The Yellow River, known as the "mother river" of the Chinese nation, has been in the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization for more than 3,300 years, and successive dynasties have built their capitals in the Yellow River Valley.
**The chairman has a deep affection for the Yellow River, and the magnificent picture of "up and down the river, suddenly surging and surging" in his "Spring and Snow in Qinyuan" vividly depicts the majestic momentum of the Yellow River.
In 1952, Chairman ** took advantage of the rest time to inspect the most serious and harmful section of the Yellow River. He was accompanied by Yang Shangkun, director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, and Minister of Public Security.
During the inspection of the Yellow River, many interesting things also happened to the chairman, such as when he went to the farmer's house to ask for water, he was asked by the peasant woman: "Didn't Comrade Stalin come with him?" ”
So, how did the Chairman answer?
We will definitely obey the orders of the chairman and resolutely complete the task! ”
Okay, let's go there and see how the defeated generals who are captured alive are commanded. ”
After arriving at the Arctic Pavilion, he said humorously: "It seems that I can't see General Wang Yaowu here." "On the afternoon of October 28, ** arrived at Xuzhou Station.
Huacheng, secretary of the municipal party committee of Xuzhou.
1. Mayor Zhang Lizhong greeted him at the station. The comrades in Xuzhou immediately explained after seeing ***: "Chairman, I'm really sorry, because I didn't receive your notice in advance, so I didn't prepare to greet you." ”
But *** listened to it and said very happily: "I like to listen to unprepared reports, so that it is true!" There was a burst of laughter at the scene, which also relieved the tense atmosphere at that time.
In the process of Comrade Xuzhou's report, he kept asking questions, which also made the local leading comrades feel particularly cordial and spoke freely. ** said: "This is very good, and it is more real and thorough to understand the problem."
I came out this time mainly to rest, to see the old road of the Yellow River in the past, it entered the sea through Xuzhou, and I don't want to disturb you more. At 3 p.m. on October 29, Geng Yufan, deputy director of the Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, reported to the Henan Provincial Party Committee, and Director Liu Jianzhang also called from Xuzhou and said: "There are several leaders in Lanfeng (now Lankao) tonight, and the provincial party committee is also invited to consider welcoming them." ”
As night fell, the first special train entered the Lanfeng County Railway Station, and Zhang Xi, Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, Chen Zaidao, Commander of the Military Region, and other leaders came to greet them. On the special train, Yang Shangkun, ** and others warmly received them and explained: "The chairman once climbed Yunlong Mountain in Xuzhou and looked at the old road of the Yellow River, but now he has rested.
The chairman was worried that it would disturb the citizens, so he decided not to go to Kaifeng for accommodation tonight, but to spend the night on the train so that he could better visit the Yellow River tomorrow. Zhang Xi was very concerned after hearing this, and said: "How can this be?
The chairman should go to Kaifeng, where accommodation has already been arranged for you. But Yang Shangkun was adamantly opposed, saying: "The chairman has already slept, if he stays in Kaifeng tonight, he will come back tomorrow morning, which is too much of a waste of time."
The President has agreed with us that we will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast. At Yang Shangkun's insistence, Zhang Xi and others had to give up this idea. Subsequently, Liu Jianzhang led Zhang Xi, Chen Zaidao and others to another train to rest.
That's why the chairman chose to spend the night on the train instead of going to Kaifeng to stay in order to avoid disturbing the citizens.
What's your name? ”
Wang Huayun described in detail the flooding of the Yellow River in the 23rd year of Qing Daoguang, and he said that although the Yellow River has not broken in recent years, if it encounters a major flood, it cannot be stopped by building embankments alone, and it is necessary to build large reservoirs to store floodwater.
Wang Huayun also reported on the idea and preliminary plan for building large and medium-sized reservoirs in the main stream and major tributaries of the Yellow River, which were all derived from his in-depth study of the ancient river management strategy, the hydrological data of the Yellow River, and field investigations.
**After listening, I decided to personally go to the dangerous construction site section of the east dam head of the Yellow River embankment. At 11:10 that day, he stepped off the special train, changed to a car and drove to the bank of the Yellow River, and soon saw the majestic embankment of the Yellow River and the magnificent scene of surging yellow water.
Stepping out of the car and striding up the embankment, he looked at the rolling currents and couldn't help but look northeast. After a while, he asked the staff around him, "What kind of place is this?" ”
The staff replied: "This is the copper tile chamber, the place where the Yellow River broke and diverted in the fifth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty." This bank is the east dam head, and the opposite bank has the west dam head. The chairman listened carefully to the introduction of the staff, and then walked towards the east dam head of the Yellow River embankment.
His gaze was firm and his expression was focused, as if he was thinking about how to better manage the Yellow River and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.
As soon as the staff's words fell, Wang Huayun continued: "There are two main reasons for the rupture at that time, one is the corruption of the Qing Dynasty, and the other is the chaotic ...... social environmentAfter listening to the introduction of Wang Huayun and others, ** fell into deep thought.
He stared at the rushing Yellow River, which rushed straight to the east dam head and suddenly turned northeast, making the position of the east dam head even more precipitous. ** After being silent for a while, he said, "The dam here must be repaired!" ”
Then he asked, "What is Si?" Wang Huayun quoted the explanation in the ancient book, saying, "The Si person sweeps also, and the royal slip moves out." This shows that the role of the sil is to block the rapids and protect the riverbank.
** nodded and continued to ask: "Have you read all the ancient books on river governance in the past?" Wang Huayun replied, "In order to learn from the ancients, we read some. * After carefully inspecting the embankment and stone dam, he asked Wang Huayun, "How many such embankments and stone dams have you built?" ”
Wang Huayun thought for a while and said: "The whole river has been built for 1,800 kilometers, and nearly 5,000 dams have been built. In the past, when the Kuomintang reactionaries were under rule, most of these dams were made of straw and were very unstable, but now we have changed them to stone dams. ”
Then, ** asked: "The Yellow River has not broken for six years, if the embankment and dam continue to be repaired in the future, will the Yellow River still break?" Wang Huayun and others replied: "Although this can play a certain role in curing the symptoms, if there is a strong flood, there will still be a great danger." ”
**The chairman walked to the Yangzhuang construction site with Wang Huayun and others and asked about the number of long dams in the local repair section, the number of cadres and their living conditions. Duan Chang reported one by one.
After that, they drove down the Yellow River embankment to the last dam in the Yangzhuang dangerous construction site. **The chairman got out of the car and went to the beach of the Yellow River, carefully observed the silted sediment, and asked about the amount of sediment washed over every year.
Wang Huayun et al. gave a specific answer to this question and put forward a strategy for sediment control: "We must do a good job of soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau in Northwest China to reduce the sediment accumulation of the Yellow River and facilitate the management of the lower reaches of the Yellow River." ”
** The Chair agreed and praised it as a good idea. During this period, the chairman begged for water from a nearby farmer, and many interesting things happened.
Led by Wang Huayun, they made their way to the village, where there were only a few farmhouses at the top of the hillside, and the surrounding area was quiet, with the occasional sound of birds.
**Chairman, Yang Shangkun and Wang Huayun on their way to the farmhouse. Wang Huayun first entered the farmhouse to check and found a peasant woman who was peeling corn, who looked to be about 60 years old.
Wang Huayun recognized the peasant woman and greeted her and asked if she needed water. The peasant woman received them warmly and asked them how many bowls of water they needed, and after learning that only Chairman *** and Yang Shangkun needed water, the peasant woman agreed to their request.
However, due to the dim light in the house, and the peasant woman's advanced age and poor eyesight, she did not realize that the person in front of her was the great leader*** chairman. When she held two bowls of water in front of Chairman *** and Yang Shangkun, Chairman ** sat next to her to drink water and asked her where other people in the house were.
The peasant woman replied that she had a son and an old man at home, and that the son had gone to serve in the army, and that the old man had gone to the market and had not yet returned.
** Asked with concern: "Is there enough food in the field?" Aunt Liu lowered her head and said: "Our land here is all saline-alkali land, and the harvest is not much. After hearing this, he turned to Wang Huayun and the others and said, "When the river water here is well managed, we plan to transform the saline-alkali land." ”
Aunt Liu thought that they were also local cadres, so she didn't take it to heart and only cared about peeling corn. After *** and Yang Shangkun finished drinking water, they said goodbye to Aunt Liu: "Thank you for the water, we are leaving." ”
Aunt Liu nodded, although she never looked up. **Yang Shangkun, Wang Huayun and others returned the same way, but met an old farmer in his 60s when they went down the mountain.
The old farmer saw a group of people coming down from his house and saw the familiar Wang Huayun, so he stepped forward to greet him: "Director Wang, why are you leaving?" Do you want to sit again? ”
Wang Huayun responded with a smile: "No, we just came out of your house." The eldest lady said that you went to the town to catch the market, why did you come back so early? Before the old farmer could reply, he exclaimed, "*."
You're ***, right? It turned out that when Wang Huayun was talking, the old farmer saw the portrait of *** he often looked at, and recognized him at a glance.
** smiled and stepped forward to shake hands with the old farmer, and said, "Don't go, we've already bothered the eldest mother, it's not good to bother you again!" ”
The old man's loud shout made Aunt Liu, who was peeling corn kernels, hear the sound, "**Aunt Liu put down the corn in her hand, ran quickly to the side of the hill, and shouted: "*."
You're ***, huh? Hearing this, ** smiled and waved his hand at her. Aunt Liu stared at *** tightly and said excitedly: "Chairman, didn't Comrade Stalin come with you?" ”
Everyone laughed out loud when they heard this, and ** replied: "Stalin is busier than me, and the road is far, I didn't come this time, next time I will come to see you with him!" "Why did Aunt Liu ask like this?
It turned out that ** and Stalin's portraits were often hung together, and the relationship between China and the Soviet Union was very close at that time, so Aunt Liu, who couldn't read a few big characters, thought that the two of them were often together.
**In his later years, he still cared about the Yellow River, and on the evening of the 30th, he lived in the Henan Military Region in Kaifeng, Henan Province. At this time, it was very late, everyone was resting, but only the light in the *** room was still on.
He has a habit of looking for local chronicles to read whenever he goes to a place to understand the local historical changes and customs.
On October 31, ** visited Xinxiang, Henan Province to inspect the Yellow River irrigation project, and he instructed his entourage to do a good job in the Yellow River. Although he was not initially scheduled to get off in Zhengzhou, when the train arrived in Zhengzhou, he proposed to see the newly built Yellow River Irrigation Gate in Bishan.
**After crossing the Yellow River to the north bank, I came to the first gate of the People's Shengli Canal Project and asked Deputy Director Zhao Mingfu about the construction of the project and the irrigation situation. When I heard that the People's Shengli Canal can divert 40 flows, irrigate more than 400,000 mu, and reach more than 700,000 mu, I said happily: "Good, good, very good!" ”
Therefore, he temporarily decided to go to Huangqu to have a look. ** and others came to the Yellow River Irrigation Gate Management Office, and after listening to the report and introduction of the staff, they put forward a lot of questions and suggestions.
** In a consultative tone, ask the manager: "Is it okay to open the floodgates and see if there is water?" The manager replied that there was no electricity yet, so people could only shake it, and there were not enough people.
** smiled and said, "How is it not enough?" Isn't there still us! Shall we go and open the floodgates together? As soon as the words fell, ** took the lead in taking off his coat and shook the yellow irrigation gate with everyone.
The dam of the Yellow River was opened by *** and others, and the river water instantly poured into the channel. Sit down, light a cigarette, and say as you smoke: "It would be great if every county could build a diversion dam along the Yellow River!" ”
On the way back to the special train, he added: "Turning disasters into benefits is the best way!" On the special train, he added: "This new channel of the Yellow River Weihe, developed by the people, has changed the situation that the lower reaches of the Yellow River only suffer from floods and do not benefit, and at the same time benefit the people." ”
In the winter of 1954, ** passed through Zhengzhou on his way to Beijing in the south. On the special train at Zhengzhou Railway Station, ** listened to the work report of Wang Huayun and others on "controlling the yellow color" again, and paid special attention to the issue of soil and water conservation and planning.
In June 1955, ** listened to the fourth report on the implementation of the Yellow River control plan in the guest room of the Henan Provincial Party Committee. This time, the focus of attention is on the implementation of the Yellow River management plan.
In 1959, ** came to Jinan again to inspect the Yellow River, and said a meaningful sentence: "Everyone can't say that the Yellow River will not die, and I will not die when I reach the Yellow River." ”
Since the first expedition to the Yellow River, ** has always remembered the second expedition to the Yellow River and hopes to visit the Yangtze River one day. He even thought that if he could investigate the Yellow River again, he would definitely ride a horse instead of a train.
In March 1961, the chairman proposed the resumption of the system of horseback riding, no longer by train or car, but by horseback inspection. His goal was to ride horseback from the mouth of the Yellow River to its source, then across the Himalayas and down the Yangtze River.
In August, when the chairman chatted with Zhang Xianpeng in Lushan, he shared his three major wishes: First, he hoped to be delegated to engage in industry for one year, agriculture for one year and commerce for half a year, so as to conduct in-depth investigation and research, understand the local situation, and play a role in promoting cadres across the country.
Secondly, he hoped to ride horses to the banks of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River to conduct field investigations. However, he did not know enough about geology, so he wanted to invite a geologist, a historian, and a writer to come with him.
In the end, he hopes to write a book that will include his life, including his strengths and weaknesses, so that people can evaluate what kind of person he is.
In 1964, the chairman was in his late teens, but he did not slack off because of old age, but became more and more concerned about the Yellow River. He instructed his staff to prepare in advance, including practicing horseback riding and collecting information.
That summer, he rode a horse in Beidaihe and left a precious **. However, due to various reasons, the Chairman was unable to undertake the second expedition to the Yellow River. But his Yellow River complex and attention never diminished until his death.