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In the spring of 1953, news of Stalin's death spread around the world, causing grief among countless Communists, and the Party Central Committee held a memorial service in Beijing.
On the other hand, soldiers on the Korean front are also mourning Stalin's death. At the same time, however, an urgent telegram from the Party Central Committee recalled Du Ping, who was on the front line, to Beijing.
Dupin
But what specific mission to send him was not specified in the telegram. Therefore, when Du Ping learned that the central government intended to make him ambassador to the DPRK, he was really surprised.
What did Du Ping do on the Korean battlefield? Why did the Party Central Committee make him ambassador to the DPRK at a critical moment? Will he finally take office?
Rush to North Korea
In October 1950, the Party Central Committee made a decision to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and quickly sent troops that had been assembled in the northeast to the Korean battlefield.
In fact, as early as when the United States maliciously interfered in the Korean issue, the Party Central Committee decided to form a northeast border defense force and make the border defense army ready to enter the Korean war.
After that, the name of the Northeast Frontier Army was changed to Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and Du Ping has been in charge of political work in this brave team.
At that time, the whole country was in ruins, and they had to fight a strong enemy like the United States, and the soldiers were somewhat bottomless, so the pre-war mobilization work became particularly important.
In order to boost the confidence of the whole army, starting in mid-August, Du Ping spent more than two months conducting ideological and political education for commanders and fighters who were about to go to the front.
In the education, Du Ping first led the commanders and fighters to understand the disadvantages of the US military and the advantages of the volunteers. At the same time, however, he did not shy away from the shortcomings of the volunteers and the difficulties of fighting in Korea, and strived to truly know himself and his opponent.
More importantly, Du Ping also did everything possible to invite his comrades-in-arms who had gone on an expedition to Burma and invited these people who had fought with the US army to introduce the situation of the US military to the volunteers.
With the efforts of Du Ping, the volunteers had already shown high fighting spirit before they went to Korea, which laid a good foundation for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, which was full of difficulties.
With the victory of the first battle of the volunteers, the arrogance of the "invincible" of the US army was curbed, and our army also gained the first batch of prisoners from the US army in the battle.
It didn't take long for the Central Military Commission to approve the offer of the PVA command to release the prisoners, and the task fell precisely to Du Ping. In order not to make any mistakes, Du Ping was extra careful in selecting the people to carry out the task.
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Not only were the people in charge of the work with prisoners of war all English-speaking cadres of the Political Department, but the drivers who drove the prisoners were also carefully selected and excellent drivers.
Before leaving, Dupin specifically instructed the driver to tell the prisoners that if they could not cross the American cordon, they could return to the volunteers.
Hearing such words, the prisoners of war were very moved, and some even burst into tears, saying that they would never be enemies of the volunteers again. Seeing this situation, Du Ping understood that the purpose of releasing the prisoners of war had finally been achieved.
It turned out that the volunteers treated the volunteers favorably and took the initiative to release prisoners, not only because China has always adhered to humanitarian principles, but also because this can bring a better international voice to the volunteers.
In addition, Du Ping also strictly grasped military discipline and demanded that the volunteers maintain the fine tradition of not moving the masses one needle at a time, and never allow exceptions even if they are facing the Korean people.
For example, when Pyongyang was liberated, Du Ping led the political department to formulate strict discipline for entering the city, not only requiring soldiers not to harass the North Korean people, but also encouraging volunteers to help the local people do what they could.
During that time, volunteers who spontaneously helped clean up and chop firewood and rice could often be seen in Pyongyang's houses. As a result, the military-civilian relationship between the two countries has become much closer, which is also conducive to China's international image.
As the so-called one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, it is reasonable that such a single-minded and disciplined contingent of volunteers can be invincible in the face of the United States, so the Korean armistice was soon put on the table.
During your back and forth negotiations, the Party Central Committee saw Du Ping's diplomatic talent. It is precisely because of this that Du Ping was recalled to Beijing at a critical moment to prepare to take over as ambassador to North Korea, but unfortunately he himself did not intend to do so.
Resignation
In the early winter of 1951, with the approval of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, Du Ping became the volunteer armistice negotiator, a task he had never experienced before.
But Du Ping lived up to the expectations from Beijing and did a good job of doing the relevant work. It is a pity that the United States does not really seek peace, which makes the armistice have to be delayed repeatedly.
Fast forward to the spring of 1953, and the negotiations were still advancing in a difficult way, making it seem that there was no hope for peace. At this time, there was also bad news in the Soviet Union - Stalin died of illness.
Stalin
Although the Soviet Union did not directly send troops to participate in the Korean War, as a socialist power, its role on the battlefield should not be underestimated.
Therefore, the news of Stalin's death is not only sad, but also likely to affect the Korean war situation. What is even more surprising is that China does not have an official ambassador to North Korea at this time.
Initially, the ambassador to North Korea was Ni Zhiliang, a senior corps general in the People's Liberation Army. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, because the mainland lacked diplomatic talents, he was sent to North Korea as an ambassador.
During his term of office, Ni Zhiliang did a very good job and played an important role in the friendship between China and the DPRK. However, due to the physical wear and tear of his early participation in the war, his health has not been optimistic.
Ni Zhiliang
By early 1952, Ni Zhiliang's health was no longer suitable to stay in Korea, so Premier Zhou decided to let him return to China to recuperate, and sent Gan Yetao, then director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as chargé d'affaires of the embassy in North Korea.
Ganyotao was the agent for more than a year, until Stalin's death and the Party Central Committee realized that it seemed inappropriate to have no official ambassador to North Korea.
After comprehensive consideration, the Party Central Committee decided that Du Ping was the most suitable candidate, so he was summoned to Beijing with an urgent telegram.
However, after Du Ping learned of his new task, he was caught in a dilemma, and he also told Peng Dehuai, who returned to China to recuperate due to illness.
That day, Du Ping specially visited Peng Dehuai in Zhongnanhai, and earnestly expressed his attitude of not wanting to be ambassador to the DPRK.
Hearing him say this, Peng Dehuai was somewhat surprised. After asking again, I learned that it turned out that Du Ping thought that he was not very good at doing diplomatic work, and did not have the communication skills that diplomats must have.
Seeing that Du Ping was sincere and indeed the truth, Peng Dehuai promised to report the matter to Chairman Mao. After waiting for several days, Du Ping finally received the news that Chairman Mao wanted to receive him.
In fact, as early as the beginning of the establishment of the Red Army, Du Ping had dealings with Chairman Mao, and Chairman Mao's impression of him has always been very good, and it does not seem rusty to meet again after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Peng Dehuai
Coupled with Du Ping's outstanding performance in the Korean battlefield, especially in the armistice negotiations, Chairman Mao actually very much wanted him to be ambassador to North Korea.
However, Du Ping considered whether he was up to the task, after all, he understood the importance of diplomatic work, and he also knew that his speed of reaction to problems and his state of communication were not suitable for this task.
After listening to Du Ping's heartfelt words, Chairman Mao hesitated a little in his heart, and asked Du Ping who he thought was more suitable to be ambassador to the DPRK.
Du Ping did not hesitate to recommend Gan Yetao, who had been acting ambassador, and Chairman Mao did not immediately give a reply after hearing this, but he did not really make Du Ping ambassador to the DPRK.
Soon Du Ping returned to the Korean front, and he, a soldier who had been in the army at an early age, was destined to dedicate his life to the army.
A lifetime of military service
In the summer of 1927, Du Ping, who had excelled since childhood, was forced to drop out of school due to the death of his father. At this time, he was not yet twenty years old, but he had already had to become the pillar of support for his small poor family.
But in those days, it was not easy for ordinary people to live, and in order to overthrow the landlord bullies who oppressed the common people, Du Ping voluntarily joined the peasant association.
For this reason, when Chairman Mao and President Zhu led the Red Army into his hometown of Jiangxi in 1930, Du Ping had the opportunity to meet these two figures who had made a decisive contribution to the establishment of the Red Army and gained their appreciation.
In the years since, whether it is the Long March of the Red Army, or the fight against the Japanese invaders and the liberation of all China, Du Ping has been the backbone of political work in the army.
Especially after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the organization transferred Du Ping from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to the northeast, and asked him to participate in the construction of the northeast base area.
After moving to Harbin to take up his post, Du Ping immediately took over the post of secretary general of the Political Department of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army and continued to engage in political work. At this time, Du Yuming was also in the northeast and was eager to gradually destroy the PLA.
Therefore, from the middle of winter 1946 to the early spring of 1947, Du Ping's unit was engaged in combat with the Kuomintang troops, often enduring the freezing cold of minus 40 degrees to participate in the battle.
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It can be said that before the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Du Ping had accumulated rich experience in doing political work well in the cold winter months. It is precisely for this reason that the Party Central Committee later sent him to participate in the political work of the Korean battlefield.
In the early stages of the battle, Du Ping did repay the trust of the Party Central Committee with his outstanding performance. What is more worth mentioning is that the truce between the two sides later could not be separated from Du Ping's efforts.
After returning to Korea in 1953, Du Ping re-seated at the negotiating table with the United States as deputy party secretary of the armistice negotiation delegation and was in charge of the exchange of prisoners.
During those months, thousands of prisoners were exchanged between the warring sides, but everything was carried out smoothly with Du Ping's efforts, which became the precursor to the success of the Panmunjom negotiations.
Although it was not long before the armistice was officially signed, Du Ping did not leave Korea immediately, because he needed to complete the subsequent exchange of prisoners and political work.
It was not until April 1954 that Du Ping finally returned to Beijing with his First Class Freedom and Independence Medal and First Class National Flag Medal, and was sent to work in the Northeast Military Region.
With his full military merits, Du Ping was also deservedly awarded the rank of lieutenant general at the award ceremony in 1955. Later, when Chairman Kim Il Sung visited China, he affectionately called Du Ping an old comrade-in-arms.
Until March 1999, General Du Ping passed away, completing his loyal and bloody life. The Sri people are gone, but the spirit lives on!
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