In the autumn of 1955, in recognition of the generals who had made important contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the founding of New China, our army held the first major award in history. The title was awarded on the basis of seniority, position and military merit. According to these criteria, the vast majority of generals are very clear about what rank they should be awarded. However, the situation of five people was very special, and it was difficult for Luo Ronghuan to give them the rank of military.
The first person to make Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Li Chiran. Li Chiran was born in the Red Army in northern Shaanxi and served as the first political commissar of the Red 27th Army, when the chief of staff of the army was Li Shouxuan and the director of the political department was Li Zhimin. After that, Li Chiran went high and low, and by the end of the Liberation War, he became the political commissar of the 12th Division of the 4th Army of Ichino. In 1955, when li shouxuan was a lieutenant general and Li Zhimin was a general, Li Chiran should have given a title that made Luo Ronghuan feel bad. He served as a military political commissar in the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, the starting point of a general; but at the end of the Liberation War, he became a divisional political commissar, and he was reluctantly awarded the title of major general. Finally, after comprehensive consideration, Li Chiran was awarded the rank of major general.
The second person who made Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Liu Ziqi. During the Red Army period, Liu Ziqi was a division-level cadre, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as the chief of staff of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division, at that time the brigade's brigade commander was Chen Bojun, the deputy brigade commander was Wang Zhen, and the regimental commanders of the two subordinate regiments were Liu Zhuanlian and Wen Niansheng. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Ziqi participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, serving as the commander of the 165th Division of The Four Fields and the 140th Division of the 47th Army of the Volunteer Army, respectively, and was designated as a full division in 1952.
In 1955, when the title was awarded, Liu Zhuanlian and Wen Niansheng both became lieutenant generals, and according to Liu Ziqi's qualifications, he was at least a lieutenant general. However, his position in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was not high, and in 1952 he was designated as a full division, and if he was evaluated according to this position, he was probably awarded the rank of colonel. In the end, Luo Ronghuan personally found Liu Ziqi to talk to and ask for his personal opinion. Liu Ziqi said frankly: He obeys the decision of the organization and can accept any military rank. Eventually he was awarded the rank of major general.
The third person who made Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Huang Huxian. Huang Huxian was born in the Red Army, and after the Maogong Division, he was transferred to the Red Fourth Army and served as the chief of staff of the 30th Army. At that time, the commander of the army was Cheng Shicai, and the political commissar was Li Xiannian. Shortly after the three main forces of the Red Army met the division, Huang Huxian followed the troops across the Yellow River and fought with the Majia Army, and was defeated and captured. After returning to Yan'an, he remained in the rear until the end of the Liberation War, and only re-led the troops as the commander of the 134th Division of the 45th Army of Siye.
After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Huang Huxian served as the commander of the tank division, and in the face of a strong enemy, he dared to fight and fight, and repeatedly used mobile and flexible tactics to thwart the enemy's attacks, so he was awarded the Order of Freedom and Independence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, second class, and the National Flag Medal of the second class. In 1955, when the title was awarded, Huang Huxian's special situation also made Luo Ronghuan difficult, the Red Army period was a military-level cadre, the starting point was very high, but during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, military merit was not obvious, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was a division-level cadre, coupled with the influence of the Capture after the defeat of the Western Route Army, it was really not good to award titles. In the end, Huang Huxian did not participate in the 55-year grand award, but was awarded the rank of major general a year later.
The fourth person to make Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Zeng Kelin. During the Red Army period, Zeng Kelin served as the chief of staff of the regiment, and after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the commander of the 16th Military Subdistrict of the Jireliao Military Region. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zeng Kelin led two regiments of troops to the northeast, becoming the first person of our army to advance into the northeast. Along the way, he continued to expand, and when he arrived in Shenyang, his unit had reached the size of 9 brigades and 7 independent regiments, with a total strength of nearly 100,000 people. It should be known that the Shandong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, as well as the combined troops of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army, were less than 100,000 people, and the strength of Zeng Kelin at that time was evident.
Soon after the outbreak of the Liberation War, Zeng Kling was demoted several times, and in October 1949 he was demoted to the commander of the Mixed Brigade of the Air Force. In 1955, when the title was awarded, Zeng Kelin's situation also made Luo Ronghuan feel bad. According to his position at that time, it is likely that he had no connection with the general star, but he played an important role in the process of our army's advance into the northeast, and made special contributions to the victory of the Liberation War.
The fifth person to make Luo Ronghuan feel bad was Tan Youlin. During the Red Army, Tan Youlin served as the political commissar of the 5th Division of the Red 2nd Army and the 96th Division of the 32nd Army of the Red 2nd Front, and participated in the Long March with the troops; after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Tan Youlin served as the commander of the 6th Brigade of the 4th Column of the Eighth Route Army and the 12th Brigade of the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army; during the Liberation War, he served as the deputy commander of the 39th Army of the Siye Army. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Tan Youlin and his commander Wu Xinquan led their troops into the Korean War, and the Battle of Yunshan defeated the FIRST Cavalry Division of the US army's ace cavalry and played a mighty role in the volunteer army.
When he was awarded the rank in 1955, Tan Youlin was awarded the rank of major general and received three first-class medals. Fu Chongbi, the commander of the 63rd Army, who had made a name for himself in the Tieyuan Blockade Battle, was also a major general, but Tan Youlin's seniority was older than Fu Chongbi.2 After learning that Tan Youlin had been awarded the title of major general, his comrades-in-arms Wang Zhen, Xiao Ke, Li Da, Gan Siqi, He Bingyan, Yu Qiuli, Wang Shangrong, and Yang Xiushan during the Red Second Front jointly wrote a letter to the General Political Department, hoping to reassign Tan Youlin to the rank of lieutenant general.
Later, Luo Ronghuan personally found Tan Youlin and said to him: "Comrade Youlin, your rank has been lowered. By virtue of seniority and position, your comrades-in-arms at the same time were awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and I admit to you that our work was not meticulous enough. Tan Youlin looked at this very openly, and he said: "What is the comparison with these comrades-in-arms?" Many of my comrades-in-arms who participated in the revolution at the same time as me have long since died, and now that I have a family, a full house of children, and a general, what is there to be dissatisfied with? In 2006, General Tan Youlin died of illness at the age of 91.