After the founding of New China, our military was faced with the new requirements of "regularization and modernization" and needed to introduce advanced systems from abroad. However, in the process of learning Xi foreign systems, there have been some bad tendencies of swallowing dates, imitating mechanically, and even blindly worshipping and despising one's own traditions. For example, the Soviet military system introduced by our army has some rules and regulations that obviously do not conform to oriental etiquette and the history of our army. In the past, the ceremony of recruiting recruits was to take an oath to the party flag and the military flag, but now the officers and soldiers are required to kneel down to the military flag and kiss the corner of the military flag, which is very awkward and nondescript in the eyes of the Orientals. The Soviet army's strict concept of hierarchy made our officers and men feel uncomfortable, and they excessively displayed the status of officers, showing serious hierarchical differentiation from wearing military uniforms to dining, and these things, which obviously violated the equality of our officers and men, were unconditionally introduced by some units as "advanced experience," which aroused the dissatisfaction of some veteran comrades. One day in 1955, Mr. He came to Qingdao Naval Academy to inspect, accompanied by the leaders of the military academy and Soviet instructors and military advisers.
When it was time to eat, Mr. He found that the huge dining room was empty, accompanied only by the leading cadres of the school and a group of Soviet advisers, and everyone was sitting in a precarious position, waiting respectfully for Mr. He to sit down. Mr. He was a little unhappy, he looked out the window and found that the students were squatting on the ground in a circle to eat, although it was uncomfortable, but everyone was talking and laughing, and they were very happy. Mr. He looked out the window and suddenly made a move that surprised everyone, especially the Soviet advisers—picked up the rice bowl, walked out, and squatted on the ground with the students to eat. The cadres of the military academy and the Soviet advisers were dumbfounded, standing in the cafeteria, not eating, not eating. At this time, someone quietly came to Mr. He and invited him back to the restaurant for dinner, Mr. He said: "Look, why are the students eating so happily, I also want to eat with them!."After Mr. He finished the meal with the students, he said without hesitation: "I will never go back, I am dissatisfied with their approach." Learning Xi is mutual, we have to learn Xi their strengths, and they have to learn Xi our strengths.
Today, I want to show them the glorious traditions of our army!Mr. He squatted down with the students to dine together, just as he did with the soldiers back then. As a matter of fact, treating officers and soldiers as equals is precisely the good tradition of our army, and it is also the key factor for our army to continue to grow and develop and eventually achieve victory. Mr. He is leading by example and practicing this tradition. In that year, Mr. He led the Red Second Army to the Hunan-Hubei border area to establish a revolutionary base area. The conditions there were difficult, the Red Army lacked food and clothing, and there was not even salt. One day, the chef finally managed to get a small piece of salt the size of a fingertip, which was used to stir-fry vegetables for Mr. He to eat. However, Mr. He stopped his chopsticks after tasting it, poured the dish into the soldier's cauldron, and said to the cook: "We are a revolutionary army, everyone eats with salt, and everyone eats without salt!"In this way, a little salt was integrated into the cauldron, although the taste was not strong, but everyone deeply felt the care of Mr. He, and strengthened their determination to follow him to make a revolution.
In addition, once, an old man saw that Mr. He was wearing straw sandals and his feet were worn out, so he asked his wife to make a pair of cloth shoes for Mr. He. Although Mr. He was grateful for the kindness of the old man, he resolutely refused to accept it, and the old man had to secretly hide the cloth shoes under Mr. He's pillow. After Mr. He found out, he asked the orderly to immediately return the cloth shoes to the old man, but the orderly pointed to the blood blisters on Mr. He's feet and said: "Commander, you are busy before and after, running around all day long, your feet are painful and swollen, and the soldiers are distressed when they see it, so you can wear these cloth shoes!."Mr. He said: "Although the conditions of our Red Army are difficult, it has strong combat effectiveness. This is due to the unity of officers and men who bear hardships together. As a military commander, I should lead by example and not be specialized. Mr. He was still unsatisfied, and said to the orderly: "When the revolution is victorious, everyone will put on good shoes, and we can't forget the spirit of straw sandals today!"At the insistence of Mr. He, the orderly had no choice but to return the cloth shoes to the old man, who was moved to tears, saying that he had lived most of his life and had never seen such an officer.
Our army has always adhered to a glorious tradition, and there is only a distinction between officers and men in terms of their positions, but there is no difference in treatment. All officers and soldiers are dressed in uniform and enjoy the same diet, and no one will receive special treatment. This practice has ensured that our army has always maintained a strong cohesion and combat effectiveness.