One day in 1998, a middle-aged soldier suddenly broke into Xu Zengping's office, and before he could introduce himself, the soldier said to Xu Zengping: "You help me bring something back from Ukraine!" As soon as the words fell, a secretary hurried into the office and whispered a word in Xu Zengping's ear, and after listening, Xu Zengping immediately tensed up. He realized that what the soldier had let himself carry was definitely not simple.
Only ten minutes of conversation shocked Xu Zengping several times, when he learned the identity of this soldier, when this soldier said what he needed to bring, Xu Zengping, who was accustomed to seeing big scenes, still couldn't help but tremble.
When the soldier left, Xu Zengping was unable to recover for a long time, still recalling what the soldier had just said: "I am He Pengfei, deputy commander of the Navy, and the good things I need you to bring back are extraordinary, and it will have a bearing on China's military strength and international status..." After the mood calmed down slightly, Xu Zengping immediately ordered the company's finances: "You quickly prepare all the company's funds, I want to buy a good thing!" ”
What is this "good thing" that He Pengfei said? Why did He Pengfeitang, the deputy commander of the Navy, entrust the businessman Xu Zengping to help? Was this good thing finally brought back? Today Bogo will take you back to the "sky-high gift" in 1998. Interested friends may wish to pay attention to the history of the expo, which is convenient for reviewing the past and not missing the latest content.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > Varyag, the only opportunity for the Chinese nation</h1>
"This is the only opportunity for the Chinese nation, and if I miss it, I won't even forgive myself!" Before Xu Zengping left for Ukraine, He Pengfei held his hand tightly and said.
Since Xu Zengping arrived in Ukraine, he and He Pengfei have maintained a single line of contact, and the content of the conversation is extremely confidential. The reason why the two were so cautious was mainly because this "good thing" was so extraordinary, it was not an important cultural relic, nor a precious calligraphy and painting, but a heavy weapon of a big country, the aircraft carrier Varyag.
He Pengfei gave Xu Zengping the task of buying the Varyag from Ukraine and bringing it back home. But as such an important military weapon, why did Ukraine sell the Varyag? It all started with the sudden disintegration of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many unfinished military projects were forced to stop, and three of the Ukrainian shipyards were in semi-finished condition: kuznetsov, 68% complete, and Lovsky, which was only 17%.
Russia, as a great power after the collapse of the Soviet Union, forcibly inherited the Kuznetsov for unreasonable reasons, and the Varyag and Lovsky became a major problem for Ukraine. In order to build these three aircraft carriers, Ukraine can be said to have poured all its strength into the country, and now that the Soviet Union has collapsed, Ukraine simply does not have the strength to continue to complete the remaining two aircraft carriers. In order to alleviate the economic pressure at home, Ukraine decided to sell aircraft carriers. As soon as the news came out, all countries in the world were eager to move.
For any country, as long as it has an aircraft carrier, the national defense strength and military strength of the entire country will be greatly improved, and it can deter countless countries. However, the cost of "supporting" aircraft carriers is very high, and there are only a few countries that can afford it, so the Varyag has been vacant in the Ukrainian shipyard and has never been visited. Instead, only 17% of the Lovsky was completed, and the sale was completed very quickly.
At a time when Ukraine's domestic economy was struggling, they suddenly received an order from Norway, they wanted to buy four large tankers, but at that time the Ukrainian shipyard was occupied by two aircraft carriers, in order to complete the order, the Ukrainian government decided to dismantle the Lovsky. Soon the fledgling Lovsky turned into a pile of broken copper and rotten iron. Later, it was learned that in fact, this Norwegian company was actually directed by the United States, the purpose of which was to reduce the number of aircraft carriers in the world and avoid the challenge of the hegemonic position of the United States.
As for the Varyag, the United States and Russia have been eyeing it, the United States tried to induce Ukraine to dismantle the Varyag in the same way, and Russia offered to buy the aircraft carrier at the price of scrap iron, but both were rejected by Ukraine. At this time, our country also had a great controversy over the purchase of the Varyag.
When the news of Ukraine's sale of aircraft carriers reached our country, two completely different voices appeared in the country. Some people support the purchase of aircraft carriers, because the United States is the best example, it is precisely because of aircraft carriers, so that the world is so afraid of the United States, and the United States has said many times: "Our aircraft carriers can sail to any country in the world!" However, there are also many people who oppose the purchase of aircraft carriers, and such people are undoubtedly seduced by Khrushchev's "aircraft carrier uselessness theory", which has also led to many people in China not paying enough attention to aircraft carriers. Finally, the state issued relevant instructions: the Chinese government does not consider this issue.
He Pengfei, then deputy commander of the Navy, was well aware of the importance of aircraft carriers to the Navy and national defense, and as early as 1995, He Pengfei sent people to inspect the Varyag. Although the state has made it clear that it will not consider the purchase of aircraft carriers, He Pengfei has never given up, and he has constantly reflected the importance of purchasing aircraft carriers to his superiors, and also wrote in the report document: "This is the only opportunity for the Chinese nation, because no one will sell it to us before, and there will be no future!" This is the only chance, and if I miss it, I myself will not forgive myself! ”
After He Pengfei's tireless persuasion and repeated explanations, the state finally agreed to his proposal to acquire the Varyag, but new problems also arose.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > broke through layers of obstacles and successfully bought the aircraft carrier</h1>
Although He Pengfei very much wanted to buy the Varyag aircraft carrier, there were two major problems in front of him. The first is that the Navy really doesn't have any money. Because the domestic economic construction at that time was in the initial upward stage, and the purchase of aircraft carriers required a lot of money, it was difficult for the country to take out so much money at once; the second was that it could not be purchased directly in the name of the state. Because the United States has been putting pressure on Ukraine to warn them not to sell the aircraft carrier to the Chinese government, if He Pengfei personally intervenes, it is likely that the aircraft carrier will not be bought back. Just when He Pengfei was distressed, someone suddenly recommended Xu Zengping to him.
Xu Zengping served in the military for 13 years, after retiring from the army to go to the sea to do business, these years the company has done very well, not only can come up with enough funds to buy aircraft carriers, and Xu Zengping's company is located in Hong Kong, if he proposes to buy the Varyag as a Hong Kong businessman, it is not easy to attract the attention of the Americans. After much deliberation, He Pengfei knocked on the door of Xu Zengping's office.
Xu Zengping, who was born in the military, not only has a strong patriotic feeling, but also knows the importance of aircraft carriers for China's development. When he learned that He Pengfei wanted him to buy an aircraft carrier for the motherland, Xu Zengping agreed without hesitation. Soon, Xu Zengping applied to Ukraine for the purchase of the Varyag on the grounds of "rebuilding a luxury blockage ship", and in order to successfully buy the aircraft carrier, Xu Zengping sent multiple people and horses to raise funds while contacting the Ukrainian side. Later, Xu Zengping recalled: "At that time, it was like a gamble. "Fortunately, he won this gamble.
Ukraine agreed to sell the Varyag to Xu Zengping for $18 million, but on one condition, that is, only the hull and no drawings. You know, for this aircraft carrier, the former Soviet Union used tens of thousands of engineers, but also spent tens of billions of scientific research funds, it took ten years to complete, we purchased varyag, the real purpose is to get this batch of drawings. If there is no drawing, the Varyag is undoubtedly a ruined ship, and it is difficult to rebuild it after buying it back. After Xu Zengping's continuous insistence, Ukraine finally decided to sell the hull and drawings to Xu Zengping at the same time for 20 million US dollars. But just as Xu Zengping was preparing to sign an agreement with Ukraine, the United States made a rough interference.
The United States said that if Ukraine sells the Varyag to Chinese businessmen, it must dismantle all the weapons and equipment on the aircraft carrier, otherwise a series of sanctions will be imposed on Ukraine. Forced to do so, Ukraine had no choice but to remove all the weapons on the Varyag, leaving only some of the most basic equipment.
On the day of signing the contract, Xu Zengping paid a one-time payment of $20 million to Ukraine, all of which was made up of Xu Zengping's company funds and his private loans, without using a penny from the state. After the payment, Xu Zengping immediately sent more than a dozen large trucks to pull away all the blueprints of the aircraft carrier and sent them back to China overnight.
When he heard the news of the successful purchase of the Varyag, He Pengfei was excited in the office and said several times in a row: "We have an aircraft carrier..." But what he and Xu Zengping did not expect was that the way back to the Varyag was not smooth.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > lasted 627 days, and Varyag successfully arrived in China</h1>
In 1999, He Pengfei had already made all the preparations for the return of the Varyag aircraft carrier, and before that, the representatives of Ukraine and china had also planned the return route of the aircraft carrier, all the way through the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, the Mediterranean Sea and the Dardanelles Strait, and finally arrived in the South China Sea. According to the normal plan, the Varyag aircraft carrier will take about 2 years at most to reach China, but just as the aircraft carrier is about to set sail, it is suddenly blocked by Turkey.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's prestige throughout Europe has become increasingly low, and its deterrent power against other countries has been declining, and Turkey has made huge profits from it by imposing strict restrictions on ships passing through the sea areas adjacent to their country, in defiance of the International Convention on the Law of the Sea. When it was learned that the Varyag was going to pass near Turkey, the Turkish government was quickly ready to take advantage of the fire.
The Turkish Government sent a telegram to our country saying that the Varyag was forbidden to pass through the Bosphorus. The reason given was that the Varyag was too large, and once it passed through the Bosphorus, it would definitely affect the normal navigation of other ships.
Forced to do so, our country had to temporarily halt its plans to return to the Varyag and soon began negotiations with Turkey. In order to make our country retreat, Turkey also stipulated as many as 20 maritime precautions for the Varyag, but we all agreed, but Turkey still did not agree, and in the end, we promised to pay a deposit of 1 billion US dollars, which allowed the Varyag to successfully pass through the Bosphorus.
In order to ensure the safe arrival of the Varyag in China, china sent hundreds of pilots and thousands of sailors. When the aircraft carrier successfully passed through the Bosphorus, all the personnel were relieved, and even some people began to celebrate that our country had the first aircraft carrier, but what was not expected was that a few days later, the aircraft carrier encountered unprecedented danger.
When the Varyag crossed the Dardanelles Strait and sailed on the Aegean Sea, it suddenly encountered a big storm, and the 3 tow cables connected to the aircraft carrier were all scraped off, and for a time, the aircraft carrier completely lost control, rampaged on the sea, and finally ran aground in the shoal of the Greek island of Evila. The Chinese government immediately contacted the Greek government, and a few days later, Greece sent a large ship to accompany the original three tugboats to send Varyag back to the sea.
Varyag's return route passed through the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and also crossed the Mediterranean Sea, the Cape of Good Hope and Malacca and other straits, and finally successfully entered the South China Sea at the end of February, and on March 4, 2002, the Varyag aircraft carrier finally arrived at its destination - Dalian Seaport, China after 627 days of voyage. At this time, it had been 4 years since the Varyag was bought by Xu Zengping. From the time varyag was bought to its successful arrival in the country, our country spent more than $30 million. However, its arrival has also completely brought china into the era of aircraft carriers. However, this scene of Lieutenant General He Pengfei will never be seen.
Shortly after the agreement between China and Turkey was reached, the Varyag aircraft carrier set sail, that is, on March 28, 2001, Lieutenant General He Pengfei died in Beijing. Even on his deathbed, he was still concerned about the latest news from the Varyag.
When seeing the Varyag, the director of Dalian Shipyard said: This is a brand new aircraft carrier, the purchase of this aircraft carrier is really too wise, it allows China to develop aircraft carriers a full 20 years ahead, and the scientific research funds it saves for China are immeasurable. Since 2005, the Varyag transformation work has officially started, after 7 years, on September 25, 2012, China's first aircraft carrier officially began to enter service, since then China officially entered the era of aircraft carriers.
What I forgot to say is that in addition to the identity of deputy commander of the Navy, He Pengfei also has a more well-known identity, that is, the only son of the founding marshal He Long. After coming to China, the aircraft carrier "Varyag" also gained a new name, called "Liaoning Ship".
If it were not for The strong insistence of Lieutenant General He Pengfei, China's entry into the era of aircraft carriers would certainly have been greatly delayed; if it were not for the painstaking coordination of Lieutenant General He Pengfei, China's naval strength today would certainly be greatly reduced, and he would be worthy of his status as a "tiger in the gate," and he would be even more worthy of the title of "founder of the aircraft carrier."
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