On February 19, 1997, Comrade Deng Xiaoping was lying on the hospital bed, his breathing gradually slowing down, as if he was about to fall asleep.
His gaze swept over the people beside him one by one, his expression was extremely calm, as if he had accepted the end of his death.
At 21:08, Deng Gong closed his eyes for a long time and left us forever.
The news of Deng Gong's death was like a thunderclap, which made the hearts of thousands of Chinese people uneasy: Without Deng Gong, where should we go in the pace of reform?
In order to appease the hearts of the people, Comrade Hua Guofeng, who had long since faded out of the political arena, stepped forward and made a request to the central authorities. This demand has won the full support of the central government.
What exactly did he ask?
Pioneer of National Salvation
In the sixties and seventies of the last century, the mainland was in a sensitive and extraordinary period, and on the one hand, it had to endure the two-sided attack of the international community, the United States and the Soviet Union, and on the other hand, it had to stabilize the turbulent situation at home. It can be said that it is extremely necessary for someone to stand up and set things right and lead us to find the right path for the development of New China.
It was at this time that Comrade Hua Guofeng came to prominence.
Hua Guofeng, as his name suggests, is a "pioneer in saving the country". He was rooted in the early years and resolutely devoted himself to the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in his early years, because he was loyal and honest, persevering and capable, and was appreciated by Chairman Mao. Therefore, he is also known as Chairman Mao's "proud disciple".
He not only has excellent work ability, but also has a very high consciousness, is loyal to the party and the people, and truly goes deep into the grassroots level, takes from the people, and uses it for the people.
In this way, Hua Guofeng relied on the spirit of being upright and dedicated to serving the people, and served as secretary of the Secretariat of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, and made great achievements in the fields of agriculture and education. It can be said that he is young and promising.
In 1971, Hua Guofeng was appreciated by the central government and began to assist Premier Zhou Enlai, during which he accumulated a lot of experience and wisdom, which laid a solid foundation for his future career. His outstanding performance in the field of agricultural construction has promoted the mainland's agricultural output to increase year after year, and the economy has developed steadily.
In particular, Mr. Yuan Longping's hybrid rice planting project can be successfully implemented without the strong support of Hua Guofeng.
Therefore, Chairman Mao took a fancy to him very much and tried his best to cultivate him, intending to make him his successor in the future, so Hua Guofeng, a rising star, was promoted one after another.
In January 1976, our beloved Premier Zhou Enlai died, and Hua Guofeng assumed the post of acting premier of the State Council. At that time, he was very old in handling government affairs, and in Chairman Mao's later years, he also wrote a note to him: "I don't worry about you doing things."
In September of the same year, Chairman Mao, our great people's leader, passed away due to illness, and hundreds of millions of Chinese people fell into intense grief. Chairman Mao's death made the people feel sad. At the same time, the people also feel deeply confused and helpless about China's future development, and at this time, there is an urgent need for a leader who can lead China to the light.
At this time, Hua Guofeng stood up and held up the half of the sky that was about to fall.
Success will come when conditions are ripe.
At that time, the situation in China was very turbulent, and Hua Guofeng alone was not enough to completely stabilize the people's hearts. The old revolutionaries represented by Ye Jianying proposed that Comrade Deng Xiaoping should come back as soon as possible. The Party Central Committee is in great need of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's experience and wisdom to help tide over this turbulent era.
But this proposal also put Hua Guofeng, then chairman of the Party Central Committee, in a dilemma.
At this time, it is a critical juncture in the transfer of power, and the domestic political situation is not stable, and at such a critical juncture, if things are done in a hurry, it is likely to cause political chaos.
Therefore, Hua Guofeng decided to put Deng Xiaoping's comeback on hold.
This matter was put in the eyes of many people, but it was alienated as Hua Guofeng "trying his best to obstruct" Deng Xiaoping's comeback. However, judging from some of the information that has been disclosed so far, this statement is completely nonsense.
Hua Guofeng is not unaware of how much weight Deng Xiaoping holds in the hearts of the party and the people.
It's just that he has to think long-term, not for a moment.
At that time, our great leader, Chairman Mao, had just passed away, and the gloom of the old days had been hanging over the country for a long time, and Deng Xiaoping was a well-deserved "backbone," and it was normal for the masses to have urgent expectations for Deng Xiaoping's comeback.
But Hua Guofeng's consideration is not unreasonable. In the end, under the discussion of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, Hua Guofeng's proposal was also agreed to postpone Deng Xiaoping's comeback.
Although Deng Xiaoping's comeback plan has been postponed, the party has gradually restored Comrade Deng Xiaoping's political life. The central authorities also ordered the leading group headed by Ye Jianying to meet with Deng Xiaoping and report to him on the current political situation. In doing so, Hua Guofeng is actually conveying a message to Deng Xiaoping.
"The central government can't do without you, the country can't do without you, we still need your leadership."
In the memoirs of Deng Xiaoping's daughter Mao Mao, Deng Xiaoping at that time had already begun to review some documents at the behest of the central government. Although Deng Xiaoping explicitly suspended his reinstatement, he has always maintained communication with the central authorities.
During his tenure in office, Hua Guofeng always maintained that the focus of our work should be on economic development, and we should strive to stabilize the mainland's economy and restore it to its previous vigorous state. After a period of accumulation, the whole country has become more and more enthusiastic about Deng Xiaoping's comeback, and everything is ready, only the east wind is owed.
Finally, in July 1977, the Central Committee convened the Third Plenary Session of the 10th Central Committee, and Hua Guofeng announced that he would reinstate Deng Xiaoping from his original post and fully shift the focus of his work to the development of the country.
When the whole country heard about this decision, the whole country rejoiced.
Deng Xiaoping's reappearance from the mountains stabilized the political situation within the party, stabilized the hearts of our people, and also brought our country's development onto a new track.
Later, Hua Guofeng, who had achieved fame, did not covet power, and took the initiative to resign from the position of leader on the grounds of poor health, and he gradually faded out of our field of vision during the period of reform and opening up with Deng Xiaoping as the core of leadership.
Deng Xiaoping's drastic reforms led to the rapid development of the mainland's economy. The spring breeze of reform and opening up bathed in the land of China, and the people sincerely loved him.
At that time, Hua Guofeng had already taken a back seat and rarely showed up. However, the controversy about him has not stopped, and more people are wondering whether he resigned from his post because of discord with Deng Xiaoping.
This suspicion did not stop until Deng Xiaoping's death in 1997, and even intensified.
At that time, the mainland's economic development was just on the right track, and because of the handshake with Western countries, it was culturally affected by Western "liberalism" and "individualism". Once again, the people were in a state of bewilderment.
At this time, Hua Guofeng, who was "at odds" with Deng Xiaoping, stood up and took the initiative to help the central authorities deal with the work.
Hua Guofeng was very saddened by Deng Xiaoping's death, but because he was too old to endure the long journey, he could not attend the memorial service, and could only express his deep condolences with pen and ink.
Hua Guofeng mentioned that when he retired, Comrade Deng Xiaoping still wrote a letter of concern. Over the years, they have often written letters to communicate. He has been on the back burner for a long time, and although he is still contributing to the country and the people, he is far less hard than Deng Xiaoping and others.
Therefore, watching his comrades-in-arms around him leave one after another, he also came up with the idea of doing something more for the country.
Revision of the history of the Party
Hua Guofeng pondered for a long time and put forward a request to the Central Committee: to write the history of the party, so that the people and the world can understand the difficult development process of our party, so as to strengthen our cohesion and centripetal force.
As soon as this demand was put forward, it quickly received strong support from the central authorities.
You must know that in the past, Hua Guofeng refused many requests for interviews and compilation of memoirs, and never talked too much about national politics. At this time, he realized that history is not only a memory of the past, but also a guide to the future, and a manifestation of our cohesion.
Face history, reflect on pain, inherit the spirit, and inspire future generations. That's what he's supposed to do.
In order to make history more authentic, he consulted many historians and talked to important political figures to ask for their opinions. Because Hua Guofeng used to work as a propagandist when he was young, vigorously popularizing education and promoting literacy activities. Therefore, he is very familiar with these things, and he also knows that the authenticity and objectivity of history must be guaranteed, otherwise history will become a story and be meaningless.
Hua Guofeng set up a historical review group to conduct full verification and verification of historical materials and events in the compilation of party history, and also to correct those distorted histories in a timely manner.
Revise the history of the Party and stabilize the people's minds. This move has led to the publication of many books and materials about our party, and Hua Guofeng himself has also entered the public's field of vision.
Hua Guofeng has been full of liver and brain all his life, and he has been doing everything for the people. At the age of 17, he walked more than 80 miles from his hometown, and it was extremely difficult to join the Communist guerrillas. Later, when the whole country was liberated, he resolutely left his hometown and went south to participate in production and construction work.
During this period, he did not complain and stayed in Hunan for more than 20 years.
At that time, Hunan was in chaos, bandits and bandits were in their own camps, floods continued for many years, the people were not able to make a living, and the lives of the common people were miserable. Organizationally, many people suggested that Hua Guofeng should first suppress the bandits and calm down the people's hearts before launching production and construction.
Hua Guofeng bluntly said that in order to calm the people's minds, we must first solve the problem of flooding. He believes that it is precisely because of the hazards of flooding that crops often fail to harvest, and many people will fall into the grass.
And our party has always represented the stand of the people and done things for the people, so it will be loved by the people. At such a critical moment, it is all the more necessary to consider the situation of the people and solve the problems that the people are most concerned about.
Hua Guofeng immediately began to provide disaster relief, built flood control fortifications, and solved the problem of food and clothing. Only when the peasant masses have had enough to eat and their lives have settled down can they be mobilized and have cohesion. And a large part of those bandits, under Hua Guofeng's persuasion and organization, took the initiative to surrender and accept labor reform.
Hua Guofeng deeply understands a truth, we must really go around the people and understand the needs of the people, in order to do good things for the people and get the support of the people. No matter how high or low Hua Guofeng's position is, he has always firmly gone deep into the grassroots and mingled with the people. He often went into the fields, worked with the peasants, and never put himself on the shelf.
His upright character and simple style are deeply loved by the people.
Hua Guofeng presided over the revision of the history of the party, so that the deeds of many heroes and martyrs and revolutionary greats entered the homes of the people and were talked about by the people. This has greatly increased our party's cohesion and leadership for the people and enhanced the people's sense of happiness.
If a person has no spirit, he will not stand, and if a country has no spirit, he will not be strong. With the guidance of great men and martyrs, the people can find the right direction in the torrent of history.
On August 20, 2008, this role model completed his life journey at the age of 87. Hua Guofeng's efforts tell us that history is the history of the people, and the history of our party is also the history of the people turning into serfs and singing.
And our party has always insisted on taking from the people and using it for the people, so it will be recognized and loved by the people.