Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and also facilitate your discussion and sharing.
Text | Zhu Xiaoyue loves Kanyu
Edit | Zhu Xiaoyue loves Kanyu
In the autumn of 1955, the People's Republic of China held an important ceremony for conferring military ranks, which was not only to promote the modernization of the army, but also to affirm the outstanding generals in history. Behind this nationwide glory, there are inevitably some heroes who are dissatisfied with the results of individual military ranks. So which three generals were dissatisfied with this award, and even affected their subsequent military careers and mentality? Let's uncover this little-known history. Let's take Xiao Zhu into this story.
Xu Shiyou
As soon as the list of awards was announced, Xu Shiyou's mood was difficult to calm down. He was originally told that he would be awarded the rank of general, but in the end he only received the title of general. For this significant difference, Xu Shiyou felt a huge psychological gap. His deeds are already famous on the battlefield, and he has played a decisive role in many key battles. Mountains of dissatisfaction and confusion piled up in his heart.
With this doubt and grievance, Xu Shiyou decided to seek answers in person. He went to Zhou Enlai's office and bluntly expressed his thoughts: "Prime Minister, you know my performance on the battlefield. I feel fully qualified to be awarded the rank of General.
Zhou Enlai faced Xu Shiyou's straightforwardness, and his expression did not fluctuate, but responded in a gentle tone: "General Xu, you are indeed a heroic soldier, no one can deny this." But you also know that General Su Yu was also an outstanding military commander. In long battles, he is not only your boss, but also the planner and executor of many major battles. Even so, Su Yu was only awarded the rank of general.
These words seem to remind Xu Shiyou that the evaluation of military rank is not simply based on merit, but a combination of many factors. Zhou Enlai's attitude was calm, but the deep meaning contained in it made Xu Shiyou fall into deep thought. He realized that his dissatisfaction may stem from a lack of awareness of the entire judging process.
In the early 1970s, Xu Shiyou not only served as the first secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, but also deeply devoted himself to the development of agriculture and the improvement of people's livelihood in the province. With a particular focus on food production, he has taken the initiative to seek innovative solutions to increase food production. Under his guidance, Jiangsu Province launched a program to introduce new crops, especially high-yielding multi-panicle sorghum from Hainan. Xu Shiyou was not satisfied with just introducing new varieties, he also personally supervised a series of agricultural experiments to ensure the adaptability and effectiveness of new technologies.
These efforts quickly bore fruit, especially in the experimental fields, where the yield of sorghum per mu reached an astonishing more than 1,000 catties. This achievement has not only improved the living standards of local farmers, but also made a great contribution to the food security of Jiangsu Province. In addition to sorghum, Xu Shiyou also promoted sweet potato cultivation in particular. He was personally involved in promoting and popularizing planting techniques, making sweet potatoes another major crop that increased farmers' incomes.
Xu Shiyou's agricultural innovations have yielded remarkable results. In particular, the weight of the two sweet potato plants reached 18.5 catties and 19.5 catties respectively, becoming a remarkable visual and achievement symbol. The two giant sweet potatoes were meticulously photographed and recorded as a symbol of the agricultural achievements of Jiangsu Province and sent to Beijing for Chairman Mao to admire. This is not only an affirmation of Xu Shiyou's achievements in the field of agriculture, but also shows his outstanding ability in local leadership positions and his deep concern for people's livelihood.
Wang Bicheng
With the outbreak of the July 7 Incident in 1937, the whole country was pushed into the wave of all-out anti-Japanese war. In this context, Wang Bicheng was urgently transferred to the New Fourth Army as the commander and chief of staff of the first detachment, shouldering the important task of rebuilding and consolidating the anti-Japanese base areas in southern Jiangsu. With Maoshan as the strategic center, he began a two-year arduous struggle.
From the summer of 1938 to the summer of 1940, Wang Bicheng commanded more than 200 large and small battles in this land seriously threatened by the enemy. His military talent and resolute style made it possible to win almost every sortie, thus rapidly improving the security and morale of the anti-Japanese base areas. Under his leadership, the Maoshan base area not only became an impregnable anti-Japanese fortress, but also gradually expanded into the heart of the entire anti-Japanese activities in southern Jiangsu.
The local people spoke highly of Wang Bicheng's bravery, and his name became a symbol of resistance against Japan, and his achievements in folklore were like legends, full of fighting passion and heroic spirit. Wang Bicheng was not only a fierce general on the battlefield, but he was also well versed in psychological warfare and guerrilla tactics, which made the Japanese army repeatedly fall into the iron bucket position of the people in southern Jiangsu and could not extricate themselves.
Wang Bicheng demonstrated his outstanding ability as a military commander, personally participating in tactical arrangements before each battle, and flexibly adjusting his strategy according to changes in the terrain and enemy situation. His military intuition and precise grasp of the battlefield enabled every battle to achieve the desired results, greatly suppressed the enemy's ability to move, and laid a solid foundation for the subsequent victory of the Anti-Japanese War.
In the process of conferring important military ranks in 1955, Wang Bicheng's evaluation results aroused his dissatisfaction. Although he had demonstrated outstanding military prowess in a number of key battles, he was only awarded the rank of lieutenant general. Wang Bicheng, an experienced veteran revolutionary, felt that his contribution did not match the rank he had received, and he inevitably felt that this assessment was unfair.
Unable to suppress his dissatisfaction with the results, Wang decided to turn to his longtime leader and old friend, Tan Zhenlin. Tan Zhenlin has a deep understanding of Wang Bicheng's ability and contribution, and naturally will not ignore the visit of this old subordinate. He promised to report Wang Bicheng's situation to his superiors, hoping to win him a higher rank.
When Tan Zhenlin began to express this request to the central government, the situation did not go well. Before his proposal could be fully developed, he was heavily criticized by his superiors on the grounds that such individual interventions could affect the fairness of the entire rank. This criticism not only put Tan Zhenlin in an embarrassing situation, but Wang Biwei himself was also implicated and criticized.
In the face of criticism from his superiors, Wang Bicheng realized that his dissatisfaction might have caused unnecessary trouble for both him and his old leader. This experience made him reflect deeply on his own actions and realize that personal grievances and complaints need to be appropriately put aside in the face of the big picture. He no longer publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the grading of military ranks, instead focusing on future service and responsibilities.
Zhong Wei
In the 1947 Sanxia Jiangnan Campaign, the Fifth Division led by Zhong Wei was originally tasked with supporting the first column. While marching to the Dehui area, they came across Kuomintang troops. Intelligence showed that enemy forces were preparing for a layout, which gave Zhong Wei and his troops a surprise combat opportunity. Although the divisional political commissar suggested adopting a strategy to avoid direct conflict and advance by detour to preserve troops, Zhong Wei held a different view.
Zhong Wei firmly believed that giving up this attack would be tantamount to missing a golden opportunity to weaken the enemy's combat power. He strongly expressed his opinion at the tactical meeting: "The enemy in front of us is like meat in the mouth, if you don't eat it, it's a waste, and we can't let such an opportunity slip away." "His determination and will to fight influenced the whole division, and it was decided to attack on the spot.
Zhong Wei's decision quickly changed the layout of the entire battlefield. His Fifth Division began the battle against the Dehui Nationalist Army, and this sudden engagement forced the first column, which had been friendly forces in other areas, to turn around and come to Zhong Wei's aid. In addition, Zhong Wei's actions even affected the overall strategic deployment of the superior commander Lin Biao. Lin Biao had to redeploy the surrounding troops, strengthen support for Zhong Wei, and jointly encircle and suppress Dehui's national army.
This unexpected battle not only demonstrated Zhong Wei's courage and fighting courage, but also unexpectedly strengthened the military pressure of the communist army in the Dehui area. Zhong Wei's decision was ultimately proved to be correct, as the battle effectively weakened the local defenses of the Nationalist army and played a key role in the victory of the entire Sanxia Jiangnan Campaign.
Zhong Wei was only rated as a major general at the 1955 military rank awarding ceremony, a result that left him dissatisfied and confused. His immediate subordinates were awarded a higher rank of lieutenant general, which made Zhong Wei begin to reflect on his own shortcomings. Over time, Zhong Wei gradually understood the decision of the evaluation committee.
Zhong Wei sometimes showed a bias in the management of his troops, and he often prioritized the troops under his command in the allocation of supplies, which may have affected his rating to some extent. While this behavior enhances the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the troops, it may be seen as lacking a collectivist spirit from a larger organizational and strategic perspective.
After gaining an in-depth understanding of the evaluation criteria, Zhong Wei began to realize that the evaluation of military ranks is not only based on battlefield performance and troop efficiency, but also involves the leader's overall view and responsiveness to the instructions of superiors. This realization allowed him to gradually accept his rank of major general and began to adjust his approach to material distribution and troop management.
Zhong Wei's growth and changes were also reflected in his later actions. He began to pay more attention to the fair and impartial handling of the affairs of the troops, and strived to ensure a balanced distribution of resources while enhancing the combat effectiveness of the troops, so as to reflect higher organizational loyalty and team spirit. Through these changes, Zhong Wei not only improved his leadership skills, but also strengthened his cooperation with other senior generals, and these efforts had a significant positive impact on the rest of his military career.
At the 1955 national ceremony for the awarding of military ranks, although some high-ranking generals such as Xu Shiyou and Zhong Wei initially expressed dissatisfaction with their ranks, the vast majority of the generals were supportive of the central government's decision. These dissatisfied voices were also gradually transformed under the Party's education and ideological work, and these generals realized that they had misunderstood the decisions of the Central Committee and overreacted in the early stages.
Su Yu made it clear that the level of military rank does not measure a person's value and contribution, and he pays more attention to the effect of actual work than to fame. Xu Haidong held a similar view, arguing that the essence of leadership was to serve the people and the revolution, rather than to pursue personal fame and profit. This spirit of indifference to fame and fortune has been widely praised and inspired many juniors in the military.
Through this award ceremony, the responsibilities and status of many generals have not only been redefined, but also the understanding and respect for the spirit of leadership within the military have been deepened. In particular, under the Party's education and guidance, many generals gradually discarded their initial grievances and accepted the results of their rank evaluations with a more open and introspective attitude.
This award ceremony is not only an affirmation of the generals' military careers, but also a profound embodiment of their revolutionary spirit and professional ethics. This is reflected not only in those generals who have received senior ranks, but also in those who prioritize collective and national needs over individual honor. This sets a high moral standard and professional example for the entire army.