Chapter 159 Mao Zedong met with Qin Jiwei

On the morning of June 16, 1953, Juxiang Bookstore in Zhongnanhai. Mao Zedong received Qin Jiwei.This is the first time Qin Jiwei met Mao Zedong, the commander-in-chief he had followed for decades.Regarding this meeting, the general always said afterwards: "I will never forget it, I will never forget it." The reason for the interview was Shangganling, which was recommended by General Peng Dehuai. "We haven't met in the past. You were a commander in Taihang?" Mao Zedong sat on the sofa and asked kindly. He also picked up a pack of cigarettes from the coffee table and gave Qin Jiwei one.

"Chairman, I don't smoke." "Doesn't the commander of the army smoke?" The chairman felt very strange. In fact, at the critical moment in Shangganling, Qin Jiwei couldn't get down without two packs of cigarettes a day.This bloody general, when he first met Mao Zedong, was still a little restrained. "You fought well in Shangganling!" Mao Zedong fully affirmed Qin Jiwei, "Since the United States became independent in 1776, it has fought 8 major wars, of which 3 occurred in the 20th century. It was in the First World War , World War II... In several wars, they took advantage of themselves. The Korean War was the first time that the U.S. military lost a war in the world and suffered a loss.”

Qin Jiwei: "We didn't expect the enemy to invest so many troops in Shangganling at first, and the enemy also didn't expect to invest so many troops and failed to take Shangganling." Mao Zedong: "There is no defense line that cannot be breached in history. It is a miracle that the Shangganling defense line has not been breached." Qin Jiwei also introduced to Mao Zedong the heroic deeds of Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun and others. At this moment, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai walked in.Mao Zedong pointed to Qin Jiwei and said: "Qin Jiwei, the commander of the 15th Army, served as the commander in Taihang Mountain, and now he is a hero in Shangganling."

Liu Shaoqi held Qin Jiwei's hand and said, "Shangganling has created a world record!" Zhou Enlai also held Qin Jiwei's hand and said: "You fought hard, tenaciously, and brilliantly. Shangganling was another important battle in the Korean War and a spectacle in military history."