In 1995, China held a grand ceremony in Beijing, where thousands of officers received the first title of New China. When the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army was first established, it had three divisions, of which Lin Shuai, Nie Rongzhen, He Long, Xiao Ke, Liu Bocheng, and Xu Xiangqian were the division commanders.
At this ceremony, except for Xiao Ke, everyone else was awarded the rank of marshal, but Xiao Ke was awarded the rank of general, which was still different from others.
Xiao Ke was indeed underestimated by everyone, as a very senior general, he held many important positions, and finally served as a deputy state-level official after the founding of New China, and his son also became a major general of the country. Although Xiao Ke was inferior to other marshals in rank, his political career was smooth sailing, and he finally lived to the age of 102, which can be said to be a complete life.
A soldier from the Shuxiang Mendi
In 1907, Xiao Ke was born in Jiahe County, Hunan. The parents rejoiced in the arrival of this child, and Shaw added a lot of joy to the poor family.
Xiao Ke's father, Xiao Qinmao, was a Talent of the Qing Dynasty and read many scriptures, and although Xiao Ke's mother had no culture, she could not write poetry and could also chant under the influence of the family.
Such a good atmosphere made Xiao Ke develop a good habit of reading, compared to other children in the society at that time, he was undoubtedly very lucky, most of his peers were in the farmland with his parents to farm to subsidize the family, while Xiao Ke sat at his desk and read. So why would such a descendant of The Scholarly Mendi embark on the road of revolution?
This has to start with Xiao Ke's eldest brother, Xiao Ke's big brother is named Xiao Kechang, because he is resentful of this unfair world. So he befriended the local green forest good man, but he was also regarded as a serious problem by the local landlord Xiao Renqiu, and soon this landlord colluded with the government to frame Xiao Kechang for having an affair with bandits, and the official government accepted bribes and arrested Xiao Kechang without asking.
In order to cut the grass and remove the roots, Xiao Kechang was finally killed in prison. Xiao Ke was extremely angry when he learned of this, and while crying bitterly, he made up his mind that he would kill these landlords and avenge his eldest brother Xiao Kechang.
Xiao Keyun, the second brother who returned from Guangdong, told Xiao Ke what he had seen and heard, and a number of novel terms such as "October Revolution, Communist Party" made Xiao Ke feel novel, which made him very excited, so he decided to go south to Guangzhou to join the army and participate in the revolution.
After he was admitted to the Guangzhou Military Police Training Institute, the school was fortunately assigned to the Whampoa Military Academy, and he also successfully became a student of the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, during which time he studied various military knowledge day and night, many classmates left a deep impression on him, and the descendants of Shuxiang Mendi also embarked on the road of joining the army.
Military career
When he graduated, during the Northern Expedition, Xiao Ke packed up a few clothes and killed all the way from Guangdong to Hunan. Until he caught up with the marching pace of the Northern Expeditionary Army, he wanted to enter Ye Ting's troops, and others questioned his lack of ability, until he saw Xiao Ke's charge regardless of life and death in the battle.
He acted like a battle-hardened veteran rather than a recruit egg, and when his company commander asked him if he was a recruit, he received a negative answer, and the company commander and the soldiers in the company admired him.
Xiao Ke then followed General Ye Ting's troops all the way from the Nanchang Uprising to Jinggangshan, became a subordinate of Zhu Laozong, and followed the main force of the Red Army to begin the long march, after which he was appointed as the commander of the Red Sixth Army.
On the Long March, the Red Sixth Army left a deep impression on the enemy, with strict discipline, uniform demeanor, strong marching ability, and no soldiers left behind, which made the enemy extremely headache. Later, Xiao Ke and Marshal He Long formed the Chuanqian Xiang'e base area, which shocked the warlords in central And even southern China.
General Xiao Ke has always been known for his wisdom and strategy, and during the Liberation War, he once used the "empty city plan" to make Fu Zuoyi, who was stationed in Beijing at that time, unforgettable. In April 1948, shortly after the liberation of Shijiazhuang, Fu Zuoyi, who was far away in Beijing, decided to send four divisions and a division of Yan Xishan to attack Shijiazhuang together in an attempt to break the deadlock in which the Kuomintang was defeated and retreated.
However, shijiazhuang was empty inside at that time, and there was no regular army to defend except for a few garrison troops, which also worried Xiao Ke, and after receiving encouragement from the chairman, he regained his calm and decided to order the only troops in his hands to divide a division that surrounded Yan Xishan's troops, and soon crush them.
Fu Zuoyi's troops, seeing that their friendly forces were defeated and retreated so quickly, thought that Shijiazhuang had the main force of our army stationed there, and fled in a hurry, and the siege of Shijiazhuang was lifted.
Granted to the Admiral
Xiao Ke was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Second Front, the deputy commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and the chief of staff of the Fourth Field Army during the Liberation War. Many people rely on this to believe that Xiao Ke is at least a general, if not a marshal, but when he was awarded the rank in 1955, Xiao Ke was only awarded the rank of general.
Many people are upset about this, thinking that his merits are far more than the level of the general, but Xiao Ke does not think so, because he believes that the founding of new China is based on the premise of the sacrifice of many soldiers, and it is already a great honor to be able to award military ranks, and he only takes the merits for those soldiers who sacrificed.
This calmness and humility made the people around him stand in awe of him. Xiao Ke is also the pioneer of China's modern military schools, he has a unique set of educational concepts, and then Xiao Ke has come to the fore in politics, serving as the vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, and the official to the deputy state level.
And he usually does not smoke, does not drink, life is very simple, three meals a day are all coarse tea and light rice, his wife and children are as simple as him, it is worth mentioning that his son Xiao Xinghua also became a major general of the People's Liberation Army, did not live up to his father's expectations of him.
brief summary:
Shaw's life was a magnificent one, from a bookish teenager to an iron-boned warrior, and how much suffering it had to go through to complete this transformation.
He made great military achievements, and some people called him "with the assets of a marshal, the merit of a great general, and the title of general", although it seems incomprehensible to others, but for him, this is a very good result.
Although not a marshal, a general, it is enough to be at the top of the rank of general. It is this kind of open-mindedness that Xiao Ke lived to the age of 102.