When the rank was awarded in 1955, there were many stories, both those who voluntarily applied for demotion and those who thought that their rank was too low.
The former, such as Xu Guangda, Xu Liqing and others, and the latter, have wang Bicheng today.
Of course, whether Wang Bicheng really talked to the old leader Tan Zhenlin about this matter is still inconclusive, so let's first talk about this matter published by the media.
Before the title was awarded in 1955, Wang Bicheng learned that he was named a lieutenant general, and Ye Fei, who was also an old colleague of Sanye, was rated as a general, and he felt that his rank was low, at least like Ye Fei.
Wang Bicheng's idea is not unreasonable; in terms of revolutionary qualifications, he joined the Communist Party two years before Ye Fei, and in terms of military achievements, both of them were commanders of the main column of the East China Field Army, and the battles they had fought were similar, and since Ye Fei could be rated as a general, he should also be a general.
Therefore, Wang Bicheng wanted to find Luo Ronghuan, who was in charge of the appraisal work, to reflect on it.
However, Wang Bicheng and Luo Ronghuan did not intersect before, the relationship was not familiar, and at his current level, it was not necessarily good to see Luo Ronghuan, so he decided to ask the old leader Tan Zhenlin to help him talk about it.
During the Liberation War, Tan Zhenlin was the deputy political commissar of the East China Field Army, and now he is also the vice premier, with a high status and great prestige, so Wang Bicheng felt that it would be good to ask him to come forward.
Tan Zhenlin was Wang Bicheng's old leader, and he knew him very well, so he agreed.
However, Tan Zhenlin did not expect that after he mentioned this matter to Luo Ronghuan, Luo Ronghuan not only did not agree, but also trained him, saying that you are an old comrade, do not talk about the overall situation, for this little thing of subordinates, nor do you do work positively, but speak for him. Besides, Wang Bicheng believes that his position and battle achievements are similar to Ye Fei's, but there is still a gap, Ye Fei was already a division commander during the Red Army period, Wang Bicheng did not need to fight for this, and the award of lieutenant general was not bad.
Tan Zhenlin did not expect that Luo Ronghuan, who has always been kind, would make such a big fire today, it seems that the appraisal work is indeed very torturous, and he will not bother them again, so he turned around and left.
When Luo Ronghuan saw that he was leaving, he said, Don't be embarrassed, go back and tell him straight, tell Wang Bicheng my original words, and then tell Wang Bicheng that he is his own business.
After Tan Zhenlin returned, he told Wang Bicheng about this matter, and Wang Bicheng also felt very embarrassed, and tired of the old leader Tan Zhenlin.
Later, Luo Ronghuan was worried about affecting everyone's emotions, and personally called Wang Bicheng, explained the relevant policies to him, and untied Wang Bicheng's heart knot.
This story was published in a regular newspaper, but many of Wang Bicheng's old comrades-in-arms saw it and questioned the authenticity of this story.
First, General Wang Bicheng is open-minded and upright, and should not worry about these small things.
Indeed, Wang Bicheng was brave and invincible on the battlefield, but in life he was very low-key, almost did not go to the banquet, did not invite guests, once the old leader invited him to dinner, served a lot of good dishes, but Wang Bicheng felt that it was too wasteful, did not move.
The old leader knew his temper, so he had to withdraw all these good dishes and replace them with a few home-cooked dishes, and Wang Bicheng ate them.
How could such a low-key, frugal person go out of his way to find an old leader to help intercede for the sake of his rank?
For example, during the period of the agrarian revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japan, Ye Fei's position was higher than his; before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ye Fei was the commander of the 10th Corps of the Third Field Army and the commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, while Wang Bicheng was the deputy commander of the 7th Corps of the Third Field Army and the commander of the Zhejiang Military Region, all of which were lower than Ye Fei.
Moreover, in the rating of military cadres before the awarding of the rank, Ye Fei was at the rank of the main corps, and Wang Bicheng was at the rank of deputy corps, so it was also understandable that Ye Fei was awarded the rank of general and Wang Bicheng was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
As a party, Wang Bicheng would not be unaware of this, so there was no need for him to compare himself with Ye Fei again.
Third, Wang Bicheng went to Tan Zhenlin for help, but in fact, he was looking for the wrong person.
Tan Zhenlin nicknamed "Tan Cannon", has a fiery temper, is jealous and hateful, and hates privilege the most, so Wang Bicheng wants to find someone to help intercede, and he will not find Tan Zhenlin's head.
Moreover, Tan Zhenlin quit the army after the founding of the country, and had nothing to do with the army, so he asked him to help talk about the rank, and he couldn't say it.
Fourth, many of Wang Bicheng's old comrades-in-arms and colleagues have never heard of the story of his struggle for military ranks, nor have they ever heard Wang Bicheng complain, but have always worked diligently and diligently, and have no concern for fame and fortune and treatment.
To sum up, the story of Wang Bicheng asking Tan Zhenlin to help fight for the rank of military actually has a lot of untruths, and it is likely that someone made up the story and does not have to be taken seriously.
(References: "Lieutenant General Wang Bicheng", "Tiger General Wang Bicheng", "Party History Expo")