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In 1978, a mainland military delegation visited Yugoslavia, but was refused to be received by its president, Tito.
Who was Yang Yongmian, the head of the diplomatic delegation leading the team at that time, and why did he return to China after being denied an interview, and he was recognized by Deng Gong, and even said that he would be promoted tomorrow?
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country's diplomatic work has always been difficult. It is very rare to find people who can be competent in diplomatic work and contribute to the country in this field, and General Yang Yong, who can be able to write and martial arts, is an indispensable one of them.
General Yang Yong was born into a poor peasant family in Hunan, joined the Communist Youth League at the age of 15, and participated in the attack on Changsha after the "Ma-Ri Incident". After political study, he officially joined the Communist Party of China three years later.
In the revolutionary base area, he participated in the first to fifth "anti-encirclement and suppression" operations in the central region, and won the Red Star Medal of the third class because of his bravery, and then participated in the Long March with the main force of the Red First Army.
As Chairman Mao wrote in his poem, "The golden sand water beats the clouds and cliffs warm, and the Dadu Bridge crosses the iron cable and is cold."
In the course of the Long March, Yang Yong's unit experienced important battles such as the Jinsha River, the Dadu River, and the four crossings of Chishui, and made great contributions to the victory of the Long March.
Especially in the Battle of Tucheng on the edge of Chishui, Yang Yong can be said to have survived. At that time, in order to direct the battle, he went to the front line in person, and was pierced in the right cheek by an enemy bullet, so you can imagine how dangerous the situation was at that time.
But at that time, because of the fierce battle situation and the urgent military situation, even if he was unable to speak, in order to complete the combat goal, he insisted on being wounded, wrote down the order with a pen, and then let the soldiers around him convey it, rather delay his own treatment, but also ensure the completion of the task, and finally fainted on the front line of the battle with injuries.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yang Yong took the lead and participated in the front-line battle of the Pingxingguan victory.
That year, Yang Yong and Li Tianyou partnered to lead the 686th Regiment of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army to follow the division headquarters to Pingxingguan to prepare for battle, preparing to rely on the terrain advantages here to thwart the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese army.
At that time, the Japanese army was an elite unit trained by Japanese militarism for many years, relying on its more advanced weapons and equipment, and fantasized about "destroying China in three months."
In order to realize this strategic fantasy of theirs, the Japanese army had to pass through the Pingxing Pass before they could enter the hinterland of the mainland.
In the Battle of Pingxingguan, the 686th Regiment led by Li Tianyou and Yang Yong received an order to hold the mountainous area on the right side of the road at all costs, cut off the retreat of the Japanese army, and prevent the Japanese army from breaking through from this side in the ambush circle.
After many days of marching and ambush preparations, the 686th Regiment finally waited for the Japanese army, and with the order of the division headquarters, the 686th Regiment, together with other comrades-in-arms from the brother units, launched a surprise attack on the Japanese army.
Although the morale of our soldiers of the Eighth Route Army is high, no matter whether the Japanese army is more well-trained, whether it is an elite Japanese unit, even if their Emperor's Guard enters the ambush circle of our army, it must be completely annihilated.
However, the combat capability of this Japanese army is really strong, even if it is in a situation of being raided, it still fights back with all its might, which has brought a lot of losses to our army.
The most important thing is that in order to reverse the fate of being annihilated, the Japanese army organized the last backbone force to try to occupy the Lao Ye Temple Heights and achieve the goal of turning the situation around.
At this critical moment, Yang Yong personally led the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 686th Regiment to block the counterattack force of the Japanese army before death.
After occupying the heights of Lao Ye Temple first, he even did not hesitate to start a white-knuckle battle with the Japanese army here.
In the melee, Yang Yong's left arm was wounded and he lost consciousness, but after he was still simply bandaged, he raised his gun with one arm, and he also had to fight with the Japanese army with the troops. In the end, together with the comrades-in-arms of the 115th Division, they completed this shocking victory at Pingxingguan.
Of course, in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, General Yang Yong had outstanding performances, led the troops to achieve countless military exploits, and made many contributions to the country.
After the liberation, General Yang, who had made great achievements in war, became an elegant diplomat, and then fought for China in the international arena on another battlefield.
Many people do not know why such a general who can fight a war later became a diplomat? Could it be that the mainland's diplomatic affairs also need to be handled by the country's generals?
In 1978, Yang Yong led a delegation to visit Yugoslavia, but its president, Tito, was reluctant to meet them.
However, the miraculous thing is that even if Tito refused to meet him, after Yang Yong returned to China, he was appreciated by Deng Gong, saying that he would be promoted tomorrow.
Although there were twists and turns in this visit, did it achieve its diplomatic goals in the end?
As early as 1975, when Deng Gong came back and began to gradually preside over the work of the central authorities, he found that the mainland was in great need of a diplomat who could handle it to support the mainland's foreign affairs.
And this person needs to let the world see the actual situation of New China, and let the world understand that the mainland, which has just entered the UN General Assembly, is a democratic and fair country.
It is a country with great potential, a country worthy of trust, and worthy of in-depth exchanges and cooperation. It is not the kind of closed, backward-minded country that was deliberately created in the past, and the people are ignorant and stubborn.
After thinking about it, Deng Gong finally handed over this important task to General Yang Yong.
The reason why it was handed over to General Yang Yong was not only because of his previous operational command ability, but also because General Yang Yong did not return to China directly after participating in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but stayed in Korea as the leader of the Volunteer Army.
At that time, North Korea was in ruins, and the devastation left by the war still needed to be repaired.
As a country with a sense of responsibility and a beginning and an end in its work, after helping the mainland volunteers drive out the invaders, some of the troops still remain in the DPRK to help the DPRK people rebuild their homeland and restore their livelihood.
It was during this period that General Yang Yong led the soldiers of the Volunteer Army, dealt with the North Korean side, and even formed a deep personal friendship with the North Korean leader Kim Il Sung.
It is precisely this point that makes Deng Gong appreciate it very much, thinking that Yang Yong can be in charge of foreign affairs alone, and Deng Gong is still very relieved to hand over the country's foreign affairs to him.
After that, Yang Yong began to gradually take over the diplomatic work of presiding over the mainland.
By 1978, the mainland needed to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, and Deng Gong had already made certain plans for the grand blueprint of reform and opening up, and diplomatic work became more and more important.
At that time, the world pattern and environment were not friendly to the mainland.
At that time, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union had reached a critical moment, and the Soviet Union, which had the upper hand, increasingly regarded the mainland in its eyes, and under repeated persecution and suppression, the mainland had already severed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.
For this reason, Yugoslavia, which is also in the socialist camp, the only European communist country in Europe that does not rely on the power of the Soviet Union, is the focus of diplomatic cooperation on the mainland.
This time, Yang Yong went to Yugoslavia for a state visit to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between the two countries, hoping to gain something.
But as soon as he got off the plane, he encountered a special situation. That was Yugoslav President Tito, who refused to meet with Yang Yong.
This news was like a bolt from the blue, which caught Yang Yong somewhat off guard. His first reaction was, could it be that Yugoslavia could not withstand the pressure of the Soviet Union and decided to follow the Soviet Union and sever diplomatic relations with the mainland?
He came to Yugoslavia this time to prevent this from happening.
Of course, the best reason why Tito refused the mainland delegation was that he was really busy and couldn't find time to meet him. But this is completely unlikely.
Then, he wondered if there was some change in Yugoslavia, and Tito, as president, had to deal with it urgently. However, from the observation of the way out of the airport, this is not possible.
Just when he was still trying to think about the other party's lack of him, there might be various reasons behind it. The translator gave him a plausible but ridiculous reason.
Because Yang Yong's official position is deputy chief of general staff, Tito felt that his official position was too low and not equal to him, so he was reluctant to meet him.
The Yugoslav side apparently did not have enough information about the situation on the mainland. At that time, the person who served as chief of the general staff of the mainland PLA was none other than Comrade Deng Xiaoping.
However, Deng Gong was busy with affairs, and he always asked Yang Yong, who was the deputy chief of the general staff, to do some work as the chief of the general staff, and at home, or in countries that are familiar with China, Yang Yong is treated as the chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
However, the Yugoslav side bit Yang Yong's official position as deputy chief of general staff, and he was not qualified to meet with the other party's president, Tito.
Faced with this reason that made him cry and laugh, Yang Yong was very helpless, especially the members of his visiting group were complaining and expressing dissatisfaction.
Complaining to complaining, did Yang Yong finally complete his diplomatic task?
In 1978, Yang Yong visited Yugoslavia on behalf of the mainland, but his president, Tito, refused to meet him because he did not have enough rank.
But Yang Yong thought that he came to Yugoslavia with a mission, and he couldn't delay the business because of the other party's impoliteness.
Since the President of Yugoslavia did not want to meet with him, but received him with the courtesy of a distinguished guest, he explained that the other side would arrange for them to meet with someone they considered to be "equal" in position.
Therefore, Yang Yong chose to swallow his grievances, and then held talks with Poto, chief of the Yugoslav General Staff, who came to greet him, and exchanged views on the international situation and relations between the two countries.
In fact, it was precisely because of his trust in Yang Yong that Deng Gong would give him important diplomatic tasks. After encountering an unexpected situation abroad, General Yang Yong also chose to put the national interest in the most critical position, regardless of personal treatment, which is admirable.
Yang Yong did not explain too much to the Yugoslav side, and this misunderstanding was finally resolved when the other party returned to the mainland. So what do they think after figuring out the truth?
In the same year of 1978, shortly after Yang Yong's visit to China, Yugoslavia's chief of general staff, Boto, paid a return visit to the mainland in accordance with international practice to confirm the progress of cooperation between the two countries.
This time, at the Beijing airport, the person who greeted him was still Yang Yong.
General Yang Yong, out of Chinese courtesy to the guests, warmly received the other party at the airport.
In Poto's view, he is the chief of the general staff of Yugoslavia, and China, a country that pays attention to etiquette, must have sent officials who are "equal to his official position" to greet him.
Poto, who took it for granted that he thought so, directly congratulated Yang Yong on his promotion, and in his opinion, Yang Yong must now be the chief of staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
But Yang Yong said with a smile that he was still only a deputy chief of general staff.
This made the Yugoslav guests very confused, but fortunately, the embassy translator next to him immediately explained to Poto that Poto understood that China's national conditions were completely different from Yugoslavia's.
Although Yang Yong is only the deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, the actual powers and responsibilities of his duties, status, and official position are far greater than that of him, the chief of general staff of Yugoslavia.
It was at this time that Poto realized that his country had neglected Yang Yong before. For Tito not meeting Yang Yong, he repeatedly expressed his guilt and apologies.
And Yang Yong also generously said that he didn't take it to heart, saying that as long as the two countries can maintain friendship, strengthen cooperation, and contribute to the development of the two countries, he doesn't care about his own things at all.
Later, this incident was reported to Deng Gong as an interesting story, and Deng Gong said on the spot as if joking: "It seems that we are indeed going to promote Yang Yong." ”
In fact, Deng Gong's words are not really a joke, but he is really making various preparations.
At that time, the State Military Commission was ready to transfer Zhang Zhen, the former director of the General Logistics Department, to the first deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, in order to complete the work docking with Yang Yong and allow Yang Yong to be directly promoted to chief of the general staff.
However, regarding the promotion of General Yang Yong, he still needs the support of the military, and while Yang Yong fulfilled his duties in the "three rectifications and three investigations" campaign to rectify the atmosphere of the organs, he also left an iron-faced and selfless impression on many people, and many people questioned whether his personality was suitable for the post of chief of general staff.
Later, after the discussion between Deng Gong and many old marshals, for the sake of the stability of the army, another person among the "Three Yangs", that is, Yang Dezhi, was finally appointed as the new chief of the general staff.
For such a result, Yang Yong did not complain and be unwilling, but made it clear that he supported the organization's decision.
In his opinion, he and Yang Dezhi are old comrades-in-arms, and he understands Yang Dezhi's advantages and strengths, and he is a more suitable candidate for the post of chief of general staff than himself.
After that, General Yang Yong worked in the position of deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army for the rest of his life until he became seriously ill in 1982.
General Yang Yong has contributed to the development of the country and the rejuvenation of the nation all his life, we should be proud of having such a leader, let us pay tribute to General Yang Yong, to all the revolutionary predecessors!
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