Chapter 15 1 Si recalls a few things about Vice Chairman Zhou during the War of Liberation

Vice Chairman Zhou and Commander-in-Chief Zhu are the founders of the Central Military Commission × Bureau, and they have always been very concerned about the work of our Bureau. At the end of November 1945, Vice Chairman Zhou returned to Yan'an after participating in the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations in Chongqing.I came to Yangjialing in Yan'an from Ansai on December 9, and reported to Vice Chairman Zhou the work of our Bureau in all aspects since the War of Resistance.After listening to the report, Vice Chairman Zhou said: No matter whether it is domestic or foreign, the work of your bureau has achieved great results, and you have made new breakthroughs in work technology, which is very commendable.He was also very happy to write an inscription for our bureau: "grasp the overall situation, make a breakthrough, be self-reliant, and have a bright future." He encouraged comrades in the bureau to continue to work hard and strive for greater achievements.

In March 1947, Hu Zongnan attacked Yan'an. On March 19, Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Zhou withdrew from Yan'an and began to fight in northern Shaanxi. At the beginning of March, before leaving Yan'an, Vice Chairman Zhou asked me to go to Yan'an and instructed me face to face that according to the current situation and the needs of operations, the work of your bureau should be divided into two parts. The main business technicians will stay in northern Shaanxi, and you will Responsible for leading the team and following the actions of the Central Front Committee.In line with the spirit that the leading organs of the Central Military Commission remaining in northern Shaanxi must be very capable to facilitate mobile operations, the Central Military Commission decided to transfer skilled comrades from our bureau to form a work team of about 50 people. On March 21, Comrade Bishi approached me for business, and confirmed that the main task of the task force is to understand the situation of the enemy army on the opposite side.In accordance with the instructions of Chairman Mao, Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Xunshi, most of the comrades in our bureau went to Sanjiaoquanwang Village in the Linxian area of ​​Jinsui to start work in April.

On June 4th, Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Bi Shi visited our station to visit the comrades of the whole team after participating in the victory ceremony for the Battle of Panlong.Vice Chairman Zhou told us about the situation of the War of Liberation, pointing out that soon we will counterattack, regain Yan'an, liberate the Northwest, and liberate the whole of China.The comrades in the team were deeply encouraged and educated.Vice Chairman Zhou praised the task force we sent as a short, capable and excellent task force. In late August 1947, Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Bishi asked me to report to Shenquanbao, Jiaxian County, northern Shaanxi.In order to cope with our army's shift from strategic defense to strategic offensive, Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Bi Shi listened to a detailed report on the work of our bureau, studied confidentiality and other issues together, and made many important contributions to the work of our bureau. Instructions, Vice Chairman Zhou talked with us many times, and I still remember some of the important ideas he said.When Vice Chairman Zhou talked about the work of our bureau, he talked about the following situations.

First, unified leadership, decentralized management, and plans to achieve a considerable degree of centralization in two years. According to the instructions of the Central Military Commission, in order to cooperate with the victory of the Liberation War, the work of our bureau was scattered all over the country at that time.Vice Chairman Zhou made a comprehensive analysis of the national situation, studied the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield, and predicted that we would defeat Chiang Kai-shek two years later. At that time, the work of our bureau will reach a considerable degree of concentration. On September 28, I listened to Vice Chairman Zhou’s report at the meeting of cadres and soldiers of the Central Committee and the units directly under the Military Commission (that is, "National Counteroffensive, Overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek", this article has now been included in the first volume of "Selected Works of Zhou Enlai").He said that last year we had a strategic defense and a tactical offense, and now the strategy is also an offense.Our policy is to reach the areas administered by Chiang Kai-shek, develop the liberated areas, and eliminate Chiang Kai-shek's troops in the areas administered by Chiang Kai-shek.We are sure of overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek, and the decision to fight back the next year and carry out a major counter-offensive was correct.Regardless of domestic conditions or international conditions, it is well-founded and achievable.Comrades, no matter which department they work in, must work hard in their own positions, be useful screws, and play their own role.

The scientific prediction of Vice Chairman Zhou really became a reality. In October 1949, New China was established and most of the country was liberated.The work of our bureau has changed from decentralization to gradual centralization, and achieved a considerable degree of centralization two years later. Second, the more the enemy fails, the more we need to improve our technology. This is another important instruction given by Vice Chairman Zhou to the work of our Bureau.He asked us to fully estimate the greater difficulties in the work of our bureau in the future, and proposed to continuously improve technology, strive for perfection, sum up experience, strengthen learning, pay attention to class education, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, and overcome technical difficulties.We have followed this instruction carefully and in a timely manner.Before and after the Huaihai Campaign, the head of the Central Military Commission and the heads of the field armies were provided with correct and unmistakable information, and coordinated with the victories of the Huaihai Campaign, the Liaoshen Campaign, the Pingjin Campaign and the entire Liberation War.

Third, the Communist Party has mastered the technology and will definitely be able to defeat the technology used by the reactionaries. Vice Chairman Zhou said: The combination of our science and technology and revolutionary politics has unlimited prospects for development.He used a numerical formula as a metaphor more than once to illustrate this truth.He said: Our party’s confidential work is positive 50 points in science and technology, and our politics is also positive 50 points. The sum of the two is 100 points; while the enemy’s science and technology is positive 50 points, and politics is negative 50 points. The addition of plus and minus equals zero.Therefore, we will surely win and the enemy will definitely lose.The Communist Party has mastered the technology and will certainly be able to defeat the technology used by the reactionaries.Our winning formula is technology plus politics.If we do not have revolutionary politics, we cannot defeat the enemy.

Vice Chairman Zhou's instructions and scientific analysis are powerful ideological weapons for us to overcome all difficulties and defeat enemies at home and abroad. In December 1950, when the Technical Department of the Central Military Commission was established, Vice Chairman Zhou made a brilliant inscription with this instruction: " The Communist Party has mastered the technology and will be able to defeat the technology used by the reactionaries." Fourth, we must train and train cadres, and pay attention to training female cadres. Vice Chairman Zhou instructed us to take into account the development of future work and must vigorously train technical cadres.At that time, the central government also sent notices to the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Central Bureau, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Central Bureau, and the Shandong Central Sub-bureau, asking them to send 30 junior and high school graduates to study in our bureau.More than 100 students came from various places.After training and work practice, these comrades are now the backbone of our ministry's work and leaders at all levels.

Fifth, we must conscientiously sum up experience. Vice Chairman Zhou instructed to carefully summarize the work experience of our bureau and compile it into a book as a teaching material for training cadres and conducting revolutionary traditional education. Sixth, we must care for and care for cadres. Vice-Chairman Zhou and Comrade Bishi instructed that special health subsidies and a vacation system should be given to infirm and sick comrades to facilitate long-term work.It also emphasized that the traditional egalitarianism should be broken. The recipients of subsidies should be comrades who are really weak and can maintain long-term work through strengthening care, and cannot mechanically use positions as the standard.

During the War of Liberation, Vice Chairman Zhou, as one of the leaders of the Party and the Central Committee, dealt with the major tasks of the Central Committee day and night, but he was never sloppy with the small daily matters, cared for the lower-level cadres and soldiers, and treated them as equals. In late March 1947, during a march, Vice-Chairman Zhou borrowed the livestock brought by Zeng Qingbiao and others from our bureau because he had no livestock to change vehicles. He handled such an ordinary small matter very thoughtfully. On April 6, he wrote to me personally, in which he said: "Comrade Jin Yuan: I met Comrade Zeng Qingbiao of the × Bureau in Suide Xindian, and it happened that he brought five livestock (one horse, one mule, two donkeys, two) and two boxes of goods. , I had no animals in the car, so I kept the animals and goods he brought, and transported the three of them and the luggage car to Songjiachuan. I told Comrade Deng Jie face to face that I must return you the original things (animals and goods). This is your property and cannot be calculated in border currency. I hope you will negotiate with Director Deng to avoid compensation. It will make me feel uneasy. If there is any problem, please call me so that I can call Deng to solve it Please send my greetings to Comrade Zeng Qingbiao!"

Later, Vice-Chairman Zhou asked me if I had returned the original, and I said that I would return it soon without turning it into a border coin.The situation at that time was that everyone had to withdraw from Yan'an, and the goods they brought with them did not have livestock, so it was more difficult to leave.Therefore, Vice Chairman Zhou praised Comrade Zeng Qingbiao's approach.Vice Chairman Zhou said, Comrade Zeng Qingbiao did right and well, we should praise him, he was able to do this because of your good education.Vice Chairman Zhou not only cared about the work of our bureau in every possible way, but also cared about the lives of all comrades in our bureau.

From the end of August 1947, I went to Shenquanbao, Jiaxian County, until I returned to Sanjiao in December 1947. During these four months, I witnessed the hard work of Vice Chairman Zhou.Strict self-discipline, meticulous work spirit and tenacious, meticulous, thorough and rigorous work style.I was deeply educated by his side. His lofty spirit and style of working day and night, tireless and selfless, will always be a model for us to learn from. Vice Chairman Zhou continued to work intensely from 12:00 am to 8:00 pm every day, had dinner at 8:00 pm, took a short break, and immediately went back to work, and did not rest until 5:00 am the next morning.Sometimes at two or three o'clock at night, he was really too tired, so he would lie on the table for a while, take a nap, wake up in less than half an hour and continue working until dawn.Sometimes I was beside him at night, and I saw him carefully review the telegrams from various places, most of which were related to the military, and there were also many party and government work.At that time, he was the secretary of the Central Secretariat, the vice chairman of the Military Commission and the acting chief of the general staff. He had to read all kinds of telegrams, and he had to send important issues to Chairman Mao. Work is very busy and hard.His only entertainment was playing percent (a poker game) with us for over an hour after dinner.Comrade Ren Bishi, Comrade Lu Dingyi and I were also together at that time. Sometimes I played double with Vice Chairman Zhou. He can count on any card. We saw that the work of Vice Chairman Zhou was really hard, so we suggested to him whether to ask one or two secretaries for help, and he shook his head.During his move to northern Shaanxi, he did not set up a full-time secretary.Once in Vice Chairman Zhou's office late at night, I suggested to him whether we could find some comrades to assist in the work after the liberation of the whole country. He agreed, but said that it would not be possible to rely entirely on the secretary. The work of Vice Chairman Zhou is not day or night, and his lofty spirit of serving the people wholeheartedly is really touching. During the days when I worked with Vice Chairman Zhou, I saw that he was always busy with major issues of revolution and war, and it was rare for him to have a little free time. In early October 1947, Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Bishi invited me, Tong Xiaopeng and other comrades to visit Baiyun Mountain in Jiaxian County. This was our only holiday in several months.Vice Chairman Zhou was very happy that day, talking and laughing with us all the way, and even took a photo with us at the gate of Baiyun Temple.We brought our own dry food and boiled millet into porridge in a washbasin. Vice Chairman Zhou ate it with us outside Baiyun Temple for lunch. Everyone ate steamed buns and millet porridge, which was very sweet.I was very impressed with this tour. On November 20, 1947, Vice-Chairman Zhou wrote a condolence letter to the Second Brigade, which read: "Through the hard work of the past few days, we have broken through difficulties and made a lot of contributions to our war of liberation. Zite sent a condolence fee of 15 million ( Note: It is border currency). I hope that all comrades will not be arrogant or impetuous, and make persistent efforts to win together." On March 16, 1948, Vice Chairman Zhou commented on the report of our bureau: "I read the report on March 1. This report is very well written, with content, analysis, criticism, and guidelines. This is × It is a concrete manifestation of the bureau’s experience summarizing a step up. To defeat science with science, politics should be added. That is to say, if we have mastered science, we will definitely be able to defeat the science used by the enemy. A loophole in the work is an irreparable fatal wound to the enemy. Therefore, the future of the work of Bureau X is certain, I hope you will continue to work hard, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and pay attention to your health." In March 1948, according to the instructions of Vice Chairman Zhou, Comrades Ye Jianying and Yang Shangkun, we left Sanjiaoquanwang Village, Linxian County, Jinsui, and went to work in the Central Military Commission of Xibaipo.We actively cooperated with the three major campaigns, especially the Huaihai campaign, and did a lot of work. On February 28, 1949, Vice-Chairman Zhou delivered a speech at the National × Bureau Work Conference and said that Chairman Mao said that the × Bureau system has achieved great results and should be rewarded by order. I will officially announce it today as a reward.Over the past two and a half years, your bureau work has achieved a lot, but every achievement is the result of overcoming difficulties.For this meeting, responsible comrades from all over the bureau came. Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Zhou were very happy. They met us on February 28 and took a group photo with everyone in front of Chairman Mao's house in Xibaipo.When taking pictures, Chairman Mao said that you are also a front army, and the work of the × Bureau has achieved a lot, and it has cooperated with the great victory of the War of Liberation.This is a great encouragement and spur to our overall work. Vice Chairman Zhou and other leading comrades of the central government have cared for us and educated us, which has always inspired us to work hard in the new environment and continue to move forward.