In 1949, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were great changes within the army, and some middle- and high-level cadres moved around very frequently. In this. In order to select a chief of staff who can take on important responsibilities and has rich combat experience, the army has spent a lot of effort.
At that time, many military cadres submitted lists of people they recommended, but there was no final decision on who would serve as chief of staff. When these lists were delivered to Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao glanced at the people on the list, and then said with a smile: "You don't have to choose, I have found a very suitable candidate for you. It's time for this famous general in Qingdao to come out!"
The person the Chairman was talking about was none other than the famous civilian marshal Xu Xiangqian. Under Chairman Mao's appointment, Xu Xiangqian became our country's first chief of staff.
You must know that the competition for the position of chief of staff was very fierce at that time. Every general on the list is a powerful and powerful hero.
At that time, Xu Xiangqian was recuperating in Shandong, and he was no longer familiar with the internal affairs of the military. However, Chairman Mao insisted on defying all opinions and insisted on letting Xu Xiangqian take up the post. This indeed contained Chairman Mao's good intentions. Of course, the most important thing was that Marshal Xu Xiangqian was indeed capable of literary and military skills and could bear Chairman Mao's trust.
Xu Xiangqian abandoned literature and joined the military, and made great contributions to the liberation of Shanxi.
Xu Xiangqian was born in Shanxi in 1901. His father was an old scholar. Under the guidance of his father, Xu Xiangqian's literary talent was very outstanding. His old father originally wanted him to follow his old path and grow up to be an intellectual, but Xu Xiangqian did not do this. Instead, he chose a more difficult path - joining the army.
Due to the influence of literature for many years, Xu Xiangqian was different from other generals who were bending bows and shooting eagles at this time. He was very elegant and had a sense of proportion even on the battlefield. And he was often able to combine the battle situation with knowledge to create his own set of fighting methods. Because the troops he trained were quite powerful in combat.
As early as during the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign, Xu Xiangqian used his ingenuity to lead the soldiers to deal with the enemy skillfully. Under his counterattack, he cleverly resolved the enemy's three encirclement and suppression campaigns.
Relying on these small battles and guerrilla warfare , Xu Xiangqian accumulated his reputation step by step. During the War of Liberation, in order to attack Luliang , Xu Xiangqian issued a military order saying: "If Luliang is not broken for a day, I, Xu Xiangqian, will not return!"
However, there were many enemies in Shanxi at that time, and it was by no means an easy task for Xu Xiangqian to win this battle. Under his precise deployment, the battle quickly achieved a breakthrough. During this battle, he ate and lived with the soldiers, fought hard for two and a half months, and finally successfully captured the Luliang area and won the battle.
After that, he settled in Taiyuan in one fell swoop and eliminated nearly 140,000 enemies. It is precisely because of this that there is a saying often circulated in Taiyuan City: "Drive away Yan Xishan and come to Xu Xiangqian."
However, compared to Yan Xishan, Xu Xiangqian is not sure how good he is. The original king of Shanxi, Yan Xishan, was a warlord himself. When he competed with other warlords for territory, he did not care about the lives of the surrounding people.
But Xu Xiangqian is different. He is from the Red Army and is from Shanxi. He also has a very strong intellectual spirit in his bones. When he was in Shanxi, he never felt sorry for the people. Instead, he always considered the people and did a lot of practical things for them.
At that time, some people in his hometown heard that he had become a high official, and immediately came to ask for food and officials in his name, but they were all rejected by Xu Xiangqian. His behavior was not approved by his family at the beginning, because the people have always been accustomed to the lifestyle of "one person gets a chicken or a dog and ascends to heaven". In their simple minds, they always think that after their fellow villagers become high officials, they will definitely help their hometown people.
However, he did not expect that Xu Xiangqian, who had a clear mind, did not agree with this approach. He said righteously: "Food is grown by the common people. I, Xu Xiangqian, cannot violate my conscience for my own selfish interests. You don't have an official position, and you don't have any money. If you want to be an official, you have to work hard!"
Xu Xiangqian's words stopped the crowd, and his approach gradually gained recognition and appreciation from everyone.
When he served as the first chief of staff, Chairman Mao laughed and said: It's time for Qingdao's famous general to come out.
However, after running on the battlefield for a long time, Xu Xiangqian suffered from serious diseases. He was often worried and tired on the battlefield, and he suffered from migraine. Whenever he had a headache, he would be so painful that he would hit himself on the head with the handle of a gun. This horrifying scene made everyone around him feel scared.
Once, Xu Xiangqian's horse suddenly sprained its hoofs, and Xu Xiangqian, who was galloping at full speed, was unexpectedly thrown down hard. In this incident, his left thigh was seriously injured and he developed a fever on the spot. He lay down for a long time before recovering.
From then on, every time these old injuries recurred, Xu Xiangqian would have a fever for several days, and sometimes he would be dizzy from the fever, so Xu Xiangqian was on the battlefield, recuperating and commanding the battle at the same time.
But such long-term high-intensity work will sooner or later exhaust his body. Later, during the War of Liberation, although Xu Xiangqian insisted on liberating many cities, he was forced to recuperate in Shandong due to the recurrence of his old illness.
What he didn't expect was that when he was ill, Chairman Mao never forgot him and personally recommended him to be our country's first chief of staff. This moved Xu Xiangqian very much. In order not to disappoint Chairman Mao, Xu Xiangqian accepted the appointment despite his illness.
However, because his old injuries did not heal in time, it was not until 1951 that Xu Xiangqian officially took office. In 1955, Xu Xiannian was awarded the rank of marshal for his outstanding achievements. With his mind and talent, his title of "marshal" was well deserved.
It is worth mentioning that in the late 1970s, when Vietnam invaded our border, Marshal Xu Xiangqian was so strong that he personally led the team to southern Xinjiang and participated in the famous " self-defense counterattack against Vietnam ".
Under the leadership of Marshal Xu Xiangqian, in just one month, our army was overwhelming and almost broke through the capital of Vietnam. On the way to victory, our army also destroyed many factories in Vietnam along the way. Although this battle lasted for a short time, it achieved many unexpected results, especially the Vietnamese economy.
In 1990, this civilian marshal, who worked hard and made great contributions to our country, died of illness. After he passed away, people across the country mourned this kind marshal in different ways.
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