preface
In December 1975, Premier Zhou's life entered the countdown, intermittently entering a coma, and the experts of the medical team had concluded that Premier Zhou's condition was in its final state, and asked the family members to be mentally prepared.
Figure Zhou Enlai and his wife
On December 7, Premier Zhou suddenly fell asleep, the doctor on duty immediately called the experts and medical staff to the ward to rescue Premier Zhou, the experts found that Premier Zhou's trachea had viscous phlegm blocking the respiratory tract, obstructing breathing, resulting in lack of oxygen in the brain, Premier Zhou fell into a coma, the doctors took the suction device to inhale thick phlegm, and pressurized oxygen, Premier Zhou quickly woke up.
After Premier Zhou fell unconscious, the comrades on duty immediately reported to the Central Committee, as long as all the members of the Central Committee who were in Beijing came to visit, and by the time they arrived, Premier Zhou had already woken up.
Premier Zhou slowly opened his eyes, looked at the central leaders around him, smiled his face, and raised his hands tremblingly to shake hands with everyone, Zhang Chunqiao was the last to shake hands with Zhou Enlai.
When he shook hands with Premier Zhou, Premier Zhou seemed to remember something. Softly called him over, but Premier Zhou had no strength to speak at this time, the voice was very small, Zhang Chunqiao stood in the distance, did not hear, Premier Zhou seemed to be a little anxious, and shouted several times, at this time the people standing around heard it, reminding Zhang Chunqiao.
Photo Premier Zhou
Zhang Chunqiao crouched down beside Premier Zhou to listen to him, and Premier Zhou said weakly: "You and Wenyuan must help Comrade Deng Xiaoping well." Zhang Chunqiao nodded and immediately said, "Premier, you can rest assured." "Premier Zhou has just rubbed shoulders with the god of death, and his consciousness has just become clear, and he is worried about major national events.
The leaders and Premier Zhou had a brief chat, saw that Premier Zhou looked a little tired, and left one after another, and then the staff told Premier Zhou that Zhu Dianhua of the Beijing Barber Shop wanted to come over and get a haircut, which was the third time Zhu Dianhua entrusted someone to carry a letter requesting to give Premier Zhou a haircut.
When Premier Zhou learned of this, he told the staff:
"Master Zhu has cut my hair for more than twenty years, and seeing that I am now sick like this, he will be uncomfortable to see, or don't let him come." Tell him for me to thank him. ”
Looking at Premier Zhou, who has become ill like this and is still thinking about others, the staff around him are very unhappy in their hearts, and some people can't help but shed tears.
This time was rescued, Premier Zhou bought a few days from the god of death, from mid-December, Premier Zhou has been unable to eat, medical staff had to pour food directly into the stomach, and then Premier Zhou could not defecate, doctors installed intestinal wilt on his abdomen.
Picture of Premier Zhou and his wife
Because of many surgeries, Premier Zhou's abdominal ulcers, pus, blood, ascites and other liquids oozed out in large quantities, he was full of tubes, some tubes were responsible for discharging these liquids, some tubes replenished blood, oxygen, etc. into the body, these tubes made it difficult for Premier Zhou to turn over. At the same time, Premier Zhou also had to endure the pain of liver and gallbladder.
In order to alleviate The pain of Premier Zhou, the doctors could only use sleeping pills and painkillers continuously, but the more these drugs were used, the body would develop drug resistance, and it did not work several times, and the painkillers had no effect.
Sometimes, Premier Zhou was in pain and broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, desperately breathing, holding back the pain, once Premier Zhou, who was sleeping, was suddenly awakened by pain, and the first thing he said when he woke up was to ask the nurse next to him: "Did I shout?" ”
The nurse replied, "Prime Minister, it doesn't matter if you call, if it hurts badly, you can call it out." Premier Zhou shook his head and silently endured the pain.
Only once, Premier Zhou couldn't stand the pain, called Dr. Zhang Zuoliang to his side, and said bitterly: "Dr. Zhang, I really can't help it, I want to hum two sentences, can I?" Hearing this, Zhang Zuoliang's tears instantly stayed down his nose.
Photo Premier Zhou inspects the work
Slightly choked up, he said: "Prime Minister, shout out when you are in pain, it's okay, you don't restrain yourself." After saying that, he quickly turned his back, not wanting Premier Zhou to see his tears, because letting the patient see his tears meant that the patient had returned to heaven and lack of skills, and this desperate emotion could never be conveyed to the patient.
Central leaders came to visit
At the last moment of Premier Zhou's life, the central leaders were very concerned about Premier Zhou's health, as long as Premier Zhou's health permitted, they visited the hospital, and Ye Jianying was very concerned about Premier Zhou's condition since Premier Zhou discovered cancer cells.
As long as there is time, contact Premier Zhou's attending physician by phone to inquire about the situation, and after each conversation, he will add a sentence: "You must think of a way to extend the day is a day, even if it is an hour, you must do your best." ”
He not only asked the doctor, but also went to visit Premier Zhou every three or five minutes at the same time to talk with the experts and ask about the treatment plan, of course, he would not come empty-handed every time, and any good food at home would be brought with him, and later Premier Zhou was too sick to eat, so he brought it to the staff around Premier Zhou.
Once he caught a large grass carp of more than thirty kilograms, he immediately sent someone to the hospital to give Premier Zhou to eat, but the fish was too big, everyone was braised and stewed and steamed, and finally Premier Zhou had to distribute the fish to the staff and medical staff around him.
After the medical staff finished eating, they called Ye Jianying to thank him, and after Ye Jianying received the call, his enthusiasm for fishing was higher, but most of the time these fish were eaten by the staff.
Since Premier Zhou was hospitalized in 1975, Ye Jianying has often visited the hospital. At first, there were major problems to ask for instructions and reports, and the two talked for two or three hours, but later, Premier Zhou's voice became quieter and smaller, and Ye Jianying needed to stick to Premier Zhou's mouth to hear the voice clearly.
Every time Ye Jianying came, Premier Zhu was asleep, and Ye Jianying shook Premier Zhou's hand, silently looked at Premier Zhou's sleepy face, and closed his eyes tightly.
Their last conversation was in 1975, when Premier Zhou was bedridden, and when he saw Ye Jianying coming, he was very happy in his heart, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised to welcome him.
After Ye Jianying finished talking, he called Zhang Shuying and Gao Zhenpu, the guardian of Premier Zhou, to his side, and he said with a serious look: "You all have paper and pencil ready, stay by the premier's side for 24 hours, and you can't leave for a moment." ”
Hearing Ye Jianying's orders, the two took turns on duty 24 hours a day, did not leave for a moment, carried paper and pen with them, and only waited for Premier Zhou to wake up and explain things, so that he could record it himself, but in the last few days of Premier Zhou's life, he closed his lips tightly until his breathing stopped. Zhang Shuying still didn't write a word on that piece of paper.
After the death of Premier Zhou, Zhang Shuying handed a blank piece of paper to Ye Jianying, because the things handed over to Marshal Ye Jianying were not done well, Zhang Shuying felt very guilty, but Ye Jianying looked at this white paper, and the dozens of years old man suddenly could not control his emotions, and said with tears: "Hey, he has been taking care of the overall situation all his life!" ”
In addition to Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping also often came to the hospital to visit, but he has been busy with work, lack of skills, not Ye Jianying came more often, Li Xiannian, Chen Xilian, Hua Guofeng and other people also often came to the hospital to visit, during the premier's hospitalization, Deng Xiaoping has been 63 times, Li Xiannian has come to the hospital 52 times, after Zhou Enlai's death, Li Xiannian was the first to rush to the hospital.
Put Chairman Mao's poems on your pillow
No matter how bad Premier Zhou's health is, as long as he wakes up, he must listen to the newspaper to understand the major events at home and abroad, before he leaned on the hospital bed to read the newspaper, and then when he could not get up, he let the staff or nurses around him read it to himself.
After December, Premier Zhou had entered a semi-coma, sometimes sober and sometimes confused, and everyone knew that he was very concerned about whether Deng Xiaoping could successfully preside over the work, and every time he wanted to get some information from the newspaper.
However, the political situation at that time was very special, and Deng Yingchao felt that at the moment when Premier Zhou's life was in danger, he should not worry about him anymore, so he called Zhang Shuying and Zhang Zuoliang to his side and told them that for the sake of Premier Zhou's health, the recent newspaper should not be read, and try not to let him hear bad news.
But everyone thought that in case the premier wanted to listen to the newspaper, it was not a way to read it, and Deng Yingchao thought about it and said, "Then read him some old newspapers." ”
In this way, in order to make Premier Zhou feel more at ease, everyone compiled a "white lie" for Premier Zhou and read the old newspaper to him by changing the date.
On New Year's Day, when Premier Zhou suddenly heard the radio broadcast sound when he seemed to be asleep, he instantly woke up, knew that the radio was playing a New Year's Day editorial, and published two of Chairman Mao's poems, "Re-entering Jinggangshan" and "Bird Questions and Answers."
So he hurriedly asked Zhao Wei to take out today's newspaper and read it to himself, because today's day was more special, and Zhao Wei did not dare to fool around with the old newspaper, so he had to take out today's newspaper.
When Premier Zhou heard Chairman Mao's poem "Don't fart, and watch the heavens and the earth turn upside down," he smiled with difficulty, and by this time he was already sweating profusely in pain, but he still insisted that the staff leave the newspaper by his pillow.
Premier Zhou obviously liked these two words very much and asked the staff to repeat them to himself. Some staff members pronounce it inaccurately, and he will gently correct it.
In the early morning of January 5, 1976, this was the last operation in the life of Premier Zhou, opening an opening in the left lower abdomen and removing the "residue" in the intestine as much as possible, which has solved the problem of stool obstruction, this operation actually has no effect on the condition, but can alleviate the pain of Premier Zhou.
That night, Zhang Zuoliang and Zhang Shuying were on duty at Premier Zhou's side, and Premier Zhou woke up and said weakly:
"My illness is already like this, I know very well, don't bother the specialists, let them go where they need to go, I want to go home and treat them at home..... It's been over two years since I've been out and I want to go home. ”
Later, he learned that his request to go home would be very difficult for the medical staff, so he never mentioned it again, and Premier Zhou did not want to embarrass anyone even at the last moment of his life.
On January 7, Premier Zhou's condition continued to deteriorate, his breathing was already very weak, and he was in a coma for a long time, with medical experts and nursing staff guarding his side 24 hours a day, ready to rescue him.
At 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, Premier Zhou woke up from his slumber, he recognized Dr. Wu Jieping next to him, and said slightly: "I am already fine here, you still have to take care of other patients, where you are more needed..."
At this time, Premier Zhou's speech was already very unclear, and everyone could understand the meaning carefully.
After Premier Zhou said this, his dim eyes kept staring at the door of the ward, and the staff thought he wanted to see Sister Deng, so they asked: "Premier, do you want to see Sister Deng?" When Premier Zhou heard this, he withdrew his eyes and shook his head gently.
The last days
On that day, Premier Zhou's spirit was particularly strong, and he did not sleep until 12 o'clock in the evening, Zhang Shuying and Gao Zhenpu were very happy, he thought that Premier Zhou's condition had finally improved a little, but the doctors frowned, they knew that Premier Zhou was running out of time, which should be "returning to the light".
On January 8, after the morning meeting of the doctors, Dr. Zhang Zuoliang was observing the heart waves in the ward for a while, and found no abnormality, he looked at Premier Zhou lying on the bed, his breathing was weak, his eyes were tightly closed, his face was gray, his lips were bruised, and although his pulse was more than 90 times per minute, he was weak and weak.
Zhang Zuoliang suddenly felt that the situation was not good, so he called a cardiologist and anesthesiologists to report to them on premier Zhou's situation, and the experts gathered in the ward to wait, ready to deal with the emergency.
Attending physician Wu Jieping medical staff quickly came to Premier Zhou's side, Professor Xie Rong came to Premier Zhou's side, looked at Premier Zhou's situation, immediately suggested that Premier Zhou be intubated, and asked Zhang Zuoliang to report to Premier Zhou with his consent.
Zhang Zuoliang bent down, pressed his lips close to Premier Zhou's ear, raised his voice and said:
"Premier, your trachea is blocked by phlegm, and now Director Xie is going to insert a rubber tube into your nostrils, suck the phlegm out, and then inject a lot of oxygen, so you agree?"
When Zhang Zuoliang spoke, the room was quiet, everyone thought that Premier Zhou had fallen into a coma and would not reply, but everyone still held their breath and waited for Premier Zhou's reply, not to live up to everyone's expectations, Premier Zhou heard Zhang Zuoliang's shout, although he did not open his eyes, but nodded his head slightly, agreeing.
After obtaining Premier Zhou's consent, Dr. Xie immediately took the rubber tube and quickly inserted it into Premier Zhou's right nostril, started the machine to suck the phlegm, and the machine "silky" sound sounded in the room, but there was not much phlegm inside the tube.
Dr. Xie resolutely changed a relatively thick tube into the nostrils, sucked some phlegm and then took out a large black ball and kept pinching it for pressurized oxygen infusion and external heart massage. I hope that this time Premier Zhou can survive the difficulties.
But this time disappointed everyone, although the doctors continued to carry out pressurized oxygen and external heart massage, but Premier Zhou's condition still did not improve. The experts stared at the electrocardiometer on the table with their brows furrowed.
Zhang Zuoliang held Premier Zhou's right hand tightly with both hands, feeling the weaker and weaker pulse, the curve on the electrocardiogram constantly changing, from 60 to 40, and finally becoming a straight line, never getting up again, and the pulse gradually stopped beating.
After the electrocardiogram became a straight line, everyone's mood was very heavy, the experts were unwilling to rescue for ten minutes, but still to no avail, Wu Jieping looked at his watch, and the experts present exchanged views and announced:
The rescue work stopped, all the instruments were removed, including the infusion tube, drainage tube and excretor pipe equipment on Premier Zhou's body, and the nurse was instructed to wipe Premier Zhou's face clean, make the bed, and find a new sheet to cover Premier Zhou's whole body.
Photo Premier Zhou in his youth
Wu Jieping's words slammed into everyone's body like a stone, and at this time someone realized that Premier Zhou was really gone this time, and shouted loudly in his throat: "Premier! premier! .....”
This cry awakened all the sorrows that everyone had suppressed in their hearts, and everyone's emotions suddenly exploded, and a large cry suddenly sounded in the room.
At this time, Ms. Deng Yingchao rushed to the hospital when she heard the news, looked at Premier Zhou, who was already unconscious, she touched Premier Zhou's cheek with her hand, kissed her forehead lightly, and said sadly: "Enlai, why did you leave..."
The staff around them all sobbed quietly, standing silently on the side of the room, waiting for the party and state leaders to come to say goodbye, and several medical staff were worried that Deng Yingchao's grief would affect her heart, so they quickly helped her to the next ward to rest.
The first to arrive was Li Xiannian, and then Hua Guofeng, Ye Jianying, and Deng Xiaoping also arrived in a hurry.
At 11:00 a.m., the central leaders arrived one after another, and Deng Yingchao expressed to everyone present three wishes of Premier Zhou's life:
First, do not keep the ashes; second, do not deal with the aftermath of the matter, do not exceed anyone; third, do not hold memorial services, do not engage in farewell ceremonies.
Finally, Ms. Deng Yingchao said that everything about Premier Zhou's funeral was decided by the organization, and she did not have any opinions or demands.
At this time, Li Xiannian was the first to jump out and oppose: "No, we can't take the prime minister without a memorial service, otherwise we can't explain it to the people of the whole country." Li Xiannian's words were endorsed by everyone, and the leaders unanimously decided not only to hold a memorial service, but also to hold a farewell ceremony, and as for how to keep the ashes, they could ask Chairman Mao for approval.
At 11:00 a.m., according to the established plan, escorted by medical experts such as Wu Jieping and Xiong Rucheng, as well as guards, nurses, and health doctors who had followed Premier Zhou for many years, the guards opened the road and sent Premier Zhou's body to the morgue of Beijing Hospital.
On the afternoon of January 15, 1976, Premier Zhou's memorial service was held in the Great Hall of the People, and more than 5,000 people volunteered to participate in Premier Zhou's memorial service. Most of the relatives did not go to Beijing in accordance with Premier Zhou's last wishes, and only Zhou Erhui and his wife came to Beijing as representatives of relatives to mourn.