Su Yu, one of the founding generals of New China, made great achievements, and he showed outstanding military talent in the Seven Battles and Seven Victories, the Subei Campaign, the Menglianggu Campaign, the Eastern Henan Campaign, the Huaihai Campaign, and other battles, and played a positive role in the victory process of the Liberation War. However, despite being a prominent leader in the military world, his relationship with one of his superiors, Song Shilun, has always been complicated and discordant. This article will delve into the contradictions and cooperation between Su Yu and Song Shilun, as well as Su Yu's tolerance and noble character.
Su Yu's military achievements are remarkable, however, his position as chief of staff of the partial division corps during the Red Army period and the commander of the New Fourth Army during the Anti-Japanese War did not give him prestige in the army. This led to objections from some of the people he worked with within the Sanye system, including Song Shilun. Song Shilun had a public dispute with Su Yu, and this incident was finally settled with Su Yu's support, but it laid the groundwork for future conflicts.
Song Shilun did not have much contact with Su Yu in his early years. However, in the early days of the Liberation War, the two served as commanders of the Central China Field Army and chief of staff of the Shandong Field Army respectively, and although Su Yu had an advantage in the military hierarchy, Song Shilun had a part of the strength in the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. This gave Song Shilun a sense of superiority over Su Yu, as he had been following the main forces in action. However, Su Yu did not gain the prestige he deserved in the army, which made it difficult for him to lead his subordinates.
In 1947, the East China Field Army was established, Su Yu was appointed commander, and Song Shilun served as the commander of the 10th Column of Huaye. This promotion has made the status gap between the two even greater, and Song Shilun may feel unbalanced. Later, in some battles, Song Shilun was assigned to perform tasks with greater damage and less gain, which further deepened his dissatisfaction. Gradually, he began to question Su Yu's decision-making and leadership skills, which set the stage for future conflicts.
In August 1947, Song Shilun's 10th Column was forced to cross the Yellow River by the 5th Division of the elite reorganization, resulting in a serious **, and a large number of soldiers were left on the other side. This incident caused dissatisfaction, and Song Shilun was criticized for "crossing north without permission, causing losses, a great mistake". However, Song Shilun crossed north after receiving Chen Shiqu's verbal order, but he did not receive Chen Shiqu's message, so in the opinion of **, he did not follow the order and acted on his own. Fortunately, Chen Shiqu and Su Yu won over Song Shilun and prevented his dismissal.
Soon after, after the liberation of Jinan, Song Shilun reflected on his behavior and made many reviews one after another, and Su Yu sent a report to ** again, hoping that Song Shilun could resume his original post to make up for his mistakes.
Although Su Yu protected Song Shilun at several critical moments, the relationship between the two remained strained. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the two worked at the Academy of Military Sciences, but some of Song Shilun's actions showed dissatisfaction with Su Yu. For example, he prevents Su Yu's wife from becoming Su Yu's secretary, which leads to unnecessary tensions. In addition, at a meeting, Song Shilun questioned Su Yu's contribution to the Lunan Campaign, a move that showed an unfriendly attitude towards Su Yu.
However, Su Yu has always shown a tolerant and noble character, and does not care about these small things. He protected Song Shilun many times during the Great Movement, even though he himself had been treated unfairly. Su Yu's noble character eventually won the respect of Song Shilun, and the relationship between the two improved later.
In 1984, Su Yu died, Song Shilun was very sad, he attended Su Yu's memorial service, and tried to help Su Yu rehabilitate. In the end, Su Yu was rehabilitated, which was a difficult achievement.
The complex relationship between the two generals and Su Yu's tolerant character are important elements in this period of history. Despite their differences, Su Yu showed noble leadership qualities at critical moments and eventually gained respect and peace. The story highlights that in a complex political and military environment, a leader's tolerance and noble character are key to maintaining unity and victory.