Vice-Chairmen to confer the rank of General. He was also awarded the rank of Grand Admiral. ”
When he saw Xu Guangda's application, Chairman Mao was greatly shocked, and he was touched by Xu Guangda's selfless behavior, believing that it was a real blessing for New China to have such a selfless person. For this reason, after Peng Dehuai learned about it, he also specially went to his work, but Xu Guangda still insisted on his request and applied for demotion. Later, the Central Military Commission held a meeting to discuss this matter, at which everyone unanimously agreed that Xu Guangda's rank as a great general was truly deserved, so they unanimously agreed not to approve Xu Guangda's application for demotion.
Chairman Mao also said at the meeting: "Xu Guangda, a comrade he can rely on, is a mirror, a mirror of the Communist Party of China itself." "Sigh" Five hundred years ago, the general Xu Da, the second degree of Pingxi, zhiyong crowned Zhongzhou; five hundred years later, the general Xu Guangda, several times gave up his title, and his fame was famous in the world."
Chairman Mao
In this way, at the formal awarding ceremony, Xu Guangda was still awarded the rank of great general and became one of the ten major generals of New China. Xu Guangda, who was loyal to the Communist Party of China and the motherland, made great contributions to the founding of New China; he not only made tremendous contributions to the country on the battlefield and made many military achievements, but also trained a large number of military talents for our country, all of which are the precious wealth of New China and the people's liberation army of Chinese. So he was given the rank of Grand General absolutely well-deserved.
Zhou Enlai (first from right) conferred the title of Xu Guangda (first from left)
In the end, although Xu Guangda accepted the rank of general granted to him by the central government, he always demanded to enjoy the treatment of a general and only take the salary of a general, and this request was approved, so among the ten founding generals, the other nine generals had an administrative level of 4, but Xu Guangda's administrative level was 5.
Xu Guangda's life was just right, and he always insisted that "human feelings cannot be greater than the king's law." "In 1960, due to the severe natural disasters in the country at that time, the country's grain production was reduced. At that time, the conditions of the army were slightly better, and some relatives of army cadres ran from the countryside to the army to eat and live permanently. In order to change this situation, Xu Guangda presided over a meeting and put forward an important resolution: "In difficult times, cadres of the headquarters organs must mobilize their relatives not to come to Beijing, those who have already come to return as soon as possible, and those who visit their relatives are only allowed to stay for three days and return to their hometowns." ”
Xu Guangda and his wife Zou Jinghua (first from left)
A few days after this resolution was proposed, his own fourth brother Xu Defu and sixth brother Xu Deqiang came to Beijing to join him, and for a time the eyes of the entire armored military compound were focused on Xu Guangda. Xu Guangda's wife, Zou Jinghua, told the brothers who had come from afar about this resolution to persuade him to return, but the result was strongly opposed by the fourth brother, who said: "Here is your Xu Guangda's official rank is the largest, you don't say anything to let us go, who dares to say a word?" The two brothers entered the kitchen of Xu Guangda's house, opened the cupboard to see that there was no food, and asked, "What do you usually eat?" The cook pointed to a water tank at the door and said, "Tell you the truth, the chief's family also eats chlorella."
The two brothers were very surprised, did not expect Xu Guangda to be such a large official, actually ate substitute food, so he helplessly lived for 2 days and went home. After the two brothers left, many people talked about Xu Guangda and Zou Jinghua's husband and wife behind their backs, and said that Zou Jinghua's sister-in-law was too inappropriate, and her family came from afar to come to rely on her, but she persuaded her family to meet her hometown. Xu Guangda knew and said: "No, she did the right thing, this is a decision made by the party committee, I want her to do this, how can human feelings be greater than Wang Fa?" ”
In 1957, Xu Guangda's father died, according to local customs, it should be a solemn funeral, and his son became such a big official in Beijing, he should pay attention to pomp. To this end, after the death of his father, the younger brothers immediately asked Xu Guangda to return to his hometown to preside over the funeral, and also asked him to bring back the white cloth of filial piety worn by his relatives. Xu Guangda said to his wife: "When my father died, I should naturally go back, but the brothers named me to preside over the funeral, and I also wanted so much white cloth. That doesn't work. ”
At that time, the central authorities called for changing customs and customs, and the handling of funeral affairs should be simplified, and moreover, going back would alarm many local officials, a commander of the Communist Party, to take a large group of people and horses to send a funeral for their father. In order to maintain the prestige of the party, he chose not to go back, but only sent a small officer who was familiar with the customs and customs of Hunan to return with some money to take care of the funeral. He also stressed several times that it should not be extravagant and wasteful, and should not exceed the standards of the local people for funerals. The incident was met with the resentment of his relatives and friends, who said that he had no conscience and was not filial piety. But these Xu Guangda did not pay attention to it, or insisted on following his instructions, so after his mother died, his family and relatives did not make additional demands on him.
Xu Guangda died of illness in 1969 at the age of 61. When Chairman Mao learned of Xu Guangda's death, he said that Xu Guangda had made great contributions to the revolution in his lifetime, and that his ashes should be placed in the place where he should go, the Babaoshan Cemetery.
Under the arrangement of Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, Xu Guangda's ashes were eventually arranged in the cemetery of Babaoshan, which was Xu Guangda's life. In June 1977, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the central government held a ceremony to place xu Guangda's ashes at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. On behalf of the Central Military Commission, General Su Yu spoke at the ceremony for the placement of the ashes, recounting the brilliant achievements of Xu Guangda's life and recounting his great achievements.
Although Xu Guangda died, the armored corps he built flourished and became a backbone force in the modernization of the People's Liberation Army. His spirit and qualities deserve our study and praise, and his great achievements deserve our memory and praise. Salute to General Xu Guangda.