When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the Chairman of the Central People's Government was Mao Zedong, with a total of six vice chairmen: Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Song Qingling, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, and Gao Gang.
Among these six vice chairmen, Zhu De and Liu Shaoqi are all important leaders of our party, and Song Qingling, Li Jishen, and Zhang Lan are also highly respected representative figures of the democratic parties.
Chairman Mao once explained this question, saying: "Gao Gang's ability is visible to everyone; after Comrade Liu Zhidan's sacrifice, Gao Gang was a representative figure of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and letting Gao Gang be the vice chairman is a return to the people of northern Shaanxi for supporting the Red Army, and this is the greatest respect for the people of northern Shaanxi." ”
Indeed, after the Central Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi after experiencing the arduous Long March, it was the Red Army and the people of northern Shaanxi who helped the central authorities to take root in northern Shaanxi, and in the following ten years, it has always been the most solid backing of the central authorities, and its contribution is extremely great, so it is necessary to focus on taking care of northern Shaanxi.
In addition to Gao Gang, there was also a representative figure of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, named Yan Hongyan, who left the army after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and should not have been awarded a military rank again, but Chairman Mao, taking into account the special contributions of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, specially instructed to award Yan Hongyan the rank of general as a representative of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.
Therefore, Gao Gang was elected vice president of the country, largely because he was a representative figure of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.
To say two more words here, if Liu Zhidan had not sacrificed himself that year, his position in the Red Army in northern Shaanxi would have been enough to confer the rank of marshal.
Of course, the reason why Gao Gang was elected vice president of the state, in addition to the factors of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, was also related to his status at that time.
First, Gao Gang was a member of the Politburo at the time.
At the time of the founding of New China, there were 13 members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, including Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Gao Gang, Peng Zhen, Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, Zhang Wentian, and Peng Dehuai, in addition to the "Five Secretaries" Mao Zhu And Liu Zhouren.
It can be seen that Gao Gang's status at that time was very high, higher than most marshals.
Second, Gao Gang was still a member of the Central Military Commission at that time.
In the People's Revolutionary Military Committee of the Central People's Government established in October 1949, the chairman was Mao Zedong, and the vice chairmen included Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai, and Cheng Qian, as well as 22 members of the Central Military Commission, including 8 marshals, 3 generals (Su Yu, Zhang Yunyi, Luo Ruiqing), Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, and others, including Gao Gang's name.
That is to say, Gao Gang's status in the military circles is also very high, ranking among the members of the Central Military Commission.
Third, Gao Gang was serving as the secretary of the Northeast Bureau at that time.
As early as 1945, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Gao Gang was ordered to go to the northeast and serve as deputy secretary of the Northeast Bureau and deputy political commissar of the Northeast Democratic United Army, assisting Lin Biao in presiding over the overall situation of the northeast.
In 1949, after Lin Biao led the Four Wild Army to the south, Gao Gang was appointed secretary of the Northeast Bureau and became the leader in presiding over the overall situation of the Northeast.
At that time, the northeast region was the most economically developed region in the country, whether it was industry or agriculture, it was called the country's first, so the status of Gaogang, the "king of the northeast", was very high, and it also produced the later "five horses into Beijing, one horse taking the lead".
Fourth, Gao Gang was still the chairman of the Northeast People's Government at that time.
On August 27, 1949, the Northeast People's Government was established, and Gao Gang was elected as the chairman of the Northeast People's Government, and Li Fuchun, Lin Feng, and Gao Chongmin were the vice chairmen.
At that time, the Northeast People's Government had jurisdiction over six provinces (Liaodong, Liaoxi, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Songjiang, Andehe) and seven municipalities directly under the central government (Luda, Changchun, Harbin, Shenyang, Fushun, Anshan, and Benxi).
Fifth, Gao Gang is also the commander and political commissar of the Northeast Military Region.
During the period of the Liberation War, the commander and political commissar of the Northeast Military Region was Lin Biao, Gao Gang was the first deputy commander and deputy political commissar, Luo Ronghuan was the first deputy political commissar, Lu Zhengcao, Zhou Baozhong, and Xiao Jinguang were deputy commanders, Chen Yun and Li Fuchun were deputy political commissars, Liu Yalou and Wu Xiuquan were chiefs of staff, and Tan Zheng was the director of the political department.
After Lin Biao led Siye south, the Northeast Military Region was handed over to Gao Gang as commander and political commissar, With Li Fuchun as deputy political commissar, Wu Xiuquan as chief of staff, and Zhou Huan as director of the political department.
Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the whole country was divided into six major military regions, with Gao Gang, commander and political commissar of the Northeast Military Region, Nie Rongzhen, political commissar Bo Yibo, commander of the East China Military Region, Chen Yi, political commissar, Rao Shushi, commander of the Central and Southern Military Region, Lin Biao, political commissar, He Long, commander of the Southwest Military Region, Deng Xiaoping, and Peng Dehuai, commander of the Northwest Military Region.
Among the six major military regions, only Gao Gang is the commander and political commissar.
During the period of the Great War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the northeast was the most important logistics base, and whether it was the supply of materials or the transportation of soldiers, the northeast undertook the most important tasks, and Gao Gang, as secretary of the Northeast Bureau, chairman of the Northeast People's Government, commander and political commissar of the Northeast Military Region, naturally also had an unshirkable duty and spared no effort to make irreplaceable contributions to the final victory against the United States and aid korea.
Therefore, when the Victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was won, General Manager Peng sincerely praised: "Gao Gang's merits are greater than mine!" ”
This is the high post in the early days of the founding of the people's republic, the status is high, the role is great, few people have it, unfortunately, the high post has also produced ambitions, and finally lost his reputation, which makes people sad!
(References: "Biography of Gao Gang", "Overview of Party History", "Yanhuang Chunqiu")