Han Xianchu and Liu Zhen are a pair of old comrades-in-arms, they are both from the Red 25th Army, and they are both Xu Haidong's favorite generals. During the revolutionary war years, Liu Zhen's military career was relatively smooth, he was ahead of Han Xianchu for a long time, and Han Xianchu chased after him for several years before catching up. But after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Zhen lagged behind Han Xianchu.
(Han Xianchu, Yang Dezhi, Liu Zhen)
Why is this? In detail, Liu Zhen was actually delayed.
In the Red 25th Army led by Xu Haidong, Liu Zhen and Han Xianchu went hand in hand, and they were both regimental-level cadres. The Red 15 Corps was formed, and they were all promoted to divisional cadres. The 344th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army was established, and they were still evenly divided.
But later, Han Xianchu was in a mood, dissatisfied with Huang Kecheng's leadership, left the front line, and went to Yan'an to study. Han Xianchu is gone, and Liu Zhen is going to take the lead. He soon became a brigade commander and then a deputy commander of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army.
The Third Division advanced to the Northeast, and Liu Zhen became the commander of the Second Column for the first time. The second column is a fairly old column of the Northeast Field Army, and Liu Zhen has always served as the commander, and even after it was reorganized into the 39th Army, Liu Zhen was the first commander.
On the other hand, Han Xianchu is very bumpy. After arriving in the northeast, he wanted to return to the third division, but Huang Kecheng did not accept him. Han Xianchu had to start from scratch and served as the deputy commander of the fourth column, relying on his extraordinary military talent to finally rise to prominence.
Even so, it was already 1947 when Han Xianchu became the commander of the third column. The Liberation War was halfway through before it finally caught up with Liu Zhen. The Fourth Field Army was established, and they were all deputy commanders of the corps and commanders.
(Front row: second from left, Liu Yalou, third from left, Wu Faxian, first from right, Liu Zhen)
Han Xianchu commanded the 40th Army and participated in the liberation of Hainan Island, making great contributions. The 39th Army under the command of Liu Zhen was not bad, participated in the liberation of Guangxi, and planted the five-star red flag all the way to Zhennan Pass. They all fought for their country and fought far away.
In 1954, Han Xianchu served as the deputy chief of the general staff, and in 1957, he served as the commander of the Fuzhou Military Region.
As for Liu Zhen, he only became the commander of the large military region in 1977, and his tenure was very short. Liu Zhen lagged behind Han Xianchu for 20 years. In terms of qualifications, Liu Zhen is not inferior to Han Xianchu, and in terms of military exploits, Liu Zhen is not inferior to Han Xianchu, why is Liu Zhen so far behind?
He was "delayed" by Liu Yalou.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Yalou was appointed commander of the Air Force, and when the Air Force was first established, Liu Yalou needed an assistant, and he took a fancy to Liu Zhen. Liu Yalou believed in Liu Zhen's ability very much, and went to work in person, wanting Liu Zhen to serve in the Air Force.
At first, Liu Zhen shirked, he did not understand the Air Force, and preferred to continue to serve in the army. Liu Yalou persuaded him in every possible way, saying that he could learn if he didn't understand, Liu Zhen was so young, smart and studious, and he would soon be familiar with the business.
(Second row, second from right Han Xianchu, third from right Liu Zhen)
In the end, Liu Zhen agreed, first as the commander of the Air Force of the Central South Military Region, and then as the commander of the Air Force of the Northeast Military Region and the commander of the Air Force of the Volunteer Army. When his old comrade-in-arms Han Xianchu was fighting the US army on the Korean front, Liu Zhen was not idle, he commanded the newly-born volunteer air force athletes to fight the US army in the air.
One on earth and the other in heaven, both made great contributions to the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Liu Yalou really didn't see the wrong person, Liu Zhen's learning ability is really strong, and he quickly became a famous general in air combat, and Liu Yalou gave Liu Zhen full responsibility for the air battle against the United States. Liu Zhen did not disappoint him.
In 1954, when Han Xianchu was appointed deputy chief of general staff, Liu Zhen was appointed deputy commander of the Air Force and became Liu Yalou's deputy. He was already behind Han Xianchu. With Liu Yalou, who has a strong style, no matter how strong Liu Zhen's ability is, he can only serve as the deputy commander of the Air Force.
When Han Xianchu became the commander of the large military region in 1957, Liu Zhen was still the deputy commander of the Air Force. In 1965, Liu Yalou unfortunately passed away, and now it was Liu Zhen's turn to serve as the commander of the Air Force, and he was finally going to get through.
It is a pity that Liu Yalou recommended Wu Faxian as the commander of the Air Force, not Liu Zhen. After Wu Faxian took over as commander of the Air Force, Liu Zhentang, a general, became his deputy as a lieutenant general. Their relationship was not harmonious, and the next year, Liu Zhen was suspended for reflection.
Years of ordeal followed. It was not until 1973, under the personal interrogation of Premier Zhou, that Liu Zhen returned to work and served as the deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region, and in 1977, Liu Zhen was promoted to the commander of the Xinjiang Military Region.
Just imagine, if Liu Zhen had not gone to serve in the Air Force, with his ability, he might have become the commander of a large military region long ago.