1976 was a year of deep sorrow for the people, who had not yet come out of the grief of the deaths of Premier Zhou and President Zhu when they suffered heavy casualties in the Tangshan earthquake.
Even Chairman Mao, who was bedridden, was deeply hit and became more and more serious.
But even so, Chairman Mao's heart has always been linked to the people, and in the days of the Tangshan earthquake and disaster relief, he forcibly endured his physical discomfort and handled the relevant documents, until everything was properly arranged, and then he reluctantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterwards, Chairman Mao deliberately asked people to write a telegram and send it to the marshals of the Central Military Commission after his death, but when Marshal Xu Qianqian read it, he burst into tears.
What exactly did Chairman Mao explain in his telegram? Why did Marshal Xu Qianqian burst into tears after reading it?
Since Chairman Mao's heart attack in June 1976, his physical condition has deteriorated further, and he is not only unable to stand, but even difficult to eat and speak.
In order to restore Chairman Mao's body as soon as possible, the people of our party have rarely bothered him because of anything, and even doctors will try to minimize movement when they see a doctor, so as to let Chairman Mao recuperate well.
However, at 3:00 a.m. on July 28, 1976, when people were still asleep, a roar suddenly came from Zhongnanhai.
All the houses began to shake, even Chairman Mao's apartment, and Wang Dongxing himself realized at the first moment that there might be an earthquake.
In order to prevent accidents, a crowd of people immediately rushed to Chairman Mao's residence, and only when they saw that Chairman Mao was still lying safely on the bed, everyone was relieved.
Just when the crowd was a little confused, Chairman Mao watched the crowd slowly wave his hand, and looked quite calm, as if to ask everyone not to panic.
In order to prevent Chairman Mao from getting too emotional, the doctor prescribed some sleeping pills to Chairman Mao, and after the chairman was asleep, they transferred him to the newly built room 202.
When the chairman woke up and found that he had been transferred, he was a little dissatisfied, but in the end, due to Hua Guofeng's persuasion, he finally agreed to wait for the earthquake to be less violent before moving back.
Immediately after that, the leaders of our party held an urgent meeting in Zhongnanhai.
Due to the large scope of this earthquake and the different situations sent by various provinces, everyone is eager to know the specific impact of this earthquake, and a comrade who came from Tangshan only said one word, which made everyone cry.
"The whole of Tangshan is flat."
The earthquake in Tangshan, Hebei Province, with a magnitude of 7.8, was reduced to rubble in just 30 seconds after the earthquake began.
Not only were there a cumulative 400,000 casualties, but 650,000 of the 680,000 civil buildings collapsed and countless people were buried under the rubble.
The earthquake not only made the leaders of Zhongnanhai anxious, but also made Chairman Mao, who cared about the people, very worried.
The chairman lay on the bed, his eyes firmly fixed on the direction of the door, and had been waiting for someone to report the news, and when Hua Guofeng brought the casualty report to Chairman Mao's residence, Chairman Mao, who had read the report, was even more full of tears, his lips were tight, and his expression was full of sorrow.
Hua Guofeng hurriedly said that he asked the chairman not to be too sad, to take care of his body, and they will definitely handle the tangshan earthquake.
Hearing this, Chairman Mao, who was worried about the people, still did not want to rest, although he had just undergone cataract surgery and could only barely see in his eyes, he still brought the report to the near future to watch repeatedly.
Later, the "Circular on Earthquake Relief in the Fengnan Area of Tangshan" was also personally reviewed by Chairman Mao, and according to Zhang Yufeng's recollection, this document was the last document of the CPC Central Committee approved by Chairman Mao before his death.
Chairman Mao, after reading the report, sighed and said to Hua Guofeng,
"This matter must be handled well, and the safety of the people's lives is the first."
The central authorities also quickly issued orders to support Tangshan, and the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army rushed to Tangshan to relieve the disaster.
When they arrived in Tangshan, Tangshan was almost reduced to rubble, covered with blood and corpses, but despite this, the soldiers were not afraid, and began the earthquake relief work with shovels and crowbars, because sometimes they were not sure about the situation of the affected people, afraid that these tools would hurt the masses, so the soldiers could only use their hands to cut through the rubble.
On July 28, the People's Liberation Army found 5,572 people from the ground in this way, of which 4,509 were treated and saved their lives, while the remaining 1,000 were too badly injured to be saved.
And the earthquake brought not only ruins, but also mobs.
A small number of people were crushed by the earthquake and either began to want to take advantage of the chaos and loot, or to speak ill of the PLA troops.
However, the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army have always silently adhered to their bottom line, orderly channeled the emotions of these people, always put disaster relief work in the first place, and did not stop the pace of disaster relief.
On August 3, 1976, the first phase of disaster relief work finally came to an end, and after Hua Guofeng reported this matter to Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao, who was worried about the people, solemnly asked him to personally go to Tangshan to see and comfort the people of Tangshan, and he must settle the lives of the disaster-stricken people.
With the chairman's wishes in mind, Hua Guofeng quickly arrived in the Tangshan area, and when he arrived there, he quickly conveyed chairman Mao's words to the people that he wanted him to tell.
"The chairman said that people are the most precious factor, and nothing can be avoided, but the safety of people's lives must be guaranteed."
Chairman Mao's message was like a shot in the arm, inspiring the will of the people in the disaster areas; although Chairman Mao's physical condition at that time was strictly confidential, everyone knew to a greater or lesser extent that Chairman Mao was ill, and even so, Chairman Mao was still always involved with everyone, which made many people cry bitterly on the spot.
It was not until around August 18 that the disaster situation in Tangshan gradually stabilized, just as the so-called one side had difficulties, the eight parties supported, after the Disaster in Tangshan, the people of the whole country also held the greatest support, and by the end of August, the roads in Tangshan had basically been repaired.
The reconstruction of schools and other buildings was basically completed, the opening of the school in September was carried out smoothly, and in October, the people basically achieved water and electricity, and their lives returned to normal.
Although the disaster situation in Tangshan has stabilized since August 18, Chairman Mao's physical condition has gradually deteriorated, and it is precisely because after the Tangshan earthquake occurred that the people's safety has always been at stake, and now that the people are stable, Chairman Mao has relieved himself of the heavy burden in his heart.
After that, Chairman Mao even gradually reached the point where he could not speak or write, and could only use his weak eyesight to barely watch the intelligence.
By September, Chairman Mao's waking time had been drastically reduced, and on September 8, he was basically in a state of death.
Perhaps realizing that his life was coming to an end, Chairman Mao was not busy explaining anything to his family, but wrote a telegram to the Central Military Commission after careful consideration.
Chairman Mao had already passed away when the telegram was handed over to Marshal Xu Qianqian, who was in tears and choked up after only one glance at the telegram.
Only to see that the telegram read,
"The whole army of the whole country has entered a state of first-level alert and remained stable!"
In the last moments of his life, Chairman Mao still could not let go of the people, because he knew that his death was a major event for China and would even have an impact on the world, so Chairman Mao took "stability" as his last wish, which shows Chairman Mao's greatness and far-sightedness.
Although Chairman Mao passed away, his spirit has remained forever and radiates a brilliant and dazzling light, and the grief of the people of the whole country may be the best proof of his life's achievements, paying tribute to Chairman Mao and the revolutionaries of the older generation!