After Hu Zaoqiu had finished negotiations with the Germans, he rushed directly from Pingyang to Cofferdam Township to inspect the flood control work. When I arrived at Cofferdam Township, it happened that Bai Aini, secretary of the municipal party committee, also arrived. Accompanied by the head of the village, Zhou Jiuyi, the two braved the rain overnight to check the situation of the embankment again. The situation seems to be good, and the 13-kilometer embankment has been raised a lot as a whole, and nearly 30,000 people are guarding the embankment, and the mood is high.

Bai Aini was relieved, greatly praised the head of Zhou Township and the cadres and masses of Cofferdam Township, and also made an exciting speech on the embankment with a telephone in his hand, and then returned to Jinghu City. Hu Zaoqiuyuan also wanted to leave, but later saw that it was raining heavily and the water was full of mist, so he was a little uneasy, so he stayed. This time, the unfortunate thing made Hu Zaoqiu stand up: the Pingyang Municipal Party Committee actually ordered the evacuation of people on this night!

Hu Zaoqiu did not expect that the Pingyang Municipal Party Committee would decide to give up the cofferdam township, and Zhou Jiuyi, who was the first to know about this instruction, did not say anything after answering the phone. As a result, half an hour later, Hu Zaoqiu was scolded by Gao Changhe on the phone. Gao Changhe sharply asked Hu Zaoqiu: What is going on in this cofferdam township? Why don't you even listen to the greetings of the municipal party committee and the city? Hu Zaoqiu was clearly instructed: 1. Special affairs should be handled to immediately remove Zhou Jiuyi, the township head and secretary of the party committee, from his post on the spot; 2. Immediately organize the emergency evacuation of 80,000 people from the cofferdam.

Putting down the phone, Hu Zaoqiu jumped out of the tent like a rabbit, shouting, and asked people to look for the villager Zhou Jiuyi, but they couldn't find it after looking for a long time. Hu Zaoqiu asked the flood control radio station set up next to the embankment to broadcast, and the broadcast lasted for a long time, but Zhou Jiuyi did not come to report. Later, it was Hu Zaoqiu who found Zhou Jiuyi on the embankment with a flashlight: Zhou Jiuyi was driving piles on the embankment with a group of young people, half of his body was immersed in muddy water, his gray hair was full of mud, and he didn't look at Hu Zaoqiu at all.

Hu Zaoqiu stood on the embankment and said angrily: "Zhou Jiuyi, it's really against you!" You dare to hide the instructions of the municipal party committee and the municipal **! You come up for me, come up immediately, I have something to say to you! ”

Zhou Jiuyi was busy and looked up at Hu Zaoqiu on the embankment: "Mayor Hu, you come down!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu was anxious, jumped into the muddy water with a thud, and walked to Zhou Jiuyi's side in the muddy water: "Zhou Jiuyi, now I will announce a decision to you: according to the spirit of the emergency instructions of the Pingyang Municipal Party Committee and the city, from now on you will be removed from the post of head of the township and secretary of the party committee of Cofferdam Township!" ”

Zhou Jiuyi was not in a hurry: "Mayor Hu, is this the matter?" ”

Hu Zaoqiu said: "Yes, that's it! ”

Zhou Jiuyi asked again: "Is it over the announcement?" ”

Hu Zaoqiu said: "The announcement is over. ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "Okay, you go up, we still have to work." ”

Hu Zaoqiu grabbed Zhou Jiuyi: "What are you doing?" It's not that you don't know, the instructions of the municipal party committee are very clear: the extraordinarily large flood peak is coming soon, and the cofferdam township cannot be defended, and the municipal party committee has decided to give up! ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "Okay, Mayor Hu, you and the villagers say go!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu said: "You have always been in command here, you have to say this!" You go to me now, go to the radio station to broadcast, you speak first, I will speak later, and when I speak, I will announce your dismissal, and ring a wake-up call for everyone! ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "I have been removed, what else can I talk about? If you want me to speak, I want everyone to hold on! ”

Hu Zaoqiu was furious: "Even if you are dismissed, you are still a party member, and party members still have to pay attention to discipline!" ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "Then you can expel me from the party again, I just won't withdraw it!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu really has no choice.

Zhou Jiuyi climbed up from the muddy water and said to Hu Zaoqiu: "Mayor Hu, you have also been the secretary of the township party committee in Cofferdam Township for several years, don't you know that our Cofferdam Township is easy today?" But where there is a glimmer of hope, we can't withdraw! As you can see, the old and young masters have spared no effort in the past 10 days, and the embankment has been raised by more than one meter, and the situation in 1954 will not happen again. ”

Hu Zaoqiu said: "Lao Zhou, you'd better not fight this ticket, the city defense finger said, tomorrow's flood peak will definitely exceed five or four years, it will not work if you don't withdraw people, this is a dead order, we can only carry it out!" ”

Zhou Jiuyi's anger erupted: "Then what did you do earlier?" I thought of evacuating people, and what kind of flood did you tell us to prevent? Secretary Gao, Mayor Wen and so many high-ranking officials came to us, and they also published us in newspapers and appeared on TV! And you, Mayor Hu, I remember that you also came to us and said that you want to support us to the end, saying that you want people to give people and things to things. Now, so many of us and so many belongings have been put in, and we will withdraw as soon as we leave, are you kidding? I really don't care about the life or death of our people! ”

Hu Zaoqiu patiently persuaded him: "Old Zhou, don't be unreasonable, hasn't the situation changed?" Who would have thought a few days ago that the water would be so big? If you can hold it, of course you have to defend it, and if you can't hold it, you have to withdraw, what's so strange about this?! The city asked us to withdraw because we were responsible for the lives and deaths of the 80,000 people in our cofferdam township! ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "How do you know that we can't hold it? At least let's try! ”

Hu Zaoqiu said anxiously: "Isn't this an instruction from the municipal party committee!" I also know that the flood fighting has reached this point, and the sudden order to evacuate will make it difficult for everyone to turn around, but Lao Zhou, the municipal party committee will not be imprudent in making such instructions, and it will not issue such instructions unless it is a last resort. ”

Zhou Jiuyi said: "That's good, that's good, Mayor Hu, you announce that you will go, those who are willing to go will go with you, and those who don't want to go will guard the embankment with me, it is convenient for both of us, and you can be regarded as implementing the instructions of the municipal party committee!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu really had no choice but to go to the radio station to broadcast, first conveyed the spirit of the telephone instructions of the Pingyang Municipal Party Committee and the city, and then announced: Zhou Jiuyi, head of the township and secretary of the party committee of Cofferan Township, confronted the concealment of the urgent instructions of the higher-level leaders, seriously dereliction of duty, and has been dismissed. On behalf of the Jinghu City CPC Committee, the Municipal Government, and the Flood Control Headquarters, Hu Zaoqiu demanded that the cadres and masses in Cofferdam Township immediately evacuate in an organized manner after hearing the broadcast.

After the first broadcast, Hu Zaoqiu instructed the broadcaster to watch the machine and play his recording over and over again, and he called Bai Aini, who was far away in Jinghu, and gave Bai Aini a brief report on Gao Changhe's request and the situation here, and asked Bai Aini to quickly organize personnel to prepare for evacuation and evacuation along the way.

originally thought that in this way, the overall situation would be decided, but Hu Zaoqiu never expected that he and Bai Aini walked out of the radio station on the phone and saw that there was a black crowd outside the door of the radio station. These men and women covered in mud and water all stared at Hu Zaoqiu, and Hu Zaoqiu's heart was furious.

Someone shouted in the dark: "Why did you remove the head of the Zhou township?!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu said boldly: "Township Chief Zhou refuses to carry out the instructions of the municipal party committee!" ”

The roar in the darkness immediately rang out: "We don't carry out such instructions either!" ”

"Yes, we have the confidence to withstand the flood peak!"

"We listen to Township Chief Zhou, and we don't listen to your blind command!"

Some people also scolded Hu Zaoqiu by name: "Hu Zaoqiu, don't forget your dog, you also rose up from the cofferdam, without the old and young masters of the cofferdam, there would be no political achievements of your kid, don't fucking eat in the pot!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu was angry and anxious, and shouted at everyone: "Are there any Communist Party members among you? Do you have? Communist Party members stand up for me and take the lead in implementing the instructions of the municipal party committee! ”

No one came forward.

Hu Zaoqiu was furious: "Where are the Communist Party members? I don't have the courage at this critical time?! ”

Someone in the crowd shouted: "The Communist Party members are all on the embankment, working with the head of the Zhou township!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu ran out of ideas, thought about it, and walked into the crowd with a black face.

The crowd automatically moved out of the way and went all the way to the embankment.

As soon as he got on the embankment, Lao Jin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Cofferdam Township, rushed over, grabbed Hu Zaoqiu's hand and said: "Mayor Hu, don't be angry, don't be angry, listen to me!" ”

Hu Zaoqiu hated to slap Deputy Secretary Jin twice, and stared at Deputy Secretary Jin like a wolf: "If you have a fart, let it go!" ”

Deputy Secretary Jin said: "Mayor Hu, aren't the villagers also anxious? We really can't withdraw! Mayor Hu, don't you know that since the flood fight began half a month ago, the prestige of Township Chief Zhou and our township party committee has never been higher. Now that you have removed Township Chief Zhou, how can you convince people? It's even more wrong to withdraw people, obviously we can hold it, why should we withdraw? We little people don't dare to talk about the bureaucracy of the higher levels, but the actual situation is always best known to our comrades on the embankment! ”

Hu Zaoqiu waved his hand: "Now the situation is urgent, I don't have time to discuss it with you, so I will ask you one sentence: Lao Jin, are you a member of the Communist Party?" Is it the party members who want to carry out the organizational decision? ”

Deputy Secretary Jin said: "It's easy for me to do, even if I leave with you, these 80,000 people still can't leave." ”

Hu Zaoqiu said: "You fucking give me work, go to the radio!" ”

Deputy Secretary Jin said: "I can do the work, I'm afraid I have to invite Township Chief Zhou for broadcasting, I said, Township Chief Zhou's prestige is very high now, much higher than when you were a secretary here......

Hu Zaoqiu had no choice but to invite Zhou Jiuyi.

Zhou Jiuyi also cooperated, saying on the radio: The Pingyang City Party Committee and Mayor Hu have also made good intentions in letting people evacuate, and although it is impossible for the embankment to be broken, it is still necessary to evacuate the idlers who are not responsible for flood control work just in case. Therefore, Zhou Jiuyi asked the elderly, weak, women, children, and comrades who were willing to evacuate to obey Hu Zaoqiu's arrangement and prepare to evacuate.

However, Zhou Jiuyi's broadcast did not so much play a role in mobilizing evacuation, but rather played a role in mobilizing and holding on. After the broadcast, Hu Zaoqiu did not see many people retreating from the embankment, but saw many people rushing onto the embankment, including many female comrades, and a red flag of the "38 Commando" was fluttering in front of him.

Hu Zaoqiu was really desperate, for so many years, he had never been so powerless as today.

Zhou Jiuyi came over again and said, "Mayor Hu, look, I didn't tell a lie, right?" It's not that I don't want to withdraw, it's that the villagers don't want to withdraw, the first time the flood peak has come over, and this second flood peak will definitely be able to withstand! ”

Hu Zaoqiu was no longer willing to discuss this topic with Zhou Jiuyi, so he only said: "Zhou Jiuyi, I have convinced you, you have high prestige and great ability, you ...... You just fight like this, really put these 80,000 people into the water, let's ...... Let's go to prison together and get shot! ”

At this moment, Gao Changhe's phone called again to inquire about the situation.

Hu Zaoqiu said with a crying voice and a eulogy: "Secretary Gao, the situation here is terrible, the order to evacuate came too suddenly, the homeland is difficult to leave, the villagers are unwilling to evacuate, and the situation is basically out of control." Secretary Gao, I ...... I am mentally prepared and waiting for the organization to deal with it. ”

Gao Changhe seemed to have expected this to happen, and did not criticize Hu Zaoqiu at all, but said: "Comrade Hu Zaoqiu, don't be in a hurry first, and don't think about any organizational punishment, it's not your responsibility." Comrade Jiang Chaolin and Comrade Tian Liye are rushing to you, and they will be there soon. Our city party committee is also in contact with the troops stationed in Pingping to try to implement the compulsory evacuation plan after dawn, and even if it is carried out, we must carry away all 80,000 people before the arrival of the flood peak this afternoon! ”

Hu Zaoqiu breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the wet embankment softly......