The founding generals of New China, some of whom were born as military commanders, some who were political work cadres, and some who were logisticians or staff officers and military education, always had a conspicuous label.
But for General Sun Yi, it was not good to label him. Although he was a staff officer, his mind was not in this regard; he said that he was a military commander, that military operations were entrusted to others, and that he was more good at education.
During the war, Sun Yi worked three jobs, served as a staff officer, conducted military education, and was responsible for the work of the military region.
There is pressure to do staff work
In 1931, Sun Yi, a lieutenant colonel staff officer of the 26th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, chose to follow Zhao Bosheng and others in the uprising. Henceforth, embark on the revolutionary road.
Coming to the revolutionary ranks, his position was not low, and he served as the chief of staff of the division. In the face of the discipline and revolutionary ideas of the Red Army, he has not been able to integrate well into it, and many times hopes to study in the Red Army school.
He once graduated from the Henan Army Officer School, and was also considered to be a science class in the Red Army unit, and the school hoped that he would serve as a teacher and teach the military knowledge he learned to more people.
After being exposed to military education, he felt that he had found his way and was determined to stay and work. However, during the fifth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign, the front line was tight and military cadres were needed to reach the front line. Sun Yi was transferred to the chief of staff of the division. But he was not at ease at the front line, and he wanted to go back to school, and Liu Bocheng looked at his state: the front line was uneasy and emotionally turbulent, and agreed to let him go back.
Not long after the Long March of the Red Army, he was again transferred from the Red Army School to the chief of staff of the division. On the road of the Long March, his position changed many times, and he served as the chief of the operations section, the chief of the education section, and the chief of staff of the 1st Army.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was transferred from brigade chief of staff to the leader of the teaching team, responsible for education. In 1939, he became the chief of staff of Nie Rongzhen of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and there was a lot of pressure to work around Nie Laozong, plus although he was a staff officer, he did not participate in many battles, and all aspects could not keep up with the rhythm of Nie Rongzhen, and took the initiative to be demoted to chief of staff of the Jizhong Military Region.
After working in Jizhong for several months, he was transferred to the military education front.
Engaging in military education and obtaining "excellent soldiers on the party's education front"
Since 1932, he taught at the Red Army School and was interested in military education. Transferred to the front, he was also uneasy about work, and he wanted to go back to the rear. He said, "I'm willing to be this teacher."
At the end of 1937, the 115th Division was divided, and Nie Rongzhen led a force of less than 3,000 people to open up a base area behind the enemy in Jin-Cha-Ji. Cadres were needed in the base areas, and Elder Nie was upset, and Sun Yi said calmly and naturally that he could run military schools and train cadres.
As a result, he was appointed as the principal of the military and political cadre school of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, running 4 student classes, training thousands of cadres, and solving the problem of removing cadres. He was reassigned because he was overworked. He briefly served as chief of staff of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and chief of staff of the Ji-Central Military Region.
In 1940, he was appointed president of the sophomore branch of Kang University, succeeding Chen Bojun to his post.
Under his efforts, the second branch school struggled and studied at the same time, sending 4,000 cadres to the army; the fourth enrollment was more than 4,200. The conditions for running schools behind enemy lines were very difficult, and Sun Yi led everyone to overcome all difficulties. He advocated that teaching must be closely integrated with practice, so that students can improve greatly in practical exercises.
In 1942, the General School of kang da awarded him the first prize and the honorary title of "excellent soldier on the party's education front", which was enough to show that his contribution to military education was very great.
As the commander of the military district, the military is handed over to others
During the Liberation War, Sun Yi was transferred to the commander of the Jizhong Military Region.
During the Gu'an Defense Campaign, he handed over the battle command to Liu Bingyan, commander of the 10th Division. He gave Liu Bingyan great authority, saying: The general is there, and the military orders are not subject. Let him play as he pleases.
Whenever the Jizhong Military Region accepted combat missions, he would send a chief of staff to command the troops. Sun Yi said: He is the best at fighting, and he should play to his strengths. It can be said that Sun Yi knows people well and uses people in a reasonable position to volatilize.
When New China conferred the title, the general thought that he lacked the merits of the war and hoped that the lieutenant general would be changed to major general.
Although Sun Yi lacked battle records during the war, he made great contributions to the military education front, and his position was not low, and it was very reasonable to award lieutenant generals.