In 1965, Ho Chi Minh came to China to rest and celebrate his birthday as usual. At that time, the number of troops sent by the United States to South Vietnam had increased from 9,000 to 70,000, and more than 600 aircraft were even dispatched every day to bomb military targets in northern Vietnam. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh had many major issues to discuss with Chairman Mao.
html On May 15, Ho Chi Minh arrived in Guangzhou by special plane from Hanoi . Accompanied by Tao Zhu, he flew to Changsha to meet Chairman Mao the next day. When the two exchanged greetings, Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the Vietnamese party and people, expressed his gratitude to China for its various aids in Vietnam's anti-American war. After hearing this, Chairman Mao replied:
"I do not accept your gratitude. People all over the world do not accept it." I want to thank you, Vietnam, rather than you thanking us. "
"China's vast land is a reliable rear for the Vietnamese people."
After the founding of New China, the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao have always maintained close contact with the development of the situation around our country. s concern. In January 1950, Ho Chi Minh walked for 17 days, crossed the Sino-Vietnamese border, and secretly drove to Beijing to seek assistance from Chairman Mao and the Chinese government in the anti-French struggle.
Ho Chi Minh is an old friend of the Chinese people. Chairman Mao readily agreed to provide selfless assistance to the Vietnamese people and support the Vietnamese people in "resisting France and saving the country." With the support of the Chinese people, France had no choice but to sign the "Geneva Agreement" with Vietnam, and the Vietnamese people's "resistance to France and national salvation" declared victory.
However, the French troops had just withdrawn, and the United States began to intervene in Vietnam affairs in an attempt to establish a " Southeast Asia Treaty Organization " to contain and surround China.
Picture丨Chen Geng was ordered to aid Vietnam in resisting France
In 1955, Ho Chi Minh was invited by Chairman Mao and the Chinese government to make his first official goodwill visit to our country. During this period, China and Vietnam clearly announced in the joint communique :
"The Chinese people support the Vietnamese people's proposition to achieve national reunification through universal suffrage in the north and south, and resolutely oppose the United States's obstruction of universal suffrage negotiations. At the same time, the Chinese government has decided to use RMB 800 million to Yuan was donated to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam free of charge to help them heal the wounds of the war, restore and develop the national economy. "
However, with the influx of US military advisers into South Vietnam, South Vietnam was completely dominated by US power. With the support of the Americans, the Ngo Dinh Diem clique deposed the pro-French Emperor Bao Dai and established the so-called "Republic of Vietnam". At the same time, hundreds of thousands of armed forces were organized and began large-scale "elimination" activities.
The actions of the Americans and the Diem group seriously violated the provisions of the Geneva Convention. They not only easily caused war in Vietnam, but also posed a threat to the stability and security of New China.
To this end, China issued a statement expressing "grave concern" over the actions of the United States and South Vietnamese authorities, and at the same time clearly stated its support for the cause of peaceful reunification of the North Vietnamese people.
Picture | Chinese soldiers shot down a US military aircraft in Vietnam
By 1959, the US military advisory group in South Vietnam had reached more than 2,000 people and provided a large amount of weapons and equipment to the South Vietnam Group. At that time, the South Vietnamese authorities had more than 350,000 armed forces. They relied on the strategic base built by the US military in South Vietnam to invade China's Paracel Islands.
The following year, the "Southern Vietnam National Liberation Front" was established and was the first to be recognized by the Chinese government. Then Pham Van Dong led a delegation of the party, government and military of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to visit China. Chairman Mao cordially received them and gave great encouragement to the Vietnamese people.
But the U.S. government was not willing to give up. It changed the military advisory group stationed in Vietnam to the "U.S. Military Assistance Command to Vietnam" and increased the number of the advisory group to more than 11,000 people to facilitate unified command of "special warfare."
After the failure of the "Special War", the Americans used the so-called "Beibu Gulf Incident" as an excuse to launch a sudden armed aggression, allowing the war to spread to North Vietnam. The war of aggression against Vietnam has since become a local war with the US military as the main body.
Chairman Mao was very concerned about this and solemnly declared on many occasions: " China's 700 million people are the strong backing of the Vietnamese people. China's vast land is the reliable rear of the Vietnamese people. In order to support the Vietnamese people in winning the war of resistance against the United States, Victory, the Chinese people are prepared to bear the greatest national sacrifice. ”
Picture丨Chinese soldiers on the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Vietnam
Facing the rampant American invaders, Ho Chi Minh issued a request for assistance to Chairman Mao and sent people to China for detailed discussions. . Chairman Mao analyzed the battlefield situation in Vietnam and the international situation, and made a decision after careful consideration:
"Unconditionally meet Vietnam's requirements."
"People all over the world thank you! Thank you Vietnam! It is not you who thank us."
In May 1965, Chairman Mao returned from Jinggangshan and fell ill on the way and stopped in Changsha to rest. At this time, Ho Chi Minh followed the practice of previous years and took a month to take a vacation in China while avoiding the Vietnamese people to celebrate his birthday.
Chairman Mao learned that Ho Chi Minh had come to China. Although his body had not yet recovered, he decided to meet Ho Chi Minh immediately. Wu Xiuquan, the Minister of International Liaison who accompanied Ho Chi Minh, conveyed Chairman Mao's invitation. Ho Chi Minh was particularly happy.
Under Tao Zhu's arrangement, Chairman Mao and Ho Chi Minh met in Changsha. As soon as he saw Chairman Mao, Ho Chi Minh stepped forward quickly, hugged Chairman Mao and said hello. He found that Chairman Mao's voice was a little hoarse, and asked with concern if Chairman Mao was sick. Chairman Mao replied:
"I have a bad cold and I haven't fully recovered yet."
"Please speak less."
"It doesn't matter, I can speak."
"Then I will speak more, you speak less and listen more."
Picture丨Chairman Mao and Ho Chi Minh
Chairman Mao took Ho Chi Ming's hand and walked into the small living room together. He asked him to sit down on his right side and said: "Chairman Hu, you are from Vietnam and I am from Hunan. We are a family! What are the difficulties? We need people and things, you say. ”
Although Chairman Mao has a strong Hunan accent, Ho Chi Minh spent a lot of time in China and got along well with Chairman Mao. It takes a long time, so it sounds effortless. He said that he had three purposes for coming to China this time:
"The first is to greet you and other comrades of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for their health; the second is to express gratitude to the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people on behalf of the Vietnamese Workers' Party and the Vietnamese people, and thank you for your support in our fight against the epidemic." The third is to congratulate on the successful explosion of China's first atomic bomb. I accept the first and third points, but I don't accept the second. People all over the world thank you! ! You are not thanking us. " Chairman Mao smiled and waved his hand. Ho Chi Minh insisted that he wanted to thank you, and gave an example of two Chinese comrades who took out their saved salaries and sent them to him without signature, donating them to the Vietnamese people to fight US imperialism.
"This is their spontaneous action to show their intentions." Chairman Mao explained to Ho Chi Minh.
After the greetings, the topic of the two people came to the situation of Vietnam's anti-American struggle. Ho Chi Minh knew that Chairman Mao knew the situation in Vietnam well, so he only briefly introduced the situation. Then he took out a piece of paper and handed it to Chairman Mao.
Picture丨Chinese anti-aircraft artillery troops on the battlefield to resist US aggression and aid Vietnam
Chairman Mao took it and looked at it carefully. This is a schematic diagram for the construction of 12 roads from Vietnam to the Chinese border. As early as April, the Vietnamese side Representatives of the People’s Republic of China have proposed this, and China has also given a positive reply.
"I think you can." Chairman Mao put down the diagram in his hand and immediately replied: "You can send people to discuss specific solutions with our relevant parties."
"Thank you very much, thank you for your sincere assistance."
"We will do our best. It’s the responsibility of the rear!”
From this, an important scene in China’s resistance to U.S. aggression and aid to Vietnam was revealed.A piece of paper from Ho Chi Minh mobilized 80,000 Chinese troops.
Ho Chi Minh continued to say that the United States threatened to increase its troops to 100,000 and bomb Haiphong and even the capital Hanoi if it was unwilling to "peace talks." But the Vietnamese people have made up their mind to fight it for ten to eight years.
Chairman Mao knew the indomitable spirit of his old friend very well. After mastering first-hand information on the situation in South Vietnam, Chairman Mao once conducted a very detailed study and his view of the entire war situation was even more optimistic than that of Ho Chi Minh:
" The United States cannot defeat you, they are afraid of you. You will defeat the United States. The United States has few people and you have many people. The United States cannot fight for 20 years.
Picture丨Chairman Mao having a cordial conversation with Ho Chi Minh
Chairman Mao’s words are very important to Ho Chi Minh. It was said to be a great encouragement and made him more confident in winning the war. Later, Ho Chi Minh listed many favorable factors for winning this war to Chairman Mao:
"We can defeat the American army. We not only have regular troops, guerrillas, and people, but also the climate, leech, wasp , ants , and swamps are all our allies. "
"You still have forests," Chairman Mao added to Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh seemed to still have something to say, and added: "We still have a strong rear, and this is China."
The two were chatting, and before they knew it was lunch time, Chairman Mao invited Ho Chi Minh to have lunch with him in the small dining room. After sitting at the table, Ho Chi Minh asked Chairman Mao if he was still taking medicine. Chairman Mao pointed to the food on the table with his chopsticks:
"I don't like taking medicine. Comrade Ho Chi Minh, this is the best medicine. I told the doctor, if I don't look for you, your work will be done well." If I don't have a high fever, I won't look for it for the rest of my life. "
"I don't like taking medicine either. I agree with you. You can't just listen to what the doctor says. "On this point. , Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao have a strong resonance.
At this time, the waiter brought a bowl of Braised pork elbows . Chairman Mao first took a big piece for Ho Chi Minh, and then took a piece for himself, and ate it with relish:
"To eat meat, you must have some fat and some thin. The meat on pigs is inherently fat and lean. They only let the lean ones eat and not the fat ones. I also have a way, which is to leave it alone and not eat it. "
Picture丨Chairman Mao and Ho Chi Minh toasted together.
Ho Chi Minh nodded in agreement, but he didn't eat much. Ho Chi Minh liked to eat lightly and did not eat much, but Chairman Mao kept giving Ho Chi Minh food. After taking it, Ho Chi Minh passed it to the staff at the same table and whispered:
"Brother, do it for me. If you don't eat, it will be wasted." ”
After lunch, Chairman Mao and Ho Chi Minh took a rest in the small living room. Ho Chi Minh got up and left, hoping that Chairman Mao would take care of himself and not send himself out. But after saying goodbye, Chairman Mao still insisted on sending him to the stairs.
The next day, Ho Chi Minh was in a happy mood and took a special plane to Beijing. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a birthday banquet for him there, and almost all members of the Politburo and their wives attended the banquet. After staying in Beijing for two days, Dong Biwu accompanied Ho Chi Minh to visit various places.
In Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh met Chairman Mao again. Before leaving Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh specifically asked Chairman Mao if he had any other instructions on the Vietnam issue. Chairman Mao replied:
"You are on the front line, and we listen to you. As for the 'instructions', you and we must listen to the 'instructions' of the United States. We will fight how it tells us to fight. You see, there is no Diem." If you kill people like that, South Vietnam will not be able to carry out an armed struggle. The reactionaries always do good things.”
Chairman Mao’s humorous and meaningful reply left an indelible impression on Ho Chi Minh.
Picture丨The withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam
The subsequent development of the situation in Vietnam was exactly as Chairman Mao expected.Although the U.S. military increased its strength to 550,000, the Vietnamese people, with the support of the Chinese people, trapped them in the quagmire of the Vietnam War and eventually had to sign an armistice agreement and withdraw all U.S. troops from Vietnam.
Chairman Mao also took this opportunity to let the United States see the strength of New China, and skillfully conveyed a signal to the United States that he was willing to improve Sino-US relations, forcing the United States to put improving relations with China on its agenda.
The world structure has since begun to undergo major changes.
"The debt is too much, and I can only pay back a little."
After Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam, Chairman Mao twice proposed the idea of visiting South Vietnam, but Ho Chi Minh declined both times. Chairman Mao felt deeply regretful that the "debt" he owed Ho Chi Minh was not repaid until his death.
After the founding of New China, Ho Chi Minh frequently visited China. After the victory in the Anti-French War, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , which owned half of the country, began to carry out socialist construction , and at the same time invited foreign leaders to visit if conditions allowed.
Before 1960, the top leaders of the Soviet Union, India, Indonesia were invited to visit Vietnam. However, China, its closest neighbor, except Premier Zhou, Chairman Mao and Liu Shaoqi, had never set foot on Vietnamese soil.
Ho Chi Minh was very concerned about this and determined to invite them to visit as soon as possible.
Picture丨Chairman Mao and other national leaders welcomed Ho Chi Minh’s visit to China
In a meeting in 1960, Ho Chi Minh personally invited Chairman Mao and Liu Shaoqi to visit Vietnam respectively in 1961. He also specially emphasized that Liu Shaoqi should make a public visit and that he would be held in his honour. The grandest welcome ceremony is larger than that of other foreign leaders.
As for Chairman Mao, Ho Chi Minh understood his character and knew that he would not go abroad easily. Therefore, he did not put forward specific requirements for Chairman Mao’s visit. He only emphasized repeatedly: "You must go. Comrade Liu Shaoqi must go next spring. His debt will be repaid next spring." "Mao Zedong must go, and this debt must be repaid. You can decide the time yourself." In the blink of an eye, it was November 1961, and Chairman Mao and Liu Shaoqi's invitation to Ho Chi Minh had not yet been announced, which made Ho Chi Ming very anxious. After the founding of New China, He had been there more than ten times, but neither of them had come to Vietnam once, so he decided to reiterate his invitation to them again.
In mid-November, Ho Chi Minh once again said in front of the two people: "First of all, let me once again extend an invitation to Comrade Mao Zedong, Comrade Liu Shaoqi and other comrades to Vietnam. They are welcome whether openly or not. To Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade Liu Shaoqi, I I have invited you many times. This year alone, I have invited you three times. The more times I come, the more debt you owe. "
" The debt is too much and I cannot afford it. , I can only pay back a little. " Seeing that Ho Chi Minh spoke to this extent, Chairman Mao had no choice but to tell the truth.
In May 1963, Liu Shaoqi paid an official visit to Vietnam, which was regarded as repaying a debt. Ho Chi Minh was particularly happy. He delivered a passionate speech at the airport and recited the widely circulated saying between China and Vietnam: "Vietnam and China have a deep friendship, comrades and brothers. We have known each other for a long time, and we are happy to meet again today."
But Chairman Mao said The promise of “repaying only a little” was never fulfilled, leaving Ho Chi Minh with a little regret.
Picture | Ho Chi Minh greets Liu Shaoqi at the Vietnam airport
Seeing the war to resist U.S. aggression and national salvation in Vietnam getting more and more intense, Chairman Mao deeply cared about the people of South Vietnam and came up with the idea of going to Vietnam to see it in person. However, due to security concerns, Ho Chi Minh never approved it and told Chairman Mao that even he could not go anywhere near southern Vietnam.
Chairman Mao made a sincere speech, and even said that he could walk a long way and was not afraid of death. However, Ho Chi Minh still said that he could not go. The best he could do was to visit around Hanoi. Chairman Mao was a little disappointed and said to the staff around him:
"Ho Chi Minh always poured cold water on me."
In 1966, the Vietnamese delegation came to Beijing again to discuss issues. During the meeting with them, Chairman Mao once again made the request to visit South Vietnam. Ruan Wenling, then deputy secretary of the Southern Bureau, told Chairman Mao that Hu The Chairman also made this request, but for safety reasons, they did not agree to let him go. They also treated Chairman Mao the same way. When the south was liberated, they would definitely invite Chairman Mao and Chairman Hu to go together.
Li Duan said to Chairman Mao. , although he himself did not go to South Vietnam, his thoughts had already reached there.
The words of the two seemed to convince Chairman Mao, and the matter was never mentioned again.
Since 1967, Ho Chi Minh's health condition. He deteriorated rapidly and went to China for treatment and recuperation many times. After his condition stabilized, Chairman Mao also paid great attention to Ho Chi Minh's condition and sent medical teams to treat him four times.
Before Ho Chi Minh's death, he was in a coma most of the time. After waking up from a coma, he suddenly asked who could sing Chinese songs. He wanted to listen to "Ode to Yan'an". Two Chinese nurses fulfilled his request and sang "Ode to Yan'an". Ho Chi Minh's face showed satisfaction.
According to comrades from the Chinese medical team, this was the most gratifying thing for Ho Chi Minh before his death.
Picture: Premier Zhou and others at Ho Chi Minh's funeral.
When the bad news of Ho Chi Minh's death reached Beijing, Chairman Mao was extremely sad. , the Chinese people have since lost a comrade-in-arms and a brother as close as brothers, and the Vietnamese people have since lost an outstanding revolutionary leader.
Since the 1960s, Chairman Mao has never been abroad again, and Premier Zhou proposed himself as a representative. First go to Hanoi to say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh's body, and then Li Xiannian will lead the delegation to attend the funeral.
Chairman Mao read Premier Zhou's arrangements and wrote "agree" on the report, and then asked his secretary to find him again. A photo of Ho Chi Minh came.
When Chairman Mao looked up, the secretary found that his eyes were already full of tears.
The two old men had always wanted to go to South Vietnam, but due to environmental reasons, they had not been able to make the trip. The good wishes will remain in people's memory and become an eternal souvenir.
