Super military empire

Regarding the plan of the British delegation, the person responsible for the handover ceremony of Hong Kong's return did not know.

As time got closer, the invited guests gradually arrived. As the head of preparations for the Chinese side, the Deputy Director of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs An Wenbin, although his face was still calm as water, his heart began to become nervous.

For such a long time, for the five-star red flag of the Republic to rise on time, outsiders cannot clearly know how many people have paid.

Things are related to the sovereignty of the motherland.

The Chinese nation can no longer tolerate even one more second of shame.

One second late means one more second of shame.

This was a long process in 155 years. The territory of the Chinese nation has been occupied by the British for 155 years. This is a shame for the entire nation!

And this shame has lasted for a century and a half, who wants to wait any longer?

Therefore, after receiving an order from Zhao Jihua, the chief representative of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group and the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, he entered Hong Kong to start preparations for the ceremony.

How many nights without sleep, how many fierce confrontations have been experienced with the British, in order to raise the flag of the Republic on time!

"Head, let's rest for a while!" With 8 hours before the handover ceremony, the assistant looked distressedly at the thin old man who was leaning on cigarettes and refreshing his eyes with bloodshot eyes.

Even, many times when he looked at the old man's back, he felt like crying. It was not because of his weakness. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic had absolutely no weak people, but distressed.

"When the ceremony is successfully completed and the five-star red flag is raised on time, it will not be too late for us to take back Hong Kong on time and rest!" Although the old man's eyes were bloodshot, his mental state was surprisingly good.

"Mr. Chief, you have not rested for several days. Two hours of sleep a day will cause problems. Everything is ready. We will carry out all possible situations of the British. After analyzing and preparing for the response, there will be no problems..." The assistant endured tears and persuaded the chief.

"No one can make sure that all accidents can be predicted. We must work hard to ensure that no accidents happen. This is about the sovereignty of the entire country and the dignity of the entire nation! Oda, let us have any accidents, All will affect the national sovereignty..." An Wenbin said to his assistant, "Let’s go, let’s check again to make sure there are no accidents. At night, when the guests come, we don’t have much time. Go in for inspection."

After the old man finished speaking, he squeezed out the cigarette butts in the ashtray, picked up the strong tea on his desk, gurgled half a cup, and walked firmly out of the office.

Hong Kong, the largest international metropolis in Asia, will return from the occupied country to the motherland in a few hours. Countless people are waiting to return.

Many people even sat in front of the TV early, although there is still a long time before the handover ceremony.

The auditorium on the fifth floor of the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center has long been busy with the arrangement of the auditorium for the return ceremony.The persons in charge of China and Britain have already reached an agreement on the arrangement. An Wenbin personally inspected each arrangement and left until he confirmed that there were no problems or omissions.

Subsequently, he went to the rehearsal venue of the military band.

In April, the Chinese side formed a 35-member military band, which was conducted by the National First-level Commander of the PLA Military Band, Yu Jianfang.

At this time, tension also spread in the military band.

In normal training, there is no problem if there is a mistake, but when Hong Kong returns to the motherland, it will absolutely not tolerate a deviation of even a second.

In particular, when the military band was formed, it received a death order from the superior, not one second earlier, nor one second late.

If the British delay time, it will cause a lot of pressure and the national anthems of both sides will overlap.

"Don't be nervous, just follow the usual training, take a good rest, and ensure the best condition!" The elderly did not put any pressure on the members of the military band, because he knew that the pressure on these comrades was also very high.

The most nervous person is the staff officer of Lieutenant Zhu Tao, the flag-raiser.

When the mission was received before, everyone in the entire guard of honor of the three services was well aware of the significance of the flag-raising this time. This was an announcement of the end of the 155-year shame of the Chinese nation. Usually, any mission is actively rushed away. For the guard of honor, only Zhu Tao recommended himself.

Others, not because their technology is not too hard, but they know the significance of raising the flag this time, and understand that any small difference in themselves will have a major impact on the dignity and sovereignty of the entire country.

After being determined as the flag-raiser for the handover ceremony, Zhu Tao has practiced more than 5,000 flag-raising times in order to complete the requirements on time-the national anthem was played and the national anthem stopped the flag to the top!

"Don't be under pressure, the motherland believes in you, and the people believe in you." This is the comfort of the superior.

Actually, it's not stressful.

Zhu Tao knows better than anyone, how much An Wenbin paid in order to gain two more seconds of preparation time.

Time gradually passed.

At 23:00 on June 30, 1997, the auditorium of the new convention and exhibition center was already full of people. The reporters also made preparations. The entire auditorium was very quiet.

There was a trace of depression in the air.

At 23:10, the military band entered the venue. The quiet venue and dense audience made the air in the exhibition center freeze, which made the military band musicians even more nervous.Especially Colonel Yu Jianfang, who was in charge of command, began to relax when he saw An Wenbin's encouraging eyes.

The closer to the handover time, the more solidified the atmosphere on site.

At 23:42, the handover ceremony officially entered, which on the contrary made it easier for people who have been waiting nervously, because this is in line with their usual drills, as long as they follow the situation of the drill step by step, everyone silently calculates Time.

After the ceremony, the Chinese and British leaders formally entered the venue...

All this is no different from the time planned before.

However, from the time when the British representative Prince Charles spoke, everyone who was calculating the time had a sigh in their hearts!

Especially An Wenbin, in order to ensure that the time is not bad, he has studied the speed of Prince Charles's speech in formal diplomatic occasions for a long time.

When Charles started speaking, his speech speed was much faster than usual. This made An Wenbin's heart raised. Before he could understand, Charles's speech speed slowed down. Yu Jianfang was also keenly Feeling unusual, he looked at the old man who was holding the world's most accurate watch in his hand, and saw his brow frown, and he couldn't help becoming nervous.

The British are delaying time!

Although the Chinese side is prepared, this situation has made the entire Chinese side of the venue nervous, especially those who are related to the raising of the flag.

23 seconds!

Charles actually procrastinated for 23 seconds!

This made An Wenbin and the others more nervous, and everything behind them started to accelerate.

At 23:56, the Chinese and British flag bearers entered the venue. The flag-raising ceremony of the Chinese and British governments on the handover of Hong Kong power officially began.

From the moment he stepped into the venue, Zhu Tao's heart was also tense, because he knew that Britain had delayed 23 seconds.

The preparation work of both parties must be shortened.

At 23:59:07, the British national anthem "God Bless the Queen" sounded. Soon, An Wenbin, Yu Jianfang and others discovered the problem-the British Orchestra speeded up!

Yu Jianfang's forehead began to sweat.

An Wenbin, who was pinching the watch tightly in his hand, also became nervous in his heart.

They prepared a backup plan to deal with the British delaying time, and after rehearsal, they never thought that the British were ready to lower their flag in advance.

"Head..." Assistant Oda looked anxious, he was also nervous about the rhythm of the British national anthem.

At 23:59:46, the 155-year-old rice flag that has been flying over Hong Kong completely landed!

Originally, the 51-second "God Bless Queen" was played in 39 seconds.

Quiet!

From this moment on, only breathing can be heard at the entire handover ceremony.

An Wenbin's heart mentioned his throat, and there is still 14 seconds before the flag is raised!His gaze was cast on Yu Jianfang, the conductor of the military band. Yu Jianfang, who had been sweating on his forehead and the liaison officer beside him, looked towards him and shook his head gently.

Yu Jianfang's heart also mentioned his throat. They couldn't watch the time. After the original drill, the British Orchestra finished playing, he began to raise the baton in his hand.

At the end of the British Orchestra's performance, he almost raised his hand instinctively. Finally, without hearing the voice of the liaison next to him, he suppressed it.

Zhu Tao in front of the flagpole, at this time, was also nervous to the extreme. From the moment the British national anthem ended, he began to count down silently.

He only has two seconds to prepare.

When the two counted the instincts of over 5,000 exercises, they almost started to raise the flag. At the moment when they were about to act, he found that he did not hear the national anthem. In the end, he did not move.

Time, for him, has become uncontrollable now, he can only listen to the moment when the national anthem sounds!As a flag-raiser, he can only look ahead and cannot make any movements!

Time passed by every second.

On the rostrum, the national leader raised his wrist to check the time, his expression became more solemn.

Yu Jianfang kept staring at An Wenbin, and when the time was 23:59:57, he made a gesture.

At 23:59:58 on June 30, 1997, Yu Jianfang, who had been waiting, began to act.

At 0:00:00 on July 1, 1997, the "Volunteer Army March" played. At this moment, the flag-raiser Zhu Tao finally started to move.

The five-star red flag finally rises at this moment without a second...