This cadre has always been clear about public and private affairs, never brings personal grievances into his work, and has extremely good character. During the turbulent period, General Tan Zhenlin, who had friction with him, was impacted. Some people asked him to "add some firewood", but he did not add any harm, but instead took the risk of defending General Tan, who was Wang Zhen.
Wang Zhen met Grandpa Mao in 1925. At that time, he had joined the left-wing group and was ordered to escort Grandpa Mao to a certain place in Changsha. The two had a good chat on the way. Grandpa Mao encouraged him to insist on making a revolution and fight for the benefits of the poor. Wang Zhen kept Grandpa Mao’s teachings in mind. No matter what ups and downs he experienced, he did not shake his beliefs and firmly followed the party organization toward communism.
11930, Wang and Grandpa Mao met again. At that time, the Red Army was fighting hard under Changsha City. He led a guerrilla team to attract the attention of the enemy on the flanks and cover the attack of the main force. One night, someone suddenly came to find him and took him to the headquarters of the 1st Front Army. Grandpa Mao was looking at the map. When he saw someone coming into the house, he raised his head and stared at Wang Zhen for a long time, and suddenly said, "I seem to have seen you." Wang Zhen nodded, saying that he had met the Chairman five years ago.
When he saw his old acquaintance, Grandpa Mao was naturally very happy and pulled him to his side, asked him about his experience over the years, and asked him if he wanted to join the Red Army. Wang Zhen replied firmly without thinking: I want it! So Grandpa Mao asked him to take more than a hundred backbone to eastern Hunan, integrate several local guerrillas, and establish a Red Army independent division, officially starting his legendary life. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang Zhen served as brigade commander under General He and showed his power in northern Shanxi.
1939, Chiang Kai-shek was unsuccessful and secretly mobilized Hu Zongnan , Yan Xishan and other troops to march towards northern Shaanxi, deliberately creating friction and destroying the united front. Grandpa Mao hurriedly ordered Wang Zhen to return to Yan'an to defend the Party Central Committee and many organs. He calmly responded to the enemy, and fought against the Kuomintang army with the guard force , shattering the conspiracy of the National Government. But Chiang Kai-shek still had no intention of putting away his dictatorship. He failed in military terms, so he turned to besiege northern Shaanxi, hoping to trap the officers and soldiers alive on Loess Plateau . Grandpa Mao immediately called on everyone to participate in labor, grow grain, weave cloth, and be self-reliant. Wang Zhen was sent to a mountain with relatively fertile soil to clear land and cultivate fields. This place later became an important agricultural product base in northern Shaanxi, called Nanniwan.
This experience allowed Wang Zhen to accumulate a lot of grassroots agricultural reclamation experience. Therefore, in 1956 after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was appointed as the Minister of Agricultural Reclamation, leading hundreds of thousands of comrades to pioneer and grow grain across the country, helping the New China through a period of incompetence. It is worth mentioning that General Tan Zhenlin happened to be in charge of the State Council at that time, and was in charge of the primary industry, and was considered Wang Zhen's superior. Logically speaking, the two should be in harmony with the generals and ministers and work together, but Wang Zhen is more principled and likes to plan his own work route. Tan Zhenlin is more tough and has a firm attitude, so the two often have frictions over work matters.
Later, Tan thought Wang was unwell and could no longer perform his duties on the front line, so he adjusted the work arrangements of the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation, giving him more rest time. But Wang Zhen misunderstood the meaning of his superiors and felt that Tan Zhenlin was sharing his power, so he felt a little complaining in his heart and complaining about Tan Po. As time comes, 1967, turmoil has spread across the country, causing relatively large negative impacts. Tan Zhenlin was very dissatisfied with this and said a few inappropriate words. Jiang and Yao seized the opportunity and began to make a big fuss, pointing the finger at Tan Zhenlin. He could not argue for a moment and could only continue to admit false mistakes. In order to further build momentum, Jiang and Yao asked Wang Zhen to "fire" at Tan.
Wang Zhen was led by Grandpa Mao into the revolutionary team. He listened to Grandpa Mao’s words the most. Grandpa Mao defended Tan Zhenlin, so he naturally would not say bad things about Tan.Moreover, he has always been clear about public and private affairs. Although he had a very unhappy relationship with Tan Zhenlin at work, in private, the two were innocent revolutionary soldiers, and their friendship was as solid as a rock. He could definitely not be detrimental to his comrades! Therefore, he said 7 words with great utmost sensation: Tan Zhenlin is not a traitor!
Jiang, Yao and others became very angry. In order to retaliate against Wang Zhen, they then began to turn over old accounts, "deposit" him, and slander him as a "rightist". At this time, Grandpa Mao promptly relieved Wang Zhen, and the Chairman was reluctant to let this beloved general be wronged. In 1972, he joined the State Council and served as Vice Premier in 1975. He was elected Vice President of the State in 1988. He died suddenly in 1993 at the age of 85.
Wang Zhen is a straight and loyal soldier. After joining the revolutionary team, he always cared about communism and regarded the realization of the great red ideal as the first priority in life, and placed personal fame and fortune in a secondary position. Moreover, he has respect for revolutionary comrades and will never be detrimental to them because of work friction. This attitude of clear public and private affairs and upright spirit are worthy of our study and praise!
