A county magistrate dared to handcuff the deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, which was not bold, but too long-lived.
In 1954, China was in ruins, and railway construction was a top priority.
Fujian is the hardest hit area by traffic congestion. The central government approved the plan to build the railway, and sent Wang Zhen to lead the railway soldiers to work.
As soon as Wang Zhen arrived in Fujian, he was choked by the weather, and the soldiers fell ill in large numbers and urgently needed to improve their conditions. He went to the local county magistrate to coordinate the land, but unexpectedly, the county magistrate not only didn't buy it, but also directly tortured him.
Why is this so? I think there are several reasons for this:
First, the power of the county magistrate has swelled to an absurd level.
This county magistrate has become the "soil emperor" in the local area, and even the common people are silent when they mention him.
It's not that he really doesn't know Wang Zhen, but he relies on the ability of "the head snake on the ground", and feels that whoever comes has to look at his face. Even if he is the deputy chief of the General Staff, he is just an "outsider".
He was accustomed to treating power as his private property, and felt that no one could touch him. This kind of mentality was not uncommon among some local cadres at that time, especially in remote areas.
Before the authority of the central authorities has completely penetrated into the grassroots level, some local cadres have begun to play tricks.
Second, Wang Zhen's identity and practices made him misjudge the situation.
Wang Zhen was dressed in old clothes, with mud spots on his trouser legs, and looked like an errand farmer. This county magistrate is obviously a master who "judges people by their appearance", and he didn't realize who the person in front of him was.
His arrogance and short-sightedness made him make unforgivable mistakes. What's more, Wang Zhen is an impatient and doesn't like to beat around the bush.
Faced with this kind of person, he chose to come directly to the door, but he didn't expect to hit the other party's arrogance wall.
Third, it reflects corruption at the grassroots level and a loss of control of power.
The county magistrate dares to be so arrogant, not by himself, but by the power system of the entire county. The common people did not dare to report, the grassroots cadres shielded each other, and the superiors did not have time to take care of it.
This phenomenon of "policies from above, countermeasures from below" was a stubborn disease in the early stage of reform at that time. Wang Zhen's experience reflects the loopholes in grassroots governance: the central government has policies, but the lower authorities are too lazy to implement them, and even directly confront.
It is ridiculous that a simple request to build a railway can turn into a farce against the central government.
The follow-up of this incident was very fast, the county magistrate was dismissed, the party membership was also lost, and the cancer at the grassroots level was uprooted.
Wang Zhen's railway soldiers continued to build the railway, and three years later the Changxia line was completed. Although this turmoil is small, it reminds people that if power is not supervised, even a small county magistrate can make the people miserable.