On August 20, 2008, Hua Guofeng died of illness, at the farewell ceremony, there was an inconspicuous old man, quietly walked to hua Guofeng's body, only to see his face full of traces of time, written with endless sadness, his eyes were full of red blood, Hua Lao's death, his sadness was no less than anyone present, so who was this old man? What is the relationship between him and Hua Guofeng, and what kind of story has happened between them?
This grief-stricken old man is Cao Wangui, the secretary in front of Comrade Hua Guofeng, who has been working with Comrade Hua Guofeng since he was in his twenties, and has worked hard for forty years. It can be said that he has not only witnessed the changes in the past half century, but also witnessed the ups and downs of China for more than forty years. On the verge of hua lao's deathbed, he asked for a few more words, and these words made Cao Wangui run again for the aftermath of Hua Lao. What exactly did Hua Guofeng ask for? What was Cao Wangui doing when he was running around?
In 1949, the People's Liberation Army marched south and began the prelude to the liberation of the whole country. Faced with a large number of liberated cities, the central government decided to draw elite troops from the cadres of North China to accept the cities in the south. Because Hua Guofeng was doing a good job in this position as the propaganda director of the First District Committee of the Cpc Central Jinzhong, he was transferred out and followed the large troops south. After the liberation of Xiangyin County, Hunan, Hua Guofeng was appointed secretary of the Cpc Hunan, Xiangyin County Party Committee and political commissar of the armed brigade.
In the first year of Hua Guofeng's tenure as the secretary of the county party committee, he encountered a once-in-a-century flood in Xiangyin County. In order to go deep among the masses and understand the real situation of the disaster, Hua Guofeng immediately brought his own guards (at that time, it was just liberated, and social order was still relatively chaotic) to the countryside to conduct field research. When they came to a small, dilapidated shed, Hua Guofeng immediately bent down and went inside, and a middle-aged man in his forties was cooking in front of the earth stove. Middle-aged men come specifically to see the villagers. The middle-aged man immediately stood up and gave way to his seat and said, "Oh, Commissar Hua, the family has just been affected by a disaster, and there is no tea, don't be surprised." As he spoke, he handed over the only old wooden stool in the house, and the guard saw that the bench was full of black ash and planned to take it and wipe it. Hua Guofeng knew what his guard was going to do, and immediately glared at him, frightening the guard into retreating. Hua Guofeng took the stool, wiped it himself, and then came to the middle-aged man who was burning the fire, gave the stool to him, and instead sat on the ground with his ass on the ground, helping his fellow villagers to burn the fire together. In this way, Hua Guofeng added firewood and blew fire with his fellow villagers while pulling up homely.
In the process of pulling the family routine, I learned that the family of this middle-aged man migrated from Jiangxi in the early years during the Jiaqing period. It is said that Hunan is a good place, the land of fish and rice. He also said that the recent flood was so serious because of the war, which caused many river embankments and embankments to fall into disrepair and break the siege. He also told Hua Guofeng how many people fled the famine, how many families owed grain, how some merchants hoarded grain, and how they made disasters and wealth. For these precious first-hand situations, Hua Guofeng was very happy.
After returning to the office, Hua Guofeng said to his guards, "In the future, when you go to the people's homes, you will stand without stools, and if the stools have ashes, don't blow and wipe them." This blow wipes the feelings of the masses of the people. Later, when we go to investigate, what the people eat, what we eat, what the people drink, what we drink. There can be no special place, according to the masses, that is, there is salt and salt, no salt and light. When eating, you can't just eat, you must communicate with the masses more, don't sit and be a master after tea and dinner, you must have work in your eyes, and help the masses do more practical things. Without the consent of the people, they are not allowed to touch their things.
Veteran comrades who once worked with Hua Guofeng at the grass-roots level recalled that when Comrade Hua Guofeng was with the masses, he always stressed the "three stipulations on cadres going to the countryside", the first is to go to the masses' homes and sit on stools and not blow ash; second, the masses should cook and help cook. Third, we should not have working meals, we should eat with the masses, respect what to eat and what cadres eat, and we are not allowed to specialize. Only in this way can we mingle with the masses, know the most real situation at the grassroots level, and better serve the people.
You know, Hunan has been a natural granary since ancient times. The construction of the Shaoshan Irrigation District is a rich and large-scale stroke of Hunan water conservancy construction after the founding of the People's Republic of China, which benefits the country and the people. At this time, Hua Guofeng served as the secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and executive vice governor. The most difficult to build the Shaoshan Irrigation District is located in the Soap Forest Chong Tunnel, where the geology is soft and the load capacity is poor, and if it is not handled well, it will lead to landslides. Sure enough, a few days before New Year's Day, the No. 1 inclined shaft collapsed in a large area, and a hillside in the cave cracked by more than ten centimeters, and the ground also sank more than thirty meters.
Less than hours after the accident, many people on the construction site saw a off-road car climbing up the mountain pass. Rushed to the scene of the accident. The person who got out of the car was none other than Hua Guofeng. For the accident site, the person in charge of the project asked Hua Guofeng, for the tunnel, whether we will change the lane, or do not change the lane, please ask the secretary to issue instructions. Hua Guofeng thought about it for a moment and said, "The masses are the real heroes, and we must listen to the opinions of the masses." Coming to the scene of the collapse accident, Hua Guofeng first investigated with the technical personnel. After returning, Hua Guofeng gathered the cadres, workers, and technical engineers working in the front line to participate in the work meeting. At the meeting, several engineering personnel and technical engineers suggested a diversion, because the original place has collapsed, and the soil here is soft, and it is difficult to determine whether it will cause a landslide in the future, or even casualties. Hua Guofeng listened carefully and wrote down key sentences in his notebook from time to time. Suddenly, an old man's hand was raised.
An old worker stood up and said, "Secretary Hua, can I say two sentences?" Hua Guofeng said, "Of course, we very much welcome the suggestions given by frontline workers." Then, the old worker said: "I don't recommend changing the route, after all, it will cost more manpower and material resources." Landslides are not really a difficult thing, they are man-made. Hua Guofeng listened, nodded approvingly, and asked happily, "Old comrade, then what do you think we should do is the best plan." When the old workers heard that Hua Guofeng attached so much importance to his suggestion, he said with great pleasure: We are on the front line and know the situation of the landslide very well. In fact, most of them are concentrated in the T-shaped hall where the tunnels are handed over. As long as we can solve this problem technically, we can punch holes in the two working surfaces of number two and three and pour reinforced concrete. In this way, the working surface of the collapsed body can withstand a certain amount of pressure. We can take a step-by-step approach to punching holes in the T-shaped mouth and pouring concrete as we dig. Hua Guofeng nodded after listening, and then asked the technical engineer of the project, and after more than a dozen experts and engineers discussed and verified overnight, it was confirmed that the plan proposed by the old worker was completely feasible. In the end, everyone unanimously decided not to change the route, saving the country a lot of money and saving a lot of time for the project.
In early 1966, the construction team used the methods of the old worker to overcome 61 landslides, and finally opened the tunnel and completed the largest project since the founding of Hunan Province. Afterwards, Hua Guofeng concluded at the project celebration meeting: "When doing things, we must fully believe in the masses and rely on the masses, and the workers' comrades must combine the revolutionary spirit with the scientific attitude." After the meeting, Hua Guofeng once again stressed that it was suggested that in the future, all work can be held to hold team meetings to mobilize the masses and believe in the masses. Hua Guofeng has been working in Hunan since then, and in 1959 became the secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China. According to the recollections of many veteran comrades of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee who worked around Hua Guofeng at that time, Secretary Hua left a very good impression on them, and his speech and dress were like a rural grassroots cadre, without a little official shelf. Speak plainly, be realistic, and humbly ask for advice on issues that you don't understand.
In 1968, Hua Guofeng's work changed, and he served as the deputy head of the preparatory group of the Hunan Provincial Revolutionary Committee, and it was also in this year that a young man came to his side, and this person was Cao Wangui, the secretary who accompanied Hua Guofeng for forty years. That is, from then on, Hua Guofeng will have a figure silently following him.
Hua Guofeng has made many achievements during his tenure in Hunan Province, not only attaching importance to the development of agriculture, but also committing to the infrastructure construction of farmland water conservancy in his jurisdiction, and he has presided over the construction of Shaoshan Irrigation District and Dongting Lake Drainage. In addition, he also vigorously advocated the research work of hybrid rice, and the research work of Academician Yuan Longping, which we are familiar with, was also carried out with the full support of Hua Guofeng. In addition to attaching importance to agricultural development, Hua Guofeng also began to strengthen industrial reforms in Hunan Province. As the saying goes: if you want to be rich, first build a road, Hua Guofeng knows this truth, so he attaches great importance to local traffic construction. Under his leadership, the traffic construction in Hunan Province has been significantly improved. It can be said that Hua Guofeng has made indelible contributions to the construction of Hunan Province, of course, there is also the silent support and dedication of Cao Wangui behind it.
In August 1969, Hua Guofeng was inspecting Yueyang, Hunan Province, when he heard that there was an accident at the Xiangtaolin lead and zinc mine, he quickly asked Cao Wangui to adjust his work, and the two went to the mine site together, and even risked their lives to go deep into the mine to understand the following situation, that is, at this time, the local staff took a precious group photo of the two. When Hua Guofeng went to Xiangxi to inspect the work, Cao Wangui was always with him, not only handling work matters, but also always caring about Hua Lao's life. It is precisely with Cao Wangui's help that Hua Lao can devote himself to work without worries.
In February 1971, Hua Guofeng went to Beijing to attend the National Planning Work Conference, and after the meeting, Zhou Enlai invited Hua Guofeng to talk at the Jingxi Hotel, saying that the chairman had nominated him to work in the state council business group and serve as deputy head of the group, directly under the leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai. Hua Guofeng immediately said that everything was subject to organizational arrangements. Subsequently, on September 30, Premier Zhou proposed, Chairman Mao agreed, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice deciding to add Hua Guofeng as a member of the State Council Business Group and serve as deputy head of the group.
So in the People's Daily on November 10, 1971, Hua Guofeng appeared for the first time in the list of heads of the CPC Central Committee and government departments as a responsible cadre of the central organs.
After working in Beijing, Hua Guofeng has been living in a bungalow in Zhongnanhai. This bungalow is neither painted nor decorated, except for the desk and chair, wardrobe, bookcase and bed. Hua Guofeng lived in the north room, and his secretary Cao Wangui lived in the east room. Hua Guofeng lived and worked there until his wife was transferred to Beijing and moved into Shijia Hutong. When Hua Guofeng was the deputy team leader, there were always only three people working around him. One is his secretary Cao Wangui, one is the chef Song Fang, and the other is the guard Li Zhen. The only person who was brought to Beijing by Hua Guofeng from Hunan was Cao Wangui. By 1975, Premier Zhou's health was getting worse and worse, and Hua Guofeng took on more of the work of the State Council, and because he was too busy, the organization decided to assign him another secretary.
Hua Guofeng's first job after arriving in Beijing was to attend the 1971 National Conference on Cotton, Oil and Sugar. At this session, many comrades in charge of oil and grain in many localities reflected that the current oil and grain problem pays too much attention to grain and ignores the development of other crops and breeding industries, criticizing "only paying attention to the grain on the line and losing a large number of people.", and some comrades said that in many places, the legitimate diversification of operations is regarded as a capitalist tendency and a one-size-fits-all approach is adopted. After carefully listening to the speeches of local comrades, Hua Guofeng proposed in drafting the document that "taking grain as the guideline, developing in an all-round way, adapting measures to local conditions, rational layout, and appropriate concentration" pointed out at the forum that the soil, climate, rainfall, and sunshine in each place are different. It is necessary to strive for a substantial increase in grain production and cash crops in next year's food work.
At the end of the meeting, Premier Zhou Enlai received the national deputies attending the meeting and praised Comrade Hua Guofeng's performance during the presidency of the meeting, saying, "This meeting was presided over by Comrade Hua Guofeng and was very well held. During Premier Zhou's talk, Hua Guofeng found an interesting phenomenon, that is, many local leaders sat in the back row. It turned out that when Premier Zhou spoke, he would constantly inquire about the local agricultural situation. Many local responsible persons know that Premier Zhou has the ability to never forget, as long as he has seen the numbers, places, and names of the persons in charge, he will firmly remember them. If you are named by Premier Zhou and ask about the situation of local crops and agricultural production, it is a very embarrassing thing. Therefore, there will be many places where the person in charge chooses to sit in the back row.
Hua Guofeng greatly admired Premier Zhou's personal work attitude. In the subsequent work, Hua Guofeng often told the staff that the premier's work was very meticulous and serious, and he never dared to have the slightest negligence. Every time when preparing the materials for the meeting, Premier Zhou would ask us to clarify all the issues to be discussed at the meeting, and the numbers should be clearly written down in our minds, not in the secretary's notebook. When Premier Zhou was alive, he would often call at night to inquire about the condition of some old comrades, because he had to go to the ward, so understanding the situation was a compulsory course for him to do every day.
Without an investigation, there is no voice. After the meeting, Premier Zhou left Hua Guofeng alone to talk: "You are from Hunan, and you are very familiar with the situation in Hunan, but I am afraid that you are not familiar with the situation in the whole country, and you must go to the grass-roots level to investigate in order to know the real situation." Therefore, Premier Zhou opened a list of six places for Hua Guofeng and asked him to do research and familiarize himself with the local situation.
In the course of a month, Hua Guofeng visited seventeen counties, eighteen communes, and nineteen production brigades in these six places. As Hua Guofeng's personal secretary, Cao Wangui has been following Hua Lao's body and keeping Comrade Hua Guofeng's life and work in order. After returning to Beijing, Hua Guofeng reported to Premier Zhou on the situation of the investigation, such as the situation in Guangdong, where the peasants' ration standards are very low, fujian does not attach importance to diversified operations, and other problems.
After analyzing the problems of investigation and investigation, Hua Guofeng and his colleagues in the State Council's business group drafted documents overnight and sent them to Premier Zhou. After the prime minister saw it, he was very supportive. In order to increase the authority of this article, Premier Zhou, in the name of the CPC Central Committee and with the approval of Chairman Mao, issued this article in the name of Central Document No. 82, requiring local governments to strictly implement it. After that, after Hua Guofeng served as the leader of the party and the state, his footprints traveled all over the country, and he still maintained going to the masses and listening to the people's words in his work. In life, maintain a hard and simple style.
According to Cao Wangui's later recollections, Hua Guofeng was still an informal person after becoming chairman. For example, when he wears a shirt, the buttons on the cuffs are never tied. When sitting on a chair, Hua Guofeng likes to cross his legs, because his pants are a little short, he often exposes his socks, and the exposed socks are also a few dimes a bargain that can be seen everywhere on the streets of Beijing. Although Hua Guofeng himself is very "free", but it makes the staff around him miserable, in order to remind Hua Guofeng to pay a little attention to the dress, can only be disguised persuasion: "Chairman Hua, are you too hot, only button the button of the shirt, or change you a thin sweater." ”
In the face of such a "finger-pointing and scolding", Hua Guofeng will be like a child who has made a mistake, just say it, why do you have to be so twisted." I don't button it just to get through the air so I can feel a little more comfortable. I know why I don't like to wear a suit, it's because I have to wear a tie, haha"
In May 1980, Chairman Hua Guofeng visited Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira. One night, Chairman Hua, who lives at the Akasaka State Guest House in Japan, after taking a shower, wore a Japanese yukata and planned to take a walk in the hotel's back garden. Unexpectedly, Hua Guofeng just opened the door and walked out, he was immediately stopped by his staff in time, and told him that this hotel is full of guards and staff, if you are photographed walking in such clothes, I am afraid that the next day the whole world will know and be on the world's hot search list. In the face of the staff's frightened little eyes, Hua Guofeng immediately retreated to the room and said very puzzledly, are the Japanese so interested in what kind of clothes I wear for walking? The staff laughed and said yes, because of your identity.
In the 1980s, CCTV introduced a Japanese animation film "Astro Boy", and did not expect that after the introduction and broadcast of the animation film, it caused unprecedented social repercussions. Many parents of children have called the TV station to ask for more translations of the cartoon, and even asked for the film. In order to meet the demands of the broad masses of the people, the TV station also invited the popular science publishing house to translate the Japanese comic book of the same name. This shows how popular this cartoon was for children at that time.
Suddenly, one day, Cao Wangui was called by Hua Guofeng and said that he had something to explain to him. Cao Wangui thought that it was something important, but he did not expect that Hua Guofeng asked him to call the TV station and ask for the animation of "Astro Boy", and it turned out that Hua Guofeng was a loyal fan of this cartoon, and he was watching it with children. But one episode a day is too addictive, like using some "privilege", looking for a TV station to bring the remaining episodes over, you can watch enough at once.
Less than three weeks after Chairman Hua Guofeng was invited to visit Japan, Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, who invited him to visit Japan, died of an acute illness. After learning of the death of this international friend who had entertained him a few weeks ago, Hua Guofeng was deeply saddened. Therefore, it was decided to fly to Japan again to attend the funeral of Masayoshi Oira. The Japanese government never expected that the leader of a big country would visit Japan twice in a month, which greatly amazed everyone in Japan. After all, the Japanese are also well aware that the relationship between Japan and China is very delicate. In the face of Hua Guofeng's behavior, the Japanese lamented that Chinese is indeed a country and a nation with feelings and righteousness, so suddenly the japanese people's good feelings for China have greatly increased. However, the most exciting thing is the Daipei Masayoshi family, the supreme leader of a major country personally attending the funeral of the deceased prime minister, which not only makes his family's face glorious, but also affirms Dahei Masayoshi's efforts to promote the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. It is precisely because Deng Xiaoping and Hua Guofeng and other leaders of the older generation visited Japan that Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations were promoted, and Japan's favorability toward China was greatly enhanced.
Hua Lao made great contributions to the party and the people during his tenure, but just when the country was gradually on the right track, Hua Lao resolutely handed over the heavy responsibility of the country to the hands of young people, because he knew better than anyone that the country needed to be built, and construction was to inject fresh blood, and the courage to innovate was too important for a country, so in 1980, Hua Lao resigned and lived a retirement life that was full of sun.
After Hua Lao retired, the central government helped Cao Wangui rearrange his work, but these were all rejected by Cao Wangui, and he chose to continue to stay with Hua Lao. Everyone was puzzled by his behavior, but Cao Wangui simply replied: I am not at ease to hand over Hua Lao to others. What a simple and simple sentence, but it can reflect the deep friendship between the two. This feeling even surpasses family affection.
You know, at this time, Cao Wangui has been around Hua Guofeng for 13 years, and 13 years of getting along day and night have given them a deep tacit understanding, and Cao Wangui knows all the living habits of Hua Lao. If you change people, Hua Lao will have to adapt again, and Cao Wangui is really relieved, so he chooses to retire at the age of 40. In this regard, Cao Wangui's wife has quipped more than once, retiring at the age of 40, and the whole country is probably the only one.
After retiring from the political stage, Hua Lao has rarely gone out, anxious, he planted some melons, fruits and vegetables in the yard, and this also has the credit of Cao Wangui, whenever he has leisure, Cao Wangui will accompany the old chief to prune the vines, fertilize and water, under their careful care, the yard is full of greenery.
Every year on the occasion of Mao Zedong's birthday and death, Hua Guofeng would always go to the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Tiananmen Square to pay homage to him, and it was the same for 278 years. The considerate Cao Wangui knew that the old chief had a lot to say to Chairman Mao, so every time he helped Elder Hua to come to the memorial hall, he quietly left and left the time for Hua Guofeng. Until Elder Hua came out, he helped him back together. At this time, Hua Lao's heart was extremely sad, and Cao Wangui's company brought a little comfort to Hua Lao.
Until August 20, 2008, Hua Lao died of illness, before his death, his biggest wish was to personally go to the Olympic Games to watch the opening ceremony, Cao Wangui helped him book tickets very early, however, unfortunately, just a few days before the opening ceremony, Hua Lao's condition suddenly deteriorated, and he never woke up again, and his only wish turned into a last wish, every time he thought of this, Cao Wangui could not help but cry.
When Hua Guofeng was dying, he specially explained to Cao Wangui what happened, and he wanted to return to his hometown in Shanxi and look at the landscape and water of his hometown. After knowing the old chief's wish, Cao Wangui immediately consulted with the old Man Hua's family and at the same time submitted an application to the Party Central Committee. After receiving the instructions, Cao Wangui began to work on the matter. In the end, it was decided to uphold the "four no's principle", that is, not to occupy cultivated land, not to compete with the people for land, not to damage the environment, and not to destroy monuments. Subsequently, Cao Wangui found a wasteland outside the Jiaocheng Guashan Mountain, and they remodeled this wasteland and built it into the current Hua Guofeng Cemetery, which is affectionately known as "Hualing".
In November 2011, Hua Guofeng's ashes were placed in Jiaocheng, Shanxi. Cao Wangui came to the ceremony site very early, and he personally directed all the work. Except for several central leaders, cao Wangui, who knew that this old man was busy and busy, and Cao Wangui, who had intersected with Hua Guofeng for half a lifetime, the others did not notice this old man. Under his organization, a monument was built in the cemetery, and he personally inscribed several large characters of "Endless Thoughts", several large characters were vigorous and powerful, and they spoke silently, and Cao Wangui had a strong thought in his heart.
After the completion of the cemetery, Cao Wangui would come here every year to visit the old chief, and in front of the tombstone, he told the old chief in detail about the changes in China, which had never changed for many years. Until June 10, 2019, Cao Wangui died of illness in Beijing at the age of 80.