Reading guide:At the beginning of 1949, according to the ** order, the Northwest, Central Plains, East China, and Northeast Field Armies were reorganized into: the First Field Army, the Second Field Army, the Third Field Army, and the Fourth Field Army.
The four major field armies, as the absolute main force of our army in the War of Liberation, were awarded the rank of marshal without exception when the titles were conferred in 1955, and the political commissars and deputy commanders were generally generals and generals.
As one of the chiefs of staff of the field army, some people were awarded generals, some were awarded lieutenant generals, and another person missed the rank, he was Yuan Zhongxian, who was the chief of staff of the Third Field Army.
In 1904, Yuan Zhongxian was born in an ordinary family in Changsha City, Hunan Province, and his parents ran a small handicraft workshop. In Hunan, where the humanistic atmosphere is strong, reading is the common ambition of young people, Yuan Zhongxian has been smart and studious since childhood, from the beginning of reading, his academic performance has been among the best, he has studied in Changsha No. 1 High School, Changsha Changjun Middle School, and then with excellent results, he was admitted to the first Hunan Provincial Industrial School.
During his studies at the school, Yuan Zhongxian, who was influenced by revolutionary ideas, joined the Communist Youth League, participated in and led the workers' movement in the Tongguan kiln industry, and founded a workers' night school to propagate revolutionary ideas to the broad masses of the working class and expand the revolutionary ranks.
Due to his outstanding performance in the revolution, Yuan Zhongxian honorably joined the Communist Party in 1924 and was selected to go to Guangzhou to apply for the army martial arts hall. After the opening of the Whampoa Military Academy, he was admitted to the first phase of study.
During his time at the Whampoa Military Academy, Yuan Zhongxian got acquainted with the prime minister, and his excellent theoretical foundation and military literacy were affirmed by the prime minister, so after graduation, he was transferred to the political department of the school to assist the prime minister in his work. During this period, he participated in the Eastern Crusade and the Northern Expedition and served as a battalion commander in the 22nd Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
In 1927, during the Nanchang Uprising, Yuan Zhongxian served as the chief of staff of the 3rd Division of the 20th Army. Such qualifications are absolutely rare among the founding generals. For example, the later founding general Chen Geng was only a battalion commander in the 3rd Division of the 20th Army at that time, while another founding general, Su Yu, was only a squad leader in the 11th Army.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yuan Zhongxian was ordered to go to the anti-Japanese front line in Shandong, and successively served as the head of the teaching regiment of the Shandong Military Region, the chief of staff and deputy commander of the Jiaodong Military Region, and assisted the commander Xu Shiyou to develop and expand the anti-Japanese base in the Jiaodong area.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Yuan Zhongxian served as the deputy chief of staff of the New Fourth Army and the Shandong Military Region, and in 1947, the Shandong Military Region merged with the Central China Military Region to form the East China Military Region, and he served as the deputy chief of staff. In 1949, after the East China Field Army was reorganized into the Third Field Army, it had four corps under its jurisdiction, and Yuan Zhongxian served as the political commissar of the 8th Corps.
As a corps-level general, when the title was conferred in 1955, the commanders of the three fields and the four major corps were awarded the rank of general, and two political commissars participated in the award, namely Guo Huaruo, the political commissar of the 9th Corps, with the rank of lieutenant general, and Wei Guoqing, the political commissar of the 10th Corps, with the rank of general.
Yuan Zhongxian, as the political commissar of the 8th Corps and later the chief of staff of Sanye, if he participated in the awarding of titles, he could be awarded the rank of general, and the lowest should be a lieutenant general. So why didn't he get any military rank in 1955? This has to start with the Prime Minister's order!
At the end of 1949, shortly after the founding of New China, the chief of Sanye found Yuan Zhongxian, who was then the commander and political commissar of the Nanjing Garrison District, and conveyed an order to him: ** has just been established, and diplomatic personnel are urgently needed, and the prime minister specially transferred you back to Beijing to take up a post!
Listening to this order, Yuan Zhongxian was a little puzzled, he was a military cadre, he led troops to fight all the year round, and he had never done diplomatic work, why did the prime minister transfer himself to work? Regarding his question, the chief of Sanye said: "I am not willing to let you go, but this is the order of the prime minister, there must be consideration from the superiors, we just obey the order." ”
At that time, there were many people who understood diplomatic work, why did the prime minister deliberately transfer Yuan Zhongxian from the field army to ***?
It turned out that in the battle of crossing the river in early 1949, the British ** ship Purple Quartz entered the combat area without authorization and opened fire on the PLA position despite our warning.
After the incident, the Western world immediately made a big attempt to prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the river, in order to properly handle this international incident and ensure the victory of the battle to cross the river. ** Yuan Zhongxian, then the political commissar of the 8th Corps, was instructed to lead his personnel to negotiate with the British side.
During the negotiations, Yuan Zhongxian fought the basis of reason, neither humble nor arrogant, and smashed the British side's attempt to slander the PLA and provoke incidents. In the end, after three months of negotiations, the British side apologized to the PLA for the matter, and the matter was resolved satisfactorily.
In this negotiation with the British side, Yuan Zhongxian had a clear mind, was not chaotic in the face of danger, and showed a super high adaptability, so he was appreciated by the prime minister, and he was recruited when he was established.
In 1950, shortly after being transferred to India, Yuan Zhongxian was appointed as the first ambassador to India, and made outstanding contributions to the exchanges between China and India in the early days of New China.
In 1955, when the whole army conferred the title, many of Yuan Zhongxian's former partners and comrades-in-arms were awarded the rank of general and general, and he regretted missing the rank because he was transferred to the first job.
Although he failed to become the founding general, Yuan Zhongxian also made great achievements in the field of diplomacy, and in 1956, after he returned from India, he was promoted to vice minister and became the prime minister's right-hand man.
Unfortunately, in 1957, due to overwork, Yuan Zhongxian, who was only 53 years old, unfortunately passed away. After the prime minister learned about it, he was heartbroken, went to mourn in person, and presided over his funeral, and held up his spirit, which shows the importance of Yuan Zhongxian's position in the prime minister's heart.