Compared with the crowded Three Gorges Dam and Xiling Gorge Scenic Area, there are few tourists in Gezhouba, which is very deserted.

But it's okay. You can enjoy the scenery quietly and watch the ship pass the gate. If you are hungry, you can go to the nearby Gezhouba Central Market to eat something delicious.

0 1

The sight of a big ship leads to a past event.

While eating watermelon on the bank of Gezhouba, I saw a big ship full of cars coming out of the Three Gorges.

This ship is the biggest one we saw in Gezhouba, so we took some photos.

At that time, I thought this ship was called Minpu, and its name was very cultural.

After returning from the tour, I was curious to check the situation of the cargo ship Minpu, and there was little information on the Internet. However, we found a dusty history, a great achievement created by Yichang people during the Anti-Japanese War, and it was also a major event that profoundly affected Sichuan.

The former People's Liberation Army was one of the founders of this great achievement.

02

The decisive battle of the Yangtze River retreat

1October 26th, 1937, 10, Xie Jinyuan led eight hundred heroes to defend the Shanghai Fourth Line Warehouse and cover the retreat of large troops. This marks the end of the Battle of Songhu, and the fall of Shanghai is inevitable.

1 19 10/0/9, the national government declared Chongqing as the capital. Obviously, under Chiang Kai-shek's grand strategy of exchanging space for time, the fall of the Yangtze River Delta region, including the capital Nanjing, is also a foregone conclusion.

Prior to this, all kinds of strategic materials and personnel along the coast have begun to transfer to Sichuan.

This is the Yangtze River retreat.

At that time, the traffic between Sichuan and the outside world could only rely on Yangtze River shipping. In this way, Yichang, which guards the mouth of the Three Gorges, has become a choke point.

On June 1938, 1 1, the battle of Wuhan broke out, and more materials and personnel flocked to Yichang, forming a large area of congestion in Yichang.

Lu Zuofu, general manager of Minsheng Company, wrote to Chiang Kai-shek on August 23rd, claiming that Yichang had a backlog of more than 70,000 tons of goods. By the end of June 5438+ 10, the backlog of goods exceeded 90,000 tons, and the number of refugees stranded exceeded 65,438+10,000.

The retreat of the Yangtze River has reached a critical moment: Yichang, as the final destination, not only faces the oppression of the Japanese aggressors, but also the dry season of the Yangtze River will come in 65438+February, when shipping will be stagnant.

Whether these strategic materials and personnel can be evacuated smoothly and safely, so as to reserve more strength for China and win more victory weights for War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Yichang has become the key to the success or failure of the Great Retreat.

03

A difficult and impossible task.

Although until the middle of last century, the Yangtze River waterway was still the main way to get in and out of Sichuan, it was extremely difficult and dangerous.

Natural rivers can't be smooth all the way, and reefs and shoals have become the biggest obstacles to shipping.

Especially in the Three Gorges area, there are three famous shoals, which are the bottleneck of the whole channel.

Coincidentally, they are all in Yichang, from Yichang to Badong, followed by Kong Ling Beach, Qingtan Beach and Xietan.

The key to the inability to sail in the dry season of the Yangtze River shipping lies in the sadness of the rapids.

Of the three dangerous beaches, qingtan is the most difficult.

In the era of wooden boats, boats sank in Qingtan almost every day, and Du Fu's boat was pierced by rocks here. At that time, it must be thrilling.

For this reason, Du Fu called Qingtan "the most dangerous place in Xiajiang River" in Shu Shu Shu.

In the era of mechanical power ships, crossing the green beach is also a high risk. For example, the first ship "Shutong" operated by China people in Xiajiang once ran aground and capsized here.

The existence of dangerous shoals leads to a huge gap in transportation capacity between the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the middle and lower reaches, so a large number of materials and personnel are stranded in Yichang.

It is estimated that it will take at least one year for the materials and personnel overstocked in Yichang to be transported to Chongqing in the last ten days of 1938.

But the time left for them is only about 40 days.

This is an impossible task.

04

Unity is strength and creates miracles.

As early as 1937 in the winter dry season, a crew member named Duan proposed three voyages:

Doing so can greatly improve the efficiency of the ship, thus improving the speed of cargo turnover.

However, the phased transportation plan was opposed by the Ministry of War Industry, and military materials needed to be transported directly to Chongqing.

In addition, with the tense situation, a large number of people gathered in the freight department to compete for shipping positions, and the port's transportation work was greatly disturbed.

This has led to a large backlog of materials and personnel in Yichang.

1On October 23rd, Lu Zuofu was sent to Yichang to supervise the transportation. His first order was to "stop the negotiations" in order to "handle the transportation".

Lu Zuofu convened a meeting of relevant personnel overnight and made a strict transportation plan.

Under this series of effective measures, through the efforts of tens of thousands of workers along the Yangtze River in Yichang, by the time the dry season came on May 38+early February, all the overstocked materials and personnel in Yichang had been evacuated to Xiajiang.

Although the subsequent transportation from the Yangtze River to Chongqing lasted for some time, it finally completed the impossible task.

Yichang people also paid a huge price for this. In Minsheng Company alone, 177 people died, 76 people were disabled, and 16 of 22 ships were damaged or destroyed.

Yichang retreat is also called "Dunkirk of China industry".

Also remember, from April 1938 to February 65438, Yichang transported more than 15000 disabled children.

Under the umbrella of the Nurseries General Association, there are 6 1 children's nurseries (including Yan 'an Children's Nursery) and 29,486 children in 1938.

05

History is a flowing river.

According to records, Minpu participated in Yichang retreat that year and was one of the 22 ships of Minsheng Company. But more detailed information is not known.

In 20 19, the Three Gorges Project passed passengers160,000 person-times and freight1470,000 tons.

With the impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam, three dangerous beaches sank into the deep water. The once dangerous Yangtze River route has become a smooth road.

All the towns along the Three Gorges have been completely transformed, and some even disappeared completely in the long river of history.

The result of the great retreat of the Yangtze River indirectly shaped Sichuan and Chongqing.

At that time, most of the industrial and cultural elites in the coastal areas of China entered Sichuan along the Yangtze River. Although many people left after the war, such as the opening and closing of the National Southwest Associated University, it also left a rich legacy for Sichuan.

For example, the materials in the last 40 days, including modern industrial equipment such as Luzhou Chemical Plant and Chongqing Iron and Steel Plant, have become the cornerstone of Sichuan's modern industrial system.

History is a flowing river. No moment is the same. What remains unchanged is the eternal passage, but some things should not be forgotten.

Life is a journey, and meeting is fate.

Thank you.