Reading guide:Among the founding generals, Xiao Jinguang is the person who has studied and worked the longest time by the chairman's side except for Tan Zheng (who served as the chairman's personal secretary), and has won the cultivation and love of the chairman.
In December 1949, in order to unify the management of the gradually increasing number of navies and ships throughout the country and accelerate the modernization of the PLA system, it was decided to form a PLA naval force. When it came to choosing a candidate for the commander of the Navy, the chairman was a force to disagree with the publicdirectly appointed Xiao Jinguang as the commander of the navy.
Xiao Jinguang, a native of Changsha, Hunan, studied in Changsha Changjun Middle School in his early years, began to participate in revolutionary activities, and later joined the Russian Research Society founded by the chairman, and was sent to the first work-study program. After returning to China in 1924, he participated in the Northern Expedition, and later joined the Red Army, where he served as political commissar of the Red 5th Army Corps and chief of staff of the Red Army Rear Command.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the commander of the left-behind corps of the Eighth Route Army, and led the troops to be responsible for protecting the safety of the chairman and Yan'an. From the arrival of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War for nearly ten years, Xiao Jinguang has been working and studying beside the chairman, and under the chairman's care and teaching, his ideological and military command ability has made rapid progress.
During the Liberation War, Xiao Jinguang was the commander of the 1st Corps of Siye (later changed to the 12th Corps), participated in the battles of Liaoshen, Pingjin, and crossing the river, all the way from the white mountains and black waters in the northeast to Wuhan and Changsha along the Yangtze River.
Before becoming the commander of the Navy, he was serving as the commander of the Hunan Military Region, and after receiving the order of **, Xiao Jinguang was not very surprised, because before the official order was issued, the chairman had called him to Beijing for a talk, and the content was related to the formation of the PLA Navy.
After the conversation, the chairman invited Xiao Jinguang to have dinner together, and during the banquet, the chairman revealed to him:"** Ready to appoint you as commander of the Navy. ”Xiao Jinguang was a little surprised by this and asked:"I can't swim, I'm a landlubber, how can I be a naval commander. ”
Xiao Jinguang went on to say that he had participated in the revolution for more than 20 years and had been leading troops to fight on land, and had never had experience in water combat, let alone the navy. The only time I took a boat was when I was studying in the Soviet Union, I visited a naval exercise and took a **, but I found that I still had seasickness, and I haven't been on a boat since.
Listening to Xiao Jinguang's words, the chairman said with a smile"The current commander of the Air Force, Liu Yalou, is airsick, and the future commander of the Navy is seasick, it seems that this is the policy of the PLA to appoint cadres, and to rush ducks to the shelves. ”
Since he is the commander of the navy appointed by the chairman, Xiao Jinguang did not say anything, and after returning to Hunan to hand over the work, he took up his post at the newly established naval command. Although he doesn't understand the navy, after all, he is a high-achieving student who has studied in the Soviet Union, and after Xiao Jinguang took office, he quickly entered the working state and arranged the navy work in an orderly manner.
In 1950, shortly after the establishment of the Qingdao Navy Base, the chairman came to Qingdao for a meeting, and wanted to learn about the situation of naval construction in his spare time, so he came to Xiao Jinguang's house one evening. At that time, it was already time to get off work, but Xiao Jinguang was still working on the documents in his hand when he returned home, and he didn't know that the chairman would suddenly come to the house as a guest.
When the chairman entered the courtyard with his personal guards, he saw that there was no one, so he shouted into the house"Commander Xiao is not at home, I want to eat! ”Hearing the shouts outside, Xiao Jinguang walked out of the house to inspect the situation, and when he saw that it was the chairman, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.
It was too sudden, Xiao Jinguang was not prepared for the chairman's arrival at all, especially after learning that the chairman was going to have dinner at his house, he replied embarrassedly: "I didn't know that the chairman was coming, and there was no meal prepared at home." Seeing that Xiao Jinguang was a little nervous, the chairman said jokingly: "I did a surprise attack, I don't blame you, as long as you can fill your stomach, you can eat anything." ”
After inviting the chairman into the house, Xiao Jinguang took the opportunity to ask his guard if the chairman really didn't have dinner. The guard whispered to him: "The chairman decided to come here after the meeting today, and no one was notified in advance, and he really planned to have dinner at Commander Xiao's house." ”
Seeing the two muttering quietly, the chairman on the side was not in a hurry, and said to Xiao Jinguang:"Whatever you want, I'll eat whatever you eat at night, preferably with chili!" Before dinner, let's talk about the work of the Navy! ”
In fact, the chairman also knew that the visit was a bit sudden, and this was deliberately preparing dinner for Xiao Jinguang. Xiao Jinguang understood that this was the chairman's trust and care for him, and immediately asked his family and staff to start preparing dinner, and he went to report to the chairman about the work of naval construction.
After Xiao Jinguang's careful planning and multi-faceted campaigning, although it was only established for a few months, the navy has built a series of military schools, including aviation schools, artillery schools, speedboat schools, and submarine schools, laying a solid foundation for the navy to train talents in the future.
After listening to the report, the chairman instructed that in addition to cultivating talents, the navy's equipment is also very important. At present, we do not have the ability to build**, we need to learn more advanced shipbuilding technology from the Soviet Union, and if necessary, we can buy some ships to meet the daily training and coastal patrol tasks of the navy.
For ***'s proposals, Xiao Jinguang kept them all in mind. After the meal was ready, Xiao Jinguang and the chairman chatted while eating, the meal was very simple, but the chairman ate it very tastefully, and praised it again and again. In fact, the chairman did not know that only one of these meals was made on the spot, and the others were delivered from the chairman's residence.
First, Xiao Jinguang didn't know that the chairman was coming, and there was no meal prepared at home; Second, New China has just been founded, and there are often hidden enemy agents who sabotage it, so the leaders' meals are prepared and cooked by special personnel, and they cannot eat casually outside.
After eating, the chairman and Xiao Jinguang talked about some work matters, and then got up and went back to the residence. The sudden visit of the chairman and staying at home for dinner made Xiao Jinguang feel very honored and proud. As a national leader, the chairman is approachable and unpretentious when talking about work and eating, which also makes Xiao Jinguang admire.
Closing Remarks:
Under the leadership of Xiao Jinguang, the Chinese Navy has grown from scratch, from weak to strong, completed a qualitative leap, and grown into a maritime force capable of defending the motherland's maritime frontiers, and all this is inseparable from the correct strategy of employing people.
The chairman's life is more important than recruiting talents, knowing talents, being good at cultivating talents, and being good at using talents.