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Tan Zheng, a founding general who had never led troops on the battlefield, left an indelible mark on the history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army with his profound political work ability. Born in the revolutionary hotland of Hunan, Tan Zheng has shown extraordinary political talent and firm revolutionary conviction since his youth. Under the influence of Chairman Mao, he devoted himself to the cause of the party and gradually became an indispensable political worker in the Red Army. What made Tan Zheng so unusually open in a report in 1948 that all experienced political commissars did not dare to speak out? Let's take Xiao Zhu into this story.
Tan Zheng was born in June 1906 in a traditional family in Nanzhushan Village, Xiangxiang City, Hunan Province. At the age of six, Tan Zheng was sent to the Tan clan's private school near Qixingqiao in his hometown and began his learning journey. The private school is home to many children from the surrounding area, including his future friend Chen Geng.
This experience underwent a major change in 1914, when the private school in Qixingqiao was upgraded to a junior elementary school. This change has brought new learning opportunities for Tan Zheng. In the same year, Huang Duzhi, an old classmate of Mao Zedong from Dongshan School, joined the school as a faculty member. Teacher Huang brought new ideas and advanced educational concepts, which had a profound impact on Tan Zheng's ideology.
Under Wong's tutelage, Tan Zheng was exposed to many Enlightenment ideas and modern educational methods, and these new knowledge greatly broadened his horizons and led him to focus on social and political issues. Teacher Huang not only imparted book knowledge, but also often discussed with students the future of the country and the necessity of revolution, and these discussions deeply aroused Tan Zheng's revolutionary feelings.
In such an educational environment, the friendship between Tan Zheng and Chen Geng gradually deepened, and they jointly cultivated a deep concern for the fate of the country and the people. The two discussed and studied together on campus, and gradually formed a common ideal and belief. This period not only had a decisive impact on Tan Zheng's personal growth, but also laid a solid foundation for his later political career.
Against the chaotic backdrop of 1927, the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek made an abrupt turn and launched a fierce blow against the Communists. At this critical moment, Tan Zheng responded to the call of the revolution and embarked on a journey to Hunan, joining the ranks of the Autumn Harvest Uprising. Although the uprising was not a complete success, it accumulated valuable experience for subsequent revolutionary activities. Tan Zheng served as secretary of the regimental headquarters of the 1st Red Division, a position that gave him the opportunity to get closer to the party's core decision-making process.
Tan Zheng's organizational skills and political sensitivity were recognized by the party, and he was officially accepted as a member of the party. With the development of the revolutionary situation, Tan Zheng was sent to a more critical position - as Chairman Mao's secretary. This role required him not only to deal with a large amount of paperwork, but also to have a deep insight and forward-thinking of the revolutionary situation.
Chairman Mao soon discovered that Tan Zheng was not only knowledgeable, but also had keen political insight. The exchanges between the two were frequent and in-depth, often for hours at a time. At many critical moments, Tan Zheng's advice helped Chairman Mao make the right strategic decisions. They discussed how to consolidate the party's foundation, enhance its combat effectiveness, and how to more effectively implement land reform and raise the revolutionary consciousness of the masses.
In his dialogue with Chairman Mao, Tan Zheng repeatedly put forward innovative views and strategies. He was well aware of the importance of information in warfare, and proposed a more effective communication system to ensure that orders were transmitted correctly on the battlefield. In addition, he stressed the need for education within the revolutionary ranks and advocated the establishment of political education courses to strengthen the understanding and belief of the fighters in the ideas of communism.
Tan Zheng's proposals not only won Chairman Mao's appreciation, but also made his status in the party increasingly elevated. His forward-looking recommendations on how to use propaganda tools to boost morale and how to deal with relations with the Kuomintang and other non-communist forces had an important impact on the development of the Red Army. As their cooperation deepened, Tan Zheng gradually became an indispensable strategic assistant to Chairman Mao, and his work became more and more crucial, and his contribution to the revolution became more and more great.
In that turbulent era, Tan Zheng's political wisdom and loyal cooperation with Chairman Mao jointly wrote an unforgettable revolutionary history.
At a critical juncture in the spring of 1944, Tan Zheng was selected by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to participate in a crucial meeting of senior cadres at the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in the northwest region. The meeting focused on deepening and improving the political work in the military, and Tan Zheng was in charge of presenting a comprehensive and concise report entitled "Report on the Political Work of the Army."
In this speech, Tan Zheng not only summed up the valuable experience of the Red Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army in political work, but also expounded in detail the essence, importance, and core principles of the people's army's political work in light of the special situation and tasks during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. His report highlighted the central role of political work in uniting soldiers and enhancing combat effectiveness, and stressed that in the current complex war environment, political work must be further strengthened in terms of adaptability and foresight.
Tan Zheng specifically put forward a series of innovative proposals, which aimed at reforming the existing organizational form and work system of political work. He stressed the need to simplify the structure of the political sector to make it more efficient and flexible; At the same time, he proposed to enhance the professional training of political workers to ensure that they are better equipped to meet the challenges of wartime.
He suggested that more systematic political education and ideological work should be promoted within the military to ensure that every soldier fully understands the meaning of fighting and firmly supports the leadership of the party. Tan Zheng also pointed out that it is necessary to continuously optimize the content and methods of political work through regular internal discussions and feedback mechanisms to ensure that they keep pace with the times and meet the actual needs of the battlefield.
In his report, Tan Zheng also stressed the need to strengthen communication with officers and soldiers at the grassroots level, and advocated that political workers should go to the front line and communicate directly with the fighters to understand their needs and ideas, so as to make political work closer to reality and more targeted and effective.
The report played a key role in raising the overall political awareness and morale of the armed forces, and also laid a solid political foundation for future military operations and long-term strategies. Tan Zheng's suggestion was later widely adopted, which greatly influenced the direction of the development of the people's army's political work, strengthened the army's discipline and cohesion, and ensured continuous victories in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the subsequent War of Liberation.
During the critical period of the Liberation War, a serious incident of discipline violation occurred within the Northeast Field Army, which shook the upper leadership. During the incident, a company commander had an inappropriate relationship with the wife of a local landlord due to personal entanglements. When this relationship was exposed, not only did he not repent, but the company commander killed Ma Yu, the village chief who exposed the incident, during the conflict, an act that seriously damaged the image and discipline of the people's army.
The seriousness of the situation was quickly reported to the Political Department of the Northeast Field Army, and Tan Zheng, as the director of the Political Department, handled the incident particularly harshly. He immediately instructed a thorough investigation into the truth of the matter and demanded that the incident be dealt with fairly and seriously, as a sign of military discipline.
Tan Zheng believes that any behavior that damages the reputation and discipline of the PLA will not be tolerated. He personally ordered the execution of the company commander who had misbehaved in order to maintain the discipline and majesty of the army. Tan Zheng also emphasized the respect and commemoration of the sacrificial village chief, and personally instructed a grand memorial service for the village chief Ma Yu, expressing his deep condolences for his sacrifice and condolences to his family.
The handling of this incident not only restored the discipline of the troops, but also reaffirmed the responsibility of the new Chinese armed forces to protect the lives and property of the people. Tan Zheng showed his decisiveness and fairness in handling the matter, strengthened the internal management of the troops, and ensured that similar incidents would not happen again.
This incident was also conveyed to the whole army as an important educational case, so as to strengthen the soldiers' sense of discipline and education on laws and regulations, remind all soldiers that they must strictly abide by military discipline, maintain harmonious relations between the army and the localities, and ensure that the PLA maintains high moral standards and discipline in the journey to liberate the whole country.
At a critical moment in the spring of 1948, Tan Zheng presided over and convened a crucial political work conference of the military region. In the preparatory stage of the meeting, Tan Zheng had already conducted intensive and in-depth research and collected a large amount of first-hand information on the internal problems of the troops. His office is piled up with various reports and records that are the "ammunition" he will use in meetings.
On the day of the meeting, Tan Zheng spared no effort to present the results of his investigation. He directly referred to specific cases by name, each of which pointed to a specific person or event in question, and this direct and resolute attitude demonstrated the seriousness of the meeting and the determination to solve the problem. His approach is impartial and leaves no room for face.
According to Lai Chuanzhu's later autobiography, the atmosphere at that time was extremely tense. The air in the conference room seemed to freeze, and every time Tan Zheng named a political commissar, that political commissar would bow his head in shame. This is especially the case, because the commissars who are usually named are careless about their work or have other serious problems.
Tan Zheng's speech at the meeting was full of force, and he stressed that the discipline and work style of the army are the cornerstone of a strong army, and any behavior that deviates from this principle will be severely punished. He also pointed out in particular that as a political commissar, he should not only perform well on the battlefield, but also play an exemplary and leading role in the party's work.
Tan Zheng's meeting eventually became a turning point, marking a major reorganization of the political work of the military region. Through this strict self-criticism and rectification, the overall discipline and combat effectiveness of the troops have indeed been improved to a certain extent, and a solid foundation has been laid for the subsequent campaign. There has also been a marked improvement in the behavior of Lai Chuanzhu and other political commissars, who have become stricter in demanding themselves and leading by example to become true loyal fighters of the party.
General Tan Zheng, a political worker with an important position in the military history of the mainland, has devoted his life to the political work of the army. Through his profound theoretical insight and practical innovation, General Tan Zheng's ideas and strategies have greatly enriched and perfected our army's political work system and made indelible contributions to promoting and perfecting the army's political construction.
Tan Zheng's career has been devoted almost entirely to the political department of the military, and he not only focuses on the popularization and education of political theories, but also pays special attention to the application of these theories to practice, effectively combining the needs of military practice and political work. The many political work reform measures he put forward have played a key role in strengthening the ideological education of soldiers and enhancing the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the army.
On November 6, 1988, Tan Zheng passed away in Beijing at the age of 82. His passing is a great loss to the political work of our military, but his rich legacy will continue to guide and inspire generations of military and political workers. Senior General Tan Zheng's life and work have become an important chapter in the history of our party's and country's military construction, and his spirit and achievements will be forever remembered.
Bibliography:
[1] Cui Xianghua. Tan Zheng: Sweeping a Thousand Armies with a Pen and a Life of Honesty [J]. Friends of Party Members and Cadres, 2007, (03): 34-35.
[2] Xiangxiang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Xiangxiang Municipal People's Government. Outstanding meritorious service and demeanor will last forever[N]. Hunan Daily,
[3] Josh Zhang. Showing Talent and Heroic——Young Tan Zheng [J]. Party History, 1999, (04): 13-15.