When I was a child, my teacher once told us such a sentence: The five-star red flag of New China is dyed red by the blood of revolutionary martyrs to describe the hard-won new China. However, many people do not know that this sentence is not only a description, but behind it are countless revolutionary volunteers who have paid their lives for the founding of New China.
Monument to heroes
So, since the founding of the Communist Party of China, how many Communist Party members and revolutionaries have sacrificed their lives?
According to the statistics of the civil affairs department and the organization department, there are 3.7 million well-known revolutionary martyrs, and 21 million martyrs who have not been able to leave their names due to the loss of information, the passage of time, the harsh environment and many other reasons.
These revolutionary volunteers who sacrificed their lives ranged from the revolutionary masses, to underground Party members who fought on the secret front, and of course, to soldiers of the People's Army who fought bloodily against the enemy on the front line.
Among the revolutionary volunteers who sacrificed their lives, in addition to the largest number of revolutionary masses and fighters, because the people's army has always had the tradition of commanders and party members charging ahead, there are also a considerable number of senior generals of our army.
The sacrifices of these high-ranking generals who have made great contributions and made outstanding contributions in the development of the people's army are undoubtedly a huge loss of the Chinese revolution.
General Zuo Quan was martyred
Therefore, after the founding of New China, many people could not help but fantasize that if these senior generals did not fall before liberation, but lived to be awarded titles in 1955, would new China have more marshals? Who can be ranked as a marshal?
The number of generals who paid the price of their lives for the founding of new China is innumerable, but there are not many high-ranking generals who have truly reached the rank of commander-in-chief and who can be called experienced in hundreds of battles and have made outstanding achievements.
Around the 1990s, the Central Military Commission confirmed 36 senior generals of our army as military experts of the Chinese People's Liberation Army through two deliberations.
At that time, the 36 military experts identified by the Central Military Commission covered all the senior generals born in the more than 60 years since the August 1st Nanchang Uprising Chinese the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
The 36 generals, who have been called "Chinese people's liberation army military experts," are:
Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying, Yang Shangkun, Li Xiannian, Su Yu, Xu Haidong, Huang Kecheng, Chen Geng, Tan Zheng, Xiao Jinguang, Zhang Yunyi, Luo Ruiqing, Wang Shusheng, Xu Guangda, Ye Ting, Xu Jishen, Cai Shenxi, Duan Dechang, Zeng Zhongsheng, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Luo Binghui
36 military experts
Obviously, the list of 36 military experts included the ten marshals and ten generals, of course, chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Yang Shangkun, Li Xiannian and other party and state leaders, and in addition to these people, there were 11 people who were more special.
Because they did not live to the founding of New China, but sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the Chinese people in the revolutionary years, they were: Ye Ting, Xu Jishen, Cai Shenxi, Duan Dechang, Zeng Zhongsheng, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Luo Binghui, Huang Gongluo, Fang Zhimin, and Liu Zhidan.
So, who among these people is most likely to become a marshal? The highest voice was undoubtedly Zuo Quan and Ye Ting. Others, both in voice and reputation, seem to be weaker. So, is this really the case?
First of all, let's understand, what are the evaluation criteria for these 36 Chinese people's Liberation Army military experts?
In 1955, after the first implementation of the rank system in the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the founding generals who were born successively included 10 marshals, 10 generals, 57 generals, 117 lieutenant generals and 1360 major generals.
It was awarded in 1955
Any one of these founding generals can be called experienced in hundreds of battles and has achieved great achievements. And these people are only Chinese some generals of the People's Liberation Army.
Because, such as Ye Ting, Zuo Quan, and a considerable number of generals whose merits, status, and qualifications were not inferior, fell before the founding of New China.
Among these thousands of outstanding generals, only 36 were actually rated as military experts. Among these people, in addition to the 11 senior generals who sacrificed their lives before the founding of New China, the remaining 25 people, including 10 marshals and 10 generals, as well as 5 major leaders of the party and the state.
Why are only these 36 people classified as military experts?
Naturally, the five party and state leaders, including Chairman Mao, naturally needless to say, chairman Mao was originally the only candidate for the proposed grand marshal of New China, and his rank was still above that of the ten marshals, but because of Chairman Mao's own modesty, he did not confer the title.
Chairman Mao
And Premier Zhou Enlai's seniority may as well be more. As early as the Chinese the Nanchang Uprising, the symbol of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, Zhou Enlai was the former secretary of the Nanchang Uprising.
In the era of the Red Army, Premier Zhou served as the general political commissar of the Red Army, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other positions, and his status was higher than that of most marshals, so it was naturally more than enough for Premier Zhou to be rated as a marshal.
As the founder of the Baise Uprising and the Left and Right River Revolutionary Base Areas, Deng Xiaoping's achievements and seniority were sufficient to qualify for the rank of marshal, whether in the red army era, the war of resistance against Japan, or the liberation war.
In fact, in the initial evaluation of military ranks, Deng Xiaoping himself was a candidate for marshal, but it was only because Chairman Mao at that time proposed that comrades working in the localities should not evaluate military ranks, coupled with Deng Xiaoping's own modesty, that he could not award the title.
Premier Zhou
The situation between Yang Shangkun and Li Xiannian was similar; during the Red Army era, Yang Shangkun served as the political commissar of the Red Third Army and deputy director of the General Political Department, while Li Xiannian not only served as the political commissar of the Red Fourth Front Army during the Red Army era, but also during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he also founded the Eyu Border Anti-Japanese Base Area in central China, far from the central government.
Therefore, yang Shangkun and Li Xiannian, regardless of their later position as party and state leaders, are not exaggerated in terms of seniority and merit in the war years.
However, the two men were unable to participate in the evaluation of military ranks because of the same reasons as Deng Xiaoping, because they worked in the local areas.
Among the 11 senior generals who died before the founding of New China, their qualifications were not inferior. For example, Ye Ting was one of the founders of the People's Liberation Army, not only leading the Nanchang Uprising and the Guangzhou Uprising, but also the first commander of the New Fourth Army, and his seniority was even deep enough to compare with many marshals.
Members
Among the other ten, Xu Jishen served as the commander of the Red First Army, Cai Shenxi served as the commander of the Red Fifteenth Army, Duan Dechang served as the commander of the Red Sixth Army, Zeng Zhongsheng served as the political commissar of the Red Fourth Army, Peng Xuefeng served as the commander of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army, and Luo Binghui was the commander of the Red Ninth Army.
Huang Gongluo was not only the leader of the Pingjiang Uprising, but also served as the commander of the Red Third Army, and Fang Zhimin, as the founder of the revolutionary base area in northeast Jiangxi, also served as the chairman of the Military and Political Committee of the Red Tenth Army. As the founder of the only red base area in the northwest region, Liu Zhidan served as deputy commander and chief of staff of the Red 15th Army.
Of these 11 people, except for Ye Ting, who was the most senior, even compared with the marshal, the other 10 people were actually at the rank of general. That is to say, when the Central Military Commission identified 36 contemporary Chinese military experts, his evaluation criteria were senior generals and above.
This can also be confirmed by the fact that no founding general has ever entered the list of contemporary Chinese military experts.
That is to say, if the 11 generals of the people's army who died before the founding of the country can survive to 1955, they are at least at the level of generals. So, who among these people could go further and be named a marshal?
Left right
Are they Ye Ting and Zuo Quan, who are the most famous in popularity? Not really. Because, although Ye Ting was extremely senior, he was not only one of the founders of the People's Liberation Army, but also served as the commander of the New Fourth Army from the anti-Japanese War period, and in terms of rank and seniority, he was rated as a marshal more than enough.
However, the marshal's evaluation never only looked at seniority and status, and What was most embarrassing about Ye Ting was not his qualifications, but his history. On the one hand, although Ye Ting led the Nanchang Uprising and the Guangzhou Uprising, Ye Ting's achievements in the revolutionary army were few.
Because his time in the people's army was too short, Ye Ting neither had enough time nor enough opportunities to fully display his military talents. Therefore, in terms of battle achievements, Ye Ting was not only far inferior to the Ten Marshals, but even the Generals.
More importantly, Ye Ting had not only separated from the people's army but also from the Chinese Communist Party for a full 10 years. Such a history, even if there are many reasons, is enough to make it difficult for Ye Ting to rank among the 10 marshals.
Therefore, although Ye Ting is extremely senior, the possibility of him being named the 10 Grand Marshals is very small. If Ye Ting had not sacrificed, his best outcome would have been to take off his military uniform and enter the localities like Deng Xiaoping, and hold a position of sufficiently high status in the CPPCC or an organizational structure.
Zuo Quan, as the highest-ranking general who sacrificed his life in our army during the War of Resistance Against Japan, made countless people sigh even more. General Zuo Quan' qualifications, achievements, and contributions to the revolution are beyond doubt.
But does this prove that Zuo Quan can be ranked as a marshal? On the one hand, General Zuo Quan's seniority in the Red Army era was relatively shallow, he was neither the founder of a certain red base area, and his highest position was only deputy regimental commander and regimental chief of staff, which was weaker than the recognized seniority of the regimental commander level.
On the other hand, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, although Zuo Quan, as deputy chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army, had been working with Peng Dehuai to actually command the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance behind enemy lines. However, his highest position was only deputy chief of general staff of the Eighth Route Army, only deputy to chief of staff Ye Jianying.
General Zuo Quan
And marshal Ye Jianying was listed at the end of the 10 marshals when he was authorized in 1955, that is to say, as the chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army, Ye Jianying was only the last, so how could Zuo Quan, whose status was still under Marshal Ye Jianying and was only his deputy, be a marshal?
Then, in addition to Zuo Quan and Ye Ting, who has the highest voice, who is likely to be rated as a marshal? If you have to choose one, I personally believe that Liu Zhidan, who died in 1936, is actually the most likely to be rated as a marshal. Why?
As we all know, the evaluation of military ranks not only takes into account many factors such as combat performance, seniority, and status, but also takes into account the problem of mountains and balance. It is precisely for this reason that when evaluating military ranks, Chen Yi, who has already worked in the local area and can be evaluated or not, will be fully supported by Zhou Enlai and eventually rated as a marshal.
Among these ten marshals, almost all the representatives of the people's army in the course of development are also covered. For example, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, Luo Ronghuan, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying, and Chen Yi are representatives of the Red Front, He Long is the representative of the Red Second Front, and Xu Xiangqian is the representative of the Red Fourth Front. At the same time, since Chen Yi did not participate in the Long March, he was also a representative of the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces.
Ten Marshals
By the time of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Yi was the representative of the New Fourth Army, while the other nine marshals were all representatives of the Eighth Route Army. In the period of the Liberation War, Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan were representatives of the Fourth Field Army, Peng Dehuai was the representative of the First Field Army, Liu Bocheng was the representative of the Second Field Army, Chen Yi was the representative of the Third Field Army, and Nie Rongzhen and Xu Xiangqian were representatives of the North China Field Army.
However, I don't know if you have found that in the era of the Red Army, there was actually a base area and a Red Army contingent that were not represented by marshals, that is, the destination of the Red Army's Long March -- the Red Army in northern Shaanxi and the revolutionary base area in northern Shaanxi.
How important are the Red Army in northern Shaanxi and the base areas in northern Shaanxi?
In October 1934, when the 5th anti-encirclement and suppression campaign of the Central Red Army failed and was forced to leave the Central Soviet Region and embark on the Road of the Long March, the Red Army team at that time was actually very confused, and their destinations changed again and again.
In the end, Chairman Mao set the destination of the Long March as northern Shaanxi precisely because he accidentally learned that there was a revolutionary base area founded by the Communist Party of China in northern Shaanxi.
Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Revolutionary Base Area
This revolutionary base area in northern Shaanxi is also the only revolutionary base area in the northwest region during the period of the agrarian revolution.
It can be said that the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Region and the Northern Shaanxi Red Army, led and founded by Liu Zhidan, have made great contributions to the Chinese revolution. Without the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Region founded by Liu Zhidan and others, the destination of the Long March is very likely to change, and China's revolutionary history is likely to be rewritten.
In addition to the importance of the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Region founded by Liu Zhidan and others in the Long March era to the Chinese revolution, the Northern Shaanxi Red Army has always occupied a very important position in the ranks of the Red Army.
In September 1935, before the Long March of the Red 25th Army led by Xu Haidong, Cheng Zihua and others reached northern Shaanxi first, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi led by Liu Zhidan and others had grown to more than 3,000 people.
Liu Zhidan
After meeting with the Red 25th Army and establishing the Red 15th Army, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi has further developed, especially when Chairman Mao led the Central Red Army to northern Shaanxi, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi followed Chairman Mao on his eastern expedition to the west, and the strength of the red army was greatly expanded.
By 1937, when the main force of the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, the strength of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi had exceeded 10,000. Such a large number of troops not only fully reached the level of the Red Army Corps, but also, as the "landlord" of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi and its major contribution to the revolution, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi also occupied a very important position in the revolutionary ranks.
However, after the founding of New China, due to the sacrifice of several founders of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, some committed suicide, some transferred to local areas, and others did not have the qualifications of marshals, therefore, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi failed to get out of a marshal, which also became a regret for the award of the title in 1955.
So, let's suppose, if Liu Zhidan did not die during the Eastern Crusade in 1936, but lived to the founding of New China, when he was awarded the title in 1955, could Liu Zhidan have been rated as a marshal as a representative of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi?
Let's first look at the qualifications of the marshal assessment. According to the Regulations on the Service of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army:
Senior generals who have made outstanding meritorious contributions in the creation and leadership of the People's Armed Forces or leading the campaign corps shall be awarded the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China.
If this criterion is too general, in fact, in the private sector, there is also a more specific elaboration of the rated marshal, that is, if you want to be rated as a marshal of the republic, you need to meet the following 5 conditions:
First, the revolutionary base areas participated in the creation of the creators,
Second, during the Red Army period, the leadership position of the regiment or military rank,
Third, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the eighth route army at the division level and the New Fourth Army, as well as the leading positions of the base areas and military regions of a considerable size,
Fourth, the leadership of the front army or field army during the Liberation War,
Fifth, he holds the post of Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission.
So, what conditions does Liu Zhidan meet?
As the main leader of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi and the Soviet region in northern Shaanxi, Liu Zhidan was of course the co-founder of the revolutionary base area.
Founder of Northern Shaanxi Soviet District
Article 2, during the Red Army era, he held leadership positions at the corps or military level. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Liu Zhidan traveled to many places and eventually reached northern Shaanxi, leading several uprisings.
In the autumn of 1935, after the Long March of the Red Twenty-fifth Army arrived in northern Shaanxi and merged with the Red Army in northern Shaanxi to form the Red Fifteenth Army, Liu Zhidan served as deputy commander and chief of staff, which was also Liu Zhidan's highest position in the Red Army. Less than a year later, in April 1936, Liu Zhidan, who led the Eastern Expedition, was killed in the battle of Sanjiao Town, Zhongyang County, Shanxi, at the age of 33.
Therefore, if this is calculated, Liu Zhidan's seniority does not quite conform to Article 2, and he has not reached the leadership position of the legion or military rank. However, this is because Liu Zhidan sacrificed earlier, and judging from the rapid development of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, if he had not sacrificed, the possibility of Liu Zhidan holding the position of regimental commander was not small.
Moreover, Liu Zhidan is also a student of the Whampoa Military Academy, a legendary military school in modern China, and his military attainments and military talents are extremely outstanding, coupled with his many years of rich experience in leading the Red Army.
Portrait of Liu Zhidan
If Liu Zhidan had not been able to make no sacrifices, during the Period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, we had every reason to believe that Liu Zhidan would be able to give full play to his military talents and make greater contributions to the revolution.
Coupled with the fact that the founders of other Northern Shaanxi Red Army broke away from the army and entered local work, then, judging from Liu Zhidan's qualifications as the only representative of the Northern Shaanxi Red Army, the possibility of being awarded the rank of marshal in 1955 is not only there, but also not low.
However, history did not have if Liu Zhidan, a military expert who had made great contributions to the Chinese revolution and had outstanding military talents, fell on the battlefield of the Eastern Crusade early, which also became one of the major regrets in the history of the development of the people's army.