After the founding of New China, at the first ceremony held in 1955, there was a general who was very special. Because at this time, he was only at the rank of commander, but he was planned to be awarded the rank of general. When he himself learned of this, he vigorously shirked the award to the admiral. He said that his qualifications were shallow, his contribution was small, and he was really ashamed to be awarded the rank of general, and he asked his superiors to grant him lieutenant general. But the great man spoke: "He must be a general." "So, who is he?" What's so great about it? Why did the great man stand up to him so strongly?
Dong Qiwu, born in 1899, is an authentic Shanxi native. When he was a child, Dong Qiwu's family was very poor, mainly relying on his parents to work long-term work in the landlord's home for a living, and he was bullied and squeezed. Poor parents in the world, no matter how poor they are, they must also think about their children's future, Dong Qiwu's parents are like this. They don't want their son to be uneducated in the future, exploited and oppressed by the rich like them. Therefore, when Dong Qiwu was 6 years old, his parents sent him to a private school, hoping to use knowledge to change his son's fate.
Dong Qiwu did not live up to the high hopes placed by his parents, he studied hard and achieved excellent results, and later he was admitted to the county school with excellent results to continue his studies. It was also during his study in the county that Dong Qiwu came into contact with advanced ideas and was deeply influenced by them, so he decided to contribute to the country in the future.
At this time, it just happened that Yan Xishan founded the "Bin Ye School". Therefore, in 1919, Dong Qiwu was admitted to this school with excellent results. Here, Dong Qiwu learned how to use weapons and command military skills in combat.
After graduation, due to the discord between Dong Qiwu and Yan Xishan's cronies, he chose to leave. Later, Dong Qiwu joined some local armies, but these local armies did not have any future, Dong Qiwu belonged to the buried talents inside, and it was also far from his ambition to serve the motherland, so dong Qiwu did not stay long, and Dong Qiwu also chose to leave.
In 1927, Dong Qiwu came to Wuhan, where he joined the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and participated in the Northern Expedition. Dong Qiwu's original intention in participating in the war was to resist foreign enemies and defend the country. He was a man who aspired to serve the country, so he would never fight a civil war. Therefore, after the end of the Northern Expedition, he did not have a place in this unit.
Later, Dong Qiwu defected to Fu Zuoyi and became Fu Zuoyi's staff officer. Since then, Dong Qiwu has participated in many wars. By 1933, Dong Qiwu was already a colonel, and he had almost lost his life several times during the Great Wall War. But even if it was so dangerous, he still led all the officers and men to repel more than a dozen Japanese attacks.
In 1936, Dong Qiwu, who was already the brigade commander of the 35th Army, participated in the Suiyuan War of Resistance. He led his troops to annihilate the Red Geltu Japanese puppet army in one fell swoop, and even the chairman praised him. After the war, Dong Qiwu's team also received a pennant written by the chairman himself, "For the Imperial Insult of the Country."
In the Battle of Xinkou, Dong Qiwu personally went to the front line to engage the Japanese army, and after being wounded, he still did not go to the front line. His subordinates persuaded him several times to retreat to the rear to command. But Dong Qiwu was not at ease, and he wanted to go to the front line as soon as possible to command. So he simply bandaged the wound, endured the pain, and persisted until the end of the battle.
Dong Qiwu will be the military he has learned
Knowledge can be practically applied to actual combat. He dared to fight and had strong command ability, but he was never proud and complacent. He learned different combat methods from the Eighth Route Army, flexible and mobile to deal with different enemies and battles, so his position was constantly promoted.
Dong Qiwu has always been opposed to civil war, and he will never engage his brothers with knives and guns. Therefore, after the victory of the War of Resistance, he accepted the idea of settling the Suiyuan problem by peaceful means. In 1949, Dong Qiwu launched an uprising, and Suiyuan was peacefully liberated.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Dong Qiwu served as the commander of the 23rd Corps and led his unit to participate in the Korean War in 1951. On the battlefield, Dong Qiwu always came to the front line, always fought at the forefront of the battle, and made great contributions to the country.
After returning to China, Dong Qiwu was appointed commander of the 69th Army, but the rank belonged to the rank of the Main Corps. When he was awarded the rank in 1955, Dong Qiwu was awarded the rank of general, but he strenuously refused. He was very modest, saying that his contribution was too little, and the lieutenant general was already very high for him. However, the chairman said that "Dong Qiwu is a person who must not fail to award the rank of general." This is the greatest affirmation of Dong Qiwu's contribution.
Dong Qiwu's patriotic heart throughout his life has never changed. He did what he could for the country and contributed everything he had without asking for anything in return. The motherland and the people are proud to have such a patriotic general.