As many people know, Russians, known as the "fighting people", are addicted to alcohol. These people don't like other liquors, they like spirits vodka that is higher than forty degrees. Not only that, but the Russians used vodka in diplomacy during the Soviet era.
If a delegation from a certain country visited the Soviet Union, the Soviets would "enthusiastically" invite them to the restaurant when it came to the core topic, and let the waiter serve wine and food and several bottles of vodka, and the Soviets in charge of the reception would drink with the representatives. Representatives of other countries may have never drunk a high-volume wine as vodka, and have long been dizzy after a few drinks. At this time, the Soviets took the opportunity to obstruct, and perhaps some core interest problems that could not be compromised and insoluble arms sales problems were easily solved by a few small cups of vodka.
The Soviets' "vodka diplomacy" has been tried and tested, and the diplomatic representatives of Yugoslavia, India, Vietnam and other countries have been drunk on the table, but they have encountered a big nail in China.
Drinking Soviets
To answer this question, we must first understand the important role of vodka in Russian (Soviet) culture. Although Russia's vodka culture is only five hundred years old, its role in Russia is unbeatable. In times of war, vodka can be used as a sedative for soldiers on the front line, and it can also be used as a substitute for medical alcohol. In peacetime, vodka is an important factor in maintaining social stability.
In the early days of the Soviet Union, then-President Lenin ordered the state to ban the production of vodka, which was full of "bourgeois low-grade taste", and tried to promote healthier alternatives with lower alcohol levels, but the result was fruitless. By the time Lenin's successor, Stalin, came to power, the alcoholic Stalin not only relaxed the restrictions on vodka production throughout the country, but many taverns that had closed in Lenin's time reopened.
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the important role of vodka was revealed. According to relevant historical records, Soviet soldiers at that time could receive a quantitative amount of 100 grams of vodka per person per day, and the tank soldiers doubled. After driving the German invaders out of the Soviet Union, Soviet soldiers took their hometown vodka to Yugoslavia, Hungary and other places ravaged by nazi iron hooves. As the saying goes, "cup-and-cup misdeeds", drunken Soviet soldiers committed many unimaginable crimes in a foreign country.
Soviet troops stationed in Yugoslavia
In order to protest the barbaric beastly acts committed by Soviet soldiers in Yugoslavia, tito, the leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party at the time, gently reminded the Soviet military representative in Yugoslavia, Konev, to pay attention to the issue of military discipline. As a result, Konev thundered on the spot and yelled:
"On behalf of the Soviet Government, I protest against such rumors and slander against the Red Army..."
No way, Milovan Gilas, secretary of the Central Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party, could only run to Moscow under tito's commission, hoping to talk to Stalin about the military discipline of the Soviet army, but Stalin was ruthlessly counted down. In April 1945, Gilas, entrusted by Tito, met with Stalin "cheekily" to discuss the topic of the Southern Soviet Union. One day, Stalin invited Gilas to meet him at his country house. Gilas knew that the trip would be more sinister than bad.
Sure enough, at the wine table Stalin gave Gilas a dismount. He poured Gilas a glass of vodka, and said without smiling: "Toast to the great Soldiers of the Red Army of the Soviet Union!" Gilas had long been disturbed by the atrocities of the Soviet soldiers, and it was a little uncomfortable to see the leader provoke him: "Do you want to toast the Stalinist leader?" Stalin's face changed, but he did not show anger: "Why? Wouldn't you like to toast the Red Army? There was no way, Gilas could only shout hard, "Cheers to the Red Army soldiers!" and drank the bitter wine out of the cup.
Although Gilas was also a Slav, he did not drink as much as the Russians, and he could only drink a little beer when he was in his hometown of Yugoslavia. Seeing that Gilas was choked by vodka and his face was flushed with tears, Stalin quipped: "Gilas can only drink beer, maybe he is a real German!" ”
To know that Nazi Germany burned and plundered in Yugoslavia, did nothing wrong, and used "Germans" to describe the Yugoslav communist guerrilla fighters who could not drink vodka, just as it was ugly to use "Japanese devils" to scold the anti-coalition guerrillas. Stalin not only poured salt on the wounds of the Yugoslavs, but even simply insulted the comradely feelings of the Yugoslavs. Not long after Gilas and Stalin met, Yugoslavia's relations with the Soviet Union were completely broken and they remained internationally untouched.
Stalin's "persuasion" was a test of obedience, while Brezhnev's defense minister, Dmitry Ustinov, took advantage of the national characteristics of the Soviets who drank well to seek huge profits for the country. Ustinov gave a very professional name to the method of using vodka to intoxicate foreign representatives, called - Ustinov's law, that is
Defeat opponents when negotiating at the wine table in order to take the initiative in discourse.
Ustinov's law was tried and tested in Soviet diplomacy in the sixties and seventies. The Soviet Union's military industry is well-known, and many countries that do not have the ability to develop weapons on their own hope to purchase cheap and high-quality weapons and equipment through the Soviet Union. The Soviets were not stupid, and arms sales were certainly the higher the bid, the better. The Soviets had a ruse to entertain foreign delegates at a fair price. Then put the formal negotiations in the restaurant, eating and drinking while negotiating. The Soviets frequently toasted at the dinner table, and then poured down the vodka in the cup in front of the delegates, so that the foreign delegates were not embarrassed to resign. By the time the Soviets were almost drunk, the foreign delegates, who might not have been able to drink, would have been drunk.
Ustinov
The Vietnamese and Indians had personally gone to the Soviet Union to negotiate with the Soviets on the issue of arms sales, but they had all been fooled by Soviet representatives in this way. Indians are the most miserable, because most of them believe in ascetic Hinduism, and usually drink some low-grade liquors such as beer and cider, and naturally have no opportunity to contact spirits such as vodka. Many people were made to the Soviets' wine tables as soon as they were put on the table, and in severe cases, they were even directly pulled into the hospital by ambulances for alcohol poisoning.
The Soviets showed no apologies to the Indians who had been miserably punished by the drug scheme. They ridiculed the Indian delegates, who had been doused at the wine table, and then took the opportunity to propose to them a figure that was several times higher than the price they had just negotiated. The representative of India can only accept this in a vague way.
Unexpectedly, the "Ustinov Law" hit a big nail here in China.
Indian delegate visiting the USSR (left)
Beginning in the 1980s, Sino-Soviet relations, which had been frozen for more than two decades, began to warm up, and China also took the opportunity to propose an arms purchase plan to the Soviet Union.
Due to the limitations of the times, China's air force started late and developed slowly, and it is simply more difficult to fully realize the independent research and development of the third-generation aircraft than to ascend to the sky. At this time, although the Soviet Union had a seemingly huge military-industrial consortium, due to the unbalanced development of the economy for a long time, the people's lives were difficult, and even the officers of the army were affected by the economic crisis. In order to make money, the Soviet defense minister at the time, Shashnikov, even published an article in the newspaper expressing his willingness to negotiate with the Chinese side on the issue of arms sales.
At that time, the Soviet warplane favored by our representatives was a Su-27 fighter that NATO called "Flanker". It was one of the most advanced third-generation aircraft of its time, and it was also a heavy fighter. Whether it is maneuverability, ammunition load, or fuel consumption, the performance is excellent. However, the Soviet side insisted on exporting the Mi-29, which was slightly inferior in performance, maneuverability and bomb carrying capacity. After several rounds of negotiations, the Soviets agreed to export the Su-27 to China.
Su-27
The fighter is agreed to export, so how much should it be given? To this end, the Soviets hastily sent a delegation headed by Shaposhnikov to China to discuss issues related to arms sales. Similarly, in order to make a big profit on the issue of Su-27 arms sales, the Soviets wanted to play the "Ustinov Law" in China. Just as the Soviet delegation was preparing to have lunch with the Chinese receptionists, a military district chief of the Arbat region of the SOVIET Union said arrogantly:
“
If it is a wine that cannot be ordered, don't serve it, it is not something that a man should drink.
”
Shaposhnikov saw at a glance what medicine his comrade was selling in his gourd, but he was silent in order to keep it a secret. Seeing that the Soviets had asked for a drink of spirits, Lieutenant General Lin Hu of the Air Force, who was responsible for entertaining them, asked the waiter next to him to take out several bottles of "two pot heads" above forty degrees. Of course, Lieutenant General Lin Hu still had a heart eye, and he did not let the strong generals next to him go to drink with the Soviet deputies, but instead called out to a small, thin, unassuming staff officer and said to him: "Little comrade, you are responsible for 'entertaining' the Soviet deputies." ”
Lin Hu
The Soviet representative was still unhappy that the Chinese reception did not give them such a good wine as Maotai, and when he saw a thin and small man walking in front, he quipped: "Little comrade, will you drink?" Several Soviet soldiers even joked to this small man in their hearts: "Look at his small body, if you walk on the streets of Moscow in a military coat, only a gust of wind blows over him and he can be blown away like a kite." ”
The staff officer did not hesitate, took a glass of white wine, and politely returned: "Comrades, we are not drunk!" Thus, a tense and exciting wine fight officially began. Although this staff officer seemed to be weak and could not help the wind, there was endless energy in his body.
Several large glasses of liquor went down, and the Soviet soldier who was clamoring for a spirit was now drunk and unconscious in his chair. The staff officer, on the other hand, was not drunk, and in the words of the Soviet soldiers, "He drank like a donkey." A few Soviet soldiers next to them only wanted to make more money in the arms sales of the "Su-27", and they also participated in the drinking competition, but they were still compared by the staff.
Seeing that the three officers had been compared to the small man, an old officer who seemed to be able to drink came to the front of the stage: "Let's two come!" The small man waved his hand: "Yes, but what we are going to drink now is a 'cocktail' of liquor and beer, 'Jolsh', in your Russian words." With that he asked the waiter to bring out a few cases of beer. The old officer shouted badly, but still drank hard. As a result, the old officer collapsed drunk in his chair. The staff officer was nothing unusual except that his face was a little infrared.
Several other delegates rushed to the intense drinking competition, only to be drunk by the staff officer. By the time the 17 Soviet officers who had participated in the drinking contest were carried back to their residences, none of the small men showed any drunkenness. It turned out that he was the "wine commander" specially arranged by General Lin Hu for the Soviets. And the reason why he can not pour a thousand cups is not because he took some kind of antidote drug before drinking, but because he is simply in good health.
The human body contains an enzyme that breaks down alcohol, which allows alcohol to be quickly converted into water and carbon dioxide after entering the body. The staff officer's alcoholase activity was stronger than that of ordinary Chinese, and even stronger than that of the Soviet officers who clamored to drink spirits. The Soviets thought they were invincible in drinking, but they did not expect that there were more people in the world than they could drink.
The Soviets invented the "Ustinov Law" for the first time and made them feel shamefully defeated. Sure enough, the day after the drinking competition, the arrogance of the Soviet delegates when they first arrived had long disappeared without a trace, and everyone was politely discussing the price of the Su-27 with Chinese like gentlemen.
Although the Soviet delegates did not make substantial progress in the arms sales negotiations this time, they still left a deep impression on them Chinese the game. Not long after the arms sales negotiations ended, the Soviets formally signed an arms sales contract with China. Since the Soviets "committed crimes" first, plus the Soviet Union had already "set the western mountains", the initiative in arms sales negotiations was now in The hands of China.
The price originally offered by the Soviets was
$50 million
A "Su-27", the result of which was successfully carried out by the Chinese side
$33 million
The "cabbage price" bought the "Su-27". The price was a shame for Soviet delegates, for it was almost the first concession they had made to foreign arms sales, and it was also the sale of active equipment that had no shrinkage or castration performance. What is more crucial is that at that time, China could not come up with so much money, and a lot of money was offset by China catching wild dogs and peeling dog skins to make fur coats, plus exchanging light industrial products with the Soviets.
Of course, the "nightmare" of the Soviets is not over. Just two years after the end of the Su-27 arms sale, the Soviet (which should have been called Russia) soldiers who participated in the negotiations found a small man who looked like the last time he had drunk 17 Soviet representatives. It's just that he's a lot fatter than last time, and his face is a little more rosy.
The small man, dressed in a lieutenant general's uniform, and several other naval officers toured the Russian naval vessels. The sharp-eyed guy did not make a sound, but reported the situation to Shaposhnikov, who was participating in the arms sales negotiations at the time: "I saw the last time the little man who drunk 17 of us Chinese, he actually appeared in the military port in a naval uniform, and God knows what he did." ”
Shaposhnikov was also surprised to hear this: "Is he sent Chinese against us?" With no clue about it, the two could only forget this "unpleasant" past and get busy with their work again. It was thought that this "unsolved case" would never be answered again, but a visit by General Lin Hu gave Shaposhnikov an answer.
Shaposhnikov
In August 1997, Lin Hu was invited by the Russian side to Moscow to participate in the aviation exhibition. In this exhibition, General Lin Hu, who was already seventy years old at this time, personally piloted the Su-30 fighter jet to complete several difficult aerial acrobatic maneuvers, and even made the "Pugachev Cobra Maneuver" that only ace pilots could do.
Just as Lin Hu was preparing to return to China, Shaposhnikov found General Lin Hu and invited him to his residence to reminisce about the past. After three rounds of drinking, Shaposhnikov opened the conversation box: "Lin, who was the little man who drank 17 Soviet big men last time, and how did I hear that he was wearing a naval uniform and accompanied the Chinese delegation to visit the Russian Navy?" General Lin Hu laughed when he heard this: "He is not actually an air force person, nor a navy person, just a very ordinary service soldier." ”
Shaposhnikov quickly asked: "Then how did he drink dozens of glasses of highly white wine without pouring?" General Lin Hu replied, "Because he has a liquor-breaking enzyme in his body that quickly breaks down alcohol, he was temporarily recruited by us to block alcohol." Just before the meeting, I told him
'The motherland needs your stomach now'
！ I know that you Russians like to drink and can drink, and many times at the wine table drunk foreign representatives who do not drink spirits, the key is that you will also talk about important topics while drinking. We can only do this in order to safeguard the interests of our country! Shaposhnikov, knowing that he was wrong, sighed: "Lin, you know us too well. You have half of it
Russian ancestry
Maybe that's God's arrangement! ”
General Lin Hu was a native of Shandong, so why would Shaposhnikov say he was half Russian?
It turned out that although General Lin Hu was Chinese, he was not a typical East Asian race. His father, a native of Shandong who had broken into the Guandong, met a Russian woman in Harbin who had wandered there to earn a living. Over time, the two developed a relationship and gave birth to a son, Lin Hu.
Due to the early death of Lin Hu's parents, until now it is impossible to know what General Lin Hu's real name is, and he can only take the name "Lin Gengsheng" given to him by his stepfather Mr. Lin and the name "Lin Hu" he changed after joining the Communist Party as his real name. Although his real name has long been obscured in the long river of history, this does not prevent General Lin Hu from becoming a legendary figure in modern Chinese history.
When General Lin Hu was a teenager, he got rid of the dark feudal family that oppressed him and joined the Communist Guerrillas in Shandong. Later, he was also successfully selected to learn fighter piloting skills at the Old Northeast Aviation School, which trained countless aviation talents for new China and was also the predecessor of the Chinese Civil Air Force. What General Lin Hu was most proud of was that after being able to fly the fighter alone, he was selected by the Central Military Commission to take charge of flying the aircraft to protect the airspace of Peiping. At this time, although most of the Kuomintang reactionaries had already lost taiwan, they still did not give up their sabotage actions against the mainland.
Compared with the "rags" left over from the Japanese army used by the old aviation school in northeast China, Lin Hu had already used the P-51 Mustang fighter jet brought by the Kuomintang surrender pilots at this time. The P-51 fighter jet is fierce and powerful, making it ideal for defending Beiping airspace. In early September 1949, Lin Hu and his teammates received the glorious task of flying over Tiananmen Square and accepting Chairman Mao's review at the founding ceremony. Therefore, in addition to carrying out daily reconnaissance tasks, they also did not forget to practice hard to train the formation.
Mustang fighter
Holding the founding ceremony is very important for Lin Hu, because this is the first time that China has shed the hat of the old society and stood in the forest of the world with an independent and powerful appearance. As long as there is a small mistake in the review process, it will be catastrophic for the entire founding ceremony. In addition, due to the tense situation, the founding ceremony may be attacked by enemy elements lurking in Peiping at any time, and the fighter planes of the Kuomintang reactionaries may also fly over Tiananmen Square to dive and strafe and bomb. Lin Hu's fighter jets were the first line of defense against a possible Nationalist attack.
Therefore, when Lin Hu participated in the parade, the fighter plane was equipped with live ammunition. In order to prevent problems, Lin Hu and his comrades solemnly signed an affidavit:
"I went to the parade, and if the plane broke down, I would rather give my life than let the plane land in the city, in the square and on nearby buildings."
Fortunately, the military parade was successfully completed, and the P-51 fighter and wingman pilot pilot piloted by Lin Hu flew over Tiananmen Square twice in the shape of "Pin" under the leadership of the chief leader, Xin Haifan. Journalists from all over the world who filmed also faithfully recorded this glorious moment with their lenses. Although the fighter jets are not produced by the state, the "Wild Horses" flying over Tiananmen Square still symbolize that New China has its own air armament.
In the subsequent Korean War, Lin Hu also set an excellent record of shooting down an enemy plane and injuring an enemy plane. On December 5, 1951, the U.S. Air Force dispatched jet fighter f-86 Sabre to attack the volunteer positions, and Lin Hu hurriedly led his Ninth Air Force Regiment to fly MiG-15 fighters into the air to meet the battle. Although many of Lin Hu's opponents were veterans with great combat experience, he still faced the difficulties and shot down an enemy plane and injured an enemy plane when the firepower was inferior to that of the enemy.
Although Lin Hu achieved brilliant results in the Korean War, his white face still caused him a lot of trouble. Lin Hu once flew a plane to meet an attacking US fighter, and as a result, the MiG fighter he was flying lost power in mid-air and was shot down by the US fighters attacking from behind. In a pinch, Lin Hu parachuted to escape, using the help of the wind to land on the shore.
MiG-15 fighter
At that time, it was winter in North Korea, the sea was very cold, and Lin Hu was frozen with ice. He struggled to climb up the beach, trying to keep his vital signs steady. The next day, a North Korean who looked like he had come to catch the sea spotted Lin Hu lying on the beach. Lin Hu shouted when he saw this: "I am a pilot of the Chinese Volunteer Army, and I have been beaten down by the Americans." Please help with your help. ”
The North Korean did not come to pull down Lin Hu on the beach, but ran back. Lin Hu later learned that in order to prevent south Korean agents from landing and destroying, north Korean beaches were full of mines. After a while, I saw him come over with a morning glory rope, and with a little force, he threw himself to Lin Hu's side. Lin Hu saw this and hurriedly put the rope around his waist and was pulled ashore by a group of North Koreans.
Lin Hu grew a white face, plus he had not shaved for several days, and if he did not look closely, he thought he was a US pilot. Seeing that a "US prisoner" had been captured, the North Koreans gave Lin Hu a punch without saying anything. Lin Hu hurriedly took out the identity certificate in his pocket that wrote the words of the Two Chinese of China and the DPRK, but the handwriting on it had long been blurred by the sea. There was no way, Lin Hu could only search his intestines and scrape his stomach, shouting in the few Korean words he had learned: "I am not an American... I'm Chinese... Come and help you fight the invaders! ”
Lin Hu, who was almost killed by the North Korean people, escaped from death.
The life of General Lin Hu is very legendary. Just by arranging for the "admiral" to drunk seventeen Soviet soldiers, the successful completion of the Pugachev Cobra maneuver at the age of seventy is worth a big book. Of course, the most touching thing is General Lin Hu's dedication and sacrifice to New China, if it were not for his efforts, China would not have been able to successfully obtain the "Su-27", an important heavy fighter that is very important to China, and China's follow-up research based on the "Su-27" would not have been so smooth.
Hats off to the heroes!