When it comes to the heroes of the Whampoa Military Academy, everyone has a variety of opinions, everyone can say a few names, such as Chen Geng, such as Hu Zongnan, leaving aside their positions, they are all the leaders of that era, from the perspective of later achievements, we have to admit that the students who graduated from the first phase of Huangpu have achieved the most after that.
The students of the Whampoa Military Academy were excellent, and the teachers were also great, such as Nie Rongzhen, director of the Political Department Zhou Enlai, and so on; to say that the most powerful of these people was the principal Chiang Kai-shek, but what is less known is that although the old Chiang kai-shek was very popular among the students at that time, he was not the most popular person, and the most popular was Yan Lisan, who was then the commander of the first phase of the military academy, who was even higher than the prestige of the old Chiang.
Yan Lisan is a native of Macheng, Hubei Province, born in 1892, his father was a county governor of the Qing government, although the family is not rich and noble, but also more than enough, when Yan Lisan received a very high private education, at that time China was in turmoil, the Qing government only promised, Yan Lisan established a lofty ideal of serving the country and saving the people from childhood.
After that, he was admitted to the First Preparatory School of the Qinghe Army in Beijing, Baoding Officer School for further study, in 1924, he came to Huangpu, as the student captain of the Huangpu Military Academy, when teaching in the school, Yan Lisan had his own special skills, his memory was very strong, a thick book "Infantry Drill Code" He could recite it backwards, and the students in the school all admired him.
Chen Geng later recalled: "Yan Lisan is the eldest brother of all of us, and no one does not respect him. ”
During the Northern Expedition in 1926, Yan Lisan served as the commander of the Twenty-first Division, during the Northern Expedition, Yan Lisan led his troops to go out on a campaign, fought a lot of vicious battles, won battles, because he ruled the army strictly and achieved great results, so he was also known as "The Famous General of the Northern Expedition"
In 1927, under the leadership of Zhou Enlai, He Long and others, our army launched an uprising in Nanchang, when the 21st Division was stationed in Jiujiang, Chiang Kai-shek ordered him to send troops to attack the uprising, Yan Lisan refused, at the Whampoa Military Academy, he and Zhou Enlai had a very close relationship, he did not want to do this kind of knife and knife thing, Chiang Kai-shek was very angry about this, and soon dismissed him.
In the face of Chiang Kai-shek's disapproval, Yan Lisan did not think so, he became a monk, in Hangzhou Faxiang Temple, as the most respected person among the Huangpu students, Yan Lisan became a monk, this news alarmed the whole country, in the temple, Yan Lisan was devoted to the cultivation of Buddhism, someone came to ask him about political and military matters, he did not talk about anything, even if his life was difficult, he never complained to his students.
Later, Yan Lisan went to Lushan to live in seclusion, and Chiang Kai-shek invited him out of the mountain several times, but he refused, and Yan Lisan knew that Chiang Kai-shek's solicitation of him was actually a warning.
After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, Chiang Kai-shek again invited Yan Lisan out of the mountains, this time, Yan Lisan did not refuse, he successively served as the director of the Hubei Civil Affairs Department, the acting chairman of the province and other positions.
In life, even if Yan Lisan is in a high position, but he is very poor, Chen Cheng is his student, Chen Cheng has sent money to Yan Lisan many times, but he has refused, in 1944, Yan Lisan died of illness, at that time, he was poor and did not even have money for funerals.