Yang Jingyu, as one of the founders of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army, died heroically in 1940 at the age of 35 due to traitor betrayal. During the revolutionary war years, many martyrs sacrificed their lives for the country, but it was extremely rare for a commander-level general like Yang Jingyu to be able to take charge on his own. Therefore, people often think: If Yang Jingyu had not died back then, what kind of military rank would he have been awarded when the title was awarded in 1955?In fact, there were some special circumstances in the 1955 process in which some people were unable to participate in the awarding of titles because they were transferred to other places, even though they had held high positions in the armyOthers participated in the award but did not receive the high-ranking rank as expected. In view of the later development of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation, if Yang Jingyu had not died, he would probably have faced a similar situation, just like his old comrade-in-arms Zhou Baozhong, who did not participate in the award because he was transferred to a local area. So, if these circumstances are not considered, what kind of military rank will Yang Jingyu be awarded?Next, we will speculate through comparison.
First of all, compared to the leaders of the years of the Revolutionary War. Yang Jingyu was not only one of the main founders of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation, but also one of the founders of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region and its Red Army. Although he did not serve in the Red Army, he was already prominent during the Agrarian Revolutionary War. In addition, Yang Jingyu once served as an executive member of the Chinese Soviet Republic and a member of the Seventh National Congress of the Preparatory Committee, which is a rare honor in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation. On October 26, 1941, the Anti-Fascist Congress of the Oriental Nationalities was held in Yan'an, and an honorary presidium was established, with a total of three representatives of the Communist Party of China. Although Yang Jingyu had been sacrificed for more than a year at that time, he was still elected as an honorary presidium member, which fully showed his high praise for Yang Jingyu. On February 23, 1958, a grand public funeral ceremony was held for Yang Jingyu, who had been dead for 18 years, with nearly 20,000 people participating, comparable to the level of marshal.
All indications show that if Yang Jingyu had not sacrificed, it was very likely that he would have reached the level of a general or even a marshal. Secondly, compared with other comrades of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation. Most of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Union fighters joined the Northeast Field Army after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and continued to fight for the establishment of New China. In 1955, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, seven generals who participated in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Union battle, Wang Minggui, Wang Xiaoming, Zhu Guang, and Sun.
3. Jing Pu, Li Zhongqi, and Gao Tiqian were awarded the rank of major general. The move sparked a comparison between Yang Jingyu's promotion and his old comrade-in-arms, Zhou Baozhong. Although Zhou Baozhong was awarded the Order of August 1 of the First Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom of the First Class, and the Order of Liberation of the First Class after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he did not participate in the promotion in 1955. Considering his special contributions, the significance of these medals is extraordinary. It has therefore been speculated that if Yang Jingyu and Zhou Baozhong participate in the promotion, they should at least be given the rank of general, and possibly even the rank of general, especially given the historical status of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation.
On the other hand, from the perspective of rank in the army, Yang Jingyu served as the commander-in-chief and political commissar of the First Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Alliance at the time of his death, commanding the three front armies and a guard brigade, insisting on fighting the Japanese army in the South Manchurian area, taking the initiative to attack and contain the Japanese army. However, the overall scale of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation was not large, the actual number of the First Route Army was about 6,000 people, and the strength of one division of the Eighth Route Army was more than twice that of the First Route Army. In the later period of the Anti-Japanese War, the strength of an independent regiment of the Eighth Route Army even exceeded that of the First Route Army, and most of the commanders of these independent regiments were awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and a few were even promoted to general. Based on these comparisons, it is reasonable to speculate that it is possible that Yang Jingyu was promoted to general or lieutenant general. While taking into account objective factors, the award of military ranks is not based solely on the comparison of strength. In reality, many factors need to be taken into account, such as balancing the power positions of all parties. As an important anti-Japanese armed force under the leadership of our party, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation should receive due attention.
Therefore, if Yang Jingyu is to be awarded the rank of general, at least he should be a general, and he can even be considered to be awarded a general, but the rank of marshal is slightly higher.