When Yang Yong, China's deputy chief of general staff, visited Yugoslavia in 1978, he was given a cold reception by Tito and refused to meet with him. However, when Beijing's *** learned of this, not only did they not get angry, but instead adopted a unique way of dealing with it.
He decided to change Tito's attitude by promoting Yang Yong. As a result, Tito was forced to meet with Yang Yong the next day. Later, was Yang Yong really promoted? The answer is known only to him.
Let me tell you the story of this legendary figure, Yang Yong, born in 1913, is the founding general of our country. At the age of 14, he joined the Red Army and demonstrated outstanding military skills in many battles.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was awarded the rank of general, and showed his skills in the Korean War, enjoying a wide international reputation. When Deng Gong returned to work in 1975, he was in dire need of a diplomat to help him with domestic and foreign affairs in order to present a new image of China.
Among the many candidates, Deng Gong chose a candidate who could be qualified for this position, and that was Yang Yong. During the Korean War, he served as a volunteer commander and was praised for his outstanding leadership skills.
After the armistice, Yang Yong did not choose to return to China, but stayed in the wasteland to help the local people restore their homes, and established a deep friendship with Kim Il Sung. With his extensive experience in international relations, Yang Yong is an ideal diplomatic ambassador.
In Deng Gong's study in Beijing, Yang Yong gently knocked on the door of the study.
Yang Yong is eager for the opportunity to be in charge of diplomacy, and he is looking forward to meeting and interacting with old and new friends in this position. In June 1978, he was sent to Yugoslavia for a visit, when the struggle for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union was not over, and the Soviet Union's unreasonable actions led to the severance of diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia was the only socialist country in Europe that did not rely on the Soviet Union to develop itself, and their insistence on independence was appreciated by Deng Gong, so Yang Yong was sent to visit to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries.
However, this originally hopeful visit was met with difficulties upon Yang's arrival, and Tito refused to meet them, much to Yang's surprise. For this visit, Tito's presence was indispensable, and without his participation, the significance of the visit would have been greatly reduced.
Tito was the leader of the Yugoslav Federation and one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, enjoying a certain international reputation.
Yang Yong had been pondering why Tito had refused to meet with him, and he suspected that Yugoslavia's diplomatic tactics had changed, but he felt that it was impossible. Tito was a steady man who would not easily change his foreign policy.
He also believed that Tito would not refuse the visit of the Chinese delegation, especially from China, a socialist community, no matter how busy he was. However, the streets were bustling with traffic, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and there was no sign of civil unrest, which Yang Yong was puzzled about.
Just when Yang Yong was about to scratch his scalp, the interpreter ran over and told him the reason: "Commander Yang, your position is Deputy Chief of General Staff, Tito thinks you are a small officer..."Hearing this reason, Yang Yong couldn't help laughing, although his position is deputy chief of the general staff, but in fact his status is not inferior to that of the chief of the general staff.
Due to official issues, Tito refused a meeting with an envoy from a country, which is really a posture. So, after Tito refused, how should Yang Yong's trip to Yugoslavia end?
Don't worry, let's read on.
Not necessarily. Since Tito didn't want to see me, I didn't want to see him either. We are here to visit Yugoslavia, not Tito. Let's go meet our true friends! ”
In the Yugoslav VIP room, Yang Yong sat down with the chief of the General Staff and enjoyed their conversation while talking about the international situation and the relations between the two countries. In this conversation, Yang Yong never mentioned his real position, but swallowed all the grievances into his stomach and put the overall situation first.
Yugoslav Chief of General Staff Boto visited China in September of the same year, and Deputy Chief of General Staff Yang Yong personally went to the airport to meet him and shake hands with him. Poto mistakenly thought that the Chinese chief of staff would come to meet him, so when he learned that the person who picked him up was Yang Yong, he praised Yang Yong for his promotion.
However, Yang Yong told Poto that he was still only the deputy chief of the general staff, and asked Poto why he didn't send the *** chief to pick him up. Poto understood the situation with the help of a translator, and when he learned that Yang Yong was in a higher position than him, he was ashamed and apologized for Tito's refusal.
Accompanied by Yang Yong, Poto met with Deng Gong and apologized for his rude behavior. After learning what happened, Deng Gong humorously ridiculed.
Under the strong recommendation of Deng Gong, Yang Yong is about to be promoted to chief of the General Staff. However, just as he was about to take office, several veteran comrades suggested that Yang Yong was still young and more suitable to serve as deputy chief of the general staff.
In the face of such doubts, Yang Yong responded with a smile: "No matter what position I have, as long as I can serve the people and set an example for the soldiers, I will go all out and dedicate myself to the country." ”
Since then, Yang Yong has not been promoted again, and has always adhered to the position of deputy chief of general staff. Even after he became seriously ill, he thought about the country and gave up the favorable conditions and chose direct radiotherapy.
In the end, Yang Yong died of illness at the age of 70. However, his spirit and deeds will always inspire us to make greater contributions to the country and its people.
Yang Yong, an outstanding all-round man in civil and military affairs, has made outstanding achievements in the military and diplomatic fields. After he was rejected by Tito in 1978, he did not get angry, but remained polite, showing the generosity and grace of the country.
In the early eighties, despite the hopelessness of promotion, he did not complain, but continued to work hard, showing a spirit of selfless dedication. Here, we would like to pay tribute to this veteran who has made outstanding contributions to the country.