As we all know, what a country is most worried about is the self-esteem of generals who are heavily armed and the formation of warlord regimes. During the period of Beiyang government, Beiyang warlords usually separated one side by one division, so the strength of an army was obviously much more than that of a division. If the power of the commander, the highest military officer of an army, is not restricted, warlords will easily split.
Militarily, rulers have always separated military administration from military orders to restrict military power.
Military and political affairs are mainly responsible for: the appointment of military chiefs at all levels, the mobilization, training and establishment of troops, the development and installation of weapons and equipment, etc.
Mainly responsible for military orders: wartime operational command.
The commander is responsible for the military and political affairs of an army, and its highest level is the army headquarters. The chief of staff is responsible for the military orders of an army, and its highest level is the General Staff. The commander controls the army, and the chief of staff uses the army. One is the ownership and the other is the right to use.
During the Beiyang period, because there was no strong central government at the beginning of the Republic of China, although the army headquarters and the staff headquarters system were established for the army, the staff headquarters system could not be established in the army because of the strong local power, and the chief of staff gradually became a "deaf ear-decoration".
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang's military and political affairs were in charge of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, and the military orders were in charge of the chief of staff, Bai Chongxi. However, because Chiang Kai-shek likes leapfrog command, the military and political orders are chaotic.
During the War of Liberation, the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang army was Gu and the chief of staff was Chen Cheng. During the campaign, the General Staff Department asked all the ministries of the national army to move closer to the reorganization of the 74th Division, but the heavily armed commanders and soldiers deliberately slowed down the marching speed at Gu's behest, and finally the reorganization of the 74th Division was wiped out.
Because the commanders and political commissars of the PLA troops are involved with each other, the functions of the chief of staff are relatively weakened. At the same time, because the power of the chief of staff was given by the superior, and because the early Red Army troops fought everywhere, the chief of staff became the commander's assistant.
Generally speaking, commanders and chiefs of staff in all countries of the world are equal (with different division of labor), but the presence of the PLA political commissar weakens the involvement of the chief of staff, so it cannot be simply considered that the chief of staff is under the commander.