After the outbreak of the Korean War, China's security was threatened, and in August 1952, the Chinese government and the Soviet government agreed to extend the period for the joint use of the Lushunkou Naval Base between China and the Soviet Union.
On the day of the signing of the treaty, Chairman Mao called Xiao Jinguang, and Chairman Mao said to Xiao Jinguang meaningfully: "Although the term of use of the treaty has been extended, we cannot not participate in the management at all!" I think it is not appropriate to set up an institution to work with the Soviet army for the time being, and in the future, once the Soviet army withdraws, the port terminal will not be unmanaged. ”
Chairman Mao had great foresight and insight into the ever-changing political situation in the turbulent and complicated international environment, and Xiao Jinguang understood the significance of Chairman Mao's remarks; within a few days, he made a special trip to the Dalian Sea School and convened a meeting between the Sea School and the Lushun Navy.
Through the visit and study of the Soviet army, Xiao Jinguang became interested in receiving all kinds of ships and various professionals and repair facilities of the Soviet army, and saw the Soviet experts who were giving lessons to the soldiers, Xiao Jinguang kept thanking them.
In the evening, Xiao Jinguang found Deng Hua and suggested: "We accept too many things from the Soviet army, and we alone have no energy, and second, we are easy to overlook." I think it is possible to divide into several more groups? ”
Deng Hua agreed with Xiao Jinguang's opinion. Soon, Xiao Jinguang appointed Zhou Xihan as the chairman of the acceptance group, and Duan Dezhang, Luo Hua, Peng Lin, and Shao Zhen as vice chairmen. According to the establishment of the Soviet army stationed in Shunkou, Xiao Jinguang set up a branch office and twelve working committees such as the Aviation Corps and the Marine Police Corps.
At the establishment of the committee, Xiao Jinguang stressed that "receiving the Equipment and Facilities of the Soviet Union stationed in Shun is an important source of weapons and equipment in the initial period of the Navy, and these equipment are the foundation of our development, and we must not damage them, and we must love these equipment like we love our own eyes in the handover." ”
On the night of the establishment of the committee, the sound of the flutes of the ships entering the port came into Xiao Jinguang's ear drums, and a bold idea flashed in his mind, and Xiao Jinguang laid out a pen and paper and wrote to his respected Chairman Mao:
Chairman Mao:
The Sino-Soviet Joint Handover Committee has begun formal work, the work is progressing quite smoothly, the number and time of acceptance are being discussed, some equipment prices are more controversial, in addition to our work to win, it is best to send a condolence group in the name of the central government to comfort the Soviet army, so that we can do our work. In addition, I considered the question of whether we should draw some people from the army to form the leading institution of the Lushun base and its subordinate units at the same time as the establishment of our own base, and limit them to arrive on time to participate in the specific reception work. Yes, please decide.
Xiao Jinguang
After the letter was written, Xiao Jinguang asked the secretary to send it out by telegram immediately.
The next morning, Xiao Jinguang received a call from the Central Military Commission in the duty room.
The call came from Acting Chief of the General Staff, Nie Rongzhen. He told Xiao Jinguang that Chairman Mao had read the telegram and agreed with this opinion. The condolence mission is being formed, and the exact name of who will lead the team is to be determined.
Xiao Jinguang quickly conveyed this exciting news to Zhang Xuesi, the principal of Dalian Maritime School, and others, asking them to work hard to cultivate talents and let students go to ships and submarines to learn before the Soviet army retreated.
The next day, Zhang Xuesi organized the students to come over.
Xiao Jinguang stepped on such a large surface ship for the first time.
On the third day, a grand idea was conceived in his mind: to build a submarine force at the same time as developing surface ships anyway. But this requires talent, Xiao Jinguang once accompanied Chairman Mao to meet Stalin. Chairman Mao introduced Xiao Jinguang to Stalin, and Stalin was surprised that Xiao Jinguang's Russian was so fluent, and Chairman Mao pointed to Xiao Jinguang next to him and said to Stalin, who had a puzzled face, "This is our great intellectual, he has studied in the Soviet Union twice. "Then he can confer honorary citizenship of the Soviet Union!" Stalin said with a smile.
Xiao Jinguang was very fond of soviet experts. We sincerely invited them to serve as advisers to our submarine force, and some experts also held Xiao Jinguang's invitation letter as advisers to the chief of naval staff.
At the suggestion of Xiao Jinguang and the instructions of Chairman Mao, a condolence delegation headed by Peng Dehuai and Song Qingling came to the ship, which fully expressed the Chinese government's respect and trust in the officers and men of the Soviet Army.
Peng Dehuai said, "Entrusted by the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao, I have come to visit and comfort all the officers and men of the Soviet Union. You have worked hard, in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Soviet people have given us great help and assistance, and here I would like to convey the gratitude of the Chinese people through you, so that the friendship between our two countries will last a long time, and long live the Chinese and Soviet peoples. ”
After Peng Dehuai said, a condolence performance was also held. In this brisk song and dance, Xiao Jinguang took the opportunity to negotiate with the Representatives of the Soviet Side on the price of genuine products.
The performance was unprecedentedly successful, and Xiao Jinguang also made substantial progress in the negotiations, and he was ready to return to Beijing from Lushun to report on the negotiations to the central authorities.
Entering the naval office building, entering the office, the confidential secretary sent him several documents, along with a report he had written to Chairman Mao.
Xiao Jinguang sat in front of his office and went through these documents one by one, one of which was an order issued by the Ministry of National Defense to establish a naval Lushun base.
Xiao Jinguang found that in the report, Chairman Mao had "received 11 frigates, 39 speedboats, 80 aircraft, 5 shore guns, and 16 urgent guns." All of the equipment that had been spent on the money were rewritten in red pen into paid parts; "fixed facilities such as docks, position barracks, and 5 ships, and thirty or forty auxiliary ships." These equipment were not paid, but Chairman Mao rewrote them into a gratuitous part. At the end of the report, Chairman Mao wrote in red pen:
Jinguang, after reading the report and listening to Dehuai's report, this time the reception has achieved great results and the harvest is not small. I couldn't sleep at night, and I thought about whether, in addition to quickly setting up camp organs, could use the weapons and equipment we received to form aviation, speedboats, anti-aircraft guns, and other units, and truly coordinate with the army and air force to undertake the defense of the brigade's large areas. The specific idea is not very mature, you take an opinion. ”
After reading this passage, Xiao Jinguang felt very warm in his heart. Chairman Mao was the most respected person in his life, and he could not imagine that Chairman Mao, who was full of opportunities, had considered it so thoughtfully and in detail, and the chairman's trust made Xiao Jinguang extremely excited. In the afternoon of the same day, Xiao Jinguang shut himself in his office and painstakingly painted a grand blueprint for naval construction in accordance with the spirit of Chairman Mao's instructions.
On November 7, 1957, the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution in the Soviet Union, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided that Chairman Mao would lead a party and government delegation to Moscow to participate in the celebrations, and also sent a military delegation, of which Xiao Jinguang was one of the members of the military delegation.
Xiao Jinguang felt honored and happy to come to the Soviet Union with Chairman Mao. First, the Soviet Union was the place where he came to study twice, and there were too many things to learn in the Soviet Union's military, especially in naval construction, and it was necessary to see it for himself; second, he had the opportunity to talk to Chairman Mao about ordering goods from the Soviet Union.
Liu Yalou, commander of the Air Force, is also one of the members of the military delegation, both of them studied military affairs in the Soviet Union, and their personal relations are very deep, Xiao Jinguang believes that many methods of the Air Force are worth learning and learning from the Navy.
Xiao Jinguang and Liu Yalou walked along the long red carpet of the Kremlin to the door of a room in the corridor and stopped. Xiao Jinguang gently knocked on the door with his hand, and Chairman Mao's extremely familiar Hunan accent came from inside the room: "Come in!" ”
At this time, Chairman Mao was in the house talking on the phone with Premier Zhou Enlai in China. Seeing Xiao Jinguang and Liu Yalou come in, Chairman Mao explained things to Zhou Enlai while signaling the two to sit down with his hands.
Putting down the phone, Chairman Mao asked Xiao Jinguang and Liu Yalou, who were sitting on the sofa: "Is the climate here adaptable?" ”
Without waiting for the two to speak, Chairman Mao continued: "Oh, you both have been in the Soviet Union, and the climate here should be adaptable." ”
Chairman Mao lit a cigarette and took a deep breath.
At this time, the cook brought the rice up, chairman Mao did not eat, he pointed to the steak on the table and asked: "Do you eat it?" ”
"We've both eaten."
While eating, Chairman Mao asked them about his visit to the Soviet Union.
Liu Yalou talked about the agreement reached between the Air Force and the Soviet Air Force.
Xiao Jinguang talked about some issues he had discussed with Gorshkov, commander of the Soviet Navy, and asked the Soviet Union to improve some of the current ships from the aspects of the tasks and operations of the Chinese Navy, and the Navy was preparing to set up scientific research institutions, hoping that the Soviet Union could send experts to guide the soviet navy.
Chairman Mao listened carefully and kept nodding his head.
After listening to the report, Chairman Mao said, "Our current air force and navy are still relatively backward, and now the West is pinching our necks, and the only one who is really willing and able to help us is the Soviet Union, so we must seize this opportunity." Do more work in the introduction. ”
Then, Chairman Mao asked, "How did you feel about this ceremony?" ”
The ceremony that Chairman Mao was referring to was a grand military parade held on the morning of 7 July on the Soviet Union's Red Square. Delegations from socialist countries all participated, and military friendship delegations were also invited to attend the ceremony. The military parade site showcased the achievements of the Soviet army, and many new types of weapons and equipment opened the eyes and breathtaking views of the members of the delegation.
Xiao Jinguang said: "The speed of development of the Soviet Union's national defense forces in recent years is really amazing, and the backward scene of the past has been swept away. In contrast, although we have made great achievements, the gap is still very large! ”
"It's good to see the gap, our Air Force and Navy are now as big as this." Chairman Mao held out the little finger of his right hand and made a humorous comparison.
"Are you still seasick now?" Chairman Mao turned to Xiao Jinguang and asked.
"Seasickness is a little better now than it was at the beginning."
Chairman Mao said humorously: "The commander of the Navy is seasick, and the commander of the Air Force is seasick, and this is my cadre policy!" ”
Chairman Mao's unique wisdom in selecting Xiao Jinguang among the generals in The Forest is undoubtedly a great trust and preference for Xiao Jinguang. The development of the Chinese Navy to this day has gone through a difficult and tortuous bumpy road, Xiao Jinguang's credit chairman Mao saw, the commanders and fighters of the whole army saw it, assuming that Chairman Mao did not select Xiao Jinguang, the navy can have such glory now? The reason why Chairman Mao chose Xiao Jinguang was because in his long-term contacts with Xiao Jinguang, he found that he had many personality charms that others did not have.
"Has the June Fourth Agreement been implemented last time?" Chairman Mao asked.
The "June Fourth Agreement" that Chairman Mao asked about refers to the fact that when the Navy was first established, in order to solve the equipment problem, Xiao Jinguang went to the Soviet Union three times to consult with the Soviet Navy and purchase a batch of weapons and equipment and an agreement on allowing the Soviet side to transfer manufacturing technology.
Xiao Jinguang said: "According to the agreed projects, the assembly and manufacturing of most of the ships has been completed, some are in the assembly and manufacturing process, and the import of all projects will be completed at the end of the year." ”
Chairman Mao nodded after hearing this and said, "Nie Rongzhen, Chen Geng and Song Renqian recently signed an agreement with the Soviet delegation in Moscow to assist our country in new technologies such as rockets and aviation. This agreement provided us with a good start in seeking new naval technology from the Soviet Union. ”
Chairman Mao took a sharp breath of his cigarette and continued: "The agreement they signed is mainly to solve the problems of the army and the air force, you are the commander of the navy, familiar with the situation of the navy, the new technology of the navy, take this opportunity to have a good talk with them." ”
Xiao Jinguang nodded. This is also the purpose of his visit to the Soviet Union with the military friendship delegation.
Xiao Jinguang knew very well in his heart that in the past few years, with the help of the Soviet Union, we have begun to master the production technology of building warships, and we have initially built a young shipbuilding design force, and the Design of Soviet Ships can also be modified and transformed according to the national conditions, which should be said to be a great progress, but although these assembled and manufactured ships are all new equipment, compared with the international level, it is a heaven and an underground.
Obviously, if we continue to import equipment parts and drawings, assemble and produce these ships in large quantities, it will not only increase the economic pressure of the country, but also restrict the further development of the quality of naval equipment. Therefore, how to improve the navy's equipment and seek new naval technologies is an important topic that Xiao Jinguang has been pondering bitterly.
After the celebrations, Xiao Jinguang, under the arrangements of the Soviet side, visited the Belarusian Military Region and the Far Eastern Military Region, visited the Kiev Air Defense Command Post, Chita, Boli, Vladivostok and other military bases, as well as the Odessa Shipyard, watched atomic icebreakers, and visited the Soviet Air Force Academy and the Artillery Academy.
After listening to the college staff's introduction to the structure and performance of the Soviet-made missile, Xiao Jinguang drew a cross-section of the missile structure with the accompanying staff with great interest. During the visit, Xiao Jinguang talked with the soviet naval leaders about the missiles used by the navy and new weapons. At the same time, Xiao Jinguang also took the time to visit some old Soviet friends.
After returning to Beijing, Xiao Jinguang reported to the members of the Naval Standing Committee one by one on the conversations he held with the Soviet Navy during his visit to the Soviet Union, and in particular conveyed the spirit of Chairman Mao's instructions.
After careful discussion, study, and demonstration, in April 1958, Xiao Jinguang, Su Zhenhua, and Luo Shunchu, on behalf of the Navy Party Committee, wrote a report to Minister of National Defense Peng Dehuai, suggesting that naval equipment and equipment should not continue to be built according to the old data, but that it is urgent to obtain the design drawings of the Soviet Union to build new ships and various new mechanical weapons materials, and to obtain new and modern equipment as soon as possible. At the same time, it is proposed to submit a request to the Government of the Soviet Union on behalf of my Government.
Chairman Mao attached great importance to Xiao Jinguang's opinion and quickly approved this proposal. The following year, a naval technical agreement was signed with the Soviet Union, the "February Fourth" Agreement. After hearing the letter, Xiao Jinguang was so excited that he did not sleep all night. Because for the Navy, the history of no "cutting-edge" technology is over.