"No home, no temple!"
Even after so many years have passed, and the 1985 million-dollar disarmament is mentioned again, Wu Minglu, who was then the director of the political department of a certain division of the 68th Army, is still difficult to calm down. He choked up several times, not even saying a word completely, took off his glasses and secretly wiped away tears, full of regret and reluctance.
"Millions of disarmament, at that time we were not prepared, the military history of the 68th Army has not yet been written, the number was revoked", such a cruel reality is really difficult to accept. The 68th Army was a highly meritorious force, but at the time it was still the subject of demobilizations.
At the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission on June 4, 1985, Deng Xiaoping held out his right index finger and gently shook it, making a decision that shocked the world, and disarmed the Chinese People's Liberation Army from a streamlined 4.1 million people to another 1 million!
Such large-scale disarmament activities are rare in the world's military history, which means that from military commanders to soldiers, almost everyone faces the problem of advancing, retreating, going and staying. Although the great disarmament is somewhat difficult to accept emotionally, in order to develop the economy, strengthen the army, and proceed from the overall situation of national development, intellectually we must resolutely implement it.
However, at that time, in addition to emotional reluctance, there were many military leaders who were dissatisfied or even dissatisfied, creating considerable resistance. After learning of the situation, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out in a strong tone that "the head does not know how to turn around, and whoever wants to become a stumbling block to the disarmament work should simply remove him.
Why did Deng Xiaoping insist on pursuing a million-dollar disarmament program? How can the work of streamlining and reorganizing the armed forces overcome obstacles and proceed smoothly?
The "swelling" of the army has always been an issue of great concern to Deng Xiaoping. On June 4, 1985, Deng Xiaoping's major decision to disarm one million people was officially announced, and the fate of 1 million Chinese soldiers underwent a huge change.
This major decision shocked the entire world in the midst of the Cold War. Although the Cold War is coming to an end, the world is still shrouded in the haze of war, and in such a situation, China's million-dollar disarmament plan has suddenly become the focus of public opinion in various countries.
Although China is not a member of NATO or the Warsaw Pact, it also faces many external military threats due to historical reasons and geopolitical influences. As a result, China has had to maintain a large military to guard against possible military conflict. It is for this reason that there has been a voice of doubt in China about the large-scale reduction of military personnel.
Should there be major disarmament, and will it reduce the combat effectiveness of the army? Comrade Deng Xiaoping gave a clear answer,
In his view, "swelling reduction" has always been a big problem for our army. Swelling is manifested in our low ability to direct war. Deng Xiaoping made an image analogy, the fat man not only can't fight a war, but if he really starts a war, he can't run or win. Whether it is from the perspective of saving expenses or from the perspective of improving the quality of the army, it is necessary to reduce the swelling. Even when war comes, it is difficult to deal with without swelling.
In essence, the problem of bloated troops was raised by Deng Xiaoping as early as 1975. Since then, in the area of military governance, three anti-swelling operations have been implemented in 1978, 1980 and 1982. The Pla.S. Army (PLA) has been streamlined several times, reducing the number of active duty personnel to 4.238 million in 1982, but this number is still twice that of the U.S. military. Everyone understands that the army still needs a major operation to completely reborn and renew its weather, but how much will it be cut? This is a new conundrum.
On September 30, 1984, the day before the military parade marking the 35th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, Comrade Deng Xiaoping, 80, was still thinking about China's large-scale disarmament program. Mao Fengming, who was serving in the Military Affairs Department of the General Staff at that time, personally participated in the formulation of the disarmament program.
On this day, Mao Fengming received a phone call asking him to immediately send the agreed disarmament plan to the office of Yang Shangkun, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. At that time, through extensive solicitation of opinions within the troops, three disarmament plans of 300,000, 500,000 and 700,000 were formed, and most of them thought that disarmament of 500,000 was the most appropriate, so they made the most detailed expression of this plan. However, when the disarmament integration plan was sent to Deng Xiaoping through Vice Chairman Yang Shangkun, the response was that the disarmament intensity was still too small.
In Comrade Deng Xiaoping's view, after a long period of confrontation between China and the West, peace and development have become the main theme of the times, and China must seize the opportunity to accelerate the pace of development. At that time, China's annual military expenditure was about 20 billion yuan, which seemed to be an absolute amount of money today, but in fact it accounted for about 15% of the state's financial expenditure.
For the sake of the development and construction of the national economy and the promotion of the army to conform to the trend of the times, Deng Xiaoping decided to solve the problem of the army's bloat as thoroughly as possible.
Deng Xiaoping was not satisfied with the existing disarmament plan, so just one month after the end of the military parade marking the 35th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, at the behest of Deng Xiaoping, a forum of the Central Military Commission, attended by the military and political leaders of the major military regions, the branches of the armed forces, and the three general departments, was held at the Jingxi Hotel in Beijing, and everyone jointly discussed and studied the issue of how to "reduce swelling."
It was at this forum that Comrade Deng Xiaoping proposed a major operation on the army, and he proposed a disarmament target that no one had thought of —1 million.
The staggering amount of 1 million disarmament would mean that another quarter of the plaster's personnel in the Chinese People's Liberation Army would have to take off their uniforms and leave their barracks. This is an unprecedented change, from decision-making to actual implementation, facing great resistance, to implement this major decision is not easy.
How disarmament targets are to be implemented and which troops to reduce are extremely complex and sensitive topics that touch the nerves of everyone. Deng Gong had long anticipated the possible resistance to the new round of disarmament work, and Deng Xiaoping, nicknamed the "Steel Company," always acted vigorously and unswervingly.
General He Zhengwen, then deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, as the head of the headquarters in charge of military mobilization work, organized and participated in the streamlining and reorganization of the army from beginning to end, and was known as the "chief knife man" of millions of disarmaments.
The number of soldiers is not too many, which is the common way of managing the army by military experts in ancient and modern China and abroad. However, the way of elite soldiers is easy to talk about and difficult to do. There is no commander who does not approve of "elite soldiers", but when it is really implemented, it is often "Han Xin points out soldiers, the more the merrier." The burden of streamlining and reorganizing the specific organization and implementation of the work fell on He Zhengwen, who played the role of "chief surgeon" in several disarmament "major surgeries."
In the process of reorganization, all units involved in being withdrawn, merged, demoted, and reduced cannot be satisfied and satisfied with their respective interests because they are directly involved. No matter how sharp the opinions and how harsh the language, He Zhengwen must listen to and see them, and it is also necessary to have great patience, sincerity, and enthusiasm to do the work of these units and these people. It is conceivable how laborious and unflattering this work is, and how much resistance it will face in the process of advancing.
During that time, Vice President He Zhengwen carried a large leather bag all day long, which contained various documents related to compilation, streamlining, statistics and other aspects. Wherever he went, he became a respectable and fearful figure. Speaking of respect is because this matter is the most difficult, the most difficult, and the most offensive, and everyone knows that the burden on his shoulders is very heavy; the reason for speaking fear is that he has a "sword of Shangfang" of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, and his current work is only subtraction, and seeing it accurately is one word -- slashing!
Of all the problems, the "head" problem is the most concentrated, the most prominent, and the most intractable. At the forum on November 1, 1984, Deng Xiaoping pointed out bluntly that "our swelling is mainly at the top level," and that it is better to say that it is a fine "officer" than a fine "soldier," and that this has unveiled the sensitive problem of the aging of the military at that time.
These strong and fierce generals who have been fighting all their lives and who have made great achievements in battle have indeed caused considerable resistance to the great disarmament. With regard to the new round of disarmament, Deng Xiaoping's goal was very clear, and the most important target of this disarmament was the three general departments of the People's Liberation Army at that time and the organs and units of the major military regions and branches of the armed forces. According to Deng Xiaoping's idea, the three general organs of the Chinese People's Liberation Army should take the lead. However, disarmament work at the three headquarters has not been going well. Many of the subordinate units of the three headquarters are led by veteran Red Army officers who have participated in revolutionary work for many years and have deep feelings for the troops.
Disarmament work has stagnated, and He Zhengwen, who is in charge of this matter, feels very embarrassed, and this is even more sad. After Deng Xiaoping heard that the process of disarmament action was not going well, he only said a few words on the phone: "The head does not turn around," and as long as the stumbling block is removed, the follow-up will naturally be much easier. Although it is only a simple sentence, we can see that Deng Xiaoping showed an unswerving and tough posture on the issue of "reducing swelling" in the army, and with extraordinary courage pushed the Chinese army to strengthen the army, and the disarmament work was able to continue to advance.
In addition to the turmoil caused by the disarmament of the three headquarters, the merger of military regions also caused shocks at that time. Especially in the Southwest Military Region, whether it was Chengdu and Kunming, or Kunming entering Chengdu, the branches and branches eventually grew out of the ordinary, and to this day they are still talked about. The long-brewed plan for retaining the Kunming Military Region and abolishing the Chengdu Military Region was changed at the last moment when the two districts were withdrawn and designated to abolish the Kunming Military Region and retain the Chengdu Military Region, which took a "sharp turn," and some people called it the "change of Chengkun."
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1985, the organs and units of the Kunming Military Region were full of joy everywhere; Hu Yaobang, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Yang Shangkun, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Yu Qiuli, director of the General Political Department, made a special trip to Yunnan to visit the troops and congratulate the commanders and fighters on the Spring Festival and the victory in the war against Vietnam. Hu Yaobang and other leading comrades went deep into the front line, cordially visited the officers and men participating in the battle, and fully affirmed the victory in the battle and the achievements in the comprehensive construction of the troops of the Kunming Military Region. During the inspection, Hu Yaobang also waved an inscription for the Kunming Military Region: "The National Wei Army looks at the southwest."
At that time, there were already rumors in the organs of retaining the Kunming Military Region. Some comrades believe that:
First, among the 11 major military regions, the Kunming Military Region is the only large unit that is still fighting. Over the past few years, the smoke of gunfire in southern Xinjiang has been continuous, and the military region has been in the strategic front and in the front line of attack and defense. This is the fullest reason for retaining the Kunming Military Region. Second, the Kunming Military Region is mainly composed of the Fourth and Fifth Corps, the main forces of the former Second Field Army, and inherits the blood of Erye, and Deng Xiaoping is the old political commissar of Erye. Third, Hu Yaobang's inscription for the military region may be a precursor to retaining the Kunming military region.
In April of that year, a meeting of the chiefs of staff of all major units of the whole army was held in Beijing. After some debate, the idea of setting up the organs of the military region in Kunming prevailed. As the situation gradually became clearer, the Kunming Military Region began to prepare for the reception of comrades from the organs of the Chengdu Military Region. Almost everyone agrees that this is a foregone conclusion.
Guo Faren, then director of the Military Affairs Department of the Kunming Military Region, recalled, "We happily returned to Kunming Airport, and the first thing Li Yongfu, director of the office, said when he saw me, was that there was no change, and I excitedly said that there was no change." Compared with the joyful mood of the Kunming Military Region, the participants of the Chengdu Military Region were gloomy and their mood was very heavy. In preparation for the incorporation into the Kunming Military Region, the Chengdu Military Region required everyone to fill out a form for future plans, giving five directions: leave, retirement, transfer, transfer and schooling.
By the end of May 1985, when the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission was about to be held and the plan for the merger of the military regions was about to be announced, it was at this time that unexpected changes suddenly occurred. On June 3, 1985, Guo Faren, who came to Beijing again with his leaders for a meeting, accidentally got a message. Between lunches at noon, Deputy Commander He Qizong told him that your main leaders did not insist on keeping them. Guo Faren realized something about the four words "don't insist" revealed by He Qizong, but he did not dare to think about it too much, and could only quietly wait for the result. "After sleeping, Commissar Xie Zhenhua came, and his first words were, 'Fixed, changed.'" Everything has changed drastically, and it has been decided that the Kunming Military Region will eventually be merged into the Chengdu Military Region.
How did this sudden change happen? This also starts with He Zhengwen, who has just retired. As a former "master of disarmament work," he was still very concerned about the process of million-dollar disarmament, and when he learned that the Chengdu Military Region was about to be merged into the Kunming Military Region, he could not sit still. The position of the Chengdu Military Region faces the entire southwest, and at the same time can take into account Yunnan, Guizhou and so on. Out of consideration for the national defense strategy, he believes that the organs of the military region should be placed in Chengdu, which has a deep strategic depth and better coordination with the surrounding areas. He Zhengwen wrote to the Central Military Commission in his personal name, proposing to retain the Chengdu Military Region, and both Yang Shangkun and Deng Xiaoping adopted this suggestion.
The merger plan of the Chengdu Military Region and the Kunming Military Region was suddenly reversed, and the commander and political commissar of the Kunming Military Region flew back to Kunming with the news that it would be withdrawn. No one said anything, and Commissar Xie Zhenhua almost fell down after getting off the plane. In the year of the layoffs, the Kunming Military Region was still responsible for combat tasks, and this sudden change surprised everyone. What makes it even more difficult for these veterans of the military life to accept is that the Kunming Military Region also has close ties with Comrade Deng Xiaoping. The predecessor of the Kunming Military Region was the Fourth and Fifth Corps of the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, that is, the main force of Liu Deng's army.
The merger of such military regions is indeed emotionally difficult to accept, but Deng Xiaoping is determined, and as his subordinates describe it, Deng Xiaoping's speech, like a bullet, must be carried out. Standing at a higher height of decision-making, Comrade Deng Xiaoping did not worry that this was his own unit, but considered that the whole party and the whole army should cut whichever piece should be cut according to the needs of the situation. Obeying the party's command and obeying the overall situation is the eternal soul of the army.
Disarm a million, and the fate of many will change. Deng Xiaoping's determination to disarm was thunderous, but his concerned gaze never left these silently distant shadows.
On the morning of June 14, 1985, Deng Xiaoping signed a document that affected the fate of a million soldiers. This document records such content, retaining the Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Lanzhou military regions, and withdrawing and merging the Wuhan, Fuzhou, Kunming, and Urumqi military regions. According to the plan for disarmament of 1 million, nearly 800,000 military cadres and military dependents will need to be resettled.
At the Central Military Commission symposium on November 1, 1984, Deng Xiaoping, chairman of the Central Military Commission in his eighties, set the tone for the disarmament of the Millions. His speech at the meeting amply demonstrated his determination on disarmament issues. He said, it's a thing that offends people, but I can afford to offend! But then he made another request, this time it will be thorough, and if you offend, you will offend this time, and you can't be offended.
What Deng Xiaoping wanted to offend was a large number of cadres who were about to leave the army in the midst of the million-dollar disarmament. As military cadres, the military camp is the fertile soil for their cause and the homeland they love, and they will naturally be reluctant to leave the army. At the same time, their future is also uncertain.
Unlike the demobilization of soldiers, military cadres are transferred, and the state needs to arrange the corresponding level of work. Whether enough jobs can be provided to allow 600,000 military cadres to successfully change careers is not only related to the process of disarmament tasks, but also to the future livelihood of these military cadres and their families.
Within three years, it is necessary to arrange the work of nearly 800,000 military cadres and military dependents who have relocated, and such a huge number can be called a major event related to the national economy and people's livelihood in any country. How to resettle people who had withdrawn from the army at that time was a very difficult problem, and Deng Xiaoping gave himself a big problem.
As the supreme commander of the Chinese army at that time, Deng Xiaoping not only had an indestructible will, but also had the warmth of patriotism and love for the people. As the chief architect of reform and opening up and the core of the second-generation leadership collective of the Communist Party of China, Deng Xiaoping knew that a million-dollar disarmament was the need of the times. As an elderly person who loves the motherland and the people as much as he cares for his family, formulating a policy with such a large scope of influence and involving so many people, his heart is naturally not at peace.
Until now, Zhao Dongwan, who was mainly responsible for the resettlement of demobilized cadres, still remembers a passage that Deng Xiaoping once said, "The more difficult thing to 'reduce swelling' is to resettle hundreds of thousands of retired cadres." As a veteran of the military for decades, Deng Xiaoping was well aware of the characteristics of soldiers, and he also knew the difficulties they might face when they transitioned from the military to the localities. As a top-level designer, Deng Xiaoping had long considered solving the problem of the professional skills of demobilized military personnel. He stressed: Our army should be more lively and lively, capable of fighting wars and socialist construction, and the dual-use of qualified personnel between the military and the localities is an important policy implemented in coordination with disarmament.
With the joint efforts of the army and local governments, the work of resettling demobilized military cadres has finally developed by leaps and bounds, and various kinds of training for demobilized military cadres have also been carried out in a fiery manner. According to statistics, between 1985 and 1987, more than 60 training centers for demobilized military cadres were set up throughout the country, and more than 10,000 training courses for demobilized military cadres were held, and most of the demobilized cadres were properly resettled. Many demobilized military cadres have found new coordinates in their lives in all walks of life in various localities. In the bustling crowd, we may not be able to distinguish their military identity, but the military career and entrepreneurial experience from the beginning have made their lives shine with extraordinary brilliance.
As Deng Xiaoping gently stretched out a finger and under the order of a million major disarmaments, 1 million people took off their military uniforms, and this contingent of outstanding combat achievements, these soldiers who dedicated the best time of their lives to the motherland and the people, faced with strange life, there was no heroic and raw cry of death on the battlefield, just a silent and distant back. Some people say that this is a "three-dimensional shock" and "all-round fluctuation" from top to bottom and from inside to outside, and such pain is what China must experience to develop its national economy and improve the quality of the military. Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese army completed such a major operation cleanly, neatly, and safely.
More than thirty years later, we still have no way of knowing the mixed feelings and enormous pressures deng xiaoping had in mind when he planned the million-dollar disarmament. But we can clearly feel that this old man is full of affection for the motherland and the people. Saving money and developing the economy was an important motive for the implementation of millions of disarmaments, but after experiencing the pain of disarmament, China's economy has indeed ushered in a new era of rapid development. National defense and army building really need to be developed and truly modernized, and they also need the country's economic development as a support.
In the summer of 1985, when headlines such as "One Million Layoffs in the Chinese Army" and a photograph of Comrade Deng Xiaoping holding an index finger appeared on the front pages of major media at home and abroad, the world was shocked. As an iconic picture of a historical event, as one of the spiritual imprints of the development and growth of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, we can still experience many, many things from it today, such as the spiritual turmoil before the storm, such as the tragic and magnificent deeds of the brave man who broke his wrist. Of course, there is also the sober decisiveness and weightlifting of a commander-in-chief.