On July 12, 1957, Chairman Mao came to Qingdao via Nanjing after finishing his inspections in Hangzhou, Shanghai and other places. According to the plan, Chairman Mao came to Qingdao for a holiday and recuperation, but during the month he spent here, he did not have a good day's rest, first held several meetings, talked to local leaders of all walks of life, and then handled a large number of documents and telegrams, and even received a delegation from the Myanmar Parliament visiting China.
After learning that the chairman had come to Qingdao, Xiao Jinguang, as commander of the Navy, also immediately rushed from Beijing to Qingdao to visit. After briefly reporting to the chairman on the situation of the naval units stationed in Qingdao, he put forward his own suggestions: "Chairman, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the army, the navy is preparing to organize a military parade in Qingdao. Mao Zedong replied cheerfully: "Very good, I want to see the Navy." ”
At about 4:00 p.m. on August 1, Xiao Jinguang, who lived at the Naval Communication Office on Rongcheng Road, was contemplating the military parade when he suddenly saw Chairman Mao in the courtyard, and as he walked toward the house, he shouted: "Commander Xiao, I have come with you for food." ”
Xiao Jinguang immediately greeted him, and then explained: "There is nothing delicious to eat today, Chairman." "Just fill your stomach." Chairman Mao said.
That night, Chairman Mao ate at Xiao Jinguang's house, and it was very comfortable. Why did the chairman suddenly come to Xiao Jinguang's house for dinner? Why would he, who had hardly ever gone to eat at his subordinates' homes in the past, be so casual in Xiao Jinguang's home?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="76" > recommends Xiao Jinguang</h1>
Xiao Jinguang was born in Changsha, Hunan Province in 1903, during the "May Fourth" period, he studied at Changsha Changjun Middle School, learned the name Mao Zedong through the Xiangjiang Review, and read many of his articles and accepted revolutionary ideas.
In August 1920, Mao Zedong, He Shuheng and others organized the Russian Research Association in Changsha. After Xiao Jinguang learned about it, he resolutely gave up the diploma of Chang county Middle School and applied to join the research association. Here, Xiao Jinguang had the privilege of getting to know Mao Zedong, who was serving as a secretary and officer of the research association at that time, and learned a lot of revolutionary spirit from him, which benefited Xiao Jinguang a lot and will never forget it.
At that time, Mao Zedong was already a well-known social activist in Hunan, and Xiao Jinguang was just a fledgling student. Not long after, the Russian Research Association was ready to send the first batch of students to Russia for work-study, and Xiao Jinguang was selected. Subsequently, under the personal arrangement of the research association and Mao Zedong, Xiao Jinguang and others embarked on a journey to study in Russia and took an important step towards revolution.
Three years later, in 1924, Xiao Jinguang returned to China at the call of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, immediately threw himself into the Great Revolution, and accompanied the Army on the Northern Expedition. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Xiao Jinguang once again embarked on the journey to study in the Soviet Union. During this period, he meticulously studied the military, and finally in the final examination, Xiao Jinguang obtained excellent results in his homework.
In 1930, xiao Jinguang returned to China again after graduation to join the revolution, when he was assigned to the western Fujian base area as chief of staff and director of the political department. In 1931, the Central Bureau and the Central Military Commission held the First National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin. This was an unprecedented event in the central base areas, and representatives of all the base areas gathered in Ruijin.
Xiao Jinguang, as a representative of the base area in western Fujian, also attended the meeting, and here, after 1920 and 1925, Xiao Jinguang once again met Mao Zedong, who had grown from a social activist to an outstanding commander of the Red Army.
At the meeting, The young and vigorous Xiao Jinguang talked endlessly about the situation in all aspects and his own views and opinions. He spoke quickly, seemed to be in his chest, and his voice was also very loud. Until Mao Zedong pointed to the water cup and said, "Don't worry, you drink your saliva, sit down and talk slowly." Only then did he realize that he was overconfident in the face of so many qualified and prestigious leaders. Finally, until the end of the seminar, his heart was still a little uneasy.
But what he did not expect at all was that the drafts and speeches he drafted would cause so much repercussions. After the meeting, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, and others debated endlessly, and Xiao Jinguang's speech also left a deep impression on Mao Zedong's mind.
This afternoon, Xiao Jinguang was packing his bags and preparing to return to western Fujian, but Mao Zedong personally found him, and Mao Zedong told him: "Now the situation is developing rapidly, and the troops and localities need people everywhere. The Central Base Areas are preparing to set up a Red Army school, and they have already sent people to do preparatory work, and after studying and deciding, they will send you to be the principal of the Red Army school. ”
"Can I do it?" Xiao Jinguang was completely unprepared, "I just returned to China, I don't understand the situation in China, and I don't have a face. "I'll see you." Mao Zedong said unequivocally, "You studied in the Soviet Union, systematically studied military theory, and brought in soldiers." If Chiang Kai-shek can run Huangpu, you can't run a red school? If we strengthen our teaching ability and do it conscientiously, our red school will definitely surpass Whampoa. ”
In this way, Xiao Jinguang was appointed as the principal of the "Red School" that was still under construction at that time. Su Yu, Deng Ping, Chen Bojun, and others all held posts in schools, and most of them were figures with outstanding meritorious achievements and high popularity in the base areas, and the trainees were basically drawn from among the leading cadres on the job, with good political quality and certain combat experience.
Seeing such a lineup, Xiao Jinguang felt both great responsibility and confidence, and quickly threw himself into the work of building the school, carrying out teaching while building. But only a month later, the Ningdu Uprising broke out, and Li Fuchun immediately approached Mao Zedong for his advice on reorganizing the rebel troops.
Mao Zedong said frankly: "This matter has a great bearing, and if it is done well, more than 17,000 people and more than 20,000 guns are a great reinforcement for the Red Army and the central base areas. He then analyzed the officers in the rebel army and said that a comrade with academic qualifications and experience in the old army should take up the leadership.
Li Fuchun immediately thought of Xiao Jinguang, but when he thought that he was still serving in the "Red School", he hesitated. "There is a hurry, the Red School can send someone else." Mao Zedong said simply.
As a result, Xiao Jinguang was again transferred to the newly reorganized Political Commissar of the Fifth Red Army. He nostalgically remembered the newly unfolded Red School, and also understood the significance of the work of the Red Fifth Army, and thinking of these questions, he involuntarily came to Mao Zedong's residence.
Mao Zedong told him: "The situation of the Fifth Red Army is very complicated, and the work is not impossible to do well. I send you two sentences, the first sentence is to deal with the relationship between unity and education. Without unity, without being pinched together, everything is empty, nothing can be talked about. Only superficial unity, without work, can not become a veritable Red Army, the key is still education. ”
This remark made Xiao Jinguang suddenly enlightened, and he immediately reported to the Red Fifth Army and began his work. Later, the Fifth Red Army was reorganized and became a strong main force of the Central Red Army.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="75" > "I am in Yan'an, that is, I rely on Xiao Jinguang to eat."</h1>
After the "July 7 Incident" in 1937, Xiao Jinguang was appointed as the director of the Rear Guard Office of the Eighth Route Army, and was internally known as the commander of the Left Guard Corps. This was still nominated by Mao Zedong and carefully studied by the Party Central Committee.
Yan'an was a major strategic decision at that time, and it was conducive to guiding the construction of base areas behind enemy lines. However, the land here is barren and the social environment is complex, so the responsibility of the remaining troops is very heavy. In December, at the first meeting of military and political cadres, Mao Zedong patted Xiao Jinguang's shoulders and knees and said: "Comrades, I am in Yan'an, I rely on this old man to eat, and I rely on you to stay in the corps to eat." ”
As he spoke, he looked down at Xiao Jinguang and continued, "Jinguang, if I die in Yan'an, then bury me in Qingliangshan, and you have to make this preparation." Mao Zedong's meaningful joke made Xiao Jinguang's heart shake a lot.
That night, after returning to the dormitory to think about it repeatedly, the next day he urged everyone to sacrifice everything to complete the task. In order for the left-behind corps to stand, the first thing to be solved is the social and environmental problems. As for the local bandit gang, Xiao Jinguang led the troops to proceed from the actual situation, and in accordance with the laws of the bandits' activities and local characteristics, they were flexible and mobile, pursued and fought fiercely, and the bandits were basically eliminated in less than a year.
After hearing his report, Mao Zedong was very surprised, and after Xiao Jinguang carefully explained the process of suppressing the bandits, he was very happy and personally drafted a telegram to inform the base areas of the whole country of this achievement.
After 1939, the Kuomintang's offensive and economic blockade of the border areas became more and more severe, and even the Salaries of the Eighth Route Army were stopped, and the financial difficulties in the border areas were extremely difficult.
Just as everyone was struggling to find countermeasures, one day, Mao Zedong sought out Xiao Jinguang, Lin Boliang, and Gao Gang and proposed a method, that is, relying on everyone's two hands, relying on themselves, and developing production. Mao Zedong's words made everyone's eyes clear and unanimous: "Let's do this!" ”
Therefore, from February 1940 onwards, the Left Behind Corps began to reclaim wasteland to grow grain and vegetables, and also opened various handicraft factories and workshops, and many troops also engaged in various production and operations. In this way, by 1943, the left-behind corps had opened up to 200,000 acres of land.
One evening, Xiao Jinguang accompanied Mao Zedong on a walk by the Yanhe River, and after saying that most of the troops had achieved their goals and slogans, Mao Zedong smiled with satisfaction and said humorously: "I have long said that I would rely on you Xiao Jinguang to eat in Yan'an!" ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="74" > "dry duck" as commander of the Navy</h1>
On October 1, 1949, when New China was just founded, Xiao Jinguang, then commander of the Hunan Military Region, was commanding the battle on the front line of the Battle of Hengbao. As soon as the battle was over, he received a telegram from Mao Zedong ordering him to enter Beijing immediately.
After Xiao Jinguang explained the work in his hand, he rushed to Beijing. He did not bother to rest and came to Zhongnanhai. Mao Zedong first inquired about the situation on his front, then exchanged a few words of greeting, and finally said: "The reason for summoning you to Beijing this time is to borrow you Commander Xiao." Now that the task of forming an air force and a navy has been put on the agenda, and the preparatory work for the air force is almost complete, the central authorities have decided to let Liu Yalou become the commander. Now we have to start preparing for the navy, and if you want to be the commander, first say hello to you and listen to your opinions. ”
Xiao Jinguang was unprepared, and he said frankly: "Chairman, I am a dry duck, and I don't understand the navy, how can I be a naval commander?" I'm so seasick that I can't even sit on a sea boat, so let someone else do it. Mao Zedong shook his head slightly: "I just fell in love with you's 'dry duck'." Let you organize and command, and not go to sea every day. ”
Seeing that Xiao Jinguang was no longer speaking, Mao Zedong diverged from the topic and said, "Well, I will not talk about this matter today, I rely on you Xiao Jinguang to eat in Yan'an, come to me today, I invite you to eat." At the dinner table, Mao Zedong further talked about the reasons why he was chosen as commander.
In December 1949, Mao Zedong visited the Soviet Union, and before leaving, he summoned Xiao Jinguang again, asked him about the situation in the Soviet Union, and at the same time consulted his opinions on naval construction. Xiao Jinguang was prepared this time, so he talked about some of his ideas. After hearing this, Mao Zedong was very satisfied, and he said one after another: "Good, good, we must consider it more carefully and implement it step by step." ”
Later, during his time in the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong still worried about the preparation of the navy. On January 13, 1950, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Liu Shaoqi, who presided over the work of the Central Committee: "Xiao Jinguang can be immediately appointed as the commander of the navy. Since then, Xiao Jinguang has begun his 30-year work in the Navy.
At that time, the navy was preparing, and the difficulties and pressures were very great. After Xiao Jinguang led the personnel from Hunan to Beijing, they rented cheap inns and houses in the area outside the front door. However, the offices of various departments are very scattered and the work is very inconvenient. To this end, Xiao Jinguang went to Mao Zedong again. Mao Zedong replied to him at that time: "There is no house, you can build it yourself." Well, you write a report, and I'll approve the money. ”
Soon, Xiao Jinguang wrote a report, and Zhou Enlai immediately approved the money, so the naval organs were relatively concentrated, and everyone was finally able to work in one place.
Subsequently, Xiao Jinguang also felt that it was difficult to solve the problem of the source of naval talents, so he went to Mao Zedong again. After listening, Mao Zedong pondered for a moment and said: "When the Air Force was first formed, it faced the same problems as you, and they selected a part of the army, and practice has proved that they all fly well." Now the Navy can also learn from their experience, choose from the Army, and learn by doing. Xiao Jinguang immediately sent a report to the General Staff, which carefully selected a number of outstanding talents from the Army and transferred them to the Navy.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong was very busy with official duties, but he always paid great attention to and supported naval construction. Twice, in his own name, he wrote to Stalin requesting equipment assistance and technical support for the construction of our navy. With Mao Zedong's support and assistance, Xiao Jinguang gradually gained confidence in his position as commander of the Navy.
Under the care of Mao Zedong and under the leadership of Xiao Jinguang, after several years of hard work, naval construction began to take shape. But Xiao Jinguang knew in his heart that compared with the international level, the Chinese navy was still far behind.
In December 1952, Mao Zedong inspected the naval compound, and after receiving the call, Xiao Jinguang immediately packed up and went downstairs to greet him. As soon as they reached the staircase, Mao Zedong and his party had already arrived, and Mao Zedong seemed very excited and said to Xiao Jinguang: "It has been more than two years since the establishment of the navy, and I have not yet come." I have come here today to see you and see where our leading organs of the Navy live, and second, I have something urgent to discuss with you. ”
Because of financial difficulties, destroyers and torpedo boats did not have extra foreign exchange to buy, so Xiao Jinguang immediately said: "The Navy and Air Force are all party troops, and things are urgent, so let's buy planes for the Air Force with limited financial resources first." The other Navy leaders present were unanimous in their approval.
Listening to everyone's statements, Mao Zedong was very happy, and he said: "Okay, that's it. There is money in the country, you can buy some materials to make a little yourself. ”
In November 1957, Mao Zedong again led a delegation to Moscow, and at the same time, China also sent a military friendship delegation with Xiao Jinguang. During his stay in Suzhou, Xiao Jinguang and Liu Yalou went to visit Mao Zedong together. Mao Zedong asked solemnly: "Is Xiao Jinguang still seasick?" Is Liu Yalou still motion sickness? ”
Xiao Jinguang replied, "It's much better now." Mao Zedong said humorously: "The commander of the Navy is seasick, and the commander of the Air Force is seasick, and this is my cadre policy." ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="56" > eat at the cadre's house</h1>
On July 12, 1957, Mao Zedong came to Qingdao to inspect. During the one-month period here, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the founding of the army, when visiting Mao Zedong, Xiao Jinguang proposed that he be able to review the military parade, and Mao Zedong happily agreed.
After Mao Zedong personally presided over the meeting on July 17, on the same day, the sea review plan of naval forces began to be officially deployed at the Qingdao base. The leaders of the various regiments and formations of the Qingdao base were extremely excited when they heard that Chairman Mao was coming to inspect the troops, and they said that they would set strict requirements and organize strictly, and that they would do a good job in every link and report to the beloved leaders and commanders with a new look and excellent results.
After two rehearsals on the 24th and 29th, after repeated revisions, and according to the meteorological conditions, it was finally decided to review on August 4. In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, on the morning of the 1st, Xiao Jinguang reviewed it on land and at sea in accordance with Mao Zedong's review plan. Meetings of provincial and municipal party secretaries also ran until July 21.
At about 4 p.m. on August 1, Xiao Jinguang, who was at home, was contemplating the military parade when Mao Zedong suddenly appeared in the courtyard. As Mao Zedong walked toward the house, he shouted, "Commander Xiao, I have come with you to eat." Xiao Jinguang immediately greeted him and said, "I was ready that day, you said that something couldn't come, and I didn't prepare anything delicious today." ”
"It's not very demanding, just fill your stomach." Mao Zedong said. Subsequently, the guard whispered in Xiao Jinguang's ear: "The chairman is really eating here today." Xiao Jinguang listened and asked him with an embarrassed face in an instant: "Why didn't you notify him earlier?" "I don't need early notice, I'll eat whatever you eat, is there a chili pepper?"
Just after asking, Mao Zedong waved his hand again and continued: "Eating is the next step, first listen to your situation." Xiao Jinguang carefully introduced the naval construction in recent years and talked about the preparations for this military parade. Mao Zedong also made some suggestions to him.
As the conversation deepened, Mao Zedong finally said in a serious tone: "Now that we are engaged in the navy, the ships we have purchased are from the Soviet Union, and many things have also been learned from them. To learn from the Soviet Union, we must honestly study, but we must not learn them as they are; we must not learn some things that we cannot learn, nor should we learn them; we must proceed from our actual conditions and take our own path. ”
Just as Xiao Jinguang and Liu Daosheng, deputy commander of the Navy, were understanding the chairman's remarks, the staff came over and whispered to Xiao Jinguang: "The meal is ready." Mao Zedong heard this and immediately said, "Well, we can talk while eating." ”
In the simple restaurant, Xiao Jinguang and Liu Daosheng accompanied Mao Zedong to a simple dinner, a total of 6 dishes, 3 seasonal greens, one sea cucumber and one fish, plus a braised pork, and two small dishes: chili peppers and soy sauce tofu.
After Mao Zedong took a few bites, he praised the good taste, but he didn't know that in this table dish, except for fish, the other dishes were originally his dishes. It turned out that the comrades of the Navy, after learning that the chairman was going to eat here, immediately contacted Mao Zedong's entourage, and everyone did not know that the chairman was going to eat here, and dinner had been prepared at that time.
Stills from the TV series
Shortly after liberation, considering the complicated social situation, it would be unsafe for the main leaders of the central government to go out to eat and sleep. In view of this situation, after consultation between the staff of both sides, it was decided to send the prepared meals over.
Mao Zedong didn't eat it at all, it was all made by his own staff. After the meal, they continued to talk, talking about the development of the navy and the domestic situation until 9 o'clock in the evening. When he was about to go downstairs, Mao Zedong said: "The situation is very complicated now, and you must do a good job in the troops." The army must play the role of a pillar and do a good job in its work. ”
Hearing this, Xiao Jinguang also immediately said that the army must obey the command of the organization at all times. Regrettably, on August 4, Mao Zedong was not able to attend the parade as scheduled. Soon after arriving in Qingdao, Mao Zedong fell ill with a cold, and by August 2, he had a high fever of 39 degrees, and finally decided to entrust Premier Zhou Enlai to Qingdao to inspect the naval forces on his behalf.
In order to make up for this regret, on the afternoon of August 5, Mao Zedong, accompanied by Xiao Jinguang, received officers above the rank of lieutenant at the Qingdao base and took a group photo with everyone.
In 1959, all Soviet aid was withdrawn, many cooperation was terminated, and experts left one after another. At that time, Mao Zedong made an oath: "Nuclear ships will be built in ten thousand years!" "There is no choice but to rely on our own national defense strength to pick up this burden." The Navy also set up a research team and began an intense development process.
After continuous hard work, the technical question marks were straightened, and on July 18, 1970, the leading project of the nuclear ship was finally overcome. Dong Biwu and Geng Biao said to Xiao Jinguang: "The Navy's nuclear ships are milestones in the development of the Navy. ”
Xiao Jinguang knew that although the Republic had a nuclear shield and a great leap in naval construction, there were still many dangerous peaks to climb on the road of naval development, and he longed for one day a mighty and majestic Chinese fleet to sail on the distant blue sea... The rings of time have been crushed into the 21st century, and it is worth giving him a consolation that the People's Navy is moving towards great strength at an unprecedented speed...