The person responsible for the handover ceremony of Hong Kong's return to handover is not known about the plan of the British delegation.

As time gets closer, the invited guests gradually arrive. Although An Wenbin, deputy director of the Concierge Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is the person in charge of the preparations of China, his face is still as calm as water, but his heart is beginning to become nervous.

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

Things are related to the sovereignty of the motherland.

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

One second later means one second more shame.

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

And this shame has lasted for a century and a half, who is willing to wait any more?

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

I have been sleepless all nights and experienced many fierce confrontations with the British, in order to raise the flag of the Republic on time!

"Chief, take a break!" When there were 8 hours before the handover ceremony, the assistant looked at the thin old man who was leaning against the cigarette and refreshed with bloodshot eyes.

Even, many times, when he looked at the old man's back, he felt like he wanted to cry, not because he was weak, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic has absolutely no weak people, but because he felt distressed.

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

"Chief, you haven't had a rest for several days. You have two hours of sleep every day, and there will be problems. Everything is ready. We have analyzed all possible situations of the British and are ready to deal with them. There will be no problems..." The assistant held back his tears and persuaded the chief.

"No one can ensure that all accidents can be predicted. We must cheer up and ensure that no accidents occur. This is related to the sovereignty of the entire country and the dignity of the entire nation! Oda, any accidents we encounter will affect national sovereignty..." An Wenbin said to his assistant, "Let's go, let's check again to ensure that no accidents occur. At night, when the guests come, we don't have much time to check again."

After the old man finished speaking, he extinguished the cigarette butts in the ashtray, picked up the strong tea on his desk, gulped half a cup, and then walked out of the office with firm steps.

Hong Kong, Asia's largest international metropolis, will return from the occupied country to the motherland in a few hours, and countless people are waiting for the return.

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

The fifth floor of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center's new wing, the Great Hall has long been busy with the arrangement of the auditorium for the return ceremony. The heads of China and the UK have already reached an agreement on the arrangement. An Wenbin personally inspected each arrangement until he confirmed that there were no problems and no omissions, and left.

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

In April, China formed a 35-person military band, directed by Colonel Yu Jianfang, a national first-level commander of the People's Liberation Army Military Band.

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

There is no problem in daily training, but when Hong Kong returns to the motherland, it is absolutely impossible to tolerate deviations of even a second.

Especially when the military band was formed, it received a death order from its superiors, not one second earlier or one second later.

If the British delay time, this will cause great pressure and the national anthems of both sides will overlap.

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

The most nervous one is the flagship manager Lieutenant Zhu Tao.

When I received the task before, everyone in the flag-raising bench of the entire guard of honor of the three armies knew how important the flag-raising was. This was to declare the end of the shame of the Chinese nation in 155 years. The guard of honor that usually took the initiative to go to was the guard of honor, and Zhu Tao alone recommended himself.

Others are not because their skills are not strong, but because they know the significance of this flag-raising and understand that any small difference will have a significant impact on the dignity and sovereignty of the entire country.

After being determined as the flag-raising bench at the handover ceremony, starting from the time of June 3, Zhu Tao 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 was raised.

"Don't be stressed, the motherland believes in you, and the people believe in you." This is the comfort of the superiors.

In fact, it’s weird if you don’t have pressure.

Zhu Tao knew better than anyone else how much An Wenbin had paid to get two more seconds of preparation time.

Time passes gradually.

At 23:00 on June 30, 1997, the Great Hall of the New Convention and Exhibition Center was already full of people, and the reporters were also ready. The entire Great Hall was very quiet.

There was a hint 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 solidified, which made the military band musicians who had just entered the venue even more nervous. Especially Colonel Yu Jianfang, who was responsible for the conductor, began to relax when he saw An Wenbin's encouraging eyes.

The closer it is to the handover time, the more solid the atmosphere on the scene is.

At 23:42, the handover ceremony officially entered the venue, which made the people who were waiting nervously easier, because this began to match their usual drills. Just follow the drills step by step, and everyone silently calculates the time.

After the ceremony began, leaders of both Chinese and British sides officially entered the venue...

All of this is no different from the previous planned time.

However, when the British representative Prince Charles spoke, everyone who was calculating time stumbled in their hearts!

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

When Charles spoke at the beginning, his speech speed was much faster than usual, which made An Wenbin feel. Before he could figure it out, Charles' speech speed slowed down. Yu Jianfang also keenly felt unusual. He looked at the old man holding the most accurate watch in the world in his hand. When he saw his brow frowning, he couldn't help but become nervous.

The British are delaying time!

Although China is prepared, this situation has made the Chinese people in the entire venue nervous, especially those who raise the flag.

23 seconds!

Charles actually delayed for 23 seconds!

This made An Wenbin and others feel even more nervous, and everything behind is beginning to accelerate.

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

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

The preparations of both sides must be shortened.

At 23:59:07, the sound of the British national anthem "Queen of Heaven Blessing" sounded. Soon, An Wenbin, Yu Jianfang and others discovered the problem-the British orchestra's performance speed increased!

Yu Jianfang's forehead began to sweat.

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

They made a backup plan to deal with the delays of the British, and after drills, they never thought that the British were ready to lower their flags in advance.

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

At 23:59:46, the rice flag that had been flying over Hong Kong for 155 years completely landed!

Originally, the "Queen of Heaven", which took 51 seconds, was played in just 39 seconds.

quiet!

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

An Wenbin's heart was raised to his throat, and there were still 14 seconds left before raising the flag! His eyes were placed on Yu Jianfang, the commander of the military band. Seeing that the fine beads of sweat had already emerged from his forehead and the liaison officer around him looked at him and shook his head gently.

Yu Jianfang's heart was also raised to his throat. They had no way to look at the time. After the original drill, the British orchestra's performance ended, he began to raise the baton in his hand.

The moment the British orchestra ended, his hand almost raised in instinct. In the end, he suppressed it without hearing the voice of the liaison officer next to him.

Zhu Tao in front of the flagpole was also extremely nervous at this time. 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 more than 5,000 exercises, they almost started raising the flag. At the moment when they were about to move, they found that they did not hear the national anthem ringing, and in the end, they did not move.

Time has become unsure for him now, and he can only listen to the moment when the national anthem sounds! As the flag-raising belle, he can only look ahead and cannot make any moves!

Time passes by second by second.

On the rostrum, the national leaders raised their wrists and looked at the time, and their faces became more solemn.

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

At 23:59:58 on June 30, 1997, Yu Jianfang, who had been waiting, started the action.

At 0:00 on July 1, 1997, the "March of the Volunteers" was played. At this moment, the flag-raising leader Zhu Tao finally started to move.
Chapter completed!