preface
According to a photo taken after the reform and opening up, General Wang Jian'an, dressed in patched clothes, once said: Even if the standard of living is improved, it should not be extravagant and wasteful. The clothes are torn, the seams are mended and a new piece of clothing is repaired; if something is broken, it can be repaired for several years.
Cowherds form armed teams
Wang Jian'an was born in 1907, and his original name was Wang Jian'an. Like most founding generals, Wang Jian'an grew up poor, and at the age of 14 he went to the landlord's house to herd cattle, and was often beaten by the ruthless landlord. Humiliated from childhood, he decided to learn martial arts, and after following Li Diantang for several years to learn martial arts, the first thing he did when he came back was to beat up the former landlord, and even burn down the landlord's house, and later ran to Wuhan to join the army and changed his name to Wang Jian'an. Wang Jian'an joined Wu Peifu's troops, but because he could not stand the habits of the old warlords, he fled back to his hometown after two years and formed an armed force of his own, which later grew to more than 60 people. The armed force formed by Wang Jian'an was also well-known in Huang'an County, and he joined the Communist Party in 1927 and participated in the Jute Uprising. After that, he also participated in various battles of all sizes, heroically killing the enemy, and was promoted from squad leader all the way to division political commissar.
Xu Shiyou called Wang Jian'an a "traitor"
The relationship between Wang Jian'an and Xu Shiyou has always been very good, and the two are good comrades-in-arms and good partners. But even the best friends will have disagreements and conflicts. In March 1937, the Party Central Committee criticized Zhang Guotao's movement and put forward three demands, which made Xu Shiyou a little dissatisfied, and he began to scold and grin when he patted the table, but it did not seem to play any role, but it caused trouble. Xu Shiyou was angry and vomited blood on the spot, and was later taken to the hospital. Lying on a hospital bed, Xu Shiyou tossed and turned and decided to return to his old base. In April, Xu Shiyou, along with some generals of the former Red Fourth Front, prepared to leave without resignation, including Wang Jian'an. But at this time, Wang Jian'an reacted, he felt that this matter could not be done, it was against discipline. He immediately reported the situation, and all the generals who were preparing to leave the army, including Xu Shiyou, were locked up in caves.
Xu Shiyou has always held a grudge in his heart for this matter, and the two have completely turned their faces, and since then they have not tolerated fire and water. Later, Wang Jian'an repeatedly asked Xu Shiyou, hoping that the two could reach a reconciliation. But Xu Shiyou simply ignored it, and when he saw Wang Jian'an, he turned around and left, no matter what Wang Jian'an said, he took it as a wind in his ears. He also ridiculed Wang Jian'an: "A traitor is a traitor after all, and no matter what time it is, he will only be a traitor." ”
Clean and economical style of life
Wang Jian'an in his work is conscientious and responsible, meticulous. In life, he is incorruptible and thrifty, and likes to wear coarse cloth clothes and thousand-layered bottom cloth shoes. Every time he got out of the army, he would emphasize the light car and obey, refusing to hug the front and back. When he went to a certain army in Xiamen to do inspection work, all the military and division leaders drove to accompany him, and Wang Jian'an saw the situation and directly asked: "What are you going to do?" One of them replied, "Show the chief the way." The general was a little displeased and said, "Can I lose it?" If you go, I won't go. "Helplessly, the leaders of the army and division can only obey the general's arrangement. During the inspection work, he came to the troops where he had worked to eat with his old subordinates, and as soon as he entered the canteen, he saw a large banquet and a table full of sumptuous meals. His face pulled down in an instant, and he asked, "Is this the light meal in your mouth?" An old subordinate hurriedly replied: "The old chief has worked hard, and we want to treat you." ”
The general was even angrier: "Have you ever thought about how much it costs the country?" "No, no, we share it out of our own pockets." The old subordinate hurried to explain.
The general commander exhaled, "Then there is no need to put away such a big banquet, quickly put it away!" Later, all these meals were sold in the cadre canteen, and the drinks were also collected. General Wang Jian'an picked up the chopsticks with confidence.
He was appointed general in 1956
Why did General Wang Jian'an, who had a life of integrity and incorruptibility and enjoyed great prestige in the military, not have his name in the list of awards in 1955. This matter also triggered a lot of discussion at the time.
Later, his son Wang Haibo gave the answer. In fact, the list of generals at that time had the name of General Wang Jian'an in the selection list, but after reading the list, the chairman drew a circle behind his name and wrote such a sentence: "Proud and complacent, it is appropriate to award lieutenant generals." ”
This made the selection team a little embarrassed, if they followed the instructions of the chairman, many people who were not as senior as General Wang Jian'an were selected as generals; but if they followed their original plan, it would certainly not work.
There was no way but to wait. Until 1956, General Wang Jian'an was awarded the rank of general by a separate "small stove". As for why the President thought he was complacent, it was because of something that happened that year.
This matter is related to Chen Yi, in a meeting, because the two had differences in work, Wang Jianan was very angry, while patting the table while talking to Chen Yi. This incident later reached the chairman's ears, so there was an impression that the chairman thought that Wang Jian'an was proud and complacent.
In fact, it is not that the general is proud and complacent, but he was born from a young age to learn martial arts, and as long as everything is not in line with his own wishes, it is easy to get on the head and lose his temper. But he was only right about things, so the chairman, after learning the reason, agreed to give him the title of general in 1956.
After his death, no one came to mourn
In 1980, Wang Jian'an died of illness, and his wife followed his instructions before his death: do not notify his former friends, do not send wreaths, do not open memorial services, do not ask comrades to escort the cremation of the remains, and do not organize farewell ceremonies.
Therefore, no one knows the news of Wang Jian'an's death, and even their children were only told later. More than a month later, some old subordinates and old comrades-in-arms learned that they did not know what was going on, and only after asking each other did they know that no one had received news.
Therefore, after Wang Jian'an's death, no one came to mourn. His wife buried him in his hometown according to his last wishes.