When he was sick in the 1950s, he lived in an impermeable house, and staff even had to urge flashlights when they went in; others couldn't walk faster because they would "bring the wind". Lin Doudou learned a dance and wanted to dance for him, but she could only dance outside thr

01

Strange Lin Biao

Lin Biao is a "strange" person.

The so-called "strange" mainly refers to his unique living habits and personality.

Many staff around him have witnessed Lin Biao's life scenes. For example, he is afraid of wind, light, and cold. When he was sick in the 1950s, he lived in an impermeable house, and staff even had to urge flashlights when they went in; others couldn't walk fast because they would "bring the wind". Lin Doudou learned a dance and wanted to dance for him, but she could only dance outside through the glass. Lin Biao rarely eats fruits. He eats watermelon occasionally and soaks it in hot water. If the temperature is not hot enough, he will have a stomachache. His usual diet is very simple, he rarely eats rice, soaks steamed buns in hot water and eats them softly; he even ate only duck egg green for a while.

A letter was hung in Lin Biao's room: "I'm so imaginative, I'm alone." This is a portrayal of Lin Biao's unique character. He is not good at dealing with others, rarely visiting others, and is reluctant to visit him. This makes Lin Biao very proud to outsiders.

1950 After the outbreak of the Korean War , Premier Zhou and Lin Biao visited the Soviet Union to discuss with Stalin about resisting U.S. aggression and aid Korea . Something happened at the banquet welcoming the Chinese delegation: Stalin toasted Lin Biao three times, but Lin Biao refused to accept it! Why is this?

02

Lin Biao rejected Stalin's toast

In October 1950, Premier Zhou visited the Soviet Union and discussed with Stalin about resisting U.S. aiding Korea. At that time, the Prime Minister brought two opinions:

The first type was that China did not send troops.

The reason is obvious. Due to the long-term war in China, many problems of national economy and people's livelihood have not been resolved. If you are involved in war again, the recovery of the country's economy will face difficulties. In this case, there are undoubtedly many difficulties in bearing the consumption of war. Another important point is that the army's weapons and equipment are also facing difficulties. War is a very serious matter, and these issues must be faced!

The second type is that China sends troops.

The reason is also obvious, "the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and the house is in danger." If North Korea cannot resist the invasion of the US military and Seung Wong army alone, and there is no support, the consequences will be even more serious. At that time, the US military had crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the northern part of North Korea.

After hearing Premier Zhou's words, Stalin also made his own analysis of the situation in North Korea. In his opinion, if North Korea does not receive assistance, the People's Army can last for up to one week. In this case, it is better to retreat actively as soon as possible to maintain the vitality. When the power grows stronger, you should seize the opportunity to make a comeback. So where did the People's Army retreat? Stalin's opinion was to retreat the main forces, weapons, materials and some staff of the People's Army to Northeast China in an orderly manner, and to retreat most of the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, wounded and sick to the Soviet Union. The reason why we retreated to the Northeast was to facilitate the re-entry of North Korea in the future.

When Stalin talked about this, Lin Biao said: The People's Army does not have to withdraw its vital forces, but should allow them to stay in North Korea. North Korea has many mountains and forests. The People's Army can enter the ravine and forest and conduct a long-term guerrilla war. Another advantageous point is that this will facilitate the People's Army to move to the north and south, waiting for the opportunity to launch a counterattack against the US military and the Lee Seung-meng army.

Regarding Lin Biao's opinion, Stalin said: I'm afraid the enemy will not allow the guerrillas to exist, which will put them in great danger.

Stalin also said that if we do not plan to send troops, we must make specific plans, how to resettle North Korean comrades and their army, preserve strength and live strength, and wait for the opportunity. Stalin also said: The Soviet Union also had many difficulties and had imagined how to help North Korean comrades, but the Soviet Union had long stated that all Soviet troops had withdrawn from North Korea. If they were to send troops to North Korea again, it would be equivalent to fighting directly with the United States.Of course, there is another idea that China will dispatch a certain number of troops to supply weapons and equipment from the Soviet Union.

The opinions of China and the Soviet Union were already very clear at the time on how to send troops to aid North Korea. The actual difficulties faced by China will definitely be presented to the Soviet Union. Stalin clearly stated that the Soviet Union would not send troops, but he finally let go: China sends troops, and the Soviet Union can supply Chinese weapons and equipment! What is beneficial to China is that China can use this to modify its troops to standardize and modernize various types of troops, especially to complete plans in wars, which are better than usual, and they can improve in a timely manner if they are not found.

It can be said that Premier Zhou went to the Soviet Union to discuss the matter of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea with Stalin. One of the big difficulties was the issue of weapons supply. As long as the Soviet Union promised to provide China with weapons and equipment, China could solve other difficulties by itself.

After clarifying China's opinions and China also clarified the Soviet side's opinions, Premier Zhou and Stalin were in a clear mind. At that time, the talks between the two countries were in the Abkhazia area near the Black Sea of ​​the Caucasus. Our side was Premier Zhou and Lin Biao, the Soviet side was Stalin and all his senior cadres, and the Soviet side mainly spoke by Stalin. Our translation is Shizhe , and the translation is Federin. At the beginning, both sides were nervous because they didn’t survey each other and were testing each other. As the opinions of both sides became clear, the talks became easier. After the official talks of

, the future conversation between the two sides becomes a chat with a vast sky, sometimes talking about some historical stories and historical figures, sometimes talking about the customs and habits of different countries, etc. Stalin was very happy and held a banquet to welcome the Chinese delegation.

Stalin has a good alcohol content.

weeks Prime Minister's alcohol consumption is also very good.

The atmosphere at the banquet of both parties was very friendly.

But Lin Biao brought about a little incongruous factor.

In order to express his affection to Lin Biao, Stalin picked up the wine glass to toast him and wished: I hope he will show the revolutionary pride and heroic spirit of revolutionary soldiers to drink this glass of wine! However, Lin Biao refused to Stalin. Of course Stalin would not give up. He picked up the wine glass again to toast Lin Biao, but Lin Biao still refused to drink it. The translator Zhe, who experienced this incident, recalled many years later:

Stalin toasted him three times, and it was just a glass of ruby ​​sweet wine, but Lin Biao didn't dare to lick it with his tongue.

Stalin seemed a little helpless, but he still persuaded him jokingly: "There is no poison in the wine, so it's not a problem to drink a little."

But Lin Biao still refused to drink, and even pretended to drink.

People at the banquet were embarrassed to see this scene.

This is Stalin's toast after all!

Seeing that Lin Biao had never accepted his toast, Stalin had to say, "I don't know how this general commanded the army to fight on the front line?!" The banquet continued.

Except for Lin Biao who doesn’t drink, don’t toast, or toast, everyone else is very harmonious. Lin Biao refused to accept Stalin's toast and of course he was criticized. Translator Zhe commented on Lin Biao's "stubbornness" many years later. This raises us a question:

Why didn’t Lin Biao accept Stalin’s toast? "Toast him three times" or not? Is he really a "stubborn" personality? Or in other words, he "respected himself very well" and would not accept things he didn't want to accept. Even if Stalin toasted him, he would not give Stalin face?

03

Liu Shaoqi also rejected Stalin's toast

Stalin likes to drink.

also likes to toast people.

Speaking of the matter of "refuse toast", Liu Shaoqi also rejected Stalin's toast.

In July 1949, Liu Shaoqi visited the Soviet Union. Stalin invited a banquet for a Chinese delegation led by Liu Shaoqi at his Concewo villa.The atmosphere between the two sides was very friendly. Stalin praised the Chinese comrades for being very young and highly praised the significant contribution of the Chinese revolution to the world revolution.

He raised his glass to toast Liu Shaoqi: "Today, you call us the elder brother, I hope my younger brother can catch up and surpass the elder brother. This is not only our wish, but also in line with the laws of development, with latecomers coming from the forefront. Please raise your glass and cheer for your younger brother to surpass the elder brother and accelerate progress!"

Liu Shaoqi said: "Brother is always the elder brother, and I am still the elder brother. We will always learn from my elder brother!"

He refused to accept Stalin's toast.

Stalin and the Soviet comrades persuaded Liu Shaoqi, but Liu Shaoqi never drank this glass of wine.

Liu Shaoqi rejected Stalin's toast, which is different from Lin Biao's rejection of Stalin's toast. Liu Shaoqi was very modest. He had his own reason to refuse Stalin's toast, that is, China still has many places to learn from the Soviet Union. Besides, Stalin was older than Liu Shaoqi and others. According to Chinese etiquette, younger people should not accept toasts from older people. But the Soviets did not consider much in this regard, and toasting others was a way to express their affection and good deeds. After all, the customs of the Soviets were different from those of the Chinese.

After Liu Shaoqi returned to China, he told Chairman Mao about his rejection of Stalin's toast. Chairman Mao praised him for doing it right, and said that he refused Stalin's toast, which was a "hard power"!

Regarding the toast, Shi Zhe, as a translator, accompanied Chairman Mao, Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou and others to visit the Soviet Union many times, and he has many witnesses. After the victory of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Shi Zhe accompanied Premier Zhou and Peng Dehuai to visit the Soviet Union, and Stalin invited a banquet for the Chinese delegation. At that time, Stalin held a glass to toast Peng Dehuai. Peng Dehuai had stomach problems and , so it was not advisable to drink too much. Shi Zhe originally wanted to explain for Peng Dehuai, but was stopped by Premier Zhou. When Peng Dehuai saw Stalin toasting him, he picked up the wine glass and stood up. After clinking the glass with Stalin, he drank it all with a generous sip. Stalin was very happy and looked at Mr. Peng with satisfaction, and looked at him for a long time. After the banquet, Stalin invited Peng Dehuai to a corner of the hall and asked General Peng to tell him his respect and congratulations to Chinese People's Volunteer Army .

Liu Shaoqi has an explanation for rejecting Stalin's toast. Peng Dehuai siped all the toasts for Stalin with a generous sip. Lin Biao had no reason or remarks to reject Stalin's toast. Under such a comparison, Lin Biao became more and more strange. So, what is the reason behind the scenes?

04

Analysis of the reasons behind Lin Biao's rejection of Stalin's toast

Everything has a reason.

As we said at the beginning of the article, Lin Biao was afraid of wind, cold, and light; he was very prone to insomnia; he had a monotonous diet, and even if he had to eat fruits, he had to soak the fruits in heat, otherwise the stomach would not be able to bear it. Lin Biao is a soldier, and he fought south and north, so why did he become so weak?

Chu Chengrui was Lin Biao's driver. In 1945, he joined the army in Yingkou, Liaoning. Soon after, he became Lin Biao's driver, fighting from outside the pass to inside the pass. Later, Lin Biao's condition made it a problem for him to ride in a car, and Chu Chengrui became Lin Biao's internal staff member again. After working with Lin Biao for a long time, Chu Chengrui is very familiar with Lin Biao's physical condition. In his opinion, there are two main reasons why Lin Biao's living habits became so strange:

First, Lin Biao used his brain too much to command the army to fight and had insomnia. Insomnia had to be fought long before the Pingxingguan Battle. At that time, the enemy was strong and we were weak, and we had to win the battle. What should we do? First, we must plan and design strategically and tactically. For him, there is only one way, which is to tired his brain. As a result, overuse of the brain, neurasthenia, and insomnia began to occur. What's worse is that in the early morning of March 1, 1938, Lin Biao, who led the 115 division's direct troops to advance day and night, was suddenly shot by the soldiers of Yan Xishan . The bullets entered from the chest and came out of the back. Although they were cured later, they injured their nerves and suffered from sequelae.

Second, in September 1945, Lin Biao led an army of 100,000 to seize the Northeast. He was under great pressure at that time. There was no large base in the Northeast. After three years of hard work, the situation changed fundamentally and the troops also developed better and better. But Lin Biao's insomnia became more and more serious. He had also seen a doctor and even prescribed medicine by himself, it didn't work. Later, during the Liaoshen and Pingjin battles, Lin Biao simply stopped taking medicine because it didn't work and he didn't have time to treat it. War is a place of life and death, and if you are not careful, you may lose the fruit of victory. The pressure can be imagined. The war later became more and more smooth, but Lin Biao's illness became more and more serious!

In Chu Chengrui's view, the reason why Lin Biao's strange life is that he is sick, and the reason for his illness is that he used his brain too much during the war years.

Later, Lin Biao's insomnia became more and more serious, and he developed a headache. The headache became more and more severe. When the pain started, his head was shaken. He had to cover his head with a small towel and rub it hard. It would be easier to rub it for a while. Later, Lin Biao started to have diarrhea again. It is said that he ate two peaches in Hankou . Since then, Lin Biao has been very taboo about fruits. When he really wanted to eat them, he had to soak the fruit in boiling water to heat it.

In March 1950, Lin Biao's condition worsened and he returned to Beijing for treatment. Because Lin Biao was afraid of the cold, every time Chu Chengrui drove, he would first find four or five people to get on the bus, and walked around the street, and wait for the temperature in the car to rise before letting Lin Biao take the bus. Even so, it still couldn't solve any problem. Once, Lin Biao got out of the car and walked more than ten meters away and was exhausted, so he had to let the staff carry him into the house.

In September 1950, Lin Biao went to the Soviet Union to treat his illness.

Zhou Prime Minister visited the Soviet Union and discussed with Stalin about resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea. Lin Biao attended the talks together. This is the critical period for Lin Biao to see a doctor. Just imagine, he is a person who feels taboo even when eating fruits. How could he accept Stalin's toast? This is how a person’s illness is. If you don’t experience it yourself, it is difficult to feel the physical pain of another person. Others do not understand Lin Biao's pain, and Lin Biao is also taboo to talk about his illness to outsiders. Therefore, when Stalin toasted him, he could only express his rejection, but could not express his reason for rejection.

This is a basic judgment we have drawn through the above analysis: the reason why Lin Biao refused Stalin's toast should be because he was sick. Shi Zhe, including those from the Soviet Union, did not understand Lin Biao's physical condition and was dissatisfied with Lin Biao's rejection of Stalin's toast.

Shi Zhe wrote:

Lin Biao stubbornly did not toast or drink, but was besieged...

This gave people an impression: Lin Biao refused Stalin's toast, and he really did not give Stalin's face! Perhaps only Lin Biao himself knows the reason. However, Lin Biao has a unique personality, which should be certain, because he refused to even drink!

As for Stalin questioning his military command ability because Lin Biao refused to accept his toast, of course there is no causal logic, but it just expresses his dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

In October 1951, Lin Biao returned from the Soviet Union. His illness is still not cured. In the spring of 1953, Lin Biao fell ill again. This time he was even more aggravated. He was afraid of cold, wind, headache, and insomnia. He could not calm down all day long. At this time, it was impossible to take a bus, so Chu Chengrui changed career and became an internal staff member. When Lin Biao was seriously ill, his face turned pale when he sat on the bed. Chu Chengrui shook his hands and his arms, and Lin Biao felt more comfortable. Later, Lin Biao simply moved into an old house. In order to block the light, he hung three floors of curtains and needed to get a flashlight when he walked in.

Chu Chengrui took care of Lin Biao for a long time. Once, Lin Biao felt better and asked Chu Chengrui to help him up. Chu Chengrui realized that his beard was already very long. Chu Chengrui wanted to shave Lin Biao, but Lin Biao refused and said, "No, it's too cool to shave." Chu Chengrui had to twist it for him with scissors.Later, Lin Biao's physical condition improved and he was able to walk out, but he still felt uncomfortable often. Chu Chengrui thought of a way to let Lin Biao take the bus and bump hard on the road in the countryside, so that Lin Biao would feel more comfortable.

From the above, we can see that around 1950, Lin Biao was in poor health. His rejection of Stalin's toast should be mainly caused by physical reasons.

Reference:

Shi Zhe: "Around the historical giant: Shi Zhe's memoirs"

"Literary and History Spring and Autumn" 2006 No. 17: "I treat Lin Biao's "strange disease": Interview with Lin Biao's driver and internal staff Chu Chengrui"

"Selected Medical Literature" 1993 No. 6: "What exactly does Lin Biao have?"