After the founding of New China in 1949, the Central Military Commission put the issue of implementing the rank system on the agenda again in order to strengthen the regularization and modernization of the people's army.
According to the conditions for awarding titles stipulated by the Central Military Commission, senior military cadres in active service at the rank of corps are generally awarded the rank of general.
However, at the end of 1949, Xu Liqing, who had already served as the political commissar of the First Corps of the First Field Army, the director of the Political Department of the Xinjiang Military Region, the deputy secretary of the Xinjiang Branch of the CPC Central Committee, and the deputy director of the General Cadre Management Department of the Central Military Commission, was only awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
This has to start from the 1955 award!
Figure | General Xu Liqing
In 1955, Xu Liqing, then deputy director of the General Cadre Management Department of the Central Military Commission, participated in the evaluation of military ranks.
Since this is the first time that our army has been awarded a title, many issues need to be weighed repeatedly and strive to be fair and just, so Xu Liqing often has to work until very late to rest.
In the evaluation of other people's ranks, Xu Liqing always adheres to the principle, examines them one by one, and tries to take all the issues into account, but for his personal military rank evaluation, it seems so "casual".
During the agrarian revolution, Xu Liqing served as the political commissar of the General Health Department of the Red Fourth Front; during the War of Resistance Against Japan, he successively served as the director of the Organization Department of the Political Department of the Eighth Route Army and the political commissar of the column.
During the Liberation War, Xu Liqing successively served as director of the political department of the Northwest Field Army, political commissar of the column, political commissar of the army, and deputy political commissar of the corps.
Whether it is from the position, seniority, or military merit, Xu Liqing fully meets the conditions for awarding the rank of general.
However, when he saw that his name was included in the list of awarded generals, he immediately wrote letters to the Central Military Commission and Luo Ronghuan, then secretary of the Supervision Commission of the people's liberation army of the Chinese, asking that he not be awarded the rank of general.
However, the superior leaders are fair and just, and there will be no bias for the generals who meet the requirements, so Xu Liqing's request was not granted.
When he saw that he was still in the list of generals reported to Chairman Mao by the Central Military Commission, he immediately wrote to Chairman Mao and Luo Ronghuan, repeatedly requesting that he not be awarded the rank of general.
In addition, he asked not to be awarded the rank of general on the grounds that he was in charge of the work of conferring titles on cadres and that it was convenient to do work to cadres.
At that time, many old comrades also advised him: "You fully meet the conditions for the award of admirals, and you have to be 'demoted' to become a lieutenant general. ”
In fact, the words of these old comrades are not unreasonable, and although they take the initiative to give up their titles, although they well show the noble qualities of the older generation of revolutionary ancestors who are indifferent to fame and fortune, this also brings some "inconvenience" to those generals who meet the conditions to a certain extent.
Of course, Xu Liqing also has his own reasons, he said:
"I am the deputy director of the General Cadre Department, I am responsible for the work of awarding titles, and unlike others, they will also give me understanding."
To this end, Peng Dehuai, then minister of national defense, also talked to Xu Liqing many times, but no matter how much Mr. Peng persuaded him, he still insisted on demoting himself to lieutenant general.
Later, General Manager Peng mentioned this matter at a meeting held by the Central Military Commission, saying: "Xu Liqing I know him, he is a very good person, there is no idea of fame and fortune, and he must do what he says and deeds, and his deeds must be fruitful." ”
In addition, Chairman Mao also said: "It is not simple, money, status and honor can best see a person's thoughts and character, as has been the case in ancient times!" ”
Finally, after consultation among the leaders of the Central Military Commission, it was decided to award him the rank of lieutenant general, and he was also the first lieutenant general.
The day before the award ceremony, Premier Zhou Enlai also made a special phone call to invite Xu Liqing to Zhongnanhai for an interview!
During the conversation, Xu Liqing said: "In the work of awarding titles, some people are vying for office and positions, do not consider the overall situation, and only stare at the cadre departments with their eyes. ”
In a previous article, we specifically mentioned the treatment corresponding to different military ranks, of which the marshal is the third rank of the executive and enjoys the treatment of a member of the Politburo.
Generals are at the fourth level of administration and enjoy the treatment of vice premiers; from major generals and above, they can be counted as leaders of the party and the state.
By analogy, the senior general will enjoy the treatment of the secretary general of the State Council at the fifth level of administration; the lieutenant general will enjoy the treatment of the secretary general of the administrative level six; and the major general will enjoy the treatment of the ministerial level of the seventh level of administration.
From lieutenant generals and above, they are senior generals in the army, and can be equipped with guards, secretaries-general and health doctors, cooks, and attendants;
So you see, there is still a certain gap in the treatment corresponding to different military ranks.
In the face of honor and status, General Xu Liqing has very well demonstrated the excellent qualities that a Communist Party member should have.
So much so that Premier Zhou also commented on him: "I said that you Xu Liqing is also a mirror, a rare good comrade!" ”
And such a push was not only staged once in General Xu Liqing!
In September 1950, the Central Military Commission established the General Cadre Management Department, with Luo Ronghuan as the minister and Xu Liqing as the vice minister.
At the beginning of the following year, the Central Military Commission promulgated the "Instructions on the Work of Rating Cadres," and Xu Liqing was specifically responsible for this work.
As we all know, the rating work involves the vital interests of each cadre, and if the level is high, the treatment enjoyed is high; on the contrary, if the level is lowered, it is impossible to enjoy the treatment of senior cadres.
Therefore, during this period, some people made a special trip to Find Xu Liqing, hoping to rate their level a little higher.
Xu Liqing knew that many of these people had made contributions to the revolution, and they hoped to be appointed, which was understandable, but if everyone came to him for "help", this job would be difficult to carry out.
Therefore, in order to carry out this work smoothly, he specially demoted the level of the main corps that he should be evaluated to the level of the deputy corps.
We know that as early as the end of 1949, Xu Liqing had already served as the political commissar of the 1st Corps of the First Field Army, and now he was the deputy director of the General Cadre Department of the Central Military Commission, and according to the rating conditions, he should be rated as a regular corps.
However, in order to carry out the rating work smoothly, he finally decided to demote himself and only rated himself as a deputy corps.
Although there is only one word difference between the two, the treatment enjoyed is still different.
However, Xu Liqing's initiative to "demote" himself was denied by Peng Zong, and he personally went to interview him!
In the face of Mr. Peng's inquiry, Xu Liqing said:
"As a deputy director of the Cadre Management Department, I should have high standards and strict requirements for myself, and the deputy corps will not affect my work, but I will do everyone's work better."
Although Xu Liqing's words are reasonable, Mr. Peng said: Those cadres who ask for high-level evaluation should be criticized, but they should not take the initiative to ask for a lower level, after all, neither of them meets the conditions stipulated in the rating, so they still have to act in accordance with the regulations, which is more convincing.
Finally, in the grading report, Mr. Peng still changed Xu Liqing's deputy corps level to the main corps level.
General Xu Liqing won the respect of the world with his high style and bright festival. For example, General Chen Mingyi, the founding major general and deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Region, once said in his recollection:
"Xu Liqing has been engaged in cadre work all his life, he is meritocratic, fair and upright, I admire him very much, and I miss him very much!"
Figure | General Chen Mingyi (Major General)
In addition to giving up titles and grades, the story of General Xu Liqing taking the initiative to "give way" has also been rumored to be a good story!
Due to overwork, after the end of the award in 1955, Xu Liqing's heart attack recurred, his body became very emaciated, his hair was gray, and he fainted at work several times.
In the past, when his illness was mild, Xu Liqing gritted his teeth and persevered, plus there was more work in his hand, so he dragged on without going to the hospital.
But now the condition is getting worse and I have to be hospitalized!
During his hospitalization, Admiral Lai Chuanzhu visited him in the hospital, and Xu Liqing said to him:
"My physical condition is very poor, I can't go to work in a short period of time, and I suggest that the General Cadre Department re-find a young comrade to take over my work."
Xu Liqing asked Lai Chuanzhu to convey his intentions to Marshal Luo Ronghuan and win his support.
Figure | General Lai Chuanzhu (Admiral)
A few days later, Luo Shuai personally came to the hospital to visit him, and Xu Liqing mentioned the matter again, and his attitude was more resolute, and he sincerely hoped to find a young comrade to take over his job.
However, Luo Shuai did not immediately agree to Xu Liqing's request, but told him to recuperate with peace of mind and not to think about work matters.
Xu Liqing knew very well in his heart that both the chairman and Luo Shuai hoped that they would continue to preside over the work of the cadre department after they recovered, but they did not know when they would be cured, and if they continued to drag on, it would inevitably affect the progress of the work.
In early 1956, Xu Liqing wrote a letter to the Central Military Commission in the hospital!
This time, instead of asking his superiors to find new comrades to take over his work, he directly requested that he be relieved of his post as deputy director of the General Cadre Department in order to appoint other comrades in a timely manner.
At a meeting, the head of the Central Military Commission held that Xu Liqing was still very young and should seize the time to treat his illness, and when he was well, he could continue to work. Therefore, the head of the Central Military Commission did not agree to his request in the end!
Indeed, Xu Liqing was not yet fifty years old at that time, and under the careful treatment of the hospital, he would definitely be able to recover quickly. Besides, he has been engaged in cadre work all his life, and no one is more suitable for this job than him.
The concern of the superior leaders, Xu Liqing saw in his eyes and remembered in his heart, but this also made his ideological baggage more and more heavy.
When his condition improved slightly, he immediately wrote a letter to Mr. Peng and Luo Shuai, again asking for abdication.
In his letter, he said:
"In view of my illness, I requested to retire from active service early, transfer to a local area or to a deputy post in a provincial military district, and do some military service or mass work within my ability, which is more suitable for me."
Mr. Peng did not agree, and after consulting with Luo Shuai, he believed that Xu Liqing's most important thing now was to focus on recuperation, not to consider things at work, and whether to retire or stay in the future should be decided by the organization. That's the end of it!
At the beginning of 1980, Xu Liqing, who was ill in his old age, was appointed as the second political commissar of the Chengdu Military Region, and in June of the same year, he was appointed as the first political commissar.
At this time, Xu Liqing, old and weak, and had just completed surgery, was still equipped with a pacemaker in his body, according to his physical conditions at that time, he was completely unsuitable for work in Chengdu.
However, after receiving the organizational appointment, he did not hesitate to report to the Chengdu Military Region, and as soon as he arrived, he immediately threw himself into intense work, and this spirit of the old general was really admirable.
At that time, the Chengdu Military Region was in the stage of readjusting the leading bodies of cadres and replacing the old and new leading bodies, and the arrangements for old cadres and the selection and appointment of young cadres were quite arduous and the workload was very large.
Xu Liqing personally evaluated the cadres, and within a month of taking office, he successively talked to more than 40 leading cadres at and above the division and regiment level to understand the situation.
In addition, in order to better cooperate with the leading bodies at all levels to carry out their work, Xu Liqing often held meetings overnight, and sometimes he was seriously ill and had to go with medicines, and he was never absent.
Several times he was hospitalized due to illness, but he was still worried about work matters, often talking to cadres while taking oxygen.
Once, Xu Liqing returned from the General Hospital of the Military Region to the organs of the Military Region to attend a meeting. The meeting was opened for several hours, but he insisted on listening to the opinions of his comrades.
Everyone worried about his health and advised him to rest more, and some meetings did not have to be attended, but he still insisted, he said:
"I am the secretary of the party committee of the military region, I am in charge of cadres, I do not participate, who will participate?" I just ask, who's going to ask? It's my duty, and I can't shirk my responsibility because I'm sick. ”
Among the members of the party committee of the military region at that time, Xu Liqing was the most senior and the first secretary of the party committee, which can be described as a high-ranking and powerful position, but he never "monopolized power and arbitrariness", and on many issues, he listened to everyone's opinions extensively.
In dealing with many issues, Xu Liqing has behaved very fairly, justly, seeking truth from facts, and never being biased.
As a result of Xu Liqing's arrival, the leading body of the Chengdu Military Region was very united, and everyone respected him very much.
However, due to overwork, Xu Liqing eventually fell ill and had to return to Beijing for medical treatment.
On January 6, 1983, General Xu Liqing died of illness in Beijing at the age of 73! Before the general's death, he was still worried about the work of the Chengdu Military Region.
General Liu Zhijian, former director and political commissar of the PLA Political Academy, once recalled: If Xu Liqing had not gone to Chengdu and rested in Beijing, he would have lived for a few more years. His whole life has been considered for work, but he has not considered his own gains and losses!
Yes, General Xu Liqing is really such a person!
Throughout his life, there were no personal interests, and he never considered personal gains and losses, and he always had the party, the state and the people in his heart.
After the death of the old general, his wife not only withdrew the house, but also handed over a small car assigned to him by the public.
The general won the respect of the world with his high style and bright festival. And his spirit is also influencing us from generation to generation.
Xiao Jinguang, the founding general of the People's Republic of China, once recalled: "Xu Liqing has always been very decent, very generous, never contradicted anyone, and was a very good person. ”
At the end of the article, let us pay the highest respect to the founding lieutenant general, the old general Xu Liqing!