In May 1924, Chen Geng was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy along with more than 200 people with lofty ideals, and soon after entering the school, he became a "well-known" figure in the military academy.
One day, Zhou Enlai, then director of the political department of the Whampoa Military Academy, routinely checked the sleep of the new students and found that everyone was like watching a "monkey play" and formed a large circle in the dormitory.
Chen Geng
Out of curiosity, Premier Zhou tiptoed forward to take a closer look, and it turned out that Chen Geng was performing "Short Man Eats Long Noodles" for everyone without physical objects.
Watching Chen Geng pretend to climb the ladder, suck noodles, and burp his food, Premier Zhou couldn't help but think of his time performing in the Nankai University club.
"You acted really well, you can enter the drama team at this level to perform," Premier Zhou suddenly praised, frightening everyone to immediately line up to stand in a military posture and salute him.
Premier Zhou
Later, the Whampoa Military Academy established a "Blood Flower Drama Society", and Comrade Chen Geng became the main person in charge of this drama society.
Comrade Chen Geng's optimistic, humorous, and positive character was a rare and precious light in that war-torn era.
Chairman Mao once said: Chen Geng is bold, has many ideas, has a very flexible mind, and is a material for becoming a military commander, and Premier Zhou once said: "I most admire two intellectual generals in the party, one is Peng Xuefeng and the other is Chen Geng."
Premier Zhou
Today's story will slowly unfold around the witty and interesting side of Comrade Chen Geng...
Chairman Mao's "naughty fellow"
Chen Geng was born in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, only 10 miles away from Chairman Mao's hometown of Shaoshan, and Chairman Mao often referred to Comrade Chen Geng as a "fellow countryman."
In 1921, Chen Geng left the Xiang Army and worked as an errand boy at the Hunan Railway Bureau, and his favorite thing to do in private was to engage in anti-imperialist revolution, and by the way, he went to the "self-study university" set up by Chairman Mao to be gilded.
Chen Geng
At that time, Chairman Mao had already put forward the idea of "combining workers and peasants," and Chen Geng was quite inspired, and privately he also wanted to consult with Mao's instructors in person.
One day, the Railway Bureau sent Chen Geng to gongyuan East Street to do business, he happened to enter a bookstore, casually flipped through a copy of "New Youth" and looked at it, the editor-in-chief was Chairman Mao, so he immediately decided that "it is better to choose the day than to collide with the sun", and immediately visited Mao's teachers.
When Comrade Chen Geng pushed open the door of the society, he found a group of young students sitting around a "robed" gentleman, intently discussing something, Chen Geng pondered, the tall "mr. robe" must be Chairman Mao.
So he pulled away from this group of young students, stepped forward with an arrow, pulled Chairman Mao's arm, and "slapped" him for a long time: "Exhausted, I can count on finding you sir, I am Chen Geng, a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan!" ”
Chairman Mao
Chairman Mao looked at Chen Geng with a sweaty and breathless look on his face and couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking for in me?" ”
Chen Geng said: "I just read your book, I want to follow you to study, don't you recommend students to read Marxist books?" I'm done watching and now I want to be your follower."
Chen Geng said while signaling chairman Mao that he was very thirsty, chairman Mao immediately picked up the teapot on the table and handed it to Chen Geng and watched him drink it all...
"Mr. Mao said that I want the peasant class and the working class to unite and overthrow the imperial system, which I agree with," Chen Geng said convincingly.
Chairman Mao
"The fact that you can agree with this view shows that you are also a young man with new ideas," Chairman Mao replied modestly, and Comrade Chen Geng laughed with embarrassment.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Mao and I are still alumni, and I also studied at Dongshan Higher Primary School in Xiangxiang City," Chen Geng said happily.
"Then don't call me Sir, just call Mao Zedong a classmate," Chen Geng became more and more embarrassed to hear Mao's teacher say this.
Although Chairman Mao was very easy-going in his youth, Comrade Chen Geng admired him from the bottom of his heart and never called him a "classmate."
Higashiyama School
At the end of 1922, Chen Geng officially joined the Communist Party of China and officially began his revolutionary career of anti-imperialism and anti-Japan.
Chairman Mao, on the other hand, carried out underground activities everywhere, silently paying close attention to Comrade Chen Geng's work performance in the Whampoa Military Academy, the Northern Expedition, the Central Special Branch, the Red Army Soviet Zone, and other areas.
By the time the two often had time to meet again, it was already 1944...
One day, Comrade Chen Geng was studying at the Central Party School, and Chairman Mao was just about to go to the school to make a report, and Chen Geng was "bracing" his ears and intently recording the spirit of the meeting.
Chen Geng
Before long, Chen Geng suddenly felt that his eyes were hot, his throat was tight, and he was hungry and thirsty, but when he looked around, there was not a single comrade with a cup of water.
Just when he was scratching his ears and scratching his cheeks, he suddenly found that Chairman Mao's podium was just placed with a cup of water.
Therefore, he took advantage of the time between meetings to go straight to the rostrum and coldly performed a military salute to Chairman Mao who was looking down at the documents, startling the comrades below confused.
Chairman Mao
"Chairman of the report, Chen Geng borrowed some water to drink," he said, then picked up the large tea jar that Chairman Mao had placed on the podium, grunted and drank, and there was not a drop left.
Before Chairman Mao could say yes, Comrade Chen Geng put down the teapot, gave a military salute in a formal manner, and said, "Thank you Chairman," and then wiped his mouth, turned around and returned to his seat.
Chen Geng
This operation can be described as "flowing in the clouds and flowing water, in one go", and when the matter was over, the comrades in the audience laughed and laughed, and Chairman Mao also laughed and said to everyone: "This is my naughty fellow countryman."
What is an "alternate member"? Where did Chairman Mao's cigarette go?
In 1945, the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in the Central Auditorium of Yangjialing in Yan'an, during which a total of 755 Party representatives attended the meeting, including Comrade Chen Geng.
At the meeting, Chairman Mao made a report analysis of "On the Coalition Government," Premier Zhou made a speech on "The United Front," President Zhu made a report on "On the Battlefield in the Liberated Areas," and Comrade Liu Shaoqi made a report on revising the Party Constitution.
The scene of the Seven Congresses of the Communist Party of China
When the leaders of the Party Central Committee had completed the basic work of defeating the aggressors and building a new China, they elected new members of the Central Committee by secret names.
Of the 44 new members nominated, 33 were alternate members, and when Comrade Chen Geng heard that he had been elected as an "alternate member," he couldn't help but step forward, patting Chairman Mao on the shoulder and asking, "What is the alternate member, and who is to be replaced?" "It made Chairman Mao cry and laugh.
"What is the alternate, I will tell you, that is, to insert a party ginseng in the ass, this is called 'back-up'," Comrade Nie Rongzhen said, reaching out to shoot at Comrade Chen Geng's "ass", and Comrade Chen Geng cleverly hid, which also caused everyone to laugh and laugh.
Nie Rongzhen
Throughout the congress, everyone called Comrade Chen Geng "a party counselor on his ass" or "Chen Waiting," and instead of feeling embarrassed, Comrade Chen Geng ridiculed him.
On June 11, 1945, the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was successfully concluded, the leaders of the Party Central Committee and all the members present prepared a group photo, and Comrade Chen Geng also stood on the podium refreshed.
Looking at Chen Geng's triumphant vigor, everyone invariably wanted to tease him; some comrades picked up small stones and smashed them at his "ass," some did not know where the branches came from, and kept "scratching" Comrade Chen Geng, and some comrades simply stretched out their hands and "sneaked up" at Comrade Chen Geng's ass.
"Chen Alternate, how about the big guys make up for you again?" the old comrades laughed into a group, and Comrade Chen Geng also went directly to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou to hide next to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou because they could not resist the trickery.
Chairman Mao couldn't help but laugh when he saw Chen Geng being teased by the old comrades, and he told Chen Geng: "This was invented by Comrade Fuchun!"
In 1951, Chairman Mao appointed Comrade Chen Geng as commander and political commissar of the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army, and transferred him to the Korean battlefield to fight.
In 1952, Comrade Chen Geng was awarded the Order of Independence and Freedom of the First Class by the Supreme Leader of the DPRK, and was urgently recalled to Beijing by Chairman Mao in June of the same year.
Chen Geng
"The Party Central Committee is determined to solve the problem of backward technology and equipment, and to transfer you back is to let you prepare for a military engineering academy, with you as the president and political commissar. Chairman Mao looked at the door and said to Chen Geng.
"I'm not good at school, but I'm still suitable for war," Comrade Chen Geng replied with some embarrassment.
"Your boy is belligerent, as soon as you say that you fight with the US imperialists, you will have the spirit, and as soon as you say that you will build a school, you will retreat", Chairman Mao "muttered" Chen Geng while swallowing the smoke ring.
At that time, Premier Zhou was sitting calmly and quietly "watching", and after a while, the entire study was shrouded in smoke...
Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou
While listening to Chairman Mao's "nagging," Chen Geng rubbed his nose and couldn't help but cough twice: "I absolutely obey your instructions, and if you let me build a school, I will build it, and I will certainly live up to my mission." During the conversation, Chen Geng inadvertently glanced at the cigarette in Chairman Mao's hand, then looked at the cigarette box on the table, and suddenly brewed a bold decision...
Only to see him quietly pick up Chairman Mao's cigarette case, squint his eyes and count, and then silently put it in his pocket, while Premier Zhou first stared at him with wide eyes, then smiled slightly, and finally pretended that nothing had happened.
When Chairman Mao snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand and was preparing to change it, he found that the cigarette box on the table had long disappeared.
Chairman Mao
Chairman Mao subconsciously looked for it on the ground, and then rummaged through his desk, until he saw premier Zhou's eyes and kept signaling him to turn to Chen Geng that he suddenly realized.
"Take out the cigarette, you Chen Geng can do it, the Americans cut off your supplies, you can't cut off my supplies," Chairman Mao said with a smile, Chen Geng can only "obediently" take out the cigarette box and return it to Chairman Mao.
Then, Chairman Mao lit another one and said, "Even if you cut off my life, you can't cut off my cigarette!"
Chairman Mao
It can be seen that no matter what position Comrade Chen Geng holds, he will always be the bold, funny, and childlike general, while Chairman Mao will always be the tolerant, wise, and affinity "great patriarch."
It is better to follow me than to follow Chiang Kai-shek
In 1955, the Party Central Committee implemented a system of awarding titles in the military, Chairman Mao awarded the titles of ten marshals at HuairenTang in Zhongnanhai, and Premier Zhou awarded the rank of great general to 10 comrades including Chen Geng.
After the ceremony, Chairman Mao said to General Chen Geng, who was full of spring breezes: "What, it is better to follow me than to follow old Chiang Kai-shek?" I don't think Chiang Kai-shek will let you be a great general."
Chen Geng
"Oh, Chairman, my general was not given by you, nor was it given by Chiang Kai-shek, but given by Li Jukui," Chen Geng said with a hippie smile, causing Chairman Mao to be confused.
"How do you say that?" Chairman Mao pressed the question, but Comrade Chen Geng sold guan zi to Chairman Mao and said, "Chairman, I will talk to you in detail when I have time."
Why, then, did Chairman Mao ridicule Chiang Kai-shek about Chen Geng? Did the two have any intersections?
Chen Geng
It turned out that the two had met at the Whampoa Military Academy in the early years, and Chiang Kai-shek, who was the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy at that time, personally examined Chen Geng and was deeply impressed by him.
"You were also a Xiang Army?" Have you ever heard of Zeng Guofan? Principal Jiang asked with Chen Geng's resume slightly curiously.
"How do I not know, my father and my grandfather know each other, my grandfather was also a Xiangjun, he is extremely powerful, he can also use his teeth to hang two buckets of water..." Chiang Kai-shek saw him exaggeratedly imitating the action of holding the bucket with his mouth, and suddenly laughed.
Chiang Kai-shek
"As far as your small body is concerned, I'm afraid you can't lift a bucket of water," Chiang Kai-shek said half-believingly, and Chen Geng was suddenly "unhappy."
"I can also do martial arts, I don't believe I play a few tricks to show you", Comrade Chen Geng said, the posture is about to swing his fist and slap, and finally was stopped by President Jiang: "I believe I believe" hurriedly stopped...
During his time at the Whampoa Military Academy, Chen Geng ran a drama club, participated in military studies, listened to new ideas, and risked his life to save Chiang Kai-shek in the war against Chen Jiongming.
When he injured Chiang Kai-shek with his foot injured and rushed out of the desperate situation, Chiang Kai-shek immediately released a bold statement: "You saved my life, I must reuse you."
Chiang Kai-shek
Later, however, Chiang Kai-shek launched a "counter-revolutionary coup," and Chen Geng parted ways with xinxin, but Chen Geng always had a place in Chiang Kai-shek's heart.
In 1932, Chiang Kai-shek launched an "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Red Army in the Soviet Union, and Chen Geng was unfortunately injured in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign and was forced to move to Shanghai for medical treatment.
During the treatment, he was accidentally betrayed by traitors, and was taken hostage to Nanjing, where he eventually fell into the hands of Chiang Kai-shek...
When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he was overjoyed: "I want to see Chen Geng, he saved my life, as long as he sincerely repents, I can give him a teacher at will."
Chiang Kai-shek
As a result, Chiang Kai-shek's front foot had just arrived at the hospital, and the back foot was said by Chen Geng: "Don't have any illusions about me, now I am in your hands, I want to kill at will", angrily snatched the door and went out...
Later, with the help of Ms. Song Qingling, Chen Geng was transferred out of Nanjing by the underground party and finally returned to the embrace of the organization.
As for why Chiang Kai-shek did not kill Chen Geng, he probably remembered his past feelings and cherished him as a talent, and as for why Chairman Mao compared Chiang Kai-shek, on the one hand, it was because Chen Geng had not been spat at in the party about "saving Chiang Kai-shek", and on the other hand, it also reflected the close relationship between the two.
Chen Geng
Chairman Mao once commented on Chen Geng in this way: "He was a general with both ability and political integrity, he was very famous in the Red Army, even Chiang Kai-shek was reluctant to kill him, he had a very good set of fighting the Japanese army, Vietnam fought the French army, Ho Chi Minh asked me several times for Chen Geng ..."
However, it is really regrettable that such a bold, talented, and resourceful general died after only 58 years of life.
Chen Geng
Thinking back to the year when General Chen Geng was on the battlefield, the battle of blood, the ambition to sweep the enemy army, and now the spring and autumn are easy, the years are reincarnated, the past cannot be traced, and the future can only be used for reminiscence...