The General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army is an important component department of the Central Military Commission and a political work organ, which can be traced back to the establishment of the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission in 1930, and together with the General Staff Department, the General Logistics Department, and the General Armament Department, it is called the four general departments, which is a very important work department.
Mao Zedong, Wang Jiaxiang, Bogu, Ren Bishi, Liu Shaoqi, Luo Ronghuan, Li Fuchun, Chen Changhao, Yang Shangkun, Tan Zheng, Xiao Hua, Li Desheng, Wei Guoqing, Yu Qiuli and others successively served as directors of the General Political Department. It can be seen that this position is held by heavyweights.
On the eve of the 12 th CPC National Congress, the leading body of the Central Military Commission considered readjustment, and Wei Guoqing, director of the General Political Department, would withdraw from the leading body and no longer serve as director of the General Political Department due to physical reasons.
When considering candidates, the central government hopes to consider people who are young and have strong political work experience.
Chen Pixian, who served as secretary of the Hubei provincial party committee, entered the vision of the central leadership. Chen Pixian was 66 years old at the time, not too old, and had served as a political commissar of the Corps, whether it was qualifications or ability, Chen Pixian was a suitable candidate.
On July 15, 1982, an enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee was held to study the personnel and related preparations for the 12th National Congress.
Because his position as director of the General Political Department is relatively important, Comrade Xiaoping attached great importance to this matter, and he specially discussed with Li Xiannian, Ye Jianying, Xu Qianqian, Nie Rongzhen, and other veteran leaders about Chen Pixian's appointment to the army.
Chen Pixian became the political commissar of the XPCC at the age of 32 and was the youngest political commissar of the People's Liberation Army, and Xiao Hua was several months older than him when he was the political commissar of the XPCC.
Chen Pixian, Hu Yaobang and Tan Qilong are the famous "red ghosts" in the Central Soviet Region. When Chairman Mao was Chairman of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic, Chen Pixian was the secretary of the Children's Bureau of the Central Youth League of the Central Soviet Region.
Chairman Mao affectionately called him "Ah Pi." During the Red Army's Long March, he followed Xiang Ying and Chen Yi to participate in the arduous three-year guerrilla war.
Chen Pixian took part in the Huaihai Campaign, and as secretary of the Central China Work Committee, he led the former headquarters of the branch, mobilized 1.07 million civilian workers, accompanied 225,000 military and civilian workers, and supplied 55 million kilograms of grain, thus making great contributions to the victory of the Huaihai Campaign.
After liberation, Chen Pixian successively served as the fourth secretary, second secretary, and secretary of the secretariat of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, and was elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, only 40 years old, and was the youngest member of the Central Committee at that time.
After the death of Ke Qingshi, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, Chen Pixian presided over the work of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, which shows that the central leadership recognized his work.
Leaders Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping all recognized his work ability. Chen Yun praised him many times in front of everyone: "Our two surnamed Chen have the same opinion. ”
When Deng Xiaoping was general secretary, he once talked with Chen Pixian, and when it came to the leading body of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Xiaoping said: "The first secretary of the East China Bureau will discuss it later; First Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, just Ah Pi you will do it. ”
During the special period, Chen Pixian experienced setbacks and was dismissed from office. At the beginning of 1977, the central government decided that he would go to Yunnan to become the secretary of the provincial party committee, and there was a first secretary at that time.
Marshal Ye Jianying had a good personal relationship with him and once talked with him: "Ah Pi, if your body is not adapted to the plateau climate, you can simply go back to the army." ”
His old superior, Su Yu, also told him: "Just go back to the army, there is now a shortage of cadres in several major military regions, such as the Nanjing Military Region, which has no political commissar." ”
Hu Yaobang, who is idle at home, also said: "The situation is always changing, and it is impossible to keep you in Yunnan. I haven't worked for a long time, so I grab the opportunity and go first no matter what I do. ”
Chen Pixian went to Yunnan to work. However, within a few months, Chen Pi appeared to have made new changes in his work, and the central authorities asked him to go to Hubei to work, successively serving as Hubei's second secretary, first secretary, director of the provincial revolutionary committee, and political commissar of the Wuhan Military Region.
In February 1980, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee was held, and the Central Committee was considering the establishment of the Central Secretariat.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Hu Yaobang also talked to him about the secretary of the Secretariat. The central leadership also considered moving his work, first, considering returning to Shanghai to serve as the first secretary of Shanghai, and second, considering the central government to serve as the secretary of the secretariat.
However, the job change did not materialize because there was no suitable candidate for the secretary of the Hubei provincial party committee, so Chen Pixian's work transfer was dropped.
On the eve of the 12th Party Congress, the central leadership once again considered Chen Pixian's work transfer and felt that he should be given a more important position and space to give play to his greater talents.
Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang, Chen Yun, Yang Shangkun, and other leaders talked to him and prepared to make him secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently director of the General Political Department.
Moreover, Deng Xiaoping said this about Chen Pixian's appointment as director of the General Political Department and leader of the Great Military Region, and he waited for the convening of the 12 th National Congress to confirm it and the Central Military Commission made a formal appointment.
On September 1, the opening of the 12th National Congress, Zhang Tingfa, Ye Fei, Liu Huaqing, and Liao Hansheng greeted him when they saw him, called him "Director Chen", gave him a military salute, and prepared to report on his work after the meeting. The secretary also made him a new military uniform.
What I didn't expect was to kill a Cheng Bingjin halfway, and this person was Yu Qiuli.
When the central authorities were considering personnel candidates, they were ready to let Yu Qiuli continue to serve as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, but his responsibility for economic work was changed to responsible for political and legal work, that is, he succeeded Peng Zhen as secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
Yu Qiuli was not familiar with political and legal work, originally engaged in economic work, and wanted to return to the army to work. He was embarrassed to go directly to Comrade Xiaoping, so he asked Wang Zhen to help him talk about it.
Can you change with Chen Pixian, Yu Qiuli is the director of the Political Department, and Chen Pixian is the secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, in charge of the national public prosecution and law work.
Wang Zhen was very arrogant and was an old comrade-in-arms with Yu Qiuli, so he went to see Comrade Xiaoping.
Comrade Xiaoping was very cautious and thought that Yu Qiuli was also an outstanding political cadre during the war years, and that he was very good at serving as minister of petroleum industry in peacetime, and he created extraordinary achievements, and it was not a problem to be the director of the General Political Department.
The question is that Chen Pixian has already said hello as director of the General Political Department, so if such an adjustment is made, will Chen Pixian be willing or not?
Comrade Xiaoping was very thoughtful, and he entrusted Hu Yaobang to talk to Chen Pixian, saying that Yu Qiuli asked to change jobs with him to see if he was willing.
Chen Pixian was open-minded and did not consider it, so he said one sentence: "I obey the decision of the central authorities, and I can go to the General Political Department and the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission." ”
In this way, Yu Qiuli became director of the General Political Department as he wished, and Chen Pixian became secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Interestingly, because there was no time to make a military uniform, Yu Qiuli took office wearing a blue Zhongshan suit.
Yu Qiuli was particularly grateful to Chen Pixian, and when the two met during the meeting of the 12th National Congress, he immediately went to hold Chen Pixian's hand tightly and said, "Ah Pi, I want to thank you." I will invite you to eat, three days in a row. ”
Then three deep bows, everyone laughed. The red imp Chen Pixian rubbed shoulders with the director of the General Political Department, and Yu Qiuli, the founder of the new Chinese petroleum industry, became the director of the General Political Department.