In April 1978, a serious accident occurred in the Chinese Navy. A destroyer , the South China Sea Fleet, sank in Zhanjiang . Deng Xiaoping, then vice chairman of the Military Commission , severely criticized Navy political commissar Su Zhenhua , saying that the navy should strengthen rectification.
To be honest, Su Zhenhua really needs to bear certain responsibility for this accident. However, Hua Guofeng, then chairman of the Military Commission, also appeased Su Zhenhua and said: "I will visit North Korea recently. After returning from the visit, I will go to Dalian to inspect the navy and support you."
After learning about this, Su Zhenhua attached great importance to it and immediately convened relevant persons in charge of the navy for discussion, saying that Chairman Hua would inspect the navy next month and immediately prepare immediately. The location is set in Dalian, and Yang Guoyu is required to make specific arrangements.
Yang Guoyu is the chief of staff of the Navy . When he learned the news, he immediately raised objections, believing that the naval parade was a major event. The naval commander Xiao Jinguang should be informed. According to regulations, he should also report to the Military Commission and the General Staff. Unexpectedly, Su Zhenhua said:
"No need to report to the General Staff. This is my personal report to Chairman Hua, and Chairman Hua approved it in person."
Then, Yang Guoyu came to the residence of commander Xiao Jinguang and reported the matter. Xiao Jinguang agreed to the naval parade, but considering that the naval parade was a major event, it was necessary to make a formal report to the Military Commission.
However, as the chief of staff of the Navy, Yang Guoyu cannot report directly to Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Deng Xiaoping, because his level is not enough.
So, who should Yang Guoyu report this matter to first?
This person is Luo Ruiqing.
Luo Ruiqing was a founding general. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as Minister of Public Security and Vice Premier of the State Council. At that time, Luo Ruiqing's position was Secretary-General of the Military Commission, responsible for the daily work of the Military Commission.
For this reason, Yang Guoyu came to 301 Hospital and met Secretary-General Luo, and reported on the review plan. After learning about this, Luo Ruiqing thought for a long time. In fact, Luo Ruiqing did not agree to the inspection activity.
First of all, not long ago, the Navy had just had a major accident. If this operation cannot be guaranteed to be safe, the impact will be bad.
Secondly, Dalian is relatively close to countries such as the Soviet Union, Japan, South Korea, etc., and holding major review activities here may have adverse international impacts.
Luo Ruiqing also considered the national interests and was relatively objective and fair. Therefore, Luo Ruiqing reported to Deng Xiaoping, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission: "They have mobilized 70 warships , and more than 20 aircraft. Such a large action was decided by Hua Guofeng without the Military Commission, and it may have adverse effects internationally."
When Deng Xiaoping learned about this and learned about Luo Ruiqing's ideas, he also made more careful considerations. Considering the international influence and national interests, Deng Xiaoping supported Luo Ruiqing. In the end, the naval review was cancelled.
Then, at the enlarged meeting of the Navy Party Committee, Deng Xiaoping mentioned this matter specifically and said:
"The Navy has had a big bad thing. It is a bad idea to conduct a large naval exercise. It is a bad idea, politically wrong, and the starting point is also incorrect. Comrade Luo Ruiqing handled this point well. Luo Ruiqing talked about this issue, and I agree with his opinion to stop it. "
Objectively speaking, the naval review activities are indeed a big event for a country, and the review activities may have a certain impact on international relations. Therefore, it must be comprehensively measured. Therefore, in this matter, it is indeed a very rare thing that Luo Ruiqing can consider from the perspective of overall situation and national interests.
