In 1955, our army implemented the rank system for the first time, which was a milestone event in the history of our army. At that time, a few comrades had angered because they were not ideal for awarding their ranks. However, the person in charge of military rank assessment took the initiative to demote the rank of general, demanding that the rank of general who was originally awarded them be demoted to the rank of lieutenant general, which was once a good story at that time.
The general who took the initiative to demand a demotion was Xu Liqing, then deputy minister of the General Cadre. Xu Liqing is an old revolutionary with outstanding military achievements. In 1930, 19-year-old Xu Liqing participated in the Red Army . Three years later, he became an army-level commander of the Red Fourth Front Army . He participated in the anti-encirclement and suppression and the Long March , and participated in the establishment of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base.
Shortly after the Red Fourth Front Army successfully arrived in northern Shaanxi, Xu Liqing joined the troops to join West Route Army . Because the objective enemy is strong and we are weak, the Western Route Army eventually failed, and Xu Liqing was also deeply trapped behind the enemy. In the arduous environment, Xu Liqing was not discouraged and continued to fight, leading the remaining personnel to fight guerrillas in the Qilian Mountains area, and finally escaped and returned to Yan'an successfully.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xu Liqing successively served in the 129th Division and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and led his troops to crush the provocation and siege of the Kuomintang stubborn army, making great contributions to defending the security of the Party Central Committee. In the early days of the Liberation War, Xu Liqing still fought in northern Shaanxi and led his troops to participate in a series of important battles, making great achievements for the liberation of northern Shaanxi.
In October 1949, Xu Liqing served as the political commissar of the First Corps. Together with commander Wang Zhen, he led a large army to advance into Xinjiang, and finally liberated the entire territory of Xinjiang in one fell swoop.
After the founding of New China, the construction of our army began to become regular. Considering Xu Liqing's achievements in political work, the organization was transferred to him as Deputy Minister of General Cadre. Shortly after Xu took office, our army had first implemented the rank hierarchy system. According to Xu Liqing's qualifications, he could have been awarded the rank of general. However, Xu Liqing took the initiative to ask the organization to reconsider his military rank, hoping to award him the rank of lieutenant general. After repeated requests failed, he wrote to Premier Zhou in person and expressed his thoughts.
After receiving the letter, Premier Zhou transferred it to General Peng, who was then the vice chairman of the Military Commission. However, after learning about Xu Liqing's demands, General Peng issued an instruction on the spot: Disagree.
Although his request for demotion was repeatedly rejected, Xu Liqing was still persistent. He took the initiative to talk to General Peng three times to express his thoughts. Xu Liqing said that he is the direct person responsible for the assessment of military ranks and should strictly demand himself, even if he is a lieutenant general, he will not affect his work.
Some old comrades also have opinions on Xu Liqing's behavior. Some people said, "You should have been awarded the title of General, but you firmly want to be a lieutenant general. What do you think of you? Besides, what should you do if you let other people who are qualified to be a general?" Xu Liqing said, "After all, my position is special, and I am responsible for awarding the title. It is better to have a lower military rank. I believe other comrades will understand."
Under Xu Liqing's insistence, the Party Central Committee finally agreed to his request. Both Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou gave him extremely high praise for his title of rank.
Xu Liqing is not only noble and elegant, but also has a very simple life. It can even be described as the word "poverty". Not only did he have ordinary food and clothing, he even did not have a decent piece of furniture at home, so that everyone who had visited his house was shocked. Some people even bluntly said that the families of League-level cadres are more decent than Xu Liqing's family. What is commendable is that Xu Liqing kept this hard and simple style until his death, and he was poor all his life.
The heavy work has affected Xu Liqing's health. Shortly after the rank of the teacher, Xu Liqing fell ill at work and had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. Xu Liqing, who was lying on the hospital bed, felt very melancholy when he thought that he could not continue to work for the party in a short period of time. He took the initiative to propose to the organization, asking him to resign from his position as deputy minister. The leaders of the Military Commission believed that his current priority was to maintain a good health, so he did not approve his request for resignation.
In January 1956, Xu Liqing once again made a request to resign to the Military Commission.After consideration, the head of the Military Commission believed that Xu Liqing was only in his forties and was still very young, so he should hurry up and treat the disease. He could continue to work after he recovered. So he rejected Xu Liqing's request again.
In 1983, 73-year-old Xu Liqing passed away. Following his last wish, the wife took the initiative to hand over the house and get a car, which won wide praise.
