preface
"I have two teachers, one is Forward, one is Chen Yun, one teaches me to fight, and one teaches me to engage in economics."
Picture | Li Xiannian
Since 1954, Li Xiannian served as vice premier of the State Council and minister of finance, in charge of the republic's economy for 22 years, and was a right-hand man to Premier Zhou, although Li Xiannian always denied his title of "economist" in his later years, and in 1968, when Hoxha, the first secretary of the Albanian Workers' Party, praised Li Xiannian as an economist, Li Xiannian modestly said:
"I'm a doer."
"The General Who Didn't Get Off The Horse"
In November 1927, at the age of 18, Li Xiannian led peasants from his hometown to participate in the jute uprising. From then on, he embarked on a military career.
As the youngest general in the Red Army, Li Xiannian led his troops to fight heroically against the enemy several times. In November 1932, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao led the Red Fourth Front to evacuate the Eyu-Anhui Su District and move to the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi.
Yang Hucheng, commander-in-chief of the Seventeenth Route Army of the Kuomintang Army and chairman of Shaanxi Province, urgently dispatched the 17th Division to block the attack in the area of Wangqu and Ziwu Town, and was followed by the strength of four or five divisions of the Kuomintang army.
In the Battle of Meridian Town, Li Xiannian was wounded and lying on a stretcher, but insisted on directing the battle on the front line.
In December 1932, Li Xiannian was appointed as a member of the Northwest Revolutionary Military Commission and threw himself into the creation of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area.
Among the many senior generals during the Red Army period, Li Xiannian was undoubtedly very young.
In June 1935, the Red First and Fourth Fronts met in Maogong Division in Sichuan.
Picture | Li Xiannian (fifth from left), Guo Shushen (third from left) and others taking a group photo in Yan'an
As the political commissar of the Red 30 Army, Li Xiannian met Chairman Mao for the first time in Maogong and was amazed by his youth, and Chairman Mao couldn't help but ask curiously: "How old are you this year?" ”
"Chickens, just a few days away from turning 26."
"It is true that the name is worthy of the name, and the hero is a teenager."
Chairman Mao praised: "I am 16 years older than you, I belong to the little dragon, this year is already a year of confusion, you are really young, the future is immeasurable." ”
In the face of Chairman Mao's praise, Li Xiannian was not proud of his achievements, but humbly said: "There are even younger people under me, Xiong Houfa, the commander of the 88th Division, who has just turned 20 years old. ”
After the two men exchanged greetings for a while, Chairman Mao carefully inquired about the local climate, geographical environment, and so on, and Li Xiannian answered one by one that many things were in his mind, not only that, Li Xiannian also put forward his own views on the next actions of the troops, and Chairman Mao once again praised:
"Good! Well said! Very insightful, we really hate each other. ”
In November 1936, Li Xiannian crossed the Yellow River with the Red Fourth Front Army to implement the ningxia campaign battle plan, was surrounded by the heavy troops of the Kuomintang Army Majia Army, after more than 4 months of fierce fighting, the Western Route Army finally failed, Li Xiannian led more than 400 people over the Qilian Snow Mountain, came to Xinjiang, and preserved a number of military and technical backbones for the Red Army.
After returning to Yan'an the following year, Chairman Mao received him on a special trip and praised Li Xiannian:
"When the Western Route Army fought to the end, you led a part of the comrades to reach Xinjiang against all odds, and this kind of firm behavior could not be done by any army except the Red Army led by the Communists."
Chairman Mao also called Li Xiannian "a general who did not get off his horse."
Figure| April 1949, Li Xiannian and Chen Yi (center), Su Yu in Puyang, Henan.
As a battle general with great merit, whether during the agrarian revolution or later in the War of Resistance and the War of Liberation, Li Xiannian used his outstanding wisdom to solve many difficult problems.
In February 1949, Li Xiannian went to Xibaipo to attend the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
At that time, Li Xiannian was faced with a choice, whether to continue to work in the army or to work in the localities, and Deng Xiaoping, who was then the secretary of the Central Plains Bureau, also specially consulted his opinion for this purpose: "Do you want to return to work in the Three Corps, or do you want to wait for Hubei to return to Hubei to do local work after the liberation of Hubei?" ”
Faced with this situation, Li Xiannian chose the latter.
On the sidelines of attending the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Li Xiannian also reported his ideas to Chairman Mao: "Since I joined the revolution, I have spent most of my time fighting and working in Hubei, and I am more familiar with the situation in Hubei, and the work there is more suitable for me. ”
Chairman Mao nodded to Li Xiannian and said, "Well, after the liberation of Hubei, you will return to Hubei to preside over the work there." ”
On May 16, 1949, after the liberation of Wuhan, the central government appointed Li Xiannian as the secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, the chairman of the provincial government, the commander and political commissar of the provincial military region, and comprehensively presided over the party, government and army work in Hubei.
As soon as Li Xiannian took office in Hubei, he encountered a difficult problem.
"Battle of Black and White"
Picture | Chairman Mao had cordial conversations with Li Fuchun, Li Xiannian, Ulanfu, and others
Black refers to coal, while white refers to grain and cloth.
China has been plagued by war for many years, in the era of currency depreciation and soaring prices, materials are the hard currency of the economy, Hubei has just been liberated in the early days, a large number of illegal businessmen began to hoard and raise prices, but also because of the initial establishment of the Hubei regime at that time, the price of gold and silver also rose wildly.
In view of such a situation, as soon as Li Xiannian took office, he actively contacted Various cities and provinces with strong economic strength, such as Shanghai and North China, to deliver materials to Hubei, and gave full play to some enlightened national capital enterprises, which soon stabilized the economic situation in Hubei.
Li Xiannian led the work of the revolutionary base areas for a long time in his early years, and Gao Jinggan, a staff member of Li Xiannian's biography working group, said:
"The first leader of a base area also tests the situation in all aspects such as eating, wearing, and using, and Li Xiannian has undoubtedly shown his leadership ability in these aspects."
Li Xiannian's excellent financial and economic management ability was also targeted by Chen Yun, then director of the Central Finance Commission, who was in charge of the national economic work, and Chen Yun was very concerned about Li Xiannian's achievements in financial and economic work during his time in Hubei.
Transferred to the Central Committee as minister of finance, Li Xiannian was initially reluctant
In 1954, the Party Central Committee decided to abolish the major administrative regions and transfer cadres with financial and economic management capabilities to Beijing.
Li Xiannian, who was also the deputy secretary of the Central South Bureau and vice chairman of the Central South Administrative Committee at that time, was favored by Chen Yun, who recommended to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou that Li Xiannian be appointed minister of finance.
Chen Yun and Li Xiannian knew each other from the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
On May 1, 1937, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent Chen Yun and Teng Daiyuan to arrive at Xingxingxia on the border between Xinjiang and Gansu with a convoy of more than 40 cars. Rendezvous with more than 400 people from the left detachment of the Western Route Army led by Li Xiannian.
After the Outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, the CPC Central Committee revoked the decision of Li Xiannian and others to study in the Soviet Union, and instead studied on the spot, and set up a "new barracks" under the leadership of Chen Yun.
During the "new barracks", Li Xiannian often communicated with Chen Yun, and gradually deepened their understanding of each other.
Picture | In 1986, Chen Yun was with Li Xiannian and Deng Xiaoping
At that time, although Chen Yun did not know Li Xiannian's ability in financial and economic work, he still appreciated Li Xiannian's personal ability. Similarly, Chen Yun's profound cultivation of Marxist theory and his flexibility in united front work also deeply impressed Li Xiannian.
At the end of 1937, Li Xiannian proposed to Chen Yun and Deng Fa the idea of going to Yan'an, and Chen Yun expressed his support.
Therefore, Chen Yun's recommendation of Li Xiannian as minister of finance has his own considerations.
1. Li Xiannian was 45 years old, which was relatively young among the senior cadres at that time;
Second, he has a clear mind, and many economic figures can be printed in his mind without forgetting;
Third, love to learn, love to study;
Fourth, Li Xiannian has made achievements in all aspects of his work in the past and has a pioneering spirit.
In May 1954, after Li Xiannian arrived in Beijing, Chen Yun talked to him directly and told him straight away: "The opinion of the central authorities is to transfer you to Beijing and become the minister of finance. Li Xian read it and immediately felt a little worried, and he repeatedly resigned: "I have been fighting wars for a long time in the past, my education is not high, I have not studied economics, and it is difficult to be qualified for such an important position as minister of finance." I hope that the central government will understand me and consider another candidate. Chen Yun patiently listened to Li Xiannian's explanation, and then slowly persuaded him: "The central authorities have carefully considered it, and I believe that you will certainly be able to do it." ”
Shortly after Chen Yun talked to Li Xiannian, Deng Xiaoping also invited him to his office, when Li Xiannian was serving as minister of finance and was taking over Deng Xiaoping's class, for which Deng Xiaoping specifically talked to Li Xiannian:
"I haven't studied economics or been a finance minister in the past, haven't I been too?" You still dang it, I believe you. ”
Picture | August 14, 1982, Li Xiannian, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun in Beijing
Even with Deng Xiaoping's intervention, Li Xiannian still felt great concerns:
"I have worked in the military for a long time, and I have also worked in the local area, but I am still an outsider to the economy. I am afraid that I will not be able to do such an important post, but I hope that Comrade Xiaoping will understand me, agree with my opinion, and choose a more suitable person to be the minister of finance. ”
"We think you're the right person to be." Deng Xiaoping told him, "You must be prepared to take office." ”
Li Xiannian repeatedly resigned, not to shirk responsibility, but after careful consideration, in the war years, he worried most about the front line of the war, although he had been exposed to some economics courses before, but the overall interest is not large, now let him as the minister of finance, Li Xiannian did feel unprecedented pressure.
However, Chairman Mao does not seem to think so.
On June 1, 1954, chairman Mao heard that Li Xiannian had arrived in Beijing and invited him to Zhongnanhai for talks.
After Li Xiannian found Chairman Mao, he expressed his concerns:
"Chairman, minister of finance, I can't do it, I don't have that ability and level, or ask the central government to consider others."
Chairman Mao laughed:
"You don't want to do it, you can't do it, so I have to invite Song Ziwen, the finance minister of the Kuomintang, back from Taiwan and let him do it."
Although Chairman Mao was joking, he undoubtedly gave Li Xiannian a great touch, and at this time he could no longer say anything, but could only nod his head and say:
"Then I'll still obey the decision of the central authorities."
Photo| On September 11, 1989, Li Xiannian met with Sihanoukville at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
After Li Xiannian became minister of finance, he became vice premier of the State Council in September of that year, cooperating with Premier Zhou and Chen Yun in economic construction.
What should I do if my professional knowledge is not strong enough? Li Xiannian made a plan for himself, and the plan was one word- "learning."
"Learning" is not an easy task, and although Li Xiannian is very young among the central leaders, he is not in his youth after all.
In order to grasp the professional knowledge as soon as possible, Li Xiannian formulated a study plan for himself, spent one year reading the expositions of Marx, Engels and Chairman Mao on economics, and then spent another year mastering the relevant knowledge of finance and economy, and familiarizing himself with relevant policies and regulations.
In addition to reading, Li Xiannian also actively consulted those financial and economic experts, and every time Li Xiannian presided over a financial and economic meeting, he always paid attention to listening to the opinions of experts, and repeatedly asked for advice when he could not understand it until he understood.
Li Xiannian always had great respect for Chen Yun, who was in charge of economic work at the central level, and Deng Xiaoping, the former minister of finance, and often consulted their opinions on financial and economic work, either by making phone calls or visiting the door in person.
Chen Yun also never spared, but did his best to point out the problems in Li Xiannian's economic work, and Li Xiannian learned a lot of experience in financial and economic work from Chen Yun, and it is no wonder that Li Xiannian later repeatedly said:
With the help of all parties, Li Xiannian soon assumed the role of a finance minister and became an expert in the central government's financial and economic work, with many professional terms and numbers, which were deeply engraved in his mind, and often blurted out during meetings.
Huang Da, who worked with Li Xiannian for 11 years, recalled:
"Li Xiannian's work is very meticulous. He found that there is a foreign trade supply and marketing cooperative in Sichuan, before exporting pig skin and sheepskin, first scrape off the lard and sheep fat in the fur, so that it can sell a sum of money, Li Xiannian felt that this method was very good, so he issued a document to promote this method to the whole country. ”
Li Xiannian's outstanding work achievements were also praised by Chairman Mao. He also called Li Xiannian, Li Fuchun, Tan Zhenlin and Bo Yibo the "four famous dans" in China's economic work.
Figure| Li Xiannian inspected the Daqing Oilfield Chemical Industry General Plant in 1977
In November 1960, Guevara, president of the National Bank of Cuba, was invited to visit China, accompanied by Li Xiannian, then vice premier and minister of finance.
Chairman Mao pointed at Li Xiannian and humorously introduced himself to the guests:
"When we were just victorious in the revolution, we were also very short of financial personnel. The more we go on, the more we pay attention to cultivating cadres of all kinds. However, the manpower we cultivate is always insufficient. So we had to grab a 'big soldier' to manage the money. As it turns out, there is nothing wrong with us doing this. ”
"We have been paying close attention to the construction of the SPECIAL ZONE"
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chen Yun and Li Xiannian began to restore China's economic development.
When Li Xiannian investigated and studied the economic situation in China at that time, he found a problem, that is, in the national planned economy in 1979, the original plan was too large, and there was a clear shortage of funds and materials, and the fiscal deficit. In view of this situation, Li Xiannian quickly communicated and consulted with Chen Yun, and then jointly sent a letter to the central authorities:
"The steps forward should be steady, and do not toss and turn again to avoid the appearance of large "saddle shapes"; ... The speed of development of steel must not only be planned for five to seven years, but also until 2000; foreign debt must be fully considered the ability to pay debt and interest, and the domestic investment capacity, which is basically gradual. ”
Photo| In August 1978, Comrade Li Xiannian came to inspect the reclamation area
In late March 1979, after discussion by the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, it was decided to establish the Financial and Economic Committee of the State Council, with Chen Yun as the director and Li Xiannian as the deputy director.
Although the economic adjustment policy was being implemented, it was later found that the 1979 national economic plan was still too large, resulting in a deficit of more than 17 billion yuan in the fiscal sector, and a deficit of 12.7 billion yuan in the state finances in 1980.
Deng Xiaoping was very concerned about the country's economic situation and immediately consulted with Chen Yun and Li Xiannian to comprehensively open up the important situation of economic readjustment.
In 1981, after adjusting the national planned economy, the fiscal deficit fell from 12.7 billion yuan the previous year to 2.5 billion yuan.
The adjustment of the national economic plan in the late 1970s laid an in-depth foundation for China's economic take-off in the 1980s.
Not only that, But Li Xiannian was one of the leaders who decided to create the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
Just after New Year's Day in 1979, a report was placed in the office of Li Xiannian, then vice chairman of the Cpc Central Committee and in charge of the country's economy.
The report was written by Yuan Geng, executive vice chairman of the board of directors of the Hong Kong Merchants Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, and the content of the report is mainly on one topic - about the opening of an industrial zone on the Shekou Peninsula of Shenzhen.
Li Xiannian, who attached great importance to the construction of the special zone, immediately summoned Yuan Geng and asked him for his opinion, and Yuan Geng, who was fully prepared, showed Li Xiannian a map; after fully listening to Yuan Geng's report, Li Xiannian picked up a pencil, drew a horizontal line on the southern peninsula on the map, and said to Yuan Geng:
"If you can give you a piece of land, just give you this peninsula."
Pictured| Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Xu Xiangqian and others entered the Great Hall of the People
Chen Yun was extremely concerned about the cause of reform and opening up; although he had never been to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, he was very concerned about the construction of the special zone, and had sent his secretary to Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and other special zones to learn about the situation.
Chen Yunshen agreed with Li Xiannian's propositions, and both of them were experts in charge of financial and economic work, and they shared common aspirations and goals with each other, and even some ideas coincided.
The two also formed a deep friendship because of their common ideals.
On June 21, 1992, Li Xiannian died in Beijing.
A month later, Chen Yun published a memorial article in the People's Daily:
In 1954, Comrade Xiannian was transferred from Hubei to the central government and participated in leading the national financial and economic work. He was a general in charge of the economy, but it was rare that he was able to quickly master the economic work of the time. ”
Photo| After Li Xiannian attended a symposium held in Zhongnanhai in March 1988, he reviewed the press release on the spot
When talking about the construction of the special zone in the article, Chen Yun profoundly pointed out:
Although Neither Comrade Xiannian nor I have ever been to the SAR, we have always paid great attention to the construction of the SAR and believe that if the SAR is to be run, we must constantly sum up experience and strive to make the SAR run well. In recent years, the economy of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has initially changed from an import type to an export type, and high-rise buildings have risen from the ground, and the development is indeed very fast. At present, the scale of economic construction in our country is much larger and more complicated than in the past, and many of the practices that have worked effectively in the past are no longer applicable under the current new situation of reform and opening up. This requires us to work hard to learn new things, and constantly explore and solve new problems. ”