Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The Secretariat can handle everything.

In the end, Gao Gang even wanted to use the Secretariat to lead the State Council ministries.

After a moment, the Chairman said, "Emperor Zhou feared rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne. Had he died then, who would have known the truth about his life? The Secretariat's powers and responsibilities are unclear, allowing it to interfere in many matters, fueling Comrade Gao Gang's personal ambitions."

"Yes."

"The Secretariat is the body of the Party Central Committee that handles daily work. How do you think the Secretariat's work should be adjusted?"

Gao Gang has run into problems, but the Central Committee cannot abolish the Secretariat just because of Gao Gang.

After all, the Party Central Committee has so much work to do that it definitely needs a department to handle it. Even if that department isn't called the Secretariat, there must be some kind of organization. Wei Hongjun has given a lot of thought to the reorganization of the Secretariat.

It is because the current Secretariat is too informal.

So he immediately said, "Since the Secretariat is the body that handles the day-to-day work of the Central Committee, there shouldn't be some figurehead secretaries. Each Secretariat secretary should have a specific division of labor and be directly involved in the daily work of the Secretariat. Like other ministries and commissions, the Secretariat should implement a system of division of labor and responsibility under the collective leadership of the Party Committee. Only in this way can the work of the Secretariat itself be more clearly defined, and the cadres in charge of the Secretariat's work will not monopolize power."

"Ah."

The chairman nodded.

I understood what Wei Hongjun meant.

That is, if the Secretariat is not reorganized and remains as it is now, then a new person will be in charge of the Secretariat. At that time, the other secretaries of the Secretariat will still be in figurehead positions as they are now, and the cadres in charge of the Secretariat will be as powerful as Gao Gang.

The greater a person's power, the greater their ambitions. Take Wang Mang, for example. Did he start thinking about usurping the Han Dynasty when he was young? Of course not. It was only as his power grew that such thoughts gradually developed.

Isn’t Gao Gang the same?

If his power in the Secretariat was not that great after he was transferred to the Central Committee, why would he covet the position of second-in-command within the Party? It is because his power increased greatly after he took charge of the Secretariat, and his ambitions grew accordingly.

If the Secretariat is not reorganized, problems like Gao Gang's will occur again.

After all, whoever controls the Secretariat can quickly expand his or her strength and influence.

Therefore, the Secretariat must be reorganized.

Wei Hongjun's message is clear. Secretariat secretaries cannot be mere figures; they must directly participate in the work of the Secretariat, and there must be a clear division of labor. Those responsible for organizational work should handle organizational work, and those responsible for publicity should handle publicity. Only when these Secretariat secretaries have a substantive division of labor and participate in the work of the Secretariat can the First Secretary of the Secretariat be prevented from having a monopoly on power.

The collective leadership of the Party Committee is intended to prevent any one cadre from having too much power.

The Chairman listened to the Chairman's suggestions.

However, this issue must be resolved at the Fifth Session of the Eighth Central Committee or the Ninth National Congress.

The Chairman changed the subject and said, "The 20th Congress of the CPSU will be held in early February next year. I would like you to head the delegation to attend the 20th Congress. Do you have any questions?"

"I obey your orders, Chairman."

Wei Hongjun did not expect that the Chairman would specifically ask him to attend the 20th Congress of the CPSU.

Every Communist Party in the world would send representatives to important meetings like the Soviet National Congress. Even in many countries, the 20th Soviet Congress was attended by the party's top leaders. Only a major socialist country like China doesn't require the chairman to attend in person.

But logically speaking, even if the Chairman does not attend, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee should be sent to lead the delegation. Comrade Xiuyang, the Premier, or the Commander-in-Chief could all be included.

Although the Chairman's choice of Wei Hongjun as the head of the delegation was somewhat unexpected, it was not impossible, as Wei Hongjun was now qualified.

"The 20th Congress of the CPSU was the first national congress of the CPSU held after Comrade Khrushchev assumed leadership of the Soviet Union. There will be new changes in many aspects of party building and socialist construction in the Soviet Union. You must carefully observe these changes and promptly convey the situation of the 20th Congress to the country."

Wei Hongjun has made several judgments on the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.

All very accurate.

He has a profound vision in both politics and economics, which is why the Chairman intended to appoint Wei Hongjun as the head of the delegation.

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Chairman, if you attend the 20th Congress of the CPSU, I think Comrade Zhang Wentian can attend as a representative."

The Chairman looked at Wei Hongjun.

The Chairman has not yet decided how to deal with Zhang Wentian. He doesn't really like Zhang Wentian, but he doesn't want to treat the Gao Gang incident and Zhang Wentian together.

If Zhang Wentian fails to handle the situation properly, it will trigger a tsunami that will eventually drown Gao Gang.

Furthermore, Zhang Wentian is now unable to function normally at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This isn't just due to his suspension, but more importantly, his relationship with the Premier has become strained. Therefore, the Chairman's plan is to first address the Gao Gang issue and then return to address Zhang Wentian's case. Unexpectedly, Wei Hongjun brought up Zhang Wentian.

"Comrade Zhang Wentian possesses a high level of theoretical knowledge. While in the Soviet Union, he was able to quickly discern subtle shifts in the CPSU's policies from changes in Soviet newspapers. Furthermore, he advocates for proactive diplomacy, which has led to rapid development of my country's relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries in recent years. Comrade Zhang Wentian is familiar with the situation in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, making him well-suited to attend the 20th Congress of the CPSU and to rapidly analyze changes in CPSU policy from a theoretical perspective. He will also be able to increase exchanges with the various Eastern European parties and gain a better understanding of their situations."

Wei Hongjun didn't mean to plead for Zhang Wentian.

Wei Hongjun and Zhang Wentian were not familiar with each other and had never worked together. However, Zhang Wentian was indeed suitable for attending the 20th Congress of the CPSU. Of course, Wei Hongjun's mention of Zhang Wentian also had deeper considerations.

Lightening the punishment for Zhang Wentian would also soften the tone of the handling of the Gao Gang issue. This is also what Wei Hongjun expressed to the Chairman: Wei Hongjun supports the punishment of Gao Gang, but does not support a harsh punishment of Gao Gang.

Different central leaders have different ideas about the Gao Gang incident.

For example, Peng Zhen's current actions at the National People's Congress are to tell the Chairman that he hopes the Central Committee will severely punish Gao Gang. Meanwhile, Wei Hongjun is now expressing his support for lowering the tone of the Gao Gang issue.

As long as the central leadership is not unanimous in demanding that Gao Gang be dealt with severely, the Chairman will have more options for how to deal with Gao Gang. What the Chairman fears most is a unanimous demand within the Party for a severe punishment of Gao Gang.

"I'll discuss this with Comrade Wu Hao."

"Yes."

"You've been tired these days, go home and rest first."

978 A Delicate Balance

The Chairman asked Wei Hongjun to go home and have a good rest.

After all, Wei Hongjun had traveled extensively from Henan to Fujian over the course of twenty days. While he'd flown some of the time, he'd mostly been on the train. So, half of those twenty days had been spent sleeping on the train. Even though Wei Hongjun was in his prime, he was physically exhausted.

However, the situation in Beijing was complicated, and many people didn't give Wei Hongjun any time to rest. Wei Hongjun had just come out from the Chairman's office, and several groups of cadres were already waiting for him. They all knew that Wei Hongjun had returned to Beijing, so they wanted to talk to him.

First it was Deng Zhihui.

Deng Zhihui went to see Wei Hongjun to discuss the issue of Zhao Dezun.

Zhao Dezun was not only singled out at the Northeastern senior cadres meeting, but also by others in Beijing. Many cadres singled out Zhao Dezun as Gao Gang’s important “confidant” in the Northeastern region and Gao Gang’s “party member.”

The truth is, Zhao Dezun had no one to look after him. A former student leader at Tsinghua University, he later participated in the War of Resistance in western Hebei, directly led by Peng Zhen. However, due to ideological differences between him and Peng Zhen in the Northeast, the two had already parted ways. During the War of Resistance, the revolution was primarily in Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, led by Deng Xixian. However, during the Yan'an Rectification Movement, Zhao Dezun went to Yan'an and later went directly from there to the Northeast. Therefore, he was not able to share the same faction to protect him.

Instead, after arriving in Northeast China, Zhao Dezun shone brightly. His abilities were particularly evident during the land reform movement, which he led alongside Gao Gang. Because Zhao Dezun was Gao Gang's key general during the Northeast land reform movement, many people assigned him to Gao Gang's side.

Deng Zhihui admires Zhao Dezun very much.

This is a knowledgeable, capable, and experienced young cadre, only in his early forties. Developing rural industry and commerce requires cadres like Zhao Dezun, who are both familiar with the countryside and possess sufficient knowledge and vision. Deng Zhihui will be 60 next year, so he is very protective of these young cadres in the Rural Work Department.

Deng Zhihui didn't want Gao Gang's problem to involve Zhao Dezun this time.

But this wasn't something Deng Zhihui could stop alone. If someone in the central government was really going to keep nagging Zhao Dezun and was determined to investigate his relationship with Gao Gang, Deng Zhihui couldn't stop it alone. So Deng Zhihui needed to talk to Wei Hongjun.

After listening to Deng Zhihui's words, Wei Hongjun assured him that he would definitely not seek out any cadres from the Gaogang Group within the Rural Work Department. Zhao Dezun was a cadre not only favored by Deng Zhihui but also highly admired by Wei Hongjun.

Zhao Dezun will be of great use in the future. When Wei Hongjun asked Zhao Dezun to join the Rural Work Department, he had thought about what happened today.

After seeing Deng Zhihui off, the cadres from the Fourth Office, Fifth Office and Eighth Office under the charge of Wei Hongjun came to report on their work.

Of course, reporting work is just a superficial name.

They were actually also concerned about the Gao Gang issue. Currently, the three offices and subordinate ministries under Wei Hongjun's charge are staffed by a large number of cadres from Northeast China. At the time of liberation, Northeast China was a leading nation in industry, agriculture, and foreign trade. Consequently, the central government promoted a number of Northeastern cadres, resulting in a significant number of Northeastern-born cadres across the State Council ministries. While the Gao Gang case has yet to be resolved, it has already impacted these Northeastern cadres.

This situation has directly affected the work of various ministries.

So they all hope that Wei Hongjun will come forward.

Wei Hongjun comforted these cadres one by one. He asked them to ignore external affairs and focus on their work. From the founding of the People's Republic of China, through the State Council, to the current State Council, many ministries and commissions have been directly managed by Wei Hongjun. Therefore, Wei Hongjun's assurances gave them peace of mind.

Wei Hongjun knew that everyone was confused now.

Especially some cadres from Northeast China.

So, despite being exhausted, Wei Hongjun patiently spoke with each cadre he visited. He knew that if he refused to meet with a cadre today, word would spread across the central government ministries tomorrow. Everyone would assume the cadre was on the verge of collapse. He couldn't allow that to happen because of him.

By the time Wei Hongjun had appeased these cadres one by one, it was already two o'clock in the morning.

Wei Hongjun could only call home and then live directly in the office. This was not the end. From the next day, more and more cadres came to see Wei Hongjun. Many of them were not for work, but for Gao Gang's matter.

No one is sure.

There is no way around it.

One of the primary sources of local and military cadres for the development of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Base Area came from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region. The largest cadre group came from the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, established by Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun. Later, they returned from the Northeast, with many promoted to various central government ministries and commissions.

At this moment they were all a little nervous.

Wei Hongjun comforted them all.

But Wei Hongjun knew this wasn't the solution. The cadres from Northeast China included not only those from Shanxi, Chahar, and Hebei, but also those who had come directly from Yan'an and Shandong. These cadres were now panicking, wondering how they could continue their work.

It is necessary to stabilize the emotions of cadres as soon as possible.

The Gao Gang issue and the Wu Zhipu issue are completely different.

It wasn't too difficult for the central government to deal with Wu Zhipu and transfer him out of Henan. Especially after Wu Zhipu made mistakes in his work in Henan, the central government had sufficient reasons to adjust his work.

Moreover, Wu Zhipu spent his entire life in the revolution in Henan.

Therefore, although Wu Zhipu is deeply rooted in Henan, his influence nationwide is limited, and adjusting his position did not cause too serious impact.

But Gao Gang is different.

After all, he is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.

Historically, the handling of the Gao Gang incident also took about three months. After the Gao Gang incident broke out, the Chairman first spoke with key Party cadres, then convened an enlarged Politburo meeting to criticize Gao Gang and Rao Shushi. This process alone took over a month.

Later, at the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee, the Chairman adopted the attitude of "criticism and education, curing the disease and saving the patient." He mainly criticized this phenomenon, but did not criticize cadres by name.

Gao Gang and Rao Shushi were asked to make self-criticisms.

However, a certain force within the party was pushing this matter forward. Furthermore, Gao Gang had a stubborn temper, and although he reviewed his mistakes, he remained reserved.

In the end, I couldn't hold it back anymore.

It was finally defined as an "anti-party alliance."

The same is true now. Although the Chairman convened an enlarged meeting of the Secretariat and began to criticize some of Comrade Gao Gang's practices, he did not actually mention him by name. His main focus was to criticize this phenomenon and demand that Gao Gang and Rao Shushi actively review their mistakes.

But things took a completely different turn.

There is a tendency in Beijing to escalate the matter.

"Comrade Gao Gang exhibited serious factionalism during his time in Northeast China. He promoted his own 'trusted' cadres and established a one-man show of authority there. Many cadres colluded with Comrade Gao Gang and excluded other cadres, leading to serious sectarianism. These cadres engaged in 'collusion' and 'offensive and defensive alliances', undermining Party unity and pursuing their own personal ambitions. This 'sectarian' 'clique' must be severely dealt with."

Meeting of the Party Leadership Group of the State Council.

The State Council leadership had noticed the current panic among officials across its ministries. It was November 1955, and with the year's end approaching, work was piling up. The Gao Gang issue was impacting State Council work, something everyone disliked. Wei Hongjun proposed that the Premier convene a meeting of the State Council Party Group to address the issue as quickly as possible. The Premier accepted Wei's proposal, and the meeting was convened.