On the morning of October 19, 2007, on the way back from the 315-boat full training examination, the then captain Cai Yiqing was swallowed up by the big wave and died heroically when he rescued the sonar squad leader Chen Xiaogang.
Please pay attention to today's report from the "People's Liberation Army Daily" -
"Predatory Captain" Cai Yiqing took a photo on the submarine before his death. Mao Lin and Feng Zhongping provided the picture
Your dreams are always in the thoughts of your family
■ People's Liberation Army Daily reporter Duan Jiangshan special correspondent Mao Lin Zhang Miao
After hesitating at the door, Wan Ying still did not have the courage to step into the Cai Yiqing Memorial Hall. In the first few years of her husband Cai Yiqing's sacrifice, she was plagued by insomnia almost every night. Now that it was difficult to calm down, Wan Ying did not dare to easily open that sad memory.
When all this happened, Wan Ying and her family were looking forward to Cai Yiqing's triumph. They originally thought that Cai Yiqing would be able to go home that night.
That afternoon, Wan Ying and her mother-in-law were preparing dinner in the kitchen. Her son Cai Yuchen and her father-in-law went to the bus stop to wait to pick up Cai Yiqing and go home.
Until late at night, they couldn't wait for Cai Yiqing.
"Maybe the troops have an urgent task again" "Maybe they are busy summarizing"... They thought of countless possibilities, but they did not expect that Cai Yiqing was no longer alive.
"I don't dare to recall, and I can't stop the tears when I think about it." Wan Yingqiang suppressed tears and supported his glasses, "At that time, my mother-in-law was already crying so much that she couldn't stand up, but I just didn't believe it, I felt that this was not true..."
Until seeing Cai Yiqing's body, Wan Ying had to face this cruel reality, and tears came out of her eyes.
In the years that followed, Wan Ying took up the burden of life. "After going through so much, I found myself more resilient than I thought, but not strong. If Yiqing was still there, I wouldn't have had to carry it so hard. She said.
To this day, Wan Ying has never wavered in her support for her husband's career choices, and in the face of her husband's portrait, she once prayed: "If heaven also has your beloved sea, you can sail away with confidence!" ”
"Dear Yiqing, I will be brave to face everything, choose to be strong, and live well"
--Cai Yiqing's wife, Wan Ying
Wan Ying did not expect that after the sacrifice of her husband Cai Yiqing 12 years later, she would be so close to the preparation for battle.
With the adjustment of the military structure, Wan Ying was transferred to a naval base after joining the army.
"I came to the front-line combat unit, and the task of training and preparing for war is heavy, and I am training almost every day." Wan Ying told reporters that not long ago, she was officially incorporated into the command post of her unit. For military command, she still has a lot to learn, which also makes her understanding of Cai Yiqing deeper.
For some time before cai Yiqing's death, he was transferred from the submarine crew to work in a higher-level organ. Due to his strong ability and good performance, he also made a third-class merit and his future is bright.
However, only two or three years later, Cai Yiqing began to consult with his family and prepare to leave the organ and return to the submarine.
"Once he makes up his mind, no one can stop him!" Wan Ying knew that Cai Yiqing liked submarines and dreamed of becoming a submarine captain.
However, shortly after Cai Yiqing took up his post on the submarine, the Russian nuclear submarine "Kursk" had an accident.
At that time, the tv was full of reports about the crash of the "Kursk" nuclear submarine.
Cai Yiqing's mother panicked and immediately dialed his phone: "I have a son of yours, can you not take that risk?" ”
Wan Ying, who has always supported him, also advised him: "Yiqing, you are a graduate student, there is no problem in going back to the place to find a job, can't we change jobs and live a safe life?" ”
Cai Yiqing is not unaware of the risks of working on a submarine. In his study notes, two submarine accidents were recorded: in 1956, when the American submarine "Longtail" was practicing a new method of warfare, 129 officers and men were buried on the seabed; the other was the sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine "Kursk" in 2000, and none of the officers and men of the ship survived.
Even so, Cai Yiqing did not waver in the slightest. In the face of his family's advice, he comforted: "The probability of a submarine accident is lower than the probability of a car accident, rest assured." ”
Cai Yiqing's obsession with submarines, as well as his firmness of "although tens of millions of people are looking forward to it", once became a mystery in Wan Ying's heart.
"At that time, I had not yet enlisted in the army, and I didn't quite understand that the days were so peaceful, and he was so desperate to take his comrades-in-arms to engage in training, what was the purpose?" Wan Ying said that it was not until she herself joined the front-line combat troops and learned about the security situation at home and abroad that she gradually understood the meaning of "the country cannot be defenseless for a day, and the army cannot be unprepared for a day", and also truly understood her husband's choice before he died.
With the deepening of her understanding of her husband, many of the past events in Wan Ying's memory have become meaningful.
That year, Cai Yiqing wanted to lead 315 boats to a certain sea area to carry out a mission. On the eve of departure, he dialed his sister's phone from home, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he said, "Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety are difficult." Subsequently, Cai Yiqing instructed his sister: "In case I don't come back, you have to do filial piety for me and help me take care of my family." ”
Thinking about it now, Wan Ying realized that on that quiet night, behind the calm tone of Cai Yiqing's call, it carried a heavy weight.
"He was under a lot of pressure at that time. Every time he went to sea, he said, 'So many people's lives are in my hands, I must take everyone out safely, bring them back safely'. In Wan Ying's memory, Cai Yiqing "grew old" quickly during that time, "Before becoming the captain, he was still a black hair." It had only been more than a year since he had been on the boat, and his hair was already gray. ”
Cai Yiqing kept his promise. Every time he went to sea, he led his comrades to complete the task smoothly and returned safely. When his final comrade was in danger, he even fought with his life to try to save the life of his comrade. However, he himself was not able to return safely on his last mission.
In Cai Yiqing's heart, one is his submarine, his comrades-in-arms, and the ocean he is determined to conquer, and the other is his family that he is always worried about. Before the sacrifice, his captain's cabin was hung with charts of various seas all year round, and family portraits were placed at the head of the bed. The concerns of home and country are gathered in this small cabin.
"Yiqing, you are my pride in this life. If there is an afterlife, I will still be your wife. After Cai Yiqing's sacrifice, Wan Ying tearfully wrote a text to him.
In that passage, she wrote emotionally: "Before I was the daughter-in-law of my in-laws, now I am their daughter." I will try my best to take care of our home, take good care of the elderly, and raise my son well! Dear Yiqing, I will definitely face everything bravely, choose to be strong, and live well! ”
That was her promise to Cai Yiqing, and she has kept it to this day.
Cai Yiqing took a group photo with his grandfather before his death. Mao Lin and Feng Zhongping provided the picture
"I saw you, and I saw you still holding a sword, standing in the deep ocean"
--Cai Yiqing's son Cai Yuchen
During the interview, Wan Ying took out her mobile phone and showed the reporter a photo of their son Cai Yuchen: "Now my son is already a big guy of one meter and eight meters, but he is handsome!" ”
The healthy growth of his son was Cai Yiqing's biggest concern before his death, and it was also wan Ying's most gratifying thing.
When Cai Yiqing died, Cai Yuchen was only 4 years old. At first, Wan Ying couldn't bear to tell her son the truth.
At the farewell ceremony of the body, Wan Ying hugged her son tightly and taught Cai Yuchen to say goodbye to her father: "Daddy, you are too tired, you rest, I obey!" ”
But Xiao Yuchen didn't quite understand what was going on. Through the glass cover, he said to the body of his father, Cai Yiqing, "Daddy, don't sleep, get up, let's go home." ”
Her son's childish words hit Wan Ying's heart in an instant, and her tears flowed uncontrollably.
During that time, in order to let his son understand the father's sacrifice, Wan Ying pondered: "You can't lie to your child." If you say, 'Daddy just went on a business trip,' he'll always come back! But he could not come back, and sooner or later the child would have to face this fact. ”
Wan Ying finally chose to let the child face the truth. 4-year-old Cai Yuchen can already read and write. Whether it is the special film of Cai Yiqing martyrs broadcast on TV or the report on Cai Yiqing martyrs published in newspapers, Wan Ying took her son to watch it together.
Gradually, the young Cai Yuchen seemed to understand that his father had left forever. For a while, he often flipped over and over the same book. The "Predator Captain" recorded Cai Yiqing's life deeds. It was from that time that Wan Ying found that her son never took the initiative to say the word "daddy" at home again.
"It's too cruel for kids. I don't quite understand how my son survived. He did not mention his father, perhaps deliberately avoiding it, or perhaps he was afraid of evoking sad memories of other people in the family. Wan Ying said.
However, no matter how she avoided it, Wan Ying still felt that her son was becoming more and more like Cai Yiqing in personality: "This child is too righteous, that is, the kind of thing in the bones, starting from Cai Yiqing's grandfather, all the way to my son's body." ”
When Cai Yuchen was in junior high school, he once went to the beach to play during the summer vacation, and suddenly encountered someone drowning. Without hesitation, he rushed into the sea and joined other passers-by to rescue the drowning man.
When the drowning person was out of danger, Cai Yuchen left silently and disappeared into the crowd.
Afterwards, Wan Ying learned about this matter and was frightened. She said to her son angrily, "Don't scare me! Your father's business is there, if you are a little bit of a mistake, your mother really don't live! ”
In fact, after Cai Yiqing's sacrifice, Wan Ying never came close to the sea again. Even if the whole family went to the beach to play, she repeatedly warned Cai Yuchen not to go into the water, but to walk and blow the sea breeze on the coast.
"The sea is too dangerous, and when a wave hits you, you don't know what to expect." Wan Ying was really scared. Her son wanted to learn to swim, so she took him to the swimming pool. Although they live in a coastal city, the sea has become a forbidden area for the whole family.
No matter how Wan Ying repeatedly ordered five times, she still could not stop Cai Yuchen's yearning for the sea. In Cai Yuchen's room, there were models of various submarines and surface ships. Influenced by his father Cai Yiqing, he loved to understand various ship knowledge since he was a child, and liked to talk to people about warships and aircraft carriers.
"My son is definitely going to join the army in the future, and he has wanted to be a soldier since he was a child. Like his father, he can't stop..." Wan Ying said emotionally.
Last year, On his 15th birthday, Cai Yuchen wrote an article specifically for his father. In that article, he greeted like an old friend: "Dad, the captain of the dream-chasing sea frontier eleven years ago, how have you been lately?" There are also your beloved submarines in paradise! ”
He has grown into a man, and in the letter he promises his father: "Your unfinished filial piety, the son will do it for you." Your dreams that have not yet been realized, your son will also realize them for you! ”
In Cai Yuchen's heart, his father Cai Yiqing is a real hero. At the end of that article, he told his father: "Along your tracks, secretly tell you that you don't have to worry about everything in the house." I saw you, and I saw you still holding a sword, standing tall in the deep ocean! ”
Every Qingming Festival, officers and men of a certain submarine base of the Navy in the northern theater will come to the Laoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery to visit the old captain Cai Yiqing. Mao Lin and Feng Zhongping provided the picture
"Now that you have taken over Grandpa's class and defending national defense, it is the best filial piety to Grandpa."
--Cai Yiqing's grandfather Muya
"It's something in his bones!" When it comes to Cai Yiqing's choice before he died, Wan Ying will always come down to such a sentence.
Combing through Cai Yiqing's growth vein, his 32 letters with his grandfather have become the most profound clues in his life.
Cai Yiqing's grandfather, Mu Ya, was a revolutionary soldier. Under the influence of his family, Cai Yiqing germinated the ideal of serving the country from the military since he was a child.
When he graduated from high school, Cai Yiqing gave up the opportunity to be escorted to Shanghai Jiaotong University and resolutely applied for the Submarine Academy. On the day he officially put on the naval uniform, he wrote a letter for the first time to tell his grandfather the good news.
Grandpa's letter was full of satisfaction: "You have finally officially become a naval soldier, as an old soldier, there is a successor, a reliable successor, Grandpa What could be happier than this!" ”
These letters are full of Grandpa's sincere teachings to Cai Yiqing.
"Read your last letter and find another word, pay attention to it in the future." It is important to exercise yourself to be more careful and work the word fine, especially to be a commander in the future. ”
"Have you submitted your application to join the party?" This matter cannot be rushed, but must be met with practical actions to meet the requirements of a qualified Party member. You must be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, be a model student, and be a qualified cadre. ”
"It's a great thing that you left Grandpa and went to the army. I hope that you will cherish everything, maintain a strong body, maintain a strong fighting spirit, and cope with all kinds of difficulties encountered. ”
……
Grandpa's rigorous style blended between the lines of the letters, profoundly affecting Cai Yiqing. The red genes of revolutionary soldiers are also gradually integrated into Cai Yiqing's blood in the transmission of this sealed family letter.
Opening Cai Yiqing's diary, the reporter found that since his student days, Cai Yiqing has a strong sense of planning and execution. In order to be able to grow into a qualified commander, he began preparations very early.
During his undergraduate studies, in addition to taking professional courses, he also studied a lot of extracurricular knowledge in navigation. He not only excelled in every course, but also won the "China Navigation Scholarship" for three consecutive years from his sophomore to his senior year, becoming the first "triple crown" for undergraduate students of the Submarine Academy to receive this scholarship. Because of his excellent character and learning, before graduation, the college applied for third-class merit for him.
"In my 20 year, I'm going to get my first military merit badge. Grandpa, you must be happy for me! In the days to come, I will have more opportunities to make better achievements and report to your elderly. In the letter to Grandpa, Cai Yiqing could not hide his excitement.
"Grandpa is very happy to know that you have been awarded the third class merit, this is the result of your efforts, and it is also something I expected." In the reply, Cai Yiqing's grandfather still has strict requirements for his grandson, admonishing: "Don't be complacent, Grandpa believes that you can do this." ”
The correspondence between the grandfather and grandson also has a warm content. In one of Grandpa's letters, there is a passage like this: "Remembering when you were in kindergarten, Grandpa picked you up every day. One day you put your face on your back and said to me, 'Grandpa, I will honor you when I grow up.' The true feelings that came from the depths of my young soul almost made me shed old tears. In fact, now that you have taken over Grandpa's class and defending national defense, it is the best filial piety to Grandpa, and I can even see it when I die..."
After his grandfather's death, Cai Yiqing pasted the 32 family letters written by his grandfather to him and stored them in his diary. Those warm words have long inspired Cai Yiqing to go forward in his dreams.
In another diary, Cai Yiqing created an autobiographical novel based on his own experience, "The Low-Spin Eagle".
In this novel, Cai Yiqing assumes the pseudonym "Hailan". Through unremitting efforts, he eventually grew into an excellent commander.
"According to his habits, part of the experience of this 'sea blue' in the novel is his autobiography, and the rest is the goal he wants to achieve in this life." Wan Ying said.
If the last voyage in his life can return smoothly, Cai Yiqing can get a pass to command a new type of submarine with excellent full training assessment results.
This "low-spinning eagle" has accumulated a huge amount of energy, and it is about to flap its wings and fly high, but it is unfortunate to fold its wings and sea frontiers.
Perhaps in another time and space, Cai Yiqing is still flying high in the post of commander. And in the world behind him, his comrades and sons will fly higher and farther along his tracks.
The old captain was like a treasure
"Ready to sacrifice everything for the party and the people at any time..." Facing the tombstone of the martyr Cai Yiqing, Zhang Huixiang raised his right fist to relive the oath of joining the party.
As the captain of the thunder bomb squad of the former 315 submarine detachment of the Navy in the northern theater, Zhang Huixiang felt that the old captain Cai Yiqing was a tough guy who really practiced this sentence with his life.
At Zhang Huixiang's side, more than 100 officers and men of the crew were lined up neatly. The new captain Yin Huiquan and political commissar Ning Yuwei reported to the old captain on the achievements made by the fleet in the past year.
"Every year near the Qingming Festival, everyone will come to the Laoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery together to visit the old boat captain Cai Yiqing." Zhang Huixiang said, "The old captain is our idol, and we all miss him very much. ”
After the oath was taken, the officers and men visited the martyrs' cemetery in shifts. Zhang Huixiang took his comrades in arms to tell the story of Cai Yiqing's life.
On the eve of the Sino-Russian joint exercise that year, Cai Yiqing, then captain of the 315 boat, called Zhang Huixiang and asked him to hand draw a map of the thunder bomb system. This is a random test of the mastery of the equipment of professional soldiers of mine bombs, and the system diagram drawn will also be used as the basis for subsequent command.
Late at night, Zhang Huixiang finally handed in the drawings. After Cai Yiqing inspected it, he pointed to one of them and said, "When you look at this place, is it a mistake?" ”
Facts have proved that Cai Yiqing's mastery of the thunder bomb system is not bad. He asked Zhang Huixiang to re-proofread and revise the drawings. Zhang Huixiang worked until the early hours of the morning. Cai Yiqing accompanied him, studying the exercise plan.
"Captain Cai is such a person, he requires us to master the knowledge and skills, he himself will do it first." Zhang Huixiang recalled that after Cai Yiqing's sacrifice, when sorting out the relics in his office, he found 49 study notes and more than 1,500 hand-drawn paper, covering various aspects of submarine systems and combat command.
The leader of the detachment told reporters that during Cai Yiqing's tenure on the boat before his death, he hardly slept before 12 o'clock at night, and always studied ship knowledge and combat command day and night. In order to facilitate access to foreign language materials, he also taught himself English and Russian.
Cai Yiqing's style of single-mindedly planning and practicing war, being strict with oneself and also strict with others has become a treasure between the characteristics and spirit shared by the fleet.
Not long ago, Ren Chao, sergeant of the Thunder Bomb Squad, made a mistake in professional training. This immediately attracted a criticism from Zhang Huixiang, the leader of the thunder bomb squad.
After the criticism, Zhang Huixiang was still not at ease and accompanied Ren Chao for intensive training. From morning practice to afternoon, until Ren Chao fully mastered the training content.
"At first, I didn't understand it, and I didn't really fight, so I didn't eat lunch when I practiced?" Standing in front of the tomb of the martyr Cai Yiqing and listening to the story of Cai Yiqing's life, Ren Chao gradually understood the bitter heart of the squad leader: "Before Cai Chuan's immortality, he raced against the clock, and used the energy of fighting to do things to prepare for war. We, the latecomers, cannot afford to lose this tradition. ”
Along with the officers and soldiers, there was also Cai Yiqing's family. Cai Yiqing's wife, Wan Ying, listened to the soldiers tell the story of her husband's life and was relieved to see that everyone was constantly making new progress.
"Before I was born, Yiqing never mentioned work to me, and I didn't know much about it. After his death, we went to the army to sort out his belongings and listened to his comrades tell his stories, and only then did we know another side of his life. Wan Ying said that every year on the Qingming Festival, she can hear more new stories and details about her husband from veterans.
"He's really like a treasure. When the lid was lifted, I was stunned, I didn't expect this treasure to have such a rich content. Wan Ying said.