Welcome to Shiyuan History Column No. 2749. In the 1950s, General Zhang Aiping served as deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army. At that time, most of the deputy chiefs were founding generals or even generals, and the seniority of the incumbents was very prominent, and Zhang Aiping was able to serve as the deputy chief of the country. However, the time of national liberation is not long ago, and many commanders of large military regions and other important military posts are also held by deputy commanders-in-chiefs, which has created a situation: Deputy chiefs of general staff often do not work in Beijing, and there is a sense of "having a name and not being real." The Central Committee also took this into account, and in order to ensure the work of the General Staff, it assigned as many as 11 deputies to General Commander Su to ensure that at least three or four deputy commanders worked at his side. Admiral Zhang Aiping is one of the "on-time" and has no other part-time job.
In the General Staff Headquarters, Su Assigned Zhang Aiping daily military affairs and administrative work, but it was difficult for this general Zhang Aiping, who arrived at his post every day, to complete it. The reason is a bit incredible: at that time, the General Staff and the Ministry of National Defense were working upstairs, and Peng knew that Zhang Aiping was serving in the General Staff, and often called him to work in the upstairs Ministry of National Defense. Zhang Aiping is a cadre from the Red Third Army, who once served as the director of the Political Department of the Fourth Division of the Red Army under General Peng, and the two had decades of friendship, And Peng trusted this subordinate very much, and some important work was still habitually handed over to Zhang Aiping. As an old subordinate of General Manager Peng, Zhang Aiping naturally had a hard time resigning, and later she basically worked on the fourth floor where the Ministry of National Defense was located, and it was difficult for him to take care of the work of the General Staff Department. Zhang Aiping, who was named deputy chief of the general staff, was actually doing the work of vice minister of national defense.
Mr. Peng was the vice chairman of the Central Committee at the time and also the minister of national defense. He arranged for Zhang Aiping to work, others naturally could not say anything, Commander Su did not raise objections, and Zhang Aiping himself was even more willing. Because in the entire military career, Zhang Aiping's most revered chief was Mr. Peng. In his later years, General Zhang Aiping once recalled: The premier taught me to do things, General Peng taught me to be a man, and Peng was always a real person.
In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, Zhang Aiping worked in the New Fourth Army and Sanye respectively, and was also a direct subordinate of Commander Su; in the 1950s, General Peng and Commander Su had some friction in their work, and Zhang Aiping, who was appointed deputy commander-in-chief and was close to General Peng, played a certain role in reconciling, and repeatedly advised Commander Su and General Peng to communicate and ease relations. Unfortunately, neither of them was a leader who was good at handling interpersonal relations, so they were so suspicious that in 1958, Su Zong was criticized for "individualism" and was dismissed from the post of chief of the general staff. However, Zhang Aiping has always had a fair evaluation of Su Zong, believing that when Commander Su presided over the work of the General Staff Headquarters, it was the most remarkable period of time when the General Staff work was the most remarkable, which shows that his character is very upright and will not be partial.
At the Lushan Conference in 1959, Peng Zong's military and political career also underwent tremendous changes, because many generals did not dare to get too close to Peng Zong because of the criticism of the Great Leap Forward, so as not to be classified as a rightist. When he returned to Beijing from Lushan, the only general who flew in the same plane as Peng Zong was Zhang Aiping, who ignored the persuasion of others and said with a smile: What? He is still our good chief and good comrade! And in the cabin, Zhang Aiping tried to comfort the depressed Mr. Peng, which showed the general's attitude of knowing gratitude and adhering to the truth.
Due to the continuous criticism of Peng Zong, the later living and working environment deteriorated, and most generals did not have the opportunity to see Peng Zong again. In 1973, Peng zong was hospitalized for cancer, and even in the ward, he was cared for alone, and no one in the army was allowed to visit. Zhang Aiping was injured in the leg at that time, and took advantage of the excuse to walk to Peng Zong's door on crutches, but there were still people who stopped her. To this end, he thought of a solution: pretending to admit the wrong door, because of a leg injury, he said: I am also hospitalized here, this is my ward, I want to go in! Zhang Aiping shouted in the corridor, paying no attention to her status as a senior cadre.
Mr. Peng heard his voice in the hospital bed, although he could not open the door to meet, but Zhang Aiping's special behavior undoubtedly gave Mr. Peng in his later years another psychological comfort. From this incident, we can also see the deep feelings of the two generals, which is touching. In the 1980s, General Zhang Aiping successively served as vice premier of the State Council and minister of national defense, both of which were also held by the old marshal he revered. Having Zhang Aiping continue his work is not a comfort to the deceased Peng Zongwei.
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