The relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng was extraordinary, and the elder Chiang had said many times: "Zhongzheng cannot be left without rhetoric for a day", "Zhongzheng" is the "character" of Lao Chiang, and "rhetoric" is the "character" of Chen Cheng, a first-class general of the Kuomintang.
In the decades when Chiang Lao Chiang was in charge of the Kuomintang regime, there were many Kuomintang generals who were highly valued by Chiang Kai-shek, but there were very few people like Chen Cheng who followed Chiang Kai-shek all his life and always "never left him" and "shared honor and disgrace."
Chen Cheng's military talent and achievements are not very outstanding, but he is very good at figuring out and understanding Lao Jiang's thoughts, some people say that his EQ is higher than IQ, is the shadow of Lao Jiang, in life, he also imitates Lao Jiang everywhere, so he is called "Little Chairman".
Chen Cheng could not keep pace with Lao Chiang in everything, but as long as Chiang Kai-shek made a decision, Chen Cheng would obey unconditionally, implement it silently, and have no regrets.
In the Central Plains War, Chen Cheng attacked the city for a long time but did not defeat it, and his department was extremely heavy, but he did not receive any punishment afterwards, but was promoted from division commander to army commander; The fourth "encirclement and suppression" returned, He Yingqin, Xiong Shihui and others couldn't get used to Chen Cheng's arrogance and no one in their eyes, and forced Lao Jiang to severely punish Chen Cheng.
Although Lao Jiang gave Chen Cheng dismissal, demotion, and demerit punishment, it didn't take long for Chen Cheng to sit back in the position of army commander, and his 18th Army was not only quickly reloaded, but its strength increased instead of decreasing.
The "Battle of Songhu" and the "Battle of Western Hubei" that Chen Cheng participated in commanding also had dismal results, but Chen Cheng unexpectedly took up the post of commander of the Sixth Theater of the Kuomintang.
With such repeated defeats, why can Chen Cheng still rise step by step? Here I have to say more about Chen Cheng's "problem solving" for Lao Jiang, and he is willing to carry the "black pot" by himself.
Chen Cheng's kung fu is unparalleled, and it is precisely because of this that Chen Cheng, who was deeply appreciated by Chiang Kai-shek, was able to stand tall even if he became a "defeated general" and became a veritable "tumbler" of the Kuomintang.
Suppressing local forces and centralizing power over the "people" is the "domestic policy strategy" that Lao Chiang has adhered to for many years. But this matter is too sensitive, and it is easy to provoke right and wrong, and it is inconvenient for Lao Jiang to go out in person, so Chen Cheng, who is loyal to Lao Jiang and can deeply understand Lao Jiang's thoughts, naturally becomes the most suitable executor.
During the Kuomintang's third "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army, Chen Cheng did not get any advantage from the Red Army, but he incorporated the 52nd Division of the Kuomintang that was disabled by the Red Army, and then surrendered the weapons of the 43rd Division of the Miscellaneous Army and the 59th Division of the Sichuan Army, all of which were incorporated into the 18th Army of his Kuomintang lineage.
Although Lao Jiang used self-righteous means to achieve his goal, it also caused the ** of other factions, and at this time, Chen Cheng, the "man behind the pot", was needed to carry the "black cauldron" for Lao Jiang.
For example, He Yingqin ruthlessly "** once." When He Yingqin commanded the Kuomintang army to carry out the fourth "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army, Chen Cheng ignored him, the top boss, not only did not listen to He Yingqin's dispatch, but also frequently overstepped reports and directly obeyed Lao Chiang's orders.
Embarrassed and annoyed, He Yingqin decided to "fight back", and he personally "directed" a good play, called "killing people with a knife"; he used false information to lure Chen Cheng into the encirclement of the Red Army, and with the help of the Red Army, Chen Cheng's two divisions were defeated and fled.
He Yingqin was full of joy, just waiting to see Lao Jiang's jokes, Lao Jiang was not confused, he saw through He Yingqin's old opponent's "little abacus", he simply removed Chen Cheng from his post, but once the limelight passed, it was not wrong.
Some people commented that Lao Chiang had "excellent strategies and clumsy tactics", but Lao Chiang himself did not think so, and he often directly intervened in front-line battles, and even "personally guided" how to arrange sentry posts in front-line positions.
Such an approach caused the front-line generals to be at a loss, and even the Kuomintang generals such as Du Yuming and Wang Yaowu, who were in the lineage, were also dissatisfied, but when the spearhead was pointed at Lao Chiang, Chen Cheng, the "man who carried the blame", would "stand up" and "be duty-bound" to carry the "black pot" on Chiang Kai-shek's back.
During the campaign of western Hubei commanded by Chen Cheng, when the campaign entered a critical link, Lao Jiang's direct intervention in commanding the operation was a problem, and he asked Chen Cheng to transfer Li Yutang's headquarters out of the original defensive area, and it didn't take long for him to change his mind, so that Li Yutang's entire group army lost its advantage.
At the "review meeting" after the defeat, Chen Cheng, the "man behind the pot", did not say a word about Lao Jiang's interference in command, and silently carried the "black cauldron" of "incompetent command".
In fact, Chiang Kai-shek's practice of overstepping his command also gave Chen Cheng a headache, and in a battle, Chen Cheng suddenly found that an army had inexplicably "evaporated from the world" when he issued a combat mission, and he was so anxious that he lost his temper and strictly ordered a thorough investigation.
His subordinates were busy for a long time and did not find out the whereabouts of this army, Chen Cheng panicked, and in a hurry, he hurriedly called Lao Jiang **, as a result, Lao Jiang told him: "It is my order to transfer this army, and I will notify the Military Command Department to make up the order." ”
Chen Cheng wanted to cry without tears, but he quickly regained his composure, and Chen Cheng, the "man behind the pot", still has no regrets and "the sound of the waves is still the same".
The last operation Chen Cheng commanded in his life was in the Northeast Battlefield. In 1947, the Kuomintang army was defeated again and again, and the defeat of the Kuomintang was decided.
The loyal Chen Cheng knew that this trip was "more than auspicious", and his cronies also advised him not to "do it knowing that he could not do it", and at this time Chen Cheng was seriously ill and lying on the hospital bed, but Chen Cheng still went to the northeast with his illness.
The Kuomintang's war situation in the northeast did not improve because of Chen Cheng's arrival, and the Kuomintang army lost its armor and suffered great losses.
In the end, Chen Cheng, the "man who carries the pot", was saddled with the biggest "black pot" in his life, and the accusations against Chen Cheng in the Kuomintang rose higher and higher, and in the call of "killing Chen Cheng to thank the world", Lao Jiang removed all his positions from Chen Cheng, and Chen Cheng, the "man behind the pot", left the Northeast gloomily.
Half a year later, Chen Cheng appeared again as the "head of Taiwan Province" and the military and political chief of the southeast, and soon after, Chen Cheng, an extremely loyal "man with the blame," was promoted to the Kuomintang's "premier" and "vice president" of the Kuomintang.
In his later years, Chen Cheng once used eight words to evaluate his relationship with Lao Jiang: "Although the name is subordinate, the kindness is deep in flesh and blood", and Chen Cheng's supporters and opponents unanimously believe that if Lao Jiang is inconvenient to come forward in person and is not suitable to handle it personally, Chen Cheng will be Lao Jiang's "only choice".
Chen Cheng followed Chiang Kai-shek all his life, was valued and reused by Lao Chiang, and was a rare "spokesperson" for Lao Chiang, and also a "man behind the pot" who "endured humiliation and burden", of course, Lao Chiang's reward for him was also very rich.
No matter how much trouble Chen Cheng caused, Lao Chiang was able to let him "land safely", even if he was defeated repeatedly in the end, and even had a bad reputation as a "often defeated general", Chen Cheng could still stand, and his status in the Kuomintang became higher and higher, becoming the second person in the Kuomintang after Lao Chiang.