Author: Mo Guyan
There has always been a saying circulating on the Internet: When the title was awarded in 1955, Wang Bicheng, who was then the commander of the Shanghai Garrison District, was dissatisfied with his award of the rank of lieutenant general, so he asked his old leader Tan Zhenlin to come forward and report the situation to his superiors, and as a result, he was severely criticized. Wang Bicheng was very guilty after knowing it, and he went to apologize to Tan Zhenlin.
The message conveyed by this statement is that Wang Bicheng suspects that the rank of lieutenant general is low, and according to his military merits and prestige in the army, it is more reasonable to be awarded a general. Is this really the case?
1955 Conferment Ceremony
First of all, it should be made clear that Wang Bicheng's emotional troubles due to the award of titles were originally empty. This statement was first disclosed by a Magazine in Shanghai in the 1990s, the description is very detailed and specific, many people feel that it is true after reading it, and then it has a great influence on military history enthusiasts and is widely circulated. However, Wang Bicheng's relatives and many old subordinates did not think much of this, and with their understanding of Commander Wang, it was absolutely impossible to compete for the title.
First of all, according to Wang Bicheng's family recollection, when the title was awarded in 1955, it was Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi who delegated the title to the senior generals of the East China Military Region on behalf of the chairman in Nanjing. After Wang Bicheng returned to his home in Shanghai, he put on his new military uniform and the rank of lieutenant general with great interest, and took photos with his family and staff. This shows that he is satisfied with the rank he has been awarded, and his family and the staff around him have never heard of him having any emotions.
Lieutenant General Wang Bicheng
Secondly, Tan Zhenlin, who came down from Jinggangshan, and Wang Bicheng from the Red Fourth Front actually met very late, and it was not until the establishment of the Central China Field Army in November 1945 that the two became direct superiors and subordinates. At that time, the 6th and 8th columns under the Central China Military Region were changed to the 1st Division and the 6th Division of the Central China Field Army. The commander of the 1st Division was Su Yu, commander of the Field Army, and Tao Yong was the deputy division commander; the commander of the 6th Division was Tan Zhenlin, the political commissar of the Field Army, and Wang Bicheng was the deputy division commander, and Wang Bicheng was actually in charge of the work.
In April 1953, Wang Bicheng was ordered to fight in Korea and served as the deputy commander of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, and after returning to China the following year, he was appointed commander of the Shanghai Garrison District. Since then, he and Tan Zhenlin have no direct superior-subordinate relationship. Tan Zhenlin was also transferred from Zhejiang to Beijing in 1954 and had no position in the army. In 1955, when the senior cadres of the East China Military Region were awarded the title, Tan Zhenlin was in Beijing and Wang Bicheng was in Nanjing. Even if Wang Bicheng had an opinion to reflect, he should also go to Chen Yi.
Wang Bicheng during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Moreover, according to the recollections of the old man in the Huaye unit, Wang Bicheng was open-minded, strict with himself, lived a simple life, had a strong sense of organizational discipline, never caused trouble for the organization, and always went wherever the work was assigned. Moreover, he is an introverted person, usually rarely speaking, and never discussing the rights and wrongs of others. How could such a person reach out to his superiors and fight for power and status?
The 1955 title was awarded with great care, and a comprehensive evaluation was based on a person's seniority, military achievements, historical contributions, and many factors of the balance of the "hill". Wang Bicheng was the highest deputy division commander at the end of the Red Army era, and was the chief of staff and regimental commander of the New Fourth Army at the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. After the Anhui Incident, Wang served as the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division of the New Fourth Army, and his status was equivalent to that of the Eighth Road Army. Among the brigade-level cadres of the New Fourth Army during this period, four generals, Ye Fei, Wei Guoqing, Zhang Aiping, and Liu Zhen, were later removed, but more brigade-level cadres, including Liang Xingchu, were awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
The New Fourth Army marched to Jiangnan
It is generally believed that during the Red Army period, it was the regular division post, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was the regular regimental post of the Eighth Route Army, and during the Liberation War, such qualifications were the standard of the founding generals. Of course, some of these periods were slightly lacking in seniority, but in other periods, seniority met the standard, such as being a division commander during the Red Army period, being a regimental commander when the Red Army reorganized the Eighth Route Army, and being a deputy commander of the corps during the Liberation War, and also being a general. For example, Zhang Aiping, Hong Xuezhi and others are like this.
On the other hand, Wang Bicheng's qualifications in various periods were not up to the standard qualifications of generals, and when combined, it was very reluctant to confer generals.
A certain unit of the New Fourth Army captured a large amount of Japanese equipment
According to the regulations on the conferment of titles at that time, the rank of the main corps was generally rated as a general, and a very few were awarded as major generals; the rank of deputy corps was generally rated as a lieutenant general and individually awarded as a general. Among the three tiger generals under Su Yu, "Ye Wangtao", Ye Fei was rated as a general by the commander of the corps, and Wang Bicheng and Tao Yong were rated as lieutenant generals by the deputy corps, which was in line with the principle of conferring titles.
When the New Fourth Army was reorganized in 1937, the Red Army guerrilla units south of the Yangtze River were organized into 6 regiments, Ye Fei was the commander of the 6th Regiment, Wang Bicheng and Tao Yong were transferred from the Red Fourth Front, Wang Bi became the chief of staff of the 2nd Regiment, later promoted to regimental commander, Tao Yong was the deputy regimental commander of the 4th Regiment, and later promoted to regimental commander. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, although Ye Fei, Wang Bicheng, and Tao Yong were also brigade commanders of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Division of the New Fourth Army, in the later stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Ye Fei was promoted to deputy commander of the 1st Division, and was the superior of Wang Bicheng and Tao Yong.
Wang Bicheng and Su Yu were together
In the Liberation War, although "Ye Wangtao" was the commander of the Huaye Column, when the three columns concentrated their actions, they were always under the unified command of Ye Fei, for example, in the Battle of Menglianggu and the Battle of Suiqi, Ye Fei was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, and in fact he was always the superior of Wang and Tao. Therefore, Ye Fei was rated as a general, and Wang Bicheng and Tao Yong were rated as lieutenant generals, which are completely reasonable, correct, and fair from the perspective of both historical and actual positions.
Among the generals from Hua Ye, Chen Shiqu, Tang Liang, and Zhang Aiping were representatives of the Red Army; Xu Shiyou was a representative of the Red Fourth Front; Ye Fei was a representative of the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces; and Wei Guoqing was a representative of the Baise uprising troops. Compared with them, Wang Bicheng is not comparable in terms of seniority or position.
However, in terms of military merit alone, Wang Bicheng, who was praised by the masses as "Wang Tiger," surpassed many generals, and this is also an indisputable fact. The saying that Wang Bicheng "competed for the title" circulating on the Internet is actually a kind of recognition of his brilliant military achievements by the people, and it is believed that he should be awarded the title of general.
【Deeply cultivate the history of war, carry forward positive energy, welcome to submit, private messages will be restored】