The summer heat is in full swing. In late June, the wheat on the East China Plain ripens from south to north.
A train from Nanjing to Beijing sped on the endless plain, and this train was equipped with a special sleeper car. Among the
car, the highest leader is Su Yu, deputy commander of the 3rd Field Army, and another group of people are division and regiment-level officers of the Chinese Military Advisory Corps led by Mei Jiasheng.
According to the order of the Central Military Commission, members of the Chinese Military Advisory Group will gather in Nanning in late July 1950. In addition to the cadres of the 308th Division of the Vietnam Army that the 2nd Field Army had been sent to the Sino-Vietnam border to train the Vietnamese Army, cadres above the regiment-level headquarters of the Military Advisory Corps will go to Beijing and be received by the central leaders and be awarded the task.
After arriving in Beijing, cadres of the military advisory group moved into the rural hotel of the polishing ground outside Qianmen, which was the guesthouse of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at that time.
Wei Guoqing had moved into a small building in the guesthouse first. He came to visit his new comrades who would fight together in Vietnam. There were also many old acquaintances among them. Wei Guoqing said to them: "Don't go out these days, everyone is waiting for the reception of the central leader."
The cadres of the military advisory group are all front-line generals. They have not been to Beijing since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and many people have never entered the capital. They were very excited and felt that they would meet the leader Mao Zedong and listen to his speech.
A few days later, on June 25, the large-scale Korean War broke out.
The report of the People's Army's victory in the battle of Seoul came, and the tension that lasted for two days dissipated, and the notice that the consultants were waiting for was also here:
"Tomorrow, on the morning of June 27, four leaders, Chairman Mao, Vice Chairman Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou Enlai, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De, met with the comrades of the advisory group together."
Zhongyi Nian Hall, Fengze Garden, Zhongnanhai, painted pillars and carved beams.
About 40 cadres at or above the Chinese military advisory regiment division, some regiment-level officers and confidential personnel came here early in the morning.
The huge Yi Nian Hall is empty, without a sofa, no carpet, and no decorations. There is no tea or cigarette on the two wooden tables on one end of the room.
There are dozens of chairs and stools in front of the table, making Yiniantang quite like a conference room. However, the Qing Dynasty palace calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls around the house were not removed, which attracted the educated officers to the wall to look carefully.
Suddenly, I heard the staff say in a low voice: "The Chief is here." Everyone immediately returned to their seats and stood there.
Commander-in-Chief Zhu De was the first to come in, followed by Liu Shaoqi and his wife Wang Guangmei. They were greeted by the consultants.
Liu Shaoqi sat down and stood up again, nodded and greeted everyone, "I would like to come here today, mainly to talk to the comrades about working in Vietnam. Originally, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou were going to meet with everyone together, but a war broke out in North Korea. I believe you have all seen newspapers. At present, the situation of the war is very tense, afraid that imperialism will intervene, because it is related to the fate of North Korea and the security of our country. Therefore, the central government is very concerned about the development of the situation in North Korea and is very busy. The Chairman has been very busy these days. He works at night and sleeps for a while during the day. Now he is resting, so we will not disturb him. Premier Zhou is busy with meetings now and cannot come. Only Commander-in-Chief Zhu and I can only meet you."
The room was quiet and no one spoke. Liu Shaoqi turned to Zhu De and said, "Commander-in-Chief, let's talk first."
Zhu De refuted with a strong Sichuan accent: "Please talk first, Vice Chairman."
Liu Shaoqi nodded and asked again: "I heard that some comrades are unwilling to go to Vietnam and are unwilling to leave their motherland to work there. Is that? What's the reason? You can make it happen. Just say something. If the reason is justified, you can consider not going."
No one said. After some thought, most of the consultants have been determined to obey the arrangements of the central government and complete the tasks assigned by the central government. Now when we come to Zhongnanhai , we are full of a sense of mission that we have never experienced before.
In fact, during the establishment of the advisory group, only a few people formally put forward opinions that they didn’t want to go.
Liu Shaoqi continued to talk: "No one speaks, then I'll say it. This time you go to Vietnam to work is a big deal. Whether to go or not is a matter of principle and the position of the Communist Party members. Everyone is a party member. How do Communist Party members think about this issue? Yes, our country is liberated. But we still have to think deeply that Taiwan has not been liberated yet, and there are still many islands that have not been liberated. There are still remnants of forces and hidden enemies on the mainland, so our mission is still very heavy. Chairman Mao said that this is just the first step after the Long March. How do you understand? After we liberate the mainland, can Chiang Kai-shek be willing? Can imperialism, especially American imperialism?"
In the Yinian Hall, in addition to the voice of Liu Shaoqi, it is the rustling sound of the pen tip passing through the notebook. The consultants recorded nervously, fearing that too much would be missed.
Liu Shaoqi continued: "Communists are internationalists. Internationalism is to liberate not only our own country and nation, but also all oppressed countries and nations in the world, including the oppressed people of imperialist countries, to establish a socialist and communist society all over the world. Comrades, think about how big and arduous this task is!"
Then, Zhu Dekuan said to the advisers: "This time you go to Vietnam, the task is very important, arduous, and glorious. What are you going to do? It is not to do diplomacy like diplomats, but to help others fight. Go to the battlefield. Help is not a substitute. Don’t push others away. Command them by your own will. Instead, give ideas, find ways to introduce our experiences in daily life, fight to help analyze the enemy situation and make suggestions. "
Zhu De's speech was not long. He said at the end: "I heard that Vietnam is still very hard. You must be prepared to endure hardships and bring the hard and simple style, so that you can set an example."
On the morning of the meeting with the advisory group, Mei Jiasheng, the deputy leader of the advisory group, was in the 3rd Corps of the Military and Political University, and the political commissar Deng Yifan did not go out. He sat upright in the guest room of the polishing venue waiting for the ticket to return to Nanjing.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, but when he opened the door, he saw that he was a stranger. The visitor asked: "Are you Comrade Deng Yifan?"
Deng Yifan nodded and said "Yes".
The person who came here said politely: "I came from Comrade Shaoqi. Comrade Shaoqi invites you to go, leave now, the car is waiting outside."
Deng Yifan felt strange: "How did Vice Chairman Liu know that I was in Beijing?" Deng Yifan and Liu Shaoqi are familiar. They worked together in the New Fourth Army headquarters in Yancheng, northern Jiangsu. Deng Yifan knew very well that Liu Shaoqi was a rigorous person. Since he was summoned, there must be something important, so he followed the person to get in the car and left.
car drove into Zhongnanhai and drove straight to the front of Yinian Hall.
Deng Yifan walked towards Yinian Hall and saw that the door opened and Liu Shaoqi came towards him. Deng Yifan saw Zhu De, Wei Guoqing and Mei Jiasheng sitting inside from the open door.
Mei Jiasheng, Wei Guoqing, Deng Yifan
Liu Shaoqi greeted Deng Yifan: "Comrade Deng Yifan is here? It's just right, your job is going to change. Comrade Yifan, I plan to send you to Vietnam."
"Go to Vietnam?" Deng Yifan thought he had heard it wrong.
"Send you to be part of the leadership of the military advisory group and work in Vietnam for a period of time." Liu Shaoqi said it clearly.
Deng Yifan was unconscious and said, "Comrade Shaoqi, General Political Department Director Luo Ronghuan has already talked to me and asked me to work in the General Political Department."
Liu Shaoqi said, "That's it, I will talk about this matter. You go to Vietnam, it is the central government's decision. You will attend the meeting now and wait for the chairman to receive him."
Hearing that it was the central government's decision, Deng Yifan immediately said, "I obey the organization's allocation."
Deng Yifan just sat down when he heard Liu Shaoqi say, "The Chairman is here."
Hearing the news of Chairman Mao's arrival, everyone stood up and applauded vigorously. He saw Mao Zedong walking into Yinian Hall by Wang Guangmei.
Mao Zedong shook hands with Wei Guoqing, Mei Jiasheng, and Deng Yifan first, talked for a moment, then walked to the middle of the house, shook hands with the consultants one by one, and asked everyone about their name, age, hometown and position.
Among the consultants, Mao Zedong recognized Zhang Xinghua, an old Red Army soldier who had worked at the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Yan'an and the Central Guard Regiment, and said with a smile: "You are from Xingguo, Jiangxi, and we have met again. How about it? Are you prepared to go to Vietnam?" Zhang Xinghua replied: "Resolutely obey the order."
When Mao Zedong returned to the table, Liu Shaoqi suggested that he give a speech to the consulting group.
Mao Zedong nodded, and he turned around and asked the consultants to sit down, and stood among the consultants and said, "Comrades, this time you are a big and new thing. This is the first time that our party, country and army will send an advisory group to foreign countries. This is of great significance and our glory. You are carrying out a very important and arduous task. I hope you will achieve good results and gain good experience. With the construction of the country and the army and with the changes in the international situation, we may also send more consultants out to help the liberation struggle of the oppressed nations and countries. This is an internationalist issue and the obligation of the Communists. There are many oppressed and invaded countries in the world. They are under the iron hoof of imperialism. We We should not only sympathize with them, but also extend our hands to help them. We should not think that our mission has been completed just because we defeated Chiang Kai-shek. We should also see that the power of imperialism is still very strong, and they will not be willing to fail in China. Their actions in North Korea and Vietnam are to create a siege of us, and whenever we have the opportunity, we will directly aim at us. Therefore, helping them is also for our own safety. If you lose your lips, you will be cold. For our own safety and to help the brotherly nations, you will kill two birds with one stone. This is also the fundamental reason why we need to send an advisory group."
and Liu Shaoqi speak in detail. Mao Zedong speaks with a high tone and full of poetic infectiousness. When he talked about why he sent an advisory group, he said: "Comrades all know that in our Chinese revolutionary struggle, many foreign friends participated in our struggle. Ho Chi Minh Comrades participated in the first major revolution in China, and many Vietnamese comrades shed blood and sacrificed for China's revolution. Of course, there are other countries. Everyone knows that they did this under the guidance of internationalist ideas."
Mao Zedong raised his tone: "We should have internationalist ideas, and we should have it too. There is an old saying in China that we should repay you with a drop of water. From a positive point of view, it is to fulfill internationalist obligations. In addition, I went to Moscow during the Spring Festival. Ho Chi Minh also went, and he went to seek Soviet aid. In Moscow, Stalin doesn't understand Ho Chi Minh, and said he doesn't know if Ho Chi Minh is a Marxist. I said Ho Chi Minh is a Marxist, so it's better to meet him. Stalin met him so that Stalin did not agree. However, when Ho Chi Minh asked for Soviet aid and sent an advisor, Stalin did not agree. On the way back to China, Ho Chi Minh and I talked about this issue again, and Ho Chi Minh asked us to send an advisor. I said that we should do our best to material aid. As for sending an advisor, it is not easy to deal with, because our cadres have not received formal training and have not entered the school, but they have some experience in fighting wars. But Ho Chi Minh still asked many times. I said, I personally have no objection, but I still have to go back to discuss with the comrades in the central government. If you want to send, you are also a local consultant."
Speaking of this, Mao Zedong couldn't help laughing. He continued: "I came back from the Soviet Union, and the Central Committee studied it. Everyone agreed to send an advisory group. Now Comrade Luo Guibo has sent to Vietnam first. Based on their understanding, it was decided to send an advisory group of this size. This requires comrades to work hard. The Central Committee is also preparing to ask Comrade Chen Geng to go in first. He is familiar with Comrade Ho Chi Minh and has helped Vietnamese comrades train troops and equip weapons on the border. He went to assist you in working for a period of time."
Mao Zedong said: "When you go out this time, the Central Committee decided to invite Comrade Wei Guoqing to be the head of the advisory group.He was originally asked to work in United Nations , but the United Nations did not allow us to go in under the manipulation of the United States, and he still wanted Chiang Kai-shek. In the future, we wanted Comrade Wei Guoqing to be an ambassador to the UK, but the UK was always half-hearted about us, so we could only downgrade and no ambassadors were sent. In this way, he was asked to go to Vietnam to be the head of the consulting group. He agrees, it's good! Communists can go wherever they need to go, and they can go to a comfortable environment, and they can go to a difficult place. As long as the work needs, nothing else is concerned. You must learn from Comrade Wei Guoqing in this regard. ”
When talking about the work tasks of the advisory group, Mao Zedong said: “The task you went to is to assist Vietnamese comrades in war. Now they still fight guerrilla warfare and have never fought a major battle. The French army now mainly controls cities, transportation lines, and coastal ports, while the Vietnamese army occupies a vast rural area. This is similar to the situation in our War of Resistance Against Japan. But it is not enough to fight guerrilla warfare alone. To win, you have to fight a bigger battle. Only by being able to fight tough battles and mobile wars can you turn to counterattack and defeat France. To fight a bigger battle, you must concentrate a bigger army. They have formed some of them so we can help and equipment. In the future, we will further concentrate some troops with combat experience and organize them into regular troops, and fight some major battles after training. "
" Of course," Mao Zedong turned his head and said, "We cannot ignore guerrilla warfare . Some guerrillas have been upgraded and they still need to expand the guerrillas. You have experience in this regard. Generally speaking, guerrilla warfare combined with necessary mobile warfare is still mainly used guerrilla warfare. But you mainly help them form regular troops and teach them to fight regular wars. They have experience in guerrilla warfare and let them do it themselves. "
Mao Zedong emphasized: "When changing to mobile warfare, we must pay attention to the steps and do more investigation and research. Don’t open your mouth too much. Fight a few smaller battles first, train the troops, and improve your confidence. You will definitely win the first battle. Don’t forget the principle of the War of Liberation. You must concentrate your superior forces every time. You must have three times, five times or even greater superior forces. If you don’t fight, you won. Mobile warfare is still mainly about annihilation of the enemy's living forces, and occupying urban strongholds is the second. So when you go, you must first concentrate some troops and strengthen equipment and training. We must develop some artillery and learn to attack the tough problems. If you don’t attack the toughest, you will not be able to defeat reinforcements and you will not be able to eliminate the enemy more. You are here, you must teach me in the night battle, blasting, and bayonet fighting. We must also impart our experience based on the actual situation of others and be realistic. Never force our experience to fix it without asking what the situation is. Then we must do the things badly. Never rush to achieve success. From branch work, ideological and political work, management, training to combat command style, they must be improved in actual situations. In addition to setting an example, you should also teach your own experience to Vietnamese comrades. Fight a battle, continue to summarize experiences and lessons, and conduct short-term training during the battle if necessary. Success will come naturally. You must also patiently learn from others' experience and improve yourself, and continue to improve yourself in order to truly help Vietnamese comrades. ”
Next, Mao Zedong talked about the most concerned issue: “How to be a good consultant? This needs to be studied. An advisor is an advisor, but in fact he is a staff officer, who serves as a good adviser to other people's leaders. A staff officer is to come up with ideas, find ways to assist the leader. Therefore, we cannot take charge of the situation, and we cannot be the emperor and give orders. After you arrive in Vietnam, you must first develop a good relationship with Vietnamese comrades to lay a good foundation for carrying out your work. "
Mao Zedong also said: "We should not have the idea of a great country, do not look down on others, do not regard ourselves as victorious people, do not be arrogant, and be cautious. Since we are sincerely helping Vietnamese comrades, we must treat their liberation as our own. Only with this kind of thinking can you do a good job. When you arrive in Vietnam, you must protect every grass, every tree, every mountain and every water, the people there, and just like in China, respect the customs and habits of the people, and abide by the three major disciplines and eight points of to pay attention to .”
Mao Zedong talked about history: “How did Vietnam become a French colony? It was the late Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty was extremely corrupt, and the Sino-French War. China had already achieved considerable victory, but France intimidated the Qing Dynasty and forced the Qing Dynasty to sign a treaty for cede land and reparation, recognizing that France occupied Vietnam, so Vietnam became a French colony. During the Second World War , the French mainland was occupied by German . He didn't care about Vietnam anymore, so Japanese imperialism took advantage of the opportunity to control Vietnam. At the end of World War II in 1945, Japan was defeated and surrendered, and Ho Chi Minh's guerrillas entered Hanoi and established a government.
Soon after, France took back its territory and sent troops to Vietnam to drive Ho Chi Minh's guerrillas out of Hanoi. At this time, we are fighting the war of liberation and cannot help them. Now, as soon as we are liberated, we start to aid... We are Communists, and China is a country led by the Communist Party, engaged in socialism and communism, which is different from feudalism and imperialism. Our aid to them is completely selfless, and sincerely assisting them in defeating French colonialism and achieving national liberation. After victory, they will establish an independent country. "
Mao Zedong's words set the tone for the work of the advisory group.
"There is another problem," Mao Zedong said, "We must enable Vietnamese comrades to understand the importance of self-reliance. Revolution, we must strive for foreign aid, but we cannot rely entirely on foreign aid. It's not just because we are poor and it's impossible to cover their needs. Poor is also a fact. For more than a hundred years, internal and external troubles have been in constant wars, and we have been very poor. While our aid to oppressed nations is selfless, we are not just Vietnam, so our aid will be limited. The great significance of self-reliance lies in the fact that one has the thoughts, spirit and methods to overcome difficulties. We have rich experience in these and want to introduce them. "
Mao Zedong raised his voice: "A country, a party, and an army must have the idea of self-reliance, the spirit of overcoming difficulties, and the methods and abilities to overcome difficulties. Only such a country, a party, and an army are strong and have hope for victory. Only when you win can you have the strength to build your own country, be prosperous and strong, be true independence and liberation, and be true victory. ”
Mao Zedong’s speech was full of passion and was completed in one go. After the speech was over, people stood up and applauded vigorously. Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and Zhu De walked among the consultants and shook hands with everyone one by one!
