In the late autumn of 1987, it was already very cold in Beijing, and it rained on this day, which added a little chill. Yang Dezhi put on his military uniform and was about to go out, and the secretary asked curiously, where is the chief going? Yang Dezhi said that he would go to greet the new chief of the General Staff.
The secretary reminded that the chief is old, and it is raining again today, so just let a few deputy chiefs go to pick up the airport, and the chief does not have to go in person, so it is better to rest at home. Yang Dezhi scolded angrily, nonsense, how can I do without me, I can't be misunderstood. I have to go.
What's going on?
In 1987, veteran Yang Dezhi was 76 years old. Although his body is still quite tough, after all, he is nearly eighty years old, and he is quite old. In October of that year, Yang Dezhi was elected as a member of the Central Advisory Committee, and then as a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Committee.
Being elected to these two positions also means that Yang Dezhi will take a back seat. On November 21, the Central Military Commission formally dismissed Yang Dezhi from his post as chief of the General Staff. Chi Haotian, political commissar of the Jinan Military Region, took over as chief of the General Staff. After receiving the appointment from the Central Military Commission, Chi Haotian immediately took over the work of the Jinan Military Region and flew to Beijing by plane.
When the new chief arrived in Beijing, Yang Dezhi said that he did not need to pick up the plane in person. The successive chiefs of the General Staff have been replaced, and it seems that there is no reason for the predecessor to take over the new one, Huang Kecheng will not come to pick up Su Yu, Luo Ruiqing will not come to pick up Huang Kecheng, and Huang Yongsheng will not welcome Yang Chengwu in the back.
Besides, Chi Haotian is the general of the Shaozhuang faction who came out of the 27th Army, the 27th Army is the unit brought out by Xu Shiyou, and Xu Shiyou is Chi Haotian's old chief. And Yang Dezhi is an old comrade-in-arms at the same level as Xu Shiyou.
(Front row, first right, Chi Haotian, second right, Xu Shiyou)
Even if Xu Shiyou himself arrived in Beijing, Yang Dezhi didn't have to pick him up. Now that Xu Shiyou's old subordinates have arrived in Beijing, how can Yang Dezhi pick them up? If it was Xu Shiyou, could he go to greet his old subordinates? But Yang Dezhi is not Xu Shiyou, he has something extraordinary.
is also a famous general, Yang Dezhi is more able to unite people. The General Staff is a big family, and the most important thing is unity, and the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves. If Yang Dezhi does not come to greet Chi Haotian, it may cause people to misunderstand, Yang Dezhi is putting on old qualifications, has a big shelf, does not respect, and does not support the new chief of the General Staff.
Chi Haotian was 58 years old at the time, and with so many founding veteran generals here, his qualifications were indeed shallow and his prestige was not enough. The more at this time, the more Yang Dezhi wanted to respect Chi Haotian, and the more he wanted to raise his prestige. The best way is for Yang Dezhi to pick up the plane in person.
The secretary was more concerned about Yang Dezhi's body, and was afraid that his body would not be able to bear it, so he was not advised to go. But Yang Dezhi is old enough to seek the country, and he thinks deeply, and he wants to use the highest standards to welcome the new chief of the General Staff.
The four deputy chiefs of general staff, Xu Huizi, Xu Xin, Han Huaizhi, and He Qizong, who continued to stay in office, all went to pick up the plane, and Yang Dezhi personally led the team. When Chi Haotian's plane landed at the airport in the western suburbs of Beijing, he was deeply moved to see Yang Dezhi, the chief manager, and several deputy chief executives waiting at the airport in the rain.
This was completely unexpected by Chi Haotian. Chi Haotian also felt that it would be enough for a few deputy chiefs to come to pick him up, and let the boss come in person would really kill him, a junior. However, Chi Haotian also instantly understood the boss's intentions.
Chi Haotian hurriedly stepped forward and held Yang Dezhi's hand tightly to express his deep gratitude. Then at the meeting to welcome Chi Haotian, Yang Dezhi personally presided over it, and the main leaders of the General Staff Department came, and the conference room was full, with more than 100 people.
Yang Dezhi personally introduced Chi Haotian, saying that he is a people's hero of East China, who has made many meritorious contributions and won the Medal of Honor many times, and has always been a pacesetter and example for everyone to learn; he has rich work experience in the army, in the large military region, and in the General Staff Headquarters, and I believe that he will certainly be able to do a good job in the work of the General Staff Headquarters.
After Yang Dezhi finished speaking, the applause in the conference room lasted for a long time, Chi Haotian quickly got up, saluted Yang Dezhi with a standard military salute, and then saluted everyone. Yang Dezhi stood on the last shift and sent Chi Haotian on his last journey.
Among all the founding generals, Yang Dezhi has almost no shortcomings, he has never been defeated, he has always been in a high position, either as the commander of a large military region in the local area, or as the chief of general staff at the headquarters, his life is very legendary.
How did he do it? Why is that? This is also evident from this little thing.
(Reference books: "The Life of Yang Dezhi" and "The Biography of Chi Haotian")