Chapter 15 Section five

Yang Yong is honest and honest, he is upright.He was like this during the revolutionary war years, and he was still like this during the cruel "Cultural Revolution" period. He insisted on the revolutionary truth and never surrendered. He was called a warrior among warriors. At the beginning of 1967, the land of China was shrouded in dark clouds. Yang Yong, who was the commander of the Beijing Military Region at that time, already had a premonition that he was about to face an extremely complicated and extremely dangerous battle.Sure enough, one day a group of unidentified people who claimed to be the "Lihuo Liaoyuan Combat Team" rushed into the headquarters compound of the Beijing Military Region, claiming to arrest the "Northeast Party".

At the time when the international situation and the domestic situation were very tense, Yang Yong knew that once the important secrets of the army were leaked, it would pose a huge threat to national security.For the benefit of the party and the country, he immediately ordered the security battalion of the military region to arrest these troublemakers. Under the political environment at that time, who would dare to arrest the "rebels"?Things got bigger all of a sudden.Even Yang Yong did not expect that a few hours later, Mao Zedong himself called to inquire about the matter, and his tone was obviously displeased: "I heard that you have arrested someone?"

Yang Yong could only answer: "Report to the Chairman, this group of people forcibly stormed the office building of the military headquarters and directly threatened the core military secrets. I have taken appropriate defensive measures! ... The Chairman asked me to release him and I will resolutely implement it. However, in order to prevent leaks, If something like this happens again in the future, I suggest that resolute measures should be taken." Yang Yong immediately let the group go. But he didn't understand in his heart, why did this matter alarm the supreme leader so quickly?His bravery and uprightness made him involved in the vortex of deeper political struggles.In fact, those gangs who dared to attack the headquarters of the Great Military Region had an extremely strong backing. They were just a group of minions, a gang of thugs.It was Lin Biao and his group who assigned them to act.

Yang Yong is Lin Biao's old subordinate, and the two know each other better.Lin Biao has always wanted to draw Yang Yong into his inner circle, but Yang Yong has always refused to board Lin Biao's boat.In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lin Biao was living in a widow due to illness, and once lost Mao Zedong's trust.Until July 1959, Peng Dehuai was dismissed from the position of Minister of National Defense because of his honesty and strong conflicts with Mao Zedong. Lin Biao took the opportunity to come out and became the Minister of National Defense.While trying to win Mao Zedong's favor by various methods, he rapidly expanded his influence and strengthened his own strength.As Lin Biao's old subordinate, Yang Yong naturally became the main target of Lin Biao's wooing.

In 1965, Lin Biao asked his wife Ye Qun to go to Yang Yong in person, hoping that people from the Beijing Military Region could have a talk with "President Lin."Yang Yong understood what this talk meant. If he showed some courtesy in front of Lin Biao, even if he was a little warm, Lin Biao would put him in his circle.But Yang Yong just didn't accept this favor. He never went to Lin Biao's door, and he planted hidden dangers for himself by doing so. For Yang Yong's indifference, Lin Biao was angry and annoyed, so he began to criticize Yang Yong and the work of the Beijing Military Region, and criticized the Beijing Military Region in public many times. After the "Cultural Revolution" began, Yang Yong was in danger.

In January 1967, Yang Yong was criticized.Soon, he lost his personal freedom.Lin Biao and his gang interrogated Yang Yong by all means to extract a confession.Yang Yong was taken to labor during the day and interrogated continuously at night, which exhausted him.A group of members of the task force tortured him physically. They hung a large 200-watt light bulb on his head in the hot summer, roasting him until he passed out. What's even more despicable is that the task force actually lured Yang Yong to commit suicide.After torturing Yang Yong mentally and physically, they openly left the rope and sleeping pills in an attempt to force Yang Yong to commit suicide.But Yang Yong was very clear-headed. He warned himself that he must not die easily, and he must fight tenaciously against the last madness of his opponent.

Yang Yong's tenacity made the special case team feel anxious, hated and helpless.If these thugs who are willing to be scumbags have a little serious understanding of Yang Yong's character and history, maybe they won't show their embarrassment in front of Yang Yong. During Yang Yong's imprisonment, he often reflected on his life path. After reflection, he strengthened his belief that he was worthy of the party and the people, which strengthened his courage to fight against Lin Biao and his gang. Yang Yong's bravery and loyalty are well-known in the party.Mao Zedong did not forget him either. On April 1, 1969, the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. Mao Zedong did not see Yang Yong's face, so he asked: "What happened to Yang Yong in Beijing?... These people still have credit Let's do it!"

After the closing of the "Ninth National Congress", Premier Zhou Enlai conveyed Mao Zedong's speech at several meetings in an effort to "liberate" a group of veteran cadres.Yang Yong's wife, Lin Bin, was sent to the Ningxia Pingluo Cadre School. After she heard about Mao Zedong's speech about Yang Yong at the "Ninth National Congress", she discussed with the children and asked her son Yang Xiaoping, who was going back to Beijing to get married, to meet his father. Yang Xiaoping returned to Beijing, found the special case team, and asked to meet with his father, but the special case team refused with the reason that "we have no right to answer".

Lin Bin became anxious, so she wrote a letter to Li Xiannian, who was in power at the time, asking Li Xiannian to forward the letter to Premier Zhou.The letter reads as follows: After this tearful letter was transferred to Zhou Enlai, Zhou Enlai personally intervened in this matter.In this way, the task force had no choice but to send someone to inform Lin Bin that Yang Yong was in Shijiazhuang, and she could take the child to visit. After Lin Bin and his children visited Yang Yong, Lin Biao and his gang transferred Yang Yong to Peibao Farm in the Beijing Military Region for further detention.It was not until April 1970 that it was announced that Yang Yong's military status would be restored, but his custody had not been lifted.

One day, Yang Yong accidentally fell during an activity and broke his leg.The two were not treated in a timely manner, coupled with continuous activities after the broken leg, the wound was infected, and the high fever persisted. They had to be sent to Shijiazhuang Peace Hospital for surgery. Even though Yang Yong was in such a situation, the special case team was still on the verge of an enemy, and they were heavily guarded against him, and special personnel were sent to escort him to Shijiazhuang.Fortunately, Xiao Yao, who was in charge of taking care of Yang Yong, was a kind fighter. He quietly sent a telegram to Lin Bin in the far northwest, telling Lin Bin about Yang Yong's situation.

Lin Bin had a premonition that Yang Yong would be in danger after receiving the telegram, so he rushed to Shijiazhuang.Sure enough, Lin Biao's subordinates were planning to use Yang Yong's operation to further persecute him.The sudden appearance of Lin Bin made the special case team panic. They aggressively asked the soldier Xiao Yao, asking him if he had leaked the news. When Yang Yong learned of this, he was furious, and said: "If you need to ask me for anything, why do you ask a little soldier?" The people in the task force were reprimanded speechless.They were unwilling to give up this opportunity to murder Yang Yong, and forced a young doctor who lacked surgical experience to perform surgery on Yang Yong.Yang Yong knew in his heart that this hastily decided operation must contain a conspiracy. When he was in trouble, he received an urgent telegram from Lin Bin from Beijing, warning Yang Yong not to have the operation.Lin Bin rushed to Beijing immediately after seeing Yang Yong, and went to Zhou Enlai for help.At the critical moment, Zhou Enlai extended a helping hand, and he personally ordered Yang Yong to be taken to Beijing for surgery. After Lin Biao fell to his death in Undur Khan of Mongolia, Yang Yong was truly liberated.A few months later, at Zhou Enlai's proposal, Yang Yong was appointed deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region. In late May 1973, Yang Yong went to Beijing to attend the Central Working Conference.This meeting was mainly to discuss issues such as preparations for the convening of the party's "Ten Tenth Congress", criticism of forestry and rectification, and economic planning. Before the meeting ended, Zhou Enlai talked to Yang Yong and told him that the central government had decided to send him to Xinjiang to serve as the commander of the military region and the second secretary of the party committee of the autonomous region. Yang Yong said that he obeyed the organization's distribution and his health was not bad, but he hadn't done local work for many years, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to be competent if he worked part-time in the local area. Could he be exempted from serving as the second secretary of the district party committee? Zhou Enlai explained: Xinjiang's strategic location is important, and it is also an ethnic minority area. Go to the old comrades and stabilize the situation as soon as possible.Regarding Yang Yong's part-time job, the central government has fully deliberated and carefully considered it. After hearing this, Yang Yong solemnly said to Zhou Enlai: "We must do our best to work and never disappoint the expectations of the Central Committee." Soon, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice of Yang Yong's appointment: "Transfer Yang Yong to be the commander of the Xinjiang Military Region, the second secretary of the Party Committee of the Military Region, a member of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Party Committee, Standing Committee, and Second Secretary, and a member, Standing Committee, and Deputy Director of the Autonomous Region Revolutionary Committee." After receiving the order, Yang Yong flew to Xinjiang with his secretary and security guards in light clothes on June 4.That night, at the joint meeting of the standing committees held by the two party committees of the autonomous region and the military region, Yang Yong kept in mind Zhou Enlai's instructions on the importance of national unity first, and expressed his opinion: "Whether it is for construction or for war, we should not rely on the masses." No. In Xinjiang, we must rely on the 11 million people in Xinjiang, especially the more than 7 million people from ethnic minorities. We must conscientiously implement the party’s ethnic policy and do a good job in ethnic unity, which is the basis of all our work.” In late June, Yang Yong accompanied Li Da, the deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army who came to Xinjiang to inspect the work, and went to the grassroots to conduct investigations and research.After going around the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, watching and discussing with Vice President Li Da, Yang Yong had a plan for the construction of Xinjiang.Yang Yong said that the construction of Xinjiang should focus on building "one palm, five fingers".The palm is the Tianshan Mountains, and the five fingers are Kashgar, Yili, Bole, Tacheng, and Altay.To invigorate the Tianshan Mountains, it is necessary to build a road across the Tianshan Mountains. Yang Yong's proposal and idea were unanimously approved by the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Military Region, and it was decided to report the proposal to build the "two roads" to the Central Committee. On July 27, 1973, Zhou Enlai presided over a meeting of the Politburo to discuss the Xinjiang report. Yang Yong reported in detail at the meeting that: "Smoothing the traffic between the north and the south of Xinjiang is very important for the management of the Tianshan Mountains, relying on the Tianshan Mountains, invigorating the Tianshan Mountains, and developing the economic construction of Xinjiang. The road transportation in Xinjiang does not need to detour through Urumqi and Daheyan, and the distance can be reduced by 420 kilometers. The construction of the railway from Daheyan to Korla is of great significance for accelerating the construction of the rear and developing the southern Xinjiang area..." After listening to Yang Yong's report, Zhou Enlai smiled comfortably. He hadn't been so happy for many days, and said to everyone with great interest: "As expected, Yang Yong made a big move as soon as he arrived in Xinjiang. He proposed to build the Tianshan Highway and Southern Xinjiang Railway. This matter has been delayed for ten years, and it is really inappropriate to delay any longer." Obviously, Yang Yong's report comforted Zhou Enlai's heart for the country and the people. How much he wanted to complete the construction of Xinjiang as soon as possible.Now with Yang Yong as a go-getter, his wish can come true. Lin Biao and his gang fell, but Jiang Qing and his gang still held important power. The situation in China at that time was still lurking with a huge crisis. At the end of January 1974, Jiang Qing held the "1.24" and "1.25" conferences in Beijing, criticizing Lin Piao and Confucius for going through the back door and attacking the older generation of revolutionaries such as Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying.At that time, Sima Yi and Aimati, secretary of the Party Committee of the autonomous region who were studying in the central reading class, attended the meeting. After the meeting, they called Xinjiang to transmit the speeches of Jiang Qing, Yao Wenyuan and others. Yang Yong, who suffered miserably in the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", became more politically mature after fighting against the Lin Biao clique. With his keen eyesight, he quickly saw through Jiang Qing's plot. Yang Yong personally presided over the standing committees of the two party committees of the autonomous region and the military region. He said at the meeting: "In any case, we in Xinjiang cannot arrest Confucius' disciples and grandchildren, and we cannot arrest any representatives of restoration and retrogression. We have none in Xinjiang!" Under the resistance of him and most comrades in Xinjiang, Yu Jiang did not convey the spirit of Jiang Qing and others about "criticizing Lin and Confucius". Jiang Qing was very annoyed that Yang Yong's behavior of neither conveying nor expressing his opinion on Jiang Qing's "instructions" was reported to Jiang Qing.Jiang Chen was no stranger to Yang Yong, and Yang Yong's tenacious and unyielding spirit when he was persecuted also left a deep impression on Jiang Qing.Jiang Qing hopes to win over someone like Yang Yong.So, she sent Yang Yong a handwritten letter, which also contained several issues of "Domestic News Proof", the intention of which is self-evident. Yang Yong saw through Jiang Qing's thoughts at a glance, and he asked the secretary to return the letter signed by "Comrade Jiang Qing's Office" to the General Office of the Central Committee. Jiang Qing still refused to give up, so she sent another package of materials to Yang Yong, which contained her own letter, to the effect: An author in Xinjiang wrote a long poem and sent it to her, but it cannot be published publicly. Please Commander Yang Can personally find the author and return the poem manuscript. In fact, the author herself is in Beijing, and Jiang Qing also knows that she did this only to assign Yang Yong to work for her. Yang Yong ignored this problem at all, and he instructed the director of the office to return all materials other than the poem manuscript to Jiang Qing. On the eve of the National Day in 1975, Yang Yong and his wife discussed inviting Dong Biwu's wife He Lianzhi, Luo Ronghuan's wife Lin Yueqin, Xie Juezai's wife Wang Dingguo, and Gan Siqi's wife Li Zhen to visit Xinjiang. Yang Yong's daughter led several old seniors to tour various places in Xinjiang. The elder sisters felt particularly comfortable and excited after leaving the depressing and depressing environment in Beijing. One day, Yang Yong was watching a movie with a few elder sisters, and he asked to show two movies.The comrades in the office were a little hesitant, and said: "These two films have not yet been released. If they are released, it will cause trouble if it gets out. There are already rumors about inviting a few elder sisters to Xinjiang, and some people have already complained to Beijing..." Yang Yong became angry when he heard it, and said, "What are you afraid of? Didn't the chairman say that we need to adjust the literature and art policy? They banned movies, and they just shot themselves in the foot! Don't be afraid, I will stand up for things." Later, in " In the campaign to fight back against the right-leaning style of overturning the verdict, this incident became another major "crime" of Yang Yong Faced with the vicissitudes of the domestic political situation at that time and the arrogance of Jiang Qing and his gang, Yang Yong had a heavy heart and worried about the fate and future of the country.Although he is in the frontier, he always pays attention to the dynamics of the capital Beijing.He is also very eager to meet some old comrades-in-arms in the past, and exchange views as soon as possible at a critical juncture related to the fate of the party and the country. Chen Xilian was Yang Yong's old comrade-in-arms, and he was in a very important position at that time. Jiang Qing had been trying to win over Chen Xilian. The opportunity finally arrived.During the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Chen Xilian led a delegation to come.Yang Yong seized the opportunity to have a long talk with Chen Xilian all night. His worries about the party and the country and his old comrades in arms were all answered satisfactorily. He was excited that Chen Xilian still kept a clear head. On January 8, 1976, Premier Zhou Enlai passed away.Yang Yong, who never flicks his tears easily, could no longer control his emotions and couldn't help crying. With tears in his eyes, he convened a meeting of the standing committees of the two party committees. After discussion at the meeting, it was proposed to ask the central government for instructions on three points, namely: 1. The party, government and army in the autonomous region jointly hold a memorial service; 2. Send Xinjiang representatives to Beijing to participate in the memorial service; A wreath was laid at the memorial service. After the report was sent to Beijing, the Central Funeral Management Committee quickly replied that it could not be done, saying that it should be done in accordance with the spirit of the Central Committee's notice. At that time, the spirit of the central government was to prevent memorial activities across the country.Yang Yong was very angry when he got the news. Regardless of the risk, he instructed the General Office of the District Party Committee and the Party Office of the Military Region to ask the Central Funeral Management Office, the State Council and the relevant departments of the Military Commission for instructions again to reflect the opinions and demands of the masses.After the request for instructions was sent up, it was not approved again; so I asked for instructions again...and so on several times. In the end, Yang Yong took the case and said to his subordinates: "It's their business not to criticize, we will do what we should do. The military region will go first and hold a memorial service in the auditorium of the headquarters; then the autonomous region will hold it. That's it. , don’t ask for instructions anymore, what crime did the prime minister commit?” On January 14, the day before the memorial meeting was held in Beijing, the Xinjiang Military Region Office held a memorial meeting. Yang Yong and other military region chiefs led all the cadres in the organization wearing black gauze and lined up slowly into the venue to pay respect to Zhou Enlai's portrait. The cadre Yang Yong was firm, and the central funeral organization controlled by the "Gang of Four" was almost inaccurate, and it no longer worked in Xinjiang.Following the memorial meeting held by the Xinjiang Military Region, the organs of the autonomous region, various regions, and various Shanyi also held mourning activities one after another to express their condolences for Zhou Enlai. After the "Gang of Four" was overthrown, Yang Yong became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. One day in 1978, he saw the article "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth" in "Guangming Daily". After reading it, he immediately felt the weight of this article.He put down the newspaper and immediately called Chi Haotian, the then deputy chief of the General Staff and director of the Political Department of the General Staff, and said: "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. This is a major theoretical issue with direction, and our army cannot avoid it." , should be seriously studied and discussed!" Therefore, the General Staff took the lead in holding a big discussion in the whole army that "practice is the only criterion for testing truth". In October 1982, Yang Yong fell ill again. On November 6, Yang Yong asked for leave and came out of the hospital one month before his death. He did nothing but chair a meeting on combat readiness. This is another contribution he made to the party and the country before his death. Death is terrible for everyone, but for Yang Yong, a loyal warrior, he has no fear in the face of death.He faced everything calmly and arranged his remaining days in an orderly manner. He said to others: "The doctor said that I can live for 30 to 60 days. In the past two months, it will be counted as 45 days. Except for the last 10 days, my mind may not be clear. The last 5 days are used to deal with my personal problems. Well, I still have 30 days to work." After hearing his sweet words, people couldn't help but burst into tears.This brave man who struggled for a lifetime and was about to exhaust his life put his work first until his death. At the end of November, Song Renqiong came to visit him, and he said cheerfully to Song Renqiong: The doctor said I can live for two months, and now I have one month left. At the end of December, Yang Dezhi came to visit him. He took Yang Dezhi's hand and said, "Tell the doctor not to use any more medicine. If it doesn't work, it will be wasted. I don't want to waste the money of the country and the people!" On December 31, Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, came to visit him.Yang Yong looked at his cousin, with tears in his eyes, and said in a weak voice: "Your burden is heavy, don't waste time for me. You should take good care of your body!" At 1 o'clock in the morning on January 6, 1983, Yang Yong, who was weak, summoned his whole family to his bed and said: "I have no regrets in this life. The Party has treated me very well, and I am worthy of the Party. After I die, you You have to live on your own, and don't make any demands on the organization!" Not long after he finished speaking, he passed away. Yang Yong is gone, but people will always remember him, this general who was born and died, with outstanding military exploits.