Introduction: In December 1973, a major event occurred in the history of our country's military, that is, the exchange of commanders of the eight military regions. The occurrence of this incident caused great repercussions at the time, and people also speculated about it. Now, nearly fifty years have passed since this incident. When we look back at that period of history, we may be able to see more clearly the complex struggle situation at home and abroad at that time.
The war is about to break out
In the 1960s, disputes over border territories between my country and the Soviet Union intensified. Although the two sides conducted many negotiations from February to August 1964, they did not make any substantial progress.
After the negotiations between the two parties broke down, the Soviet army entered the Mongolian Republic. At that time, the Soviet Union deployed a total of about 700,000 troops on its border and the Mongolian Republic, aiming directly at China.
The Soviet military actions put Chairman Mao under tremendous pressure. In the five years from 1964 to 1969, there were more than 4,000 border disputes provoked by the Soviet Union. At this time, the number of troops deployed by the Soviet Union also increased from 700,000 to 1.14 million.
At the same time, the Soviet Union continued to hold large-scale military exercises and regarded China as an imaginary enemy, ready to launch war at any time.
In 1969, the Zhenbao Island conflict broke out between the two sides, in which both sides suffered casualties. Chairman Mao also raised the issue of "preparing for war" at the Central Committee meeting.
At that time, the Central Military Commission also estimated the danger of a large-scale war and believed that the Soviet Union was likely to launch a surprise attack during the National Day.
At that time, most of the planes at the Beijing Airport were evacuated, barriers were set up at the airport, and airport staff were equipped with weapons. In accordance with Chairman Mao's instructions, in order to cope with the Soviet Union's possible nuclear attack on Beijing, many leading comrades in Beijing were dispersed throughout the country, and the country entered a state of war.
This state lasted until the early 1980s, but it is still difficult for us to predict when the war will occur and how it will occur.
20th Anniversary of the National Day
For this reason, as the commander of each major military region, it is necessary to be familiar with the situation in each theater across the country. This is one of the reasons for the exchange of commanders among the eight major military regions.
Never allow guns to command the party
After the founding of New China, Chairman Mao has always attached great importance to the construction of the army, and is also very concerned about the trends of direct leadership of the army. He has also been holding the post of chairman of the Central Military Commission concurrently. Regarding major issues of the army, They are also required to report directly to him.
But even so, the actual process of military construction has become increasingly complex. Chairman Mao once said:
"Our principle is that the party commands the gun , and the gun will never be allowed to command the party... Everything in Yan'an is made from the barrel of the gun. Everything comes from the barrel of the gun."
In a conversation between Chairman Mao and Wang Dongxing, he said:
"Our army is not so pure, and there are factions in the army! ... I don't know if you believe it? If you don't believe it, I believe it. Our army has often used it for decades. Someone is causing trouble."
It can be seen that Chairman Mao was very concerned about some situations that occurred in the army, which was also a psychological factor in his final decision to exchange the commanders of the eight military regions in 1973.
The direct cause of this swap was the "September 13" incident caused by Lin Biao's attempt to seize power in 1971.
After this incident happened, it was also a big blow to Chairman Mao. By 1973, Chairman Mao was already 80 years old and his health was deteriorating. The idea of laying a good foundation for the next generation of leaders became more and more obvious.
At that time, Lin Biao had been in charge of military work for more than ten years, and the damage to military construction had been very serious. According to Chairman Mao's instructions, Ye Jianying began to reorganize the army.
Ye Jianying believes that the leadership of the army must be in the hands of reliable people, and the leadership team of the army is the "superstructure" of the army. Therefore, it is necessary to pay close attention to the ideological and political education of the military leadership team, and to educate the military leadership The team made organizational adjustments.
These ideas of reorganizing the army were also approved by Chairman Mao.
The decision was made
In March 1973, Deng Xiaoping, who had spent three years of "reform" in Jiangxi, resumed his position as Vice Premier of the State Council with the efforts of Zhou Enlai and others, and was elected in August Central committee member for .
At this time, Chairman Mao paid more attention to Deng Xiaoping and trained him as Zhou Enlai's successor. During a work report, Chairman Mao mentioned that the commanders of the major military regions had not been transferred for a long time, and asked Deng Xiaoping what he thought.
After careful consideration, Deng Xiaoping changed the teacup in front of him and the teacup in front of Chairman Mao.
Chairman Mao smiled after seeing it and said:
"Heroes see the same thing."
In December 1973, Chairman Mao convened a Politburo meeting. Those attending the meeting noticed that Deng Xiaoping, who was not yet a member of the Politburo at the time, also appeared at the meeting.
The atmosphere of this meeting was tense from the beginning. Chairman Mao first criticized the work of the Military Commission and the Political Bureau, and then he softened his tone and said:
"I have thought about it for a long time. The commander of the military region still transferred Once adjusted."
Then he said to Ye Jianying:
"You agree, I agree with your opinion. I spoke to the Prime Minister first, and he also agreed."
Then Chairman Mao continued:
"It won't work if one person works in one place for a long time. It will burn out after working for a long time!"
This sentence means that the commanders of large military regions stay in one place for more than 20 years, which is a long time. There may be negative factors.
At the end of the meeting, Chairman Mao announced another important decision, deciding to appoint Deng Xiaoping, who had just come back from the army, as the Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army.
In this way, in this meeting, two important decisions in the history of our country's military were decided. One is the exchange of commanders of the eight military regions, and the other is Deng Xiaoping's appointment as Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army.
Replacement of Commanders of Eight Military Regions
According to the decision of this Politburo meeting, a meeting on the exchange of commanders of eight military regions was subsequently held. At this meeting, Chairman Mao also met with 46 senior generals of the military region.
When meeting these generals, Chairman Mao first asked about the physical condition of several veteran generals, and everyone replied that they were in good health. After hearing this, Chairman Mao said with emotion:
" There are not many people going up and down Jinggangshan !"
These are the old revolutionaries who went to Jinggangshan with Chairman Mao. When I saw them, many old things from that year were probably came to Chairman Mao's mind again.
Tian Weixin
Afterwards, Chairman Mao exchanged a few words with the younger Tian Weixin, and then suddenly said to him:
"The General Political Department will be handed over to you!"
Hearing this, Tian Weixin Without reacting for a while, he said:
"Comrade Desheng has left, and I am the only deputy director of the General Administration. It is necessary for me to continue to work in the General Administration. Please appoint the director."
Chairman Mao was very sure. It is said that he should be the director. However, this decision was shelved due to subsequent objections from some people.
Afterwards, Chairman Mao talked with several other generals one by one. After the meeting, these generals held a group discussion and everyone expressed their approval of the central government's decision.
Two days after the meeting, Chairman Mao officially announced the transfer orders:
Beijing Military Region Commander Li Desheng and Shenyang Military Region Commander Chen Xilian were swapped; Jinan Military Region Commander Yang Dezhi and Wuhan Military Region Commander Zeng Siyu were swapped; Xu Shiyou, commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and Ding Sheng, commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, were exchanged; Han Xianchu, commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, and Pi Dingjun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, were exchanged.
In fact, there were a total of 11 major military regions in our country at that time. In addition to the eight exchanged, there were Xinjiang Military Region , Chengdu Military Region and Kunming Military Region. The commanders of the three military regions were not swapped. Because the commanders of these three military regions have served for a relatively short time, they are not included in this exchange.
After the transfer order was issued, Chairman Mao demanded that the commanders of each military region must arrive at their new posts within ten days.
After receiving the order, the commanders of each military region did not delay at all. Each of them brought only less than ten staff members, and then quickly arrived at their new jobs.
This important exchange of commanders of the eight military regions was successfully completed.
Epilogue
In general, this exchange of orders between the military region commanders is a major event in the history of our military. The issuance of this order was a decision made by Chairman Mao after a long period of deliberation based on the complex domestic and foreign situations at that time. It was a major measure to govern the country and the army.
Later practice also proved that Chairman Mao's important decision at that time effectively guaranteed the Party Central Committee's absolute leadership over the military, stabilized the political situation at the time, and provided a good example for future exchanges between senior military generals.
