Among the founding generals, some people started their revolutionary careers very early, such as Wang Jinshan, Yang Chengwu and Yang Yong, who joined the revolutionary road in their teens. Their path to promotion started as ordinary soldiers, accumulated combat exploits step by step, and eventually became high-ranking generals.
However, Xiao Jinguang is an exception, he only joined the army at the age of 22, but as soon as he joined the army, he held the rank of full division and lieutenant general, which made his starting point the highest among all the founding generals.
Xiao Jinguang, a native of Changsha, Hunan, although his family background is not the best among the founding generals, he also has a few acres of thin fields and his father's small business, which provides him with a better educational environment.
At the age of 18, he went to the Soviet Union to study with his friend Ren Bishi and others, and was deeply interested in military affairs, so he chose to study at the Eastern University in Moscow and then transferred to the Soviet Red Army School.
When Lenin died in 1924, Xiao Jinguang held a wake-up for him as a representative of the Oriental nation, which was a great honor at that time. After returning to China, he was sent to work in the Anyuan Road mine, because the Anyuan Road miners' movement was developing rapidly, there was a shortage of cadres, and Xiao Jinguang was from Hunan.
A year later, the revolutionary situation in Guangdong was in full swing, and the party representative system was generally implemented in the National Revolutionary Army, and preparations were made for the Northern Expedition. During the period of the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, many Communists served as party representatives in the National Revolutionary Army.
Xiao Jinguang studied military affairs in the Soviet Union, so he was sent to Guangdong to serve as the party representative of the 6th Division of the Second Army.
Tan Yanmin's old Hunan army became the predecessor of the Second Army. In July 1923, a war broke out between Tan Yanmin and Zhao Hengti for control of Hunan. With the support of Sun Yat-sen and the response of the old Hunan army, Tan Yanmin once achieved a significant advantage, and even occupied Changsha.
However, Wu Peifu, a direct descendant, supported Zhao Hengti and led the army into Changde. In this situation of two-front warfare, Tan Yanmin gradually became difficult to resist and was forced to retreat one after another.
A few months later, the Tan-Zhao War ended in the defeat of Tan Yanmin, who led his troops to retreat to Guangdong and attached himself to Sun Yat-sen. His unit was reorganized into the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army, with four divisions under its command, namely the 4th, 5th, 6th and Jiaojiao, and the division commanders were Zhang Huizan, Tan Daoyuan, Dai Yue, and Chen Jiayou.
Tan Yanmin personally served as the army commander, and Lu Diping served as the deputy army commander. Soon after, the Second Army began to implement the party representative system, the military party representative was Li Liuru of the 4th Division, the party representative of the 5th Division was Fang Weixia, and the party representative of the 6th Division was temporarily vacant.
Although the Second Army had been reorganized into the National Revolutionary Army, Tan Yanmin still retained many of the habits of the old Hunan Army, such as liking to appoint fellow villagers.
Most of the division commanders and party representatives of the Second Army are from Hunan, and Xiao Jinguang is a native of Hunan. At that time, Russian language skills were necessary in order to communicate effectively with the Soviet advisers available.
Xiao Jinguang has studied in the Soviet Union for many years, is proficient in Russian, and has no communication barriers. The combination of these factors made Xiao Jinguang the best candidate for the party representative of the Sixth Division.
The national ** soon appointed Xiao Jinguang as the party representative of the Sixth Division, with the rank of a cadre at the level of a full division and the rank of lieutenant general, when he was only 22 years old. As a young general, Xiao Jinguang's starting point is the highest among all the founding generals.
Later, he once joked that he had only been promoted two levels in his life, from lieutenant general to general.
General Xiao Jinguang's family is prominent, and his six sons and three daughters have outstanding achievements. Among them, the second son worships the lieutenant general, and the fifth son and six sons are promoted to major generals, and four generals have emerged in the family, which is really rare.
In addition, General Xiao Jinguang's third daughter-in-law is also in the spotlight, she is the nationally renowned singer Li Guyi. In 1979, he became a blockbuster with the song "Hometown Love", and many songs he sang since then have been very popular.
"Unforgettable Tonight" sung by her has become the finale of the Spring Festival Gala every year, which has endured for a long time.