On June 9, 1973, an aircraft carrying out foreign affairs mission suddenly stopped at Yan'an Airport . People were surprised to meet them. When they opened the door, they turned out to be Premier Zhou who everyone missed day and night.
"Prime Minister Zhou is back! Premier Zhou is back!" The villagers ran around excitedly. Hearing the three words Premier Zhou, the people in the old district stopped their work and came to welcome Premier Zhou.
It turns out that Premier Zhou accompanied the first secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam, Li Duan and the Prime Minister model essay and to Yan'an.
Under the leadership of local staff, Zhou Enlai returned to Yan'an for a visit. Everyone came to a broken cave. Zhou Enlai suddenly stopped, stared at the door of the cave with anger, and asked loudly: "Where is the sign here?"
Hearing this, the staff looked at each other and no one dared to say anything for a long time.
Why did Zhou Enlai, who has always been gentle and elegant, suddenly get angry? What's going on with this "brand"?
pic | Premier Zhou
1. Vietnamese guests came
This time, the visit of Vietnamese guests was not just to reminisce about the past, but to come with requests.
Vietnam hopes that China can provide greater assistance, and it opens its mouth for 8.1 billion yuan. After hearing this, Zhou Enlai fell into silence for a long time.
After a while, Zhou Enlai slowly spoke, "We may find it difficult to achieve this requirement..."
The situation in China at that time was not optimistic. There were still many people at the grassroots level who could not eat enough or wear warm clothes. We were unable to take care of ourselves and helped Vietnam out of friendly aid. It was already very difficult.
In the end, Zhou Enlai set the aid amount at 2.5 billion yuan, which was too different from the expectations of the Vietnamese representative. Li Duan and Fan Wentong have always been reluctant to sign and have repeatedly negotiated with Zhou Enlai.
Zhou Enlai, who was seriously ill, could only force himself to deal with the difficult Vietnamese representative. He went through hard work to finally convince the Vietnamese representative to sign. After the signing of
, as usual, the central government will arrange for foreign leaders to visit various places. After careful consideration, Zhou Enlai decided to take Li Duan and Fan Wentong back to Yan'an, the old revolutionary base area, to see with them what kind of life the Chinese people still live.
Returning to Yan'an after 20 years, Zhou Enlai has two purposes. One is to tell Vietnam with practical actions that the internationalist aid implemented by China was saved by the Chinese people by frugality and tightening their belts. Every penny is hard-earned. Even if the amount is not large, it carries China's full sincerity.
Another thing is that Zhou Enlai wants to go back to see the people in the old district. Since the beginning of this year, Zhou Enlai has been sent to the hospital many times due to overwork.
In March, Zhou Enlai had a red blood cell increase surgery. In less than two months, too much red blood cell appeared in his urine again due to overwork. When he met foreign guests in June, he fell asleep against the wall in the bathroom. Our Premier Zhou seemed to have grown old overnight. When
was negotiating with Vietnam representatives, Zhou Enlai asked the waiter to send a hot towel every 10 minutes to wipe his forehead to refresh himself. The negotiations went on all night, and the two waiters twisted the towels all night. When they looked at them the next morning, they twisted the blisters out of their hands.
After seeing this, Premier Zhou still insisted on standing up and expressing his gratitude to the two girls. Seeing the Prime Minister reaching out his hand, the two girls quickly bent down and bowed, worried that their hands were found to be full of bubbles by the careful Prime Minister.
After the meeting ended, Zhou Enlai asked Chairman Mao to report on his work. As soon as he entered the room, Chairman Mao quickly arranged someone to help Zhou Enlai sit down and said with heartache: "Enlai, don't come in person for such a thing. Just let the comrades under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say it. Try to run less and rest more!"
In order not to worry Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, who had not slept all night, forced himself to cheer up and said humorously: "Chairman is so careless. I am not a piece of paper, and I can still walk." After the work report, Zhou Enlai said emotionally: "Chairman, I want to go back to Yan'an to see how the fellow villagers who helped us were doing back then. I miss Yan'an very much."
" Then your body..."
"Don't worry about me, I know my body! "Zhou Enlai interrupted Chairman Mao's words, and saw that he had made up his mind, Chairman Mao did not persuade him again and agreed to Zhou Enlai to bring Vietnamese representatives back to Yan'an.
Picture | Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai took a photo
2. Return to the old area of Yan'an
At 10 a.m. on June 9, the plane Zhou Enlai was on landing slowly. When he appeared at Yan'an Airport, this loess mountain city that had been silent for many years instantly boiled.
"Prime Minister Zhou! Premier Zhou is back! "
" Premier Zhou is here to see us! "
" How are you, Premier Zhou? We miss you so much! "
"..."
When he learned that Premier Zhou was back, the people from the old district rushed to the airport to greet him. Everyone surrounded Premier Zhou and kept saying hello to the Prime Minister. Many people were so excited that they shed tears. Seeing such a scene, Li Duan and Fan Wentong were also deeply touched and their eyes were red.
When they saw the people in the old district, the torture of the illness and physical fatigue seemed to disappear in an instant. Zhou Enlai greeted everyone excitedly and shook hands with everyone one by one. The guards were worried that Zhou Enlai's weak body could not bear the crowded crowd and could not stop the crowd from behind.
Zhou Enlai hurriedly stopped him and said patiently: "It doesn't matter, I miss them very much too! "
The leader of the Yan'an Prefectural Committee held Zhou Enlai's hand tightly and said with red eyes: "Premier Zhou, we look forward to you coming every day, you are here today! "
Zhou Enlai responded with a smile: "I'm back home today, I'm so happy! "
Yes, I'm back home. Premier Zhou has been struggling for 13 years in this desolate and barren land, and has devoted deep feelings to every tree and grass here.
Picture | Zhou Enlai returns to Yan'an
After coming to Yan'an, Premier Zhou takes Vietnamese guests to the hotel for a short rest, and then rushes to Phoenix Mountain Revolutionary site for a visit.
At this time, the people of Yan'an all know about Premier Zhou's return , Everyone put down their work, walked out of the house, and squeezed the road less than a thousand meters outside Phoenix Mountain into a mess.
After the visit, Premier Zhou showed up again, and the people excitedly greeted the Prime Minister. In order to escort Premier Zhou to leave safely, the guards tried their best to drive a road from the crowded crowd. Premier Zhou walked in it and frequently greeted the people on both sides of the street.
Zhou Enlai took the initiative to pull Li Duan and Fan Wentong in front of him and introduced to the people: "Friends, this is our good friend, our friends from Vietnam! ”
Hearing this, everyone shouted happily: “Welcome to China, welcome to Yan'an! "
In such a warm atmosphere, Li Duan and Fan Wentong could not help but be infected by the emotions of the villagers, with red eyes and constantly waved to the masses. At the end of the road, there were several jeeps parked, specifically escorting Zhou Enlai, Li Duan and his group.
Seeing Zhou Enlai get in the car, the guards no longer blocked the excited masses. The masses rushed forward and surrounded the car tightly. Around the car, the car could only drive forward slowly.
When the car Zhou Enlai was riding came to the Nan Xiaohe River under Baota Mountain, , it suddenly turned off. The people found that Premier Zhou was sitting in the car, and he rushed forward without even taking off his shoes, and worked together to lift the car out of the river.
Premier Zhou expressed his gratitude to everyone and kept waving to everyone.
"Stop the car" is a habit used by the people of Yan'an to welcome Premier Zhou, Chairman Mao and other central leaders. When Chairman Mao returned from Chongqing in 1945, the people of Yan'an kept blocking the car and welcome Chairman Mao to return safely. Over time, "Stop the car" became the "highest courtesy" of the people of Yan'an.
lunch at noon was specially prepared by the Prefectural Committee and the Administrative Office. In order to entertain Premier Zhou who came from afar, the Prefectural Committee prepared a sumptuous meal. Premier Zhou did not move his chopsticks, but only ate millet porridge and buckwheat noodles .
Picture|Zhou Enlai among the people of Yan'an
After everyone sat down, Zhou En looked at the two meat and two vegetable dishes on the table, constantly advised the comrades who were traveling to eat more, but he couldn't bear to eat a bite.
When toasting, Zhou Enlai said meaningfully to the cadres and masses in Yan'an: "The people of Yan'an have nurtured us and made us achieve a national victory! But Yan'an is still very backward today, we are sorry to the people of Yan'an!"
"Don't say that, Premier Zhou, without you, how could we live today."
"Yes, Prime Minister Grandpa, I still have meat to eat now!" a little girl said in a silence.
Premier Zhou kindly touched the little girl's head and asked loudly: "Comrades, can Yan'an change his appearance in three years and double the food in five years?"
"Yes! Ensure the completion of the task!" Xu Xiaomin, secretary of the prefectural party committee, stood up and led the other comrades to speak in unison.
"Good statement! Be ambitious!"
After saying that, Premier Zhou opened Moutai wine , poured wine for each of the comrades present, then raised his glass of wine and said emotionally: "Cheers to Yan'an! I'll come to Yan'an again when you have doubled your food in five years!"
Everyone raised their glasses and drank them all.
In fact, after the Prime Minister was diagnosed with bladder cancer, the doctor did not allow him to drink. However, in order to respect the customs of fellow villagers in northern Shaanxi and to encourage comrades in Yan'an to carry forward the "desperate spirit" of the revolutionary war era and speed up the construction of old areas, the Prime Minister ignored his body and drank several bowls of wine.
"Prime Minister Zhou, try our millet in Yan'an!" The comrades brought a bowl of millet rice to Zhou Enlai.
Premier Zhou smiled and took the bowl of rice, finished it in a few bites, then gave a thumbs up and praised, "Our millet in Yan'an is delicious!"
After eating the rice, the Prime Minister saw that there were still a few grains of rice in the bowl, so he stood up and scooped a spoonful of soup, and drank the rice grains.
When the Prime Minister's rice bowl is placed on the table, it is as smooth as if it has just been washed.
pic | Zhou Enlai
After eating, everyone started chatting enthusiastically. Zhou Enlai kept looking around, and the comrade from the prefectural committee asked him if he was looking for someone.
Zhou Enlai smiled and said, "Where is Liu Fujiang, why didn't he come?" When Mr. Hao, who was next to him, heard this, he hurriedly said, "Prime Minister, Liu Fujiang has been dead for two years."
"There is another good person missing in the world!" Zhou Enlai sighed.
This Liu Fujiang and Hao Erye are both Premier Zhou’s former neighbors. The Prime Minister has always been thinking about seeing them again, but he didn’t expect that Liu Fujiang has passed away and he will never be able to meet again.
After answering Zhou Enlai's question, Mr. Hao picked up his bowl and started eating it. He finished a bowl of rice in a few bites, but he still looked like he was not full.
Zhou Enlai saw that he was embarrassed to serve the rice, and smiled and said, "Master Hao Er, give me the bowl, I will serve you another bowl."
Hao Erliang blushed shyly and handed the bowl to Zhou Enlai.
holding a bowl of rice. Master Hao said happily: "This rice is so delicious. I haven't eaten such a delicious meal in several years!"
Hearing this, Zhou Enlai frowned with heartache and sighed: "We can still eat enough in war years, but in peacetime, there is no food. This is my responsibility!"
After the meal, Premier Zhou shook hands with everyone present one by one. Because he was too excited, he made a "pop" sound when he held his hands together, which looked like a high-five.
Soon, this incident spread. The people in Yan'an said that Premier Zhou had formulated the order to "change appearance in three years and double grain in five years". The leaders of the prefectural committee also "five" with the prime minister. We have to do what we say!
In the hearts of the people of Yan'an, "fighting" is equivalent to a promise of a thousand gold, and the indicators arranged by the Prime Minister must be completed no matter what.
After eating, the guests went to take a nap, but Premier Zhou did not rest for a minute and called the responsible persons of the Prefectural Committee and the Administrative Office to his room to talk.
"Is the crops good this year? Do ordinary people eat enough? Is life difficult? Are there any difficulties in the cadres in the branch?
Zhou Enlai asked a lot of questions in one breath, and the leaders of the prefectural committee answered truthfully.
The fourteen counties in Yan'an, seven counties in the north are still very poor. The people can't even eat corn, and they don't even have decent clothes. The family of five is still covered with a quilt...
As listening, tears appeared in the prime minister's eyes, his lips trembled slightly, and his kind eyes swept over the comrades of the prefectural committee one by one, with guilt all over his eyes. After the report of
, Premier Zhou sighed heavily and recalled: "In 1947, Hu Zongnan 2.2 million troops besieged Yan'an. The enemy arrived at Baota Mountain, less than 20 kilometers away from us. The plane's shells were thrown in front of Chairman Mao's cave. The Chairman reluctantly evacuated."
Photo | Chairman Mao turned to Shaanxi
" turned to fight. In more than a year in northern Shaanxi, several crises were encountered. The Chairman insisted that the Yellow River could not be held true, and always shared the same destiny and hardships as the people of Yan'an. It was not until 1948 that the Northwest Field Army was about to recover Yan'an, and the Chairman crossed the Yellow River to the east and entered North China. "
" The Chairman said that the people of Yan'an raised us with millet. How can we abandon the masses and just focus on our own transfer?"
Hearing this, several young comrades couldn't help but whimper.
"Now, the revolution has been victorious for more than 20 years, why is Yan'an still so poor?" The comrade of the
Prefectural Committee sighed deeply and said helplessly: "The policy has been implemented in a deviation. The pumpkins and corn in the yards of ordinary people will be shoveled off..."
Hearing this, Zhou Enlai was shocked and said sternly: "How can this be done? No matter what policy is, the ultimate goal is to make the people have enough food! How can you do this? How worthy of the fellow villagers in Yan'an..."
After saying this, Premier Zhou stood up and bowed deeply to the comrades present. Xu Xiaomin quickly stood up to support him. Premier Zhou held his arm and choked and said, "I have a responsibility for the people of Yan'an. As the Premier of the State Council, I'm sorry for you!" As soon as he finished speaking, tears as big as beans slid from the Prime Minister's eyes. One by one, the iron-brained men couldn't help but turn red when they saw this.
After the conversation, Premier Zhou quietly called the staff to drive a jeep and quietly went to Baota Mountain.
"I have lived in Yan'an for more than ten years, but I have never been to Baota Mountain. The Chairman said that you can see Yan'an's scenery here."
The wind blew on the Baota Mountain. The yellow sand blew across Zhou Enlai's haggard face with the strong wind. The sand and soil hit the face make people unable to open their eyes. Zhou Enlai frowned and looked at the backward and barren Yan'an in front of him, and said with great emotion: "I hope that the comrades in Yan'an will restore and carry forward the Yan'an spirit, speed up the pace, quickly build the construction of Yan'an, and let the people in the old area live a good life!"
Picture | Zhou Enlai
3. Where is the brand here?
After getting off the pagoda mountain, Zhou Enlai took a bus to Zaoyuan again, which had a very special relationship with the Prime Minister.
20 years ago, he and Mao Zedong, Zhu De and other central leaders lived in a row of caves in Zaoyuan. Everyone lived, held meetings, handled party, government and military affairs, shared weal and woe, and led the Chinese people to the other side of victory!
Zhou Enlai slowly walked past a row of caves in Zaoyuan. The caves where Chairman Mao and Zhu De lived were cleaned up. There was a sign hanging at the door with their names and some basic information written on them. The furnishings in the house were similar to those in the past. Seeing this familiar old place, Zhou Enlai couldn't help but turn red again.
As we walked, a cave full of spider webs and weeds appeared in front of us. Zhou Enlai frowned when he saw this, and wanted to say something and swallowed it.
The tour guide walked to the cave and pretended to be unaware of it and got confused.
Seeing this scene, Zhou Enlai could not hold it in. He pointed to the empty cave door and asked angrily: "Where is the sign here?"
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in a daze, and no one dared to speak for a long time.
Zhou Enlai immediately sent someone to call the person in charge of Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Hall and said seriously: "Why are there only photos of Chairman Mao, Mr. Zhu, Chen Yun and me in the memorial hall? You are irresponsible for history! Not serious about work!"
"And this, this is the cave where Comrade Liu Shaoqi lived in that year. How do you comrades investigate? Why don't you take the initiative to understand history? Why don't you treat everyone equally?"
Hearing this, the person in charge was scolded and sweated in a cold sweat, and couldn't answer for a long time.
Zhou Enlai sighed heavily and said earnestly: "Communists, respect the facts!"
This is a world-breaking saying that will echo in the corridor of history forever!
At Zhou Enlai's instructions, the staff re-hanged Liu Shaoqi's sign at the entrance of the cave. Although it was just an inconspicuous little thing, the meaning behind it was very important.
Picture | Zaoyuan site
Even though he was suffering from illness, Zhou Enlai still upholds a fair heart, tries his best to solve problems and protect more people. After hearing Premier Zhou's words, everyone present's love for the Prime Minister became more profound.
After visiting Zaoyuan, Premier Zhou went back to meet Li Duan. Li Duan excitedly told Zhou Enlai what he saw, heard and felt in Yan'an, saying that he was deeply moved by the enthusiasm and unity of the people of Yan'an.
Prime Minister said with great emotion: "I am not competent as the Prime Minister. The people in the old district still have no full meals. I have a responsibility!"
Hearing this, Li Duan and Fan Wentong fell into silence for a long time and understood the meaning of this trip to Yan'an. It is already very difficult to aid Vietnam with 2.5 billion yuan. 8.1 billion yuan is a task that is impossible for China at this time!
After coming out of Li Duan, Zhou Enlai said that he did not live in the Yan'an hotel with the best conditions, but instead ran to an ordinary cadre guesthouse.
Premier Zhou has a habit, that is, no matter where you go to inspect the work, you must sort out the report before returning to Beijing. This trouble is late at night.
The staff were worried that Premier Zhou would not eat well at night, so they brought a bowl of light millet porridge. Zhou En looked at the bowl of millet porridge and couldn't drink it for a long time.
Because during dinner in the evening, Zhou Enlai invited a few familiar fellow villagers to the guesthouse to reminisce about the past. He was worried that they hadn't eaten, so the staff specially prepared millet rice.
When eating, the fellow villagers ate voraciously and were very anxious, for fear of not being full.
Premier Zhou sat aside and looked at them, and shed tears again.
When the Prime Minister cried, the fellow villagers quickly put down their chopsticks and anxiously asked the Prime Minister what was wrong. Premier Zhou replied in an extremely gentle voice: "Eat, eat, eat more, eat enough."
Prince Zhou's trip to Yan'an was only 22 hours, of which the Prime Minister only rested for 4 hours. Comrade Liu Minli, who was traveling with the Prime Minister, witnessed the Prime Minister's busy day with his own eyes.
All work was over in the evening, and it was already past one by one in the morning. Premier Zhou shook hands with the comrades in Yan'an one by one and said goodbye, and then personally sent everyone out of the guesthouse.
Liu Minli, who was walking at the end of the team, was the last one to leave. He saw the Prime Minister's thin and tired body leaning against the door frame. When he shook hands, the Prime Minister's palms were sweating. His once thick and firm hands have now become soft and powerless. Seeing such a Prime Minister, Liu Minli's heart was almost broken.
On the morning of June 10, Premier Zhou accompanied Vietnamese guests on board the plane. Before leaving, the Premier reluctantly said to the farewell crowd: "I will definitely come again when Yan'an is built!"
pic | Forever Premier Zhou
People don't know that Premier Zhou's illness is already very serious at this time. He promised to come back when Yan'an "changes its appearance in three years and doubles its food in five years."
But on that chilly morning three years later, the Prime Minister left us forever.
When the news of Prime Minister’s death reached Yan'an, the entire Yan'an was shrouded in heavy sadness. The people in the old district were holding their heads in front of the radio and cried with their heads. Everyone had a gloom on their faces. The Prime Minister’s words “When Yan'an is built, I will definitely come again” became a promise that will never be fulfilled…
