preface
Among the ten marshals, Mr. Peng can be said to be the top ranked and has a very personal personality. He came from the Pingjiang Uprising, and after decades of bloody storms, especially during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Mr. Peng was appointed as the commander of the volunteer army, commanded a million troops to fight fiercely against the invaders of the US imperialists, and won the final victory.
On the battlefield, Mr. Peng was brave and invincible, and in peacetime, he still maintained his original intention, was upright and selfless, and dared to drum and shout for the people. In addition, the marshal also has strict requirements for his relatives, for example, when he was awarded the title in 55 years, his nephew Peng Qichao could have been awarded the title of captain, but Mr. Peng proceeded from the overall situation and proposed to demote him to lieutenant. Surprisingly, Mr. Peng, who is almost "harsh" on his relatives, has also been unfair to people, hoping that this person's military rank can be more fixed, and he is the marshal's partner Xie Fang.
Major General of the Nationalist Army at the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Xie Fang was born in 1908, a native of Liaoyuan, Jilin Province, similar to the experience of General Lü Zhengcao, who was also a general from the Northeast Army and also served as Zhang Xueliang's aide-de-camp. But the difference is that Xie Fang was once selected to study at the Army Non-Commissioned Officer School in Japan, and was a Confucian general who drank foreign ink.
After returning from studying abroad, Xie Fang was reused as the captain of the Tianjin Security Corps, during which he also fought with the Japanese army. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xie Fang participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang and the Battle of Xuzhou, and his position was also rising, and he successively became deputy brigade commander and division chief of staff. At this time, Xie Fang had a very high status in the National Army, and at the age of 31, he became a major general and was a famous young talent.
The Road to Revolution
But what many people did not expect was that Xie Fang, who had a great scenery in the camp of the Nationalist Army, secretly joined the Communist Party as early as 1936. During his work at Zhang Xueliang's side, he actively did united front work and made contributions to the "united Chiang Kai-shek anti-Japanese resistance." If nothing else, a special position to solve the party can play a more important role inside the enemy. However, in June 1940, an important figure, Xiang Naiguang, defected, which caused great damage to the party organization of the Northeast Army. After receiving the news, the xiefang immediately evacuated to Yan'an and has since disclosed its party membership. At that time, Chairman Mao personally received him and said, "When you go home and are liberated, you will be called liberated." The solution was thus renamed from "solution ruchuan" to solution.
After returning to the camp of our army, Xie Fang continued to serve as the chief of staff, he was proficient in English and Japanese, quick thinking, sharp speech, and quite strategic, Zhang Xueliang once called him a "rare wizard". During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xie Fang served as chief of staff of the 358th Brigade and chief of staff of the Lüliang Military Region, and in the Liberation War, he successively served as deputy chief of staff, deputy commander of the column, and chief of staff of the corps of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army. It is worth mentioning that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xie Fang was not idle, he became the first chief of staff of the Volunteer Army, and entered the Korean War with Mr. Peng.
On the Korean battlefield, the Xie side made plans and did a lot of positive and beneficial work, and even Mr. Peng, who has always rarely praised people, called xie fang a "competent chief of staff." When encountering things that are difficult to decide, Mr. Peng will call the guards to "call Zhuge Liang over", and here Zhuge Liang refers to the solution, which can be seen in the heart of the marshal, and the solution is really a resourceful think tank. After the victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Xie side also participated in the Kaesong negotiations as a representative of the DPRK and China.
The first of the founding major generals
In 1955, our army held a grand ceremony to confer the title, and it is reasonable to say that Xie Fang belonged to the rank of deputy corps general, let alone a lieutenant general. In addition, he also held an important position as chief of staff of the Volunteer Army, and Li Da, who was also the chief of staff of the Volunteer Army, later held the rank of general. However, the result was unexpected, and xie fang was eventually pre-awarded as a major general.
As early as the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xie Fang was a major general, and now that he has participated in the revolution for 16 years, he is still a major general, and many people are upset with him, especially Mr. Peng, who has always been honest. He went directly to the chairman and said, "The commander of the volunteer army is a marshal, why is the chief of staff a major general?" "If Xie Fang were to be a major general, I would be a lieutenant general at best." In the eyes of the marshal, xie fang has outstanding ability and outstanding merit, and can be evaluated as a general, but now he is a major general, which is really not right.
But then again, there are many factors that need to be considered in the award of titles. The Xie side did not participate in the agrarian revolutionary war, and only joined the party in 1936, a little late. And in the revolutionary years, he held the position of chief of staff for a long time, did not serve as a military commander, and his military achievements were not high. In the end, after careful consideration in the organization, it was decided to award the rank of Major General Xie Fang, but it ranked first, ranking first among the 798 founding major generals, which is also an affirmation of the general's war career.