In 1955, our army's first major award of titles was an affirmation and praise for the founding generals, but given that it had been 6 years since the founding of the people's republic of China at that time, many people had transferred to local work, so many people with outstanding military achievements lost the opportunity to be awarded titles, such as yang Shangkun who would like to talk about today.
Yang Shangkun was born in 1907 in Shuangjiang Town, Tongnan County, Sichuan (now part of Chongqing). Note that people of his age also had two gods of war, Lin Biao and Su Yu, who were born on December 5, 1907, and August 10, 1907, respectively. There was also the first admiral, Shaw Ke, who was born on July 14, 1907.
It is indeed a pity that Yang Shangkun did not confer a military rank, because he was different from the local workers, and the 36 military experts of the Republic assessed in the early 1990s had Yang Shangkun's name. You know, the minimum level that can be selected as 36 military experts is also the level of a general.
Moreover, Yang Shangkun's revolutionary career has a very remarkable record, that is, the people who worked with him were also marshals at the lowest level. unbelief? So let's take a look at it -
In May 1933, among the four major groups of the Red Army, the commander-in-chief was Zhu De, the political commissar was Zhou Enlai, the chief of staff was Ye Jianying, and the director of the Political Department was Yang Shangkun.
In 1934, in the Red Third Army, the commander of the regiment was Peng Dehuai, the political commissar was Yang Shangkun, the chief of staff was Ye Jianying, the director of the political department was Luo Ronghuan, and the political commissar of the division below was the general Huang Kecheng.
In the Red First Army at the same level, the commander of the regiment was Lin Biao, and the political commissar was Nie Rongzhen, all of whom were at the marshal level.
On September 12, 1935, the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was established, with Peng Dehuai as commander, Mao Zedong as political commissar, Ye Jianying as chief of staff, Wang Jiaxiang as director of the Political Department, Yang Shangkun as deputy director, and Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen, Luo Ronghuan, Zuo Quan, and so on among the subordinate troops.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yang Shangkun was appointed secretary of the Northern Bureau and comprehensively presided over the military and political work in several northern provinces. Please note that Yang Shangkun's previous secretary of the Northern Bureau was Liu Shaoqi, and the subsequent secretaries were Peng Dehuai and Deng Xiaoping.
Well, that's enough.
With Yang Shangkun's qualifications, what title do you think should be evaluated?
In 1988, when our army conferred the second major rank, Deng Xiaoping suggested that there should be no marshals and generals in peacetime, so that general is the highest rank. However, the people who evaluated the title office believed that the chairman and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission should be of higher rank than those below, so they wanted to set up another "first-level general" above the general, which was specially awarded to the chairman and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
At that time, the chairman of the Central Military Commission was Deng Xiaoping, and the vice chairman was Yang Shangkun, these two people actually met the criteria of marshals in 1955, but they were generously pushed away, and this time the two were awarded the rank of "first-class general" and also a compensation for them.
But Deng Xiaoping did not agree, saying: "Chairman Mao did not ask for the title of Grand Marshal in those years, so what do I want this title to do?" Useless. Yang Shangkun also resigned: "I am a civilian official in the Wuya Gate, and I don't want a military rank." If neither the chairman nor the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission wants to hold a rank and become a civilian official, I think this will have a good impact on the whole army and will promote the smooth change of the whole army to civilian posts. ”
As a result, Yang Shangkun once again lost his military rank, which also reflected his high style and bright festival that he had always looked down on fame and fortune.
Yang Shangkun and Peng Dehuai have cooperated for many years and have known each other for many years, and even once Peng Dehuai saved Yang Shangkun's life.
It was during the Fifth Anti-"Encirclement and Suppression" Campaign of Guangchang, when Peng Dehuai, commander of the Red Third Army, and Yang Shangkun, political commissar, were under command at the front, when suddenly an enemy plane flew over and dropped a bomb. Yang Shangkun did not have much time on the battlefield, did not have rich experience in response, and looked like he was about to be hit by a bomb, at this time, Peng Dehuai next to him pounced, throwing Yang Shangkun down in the tunnel.
After a loud noise, Yang Shangkun only injured his leg and saved his life. Until his later years, Yang Shangkun often said to people: "It was Peng Dehuai who saved me." However, a piece of shrapnel left on Yang Shangkun's leg was not found until after cremation.
Although Yang Shangkun lost his rank twice, his merits and abilities could not be forgotten by anyone. In April 1988, Yang Shangkun was elected President of the People's Republic of China, becoming the fourth president after Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and Li Xiannian, an honor not even for the Ten Marshals.