On the eve of the founding of New China, Chairman Mao was unique in selecting the commander of the air force and the commander of the navy, letting the airsick Liu Yalou become the commander of the air force, and let the seasick Xiao Jinguang become the commander of the navy. ”
So the question is, there are so many generals who can fight well, and there are many generals who can surpass Xiao Jinguang, so why did Chairman Mao choose Xiao Jinguang as the commander of the navy? The three major branches of the navy, land and air force, the burden of the naval commander can be described as a thousand pounds, can Xiao Jinguang be a good naval commander?
Xiao Jinguang is a native of Zhaozhou, Changsha, Hunan Province, in 1917, 14-year-old Xiao Jinguang was admitted to Changsha Changxian Middle School, one of his classmates named Ren Bishi, the two became friends, influenced by progressive ideas, in the spring of 1921, 18-year-old Xiao Jinguang went to the Soviet Union to study with Ren Bishi, Liu Shaoqi and others.
In 1922, Xiao Jinguang joined the Communist Party of China, transferred to the Soviet Red Army School in the same year to learn military knowledge, until he returned to China in the autumn of 1924, later he participated in the Northern Expedition, and in 1927 he went to the Soviet Union again to study, until 1930, when he returned to China, he was sent to work in the Soviet region of western Fujian, serving as chief of staff of the 12th Army of the Red Army and director of the military-political school.
It can be seen that Xiao Jinguang has a strong theoretical knowledge in military affairs, during the Red Army period he served as chief of staff of the Red 3rd Army Corps and commander of the Red 29th Army, and during the Anti-Japanese War he served as the commander of the Eighth Route Army Left-behind Corps, and repeatedly commanded to repel the attacks of the Kuomintang diehards, and Xiao Jinguang's position was even higher during the liberation period.
In October 1945, Xiao Jinguang was transferred to the post of deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and in May 1948, Xiao Jinguang was transferred to the commander of the 1st Corps of the Northeast Field Army.
So why did Chairman Mao choose Xiao Jinguang to be the commander of the navy? According to the "Memoirs of Xiao Jinguang", it was in October 1949, Xiao Jinguang was participating in the Battle of Hengbao, he commanded the Central Route Army to pursue and annihilate the four divisions of the Kuomintang Bai Chongxi, but suddenly received a telegram from Chairman Mao.
Xiao Jinguang was called to Beijing by Chairman Mao from the front line and told Xiao Jinguang that he would be the commander of the navy of New China, and Chairman Mao said to Xiao Jinguang at that time: "You understand the traditions of our army."
For ordinary generals, "preferential treatment of prisoners" may only be limited to not beating and scolding prisoners, so that prisoners can be fed, clothed and warm, but Xiao Jinguang does not only do this, he can mingle with captured soldiers and rebellious generals, and make the other party happy and sincere, and his talent in this area may not even be comparable to that of marshals.
In the Liberation War, Xiao Jinguang fully demonstrated this talent of his, for example, during the siege of Changchun, he promoted Zeng Zesheng's peaceful uprising, and also promoted Zheng Dongguo's surrender, when Xiao Jinguang also took a photo with Zeng Zesheng, stating our army's policy, and the officers and soldiers of the uprising were still under Zeng Zesheng's command after reorganization.
This move moved Zeng Zesheng endlessly, as for Zheng Dongguo, Xiao Jinguang warmly welcomed him to a meal, Xiao Jinguang at the dinner table behaved like a gathering of friends, which deeply moved Zheng Dongguo, and frankly said that this was the best meal he had eaten in months, and later Zeng Zesheng and Zheng Dongguo were willing to contribute to the new China.
In addition, after the uprising of Chen Mingren in Hunan, Xiao Jinguang learned that he was going to Beijing for a meeting and personally arranged a battalion to protect Chen Mingren, which made him grateful, and I have to say that Xiao Jinguang was good at handling relations with the rebel generals, based on this, Chairman Mao chose him to be the commander of the navy, because there were many rebel generals in the navy.
For example, Deng Zhaoxiang led the "Chongqing ship" uprising, the Kuomintang 2nd Fleet commander Lin Zun led the uprising, etc., these experienced admirals are rare talents, and making good use of them will greatly help the development of the navy, which depends on the skills of Xiao Jinguang, the naval commander, and later it turns out that Chairman Mao did not choose the wrong person.