On September 27, 1955, when Beijing entered the autumn season, Zhongnanhai held a high-profile award ceremony. At 5 p.m., to the sound of the music of the "March of the Volunteer Army," Chairman Mao awarded the Order of the Marshal of the People's Republic of China and various medals to those who had made meritorious contributions to the new China.
The first to accept Chairman Mao's title was Zhu De, the head of the founding marshals, followed by Peng Dehuai, He Long, Chen Yi, and other marshals. In the thunderous applause, the ten marshals of New China were also born. In the hearts of everyone, since Zhu De is the head of the founding of the Ten Marshals, then whether it is the rank order or the number of the medal, it should be the starting number 001. However, in Zhu De's military rank order, it is not 001.
This situation caused many people to speculate at the time, could it be that Chairman Mao wrote it wrong? But how can such a solemn thing be written wrong? Moreover, the award of the title this time was carried out after a long period of meticulous preparation, which was a very serious and solemn matter, so there was no case of Chairman Mao casually signing No. 001 to others. So, to whom did the Chairman finally award this 001 rank order?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > solemn and serious ceremony</h1>
On November 26, 1952, the various departments began to study the work of military ranks. In 1953, after fully considering the opinions of the Soviet Union and the military rank system in Korea at that time, and taking into account the specific conditions of our army, the second set of plans was proposed. At the end of 1953, the Central Military Commission held a 55-day meeting of high-level cadres.
In his report to Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai said: "Military ranks are mainly to determine the status and authority of each soldier in the queue, so as to perform his duties in accordance with the provisions of the duties and regulations; at the same time, it is also an honor given by the state to military personnel to encourage their work and self-motivation in the army." It was not until February 8, 1955, the sixth session of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress, that China's military rank system was officially determined.
At the meeting, the democrats spoke one after another, believing that Mao Zedong and other leading comrades were the founders and founders of the People's Liberation Army, had commanded many major battles, and made great contributions to the building and development of the army, and should be awarded titles and medals. Mao Zedong's greatest credit should be awarded to the Grand Marshal.
At that time, Liu Shaoqi knew that Mao Zedong did not want the attitude of a marshal, and after arguing and arguing, he said to the democrats who wanted Mao Zedong to be awarded the grand marshal: "Don't you always see Chairman Mao?" You will persuade him in person and seek his consent, and we will not make a decision this time. ”
Shortly thereafter, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun, and others attended a meeting on which one of the topics was the issue of conferring the rank of marshal. Mao Zedong said: "It is a very big job for you to engage in appraisal, and it is also a very difficult job. I don't want this Grand Marshal, how uncomfortable it is for me to wear the Uniform of the Grand Marshal! How inconvenient it is to speak among the masses! ”
Mao Zedong's resolute attitude did play an exemplary role. Then he said to Liu Shaoqi: "You have also worked in the army, and you should also evaluate the marshal!" Liu Shaoqi immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't comment, I don't work in the army now." Mao Zedong asked Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping again: "Do you still want to evaluate your rank as a marshal?" ”
Zhou Enlai waved his hand and said, "Don't judge, don't judge!" Deng Xiaoping also laughed and said, "When you are a marshal, you will not bring soldiers for a long time." After asking the question again, Mao Zedong finally said: "In my opinion, the comrades who are working in the local areas now do not rate military ranks as good." ”
Later, the Central Committee held another meeting to discuss the issue of awarding the rank of marshal. After repeated weighing, many adjustments and deliberations, the list was finally reviewed by Chen Yi, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping on September 15, and after Peng Dehuai submitted it to Zhou Enlai and asked him to review the instructions, the appraisal work was finally basically completed.
On September 27, 1955, two awarding activities were held in Zhongnanhai, and at 14:30, the ceremony for conferring the ranks of generals of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was held in the auditorium of the State Council. The ceremony venue was solemnly and simply arranged, and Zhou Enlai awarded the order to confer the rank of great general in turn to Su Yu, Chen Geng, Luo Ruiqing, Zhang Yunyi, and nine other generals in Beijing who were standing in front of the rostrum, and shook hands with them one by one to express congratulations. All 301 generals in Beijing were awarded titles here.
At 4:30 p.m., one car after another stopped in the square in front of Huairen Hall. Peng Dehuai, He Long, Chen Yi, Nie Rongzhen and others successively entered the lounge of HuaiRen Hall. Five minutes before the ceremony began, Mao Zedong dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit and rode in a black jeep to the front of Huai Ren Tang, then walked to the backstage lounge and shook hands with the marshals.
At exactly 5:00 p.m., the ceremony began, and Mao Zedong walked gently to the front of the rostrum, and awarded the order of military ranks to Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and 7 other people listed in the center of the rostrum. The first medal and certificate number that first marshal Zhu De received were both 004.
In fact, before this ceremony, many generals felt that they had not made enough contributions to new China and gave up their titles. There are also those who take the initiative to write letters to the Central Committee, indicating that they want to give their ranks to others. Therefore, for the ten marshals, who gets what rank, or what number of the order letter, is not a big deal.
After the marshal's award ceremony, there are nearly a thousand people waiting to be awarded. Because there were too many medals, the staff also mistakenly gave the medals of the two lieutenant generals by mistake in the hurry, and when Zhou Enlai learned of it, he signaled him not to be silent, and whispered: "Adjust it after the meeting." In the end, the ceremony ended smoothly in the melody of the Victory March.
Still
At this time, night has fallen, the lanterns of Huairen Hall have begun to bloom, and the cups and plates of various breads, snacks, vegetables, and fruits have filled the table. Marshals and generals who had received military ranks and medals slowly entered the table accompanied by their wives. This kind of escort to banquets by a lady was rare before. This time it was Zhou Enlai's special instruction: "The ladies of the conferred titles may not attend, but the celebratory banquet must invite the ladies of the generals to participate, and the celebration party must also invite the lady." ”
At 19:00, Zhou Enlai made a toast on the lawn of Huairen Hall, and in a cheer, the generals raised their glasses together and drank them all. After the cocktail party, Huai Ren Tang held another literary and artistic evening, and Mao Zedong did not attend the cocktail party because of his official duties, but finally caught up with the wonderful performance. The appearance of Mei Lanfang and Ma Lianliang that night pushed the atmosphere of the party to a climax, and the generals under the stage clapped their hands and applauded.
This time, the founding general conferred the title of marshal has become a glorious page in the history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which has aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="128" > rank order no. 001</h1>
When commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the deputy editor-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army Publishing House, when he visited He Long's house with other comrades, found something that broke the cognition of ordinary people. On this day, He Xiaoming, The daughter of He Long, pointed to a mirror frame for them to see when she entertained these guests.
This is the "letter of order" that Mao Zedong gave to each marshal in 1955, and while looking at her, he introduced it to everyone: "Our father's certificate is Number 001. At this time, everyone was very surprised, why did Chairman Mao put He Long first? After careful consideration and inquiry, they felt that 001 actually had an initial meaning.
At the time of the August 1 Nanchang Uprising, He Long was the commander-in-chief, and this uprising fired the first shot of the armed uprising, so there was this order. Someone once suggested to Mao Zedong that the founding day be changed to the autumn harvest uprising on September 9, but after hearing the opinions of these people, Mao Zedong did not hesitate to refuse: "How to do that, one in the front and the other in the back." It was enough to see in his heart the importance of the Nanchang Uprising.
In early July 1927, Zhou Enlai found He Long's mansion in Wuhan and personally visited the door, which was the first time the two men met. In this conversation, they had an in-depth exchange, talked about the future and destiny of the country, talked about the specific plans of the Nanchang uprising, and also talked about their respective futures.
It was also in this first conversation that He Long firmly stated to Zhou Enlai: "I believe that the Communist Party is the best party, and as long as you believe in me, I have nothing else to ask for." After Zhou Enlai listened to his words, he said to him at that time: "You sincerely support the Communist Party and the workers' and peasants' movement, of course we believe in you, and we have no reason not to trust you Comrade He Long." ”
He Long wrote in his later recollections: "Comrade Zhou Enlai talked to me in Wuhan, and he said that people have classes, so we must have class consciousness... His words played an important role in promoting my awakening. It can be said that this meeting with Zhou Enlai was an important turning point in He Long's life, and also laid the foundation for their friendship of decades of hardship and common suffering.
On the eve of the Nanchang uprising, He Long actively prepared for the work. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to assemble the national revolutionary army led by He Long in the Jiujiang and Nanchang areas, and Ye Ting and Zhu De led the troops as the main force to carry out the uprising. From this point of view, these three troops formed the basic contingent of the Nanchang Uprising, with a total of less than 20,000 people.
The team that could be assembled was mainly Comrade He Long's 20th Army, which included the 3,000 Xiangxi disciples he had brought out of his hometown. Therefore, it was for the Nanchang uprising that great sacrifices and contributions were made.
He Long said to the soldiers of the 20th Army: "Our contingent is the contingent of the workers and peasants, the contingent of the workers' and peasants' revolution, we have been making a revolution for several years, now, do we want a revolution?" The officers all gave an affirmative answer. He Long then said, "There are three roads in front of us: One is that we disband the team ourselves, and everyone goes back to their hometowns. "No!"
He Long added, "The second way is to slaughter your own brothers in workers and peasants." Is this road possible? "No!" Everyone answered in unison. He Long then said, "I think everyone's opinion is right. We must not take these two paths. The first road is the road of death, the road of suicide; the second road is also the road of suicide. Even if the knife is on the neck, I will never go such a road! ”
Then, he proposed a third way: "We are the revolutionary contingent, we want to liberate the workers and peasants for the masses who are toiling, we must take the road of revolution to the end, and resolutely follow the Communist Party to the end!" He Long's words were unanimously supported by cadres above the 20th Army.
On the morning of July 31, He Long held a meeting of the front committee and decided to attack the enemy forces in the city at 4 a.m. on August 1, and issued an order in his own name. Later, the attack time was advanced by 2 hours. In the night, He Long ordered the troops in charge of blocking the road to enter a state of combat.
At 2:00 a.m. on August 1, Zhou Enlai, He Long, Ye Ting, Zhu De, Liu Bocheng and others led an uprising force of more than 20,000 people to launch the Nanchang Uprising. The battle was extremely fierce, the general headquarters of the rebel army and the headquarters of the enemy army looked at each other across the street, and He Long and Liu Bocheng personally fought on the front line, commanding Ruoding. After more than 4 hours of fierce fighting, by 6 o'clock in the morning, the rebel army annihilated more than 3,000 enemy troops, surrendered more than 5,000 guns, and the first stage of the Nanchang uprising was victorious.
Later, in Ruijin, Jiangxi, during that bloody and stormy day, He Long was approved to join the party, and his joining ceremony was held in a classroom at Ruijin Jinjiang Middle School, presided over by Zhou Enlai. At the ceremony, Tan Pingshan asked him: "Comrade He Long, at this moment, we are asking you on behalf of the party, and you must answer truthfully and must not conceal it. How much movable and real estate and cash do you have? How much is left? That's the first question asked. ”
He Long said, "I don't have anything now. Zhou Yiqun asked again, "What about your social relations?" What social relations do you have in the workers' and peasants' military and political circles? What was their attitude toward the revolution? He Long said: "The previous social relations have ceased to be in contact after participating in the revolution. ”
At this time, He Long had already made up his mind and handed over everything to the party. Previously, as the commander of the National Revolutionary Army, when he was in Wuhan, Chiang Kai-shek proposed to give him 5 million Guangyang plus a Hanyang Arsenal in order to win him over, and also asked him to be the garrison commander of Wuhan. But He Longdu refused, he did not want officials and money, preferred not to wear leather shoes and straw shoes, but also to join the Communist Party to do the revolution.
On the other hand, if there were no contributions made by He Long during this period, such achievements might not have been achieved at that time, and from this point of view, it is also natural that the rank order 001 was signed to General He Long.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="132" > the deep friendship between He Long and Mao Zedong</h1>
Mao Zedong and He Long first met in the winter of 1936 in northern Shaanxi. At that time, Mao Zedong was 43 years old, and it had been more than a year since he led the Central Red Army to northern Shaanxi, and He Long, 40 years old, had just commanded the Red Second Front army to meet the central Red Army. Both were tall and dignified, but one was knowledgeable and wise, exuding a leadership temperament, while the other was mighty and loyal, full of handsome competence.
Although this was the first time the two had met, they were no strangers to each other, because they had already known each other very well before. Finally, in a cave in the security guard's house, the hands of the two influential people clasped together. He Long looked at Mao Zedong with admiration, and Mao Zedong looked at the open-minded and bold general with admiring eyes.
Subsequently, both of them exchanged greetings in familiar Hunan accents, and their excitement overflowed into words. During the conversation, Mao Zedong praised He Long and said: "The Second and Sixth Armies are circling around Mount Wumeng, don't talk about the enemy, even we have been dizzy by you, we have to turn out!" More than 10,000 of you, more than 10,000 of you, is a great miracle, a big experience, to sum up, to learn. ”
At the first meeting, Mao Zedong made such a high evaluation of He Long, and He Long also admired and admired Mao Zedong even more, and he was very pleased to be able to work under Mao Zedong's direct leadership.
In 1937, because of the reorganization of the army, the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army was reorganized, He Long served as the division commander, and the soldiers took off the red five-star and red collar badges, all of which were a bit unreasonable, and the resistance was also very large, so the change of clothes became a headache for the leaders of the troops.
In September 1937, at a solemn reorganization oath ceremony, Zhu De and Ren Bishi respectively talked about the necessity of changing clothes and the principle of saving the country, but after they finished speaking, more than 10,000 officers and men in the audience remained silent.
Then, He Long began to speak on the stage, his speech style was very different from the first two, he said: "I am willing to take the lead in putting on a gray military uniform and wearing a white hat badge." Don't look at our appearance is white, but the heart is red, always red! Finally, He Long also said in a surprising voice: "As long as it is to carry out the party's decision and carry out Chairman Mao's orders, let me wear flower pants!" ”
As soon as the words fell, the whole scene was filled with laughter, and even Zhu De and Ren Bi, who had always been serious, couldn't help but laugh out loud, and after that, all the officers and men of the 120 changed their clothes happily. After the end of the conference, He Long led his troops to start a guerrilla war and achieved a major victory.
Because of his insistence on Mao's principles, the 120th Division soon grew from 8,000 to nearly 30,000. When Mao Zedong learned of this news, he said happily: "Boss He is really 'throwing beans into soldiers'!" ”
But at the same time, Mao Zedong's principles also aroused some opposition, and some cadres of the 120th Division were also affected by this at this time, which made He Long very dissatisfied and seriously criticized them. As a result, several cadres felt that He Long's words would damage the united front, so they wrote to the Central Committee and proposed that He Long be transferred away from the 120th Division.
As a result, after the letter was sent, they regretted it a little, and immediately rushed to Yan'an to consult with Mao Zedong. At that time, Mao Zedong made a high evaluation of He Long: "Elder He always has three points: one is loyalty to the party, the second is ruthlessness in the struggle against the enemy, and the third is to be able to contact the masses. This evaluation, which gave He Long great encouragement at the time, also properly protected him and consolidated his position in the 120th Division.
In 1940, during the arduous period, the troops sometimes could not even eat black beans, even melon leaves and leaves, so He Long always thought of Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee, as long as there were difficulties in Yan'an materials, the troops would try their best to send them over.
The enemy coats and blankets captured in the battle, He Long always ordered the troops to gather and send them to Yan'an. He said: "We are very difficult here, but Yan'an and the Party Central Committee are even more difficult!" In the long-term exchanges, He Long has determined that Mao Zedong is the well-deserved leader of the Communist Party of China, the guide to save the nation from danger and the people from the sea of suffering, so he loves and cares more and more about Mao Zedong from the bottom of his heart.
He Long was also very concerned about Mao Zedong's safety, often worrying about his health. In order to alleviate the fatigue of Mao Zedong's march and facilitate his command of the battle, one day he personally washed the two war horses he had ridden for many years and sent someone to Wangjiawan for Mao Zedong to ride.
He Long said affectionately to the comrades who delivered the horses: "These are two horses with meritorious service, which have carried me through many difficulties, and if it were not for them, I might have finished it a long time ago." Chairman Mao originally had a horse, and one of them was the same, and he died last year. Now, let these two horses do the work for the chairman! ”
After Receiving the war horse, Mao Zedong was very excited, and he stroked the war horse and sincerely thanked He Long for his friendship. However, in the end, he said to the comrade who sent the horse: "I understand Mr. He's intention very well, and when I go back, I convey my greetings to him." These two war horses should be left for the combat troops to fight wars, and I know that Elder He is always fond of running forward when fighting wars, and he needs a thousand-mile colt. Please rest assured that I can be a car. ”
In the course of long-term exchanges, He Long gradually realized that Mao Zedong was the deserved leader of the Communist Party of China, the guide to save the nation from danger and the people from the sea of suffering, so he loved and cared for Mao Zedong from the bottom of his heart.
After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong's prestige in all aspects of the country became higher and higher, and He Long also had more respect for Mao Zedong, doing his best to maintain his prestige at home and abroad, and resolutely obeying his decisions. Mao Zedong believed that He Long was the banner of the Second Front, and he always attached great importance to him and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities.
When the new Central Military Commission was established in 1959, three vice-chairmen were established, with He Long as the second vice-chairman. Since 1960, he has also served as the director of the National Defense Industry Commission, in charge of the defense industry. In September 1963, Mao Zedong proposed at a meeting that He Long should preside over the day-to-day work of the Central Military Commission. This proposal was also unanimously agreed by the members of the Conference.
On June 9, 1969, He Long died, and until his death, He Long had always believed in Mao Zedong. After losing his freedom, He Long also insisted on seriously studying Mao Zedong's works and caring about the situation.
He once said: "I believe that the party and the people understand me. Chairman Mao will speak one day. On September 4, 1974, Mao Zedong talked with Deng Xiaoping and asked again: "He Long must restore his reputation and not check the materials." ”
On June 9, 1975, mao zedong read a letter from Zhou Enlai on the issue of holding a burial ceremony for the ashes of the dragon, and instructed: "Handle it according to the opinions of the premier." On the same day, under the arrangement of Zhou Enlai, the specifications of the ceremony for the placement of he dragon ashes were redefined, and Zhou Enlai attended the ceremony with illness and personally delivered a eulogy. Afterwards, Mao Zedong did not forget to care for He Long's family.
The friendship between the two revolutionary ancestors has been tested by countless storms and waves and has achieved an earth-shattering cause. And He Long's life is also a life of dedicating himself to the motherland and the people.