The Time in Changxindian
1.Upon the ruins of shame, a glorious history always rebuilds itself.
The Marco Polo Bridge and Changxindian area of the Yongding River were the first ancient city to be conquered by the Mongolian Calvary—indeed, they were also the place where the Japanese invaders fired their first shot……
On this unfortunate land marked by the shame of the Chinese soldiers, we again realised our rocket dream.
Changxindian，30 km to the southwest of Beijing
For the young people of today, this place is only a faded memory which belongs to an unfamiliar history. Although the blood shed during the Great Strike of February 7，1923 of the railway workers, organised by the Chinese Communist Party, had inspired a generation, all of these glories and tragedies had long since been buried in the yellow sand of the Yongding River's dried riverbed.
Digging beneath these layers of cold sand, there lies the most tragic history of the Chinese nation, and the darkest page of the Chinese army.
The clouds of time have faded away……
The ancient and clear water of the Yongding River flowed slowly from the Yanshan Mountains to the land around Beijing, just as the giant dragon flew over the ancient land of Yanjing（now Beijing）and left behind an ancient riverbed, nurturing the lives and soil of both sides, including the earliest major city constructed on the ancient Yanjing land—the Capital City of Jin, by the Yongding River.
In the year 1151—the third year of Tiande, during the Jin Dynasty—Wanyan Liang, the Prince of Hailing, expanded the old city of Yanjing toward three directions—the east, west and south. Based the design upon the ancient ruins of Youzhou from the Tang Dynasty and the southern capital of the Liao Dynasty, as well as the structure of the capital city Bianliang（today's Kaifeng）of the Song Dynasty, he built the biggest city of northern China.It occupied 22 square kilometres and had a population of hundreds of thousands, famous for its astonishing views and prosperity.The prince then moved the capital of Jin from Huining to Yanjing, marking the start of the city's glorious and tragic days as a royal city.
100 years passed as swiftly as a dream. In the year 1215，a tribe arose from the Hulun Buir Prairie of the eastern country.Led by Genghis Khan and his cavalry, they shattered the last sunset hanging over the palace of the ancient city of Yanjing.The fire of war burned out the dream-like prosperity of Yanjing, leaving ruins that would remain for a thousand years……
The Mongolians rebuilt the capital of Yuan Dynasty in Beijing, and used the gunpowder and rockets invented by the people of the Central Plains in war for the first time. The era of gunpowder in human military history quickly replaced that of previous weapons.With the most advanced gunpowder weapons—the rockets of the time—an empire could rise to hegemony.The newly-born empire of Yuan rose from the Eastern horizon like a rising sun.Not only did they have the strength to shoot eagles, with what were then the most advanced weapons—rockets and cannons which covered a few hundred metres—they had also started upon their long journey to conquer the entire Euro-Asia continent.
In the year 1220，when the second son of Genghis Khan, Ok?dei, directed the Mongolian Calvary to attack the castles of the famous Middle Eastern city Baghdad, he used rudimentary rockets invented by the Chinese.In 1237，the Mongolian leader Batu swept northeastern Europe with his rolling Calvary.The thundering of cannons and rockets coloured the high red walls of Moscow, waking the Europeans who were still in deep in the sleep of helotism.A Mongolian Altan Ordo belonging to the capital city of Yanjing had conquered the Volga River……
However, a nation which indulges itself in the past glories of its ancestors will inevitably fall into decline. Within a hundred years, the imperial dream of the East had faded away.The Western nations, nurtured by Eastern civilisation, had surpassed the steps taken by the Chinese.Maybe it was the karma of history, after Genghis Khan's cavalry took off from Yanjing to wage wars against the Europeans, but in the first summer of the 20th century, the invading troops of Eight Powers set fire to the royal resort of the Qing Dynasty, burning down the last shreds of confidence and hope of the Chinese.
On July 7，1937，over the Marco Polo Bridge from the Yongding River, the Japanese troops in Wanping City fired the first shot of their invasion toward the Central Plains. The Chinese army, who had always been in a disadvantaged position, could not resist the humiliated urge to fight back, beginning the eight-year-long Anti-Japanese War.
The most glorious history is usually achieved by peoples from the most tragic lands.
In the autumn of 1957，with the approval of Premier Zhou, the Central Military Committee decided to build the first Training Centre for the Strategic Missiles of China in Changxindian, on the old site of the Central College of Marxism and Leninism.
Eventually, the Chinese stood up, and were finally capable of realizing their dream of the rocket in history.
2.China's best military officers gathered.In major news for the republic, captains become colonels, and lieutenants, battalion commanders.
1957，Autumn, Beijing. Headquarters of the Artillery Corps of the Central Military Committee
In a grave and dignified office building, the Commander of the Artillery Corps, General Chen Xilian, was in his uniform and concentrating on reading the list of leaders who would be establishing the Changxindian Artillery Training Brigade. With his pencil in hand, he looked upon all the familiar subordinates.But the forms were, in the experienced commander's eyes, somewhat disappointing.The highest level of education among all these“talents”，selected from among all the levels of the Artillery Corps, was no higher than middle school.He put away his pencil and turned his head toward the Chief of Staff Major General Chen Ruiting, who was responsible for this special training task.
“Comrade Ruiting, are you telling me that these are the best assets of the Artillery Corps?”General Chen Xilian joked in the heavy accent of his hometown.“Did you leave the best for yourself?”
Chen Ruiting smiled bitterly and spread his hands.
“Commander, which aspect of our assets do you not already have knowledge of?A middle school graduate is indeed a major intellectual in the army.”Having said this, the two generals burst into laughter. Yet they could not hide the silent bitterness in their laughs.
After a moment of consideration, General Chen Xilian told Chen Ruiting, as if he were giving an order，“Broaden the scope of the selection. We can pick up trainees from the freshmen of the Artillery School, or from among the first-class squad leaders.As for the cadres, I will make a report to Marshal Peng, tell him to select from among the entire army.”
Thus the task of selecting the first group of trainees for China's first strategic missile troops Artillery Training Brigade began.
It was known to everyone that our army came from the Jinggangshan Mountain and the side of the Yan River. Although their heroic and disciplined steps had moved them far from the towering mountains and bleak yellow land, there still remained some of the farmers'blood running through the green corps, the military songs of the farmers floating just above them.Since the republic was only newly established, it was only natural that the army see their nature as farmers unchanged.
Perhaps because this was the first time China had had its own modern missiles, the selection standard for picking the soldiers who would be in charge of these weapons was cruel and harsh, a characteristic of that era. First, the eligible soldiers had to have an absolutely clean political background.There was no tolerance for any stains—they almost unearthed up to three previous generations worth of relatives.Some soldiers had the most outstandingly communist personal performance and family background, but could be precluded due to some minor problem in their social relationships.And there were some other soldiers with absolutely clean backgrounds and families who nonetheless faced a dilemma because of their girlfriend's social relationships.Their choice was between losing a glorious dream pursued by generations of soldiers and losing their beloved women.The young soldiers of the republic, with a strong sense of political mission, would usually choose the latter without hesitation, wading across any subsequent pain, unable even to look back to the love they had buried……
Lieutenant Huang, who was called by his colleagues“the handsome one in the office”，did not escape this dilemma. A man with a carefree nature, he came from southern Jiangsu Province and started his military life battling with the Japanese.Later he went to Yan'an, the holy sanctuary of the revolutionaries, and studied in the fifth school of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political College.After graduation he joined the first division of the New Fourth Army in Southern China.Following the directions of General Su Yu, he took part in the famous 7 consecutive great victories in the middle of Jiangsu Province as a staff officer.During the Liberation War, he fought as the staff officer of the Eastern China Field Army and the section chief of the Shandong corps.He followed Generals Su Yu, Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin for a long time, and was part of the famous Battles of Lunan, Laiwu and Menglianggu, during which he shot one of the elite generals of the KMT, Zhang Lingfu, and arrested Li Xianzhou.After the Huaihai Campaign he followed the army to Korea as deputy chief of the artillery corps.When he got the news that he would be working as a company commander in a technology unit with a battalion rank in the first Missile Training Centre as lieutenant, he could not withhold his excitement.
But one day, walking the long corridor of the office building, one of his close friends implied to him in a very subtle way that his assignment to Changxindian could be ruined. He was astonished, and asked his friend anxiously why.His friend did not want to talk too much about this, only referring to the complicated social relationship of Huang's girlfriend.
Huang felt inexplicably frustrated and disappointed. He had just turned thirty, and due to his intense military career, he was unable to deal with personal issues.He had fallen in love with a cadre who was originally a university student.Having had just this initial taste of the sweetness of love in the mortal world, he had felt the need to cut it off.Inevitably, he felt the strangeness of his fate.But the social values of the 1950s had influenced a generation's lifetimes, all their values and ways of thinking.He was no exception to that.Therefore he ended his love and made a choice he could never regret.
In the autumn among the blood red maples, he took his girlfriend for the last time to visit the Incense Hill.
In her Lenin style outfit, with a pair of white plastic framed glasses, the university girl was intoxicated by the burning view of autumn. She romantically gave him a twig with two maple leaves embracing together, red as the sunset.She prayed that their love could be as fabulous as the sun and burn like fire.But his hand froze between them, trembling.He wanted to take the twig but couldn't.He was tortured with regrets.Only then did his girlfriend realise the sorrow on his face.Everything became clear to her.
At the last moment, he moved his lips with great difficulty, and a few heavy words dropped from his mouth.“Please forget all about me. I am not worth your love.”
There were no excessive explanations. There was not one word of promise.
He walked into the Changxindian Missiles Training Centre without ever looking back. He remained unmarried for life, and dedicated all his youth and his life to a career in building missiles for China……
But how could one forget his love?Now, as this man enters into the last phase of his life, he is living in an apartment with six bedrooms in the military compound by the Chang'an Avenue, with the last loneness of his life. On this old man's altar of fate there lies the model of the strategic missile which stands between the heaven and earth；while on the other side, there is a withered maple twig, covering a fading photo.After his regular morning and evening exercise, the old man often looks at the photo for a long time.
Under the sunset, there is the shadow of an old man crying. No one can tell whether it is out of sweetness or pain.
It is the tears of bitterness……
This story was told to me by an old man from that unforgettable age of missiles. The tragic love story touched my soul deeply, leaving me awestruck and confused at the same time.Our father's generation has contributed all of their youth and passion to what they valued, seeing it as the greatest ideal imaginable.To achieve that, they suppressed their personality and other pursuits, even sacrificing the love of their life.To the young people today, each of whom value their own unique personality, this must sound like a distant fairy tale.
Many times, the urge to interview this old veteran arose in my mind, but I never did so. On this ancient land, there isn't much space for secrets and privacy in the first place.
The idea of interrupting him has left my mind. But there remain lots of old men from the missile corps who could testify to the validity of the story.
In the same building of the Artillery Corps, the deputy section chief of Military Affairs, Major Li, was called to the commander's office by General Chen Xilian.
Major Li was a tall and slim man who was born in the land of northern China, a place which was famous for its many tragic heroes. The ancient and bleak Yanshan Mountains had gifted him with persistence and toughness, and the heroic nature of the man there had empowered him with straightforwardness and courage.His bright eyes reflected wisdom and the confidence and capabilities of a battle-worn soldier.Since the day he arrived in Yan'an, Li had established a long relationship with the artillery corps, who were called the God of War.Following General Zhu Rui, the father of the Red Army's artillery corps, who graduated from the Kraal Artillery Officers'School in Moscow, Li started as a trainee, then became a platoon leader and a company commander；subsequently he followed the Marshal Lin Biao into Shanhaiguan pass as a chief of the battalion in the first division of the Eastern Field Artillery Corps.They mastered the most advanced cannons captured from the Japanese troops and fought intensively for 100 days against General Chen Mingren of the KMT, who was from Hunan.With more than ten years of experience in the military, Li could tell that every time he was asked to meet the commander for a conversation, there would almost certainly be an important task waiting for him.
Li stepped into Commander Chen's office as a soldier. General Chen Xilian stared at this deputy section chief, a man no older than 30 years old, with a great deal of trust and expectation.He slapped Li's shoulder kindly and said，“We have decided to transfer you to the Changxindian Missiles Training Centre to work for the Artillery Brigade.That is where our most advanced weapons are, so you've got a bit of a task ahead of you.To match up with the Soviet Union army, you will be given a lower rank.Would you be unhappy with that?”
Li stood up immediately and answered steadily，“Commander, please do not worry. I promise you that I will complete my task.”
This conversation forever and totally changed the young officer's life.
With the transfer order, Li later became the first battalion commander of an Asian missile corps. He packed up quietly, without informing his parents and wife, and took off to the Changxindian Training Centre in secret.At that time, the most outstanding soldiers of the entire Chinese army were gathered there.Those who later became senior officers of the strategic missile corps, like the General Li Xuge（the later commander of the Strategic Missile Troop of China），had all studied there.
During that period of time a division level officer became a colonel in the army, and a lieutenant becoming a battalion commander was big news. At one time, Major Li took part in an important military meeting.According to the rules, it was only available for officers ranked higher than colonel.But when the host introduced him as a battalion commander for the missile troop, he received a high degree of respect, not to mention envy.
3.A green military train carries 102 Soviet Union officers and men.Marshal Peng, who was about to meet his destiny, makes time to host a grand banquet for them.
In the winter of 1957，the first snow continued, steadily covering China. When the light of sunset eventually fell upon the snow, white met blood red, and the ancient capital Beijing revealed its elegance as a northern kingdom.
The sky over China and the Soviet Union shared the same winter sun, which was not as warm as the summer one, but still shone upon the helmet of the two nations'fate.
Lieutenant battalion commander Sherman came to China with 102 missile officers and men, with four P-2 missiles, following the order from the Defence Ministry of the Soviet Union to become a military trainer. The green military train that carried him ran through the massive Siberia plains.As the temperature dropped to minus 40 degrees, Sherman looked over into the distance as he travelled further and further from his beautiful hometown by the Don River.Views of snow-frozen forests flew past his eyes, taking him back to the distant memories of the earlier revolutionaries, who were expelled there and drew two long lines of life on the snow with their slides.At this point, he couldn't help but bemoan his own future.As a descendant of the Cossacks, his straightforward, candid and righteous nature rendered him unpopular in the army.Most of his old mates from the military academy had been promoted to captain or major general, while he was still a lieutenant in charge of a battalion.Indeed, his age would eventually put a tragic end to his military career.Going to China could be a good chance for promotion, but this red country in the east was too far away and unfamiliar, as if he would have been placing himself in an ancient dream or fairy tale.
When he awoke from his dream, a mass of blood red lay to the east of the sky, a yellow-red winter sun climbing slowly above the forests, colouring the window of the train. The orderly staff came in and told lieutenant Sherman that they would soon arrive in Manzhouli, the northeastern gate of China.A senior military officer of China would be waiting for all the Soviet Union officers there.
The train slowly entered the Manzhouli train station. Although snow and ice have already frozen the platform, Sherman could feel a warm sense of friendship and fun has been accumulating as he exited the train.Lieutenant General Wan Yi and Major Li were waiting on the platform.As a graduate of an university in Beijing and who had previously worked for the Party under Supreme Commander Zhang Xueliang, Lieutenant General Wan Yi spoke fluent Russian, which quickly dispersed any sense of unfamiliarity between the soldiers of the two countries in their hugs and handshaking.Lieutenant General Wan Yi, Major Li, and Lieutenant Sherman stepped onto the train towards Changxindian, Beijing.It was the first time Sherman had come to China.When their train arrived, the strict and comprehensive first-class guarding measures adopted along the railway made Sharman and his officers irresistibly excited and proud.
On the evening of December 22nd, the train arrived at the military base of Changxindian. However, when it came to unloading the carriage, there was a minor dispute between the two armies.
The Soviet Union army had brought four training missiles. Based on their previous experience, it was only possible to unload two missiles and the necessary ground facilities at most.But to maintain confidentiality, the Chinese army decided to unload all of the four missiles and ground facilities within one night.This sounded like a joke to Lieutenant Sherman, and he rejected the Chinese plan instantly.But Captain Sun Shixing and other leaders argued with him and presented a comprehensive plan, stating that they would unload all the missiles and ground facilities without scratching them at all before dawn.Lieutenant Sherman agreed reluctantly, hoping to embarrass the Chinese.He specifically asked a few Majors to take occupy central positions during the unloading task.Then he returned to his office and awaited the result.
This was in fact the first time the missile soldiers and officers of China and the Soviet Union had competed with each other in demonstrating their capabilities and determination. All the officers and men of the Artillery Training Brigade participated in the unloading task, taking hold of each position.The task was organised in an orderly manner.Even though the freezing wind of the winter night of Beijing cut through their bones and faces, the Chinese officers and men sweated during their task while the Soviet Union officers were so cold they had to rely on vodka.When Venus blinked in the night sky, bright light revealed itself across the horizon.All the missiles and ground facilities had been unloaded from the train, perfectly intact.After the staff officer of the Soviet Union reported to Lieutenant Sherman, the first word that came out of his mouth was，“Impossible.”
Lieutenant Sherman staggered outside, and saw the four missiles had indeed been placed inside of the towering missile operation room, along with the other ground facilities. This reality was enough to convince the passionate Cossack.He gave a thumbs-up, and said repeatedly，“My Chinese colleagues are marvelous！……”
Arrogance and self-regard lowered its lofty head in front of iron facts；trust and respect were established in their place.
A few days later, Marshal Peng, who were stepping into the last stage of his glorious military career, made a point of hosting a grand banquet at the hall of the military committee, welcoming the 102 missile officers and men from the beautiful Volga River. Peng was originally the son of a Chinese farmer, and had only had three years of education in an old-style private school, though he had been through hundreds of battles.Just like many other high ranking officers who never enjoyed military academy experience, he could not escape the limits imposed by his experience.But as the only commander of the Party who had battled against the Americans in a modern war, he took his education in the theatre of the Korean War, during which he had witnessed soldiers who used their own bodies to block the American tanks.This only strengthened his determination to transform this farmers'army into a professional unit which could compete with any advanced country in the world.After coming back from the Korea War to the Central Military Committee, Peng initiated a historic journey of modernisation for the Chinese army, in spite of enormous difficulties and objections.Peng appeared to be particularly interested in the strategic missile corps, the most advanced part of the army.
That evening, the Soviet Union embassy's Office of the Military Attache'were greatly surprised by the people who attended the banquet from the Chinese party. More than ten people—Marshal Peng, Chief of General Staff General Huang Kecheng, Deputy Chief of General Staff General Zhang Aiping, Chief of Staff for the Artillery Corps Major General Chen Ruiting, and Chief of the Equipment Department from the General Staff, Lieutenant General Wan Yi, along with leaders from the Committee of Science and Technology for National Defence—attended the banquet.The event was hosted by General Zhang Aiping, who was famous for his air of intellectualism.Supreme Commander Peng, who used to be astute and quiet, delivered a speech.He talked humorously in his heavy Hunan accent.
“After touring around the world for a few hundred years, rockets, which were invented by our ancestors, have returned to their homeland. This is thanks to the Party and army of the Soviet Union, who provided us with the most advanced weapons available worldwide.An army which has mastered the nuclear missile is one which can truly say something meaningful in the world, and who truly can be called a powerful army.The Americans turned Nagasaki and Hiroshima into ruins with their nuclear bombs, and continue to threaten us.Once we have nuclear weapons, if they dare to attack, we will be able to bomb a giant hole on their territory as well.My comrades, we need to learn studiously from our big old brother, the Soviet Union, and master these weapons and technology as soon as possible……”
Peng seemed to be exceptionally happy that night, though he was not usually good at drinking. Holding the strong Maotai liquor, he toasted the Soviet Union missile battalion officers table by table.Respect arose in the hearts of the Soviet Union missile battalion officers when they saw the Chinese Defence Minister's honesty, roughness and straightforwardness, and his remarkable achievement of successfully resisting the UN army in Korea.
It had been a long time since Peng had enjoyed such a good drink. That night, as he was helped out by two staff, he was already a bit drunk……
However, the Soviet Union officers were to stay in China for only three months. The Chinese Artillery Training Brigade was separated according to the number of officers from the Soviet Union, so that they could be taught in small groups.The Soviet Union officers taught the Chinese from up on the podium, with the aid of a Chinese interpreter.Among the Chinese officers, there were some who had studied missiles and nuclear weapons in the US, Britain and France, as well as technicians who had been newly selected from universities.These high-end talents sometimes raised difficult questions regarding the industrial technologies, which would render the Soviet Union officers speechless, astonished and embarrassed.Their knowledge went beyond the expectations of the Soviet Union officers.
Objectively speaking, the Soviet Union officers did provide enormous assistance to China in terms of missile technology. But, on the other hand, the sense of superiority of the Russians would affect the Chinese soldiers from time to time.The Russians always had hot blood, and they could never hide their affection for the slim Chinese women.Every weekend evening, they were most keen on the dancing parties.The Soviet Union officers would dance closely with the female doctors and nurses of the Chinese army.Soviet Union officers would harass the Chinese women after some vodka, and they would continue to do so even after repeated warnings from the Chinese……
But the Soviet Union officers would never be so warm and kind to the Chinese soldiers, who had little education.
4.The Chinese soldiers, who carried the blood of the yellow land, laid their hands, used to doing heavy chores, on the advanced weapons.And the training model missiles were made of carrot and soil.
Breathing heavily, Captain Sakharov rushed into the office of the deputy General Staff, Major Li's office and dorm room. He threw the training materials on Li's table, gesturing with his arms.“Comrade Zhang is no good.For a missile launching operator, his level of education is too low.He has to be replaced.Comrade Li, please find another to replace him.”
With the assistance of the interpreter, Li eventually understood Captain Sakharov. Zhang Yuanqing was the copy clerk of the launching company, a young man from Sichuan who was sharp and responsive.He could be described as a decent intellectual in the army.And that was the reason that the party branch of the launching company had recommended him to take on the vital role of missilelauncher.Who else could replace him?Major Li struggled to think about this question, considering all the officers in the company；yet Zhang was still the most suitable one.Li kindly made Captain Sakharov a cup of black tea and handed him the apple peeled by the orderly.Then he told the Soviet Union officer, with a warm and friendly smile on his face，“Comrade Captain, please give me another half month.I will get Zhang to meet your requirements……”
Captain Sakharov was touched by Li's genuineness, and nodded to him quietly. Before he left the room, he saluted to Li and said to him decisively，“Comrade Major, as we agreed, you have half a month.”
Major Li saw him off, and murmured to himself，“There is no joking in the army；we must ensure this will happen！”
Zhang Yuanqing was called to the party branch of the brigade by the orderly. Tears streamed down his face the moment Zhang heard that the Soviet Union trainer wanted to replace him.
In the social atmosphere at that time, once a soldier has been dismissed from such a glorious mission, it was not only a personal failure, but also a shame upon their family, even a whole group of people. Major Li handed a towel to Zhang, and seriously but brotherly patted his shoulders.“Wipe away your tears, you are a soldier, not a girl.How can you cry so easily?You are here to study on behalf of our motherland, our nation.No matter how difficult it is, you have to strive for success.Do not let our big old brother look down on we Chinese soldiers……”
Without harsh reprimand, without political preaching, the political education of the Chinese army was subtle, transforming the ordinary soldiers into heroes.
The Chinese soldiers did not believe in tears. Zhang Yuanqing wiped them away, and walked out calmly and confidently towards the northern horizon where the sun was rising.There he began a struggle in which he spared no effort……
Actually, the things holding the Chinese soldiers back was not just their low level of education. The training approach and exceedingly harsh confidentiality rules of the Soviet Army were also problematic.The missile weapons, the most advanced field after the Second World War, was also a brand new field for the Chinese soldiers.Usually an officer without a university degree could not master it without training for more than a year or so.However, the Soviet Union trainers only gave the Chinese soldiers three months.The trainers talked fast, and the interpreters translated fast as well.Before the trainees could take down all the notes, their trainers had already moved on to new topics.Moreover, there was also the“Catch-22”of the Soviet Union Missile Corps, which required that all the notes and training materials be registered and locked in safes after class.And there were no exceptions to this rule.Undoubtedly, this rule made it even harder for the Chinese soldiers with little education, and imposed enormous difficulties on their ability to review and assimilate the knowledge they learnt.
But every country and politician who has neglected the imagination, intelligence, passion and endurance of the Chinese nation will pay heavily for their mistake. The tough Chinese soldiers had been the heroes in the brutal wars, and in this peaceful competition of technology they were also smart and swift.After the class, with no notes to review, they tried hard to memorise during class；later a few people could combine their memories to create complete class notes for everyone's use.In addition, the Soviet Union trainers prohibited them from touching the facilities, and so they began using carrots and soil to build their own missiles, making iron sheet into ground facilities.Initially, the Soviet Union trainers showed contempt toward these game-like antics of the Chinese soldiers, believing that what they were doing resembled the building block games of childhood.However, after a month, they suddenly found out that these games only revealed their effects gradually.The Chinese soldiers had become better at commands, and their movements were precise.From this moment the trainers began to change their ideas about these soldiers from the yellow land……
Zhan Yuanqing, the soldier on the blacklist of the Soviet Union trainers, knew that his last chance was only 15 days long. Apart from catching up, there was no other way out.He swallowed the bitter tears, and lost himself in study.Since he had never learned about advanced mathematics, he asked the university students for help in providing him with extra training.After the light went off at night, he started to review the things he had learned under his quilt with the flashlight on.Early the next morning, he got up and recited all the procedures for a missile launcher.He would memorise cards of testing rules wherever he went.Pictures of the control panels and lines were hung all over his dorm room, and he would draw more by himself every evening.After one hundred days of intense study and struggle, the light of rationalism swept through their hearts；the sun of hope rose.During the examinations organised by the Fifth Division of the Defence Minister and the Committee for Science a and Technology, Zhang drew the diagram with more than 3，000 lines and 10，000 conjunction points all by himself fifteen minutes faster than the Soviet Union experts；and he could recite the operative procedures of 500 commands without missing one word or mistaking one piece of data.He was called by the Soviet Union lieutenant engineer Puleo Brezhski a“living circuit”.
Thirty years later, as the director of the Strategic Missile Corps Research Institute, Zhan Yuanqing went abroad to give lectures as a senior expert. If the Soviet Union trainer who had wanted to replace him knew about this, what would he think?Would he be embarrassed because he had belittled the young guy from the Dabashan Mountains, or would he be happy about the sweet fruits he had sown?
In the spring of 1958，ancient Beijing awoke from a long hibernation. After the tough struggle during the winter there was a prototype for China's strategic missile.
In March of the same year, right before the Soviet Union trainers returned, the trainees of Changxindian organised a launching mission. Apart from the fact that the missile could not actually be launched, everything proceeded as if it were real.In any case, the Soviet Union trainers were only monitoring.Marshals Chen Yi and Nie Rongzhen and General Huang Kecheng, along with all the relevant leaders from the Central Military Committee, showed up.Perhaps because they were too used to their old ways of battle with“millets and rifles”，some senior generals from other divisions of the army also came to see the launching of the“treasure of the country”.Marchal Nie also stood at the gates of the red courtyard with his guards, blocking the incoming sedans.Marchal Nie checked people's identity while warning senior officials.
“This is a top secret of the nation. If it is within your responsibility, please come and watch；but if it is not, I am sorry that I can only accept those with an authorised identity……”
An general from the Central Committee was stopped by Marshal Nie outside of the gate, forced to return to his sedan in disappointment.
Inside of the courtyard, several bamboo mats covered the dark green P-2 missiles. The Chinese officers involved in this mock launching were all stationed at their preordained positions.
Walking the narrow path beneath the plane trees, Marshal and diplomat Chen Yi joked with Senior General Huang Kecheng, who walked along behind him.“Senior General Huang, you'll have to open your eyes as wide as possible, because this giant is sharper than the big cannons of the Fourth Field Army when they went into Shanhaiguan.”
Senior General Huang rebutted, in his heavy southern Hunan accent，“Marshal Chen, are you indulging in your poeticisms again?”
Chen Yi laughed.“No poeticisms this time, but I do have a few words to say. We fired a few shots at the Taiwan Strait, and the Americans said that it was a buzz from the mosquitoes.With these missiles, it will be the roar of lions and tigers.Hahaha！”
These battle-worn senior generals and marshal could not resist their excitement.
The Chinese officers who were doing their first mock launching achieved great success.
In April, Sherman had finished his short but productive stay in China and returned with his troops. During his one hundred days and nights in China, he had witnessed the peerless persistence and endurance of this army, an army through whose veins flowed the blood of the yellow land.He had felt the heavy history of this great country and nation.
Lieutenant Sherman waved goodbye to Senior General Huang Kecheng, holding back his tears, and departed with the green military trains. No matter how international politics changed, his experiences in China would always stay with this descendant of the Cossacks.
5.Coldness envelops the relationship between China and the Soviet Union.A Soviet Union major Squadron Leader arrogantly declares：“Without our help, the Chinese will be unable to launch their missiles.”
In the last autumn of the 1950s, the currents of winter reached Beijing earlier than usual.
The dense cloud coming from Siberia had enveloped the relationship between China and the Soviet Union, blocking out the sunny sky. The floating cloud morphed into a dark tornado as it tore apart the leaves of friendship in Beijing overnight……
The dense cloud overcast the political and diplomatic relationship of China and the Soviet Union, suggesting that the 10-yearlong honeymoon between the two parties had officially come to an end, tragically ending the friendship between the two nations. The wind came from the north, but the origin of the tornado had been around for a much longer time.
When Khrushchev paid his second visit to Beijing, he spent a few days with the generation's oriental great man, Mao Tse-tung, in the swimming pool of Zhongnanhai. But the cooperation necessary to establishing a joint fleet and a long wave radio station were not settled by the waterside.On the contrary, a psychological gap between the two highest leaders had formed.Especially when it came to their attitudes towards Stalin, the two Parties had already adopted conflicting positions.It was only a matter of time before they would separate with each other politically.
Khrushchev made the first step. By sabotaging the sending of the promised nuclear bomb models and materials to China, he had already let down China.On top of this, international society had started to move in a direction which was disadvantageous to China.
In the summer of that year, the Soviet Union, US and Britain held an international nuclear arms control negotiation in Geneva. This was the first time humankind had raised the issue of prohibiting nuclear testing.In the following half century, there would be seventeen more arms control negotiations；nine of them would concern nuclear arms control.But the Geneva meeting did not achieve anything substantive—the positions of the three powers were too far removed from each other.The result of the negotiation was that nobody was responsible for anyone else's conduct or promises.And the Soviet Union would use this as a tool to pressure China……
In June 20，1959，the Central Committee of the Soviet Union Communist Party officially wrote to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, informing them that the Soviet Union was undergoing a nuclear arms control talk with the US and Britain. Comrade Khrushchev would fly to meet President Eisenhower in Camp David.Therefore they had decided to postpone the delivery of the nuclear bomb model and materials to China.And whether the delivery would be made depended on how circumstances looked in two years time.Essentially, Khrushchev had already started to say“no”to the Chinese leaders.
In September, Khrushchev flew over the Atlantic, visiting the US as the secretary-general of the Soviet Union Communist Party and the Premier of the government for the first time. Because the ramp of the US could not reach the heavy and high plane he took, he had to climb down from the rope he had prepared himself in front of everyone, embarrassing the Soviet Union.But under the Statue of Liberty he still received the solemn welcome as a head of a state.After touring seven cities of the US, Khrushchev took the private helicopter of Eisenhower, who was originally a military officer, from the southern lawn of the White House down to Camp David, where the president's country villa was.
Camp David was located in the green forest of the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland, a ten-minute flight from the capital Washington. In 1930，President Roosevelt built a vacation resort for the president, a resort which occupied 6，000 acres in the picturesque mountain area.He also gave the resort a romantic and dreamy name, Shangri-La.President Eisenhower, who had spent his whole life fighting wars, was not a fan of this romantic name, so he renamed it“Camp David”—his beloved grandson's name.
Khrushchev walked into Camp David with Eisenhower, the two pairs of giant hostile hands temporarily joined. The US president told the owner of the Kremlin，“I am a soldier, and a soldier for life.I have fought more than once, but now I am not embarrassed to tell you that I am scared of war very much.And I am willing to spare no efforts to avoid it.Most importantly, I want to reach an agreement with you.”
Khrushchev must have been touched by the genuineness of the US's five-star general. His eyes were full of tears, without the rudeness of a child of a Ukraine miner, and he said in a friendly tone，“Mr President, if we can reach an agreement, there will be no one happier than me……”
The US and the Soviet Union, the two major powers, shook hands at Camp David. From then on, Camp David became world famous as a symbol of peace.
20 years later, Egyptian president Sadat signed a treaty of peace with its long-time enemy Israel at Camp David；another 15 years later, Palestine president Arafat would sign a treaty of peace with Rabin, Premier of Israel, at Camp David.
And the American boy whose name was used by his president-grandfather later became the son-in-law of the great Western politician Nixon, and was allowed to meet Chairman Mao when Mao was in the final stages of his disease.
Of course, all of these are another story.
After touring around the US, Khrushchev came to China for the tenth anniversary of the PRC with the agreement reached in Camp David, which was of little substance. It was the last time Khrushchev would visit Beijing.
On October 1，China hosted a grand military parade in the world's largest city square.
The highest leader Chairman Mao, with his battle mates the seven giants—Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun, Lin Biao and Deng Xiaoping—entered Tiananmen to watch the parade. Hu Zhiming, who came from the forests of Vietnam, and Kim Il-Sung from North Korea, also showed up in the VIP box.Khrushchev talked to Mao cheerfully and humorously while pointing to Liu Shaoqi.“Comrade Chairman, is that big-nose guy your successor?”Mao, however, answered in a serious tone，“Did you see the little one over there?”Mao pointed to Deng among the crowd and continued，“He has toughness in his gentleness, and is indeed a promising one.”
The two giants of the Eastern Bloc stood at the highest sanctum of power, waving to the soldiers and dancing crowds, though their visions had set out in different directions long ago. Before the celebration, China had been engaged in territory disputes with India over the eastern and western parts of their border.Without admonishing India over their offensive conduct against China, Khrushchev was on the side of Nehru.What annoyed Mao most was that, during the welcome banquet prepared by the friendly Chinese for him, Khrushchev, the rude Ukraine, called the Chinese, who had just been through a hard battle with the US, an“aggressive rooster”.For Mao, what was worse was that Khrushchev even asked for a meeting with Peng, who just had disappeared from Chinese political arena, wanting to give him a present.What was this for?Did he actually mean that they had made a mistake in punishing Peng, or did he want Peng to defect?The Russian had no idea where he was—that he was in the Forbidden City, not the Kremlin.Clearly he was trying to intervene in the domestic politics of China.Therefore, when Khrushchev raised the issue at the welcoming banquet of building a long-wave radio station in Chinese territory, one which could keep contact with their Pacific fleets, Mao rejected him rather impatiently, his sense of nationalism badly hurt.“No, this is the last time I'll tell you, no.”He continued angrily：“I do not want to discuss the issue anymore.”
……
At the beginning of this troublesome autumn, more than 12，000 experts, technicians and military consultants from the Soviet Union left China, leaving their ongoing construction projects uncompleted together with various items of technology they had been working on, and the sweet but bitter memories of their time in China.
At the same time, in the Changxindian missile training base, the first Chinese missile battalion had already been built. When Lieutenant Sherman returned, there were only a few consultants remaining from the Soviet Union.After the order to leave China was delivered to them, an engineer, Major Batov, visited Major Li to say goodbye.The engineer had developed a deep emotional attachment to his Chinese colleagues.There was embarrassment and shame on his face as he packed away his materials.Walking out of the gate with his luggage, he held Major Li's hand tightly and said to him, in a sad and low tone，“I am terribly sorry, Major Li, but this is an order from my superior.As a armyman who has to obey his superior, I cannot help you anymore.I wish you all the best.”
However, with his KGB background, Major Batov was unwilling to lower his arrogant head. He told Major Li in contempt，“Comrade Major, I can tell you honestly, without our help, your missile project can never be completed.”
Hearing this, Major Li felt his blood rise. Having grown up in Northern China, a land of heroism, he would never yield to any difficulties.His face turned red as he pointed to the door.
“Comrade Major, please leave now. I appreciate your help.We have an old saying in China—the earth will keep spinning without anyone in it.The Chinese armymen are totally capable of sending our missiles to the sky, just wait and see.”
After the military consultants of the Soviet Union had left, all that remained for the Chinese missile battalion was a Guide to Military Affairs of the Soviet Union Army. Looking at the empty building for the Soviet Union consultants, Major Li and his officers and men from the first missile battalion no longer had any assistance left.An individual, a nation could not rely on another's sympathy；but once all his means have been cut off, there comes the chance for him to strive for survival；and through the hell-like experience of pain and struggle, one can gain a new life in the fire, like a phoenix……
The Chinese armymen never believed in God or salvation. Major Li swallowed the bitterness along with his soldiers, and led the Chinese missile battalion on into the tribulations of the next stage.
6.Before leaving China, a Soviet Union expert gives an important lesson to the Chinese nuclear physicist Zhu Guangya.
The Friendship Hotel, Beijing. Apartment compound for the Soviet Union experts
As one of the last Soviet Union experts to leave China, nuclear physicist Nikola（for reasons of security I can only give his father's surname）was walking around his room in great anxiety. He divided the red curtains from time to time, expecting to see the Chinese nuclear physicist, Zhu Guangya.Last night, Zhu telephoned him and told him that he would see Nikola off at the hotel.During his two-year-stay in China, Nikola had enjoyed the happiest time of his life.He relished the cooperation with his Chinese colleagues, especially with Dr Zhu Guangya, who had graduated from the US University of Michigan.They had developed a strong friendship.As Nikola was prepared to work hard in China and contribute to its missile project, the two parties'relationship deteriorated.But he knew that the Chinese nuclear industry was still in a stage of infancy, and the leading young Chinese physicists were talented and had a strong academic background.With some help, they could quickly achieve great things.So he valued this last meeting with Dr Zhu very much.As the Chinese saying goes, once you leave the village, you will never encounter the same shop again.
Time passed while Nikola kept looking over to the crowd downstairs, sometimes with hope, sometimes with frustration.
As he looked at his watch and divided the heavy curtains, the slim figure of Dr Zhu suddenly entered his horizon.“Thank god, you finally came.”
Zhu Guangya was from Yichang, Hubei province. He was born in an intellectual family by the side of the Yangtze River.Just like many other young people of the old times, he harbored an ambition to save his nation through science.So he left the country and the Yangtze River area to study abroad.He was first admitted by Nanjing Central University and Southwest Associated University, where he was instructed by the famous Chinese physicists Zhou Peiyuan, Wu Youxun and Wu Dayou.In 1946，as recommended by Wu Dayou, he went across the ocean to study at the University of Michigan for a PhD in nuclear physics, along with Tang Aoqing and Li Zhengdao.In 1949，he was granted a doctorate in nuclear physics and stayed at the university to teach.However, an ambitious patriot, as the bright sunlight of the new China arose over the eastern coast, he felt the urge to return.In 1950，in spite of the objections of his American mentors and colleagues, he insisted upon returning to serve his country.After participating in land reform in the old revolutionary base areas for a year, he was assigned to the physics department of Northeastern University.During the negotiation in Panmunjom, he acted as a senior interpreter for the Chinese army under the order of Marshal Peng, his Michigan accented English shocking the US General Clark.
In 1955，Zhu taught in the physics department of Peking University as he turned 30. Two years later, he was transferred to the Atom Science Research Institute by the Minister for Nuclear Industry.Along with the founding father of the Chinese atomic and hydrogen bombs, Deng Jiaxian, he became a critical figure in the development of China's nuclear weapons.Like many of the scientists who quietly contributed to this area, Zhu worked in a highly confidential area for a long time, not showing up in any international academia forums.Later, Li Zhengdao and Yang Zhening, schoolmates of Zhu Guangya and Deng Jiaxian, won the Nobel prize.But their names were hardly known to the Chinese people.Only once Zhu was nominated as the deputy Chairman of the National Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 1993，at the Second Plenary Meeting of the 8th National Political Consultative Conference, did his unusual experience reach other members of the conference who had read about him.Subsequently, with a vote of 96%，he was elected as the deputy Chairman.Showered with applause from all around the hall, he stepped out of the mysterious curtain and onto the splendid podium of the Great Hall of the People.After half of century, he had met the world again.
However, in the early 1960s, Zhu did not enjoy this glory. You could not distinguish him from the crowds on the street as he walked along, a slim figure in his ordinary old-style Zhongshan suits.Only his bright eyes reflected the particular sophistication of his education and exceptional manner.On this day, he was riding his old bike in a rush from Nanyuan to the apartment compound of the Soviet Union experts.When he arrived he ran to Nikola's room, breathing heavily.As he pushed the door open, without any greetings, he started to apologise.
“I am terribly sorry, Professor Nikola, for making you wait for me.”
“Not a problem, Dr Zhu. Nanyuan is far away.Thank you for coming.”
“It's nothing—since you have helped us so much.”
“Good comrade Dr Zhu, we don't have much time, so let's save the small talk. Regarding the technology for the atomic bombs, we have offered you very little material.These questions have been discussed during our work.And there are some other key points that I need to talk with you about, just to raise your attention to them for your later research.”
As he talked, professor Nikola brought out a piece of paper and drew a simple diagram.“You must take good care of the crash field problems for these two kinds of materials……”Nikola said, pointing to a section of his diagram.
Professor Zhu listened to him quietly, nodding his head from time to time. He would occasionally make a few comments when he was confused.Two scholars of different colours, countries and languages, sharing an important lesson together in their intellectual discussion.
After the conversation, professor Nikola walked over and picked up the few pieces of paper containing drafts for the atomic bombs and shredded them to pieces, flushing them down the toilet.
Without any fake or pretentious words, nor even a shred of paper, this upright Soviet Union scientist left China. But he had left behind a genuine mark in the home of the oriental dragon, lighting the fire of knowledge for the Chinese scientists, helping them to hold on to the sun of China.
At the last moment, Professor Nikola hugged Dr Zhu tightly. Zhu's eyes were filled with tears.
“Professor Nikola, I wish you a safe trip. Please take care.”
“Thank you！I wish the Chinese comrades good luck. I will be waiting for a big explosion by the side of the Volga River.”
