In the autumn of 1955, Luo Ronghuan, who was in charge of the military rank evaluation, made a mistake because the situation of two people was really special. According to their position at that time, these two people are likely to have no luck with the general star. But they all participated in the revolution very early and made important contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the founding of New China, and it is really a bit unreasonable not to grant them the rank of general. So who were these two people who troubled Luo Ronghuan?
The first person to make Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Liu Ziqi. Liu Ziqi is a native of Liuyang, Hunan, and his father made a living as a tenant farmer for the landlord's family, and after a year of hard work, he could only barely maintain food and clothing. Such a family situation, naturally there is no money for him to study. Liu Ziqi, who could not afford to read, could only apprentice to others, and had to do any chores, and suffered a lot. In 1928, Liu Ziqi joined the Liuyang guerrillas and thus embarked on the revolutionary road.
During the Red Army period, Liu Ziqi successively served as the commander of the Independent Third Division of the Xianggan Military Region, the chief of staff of the Eighteenth Division of the Red Sixth Army, the acting division commander, and the chief of staff of the Sixteenth Division of the Red Sixth Army, and followed the Red Second and Sixth Armies to participate in the Long March; after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Liu Ziqi served as the chief of staff of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army. At that time, the brigade's brigade commander was Chen Bojun, and the deputy brigade commander was Wang Zhen, who had the rank of general in 55 years; the commanders of the two regiments under the 359 brigade were Liu Zhuanlian and Wen Niansheng, and they were both lieutenant generals when they were awarded the title.
Lieutenant General Liu Zhuanlian
The division commander during the Red Army period and the brigade chief of staff in the early stage of the anti-Japanese war, judging from Liu Ziqi's seniority and position at this time, was at least a lieutenant general in 55 years. However, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Ziqi's position has always been a division-level cadre, serving as the commander of the 165th Division of the Siye Division during the Liberation War and the commander of the 140th Division of the 47th Army during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. When he was reassigned in 1952, Liu Ziqi was designated as a full division. If this rank is followed, he is likely to be awarded the rank of colonel when he is awarded the rank of colonel.
However, Liu Ziqi was a division commander during the Red Army period, served as the chief of staff of the 359 Brigade during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, participated in the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and made important contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the founding of New China. Finally, Luo Ronghuan personally talked to Liu Ziqi and asked for his personal opinion. Liu Ziqi stated on the spot that no matter what rank was awarded, he could accept it. After comprehensive consideration, Liu Ziqi was finally awarded the rank of major general. In 1976, General Liu Ziqi died of illness at the age of 76.
Major General Liu Ziqi
The second person to make Luo Ronghuan suffer was Zeng Kelin. Zeng Kelin, a native of Xingguo, Jiangxi, joined the Red Army at the age of 15, participated in the first to fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" operations and the Long March, and served as the chief of staff of the Red 28th Army. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zeng Kelin entered the Jidong Military Region and served as chief of staff of the military sub-district and commander of the 16th Military Sub-district of the Jireliao Military Region. During his tenure, he led his troops to fight against the Japanese puppet army in the eastern Hebei region many times, and opened up the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Dushan.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to seize the strategic location of the northeast, Zeng Kelin was ordered to lead his troops to the northeast and became the first person of our army to advance into the northeast. At that time, he led only two regiments of less than 4,000 troops, but he continued to expand the army by recruiting puppet troops and absorbing young and middle-aged people along the way. By the time they reached Shenyang, Zeng Kelin's troops had expanded to the size of 9 brigades and 7 independent regiments, with a total strength of 100,000 people.
If you look at the number of troops alone, Zeng Kelin at this time is no different from the commander of the corps. If this continues, he is probably a general when he is awarded the title in 1955. However, after the outbreak of the Liberation War, Zeng Kelin was demoted to the commander of the 3rd Column, and soon after he was transferred to the 7th Column as the deputy commander, after the Pingjin Campaign, he was changed to the commander of the Tank Division, and in October 1949, he was demoted to another level and became the brigade commander of the Mixed Brigade of the Air Force.
When he was awarded the title in 1955, Zeng Kelin's situation also made Luo Ronghuan very embarrassed, and if he looked at the position at that time, he probably could not even be rated as a major general. But he joined the revolution very early, and he was the first person in our army to advance into the northeast, he once commanded a hundred thousand people, and his former deputy Han Xianchu became a general, and it seems unreasonable for him to not be awarded the rank of general. Eventually, after considering various factors, Zeng Kelin was awarded the rank of major general. In 2007, General Zeng klin died of illness at the age of 94.