The mass line is the lifeline and heirloom of our party. On June 1, 1943, Chairman Mao published a collection of essays called "Some Issues Concerning Leadership Methods", which stated: "In all practical work of our party, correct leadership must come from the masses and go to the masses. "The masses contain infinite wisdom and power. Only by fully trusting the masses and sincerely relying on the masses can we ensure the effectiveness of our work." There is only a small podium in the
venue, and anyone can go up and speak. The speakers were mainly students from the Central Party School of , and they were all outspoken. There is a recording desk next to the podium to record everyone's speeches on the spot.
It was Ding Wuxuan, director of the Military Law Department of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, to take the stage to speak.
Ding Wuxuan was a native of Funan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province, and later became the founding major general. He was born in 1897. Among the ten marshals, only Zhu De, Liu Bocheng and He Long were older than him. Among the top ten generals, there is only one Zhang Yunyi who is older than him. Among the 57 generals, only one Tao Zhiyue was older than him.
The intensity of Ding Wuxuan’s speech exceeded everyone’s expectations. He went straight to the point and talked about the unjust and unfair attitude of the central leadership towards the former Red Fourth Front Army. The target of criticism was actually Chairman Mao.
He said excitedly: You, Mao Zedong, opposed sectarianism and Shantouism during the rectification movement, but you can see for yourself that when it comes to the appointment of cadres, you are partial. Peng Dehuai, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, was from the First Army. Lin Biao, the former First Army, was the main leader of the 1115th Division; He Long, the former Second Front Army, is now the main leader of the 120th Division; but as for our 129th Division, the main leader is Liu Bochenghe Both Deng Xiaoping and Deng Xiaoping were members of the one-sided army. Of course, we have no objections to Commander Liu and Political Commissar Deng, but our Fourth Front Army is not without people. General Commander Xu Xiangqian was appointed as deputy division commander. This is unfair and distrustful of our Fourth Front Army.
went on to say: Zhang Guotao’s mistakes were Zhang Guotao’s own fault, and the central government was right to criticize him. The cadres and soldiers of the Fourth Front Army were forced to implement Zhang Guotao's wrong line, and we cannot be blamed for this. But why did Mao Zedong send another telegram the year before last, saying that the appointment and work allocation of former Fourth Front Army cadres should be "different" from those of other army cadres. What "makes a difference"? It is clear that they do not trust the cadres of our Fourth Front Army! After so many years, until now, you, Mao Zedong, still don’t believe us...
Ding Wuxuan shed tears while speaking, and the atmosphere at the venue was very tense. There were whispers below, mixed with resentment.
At the usual conference, Chairman Mao spoke on the stage, and Chen Geng listened in the audience. When he was thirsty, he could walk up to the rostrum without any scruples, pick up Chairman Mao's tea jar , drink a few sips, and then leave the stage. . But at this time, Brigadier Chen Geng bowed his head deeply and said nothing.
The first five rows of the venue were filled with leaders of the Party Central Committee and the army. Chairman Mao sat in the 4th row, and Commander Liu Bocheng, the commander of the 129th Division, sat in the 5th row, just behind Chairman Mao. Qin Zhong, the recaller of this historical fact, sat in the 6th row, just behind Liu Bocheng. Qin Zhong saw with his own eyes beads of sweat on the back of Chairman Mao's neck.
Qin Zhong later recorded this true past event in his memoir "Out of the Smoke of the Beacon Fire" - in Yan'an, he witnessed a conference to criticize Chairman Mao.
Qin Zhong, formerly known as Qin Maoshu, was born in Hong'an County, Hubei Province in 1917. He served as the captain of the 93rd Division Traffic Team of the 31st Army of the Fourth Red Army, the Minister and Political Commissar of the Supply Department of the Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi Military Region, and the Director of the Political Department of the Third Military Division of the Northwestern Hubei Military Region. Equal grade. After liberation, he changed his career and worked for the Hubei Provincial Government. He died in 2021.
According to Qin Zhong's recollection, at that time, Chairman Mao, who was sweating profusely, turned around and asked Liu Bocheng in a lowered voice: "Bocheng, the troops are so emotional and the problem is serious. Why didn't you tell me?"
Liu Bocheng also felt distressed. He caught fire, threw the notebook in his hand aside, and said angrily: "You took the telegram, what do you want me to say?"
Chairman Mao sighed: "Oh, it's unfair, the original intention of my telegram was not like that, why did it just happen? Such a big problem!"
Qin Zhong's memoirs are very vivid. He also recorded: "In normal meetings, Chairman Mao speaks on the stage and Chen Geng listens in the audience. When he is thirsty, he can He walked up to the rostrum, picked up Chairman Mao's tea jar, drank a few sips, and then came down. But at this time, Brigadier Chen Geng bowed his head deeply and said nothing. "
Chairman Mao stood up and said: "Comrades. , this matter is a misunderstanding. I drafted the central government's instructions on the attitude of the former Fourth Front Army cadres, but the message in the instructions should be "treat all people equally", not "different" But we conveyed it. There is indeed a ‘difference’ in the instructions!” Many people in the crowd said this.
Chairman Mao said: "Comrades, I can't explain this problem clearly even if I have a hundred mouths. All the telegrams sent by the Central Committee have been kept. Please send comrades from the former Fourth Front Army to send representatives to the telegraph office to verify. If my telegram is 'It's different', I'll let the comrades do whatever they want; if the telegram says 'treat all people equally', then please understand, comrades."
The former cadres of the Fourth Front Army of the 129th Division really selected five representatives. I went to the telegraph office to find out, and found out that the meeting ended unhappy.
The meeting continued the next day. Representatives from the 129th Division brought the original telegram to the conference, read it out, and showed it to all attendees. The text of the telegram clearly stated "Treat everyone equally."
It turns out that there were many errors in the central government's instructions due to translation and transmission, and even words that were contrary to the original meaning appeared. "Treat everyone equally" was mistakenly translated as "different." So, this is not Chairman Mao's fault.
Chairman Mao said in a loud voice: "Comrades, I apologize to everyone for the misunderstanding caused by the error in translation. The Central Committee later discovered this error and made a correction in Northern Bureau "Party Life". After this incident has passed, we should unite as one and eliminate all barriers caused by past historical relations... A political party, like people, will also make mistakes of one kind or another in the process of growth. Only by constantly correcting its own mistakes Only by making mistakes can we move from childishness to maturity... The central government has also decided that Red Army cadres and soldiers who were mistakenly killed during the "revolutionary purge" without conclusive evidence proving that they betrayed the revolution will all be recognized as revolutionary martyrs and their party memberships will be revoked for various reasons. As long as there is no conclusive evidence proving that they are counter-revolutionary or betraying the revolution, all party memberships will be restored, and the party membership will still be counted from the original date of joining the party..."
The venue was filled with cheers, followed by sobs and sobs, which moved the whole world.
Ding Wuxuan, who publicly attacked Chairman Mao at the meeting, later developed very well. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as deputy political commissar of the Logistics Department of the 21st Corps and was one of the founding major generals. He died in 1993 at the age of 96.
Liu Bocheng, who was angry with Chairman Mao, was the commander-in-chief of Liu and Deng's armies in the upcoming liberation war, and later became the founding marshal of the People's Republic of China. In 1986, Liu Bocheng died of illness in Beijing at the age of 94, making him the oldest among the ten marshals.
Chairman Mao’s broad-mindedness is well-known! He has always opposed the establishment of small groups and hilltopism. It was Chairman Mao who united the scattered people around the Communist Party of China and transformed the poverty-stricken old China into a prosperous and energetic new China.
This historical fact recalled by Qin Zhong is very precious. This is the only time in written records that Liu Bocheng was angry with Chairman Mao in person. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao intended to make Liu Bocheng, then chairman of the Southwest Military and Political Commission, the chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army.Liu Bocheng politely declined, saying that he had served as the Chief of General Staff of the Red Army three times but failed to do so. Now he wanted to set up a military academy in Nanjing to cultivate military talents capable of adapting to modern warfare for New China. Chairman Mao readily agreed and lamented: "I don't want to be king in life, and I don't want to be named a marquis in death. Bocheng is a role model for Communists."
Chairman Mao used Liu Bocheng very seriously. In 1959, Liu Bocheng served as the leader of the Strategic Group of the Central Military Commission, and in 1962 he commanded the China-India Border Self-Defense Counterattack .
Liu Bo has served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission for many years and was a member of the Eighth, Nineth, Tenth and Eleventh Political Bureau of the Central Committee.
Liu Bocheng also had deep feelings for Chairman Mao. In his later years, he once said: "If I have achieved anything in my life, it was given to me by the leadership of the Party and Chairman Mao. Leave the Party and people like us "(Liu Jixing)
