After the founding of the People's Republic of China, 20 people were sent abroad successively
"General Ambassador"
。 This group of generals and ambassadors showed the style of new Chinese diplomats on the international stage and won the friendship and respect of the people of the countries where they are stationed.
Geng Biao
The general is one of the standout members.
One day in the winter of 1949,
Zhou Enlai
toward
Mao Zedong
Reporting on recent diplomatic work, he said:
"I consider selecting and transferring diplomatic cadres from the former Central Foreign Affairs Group and comrades in major cities who have long been engaged in underground work and united front work, and ambassadors stationed abroad mainly select senior cadres from the troops to serve as them."
After hearing this, Mao Zedong said with great approval:
"Good general ambassador! resemble
Geng Biao, Huang Zhen
We are assured that comrades, who have rich experience in the struggle against the enemy and are relatively reliable politically, send them abroad as ambassadors. ”
At that time, Geng Biaoren was in charge
Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Nineteenth Corps
He is stationed in Xi'an with his troops. Just after New Year's Day in 1950, the political commissar of the Corps
Li Zhimin
He found Geng Biao and said to him:
"Old Geng, I have good news for you: the Central Committee has issued an order to transfer you to Beijing to do diplomatic work!"
Geng Biao was shocked after hearing this:
"What? Transferred me to diplomacy? ”
He believed that he had been carrying a gun for more than 20 years from the day he joined the Red Army, and had never done diplomatic work at all, and this order was too sudden.
Commander of the Corps
Yang Dezhi
Geng Biao was also advised:
"Of course, the barrel of the gun is important, but diplomacy is also important!" The central pick you, is the right pick! With your fingers on hand, we are the only ones here who are best suited for diplomacy. ”
Of course, the orders of the central authorities could not be disobeyed, and just after the Spring Festival, Geng Biao rushed to Beijing in a hurry and came to Zhou Enlai's office to report. Zhou Enlai told him:
"The Central Committee has brought you here to prepare you to serve as a military representative to the United Nations."
After hearing this, Geng Biao resigned:
"Prime Minister, I haven't done diplomatic work, and I'm afraid I won't be able to do a good job."
Zhou Enlai said with a smile:
"You can learn by doing!" Besides, didn't you lead the U.S. Military Observation Group from Yan'an to Jin-Cha-Ji during the War of Resistance? You've actually been exposed to foreign affairs since then. The Central Committee sent you this time, but also took into account your experiences. ”
Zhou Enlai said that in September 1944, Geng Biao was transferred from Yan'an to work in the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and when he went to the front, Zhou Enlai gave him a task:
Escort the US military observation group to Jin-Cha-Ji.
Zhou Enlai also specifically explained to Geng Biao:
"I had a plane ready for you, but the airport over there wasn't safe, so I changed to riding a horse." These Americans don't know anything about us yet, and you have to unite them and absolutely guarantee their safety. ”
The observation group consisted of 11 people, called by one
Dmuk
Led by the captain, these Americans had a very large shelf along the way, and they played with their temper at every turn, treating the guards as servicemen and commanding them at will. And they couldn't ride horses, and often fell off their horses, and then they would beat the horses hard to get out of the air.
Along the way, Geng Biao held a fire in his stomach, but he was still patient, and asked the warriors to demonstrate to the observation group and teach them to ride horses. Two days later, their riding skills improved greatly, and finally they reached the front line smoothly, and Demuk and others also formed a deep friendship with Geng Biao.
Geng Biao and Demuk
In May 1988, Dmuck was also visiting China with an American business delegation, and he asked to meet Geng Biao, but because Geng Biao did not have time at that time, the two could not meet. When Dmuk returned to China, he also entrusted someone to send Geng Biao a photo album.
During the Liberation War, Geng Biao also participated in foreign affairs activities. At the beginning of 1946, he was ordered to participate in Beiping
Military Investigation Office Executive Department (hereinafter referred to as military investigation department)
In his work, the Military Investigation Department was composed of a tripartite delegation of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, and the United States, and Geng Biao was the deputy chief of staff and director of the transportation department of the Chinese Communist delegation
Ye Jianying
Under his leadership, he and the united States and Chiang Kai-shek representatives carried out a series of tit-for-tat struggles at the negotiating table.
Geng Biao was very touched to see that Zhou Enlai had mentioned this past, so he stopped resigning and immediately threw himself into the preparatory work for the delegation to the UN General Assembly. However, due to the obstruction of the United States, the Chiang Kai-shek clique continued to occupy the Chinese seat in the United Nations, and the delegation of new China was rejected.
In view of this situation, Geng Biao was appointed as the first ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, the first minister to the Kingdom of Denmark, and later the first minister to the Republic of Finland, serving three terms in one term.
Before Geng Biao and the first ambassadors of New China went abroad, in order to facilitate them to adapt to and familiarize themselves with the living habits of foreign countries, Zhou Enlai instructed the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find a suitable hotel to train them.
In this way, Geng Biao, along with the other people participating in the training, moved into the Xinhua Hotel with his family at dashilar in Qianmen.
After staying in the hotel, Geng Biao felt very uncomfortable. The sanitary equipment in the guest room, the spring bed, and the carpet made him feel very unaccustomed to just coming out of the barracks, and when he slept in bed at night, his whole body seemed to be trapped in a pit, and it took a lot of effort to turn over, so that he couldn't sleep all night.
One day, Geng Biao and others were learning to eat Western food in the restaurant, and Zhou Enlai came over and told everyone:
"Chairman Mao is very happy to hear that you are here, and he wants to receive you."
Geng Biao was very excited, because he had not seen Mao Zedong for five or six years. After the meeting, Mao Zedong happily shook Geng Biao's hand and said:
"Oh, here comes the fellow!"
(Geng Biao was a native of Liling, Hunan, and Mao Zedong often referred to him as a "fellow countryman".)
After everyone sat down, Mao Zedong said to everyone:
"You are the first batch of ambassadors of New China to be stationed abroad, and most of them are high-ranking cadres recruited from the army, generals. The general is ambassador, very good! The People's Liberation Army has always been a place for us to train cadres, so the central authorities have decided to select a group of cadres from the army to do diplomacy! ”
At this time, it was proposed:
"We don't know foreign languages, so we're afraid we can't do diplomatic work."
Mao Zedong said:
"Han Dynasty's."
Ban Chao, Zhang Qian
Don't you know no foreign languages? But when they went to the Western Regions, they were not only able to live up to their mission, but also made outstanding achievements. I said it was good for the general to be an ambassador, because first of all I was sure that you would not run away; second, many of you had been chiefs of staff and director of the political department, and were good at investigation and research. Therefore, when you go abroad as ambassadors, you must carry forward your strengths in the army and carry out investigations and studies. ”
Geng Biao wrote down Mao Zedong's words word by word in his notebook. In July 1950, with his family and embassy staff, he officially embarked on a journey to Northern Europe.
After Geng Biao arrived in Sweden, he presented his credentials to the King of Sweden for the first time on behalf of the new Chinese government on September 19.
This was the ambassador's first major diplomatic activity since he took office, and he had observed and rehearsed it countless times before going abroad, and the process was already very clear.
On this day, Geng Biao handed the 93-year-old King of Sweden the letter of state and conveyed to him Mao Zedong's greetings to the king and the Chinese people's friendly feelings for the Swedish people. The atmosphere of this day is solemn, solemn, and cordial, which well reflects the friendly feelings of China and Switzerland.
Not long after, on National Day, Geng Biao held a National Day reception in the embassy, which was the first National Day reception held by Our ambassadors abroad in Western countries, with a total of more than 500 distinguished guests attending.
At the reception, a senior Swedish officer took the initiative to talk to Geng Biao, and he asked:
"I heard that your excellency is a general, but I wonder how many soldiers you have brought?"
Geng Biao made a rough calculation and then replied:
"Probably a hundred thousand people!"
Geng Biao toasted to Swedish officials
The other party was very surprised after hearing this, and immediately "snapped" and stood upright, performed a military salute to Geng Biao, and said respectfully:
"You command more troops than all of our army!"
At this time, a Swedish official next to him also praised:
"China is a great country, and you are a great ambassador from a great country!"
Geng Biao said modestly:
"I can't talk about greatness myself. I am insignificant compared to the country and the people. But I would like to be a bridge that connects and communicates the great friendship between the Chinese and Swiss peoples. ”
The reception was a good demonstration of the image of the new China and Geng Biao's talent and demeanor, and Swedish newspapers and radio stations also reported on the event.
At that time, our embassy in Sweden had only one driver, and it was often too busy to come. Once, when Geng Biao wanted to go out to participate in an activity, the driver happened to go out to run errands, so Geng Biao decided to drive himself, but the comrades at the embassy dissuaded him:
"The ambassador's driving, losing his identity, may cause ridicule from others."
Geng Biao (second from right) poses with embassy staff
Geng Biao didn't care, he said:
"From within the embassy, the ambassador and the driver are just different in their division of labor. The division of labor is to do a good job, and mutual help is also to do a good job, and there is no problem of 'losing identity' here. ”
Geng Biao's personal driving has indeed become the focus of people's discussion, but everyone is not ridicule, but praise, Swedish diplomats praised Geng Biao said:
"Your Excellency, the Ambassador, drive himself, remarkable!" "Ambassador Geng personally grasped the steering wheel, admired!"
In this way, Geng Biao's driving not only did not "lose his identity", but also greatly increased the popularity of the Chinese Embassy and himself.
Later, he also passed the exam and obtained a Swedish driving license, and he drove his own car and visited many places in countries such as Sweden and Denmark.
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, although geng biao was in northern Europe, he always paid close attention to the development of the war situation and the attitude of the United States, and he led the embassy personnel to introduce the real situation of the Korean battlefield to international friends and expose the murderous behavior of the United States and other Western countries.
After listening to Geng Biao's introduction to the US military's germ warfare, a Swedish medical doctor personally went to The DPRK to investigate, proved that the US military did use germ warfare, and published the results of the investigation in the newspaper, which made the United States very embarrassed.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Sweden in 1953
Hammarskjöld
Elected secretary general of the United Nations, Zhou Enlai immediately instructed Geng Biao to interview him and strive for him to make efforts to restore China's legitimate seat in the United Nations after taking office.
Geng Biao and Hammarskjöld, who were old friends, agreed to Geng Biao's request for a conversation, and the two met in a secluded small library in Stockholm.
Mr. Geng made a Chinese request to him, and Hammarskjöld expressed his willingness to support the new China's representatives entering the United Nations, but he feared that he would not play much on the issue, because the United Nations had already been manipulated by the United States.
Later, due to the obstruction of the United States, our country continued to be excluded from the United Nations, but this meeting deepened Hammarskjöld's impression of the new China, thus helping him to deal with the relevant affairs of the United Nations.
In early 1956, Geng Biao was transferred to Pakistan as ambassador.
Half a year later, he was elected as a deputy to the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China and returned to China to attend the Eighth National Congress of the Party. When Mao Zedong learned of Geng Biao's return to China, he received him in Zhongnanhai.
Geng Biao and his family
When Geng Biao came to see Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong was eating breakfast, and he cordially beckoned Geng Biao to eat with him, and Mao Zedong said to him:
"Pakistan's geographical location is important. This is reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, it connects West Asia and Southeast Asia, so imperialism regards it as an important link in the military encirclement of our country, and Sino-Pakistani friendship helps to break this anti-China military encirclement. ”
At this time, Mao Zedong looked at Geng Biao and smiled and said:
"Can you see if you can push this door open?"
Of course, Geng Biao understood Mao Zedong's meaning, and he immediately took a stance and said:
"The chairman's instructions are important strategic decisions, and we will work hard to implement them, believing that we can push this west door open."
After Geng Biao took office, he actively promoted economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and after investigation, he found that there was a piece of the Border between China and Pakistan
"Kanjuti"
During the Yuan Dynasty, China sent troops to occupy the land and designated it as a Chinese territory, after the Yuan Dynasty, it was still a territory, but the residents were All Pakistani, and the administrative power also belonged to the Pakistani government.
Geng Biao (middle)
Geng Biao then suggested to Zhou Enlai:
The Chinese government should relinquish this nominal possession and return it to Pakistan in its entirety.
After study, the State Council agreed with Geng Biao's opinion. Geng Biao's practice of seeking truth from facts has been well received by the Pakistani side.
During Geng Biao's tenure as ambassador to Pakistan, the Dongba region suffered from serious floods and food shortages, and geng Biao submitted an aid report to china after investigation and study, and under the instructions of Zhou Enlai, China sold 60,000 tons of rice to the Pakistani side at a low price, and gave another 4,000 tons. China's sincere assistance has been thanked by the Pakistani government and people.
In 1958,
Chen Yi
After taking over as foreign minister, Geng Biao sent him a telegram saying that he had been engaged in diplomatic work for nearly 9 years and hoped to be able to transfer his work. He believes that he has been the ambassador to Pakistan for more than two years and that China-Pakistan relations have developed well, so he wants to return to China to do some other work.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yi was very angry after seeing the telegram, and he called back and said:
"Geng Biao, your dismissal is not right, you just took office and you didn't do it?" I do not agree with your request. ”
When Zhou Enlai learned of this, he also sent a telegram to Geng Biao, asking him to continue to work on the foreign war line with peace of mind, and Geng Biao obeyed the order and worked until October 1959 before being transferred back to China.
In early January 1960, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Mao Zedong received Geng Biao (first from the left in the second row) and other ambassadors stationed abroad
In 1963, the central government sent Geng Biao as ambassador to Burma, and he worked in Myanmar for more than three years.
It was not until after the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution that Geng Biao returned to Beijing from the embassy in Burma and was caught up in the whirlpool of being criticized and criticized, and bid farewell to his career as a "general ambassador".
Now Geng Lao has been away from us for many years, but his unique charm and style will not disappear, and the legend of the era when the general was an ambassador will be passed on forever.