The 57 founding generals have no distinction in military rank, but there are some differences in seniority and actual status: there are general at the corps level, general at the deputy corps level and general at the corps level; And this is only a rough division according to rank, if you analyze each general in detail, the difference is even more obvious. Among the founding generals, Xiao Ke, Zhang Zongxun, Wang Zhen, Zhou Chunquan, Song Renqiang and others have very outstanding past service resumes, especially Xiao Ke and Zhang Zongxun.
The Red Army had three main fronts, and Xiao Ke served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Second Front Army, which was a qualification far beyond the rank of general; During the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he also served as the deputy commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, a position that could basically match the rank of marshal or general. Zhang Zongxun's position in the Red Army and the Anti-Japanese War was not low, but he was mainly strong during the Liberation War, serving as the first deputy commander of the Northwest Field Army, directly assisting Marshal Peng Dehuai.
In terms of seniority, ability, and contribution in the army, Xiao Ke and Zhang Zongxun are both outstanding generals, and even if they were awarded the rank of general in 1955, it would not cause controversy. Especially for the former, the people have always had the saying of "General Xiao Kezhen", which shows the high prestige. But what few people know is that the personal relationship between the two famous and meritorious generals of our army is not harmonious, and it can even be described as "tense", and there have been incidents that have had a serious impact on each other. What's going on?
In fact, according to the context of personal development, the two generals had very few opportunities to work together directly before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and they were basically not in a specific military system, so they could not talk about friendship with each other and had no contradictions. In 1955, after Zhang Zongxun became the deputy director of the training director, he had close contact with Xiao Ke, who was also the deputy director of the training department at this time. But Shaw rose a little faster, and two years later he became the head of the training director. As Xiao Ke's direct subordinate, Zhang Zongxun only worked for a few months, and at the end of 1957, he was reappointed as a full-time deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army.
However, something happened in the meantime. Relations between the mainland and the Soviet Union, which changed rapidly in the late fifties, gradually began to be tense. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, our army has learned from a large number of Soviet experiences and models, and it is particularly obvious that the training department is in charge; if the relevant cadres fail to realize the political risks and still adhere to the old way of thinking and work methods, they are likely to invite trouble. In this regard, Zhang Zongxun was very keen, and he openly criticized: the more you learn from the Soviet Union, the deeper the poisoning will be.
Zhang Zongxun's relevant statement caused Xiao Ke's dissatisfaction. Previously, Zhang Zongxun was a strong advocate of learning from the Soviet Union, and after the wind direction changed, his attitude changed quickly, which made Xiao Ke difficult to accept for a while. Xiao Ke has an upright temperament, and he believes that the good experience in the Soviet army can still be used for reference, and it cannot be generalized. In order to clarify the direction within the training director's department, Xiao Ke presided over a meeting of four-level cadres in 58, and specially called back Zhang Zongxun, who had been transferred to the general staff, to criticize him by name. The supporters of the two factions of opinion did not give in to each other, and the atmosphere of the meeting became very tense, and the content of the discussion even involved the Ministry of National Defense and Mr. Peng.
Readers who are familiar with modern history know that Zhang Zongxun is Mr. Peng's favorite general. In fact, such a question makes sense from any angle, but Xiao Ke's hardline attitude seems out of place, especially after fiercely criticizing Zhang Zongxun, he also had a direct correspondence with Peng Dehuai, the content of which is still about the modernization and regularization of the army, involving a lot of "learning from the Soviet Union". In the summer of 1958, a storm came. At the enlarged meeting of the Military Commission, Xiao Ke was criticized as a typical representative of "dogmatism", and the general left the army for many years. The main organizer of the meeting was Mr. Peng, who was then Minister of National Defense. As a result of this change, the training director department, one of the "eight major departments", was directly abolished because it involved too many personnel.
In the decades that followed, Zhang Zongxun had little personal contact with Xiao Ke. The criticism of Shaw was excessive, and the "dogmatic" hat was eventually removed. However, after Xiao Ke's personal situation improved, he also "self-criticized": Back then, Comrade Zhang Zongxun had already been transferred to other departments, and it was inappropriate for me to bring him back for a meeting. "Gentlemen are harmonious but different", although the personal relationship is not so close, the old revolutionaries are selfless and upright.
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