The founding of New China was the result of the blood of the predecessors, so in 1955, after the founding of New China, China held a special ceremony to honor those living revolutionary fathers.
The specific award of titles is mainly based on the merits of the generals on the battlefield and the seniority of the troops. Although the criteria for awarding titles this time are very clear, in the process of awarding titles this time, there is still a dilemma that is particularly difficult to award titles.
There were 5 generals in special situations, and they even put Luo Rongheng in a dilemma at one point. So what special experience did these 5 generals have that could make Luo Shuai fall into a dilemma?
Li Chiran and Liu Ziqi
The first person who made Luo Shuai feel guilty was a general named Li Chiran, who was an old Red Army with deep qualifications, and after joining the Red Army, Li Chiran also worked in the Northern Shaanxi Red Army of the central unit of the Red Army, and he also relied on his own achievements to be promoted to the military political commissar of the Red 27 Army.
When Li Chiran was the military political commissar, Li Shouxuan, the chief of staff at the same level as him, and Li Zhimin of the military political department later became generals and lieutenant generals respectively, but Li Chiran was stuck in the middle.
Speaking of this, it is also more embarrassing, although Li Chiran started particularly high in the early days, and even reached the starting point of the general, but later Li Chiran gradually walked at the end of the battlefield.
Even after several years of war, Li Chiran not only did not get promoted, but became the political commissar of the division during the Liberation War, and if you follow the position of the division political commissar, it is difficult to be a major general.
However, considering that Li Chiran had served as a military political commissar in the early days and had made great military achievements, he was finally awarded the rank of major general after weighing up all aspects.
The second person who made Luo Shuai feel embarrassed was a Red Army cadre named Liu Ziqi, who, like Li Chiran, had achieved division-level cadres in the early days of the Red Army, and he served as the chief of staff of the 356 Brigade in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War.
Do not underestimate the brigade chief of staff in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, because Chiang Kai-shek, in order to guard against the Red Army, put forward the first requirement for the establishment of an anti-Japanese national united front in the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, that is, the Red Army should be reorganized into three divisions.
If this is the case, Liu Ziqi was also a senior cadre of the Red Army at that time. Moreover, after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Ziqi also participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but his position in these two stages of the campaign was not particularly high, and he only achieved the level of a full division.
In this way, when it came to the time of the conferment ceremony, if it was evaluated according to seniority, Liu Ziqi could definitely be awarded the rank of lieutenant general, but according to the words of the title, Liu Ziqi was also difficult to be a major general.
In this way, even Luo Shuai personally found him to talk, but Liu Ziqi very calmly told Luo Shuai that he absolutely obeyed the arrangement, so he was awarded the rank of major general.
Huang Huxian and Zeng Kelin
These two generals made Luo Shuai feel the same way. Huang Huxian was also a veteran of the Red Army, who became an officer in the Red First Army as early as the founding of the Red Army, and Huang Huxian, who had later made military achievements, was promoted to chief of staff of the Thirtieth Army of the Red Army.
If Huang Huxian feels strange to everyone, then Li Xiannian must be a person we know well, and it was during this period that Li Xiannian served as the military political commissar of the Thirtieth Army of the Red Army.
It can be seen that Huang Huxian was a senior old Red Army and had a very high starting point, but Huang Huxian retreated to the second line because he was defeated and captured in the battle against the Ma family army.
It was not until the outbreak of the Liberation War that he re-led his troops as commander of the 134th Division of the 45th Army of the Field Army. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Huang Huxian also personally went to the DPRK to resist the United States, and served as the commander of the tank division of the People's Volunteer Army, and Huang Huxian made outstanding military achievements on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
However, in 1955, when the title ceremony was awarded, Huang Huxian's own special situation put Luo Shuai in a dilemma. Because Huang Huxian's starting point was really too high, and his seniority was also very deep, because Li Xiannian, who was at the same level as him, had become a deputy state-level cadre, and even equal to the founding marshal.
However, because of the defeat and capture of Huang Huxian in the later period, coupled with his outstanding performance during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, his award was delayed until 1956, when he was posthumously awarded the rank of a candidate major general.
The fourth person to make Luo Shuai feel embarrassed was a Red Army cadre named Zeng Kelin. Zeng Kelin was the opposite of the previous three, his merits were getting bigger and bigger, in the early days Zeng Kelin only served as the regimental chief of staff of the Red Army, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance, he gradually became the commander of the Jireliao Military Region.
Moreover, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zeng Kelin also personally led his troops into the northeast to resist the Japanese Kou, becoming the first general of our party to step into the northeast, and with the integration of troops along the way, when Zeng Kelin arrived in the northeast, his team had grown to nearly 100,000 people, which showed its strength.
However, during the Liberation War, Zeng Kelin was successively demoted, so that in 1949 he was demoted to the rank of air brigade commander, but considering Zeng Kelin's previous merits, he was finally awarded the rank of major general at the award ceremony.
Apologies to Tan Youlin
The last person who made Luo Shuai feel embarrassed was Tan Youlin, who was also the one who made Luo Shuai feel guilty. Because Tan Youlin is very good in terms of seniority and record, and his comrades-in-arms are almost all ranked as lieutenant generals.
However, at the ceremony of conferring titles, he was awarded the rank of major general. When the news of his appointment as a major general spread, some of his old comrades-in-arms Wang Zhen, Xiao Ke, Li Da, and other generals also wrote letters to the General Political Department.
Later, even Luo Shuai personally found him and apologized to him: According to your qualifications, you can definitely be a lieutenant general, because our work is not serious enough, which has led to your low rank.
After listening to Paul's handsome remarks, Tan Youlin not only did not blame Luo Shuai, but instead very cheerfully said to him: After fighting for so many years, you can live, and I am now full of children and grandchildren and generals, what else am I not satisfied?
brief summary:
Although these 5 generals were not so high in rank due to various accidents, they did not complain. I think this is the quality that a general should have, because a soldier is obedience.
But in any case, these five generals are all people who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of the new Chinese revolution, and their deeds should be remembered by our descendants.