Geng Biao
Geng Biao was born in Liling, Hunan in 1909. He grew up in a poor family but had great ambitions to rejuvenate the country. At the age of 16, he led the Liling Riots and helped the people in his hometown get rid of the tyranny of the Kuomintang. He joined the Communist Party at the age of 18 and participated in events such as the counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression", the Red Army's Long March, the crossing of Chishui , and the flying capture of the Luding Bridge. For his bravery and victorious battles, Chairman Mao personally wrote a letter praising him.
During the War of Liberation, Geng Biao served as the Chief of Staff of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, participated in commanding many major battles, and made outstanding contributions to the National Liberation War. In 1946, due to work needs, our party temporarily awarded the rank of major general to a group of officers. Geng Biao was awarded the rank of major general by Chairman Mao himself for his outstanding military exploits. After the founding of New China, he successively held important positions such as ambassador to various countries, vice premier of the State Council, and member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission.
In Geng Biao's legendary life, his illustrious military exploits are certainly talked about by future generations, but what makes people unforgettable and convinced is his diplomatic experience. Diplomacy may seem simple, but doing it well is no easier than winning a war. But as long as the country needs it, he can carry the banner. Geng Biao used his life to explain what it means to be a proletarian revolutionary...
Taking off his military uniform to engage in diplomacy, Chairman Mao: I chose you because you can’t run
In the spring of 1950, Geng, then deputy commander and chief of staff of the 19th Corps Biao was handling official business at the headquarters. Commander Yang Dezhi rushed over and told him the news: "The central government has decided to transfer you to Beijing to do diplomatic work." Geng Biao was startled and quickly put down his pen: "You want me to do diplomacy?"
Bits and pieces of the past suddenly appeared in Geng Biao's mind. He has dedicated the first half of his life to the army, and has already been prepared to devote the second half of his life to the army. Now he is suddenly asked to go to an unfamiliar diplomatic field. Firstly, he is worried that he will lose the face of the motherland if he does not do well. Personally speaking, I really can’t bear to leave my comrades who have fought side by side for a long time!
Commander Yang Dezhi saw Geng Biao surprised and worried that he was in a mood, so he quickly comforted him: "Old Geng, don't think too much, you can still come to the Corps to visit your parents' house in the future!" Political Commissar Li Zhimin also comforted him: "The barrel of a gun is more important than diplomacy. It's also important. Looking at us rough guys, you are the best suited for diplomacy."
Geng Biao laughed: "Why do you think I am unorganized and undisciplined, and you are still worried that I will cause trouble?"
In fact, Yang Dezhi? Worrying is unnecessary. Geng Biao has been the most loyal to the party in his life. He has always obeyed the orders of the central government unconditionally. His brief hesitation was just a sign of reluctance for his comrades, rather than a complaint. Geng Biao also knows very well that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, diplomacy will be the top priority. The fact that the central government can entrust this important task to him shows its trust.
Just after the Spring Festival, Geng Biao said goodbye to his old comrades in the headquarters and came to Beijing with his family to welcome a new life. After Premier Zhou heard about it, he immediately invited him to his office for talks. At that time, Geng Biao had not seen Zhou Enlai for many years and was very excited to learn the news. The last time they met was at the Military Adjustment Headquarters in Peking. At that time, Premier Zhou was getting thinner from working on state affairs all day long, which left a deep impression on Geng Biao.
But when Geng Biao walked into the Prime Minister's Office, he found that Premier Zhou was full of energy and energy, and was several years younger than before. This is why people are in high spirits during happy events. The founding of New China is the biggest happy event. After the two exchanged greetings and sat down, Premier Zhou got straight to the point: "You are being transferred from the army due to the needs of diplomatic work. You will become one of the first batch of ambassadors of the People's Republic of my country abroad. If you have any opinions, please feel free to raise them."
Geng Biao Wenyan quickly replied: "I resolutely obey orders, but there is one thing. I know nothing about diplomacy, and I have no idea about our country's foreign policy. What should I do?" Premier Zhou smiled and waved his hand: "Can't you learn slowly? Our country's foreign policy can be summed up as: for peace, for independence, and for friendship. Diplomacy focuses on two aspects, alliance and struggle..."
Zhou Enlai told Geng Biao all his experience in diplomacy. A sudden enlightenment.After Geng Biao left, Premier Zhou's theory of "for peace, for independence, and for friendship" has been swirling in his mind. After thinking and fermentation, this became the benchmark for Geng Biao's subsequent diplomatic work, and has since laid the foundation for my country's independent peace. foreign policy.
Soon after, Geng Biao was appointed as China's ambassador to Sweden . He participated in a training class for diplomats organized by the central government and learned various diplomatic etiquette, speaking skills and other professional knowledge. These ambassadors who were transferred from various military units are full of energy. Not only do they study hard in class, but they also quietly observe and study when foreign guests come to visit in private. When
was about to graduate, Chairman Mao personally met with them. Geng Biao was very cordial when he met Chairman Mao. As early as 1939, Geng Biao followed his father to Yan'an. Chairman Mao took his father's hand and said, "We are all fellow Hunan fellows. Welcome to Yan'an." Therefore, Chairman Mao was meeting The first thing he said after arriving in Geng Biao was: "Oh, my fellow countryman is here!" Chairman Mao also said: "Thank you for the watermelon and tiger meat you gave me before. They are both delicious!" After hearing this, Premier Zhou joked "But there is no watermelon or tiger meat for you today, only a glass of water!" Everyone smiled. After everyone sat down, Chairman Mao said humorously: "You are the first batch of ambassadors from New China. Most of them are generals recruited from the army. The generals become ambassadors. Great! What's the best way? First of all, we can rest assured when you go out. Because you won't run away."
Premier Zhou continued with a smile: "Revolutionary soldiers have high political awareness, firm stance, and strong discipline." Everyone nodded. Chairman Mao also asked: "You must pay attention to research and study. Every country and nation has its own advantages. We must learn good things and apply them to domestic construction..."
Chairman Mao answered many questions about diplomacy. , most of the ambassadors felt enlightened and had a deeper understanding of diplomacy. Shortly after the talks, the ambassadors also graduated from the study class, and Geng Biao was also preparing to go to Sweden.
At this moment, China announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Denmark and Finland . Geng Biao was immediately appointed as the minister to the Kingdom of Denmark and the minister to the Republic of Finland. In this way, before Geng Biao took office, he was already holding three positions, and the burden on his shoulders became even heavier.
The Swedish officer asked Geng Biao how many soldiers he had led. Geng Biao replied hundreds of thousands. The officer was shocked: more than the entire Swedish army.
On September 19, 1950, Geng Biao submitted his national flag to King Gustaf V of Sweden. letter, achieving the achievement of submitting credentials for the first time in his diplomatic career. Sweden had good relations with China at the time and was one of the first European countries to recognize New China. But even so, there are some people who look down on the new China.
In October, in accordance with diplomatic practice, Geng Biao held a National Day banquet at the embassy. All Swedish princes, nobles, and celebrities attended, demonstrating their respect for China. But there was an officer, although he was present, he disliked this and that, and was critical of the Chinese food prepared by Geng Biao. Out of politeness, Geng Biao ignored it at first.
But the Swedish officer thought Geng Biao was weak and could be bullied, so he began to push further. He drunkenly interrupted the conversation between Geng Biao and others, and said arrogantly: "I heard that you were a general? How many soldiers did you lead in China? Ten thousand?" Geng Biao sneered when he heard this, I ignore you. Forget it, you are still humiliating yourself.
Geng Biao said: "We, the 19th Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, have three corps, each with 40,000 to 50,000 people. In total, it's probably more than 100,000 people." As soon as these words came out, outsiders' eyes widened. , no one would have thought that the gentlemanly and amiable man standing in front of him could actually command an army of hundreds of thousands.
The drunk Swedish officer was also a bully. When he heard this, he was so frightened that he sobered up. He stood at attention with a "pop" and performed a military salute. He looked at Geng Biao with timid and respectful eyes and said: "The army you command More than the entire army of our country!" Geng Biao responded with a smile: "But I only command myself now." Others were impressed by Geng Biao's humble and humorous words and praised him: "You are a great man from a great country. ambassador.”
Geng Biao has always adhered to a style of conduct in Sweden that is neither humble nor overbearing, and he has convinced others with virtue, making him Sweden’s most famous foreign ambassador and deeply loved and respected by the Swedes. Geng Biao has another contribution in Sweden, which is to successfully persuade Sweden Standing on the same side as China.
After the outbreak of the 1950 War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea , the United States has been putting pressure on European countries and asking them to put pressure on the Chinese ambassador in an attempt to get China to withdraw its troops. Swedish Foreign Minister Anton is one of the brainwashed people. He believed that China was the culprit of the split of Korea, and out of righteous indignation, he called Geng Biao to the office.
Geng Biao didn't know why at that time, but when he arrived, he discovered something strange. Suddenly, there were many guards in the building where the office was located, and they were all loaded with guns and ammunition, and they were menacing. Geng Biao saw this and thought to himself: "Is this the Hongmen Banquet? "But Geng Biao didn't care. He had been fighting in the battlefield of Corpse Mountain and Sea of Blood for many years. This small battle really didn't scare him.
After the two met, there was no politeness in the past, and the settlement was straightforward. Dang said: "China should make peace with the United States, withdraw from the Korean battlefield, and stop obstructing the reunification of Korea. Otherwise we in Sweden do not want to make friends with invaders. "After Geng Biao heard this, he was not angry. He knew something about An Dong and knew that he was relatively simple, so he began to explain patiently.
Geng Biao slowly said that the United States was moved The truth about the Korean War and how China had to The reasons for resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, and emphasizing the goals of the Volunteer Army: to curb aggression and safeguard peace, would be absolutely impossible if China were to compromise with the United States and justice should be compromised with evil.
Geng Biao's words are well-founded, detailed and credible. , the tone was even more impassioned and resounding, making Sweden’s Foreign Minister Anton look ashamed after listening: “With your introduction, I learned a lot about things I didn’t know. It looks like I'm going to revisit this issue. "In the end, Anton sent someone to send Geng Biao back to the ambassador's residence. From then on, Sweden's attitude changed 180 degrees, and it began to criticize the United States and stand on the same position as China. This is all the credit of Ambassador Geng Biao!
ba How did iron become accomplished? Geng Biao did this very important job.
Geng Biao served as the ambassador of Sweden for 6 years, maintaining the friendly relations between China and Sweden and completing the diplomatic mission well. In view of his performance, The central government decided to appoint him as the ambassador of Pakistan . Pakistan is one of the neighboring countries in the western border of my country. It coincides with the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is a great opportunity for China-Pakistan exchanges and strengthening of friendship between the two countries.
This important task falls. On Geng Biao's shoulders. Before taking office, Geng Biao returned to China and was personally visited by Chairman Mao, who solemnly told him: "Pakistan's geographical location is very important connecting West Asia and Southeast Asia. The imperialists regard it as an important means of military encirclement of our country. link, if China and Pakistan are friendly, it will help break this anti-China military encirclement..."
Geng Biao has also been aware of this issue for a long time. He said categorically: "I will work hard to implement the chairman's strategy, and I will definitely be able to open this door. Simon! Chairman Mao nodded with satisfaction: "The long-term friendship between China and Pakistan is beneficial to both sides." "
With Chairman Mao's earnest expectations, Geng Biao came to Pakistan. How to establish an unbreakable friendship with a country? That must rely on sincerity. Among them, Geng Biao did one thing, which is crucial to the development of China-Pakistan friendship. Important.
Once, Geng Biao went to visit Pakistani Prime Minister Suhrawardy. Suhrawardy took the opportunity to say: "The eastern region of our country has suffered severe floods and food shortages. I hope China can help us solve our difficulties. After hearing this, Geng Biao immediately asked, "How much food do you need?" "Surawardi said: "60,000 tons of rice is enough, but I hope it can be more favorable. "
Geng Biao nodded and said: "I will report this request to my superiors. You don't have to worry. China treats people with sincerity and we will never sit back and watch our friends' difficulties. "Back at the embassy, Geng Biao discussed with his colleagues. Someone immediately expressed objections: "Our country is also short of food, so how can we give them any extra discounts? Geng Biao retorted: "You can never make friends by adding flowers to the cake, but you can have a solid friendship by providing help in times of need.""
In the end, Geng Biao asked Premier Zhou for instructions and sold 60,000 tons of rice to Pakistan at a preferential price, and gave an additional 4,000 tons, as well as a large amount of flour. When Pakistani Prime Minister Suhrawardy learned about it, he was very moved and held Geng Biao tightly. His hand refused to let go.
Because the United States also provided some flour at that time, and the words "US Aid" were printed on the pockets, So Suhrawardi suggested that China's aid should also be printed with "China Aid", but Geng Biao refused. He said: “Our assistance to Pakistan is based on the friendship between the Chinese and Pakistani peoples and sympathy for the disaster-stricken people in East Pakistan, and is not for the sake of fame and reputation. "
In the end, China's aid supplies were only printed with the word "China", which immediately detonated public opinion in Pakistan. When many newspapers and periodicals reported on the matter, they unanimously praised China's aid for "no political purpose" and "extremely sincere", and said that "Pakistan The people will always remember this." Geng Biao's small change saved China-Pakistan friendship from decades of detours.
Geng Biao insisted on "giving timely help" and finally received rewards. Due to my country's cotton production Insufficient, large quantities of high-quality cotton are imported from Pakistan every year. But one year, the price of cotton exported by Pakistan increased, which had a huge impact on our country's textile industry, so the central government hoped that the embassy in Pakistan could help solve this matter.
So Geng Biao. I personally came to Pakistan’s foreign trade department to negotiate, but unexpectedly it went very smoothly. The Pakistani foreign trade official said: “We are willing to give our friends preferential prices. "In the end, all the cotton exported by Pakistan to China was reduced to the original price. You gave me a favor and I reciprocated, and China-Pakistan relations gradually became closer and closer. And the mastermind behind all this was It was Ambassador Geng Biao.
He dared to speak ill of Albania , but Chairman Mao said: He is a good ambassador.
After returning from Pakistan, Geng Biao successively served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to Myanmar , and Ambassador to Albania, continuing to pioneer the development of China. His diplomatic career also established the lofty demeanor of the older generation of diplomats. Especially when he served as ambassador to Albania, Geng Biao dared to tell the truth and said "no", eliminating a "white-eyed wolf" in China's diplomacy
Albania. It is a small country located in southeastern Europe and southwest of the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Greece to the south, Macedonia to the east, and Italy across the sea. It has an important geographical location. In the 1970s, it dominated the world. Albania has always supported our country in the struggle for socialism. Chairman Mao praised Albania as a "beacon of European socialism." The friendly relations between China and Albania are beneficial to the international struggle against imperialism, revisionism, and hegemony. He emphasized: “China-Afghanistan relations are very good. Afghanistan is one of the key countries in my country’s diplomacy and must be treated with caution. "
Geng Biao suddenly had a sense of perspective. After arriving in Albania, Geng Biao received a warm welcome. During the welcome banquet, Albania praised our country and repeatedly claimed that "we are the most friendly brotherly country." Geng Biao followed He had never seen such enthusiasm before, and he noticed something was wrong.
After the banquet, Geng Biao ordered his people to find all the documents about Albania in the embassy and read them all night long. Suddenly, no wonder Albania is so enthusiastic. It turns out that China has been taken advantage of!
According to the data, China has been providing Albania with military and economic assistance since 1954. Even though our country is not rich, it has plundered more than 90%. We must know that the population of Afghanistan is only 2 million. On average, one person can get more than 4,000 yuan. The fertilizer factory assisted by my country has an annual output of 200,000 tons, and an average of 400 kilograms of fertilizer is used for one hectare of land in China, which is dozens of fertilizers used in my country’s cultivated land. Not to mention the military aspect, the amount of aid is astronomical.
But in the eyes of Albanian leaders, this seems to be a matter of course. The first secretary of the Labor Party Hoxha once said. He said to the incoming ambassador: "What you have, we also have, and what you don't have, we also have. We ask for your help, just like a younger brother asking for help from his elder brother."If we don’t ask for it from our brother, who else can we ask for it from? "
Taking into account China-Afghanistan relations, China can only tighten its belt to provide assistance. Someone once asked the Afghan President Shehu : "You have taken so many things from China, when are you going to pay them back? Xiehu said directly: "I have never thought about paying it back." "When Chinese leaders visited Algeria, Xiehu kept asking for things. One moment he asked China to aid steel, the other moment he asked China to aid machinery, and the next moment he asked China to aid offshore oil fields.
China has always treated them sincerely, But how does Algeria treat China? In terms of economic construction, they are greedy for perfection and want to be on par with developed countries. But if they don't work hard, they always ask China to pay for the TV station, and they also say that they will wait for the whole country. After electricity was introduced, every village had a TV. At that time, even Beijing and Shanghai had very few TVs.
There were many unrealistic ideas among Albanian leaders, and China helped them establish textile industries. factory, but they had no cotton, so they asked China to use foreign exchange to buy cotton and give it to them. As a result, they made it into clothes and sold it to China to make money from the Chinese.
There is also a Chinese-aided fertilizer factory. The leader of Algeria actually did it. They refused to use machines produced in China and asked to use Italian cash machines. Our country bought them, but they broke down soon after. The leader of Algeria asked to buy new ones. This matter was handled by Geng Biao, but Geng Biao directly refused.
Albania also does not cherish China's frugal aid. They used all the high-quality steel pipes aided by my country to make roadside telephone poles, and the aided cement and steel bars were used to build more than 10,000 martyrs' monuments. The fertilizers we donated were randomly thrown on the road and rotted away.
When this scene appeared in Geng Biao's eyes, he was angry. It is necessary to provide aid to friendly countries, but it should be done according to our ability, like A country. The response-to-request aid law is a bottomless pit, which not only aggravates our country's economic difficulties, but also easily develops the laziness of the country. Geng Biao thought about it again and again, and decided to report it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Qiao Guanhua, the deputy minister in charge of European affairs, wrote a letter explaining the situation in Albania and suggesting reconsideration of the aid, scale and methods to Albania. This news quickly reached Chairman Mao, who praised it highly: " Geng Biao dares to tell the truth and reflect the real situation, and is a good ambassador.
Later, Vice Premier Li Xiannian also praised Geng Biao: "Geng Biao is so courageous. He dared to speak ill of Albania. He was the first person to raise such an opinion." "
The central government attached great importance to Geng Biao's opinions and re-examined and evaluated Albania's aid. Later, the problem was properly resolved. Fortunately, Ambassador Geng Biao had the courage to speak out and refuse, which saved China from a large amount of economic losses and recognized that The true face of a country has been revealed...
Conclusion
After Geng Biao resigned as the Ambassador of Albania, he successively served as Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Vice Premier of the State Council, Member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission, Minister of Defense , State Councilor and other important positions. He also presided over the formulation of the "Central Committee of the Communist Party of my country" The Military Commission's Plan for Streamlining and Reorganization.
Geng Biao was awarded the First Class Red Star Medal of Honor of the People's Liberation Army in 1988. He died in Beijing at the age of 91.
He lived and died for the revolution and spent the rest of his life devoted to China. There is no doubt that he was a great man. I would like to commemorate him with this article and pay tribute to him!
