Among the founding generals, not many people served as the commanders of the main divisions of the Red Army before the Long March. The famous founding general Yang Dezhi, during the Long March, led his troops to cross the Dadu River, and became famous in The First World War, when his position was the commander of the first regiment of the Red First Division, and the Red Army was promoted to the commander of the Red Second Division after it arrived in northern Shaanxi; for example, the founding general Yang Chengwu, during the Long March, he first flew to seize the Luding Bridge, and then forcefully attacked the dangerous Lazikou, opening a passage for the Red Army to go north. At that time, his position was the political commissar of the Fourth Regiment of the Red Second Division, and he was promoted to the political commissar of the Red First Division after the Long March arrived in northern Shaanxi.
Yang Dezhi and Yang Chengwu were both famous generals of our army, brave and resourceful, but they did not become division-level cadres until the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi. It can be seen from this that it is relatively difficult to become a division-level cadre before the Long March. In other words, if he could serve as a division-level cadre during the Red Army period, his later achievements would certainly not be low. The reason is very simple: soon after the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, and after the victory of the War of Resistance, it was the War of Liberation, the scale of the troops continued to expand, and the posts of generals were also promoted. For example, Yang Dezhi and Yang Chengwu both became corps commanders in the later stages of the Liberation War.
However, there is one person who is an exception; he served as the commander of the main division before the Long March, and participated in the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. However, what is strange is that his post has not been promoted, and he was still a division commander during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Such a peculiar resume is very rare among the senior generals of our army, so who is this person? He was General Liu Ziqi. Liu Ziqi is a native of Liuyang, Hunan Province, born in 1900, his father made a living as a sharecropper for the landlord's family, and his mother did housework at home, taking care of several children, and his life was very difficult.
In order to make a living, Liu Ziqi began to herd cattle for the landlord's family at the age of 8, and suffered a lot. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China was ushered in, but warlords large and small fought for many years, and the lives of the people did not improve in the slightest. In order to support his family, Liu Ziqi went to the city to work, but his income was very meager, and he could barely maintain food and clothing. During his part-time job, Liu Ziqi accepted progressive ideas and joined our party in 1927. A year later, Liu Shaoling formed the Liudong guerrilla group in Pingjiang. Liu Ziqi, because he was a native of Liuyang, was sent by his superiors to the guerrillas as the secretary of the branch.
The guerrillas, centering their activities in the Zhangfang area, constantly attacked small groups of enemies and expanded their revolutionary influence. More than a year later, the Liuyang Peasant Self-Defense Army was formed, and Liu Ziqi served as the commander of the Fourth Road, leading his troops to participate in the battle against Changsha. After that, Liu Ziqi officially entered the ranks of the Red Army and served in the Xianggan Military Region as the commander of the Second Military Sub-district, commanding the troops to repeatedly repel the enemy's attacks. In April 1933, Liu Ziqi, who had made many military achievements, was appointed as the commander of the independent Third Division of the Xianggan Military Region, which was the first-class main force of the Military Region, which showed the importance that his superiors attached to Liu Ziqi.
After that, Liu Ziqi led the Third Division to fight the enemy many times and made important contributions to the creation of the Xiang'echuanqian revolutionary base area. In July 1936, Liu Ziqi was transferred to the 18th Division of the Red 6th Army, followed the victory of the troops to northern Shaanxi, and entered the Red Army University. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Liu Ziqi served as the chief of staff of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was a relatively high position at that time, Yang Dezhi, Yang Chengwu, Chen Xilian and others were only regimental commanders at that time, and Wang Jinshan was still deputy regimental commander.
However, Liu Ziqi did not spend a long time in the 359th Brigade, and a year later he was transferred to the Jizhong Military Region, where he served as deputy commander of the Ninth Military Subdistrict and commander of the Second Military Subdistrict. After the outbreak of the Liberation War, Liu Ziqi followed the troops into the northeast to fight against the enemy, and successively served as the commander of the Independent 8th Division of the Northeast Field Army and the commander of the 165th Division of the Siye. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Liu Ziqi entered the Korean War with the 47th Army in 1951 and served as the commander of the 140th Division. In 1933, he was the commander of the main division of the Red Army, and in 1951 he was still the commander of the division, that is to say, Liu Ziqi was not promoted in the first class in these 18 years.
In 1955, when the title was awarded, in the face of Liu Ziqi's situation, Luo Ronghuan made a mistake. Liu Ziqi was a division commander during the Red Army period, which was enough to confer a general; after the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, he was the chief of staff of the 359 Brigade, and Chen Shiyu, chief of staff of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division, and Li Jukui, chief of staff of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division, were both founding generals. Yao Zhe, chief of staff of the 358th Brigade of the 120th Division, and Tang Tianji, chief of staff of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division, were both lieutenant generals when they were awarded the rank of 55th year. From this point of view, Liu Ziqi should at least be awarded lieutenant general. However, when he was ranked in 1952, he was only a deputy military rank, and according to the regulations, he could only be awarded major general. In the end, Liu Ziqi was awarded the rank of major general and received three first-class medals.