6
EXCLUDING THOSE fighting at the frontline, Political Commissar L was one of the rare figures who was not emotionally affected by the reorganization. He was called up for the meeting as he and his wife were on the way to holiday in Dalian after already having visited Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang. Under normal circumstances, he could not afford to dismiss this kind of meeting, let alone when taking into account the fact that the unit led by him was to be abolished and the commander of the troop would soon leave to take up a higher official post. Just imagine how many things were waiting for Commissar L to deal with. Even if there was nothing to do, how could a secretary of the party committee not be keen to return to his troop! One of his subordinates, the commander previously mentioned who had his officers watch their soldiers' leg surgery, attended the meeting announcing the news of abolition, struggling to read the order through his tears. Yet his political commissar "strolled idly, ignoring the wind and the waves." As soon as the meeting was over, he immediately asked for leave to go to Shandong for private business. Since he had not finished his vacation and was already in the north, there was no harm in attending to private matters on the way to his troop station. He spent just a few days finishing his personal business, and after that he and his wife went from Qingdao to Shanghai, and then onwards to Ningbo, Mount Putuo, Hangzhou and Guilin. They went on a leisurely sightseeing tour and didn't arrive at the troop station until June 26 — twenty days after the extended meeting of the Central Military Commission. At that time, which was the final deadline for registration, the commander of the troop had only just registered. The two men must have walked straight past each other and not realized it.
How magnanimous L was.
7
ON AUGUST 14, 1985, a meeting was called in Kunming of leaders over divisional level.
A fortnight ago, the Kunming Military Region had transferred its right of command to the new Chengdu Military Region. Such an action was unprecedented in Kunming, indeed, in the whole history of the armed forces. Therefore, it was hard to avoid errors made in haste. The Kunming Military Region received an order that stated that the right of command was theirs to exercise until midnight, July 30. The Chengdu Military Region received an order that said to exercise the right of command in Kunming Military Region from midnight onwards on August 1. The staff forgot that there were 31 days in July, so the day in between became a "blank day" . Fortunately for them, no world war broke out on that day.
Half a month later, on August 31, the Party Committee and offices in Kunming would stop their work. By that time, the term "Kunming Military Region" , which had been used for 30 years, would be renamed as "the Original Kunming Military Region" ; the armed forces there would be deployed according to orders from the new Chengdu Military Region.
Zhang Zhixiu acted as representative of the Military Region Party Committee and summarized the last thirty years. It was as if they knew their unit for the first time; she was so glorious and lovable. Not only had they liberated the great Southwest, defeated the bandits, fought against Kuomintang insurgency in Yunnan and cleared the Kuomintang insurgents at the time of the Sino-Burmese boundary settlement, they had also taken part in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, aided Laos in road construction, developed the borderlands and launched the defensive counter-attack against Vietnam … Each one of these achievements was worth savoring. It was much like a person looking back on their childhood; no matter how bitter or sweet it was they still had deep feelings towards the time.
Finally, Political Commissar Xie Zhenhua ended the meeting and the work of the Party Committee and chiefs in the Kungming Military Region with a speech. He said:
"At this time, when our unit is to finish its historic mission, we find it hard to tear ourselves away. We still have many things to say to our unit, but we will have no more chances to do so. We sincerely hope that all the officers and men will treasure the glory of the Kunming Military Region during the succession, carrying forward and further developing our fine traditions and customs … During the handover, if you can proudly say that you have been worthy of the trust of the Kunming Military Region Party Committee and have preserved the old traditions and customs of our unit, then we will feel extremely gratified."
At that point in history, everyone at the meeting was filled with the sense of a noble mission.
If that nobility continued, how fine that would be!
8
SURPRISINGLY, at the very moment of some units' abolition, they gave us an outstanding performance. At a time when they were suddenly braking and swerving sharply in a new direction, their huge capacity for adjustment and self-control, along with their noble behavior in finishing their historical mission, potently demonstrated that they were part of the great People's Liberation Army. It was as if the Central Military Commission had especially chosen to repeal only the excellent troops.
After the announcement that one corps was to be abolished, its chief led his soldiers in their morning jog as usual … They were still regular soldiers!
Business in the corps continued as usual; mending roads, planting trees, building the auditorium and conducting meetings about basic tasks. Their highest principles were the grand plan for military development and the future interests of the army.
The soldiers in a division had been deployed for work in the Helan Mountains area. On the eve of the unit's abolition, the division commander visited each post in a realization of a long-cherished wish. This included the posts where only one soldier was on duty.