Hello everyone, this is the X issue of the new history column. We are about to explore a historical topic during the Anti-Japanese War. At that time, the first leader of the New Fourth Army was General Ye Ting. After the Southern Anhui Incident in 1941, General Ye Ting was captured and Xiang Ying was sacrificed. At such a critical juncture, the central government made a decisive decision, that is, to quickly rebuild the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army. At this time, Comrade Chen Yi assumed this important task as the "acting army commander". Some readers may ask, why do you add the word "generation" before an important position? This is usually because of seniority. Sometimes, for newly promoted cadres, they will act for a period of time before becoming regular. So, does it mean that Chen Yi's status in the army is obviously different from Ye Ting's? Theoretically, as long as the gap between the two is not particularly large, it is usually possible to be appointed directly as a military commander. So, what do you think about this issue?
Before General Ye Ting's accident, Chen Yi was the commander of the first team of the New Fourth Army, and on the surface, he seemed to be a subordinate of Commander Ye Ting. But readers who are familiar with the historical background may have a different understanding. Both of them are important figures in the construction of China's armed forces. Although Ye Ting's status was higher than Chen Yi in the early days, as time went by, Chen Yi's status gradually rose and he became one of Chairman Mao's very trusted cadres. Therefore, we cannot simply regard Chen Yi as Ye Ting's subordinate, his position and role are equally important. Next, let's take a closer look at this history.
In 1927, in the Nanchang Uprising and the Guangzhou Uprising, Ye Ting and Chen Yi both played an important role. Among them, Ye Ting was given the main military command, and after the Nanchang Uprising, Chen Yi helped the chief stabilize the remaining forces after the uprising. The following year, Chen Yi led the rebellion in southern Hunan as the second leader, and he assisted Zhu De in bringing the troops to Jinggangshan, where they successfully joined Chairman Mao's army. Although Ye Ting's background and influence seemed stronger in the course of the revolution at that time, Chen Yi's contribution was also enormous. Their achievements are not an unbridgeable chasm, their contributions are very important, supporting and influencing each other. In the historical process of the revolution, Ye Ting and Chen Yi were both great leaders.
After the uprising in Guangzhou, Ye Ting angrily left the party organization for some objective reasons and stayed overseas for a period of time. It was not until he returned to China in 1937 and became the commander of the New Fourth Army that his party organization relations were not restored. In the past decade, the gap between Ye Ting and Chen Yi has gradually widened. During the most difficult period of the Red Army, Chen Yi and Comrade Xiang Ying jointly commanded a guerrilla war for three years, which was even more difficult than the Long March of the main force. And the Red Army units in the south were the predecessors of the New Fourth Army. Because of Chen Yi's outstanding performance and qualifications, he enjoyed high prestige in the New Fourth Army. During this period, although Ye Ting lived abroad, the Red Army and guerrillas at home were still fighting for the revolutionary cause. During this period, Comrade Chen Yi showed extraordinary leadership and firm revolutionary conviction and led the Red Army and the guerrillas through the most difficult period. His experience has accumulated great prestige and prestige in the New Fourth Army. Although the experiences of Ye Ting and Chen Yi are different, they are both comrades who fought for the revolutionary cause. In the days that followed, the two worked together and contributed their own strength to the cause of China's national liberation.
The reason why Ye Ting was appointed as the commander of the New Fourth Army was a consensus reached after consultations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in 1937. This decision is not only in line with the considerations of Yan'an, but also recognized by Nanjing. In the people's army, there is an important principle that "the party commands the gun." Although Ye Ting served as a military commander, he was not a member of the party organization and did not even have party membership. In contrast, Xiang Ying, deputy commander of the army, is also the secretary of the New Fourth Army branch of the Central Military Commission, while Chen Yi is the deputy secretary. Therefore, in terms of actual authority, the status and role of Xiang Ying and Chen Yi in the New Fourth Army are no less than Ye Ting. Such an arrangement not only embodies the party's leadership principles, but also takes into account the interests and needs of all parties.
So, why did Chen Yi not directly become the official second commander of the New Fourth Army after the Southern Anhui Incident, but added the word "Dai" before his position? The reason is that Comrade Ye Ting was not sacrificed, but was secretly arrested by the Kuomintang reactionaries. In 1941, the situation was not yet clear, and Ye Ting could still be rescued. In this case, on the one hand, it was necessary to quickly rebuild the military headquarters to boost the morale of the troops, and on the other hand, it was impossible to directly appoint Chen Yi as the commander. Because Commander Ye Ting is still in captivity, but he is still persisting in the struggle, everything is full of variables. Therefore, the Central Committee could not immediately appoint a new army commander to replace Comrade Ye Ting, who was suffering. This is also the background reason why Chen Yi can only appear as an "acting military commander" for the time being.
Chen Yi and Ye Ting have a deep friendship, not only in their work, but also in their personal friendship. Before the Southern Anhui Incident, he often did not hesitate to communicate with Ye Ting about the party's decision-making, completely without reservation. After learning of Ye Ting's arrest, Chen Yi was very saddened, so he chose to temporarily take over Ye Ting's position instead of directly appointing someone else. It would be more appropriate for him to do so. It was not until August 1945 that Chen Yi officially assumed the post of commander of the New Fourth Army. However, General Ye Ting ultimately failed to return to Yan'an and the ranks. He died in an air crash in April 1946, and the exact cause of the crash remains a mystery to this day. Although he can no longer work with the team, Chen Yi still strives to continue to complete his and Ye Ting's unfinished business.