What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
The conferment of the title in 1955 was a popular topic, and there were many good stories of generals giving up their titles during the period. We admire the modest spirit of the older generation of revolutionaries who are not proud of their achievements, but in addition to the few generals who are familiar to everyone, there is another person who is quite uneasy about his rank of general, and he asked General Yang Chengwu to reflect to Chairman Mao that it was enough to maintain the original rank of lieutenant general. Chairman Mao said that he could not fail to appoint a general, and Yang Chengwu said that this man had participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression for 12 years, but he had only participated for 8 years, and his contribution could not be compared with his. Who is this person? Why is the status so high?
Let's first briefly look at the experience of General Yang Chengwu.
General Yang Chengwu joined the revolution in 1929 at the age of seventeen and became the political commissar of the regiment, and the first to fifth anti-encirclement and suppression campaigns in the Central Soviet Region, the Long March of the Red Army, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea all participated in it without falling. But why did he say that this person participated in the Twelve-Year War of Resistance, and why could he not compare with him for such a meritorious deed?
Here's the thing.
We generally think of the War of Resistance Against Japan as the eight years from the outbreak of the July 7 Incident in 1937 to the surrender of Japanese fascism in 1945. However, in history, the Japanese army's aggressive activities against our country began as early as the September 18 Incident in 1931. After the fall of the northeast, the Japanese army had to inch forward and stared at north China, in 1933, when the Great Wall War of Resistance broke out, the Battle of Xifengkou Zhao Dengyu bravely killed the enemy, during which he blocked the Japanese army in Huairou County, east of Beiping, for 15 hours of continuous bloody battles, and General Dong Qiwu, who repelled 10 attacks of the Japanese army, also started the first battle of his anti-war career. Counting the time, it is exactly four years longer than the eight-year War of Resistance.
Dong Qiwu was born in a poor peasant family in Hejin County, Shanxi Province, and when he was a child, he made a living by digging coal but devoted himself to learning. A pair of "Pu Yu Hidden Stones, when will it meet Bian Heshi; Gan will float the earth, when will it meet Mao Xian Weng?" With the help of the nobles, he was able to further receive education and began his career as a soldier in the military to serve the country.
Yan Xishan's cadet corps, Liu Zhenhua's Zhensong Army, the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and the Fourth Army of the Northern Expeditionary Iron Army all stayed with Dong Qiwu until 1928, when he met Fu Zuoyi, an old leader of his many years of military service.
General Fu Zuoyi was a patriotic general, and the most famous in history was the peaceful uprising, which saved the historical and cultural city of Beijing from the disaster of war. At the same time, he was also a general of the War of Resistance who knew people well.
After participating in the Central Plains War in 1930 and stationed in Suiyuan, in the face of the aggressive posture of the Japanese army, Dong Qiwu led the 436th Regiment to continuously repel the Japanese attack in the area west of Huairou in the Great Wall War.
In the Suiyuan War of Resistance, the first battle of the Red Geltu Campaign, Dong Qiwu destroyed the Japanese army and the bandit headquarters by means of a surprise attack, and shot down an enemy plane. At the Battle of Taiyuan at Xinkou, the Battles of Baotou, Suixi, and Wuyuan, Dong Qiwu dealt a major blow to the Japanese army under the command of Fu Zuoyi. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the prestige was so great that Chiang Kai-shek promised to take the rank of general or above, with the intention of buying people's hearts.
After the peaceful liberation of Peiping, General Fu Zuoyi sided with the people, and as an old subordinate, how did Dong Qiwu choose? Here we have to admire Chairman Mao and his old man.
Although Fu Zuoyi announced the uprising, and Dong Qiwu, who was then the chairman of the Suiyuan provincial government, also wanted peace, there were still 100,000 troops in Suiyuan, the starting base, and internal opinions were different. Chairman Mao developed a Suiyuan method, temporarily not using troops in Suiyuan, drawing an armistice agreement line, connecting the railway tracks with Suiyuan for trade, and letting Dong Qiwu slowly do his internal work and hold an uprising at the right time.
A few months later, the matter was resolved satisfactorily. The 100,000 Suiyuan army successfully revolted and made great contributions to the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. After a lifetime of fighting horses and serving the country and the people, when the title was awarded in 1955, there was also the opening scene.