Speaking of Liu Zhuanlian and Zhou Renjie, everyone must be familiar with them, both of whom are well-known founding lieutenant generals of the founding generation. At the same time, they also held the positions of Second Deputy Commander and First Deputy Commander in the Forty-eighth Army of the Red Army. And their superior, the commander of the Forty-eighth Army, his name was He Jinnian.
In 1955, the central government awarded the titles of soldiers who had made great contributions on the battlefield. The generals who had served as military commanders were given the rank of lieutenant general or lieutenant general. But when it came time to give He Jinnian the title, he was just a major general. So, why did He Jinnian end up being awarded the title of major general?
First, the young and promising He Jinnian
He Jinnian was born in 1910 in a rural area. At the age of 14, he passed a high school. Three years later, he was admitted to a normal school in Shaanxi Province with excellent results. During his studies at school, he received formal ideas. At the same time, he often read books and magazines without sleeping, and his thinking was further sublimated.
It was during this period that He Jinnian was infected by the atmosphere of advocating truth in the book and the school, coupled with the social turmoil and national crisis at this time, He Jinnian's belief in saving the country and survival became stronger and stronger. So, in 1928, he joined the Communist Party of China and became an honorable member of the Communist Party.
In the days that followed, He Jinnian struggled to propagate revolutionary ideas to the masses. He first did military movement work in the Kuomintang while spreading red ideas. At the same time, he also propagated ideas in the jurisdictions ruled by the Kuomintang in order to achieve the purpose of civilizing the hearts and minds of the people.
Later, because of his outstanding ability, in 1932, He Jinnian was appointed deputy commander of the third detachment of the guerrilla group. The following year, he took part in a riot in Lanzhou. In 1934, he was successively appointed as the political commissar of the detachment and the chief of staff of the general headquarters, and while he commanded properly on the battlefield and won the battle victory, He Jinnian's reputation also spread in the army.
In 1935, at the age of 25, He Jin became a division commander in the army. In this year, He Jinnian participated in battles in Laoshan and Yulin Bridge and other places, and achieved outstanding results. On the battlefield, He Jinnian was brave and good at fighting, fearless, and cut through thorns. In the army, he was cheerful and helpful. Therefore, He Jinnian's prestige in the military is also quite high.
Second, make outstanding military achievements
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our army not only had to deal with the intrusion of foreign forces, but also had to deal with the mountain and forest bandits stationed in various places to disturb people's livelihood. Because the central government considered He Jinnian's familiarity with the terrain of the northeast, it sent him the task of suppressing bandits. And He Jinnian also lived up to the expectations of the people, not only taking the old nest of the bandits into a pot, but also uprooting the foundation of the bandits entrenched in the northeast and sweeping away the scourge.
Because of He Jinnian's correct command and the bravery of the bandits, the bandits who were entrenched in the mountains and forests of the northeast were basically eliminated by He Jinnian, which provided a solid guarantee for our army's battle on the front line. Later, at the Northwest High Cadres Meeting in 1943, He Jinnian received the attention and praise of great people for his outstanding speeches.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he not only fought bravely on the front line to kill the enemy and win victories in battle, but he also actively organized troops to carry out large-scale production campaigns to provide logistical support for our army. At the same time, he also made a great contribution to the unity of the nation. It was precisely because of He Jinnian's efforts that the friendship between Han and Mongolia became stronger and united the patriotic united front.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he went to the northeast to participate in the battle against bandits, and brilliantly completed the tasks assigned by the central authorities. After that, he took part in a battle in Siping and achieved certain results. In 1947, He Jinnian led his subordinates to participate in many battles and made great contributions to the liberation of the mainland.
Looking at He Jinnian's half-life warriors, he can be called a man of great military merit and meritorious service to the nation and the country. At the same time, he also served as commander of the Forty-eighth Army of the Red Army. Why was such a meritorious general only for the major general when the Central Committee awarded the title in 1955?
3. Conferred the title of Major General
Why was He Jinnian only awarded the title of Major General? This has to mention the gaogang case. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, He Jinnian served as commander and chief of staff in the northeast region. At this time, the chairman of the Northeast Administrative Committee was Gao Gang. Because of the need for cooperation between the two, He Jinnian and Gao Gang had contact, and that was it, and the two slowly became very good friends.
But the problem lies in Gao Gang. Because of Gao Gang's dissatisfaction with Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou, and others, he teamed up with Rao Shushi and others to try to pull people to expand their own ranks in order to pull Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou, and others from such a high position. If successful, Gao Gang will have greater power and his position will be higher.
Later, Gao Gang's plan failed and the operation failed. He himself died in 1954 after his first attempted suicide by shooting. Because of Gao Gang's behavior, people who have had close contact with Gao Gang will also be investigated. As a good friend of Gao Gang, He Jinnian was of course also investigated by the central government.
Because when investigating He Jinnian, the central government was already preparing to award titles to the generals, according to the position before He Jinnian, he should have been a lieutenant general. However, because of the Gaogang incident, the central authorities had to reconsider He Jinnian's title. This also made it difficult for the leaders at that time to award the title of He Jinnian.
Later, in order not to chill the hearts of the generals, the great man personally approved the title of He Jinnian as a major general. That's why his first lieutenant general was a lieutenant general, and his commander ended up being only a major general.
Later, after he learned of this result, He Jinnian accepted it very calmly. Later, China fell into a special period, and He Jinnian did not forget his original intention and firmly fought against the villain forces. At the same time, He Jinnian also actively participated in the restoration and construction of the country and made indelible contributions to the development of the mainland.
4. Summary
He Jinnian spent half his life fighting horses, and he made a contribution to the cause of The Chinese Revolution. He suppressed bandits, carried out production work, and guaranteed logistics. He killed the enemy, threw his head and spilled his blood, and revitalized the nation. Even if he was implicated afterwards, he still had his heart set on the country and the nation. A good generation of generals, but also think of a generation of founding major generals.
In fact, there are many heroes who fight for the country and the nation just like He Jinnian. They either died on the battlefield early or successfully saw the founding of New China. They have used their youth and blood to win a better tomorrow for China.
As the new youth of the 21st century, as Chinese sons and daughters, they should not be full of lust, but should spur themselves on with the warm spirit of these great people. We should make all the more efforts to learn scientific and cultural knowledge and make continuous efforts to build a better, more prosperous, richer, and more civilized China.