He was a humble and low-key soldier who made great achievements in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and single-handedly brought out 800 founding generals. However, after drawing an end to his brilliant military career, the general unexpectedly declined the lofty rank of "marshal". It's a really puzzling thing for a hero who has contributed so much. What exactly did he do for making this choice? Is it more humility or something else? Let's explore the story behind this founding father.
The teacher throws the pen from Rong
Mountains and rivers are broken, guns are waiting to be released, and the smoke of wolves covers the earth. Over the past 100 years, the Chinese nation has suffered unprecedented suffering and humiliation under the humiliation of foreign powers. Just as the people of the country were fighting bloody battles and vowing to defend their homeland, a young intellectual from a scholarly family also generously surrendered, put down the white scroll in his hand, and picked up the steel spear.
This person is Xu Xiangqian, who was born in a scholarly family in Shanxi. His father, Xu Maozhun, was a talented man during the Qing Dynasty and taught his son Confucian classics. And his mother, Zhao Jinluan, is a devout Buddhist, hardworking and kind, and subtle to his descendants with virtue. Under the influence of such an environment, Xu Xiangqian has developed a good character of studiousness, humility and courtesy since he was a child.
can be described as a disciple of the middle family, and it seems that he has no chance with those dust deeds. However, the setbacks of fate hit him again and again, and finally pushed him to embark on the road of revolution. After the Xinhai Revolution, Xu Xiangqian studied in a private school and a new-style school, but due to his poor family, he ended his studies without illness. To make a living, he worked as an apprentice in a bookstore in Hebei and then returned to his hometown to become a teacher.
I thought that I could keep to myself and work the people's education. Who knows, the warlords are rampant and domineering, and new ideas have been planted in Xu Xiangqian's heart. Soon he was expelled for propagating revolutionary ideas in schools. In the face of the tyranny of the warlords, Xu Xiangqian's determination to revolution became more and more determined.
In September 1921, Xu Xiangqian, who was 20 years old, resolutely threw his pen into Rong and went south to Guangzhou to join the revolutionary armed forces initiated by Mr. Sun Yat-sen. From this moment on, this former teacher completely bid farewell to the greenhouse-like life of the past and embarked on a revolutionary road full of thorns but also heroic.
When he first joined the army, Xu Xiangqian's demeanor still maintained his former elegant demeanor, and he was even a little restrained and shy. However, after the baptism of war, he gradually grew from a shy scholar to a brave and fearless revolutionary soldier. And all this is also due to an important turning point - in 1924, he was selected by Chairman Mao Zedong and entered the Whampoa Military Academy.
The growth process of the first phase of Whampoa
In the spring of 1924, the National Revolutionary Army was announced in Guangzhou, and immediately welcomed a group of initial cadets to study at the Whampoa Military Academy. The founding of this military academy marked the beginning of the building of China's modern revolutionary army. Xu Xiangqian is one of the outstanding figures who stood out among the first batch of students of the Whampoa Military Academy.
At the beginning of admission, Xu Xiangqian's weak appearance was almost missed by the examiners. Fortunately, he finally won the appreciation of Chairman Mao Zedong and successfully enrolled in the school. Since then, the Whampoa Military Academy has become a melting pot for Xu Xiangqian's transformation. Here, he not only received strict military theory and actual combat training, but more importantly, he was influenced by the ideals and beliefs of Zhou Enlai and other revolutionary predecessors, and obtained a new sublimation from the ideology.
As the first student of the Whampoa Military Academy, Xu Xiangqian was undoubtedly the best group of people that year. Whether it is military practice or strategic and tactical study, he has studied hard, worked diligently, and performed excellently. When he was about to graduate, Xu Xiangqian was retained in the main force of the National Revolutionary Army with excellent results, and his first position was an ordinary platoon commander.
It is worth mentioning that although Xu Xiangqian was once valued by Chiang Kai-shek at the military academy, he finally firmly chose the revolutionary road of the Communist Party. In March 1927, Xu Xiangqian officially joined the Communist Party of China, and since then he has been united with the party and shared the same fate with the people.
Although his position was not prominent after graduating from the military academy, Xu Xiangqian quickly showed his uniqueness in the subsequent revolutionary war with his extraordinary talent and resourcefulness. After the end of the Eastern Expedition Chen Jiongming, he was reused for his excellent command ability, and successively served as an instructor, staff officer, and regimental deputy, and initially forged the experience of leading troops to fight.
In the spring of 1930, Xu Xiangqian went to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area with the Red Army and was promoted to deputy commander of the Red First Army and commander of the First Division. The following year, with the reorganization of the Red Fourth Front Army, he was further promoted to chief of staff, and joined hands with Kuang Jixun and other revolutionary veteran comrades to repeatedly defeat the "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang army.
It was during this period that Xu Xiangqian showed extraordinary talent and talent for military command. Thanks to his outstanding political mobilization ability, the combat effectiveness of the Red Fourth Army grew rapidly, and its strength expanded to more than 40,000 in a short period of time. In this unit, more than 800 people were awarded the honor of "founding general" in the future. It can be said that Xu Xiangqian is the "founding father" and "father of generals" in the true sense.
From a small platoon commander who had just left his student status to a chief of staff who presided over the operations of the army, the theoretical knowledge, revolutionary convictions, and actual combat experience that Xu Xiangqian had learned at the Whampoa Military Academy had already been transformed into a solid military command ability during this period. And these precious treasures will continue to accompany him to move forward and continue to shine in the arduous revolutionary journey.
The feat of the Red War Horse
Entering the 30s, the smoke of civil war is getting thicker. In these turbulent years, Xu Xiangqian was like a red war horse, bravely killing the enemy, and wrote a shining page for the cause of the Chinese revolution.
In 1933, after the Red Fourth Front Army and the Central Red Army successfully joined forces, Xu Xiangqian was appointed commander of the Fifth Army Corps. After that, he led his subordinate troops to operate in western Hubei, western Xiangxi, and southern Hunan, confronting the enemy and fighting in a maneuver. During this period, Xu Xiangqian showed outstanding military command skills.
At the beginning of 1934, Xu Xiangqian led his troops to bravely break out of the encirclement of the Kuomintang army, joined forces with the main force of the Central Red Army, and participated in the famous 25,000-mile Long March. In this arduous journey, Xu Qianqian took the lead and led the crowd through hardships and dangers. After arriving in northern Shaanxi, he held the important position of director of the war room of the General Headquarters of the Central Red Army.
In 1936, Xu Xiangqian was transferred to the chief of staff of the General Headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and cooperated with the famous military strategist Chen Geng and others to command the anti-Japanese frontline troops. At the age of 35, he had grown into a high-ranking general with rich experience and prestige.
The following year, under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission, Xu Xiangqian began to command the frontline troops of the Shanxi Military Region, and carried out a series of major battles against the Japanese puppet army and puppet positions. The most famous of these was the Battle of Pingxingguan, a protracted and interlocking battle. Xu Xiangqian commanded well in this battle, strategized, and finally annihilated more than 4,000 enemy troops, smashing the "encroachment" plan of the Japanese puppet army.
The Battle of Pingxingguan not only greatly boosted the morale of the anti-Japanese army and people, but also won valuable time and space for the continuous struggle in the Shanxi base area. Since then, Xu Xiangqian's ability to command troops has been more valued, and his prestige has spread throughout the country. In the following years, he successively served as the chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army and the Eighteenth Group Army, and the deputy commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War in 1946, the civil war broke out, and Xu Xiangqian went to the front again. At this time, he was already a battle-hardened veteran, and his strategic vision and command experience had reached a very high level. In the winter of that year, he led the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu field army to achieve a complete victory in the famous Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Campaign, annihilating about 180,000 enemy troops and setting a record for the most enemies destroyed in a domestic war.
In order to conquer the important town of Jinan, Xu Xiangqian used superb tactical layout and used the method of "annihilating on the outer line and encircling on the inner line" to isolate Jinan's strong defense. After arduous maneuvers, Jinan City finally fell, and nearly 400,000 Kuomintang troops were annihilated. The victory in the Battle of Jinan completely changed the situation of the East China Liberation War.
With his outstanding military exploits in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, Xu Xiangqian soon gained the high attention of the central government. In August 1949, the Central Committee decided to confer on him the rank of "Corps Commander", which was the highest rank at that time. In February of the following year, at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xu Xiangqian was elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee with a high vote. It can be said that Xu Xiangqian has become one of the most important figures in the military circles of New China.
New China has made outstanding military achievements
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Xiangqian did not become famous, but continued to write more brilliant military feats on the new historical stage.
In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the Chinese People's Volunteers were ordered to go to the front line to participate in the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea. As one of the most senior military strategists in New China, Xu Qianqian was appointed commander of the Ninth Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers, and personally led the troops to charge into battle.
In the smoke of war, Xu Xiangqian once again showed his outstanding military command ability. With superb strategic decision-making and command ability, the Ninth Corps led by him not only broke through the enemy's encirclement many times, but also made remarkable achievements in major battles such as the Battle of Changjin Lake.
In September 1951, there was a stalemate on the Korean battlefield, and the two sides fell into a stalemate. In order to break through the battle, Xu Xiangqian personally deployed a huge battle in the mountains of eastern Korea. He skillfully arranged for the border army to seize important areas in advance, and the main force to strike back and forth in a cycle, putting the enemy in a dilemma. After nearly a month of difficult maneuvers, the strength of a brigade of the enemy army was finally completely annihilated. This battle not only injected new impetus into the later counteroffensive of the Chinese and North Korean armies, but also established Xu Xiangqian's lofty prestige in the eyes of the new Chinese soldiers.
In the autumn of 1952, Chairman Mao personally inspected the Korean battlefield and decided to carry out the fifth campaign. When deploying the campaign, he specially transferred Xu Xiangqian back from the Eastern Front and appointed him as the commander of the Ninth Corps. In the ensuing Jinhua operation, Xu Xiangqian once again made plans and commanded well, not only annihilating more than 60,000 enemy troops, but also rescuing the crisis in the strategically important Jinhua area. The battle not only shocked the U.S. military, but also became one of the biggest victories of the Chinese and North Korean armies at that time.
In July 1953, the Korean Ceasefire Agreement was formally signed, ending the fighting. At that time, Xu Qianqian had also put on the epaulettes of "Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army." This rank made him truly the core figure of the top military leadership of the new China. In the following years, Xu Xiangqian presided over and led the modernization and reform of China's military system, opening a new chapter in the regularization and modernization of the army.
In view of Xu Xiangqian's outstanding military exploits in the Anti-Japanese War, the War of Liberation and the Korean War, in May 1955, Chairman Mao personally awarded him the title of one of the "Top Ten Marshals". For an ordinary soldier from a modest background, this is undoubtedly the highest honor and expectation.
However, to everyone's surprise, Xu Xiangqian, who was 53 years old at the time, made a puzzling decision: he politely declined the honor. Regarding the ardent expectations of Chairman Mao and the Central Committee, Xu Xiangqian explained earnestly that as an ordinary Communist Party member, he had only fulfilled the most basic obligations. And the title of "marshal" is too noble, and he really can't afford it. At the same time, he also recommended several veterans who are more senior than himself to accept this honor.
In the face of Xu Xiangqian's insistence, Chairman Mao and the central leadership could only persuade again and again. Finally, three years later, in 1958, Xu Qianfang reluctantly accepted the rank of "General of the Chinese People's Liberation Army". Although this military rank is illustrious and respectful, it is still far below the title of "marshal".
A brilliant book of life's achievements
Xu Xiangqian's life can be described as magnificent and frequent. From an ordinary cadet of the Whampoa Military Academy to the founding general of New China, he wrote a legendary chapter in history with his deeds.
Xu Xiangqian was born in 1901 in an ordinary peasant family in Dezhou, Shandong. His ancestral home is Henan, and his family is poor. It wasn't until he was 19 years old that he entered the Whampoa Military Academy with the help of fellow villagers. Since then, the military career has begun.
While studying in Huangpu, Xu Xiangqian began to receive the baptism of revolutionary ideas and eventually joined the Communist Party of China. In the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1927, he resolutely chose the path of the Communist revolution. Following the Red Army to fight in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, he developed solid military command skills.
In 1930, Xu Xiangqian went to the base area with the Red Fourth Front Army, and soon showed outstanding military command talent. Under his outstanding leadership, the combat effectiveness of the Red Fourth Army grew rapidly, and the size of the troops swelled to more than 40,000 people, becoming the main force of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army at that time. Later, more than 800 people were awarded the title of "Founding General", and Xu Xiangqian was honored as the "Founding Father" and "Father of Generals".
In 1934, Xu Xiangqian participated in the arduous 25,000-mile Long March. After crossing the Sichuan-Shaanxi Road, which was covered with bruises, he was appointed director of the war room of the Central Red Army Headquarters, commanding the anti-Japanese front. In 1936, he was transferred to the chief of the general staff of the Eighth Route Army and fought side by side with Chen Geng and other famous generals.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, famous battles such as Pingxingguan and the Battle of the Hundred Regiments all had Xu Xiangqian's figure appear on the command platform. After 1946, he led the army to start the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Battles that shocked China and foreign countries, creating a record for the most enemies destroyed in the civil war, thus laying the foundation for the victory of the East China Liberation War.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Xiangqian's military career reached a new peak. When the Korean War broke out, he personally led the Ninth Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers to charge into battle, and repeatedly performed miraculous achievements in major battles such as the Battle of Changjin Lake. In 1955, Chairman Mao strongly recommended him as one of the "Top Ten Marshals", but Xu Xiangqian politely declined, and only reluctantly accepted the rank of "general" three years later.
After retiring, Xu Xiangqian worked in the Central Military Commission for many years and served as vice chairman. During this period, he presided over the completion of the modernization and reform of the new Chinese army, and made outstanding contributions to the important weapon of the country.
Throughout his life, Xu Xiangqian can be described as an outstanding representative of the military strategists of New China. In April 2000, at the age of 99, he passed away. Before his death, he encouraged his relatives and friends to "think about the people in everything and never forget the party's education." This exhortation shows his unswerving loyalty to the cause of the party and the people throughout his life.