Stories of heroes

"Zhan Tianyou"

Zhan Tianyou is an outstanding patriotic engineer in our country. The railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou was first successfully built under his leadership. This is the first main railway line designed and constructed entirely by Chinese engineering and technical personnel.

The railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou is 200 kilometers long and is an important transportation artery connecting North China and Northwest China. At that time, as soon as the Qing government proposed the construction plan, some imperialist countries came out to obstruct it. They all wanted to compete for the right to build this railway and wanted to further control the northern part of our country. The imperialists refused to give in to anyone, and the matter went on for a long time without being resolved. They finally put forward a condition: if the Qing government uses its own engineers to build railways, they will no longer interfere. They thought that with such threats, the railway would not be able to start construction, and they would eventually have to ask for help. The imperialists were completely wrong. China already had its own engineers at that time, and Zhan Tianyou was one of them.

In 1905, the Qing government appointed Zhan Tianyou as chief engineer to build the railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou. As soon as the news came out, the whole country was shocked. Everyone said that this time we could breathe a sigh of relief. The imperialists think this is a joke. A foreign newspaper said disdainfully: "Chinese engineers who can build railways north of the south entrance have not yet been born." It turns out that from the south entrance to the north through Juyongguan and Badaling, there are high mountains, deep streams, and cliffs all the way. They believe that famous engineers from various countries would not dare to attempt such an arduous project. As for the Chinese, they would not be able to complete it anyway.

Zhan Tianyou was not afraid of difficulties or ridicule. He resolutely accepted the task and immediately started surveying the line. Wherever mountains need to be opened, where bridges need to be built, where steep slopes need to be leveled, and where curvatures need to be reduced, all must be surveyed and carefully calculated. Zhan Tianyou often encouraged the staff and said: "Our work must first be precise and cannot be sloppy." He personally led the students and workers, carrying benchmarks and theodolite on his back, to fix points on the cliff and conduct surveying and mapping. Outside the fortress, the wind is often howling, the sky is full of yellow sand, and there is a danger of falling into a deep valley if you are not careful. No matter how bad the conditions were, Zhan Tianyou always insisted on working in the field. During the day, he climbed mountains and ridges, surveyed routes, and at night, he drew and calculated under an oil lamp. In order to find a suitable route, he often consulted local farmers. When encountering difficulties, he always thinks: This is the first railway built by the Chinese themselves, and it must be repaired; otherwise, it will not only arouse ridicule from foreigners, but also make Chinese engineers lose confidence.

The railway has to pass through many high mountains and has to dig tunnels. Among them, the Juyongguan and Badaling tunnels are the most difficult projects. Juyongguan has high mountains and thick rock formations, so Zhan Tianyou decided to dig in from both ends to the middle at the same time. The spring water from the top of the mountain seeped down, and the tunnel was filled with mud. There was no water pump on the construction site, so Zhan Tianyou took the lead with a bucket to drain the water. He often ate and lived with the workers and never left the construction site. The Badaling Tunnel is more than 1,100 meters long, three times as long as the Juyongguan Tunnel. He discussed with the old workers and decided to adopt the central well drilling method. First, a shaft was dug down from the top of the mountain, and then the two ends were dug at the same time, which shortened the construction period by half.

The railway passes near Qinglong Bridge, and the slope is particularly steep. How can a train climb such a steep slope? Zhan Tianyou designed a "herringbone" route along the mountain. When the northbound train reaches the south entrance, it uses two locomotives, one pulling in front and one pushing in the back. After passing the Qinglong Bridge, the train headed northeast. After passing the fork in the "herringbone" line, it reversed. The locomotive that was originally pushing pulled, and the locomotive that was originally pulling pushed, causing the train to turn and move northwest. This makes it much easier to get the train up the mountain.

The entire railway was completed in less than four years, two years ahead of schedule. This incident gave a powerful counterattack to the imperialists who despised China. Today, we took the train to Badaling. When we passed Qinglongqiao Station, we could see a bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou.

Many foreign guests who visited China were amazed when they saw the great projects left by Zhan Tianyou

Wen Tianxiang

Wen Tianxiang, (1236-1283), also known as Song Rui, also known as Song Rui Lu Shan, nicknamed Wenshan, was from Luling (now Ji'an) in the Southern Song Dynasty.

In the critical moment of national peril, Wen Tianxiang regarded the interests of the country and the nation as the highest interest at all times, and showed no mercy to capitulationists and traitors. In 1259, the Yuan army crossed the river to encircle Ezhou. Dong Songchen, the favored chamberlain of the emperor, persuaded the Song emperor to move the capital. Wen Tianxiang bravely marched on the battlefield and begged to kill Dong Songchen. In 1275, the imperial court named Lu Wende, the general of the surrendered Yuan army, as the king of Heyi County, and promoted his nephew Lu Shimeng to the post of Shangshu of the rear. The atmosphere of surrender pervaded the capital for a while, and Wen Tianxiang wrote a letter begging for Lu Shimeng's death to stabilize the morale of the army. After Wen Tianxiang was captured, Liu Mengyan and a group of surrendering thieves tried hard to persuade him to surrender, but Wen Yili reviled him. Even Emperor Gong of Song, who had already surrendered to the enemy, was ignored when he came to persuade him to surrender. Wen Tianxiang clearly stated that "the country is more important than the emperor." He was not foolishly loyal to the emperor, but was unconditionally loyal to the country and nation.

On January 9, 1283, Wen Tianxiang died heroically in Chaishikou, Dadu. He left behind a large number of poems after his death, including "Who has never died since ancient times in life" in "Crossing the Lingding Ocean"; "Song of Righteousness" written in prison and "Song of Righteousness" written in prison and found in his belt after his death. The "Edict on Clothes and Belts" (Confucius said "to become benevolent", Mencius said "to obtain righteousness", but its righteousness is exhausted, so benevolence is the best, what have you learned from reading the books of sages? From now on, the common people have nothing to be ashamed of) have become illuminating the sun and the moon, and majestic mountains and rivers ’s swan song has become a precious part of the national spiritual wealth. Wen Tianxiang thus became an immortal national hero.

Deng Shichang

Deng Shichang: "We joined the army to defend the country, and we have long ignored life and death. What happened today is just death!"

September 1894 During the Dadonggou naval battle on the 17th, Deng Shichang commanded the "Zhiyuan" ship to fight bravely. Later, under the siege of Japanese ships, the "Zhiyuan" was injured in many places, the whole ship caught fire, and the hull tilted. Deng Shichang encouraged all the officers and soldiers on the ship: "We served in the army to defend the country, and we have long ignored life and death. What happened today is just death!" "The Japanese ship relies exclusively on Yoshino, and if it sinks this ship, it will be enough to take away its energy." He resolutely The ship rammed into the starboard side of the Japanese battleship "Yoshino" at full speed, determined to perish together with the enemy. The officers and soldiers of the Japanese warship were shocked when they saw this, and concentrated their artillery fire on the "Zhiyuan". Unfortunately, a shell hit the torpedo tube of the "Zhiyuan" ship. The torpedo in the tube exploded, causing the "Zhiyuan" ship to sink. After Deng Shichang fell into the sea, his entourage offered him a lifebuoy to save him, but he refused and said: "I am determined to kill the enemy and serve the country. Now I die in the sea. It is righteous. Why should I survive!" His pet dog "Taiyang" also swam there. Next to him, holding his arm in his mouth to save him, Deng Shichang swore to fight for life or death with the warship, and resolutely put his dog's head into the water. He also sank in the waves, and died heroically for his country along with more than 250 officers and soldiers on the ship.

Guan Tianpei

Guan Tianpei (1781～1841.2.26), a famous anti-British general in the Opium War. The courtesy name is Zhongyin and the nickname is Zipu. A native of Shanyang, Jiangsu (now Huai'an). In 1803 (the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty), Zhongwu Xiucai was awarded the title of Commander-in-Chief. Later, he was promoted to general. In 1826 (the sixth year of Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty), the Qing government began to organize grain shipping. Guan Tianpei escorted more than a thousand grain ships to Tianjin safely and was promoted to deputy general. The following year, he was promoted to general soldier. In the spring of 1832, he acted as the admiral of Jiangnan. In 1834, he was transferred to Admiral of Guangdong Navy. After taking office, he surveyed the geographical situation and changed the Shajiao and Dajiao forts at Humenkou into Xin forts; on the line of Shanghengdang Island, he rebuilt the Nanshan fort (renamed Weiyuan), rebuilt the Hengdang and Zhenyuan forts, and added Yongan and consolidated forts. , control the east-west waterways; at the bottom of Humen, rebuild the Dahushan Fort. Another 40 cannons weighing more than 6,000 kilograms were cast and placed in various forts. At the same time, we should pay close attention to training and formulate spring and autumn exercise regulations. In 1838, the Jingyuan Fort was built between Zhenyuan and Weiyuan Forts. Western bronze cannons were installed for the first time, and two rows of chains were erected in the water channel on the east side of the rung. In 1839, Lin Zexu, the imperial minister, went to Guangdong to ban smoking, assisted in arresting cigarette dealers, confiscated opium, and commanded the navy to engage in many firefights with British ships. In 1840, the Opium War broke out. Qi Shan, the imperial envoy, went to Guangdong. He was determined to advocate peace and was devoted to defense.

On January 7, 1841, the British launched the Battle of Humen in an attempt to force Qishan to surrender by force. They dispatched more than 10 ships to capture the Shajiao and Dajiao forts. On February 26, the British army used 10 warships and 3 steamships, coupled with landing troops, to storm the 6 forts on the Hengdang Island. Guan Tianpei, the commander of the Jingyuan Fort, resisted tenaciously and personally fired cannons to bombard the enemy. He was wounded and died in battle. His memorials and official documents concerning the coastal defense of Guangdong were compiled into "Chouhai Village Collection".