The number of Kuomintang troops in that year reached more than 8 million at its peak. Lieutenant generals such as Yun, especially those who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy, because they had received formal education and training, and were also Jiang's concubines, naturally became the main force in the War of Resistance And the Civil War. Among them, there were four Huangpu generals from Shandong, all of whom were deeply trusted and relied upon by Jiang Ren, and were known as "Three Li and One King". So who are they?
First of all, "three Li", refers to Li Xianzhou, Li Yannian, Li Yutang.
Li Xianzhou, a native of Hexi County, Shandong Province, graduated from Huangpu Phase I, an anti-Japanese general, served as deputy commander of the Second Appeasement District, with the rank of lieutenant general, and was later captured by the People's Liberation Army in the Battle of Laiwu and pardoned in 1960.
Li Yannian, a native of Guangrao County, Shandong Province, graduated from Huangpu Phase I, actively participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou "Suppression General", commander of the Sixth Corps, and other positions, with the rank of lieutenant general, and absconded to Taiwan after the defeat of the civil war.
Li Yutang, a native of Guangrao County, Shandong Province, was also a graduate of huangpu I, a famous general in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, who served as commander-in-chief of the 27th Army, deputy commander-in-chief of Hainan Defense, and other positions, with the rank of lieutenant general, and was killed after withdrawing to Taiwan with the Nationalist army in 1951.
"One King" refers to Wang Yaowu, a native of Tai'an, Shandong, graduated from huangpu in the third phase, a famous general of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, who served as the chairman of the Kuomintang Shandong Province, the commander of the Second Appeasement District, and other positions, with the rank of lieutenant general. After the Battle of Jinan in 1948, he absconded in disguise to Shouguang and was captured, and was pardoned in 1959.
From the above introduction, it can be seen that these four senior generals of the Shandong National Army have a lot in common: they are all from the Whampoa Military Academy, they are all relatively famous anti-war generals, and they all fought against the People's Liberation Army during the civil war, and they all have the rank of lieutenant general. However, in the Kuomintang army, there is a saying that "three plums are not as good as one king", why is this?
First, let's correctly understand the meaning of this sentence. If it is understood that Li Xianzhou and the three of them are not as good as one Wang Yaowu, this is completely wrong, although these three are different from Wang Yaowu, after all, they are also the proud protégés of Principal Jiang who graduated from the first term of Huangpu, especially during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. And if this sentence is understood to mean that none of these three generals surnamed Li can match Wang Yaowu, it is indeed true.
Let's start with age and status. Wang Yaowu and Li Yannian were born in 1904, Li Yutang was 5 years older than them, and Li Xianzhou was born in 1894, the elder Wang Yaowu was 10 years old! By the time of the Civil War, although all four were ranked lieutenant generals, wang Yaowu was the highest in status, he was the chairman of the Kuomintang Shandong Province, the commander of the Second Appeasement District, and as early as May 1945, he was elected as a member of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee. And the "three Li" are all one level lower than him. Li Xianzhou, who was 10 years older than him, was the deputy commander of the Second Appeasement District and was his direct subordinate, Li Yannian's deputy commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General" and Li Yutang's deputy commander-in-chief of Hainan's defense, and Li Xianzhou was actually the same level.
Therefore, among the four people, Wang Yaowu reached the highest status at the youngest age. This is in line with his abilities.
The "Three Li and One King" all participated in the war of "attacking and suppressing" the Red Army, and before the War of Resistance, they were all promoted to division commanders. Li Xianzhou participated in the battle of "encircling and suppressing" the Eyu-Anhui Soviet Zone and blocked the Long March of the Red Army; Li Yannian participated in several battles to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army in the Central Soviet Region, but in the early days he also lost more battles; Li Yutang was even punished for his defeat in the process of "encircling and suppressing" the Red Army. It is Wang Yaowu who wants to talk about the "three plums and one king" who hurt the Red Army the most.
In 1932, when Wang Yaowu's 32nd Brigade participated in the fourth encirclement and suppression of the Red Army, it was surrounded by the Red Army in Yihuang, and Wang Yao forcefully persuaded the brigade commander to hold on and led his troops to hold out for 24 days, but Yihuangcheng was not breached. In 1934, Fang Zhimin's Red Army also suffered a heavy loss from Wang Yaowu, resulting in a crushing defeat, and in the Battle of Tanjiaqiao in November 1934, the commander of the Red 19th Division, Xun Huaizhou (if he did not sacrifice, his rank would be general in the future), was killed, and the commander of the Red 21st Division, Hu Tiantao, was captured.
The "three plums and one king" were all remarkable on the anti-Japanese battlefield. Li Xianzhou participated in the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Zaoyi, the Battle of Yuzhong and other battles, and was once beaten in the chest by Japanese snipers at the Battle of Xinkou. Li Yannian participated in the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Xuzhou, and during the Kunlun Pass War of Resistance, Li Yannian fought as a forward and killed more than 3,000 enemy soldiers; in 1944, Li Yannian was awarded the First Class Medal of Resistance against Japan as the commander-in-chief of the former anti-Japanese enemy who insisted on defending Tongguan. Li Yutang is also a recognized famous anti-Japanese general, who once led his troops to participate in the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Wuhan, especially in the three famous Changsha victories at home and abroad, with outstanding performance and brilliant achievements.
The reason why Wang Yaowu was highly praised in the army was that he had made outstanding achievements in the neutrality of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and from a certain point of view, Wang Yaowu was the representative of the frontal anti-Japanese battlefield of the Nationalist Army. The famous anti-Japanese Iron Army of the Nationalist Army, the 74th Army (later the reorganized 74th Division), Wang Yaowu was the main general. At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Yaowu's 51st Division, as the main force of the 74th Army, participated in the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing, the Battle of Lanfeng, and the Battle of Wanjialing, all of which severely damaged the Japanese army. From June 1939, as the commander of the 74th Army, Wang Yaowu led his troops to participate in the First Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Shanggao, the Battle of Zhejiang, the Battle of Western Hubei, and the Battle of Changde, and played the prestige of the 74th Army.
In 1945, as the commander of the Fourth Front, Wang Yaowu led 300,000 Nationalist troops and the Japanese army in a major battle for nearly two months, killing more than 28,000 enemies and achieving a huge victory in the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain. Soon Wang Yaowu was elected a member of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee at the age of 40.
In addition, the reason why it is said that "three plums are not as good as one king" is also reflected in the civil war after the victory of the War of Resistance. Li Xianzhou was defeated in an instant and became a prisoner of war in the Battle of Laiwu; Li Yannian was beaten by the People's Liberation Army in the Battle of Huaihai; Li Yutang defended Yanzhou, was surrounded by the People's Liberation Army, and was captured (and escaped) after breaking through. It can be said that this "three Lees" have no "record" to speak of in the civil war.
Although Wang Yaowu defended Jinan, he eventually failed and became a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army. However, in the Battle of Jinan, Wang Yaowu still held out for 8 days and nights without any assistance, and the People's Liberation Army paid the price of 26,000 casualties.
On the whole, the reason why we say "three li and one king" is that Wang Yaowu is young and promising and has a relatively rapid promotion; second, Wang Yaowu's military command ability is stronger; third, his record is the highest; especially during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, among the generals of the same level as him, there is no one who can stand out from the right, and this should be the most important.