Geng Biao is a famous general in our army. During the war years, he fought bravely and made many achievements. After the founding of New China, he took up the diplomatic post. He served successively as the Chinese ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, minister to Denmark and Finland, and ambassador to Pakistan. Therefore, he is also known as the "general ambassador".
Geng Biao
After the "movement" broke out in 1966, Geng Biao experienced an extraordinary test in the past 10 years.
At the beginning of 1967, Geng Biao, who was then ambassador to Myanmar, was ordered to return home, and then suffered a shock. It was not until the end of 1968 that Geng Biao was "liberated" under the interference and supervision of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. In 1969, Geng Biao was elected as a member of the CPC Central Committee at the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and soon became China's ambassador to Albania.
Albania can be said to be the most "loyal" ally of China at that time. In a series of international struggles, Albania has always firmly supported China. When China resumed its legitimate seat in the United Nations in 1971, it received the support of 23 countries led by Albania. Therefore, Albania is praised by China as "a socialist beacon" in Europe.
But when Geng Biao went to Albania to work, he found that China's assistance to Albania had a big problem. Unlike Western aid, China's foreign aid was provided under the circumstances of its own economic difficulties. Geng Biao once recalled that:
Since 1954, our economic and military assistance to Afghanistan has amounted to nearly 9 billion yuan. The total population of Afghanistan is 2 million, with an average of more than 4000 yuan per person, which is not a small number. The fertilizer plant we have helped Afghanistan has an annual output of 200000 tons, with an average of 400 kilograms per hectare, which is far more than the amount of fertilizer used in rural farmland in China.
Geng Biao Visits
Albanian leaders have also said to Geng Biao many times: "If you have, we should also have. We ask you for help, just like a brother asks his brother for help."
After investigation, Geng Biao also found that the Albanian side wasted a lot of aid from China: the poles on the roads in Albania were made of high-quality steel pipes with Chinese assistance, and they built martyr monuments everywhere with cement and steel bars with Chinese assistance. More than 10000 monuments were built across the country. The fertilizer that China has helped is piled up in the ground in disorder, leaving it exposed to the sun and rain
Geng Biao was very distressed by this phenomenon. He believed that such assistance to Afghanistan was a bottomless pit for China, which aggravated China's economic difficulties; For the Afghan side, it can only develop their lazy habit of opening their mouth to food and reaching out for clothes, as well as their dependence on foreign aid, which will not help their economic construction.
Geng Biao decided to write a letter to the Central Committee and suggested that Albania should not be assisted indefinitely. You should know that under the conditions at that time, it was risky to write such a letter. As early as 1962, Wang Jiaxiang was criticized by Mao Zedong because he proposed that "foreign assistance should be practical and realistic, and act according to his ability".
Later, Li Xiannian read Geng Biao's letter and said to him, "Geng Biao, you are brave enough to say 'bad words' about Albania
Li Xiannian
After reading Geng Biao's letter, Mao Zedong was not angry. Instead, he praised him and said, "Geng Biao is a good ambassador who dares to tell the truth and reflects the real situation." Geng Biao's opinion was finally adopted by the Central Committee, and some established strategies for China's foreign aid work also changed accordingly.
In January 1971, Geng Biao returned to China for recuperation due to illness. Shortly afterwards, he was nominated by Zhou Enlai and transferred to the post of Minister of Foreign Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. After taking office, Geng Biao first liberated many veteran cadres and gradually restored the organizational structure of the Central Committee.
At that time, the Foreign Language and Culture Bureau was under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Jiang Qing liked photography, so she sent someone to inform the Foreign Language and Culture Bureau and requested that a page be set aside in each issue of the People's Pictorial (edited and published by the foreign language publishing house affiliated to the Foreign Language and Culture Bureau) to exclusively publish her photographic works.
Jiang Qing
After the Foreign Languages Bureau reported the matter to Geng Biao, Geng Biao thought: The People's Pictorial is one of the important propaganda positions of the Party, and it is translated into various foreign languages and distributed to all countries in the world. It represents the image of the country to the outside world, so it must not be turned into a personal "garden"! So he said directly to the comrades in charge of the Foreign Culture and Culture Bureau, "No, we can't set this precedent!"
When Jiang Qing saw that one plan failed, she took another one. She sent a dozen books to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. These books were mainly her own speeches and commentaries. According to the unwritten practice at that time, the units that received the books from Jiang Qing had to hold a meeting to celebrate and write a thank-you letter to her. Jiang Qing hoped to win Geng Biao over by this means.
But after receiving these books, Geng Biao simply said, "Don't care about them, just put them there."
A few days later, the Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a general meeting. Geng Biao, who was sitting on the stage and presided over the meeting, only preached the central documents, but did not mention the book presented by Jiang Qing. Geng Biao was sent a note by a kind-hearted comrade below the stage to remind him that he had better make a statement at the meeting. Geng Biao then said, "Just now someone sent a note to remind me that I didn't thank Jiang Qing for giving books. There are so many people who send books to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. How can they thank everyone? As for learning, we are now mainly studying Chairman Mao's works and central documents. Anyone who wants to read these books can take them. "
Geng Biao
Geng Biao's several "non cooperation" completely offended Jiang Qing. She was determined to show Geng Biao some "color". At a Spring Festival reunion meeting attended by the central leadership, Jiang Qing shook hands with all the leaders one by one, but when she walked in front of Geng Biao, she did not shake hands, but gave Geng Biao a hard look. Geng Biao held his head high and glared back at Jiang Qing.
After Jiang Qing left, Li Xiannian asked Geng Biao, "I found that Jiang Qing didn't shake hands with you. What's the reason?"
Geng Biao told Li Xiannian about the People's Pictorial and Jiang Qing's book delivery. Li Xiannian smiled and said, "You are a brave person, but you should be careful about her!" Geng Biao smiled carelessly.
After the death of Mao Zedong on September 9, 1976, Geng Biao, like the people of the whole country, paid close attention to the future of the revolution and China's future, but at this time he did not know that Hua Guofeng, Ye Jianying and other veteran comrades were also considering ways to solve the problem of the Gang of Four.
At 2:00 p.m. on October 4, Hua Guofeng called Geng Biao and asked him to come to his home. After Geng Biao went to Hua Guofeng's home, Hua Guofeng told him about the Gang of Four. Just in the middle of the conversation, Geng Biao said, "I will do whatever you assign!"
Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng smiled: "It hasn't been studied yet. How do you know you will be given a task?"
Geng Biao said with a smile, "I have noticed it."
Hua Guofeng then came straight to the point: "Well, stay at home these days and don't leave. Always keep in touch with me on the phone. You can't believe my secretary or others calling. Only I call myself. You recognize my voice, and you talk again. Do you understand?"
Geng Biao understood: "Got it!"
Since then, Geng Biao has been waiting anxiously in front of the phone at home. On the evening of October 6, the phone at Geng Biao's home finally rang. The strong Shanxi accent came from the other end of the phone: "Do you recognize my voice?"
Geng Biao certainly knew that this was Hua Guofeng's voice. He said excitedly, "I can hear it. Will you come now?"
Hua Guofeng said, "Come directly to Huairen Hall."
Geng Biao then drove directly to Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai. At this time, Hua Guofeng, Ye Jianying and others were waiting in the conference room. Hua Guofeng excitedly said to Geng Biao, "We have just arrested Wang, Zhang, Jiang and Yao for isolation and review. Now we send you to the Broadcasting Bureau. We should quickly control the Central Radio and TV stations. No mistakes should be made, or the consequences would be unimaginable. Deputy Commander Qiu Weigao of the Beijing Garrison will go with you. "
Ye Jianying also told Geng Biao: "We should prevent chaos, prevent leakage of secrets, and pay attention to safety."
At this time, Hua Guofeng asked Geng Biao, "Do you want to bring a pistol?"
Geng Biao replied, "You don't need to carry a gun, just your warrant."
Hua Guofeng immediately wrote a warrant to Deng Gang, Director of the Central Broadcasting Bureau:
Comrade Deng Gang:
In order to strengthen the leadership over radio and television, the Central Committee decided to send Geng Biao and Qiu Weigao. You should accept their leadership and ask them directly for instructions.
Hua Guofeng
October 6th
At 9:50 that evening, Geng Biao selected 20 soldiers from the police force, led them personally, and quickly took control of the Broadcasting Bureau, radio and television stations.
When Geng Biao entered Deng Gang's office, Deng Gang was working. When he saw Geng Biao bringing people in, he felt puzzled. Geng Biao then handed Hua Guofeng's warrant to Deng Gang and said to him, "I came here under orders to strengthen the leadership of the radio station."
Deng Gang immediately understood what had happened. Geng Biao asked him again, "Do you want to call? You can ask Yao Wenyuan for instructions. The phone is right here. Do you want to call?"
Deng Gang said decisively: "I don't call, I have nothing to ask for instructions."
Then Geng Biao carried out the following specific arrangements:
One is to control the key parts of the radio station, such as the broadcast room, machine room, commanding heights, etc., and strengthen the sentry and verification;
The second is to maintain the stability of the radio station order, tighten the inside and loosen the outside, and do not let others see the abnormality;
The third is to ensure the safety of all personnel stationed;
The fourth is to educate the garrison and require the soldiers to be absolutely loyal to the Party Central Committee.
After the arrangement, Geng Biao called all the members of the Party Committee of the Central People's Broadcasting Station to a meeting
The reason why Geng Biao asked so was to prevent the news of the arrest of the Gang of Four from leaking out, and to prevent people from finding any abnormal phenomenon in the broadcast programs.
In the next 10 days, Geng Biao set up a marching bed in Deng Gang's office. He worked here during the day and rested here at night. He didn't take off his clothes and shoes during the first three days of sleep, and was ready to deal with emergencies at any time.
On October 18, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) issued a notice to the whole party on smashing the Gang of Four. In this special battle, Geng Biao played a great role!
