At the 1955 ceremony, three generals of the Nationalist uprising were awarded the rank of founding general: Tao Zhiyue, who made a significant contribution to the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang; Chen Mingren, who initiated the Changsha Uprising; and Dong Qiwu, who peacefully resolved the Suiyuan issue. But strangely, there was an uprising general of higher status than them who did not participate in the award, and this person was Dong Qiwu's immediate superior Fu Zuoyi.
Born in Ronghe, Shanxi in 1895, Fu Zuoyi participated in the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, entered the Fifth Infantry Section of the Baoding Military Academy in 1915, and after graduation was incorporated into the Eighth Regiment of the Fourth Brigade of the Jin Army as a regimental commander. After participating in the Northern Expedition in 1927, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Tianjin Garrison, and in 1930, after participating in the defeat of the Central Plains War, he was stationed in Suiyuan and served as the commander of the 35th Army of the Jin Sui Army.
After the 918 Incident in 1931, Fu Zuoyi and more than 50 northern generals jointly sent a telegram to the whole country, calling on all parties in the country to unite as one, work together in the same boat, pool their wisdom and efforts, and work together. After the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance in 1937, Fu Zuoyi served as the commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army, responsible for commanding the Pingsui Line operations. In 1940, Fu Zuoyi led his troops to a bloody battle with the Japanese army, winning the Great Victory of the Five Plains, creating a precedent for the Nationalist army to recover lost land. After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Fu Zuoyi was promoted to commander of the 12th Theater of Operations and served as the commander-in-chief of the North China Suppression Campaign during the Liberation War. In January 1949, Fu Zuoyi, based on his enthusiasm for loving the motherland and the nation, focused on protecting the lives and property of two million people in Beiping and antique cultural relics, and electrified the whole country to declare a peaceful uprising in Peiping.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, most of the rebel generals who made great achievements received preferential treatment, and Fu Zuoyi, as a famous anti-Japanese general, also contributed to the peaceful liberation of Suiyuan by his subordinate Dong Qiwu, why did he not have a military rank? In fact, there are two main reasons why he does not have the qualifications for the title, one is that he does not meet the conditions for awarding the title. The second reason is that the situation is too special to be awarded. At that time, when our army conferred titles, it was clearly stipulated that only generals serving in the army could participate in the rating. The Founding Fathers who left the military system were not among the titles awarded.
Since Fu Zuoyi became the minister of water resources after the founding of the people's republic of China, this hard condition alone could not be satisfied. Secondly, because Fu Zuoyi's experience was too special, when the title was awarded in 1955, our army would be awarded a high rank when commending the rebel generals who had made outstanding contributions, and Chen Mingren and Dong Qiwu were such examples. Fu Zuoyi was the commander of the theater in the Nationalist Army, and his rank was the second-class general of the Army. Since the Nationalist army does not have the rank of general, the second-class general is equivalent to the general or general of our army. Therefore, if Fu Zuoyi is to be awarded a title, it is likely to be the rank of general, and the rank of general or above is basically a representative figure of all aspects of the army, and if it is awarded to the general of the uprising, it may cause controversy.