The Central Military Commission (CMC) is responsible for leading the People's Army, an intra-party body whose specific setup has undergone some changes in history. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a "People's Revolutionary Military Commission" within the government, which was different from the "Central Military Commission" mentioned in this article. There are many vice chairmen of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission, and most of the later founding marshals have served as vice chairmen of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission; However, in 1954, this body was abolished, and the Central Military Commission was re-established within the party, with Chairman Mao as the supreme leader, and the marshals were only members and had no vice chairmen. It was not until 1959 that the Central Military Commission set up the post of vice chairman, with a total of 3 people, namely Lin Shuai, Mr. He and Nie Shuai.
It seems a little strange. What about Mr. Zhu, who ranks first among the marshals? Previously, Zhu De served as the commander-in-chief of the people's army for a long time, why was he not included in the list of vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in 59? Naturally, there are reasons, and we must look at them in combination with the historical background of that year. At the Lushan Conference in 1959, Marshal Peng Dehuai wrote a letter to the Central Committee to analyze the issue of the "Great Leap Forward" indicators and the chaos in production in various places, expressing his worries and making suggestions. Later, the letter was printed as a "written opinion" and read and discussed in plenary. Mr. Zhu expressed his support for Peng Dehuai's opinions, hoping that the economic indicators could be adjusted and more rationalized in the future.
However, the situation changed abruptly, and the conference set the tone to criticize Mr. Peng and began to concentrate on "opposing the right", which Marshal Zhu De did not expect. Mr. Zhu has experienced countless ups and downs, and of course he has also seen Peng Dehuai's dangerous situation, and many people who are wise enough to protect themselves have spoken to draw a line with Mr. Peng. But Zhu and Peng have been friends for decades, and Zhu De still wants to try his best to help Peng Dehuai in difficult times, he helps Mr. Peng withstand the "firepower" of some people, and insists on not pulling economic views to personal historical issues. When "criticizing" Mr. Peng, Zhu De avoided the important and trivialized, which led to himself being implicated and getting an evaluation of "scratching the itch in the boots".
The list of new vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission was announced at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission that year, and the three marshals shortlisted were Lin Shuai, He Long, and Nie Rongzhen. And this work was previously done by Marshal Peng Dehuai. On September 17, 1959, Mr. Peng was officially dismissed from the post of Minister of National Defense, and the new Minister of Defense was also Lin Shuai. Nine days later, the Central Committee announced the list of vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, and it was obvious that the two things were related, and Peng Dehuai's authority and influence in the army needed to be eliminated. The degree and time of the criticism he received at this enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission were even greater than that of the Lushan meeting not long ago.
As the head of the marshal, Mr. Zhu was not only not elected as the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in 59, but even ranked fifth in the list of members of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, and Peng Dehuai was not surprisingly not shortlisted. Influenced by the "Great Leap Forward" and Mr. Peng, Mr. Zhu passed a low period in his military and political career. Lin Shuai and Nie Shuai are both representative fathers of the "Double Red One", and they are especially reused by the central government during special periods; Mr. He's position and attitude at the Lushan Conference were very clear, and he was highly affirmed by the Central Committee, and in 59 years, he ranked second only to Mr. Lin among the vice chairmen of the Military Commission.
When the time came to 1966, the number of vice chairmen of the Military Commission increased, and the four marshals Chen Yi, Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, and Ye Jianying were all selected. Therefore, seven of the top ten marshals became vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, and Marshal Ye Jianying presided over the work of the Central Military Commission. At this time, Mr. Zhu was over eighty years old and basically did not directly participate in military affairs; Marshal Luo Ronghuan died of illness three years ago, and the situation of President Peng is well known.
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