[Disclaimer: The content of this article is written with authoritative sources and personal opinions]
Text: Historical Records of Literature and Ink
Edited by Wenmo Historical Records
Chen Guang, a general who left a deep mark on the history of the Chinese revolution, finally came to an embarrassing end.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many generals who had made great achievements on the battlefield successfully transferred to the construction work of the era of peace, and Chen Guang became a typical "heroic end" type figure, who repeatedly made military exploits in the revolutionary war, and was finally expelled from the party for various complicated reasons, and ended his life by self-immolation during house arrest.
However, a detail after he was expelled from the party is even more thought-provoking: Chen Guangzeng asked someone to find his old comrade-in-arms Luo Ronghuan, hoping that he could come forward to intercede for him, but Luo Ronghuan did not express his position after hearing it. What's the story behind this?
Let's go back to 1950, when Chen Guang was no longer the famous and admired general.
Although during the War of Liberation, Chen Guang became a prominent figure in the party by virtue of his outstanding performance in Shandong and Northeast China, after the founding of New China, Chen Guang was transferred to the post of deputy commander of the Guangdong Military Region and commander of the Guangzhou garrison.
During his stay in Guangzhou, Chen Guang made several serious mistakes due to his lack of experience in urban management, especially in the area of intelligence work, Chen Guang did not strictly follow the requirements of the central authorities, and privately recruited the children of martyrs and intellectuals from his hometown to run training classes in Guangzhou, which led to the gradual escalation of the organization's dissatisfaction with him.
Chen Guang's character has always been fierce and very assertive, and this character has won him victory on the battlefield again and again, but during the period of peacebuilding, it has become the source of the intensification of contradictions between him and the organization, and it is precisely because he is unwilling to bow his head and admit his mistakes, and in the end, the organization decided to expel him from the party.
At this time, Chen Guang fell into a low point in his life, he was the acting commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, leading the troops to fight in the north and south, defeating strong enemies, and establishing immortal military exploits, but in just a few years, the former glory came to naught, and Chen Guang could not accept such a turn of fate.
So, he thought of his old comrade-in-arms Luo Ronghuan, Luo Ronghuan is Chen Guang's comrade-in-arms on the battlefield, the two have a close relationship, Chen Guang has fought side by side with Luo Ronghuan at critical moments many times, and has also established a deep friendship on the road to revolution, Chen Guang believes that his predicament this time may be alleviated by Luo Ronghuan's help.
Chen Guang's heart was conflicted at that time.
On the one hand, he is unwilling to compromise with the organization easily, and still insists that his actions are done out of sincerity and without malice; On the other hand, he is well aware that the situation he is facing has reached the point of life and death.
So, Chen Guang decided to ask someone to bring a message to Luo Ronghuan, hoping that this old comrade-in-arms could intercede with Chairman Mao and the central leaders for himself, even if it was just to express Chen Guang's hardships, maybe he would be able to have a glimmer of life.
However, Luo Ronghuan did not make any statement after hearing Chen Guang's request, although this seems indifferent, but it is worth pondering, why did Luo Ronghuan choose to be silent?
First of all, Luo Ronghuan's position at that time determined that he had to handle all party affairs carefully, and as a senior military leader, Luo Ronghuan clearly knew that in the face of the party's organizational discipline, any form of "intercession" could be regarded as a manifestation of favoritism.
In the new China of 1950, the rectification of the party and the maintenance of discipline were particularly important, especially in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In addition, Chen Guang's mistake was not only a mistake at work, but more importantly, Chen Guang's attitude was extremely stubborn when he was arranged by the organization to correct his mistakes, and he always refused to admit his mistakes.
As a staunch Communist Party member, although Luo Ronghuan has a deep personal relationship with Chen Guang, he must maintain a sober position on major issues of right and wrong, and the discipline within the party must not be affected because of personal relations.
In this case, Luo Ronghuan's silence is his adherence to the principles of party spirit.
There is a deeper reason, that is, Chen Guang's problem is not just a personal mistake, but a confrontation between organizational discipline and political attitudes, Chen Guang was expelled from the party, although there are mistakes in his intelligence work, but more importantly, he is resistant to the criticism of the organization and cannot face up to his own mistakes.
This attitude not only affected his personal future, but also had a negative impact on the discipline and unity within the party.
But Chen Guang didn't realize this, even when he asked someone to find Luo Ronghuan to intercede, his heart was still full of unwillingness to fate and doubts about the organization, he never understood why a person who had made great achievements for the party and the country would be treated like this by the organization because of several mistakes.
In his mind, his mistakes were not enough to ruin his entire political career, and he did not understand that party discipline and political attitudes were more important than personal merit.
In fact, Chen Guang's state of mind also reflects the predicament of many veterans of the revolution after they moved from the war years to the peacetime; they were brave and fearless on the battlefield, but during the period of peacebuilding, it was difficult for them to adapt to the new environment due to differences in their personalities and ways of doing things.
Chen Guang's toughness and stubbornness made it impossible for him to keep up with the organization in the new situation, which ultimately led to his tragic fate. In 1954, Chen Guang died in Wuhan.
Although Luo Ronghuan did not intercede for Chen Guang in the end, his feelings and evaluation of Chen Guang have always existed, and many years later, Luo Ronghuan mentioned Chen Guang's name in private occasions to express his regret for this old comrade-in-arms.
Chen Guang's death did bring a heavy blow to many people inside and outside the party at that time, and it was even rumored that some people had felt deep sorrow for Chen Guang's death, saying that "Chen Guang is not dead, at least a general."
Whether these words are true or not, it shows that Chen Guang's merits and abilities have been widely recognized within the party, but it is his personal character and attitude that ultimately led him to a point of no return.
Luo Ronghuan's silence is not only a wordless regret, but also a respect for history and discipline, in that era, every leader in the party had to make a difficult choice between emotion and principle, Luo Ronghuan chose principle, which is also his political consciousness as a senior leading cadre of the party.
Eventually, Chen Guang's grievances were rehabilitated in 1988, and his party membership and reputation were restored.
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