Preface:
On September 27, 1955, in the Huairen Hall of Zhongnanhai, seven of the ten marshals gathered together, and Chairman Mao personally awarded them the Order of the First Class of Eighty-One, the First Class Medal of Independence and Freedom, and the First Class Liberation Medal, and issued the order of the ten Grand Marshals.
Each of the ten marshals' orders is engraved with a unique number. As the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army, Zhu De is recognized as the first of the ten marshals, so it stands to reason that the number is naturally the first.
However, the number on Marshal Zhu De's order was "100004", that is, the number "004". Not only that, the "002" and "003" number of the order is said not to have been promulgated, but the "001" number of the order was indeed promulgated by Chairman Mao.
So, we all know that Chairman Mao does not participate in the evaluation of military ranks, so since it is not Chairman Mao, who exactly is the "001" order given to?
The contribution of Marshal Zhu De
Among the ten founding marshals, there are a total of three "bosses", namely President Zhu Dezhu, President Peng Dehuaipeng, and President He Longhe. All three are the elders of the Communist Party and the cornerstone of the Communist revolution!
Even before joining the Communist Party of China, President Zhu was already well-known, leading the Sichuan-Yunnan army to participate in the anti-imperialist struggle, expelling Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan, and then serving as the commander of the Yunnan Army Gendarmerie.
However, when he was influenced by the May Fourth Movement and the October Revolution, and came into contact with the revolutionary ideas of communism, he came from a peasant background and deeply agreed with it, so he resolutely embarked on the long road of searching for the party.
Zhu De traveled from Kunming to Beijing, from Beijing to Shanghai, but after being rejected by Chen Duxiu in Shanghai, he was still undiscouraged, turned around and ran to the ocean, came to Europe, where he finally found the Chinese Young Communist Party in Europe.
Under Zhou Enlai's introduction, Zhu De finally became a secret member of the Communist Party.
During the Nanchang Uprising in 1927, Zhu De secretly returned to Nanchang and designed a banquet for all officers above the regimental level in Nanchang. When the guns of the insurgent troops rang out, the soldiers below were leaderless and chaotic, and the insurgent troops were successful.
After the Nanchang Uprising, the rebel troops were "crusaded" by the Kuomintang reactionaries, especially after the Battle of Sanheba and the Battle of Chaoshan Province, the troops suffered heavy casualties, and the rebel army was shaken internally, and some even wanted to demobilize the troops.
At this critical moment, it was General Zhu who stood up, stabilized the army's heart, and after rectification and reorganization, left the "tinder" of 800 people for the subsequent Red Army. After that, Zhu De launched the Hunan Uprising, quickly expanded his troops to more than 10,000 people, and successfully joined Chairman Mao at Jinggangshan.
Among these 800 people, in the long war years, a total of three marshals and one founding general, Su Yu, came out.
It can be said that Marshal Zhu De was the founder of the Chinese Red Army. But why did Marshal Zhu De make such a contribution, and when he finally granted the marshal the warrant, the number was 004, so who did the 001 number warrant give to?
Attribution of "001"
There are many opinions on the attribution of the 001 number, and some people say: Perhaps although Chairman Mao did not participate in the evaluation of military ranks, the 001 number was still reserved for Chairman Mao. But this explanation, while acceptable, is far-fetched in the end.
It was not until 60 years later that the truth of this mystery was revealed: on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, He Xiaoming, the daughter of Marshal He Long, showed everyone the military rank order certificate awarded to Marshal He Long by Chairman Mao, and the number on it was: 100001!
It turned out that Chairman Mao awarded this order to Marshal He Long (title number 001, marshal certificate number 009).
Although there is no literature or information explaining the reasons for this, it is indeed reasonable when people think about it.
As for Marshal He Long, Chairman Mao commented: Two kitchen knives make a revolution, and one person brings out an army.
There is an allusion to this: after the failure of the "Xiangxi Rebellion" led by Marshal He Long, he was not discouraged and decided to establish his own armed forces.
Later, Marshal He Long borrowed two kitchen knives, took 21 of his fathers and fellow villagers, and attacked the Bamaoxi Salt Bureau with a flat dan hoe, seizing 15 rifles, 2 pistols and 9,000 kilograms of salt.
Subsequently, Marshal He began the revolution with these ten guns, independent of 21 counties in western Xiang, and then joined the national army to become a regular army, awarded the rank of leader and paid military merits, and before the Nanchang Uprising, he became the commander of the 20th Army.
If it is said that during the Nanchang Uprising, Zhu De set up a banquet to invite all officers above the regiment level in Nanchang to be Wen Tao, then Marshal He Long led his troops to revolt and attacked all units in Nanchang was a martial strategy.
On August 1, 1927, Marshal He Long, as an "enlightened person outside the party", served as the commander-in-chief of the rebel army and fired the first shot of the Nanchang Uprising!
After that, Marshal He Long was most talked about was that he once gave military power three times:
The first time he gave up the right to send troops was after the Nanchang Uprising, and He Long's 20th Army made great contributions to the Nanchang Uprising, and then handed it over to our party without hesitation, becoming the second living force in the hands of our party.
However, the uprising was difficult after all, and the army was also scattered in Guangzhou in the subsequent defeat. He Long did not complain about this, and proposed that he could pull out another revolutionary team when he returned to his hometown.
In 1928, Marshal He Long made a revolution in his hometown in Hunan and re-established a revolutionary team, gradually developing from the original Red 2nd Army to the Red Second Front. In the following war years, the unit became one of the three main forces of the Red Army period.
After the end of the Long March, He Long once again "ceded the right to send troops", and his troops obeyed the command and were unified by the former enemy commander Peng Dehuai.
The third time was during the Liberation War, during which Marshal He Long led his troops to Yan'an and handed it over to Peng Dehuai to form the Northwest Field Army, he was only responsible for the logistics of food and grass, and if there were old subordinates who did not obey the command, he would personally do the work.
Of course, it was not easy for Marshal He Long to form an army. For the sake of the revolution, Marshal He Long's whole family went into battle, and in the end, the He family's clan was full of loyalty!
From the Northern Expedition period alone to the end of the Long March, there were as many as 98 martyrs of the He family. Especially during the White Terror, many of Marshal He Long's close relatives died heroically for the revolutionary cause!
He Long's hometown of Hongjiaguan, the ancient town of Xiangxi, was washed in blood by the enemy three times, and Hongjiaguan was ten rooms and nine empty. The enemy's slogan was "Destroy the nine tribes of Helong, chickens and dogs will not remain".
In this regard, Marshal He Long had no regrets and still devoted himself to the revolutionary cause with enthusiasm.
Epilogue:
In fact, the founding of New China marked the complete victory of all revolutionary martyrs. They didn't care about the number on the order.
Since joining the Communist Party of China, it means that those ancestors gave up fame and fortune, and devoted their lives to serving the people and fighting for the country.
As long as the people are happy and the country is prosperous, then they have fulfilled their lifelong wish.
A letter of order, a number of 001, in their hearts, far less important than the smiling faces of the masses of the people!