Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

But the commander-in-chief was cheerful.

At the enlarged Politburo meeting, the Party once again clearly expressed its resolve to retire. It also emphasized the correctness of the retirement policy and urged all Party members and cadres to treat it correctly. They urged them not to resist the retirement system, let alone criticize it.

When it comes to their own interests, many people are no exception.

If you were once in a high position of power and suddenly had to retire due to age, many people would definitely be dissatisfied. This isn't just true for democrats outside the Party, but also for many cadres within the Party. They are unwilling to give up their power.

The commander-in-chief’s choice this time is for everyone inside and outside the party to see.

Let them respect the retirement policies formulated by the Party Central Committee and the National People's Congress.

It took a while for the officials present to accept this, confirming that the commander-in-chief was not just talking, but actually planning to retire. After announcing the commander-in-chief's retirement at the enlarged Politburo meeting, the commander-in-chief convened a symposium on behalf of the United Front Work Department.

The scale of this symposium was several times larger than the one held by the United Front Work Department a few days ago. Many people from democratic parties and non-party members attended the symposium.

Wei Hongjun, Deng Xixian and Xi Zhongxun attended the symposium as secretaries of the Secretariat.

Over the past few days, these democratic parties and non-partisan figures have been able to connect with each other and become more fully prepared. The previous battle was just an appetizer, with their opponent being Li Weihan from the United Front Work Department. This time, they face the commander-in-chief and a group of high-ranking young cadres within the Communist Party.

This is even better.

This time, they were fully prepared, determined to force an explanation from the CCP. Now that the Stalin issue had erupted, they saw the CCP as "overwhelmed with its own problems." Faced with their relentless pressure, they were bound to make some concessions and compromises.

The commander-in-chief cheerfully shook hands with them and said, "Actually, this kind of symposium doesn't need to be so formal."

"Yes."

Li Jisen nodded and said, "It's just a chat between old friends. There's no need to be so formal."

"Being a little more formal has its advantages."

Wei Hongjun sat just below the commander-in-chief.

At this point, someone interrupted, "If it's a little more formal, then some of the suggestions at the symposium will be taken more seriously. If it's just a conversation between friends, it's easy to just finish it."

"That's right. Being formal has its advantages."

The commander-in-chief continued, "However, there won't be many such formal seminars. From now on, when I meet with you, it will just be a chat among friends, not a formal occasion like this."

"Brother Yujie, what do you mean?"

Li Jisen didn't understand what the commander-in-chief meant.

What do you mean it’s no longer a formal occasion?

Is the CCP going to take direct action against them because of what happened last time? Is it going to expel them all from the National People's Congress, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and other government agencies?

It shouldn't be.

No matter how "ignorant" the CCP is, it shouldn't do this at a time like this. Khrushchev's "secret report" is now "raging" in Eastern Europe. Although China is currently relatively stable, the CCP should be more interested in stability at this time.

The democratic parties currently have little power.

But they were influential. During the Republican era, they were renowned masters, renowned figures in the political arena. They were particularly influential in academia and the cultural world, and many of them were also renowned journalists. If the CCP were to punish them over a single symposium, the impact would be disastrous.

The CCP should not be so reckless.

Many people looked at each other in confusion.

The commander-in-chief seemed oblivious to the change in their expressions and continued with a cheerful smile, "I'm old. The war years have worn me down, and I lack the energy to keep up, which will hinder my work. So, I've already reported to the Central Committee. After the Ninth National Congress of the Party and the Second National People's Congress are held next year, I'll retire completely. Everyone can come to my house and chat then. Conversations between friends are more relaxed; these kinds of forums are always a bit reserved."

"retire?"

The commander-in-chief knows what it means to take the initiative.

The commander-in-chief's words left the democratic figures present, who had prepared many things, speechless. They completely forgot what they had prepared and had no idea what to say next. They simply couldn't believe that the commander-in-chief, one of the revolutionary leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, would so readily decide to retire.

This was something they had never expected.

The commander-in-chief nodded and said, "As a human being, you have to accept your age. Look at the people around me. They are all in their forties and fifties, in the prime of their lives. They have no problem working fifteen or sixteen hours a day. But I can't do that. Now, let alone working fifteen or sixteen hours a day, even working ten hours a day, my body can't handle it. So when people get old, they have to admit it and retire when it's time."

Everyone has to save face.

Many democrats are well-known figures in society, and of course they have to save face.

Although the commander-in-chief didn't say anything directly, everyone understood his meaning. He said he was old and shouldn't be sitting there doing nothing. He should retire when it's time. He also wanted to use a "secret report" to pressure the CCP to change its retirement policy.

It’s okay to think about anything.

Facing such a commander-in-chief, everyone really doesn't know what to say.

The commander-in-chief of the Chinese Communist Party is about to retire, so what else can they say? So everyone was silent for a moment, because this news was too shocking for them.

"Not only me, but also Dong Biwu and Lin Boqu are all going to retire. We are all old friends, so we should meet more often and chat when the time comes."

The democrats attending the meeting all understood at once.

The Commander-in-Chief held a symposium today to tell them that the CCP strictly adheres to its retirement policy. Three leaders alone have retired. What else do you want to say now?

Seeing that no one spoke, the commander-in-chief continued, "By the way, I also heard about the symposium that Comrade Li Weihan convened on behalf of the United Front Work Department. Everyone raised very good opinions, and Comrade Li Weihan reported them to the Central Committee, which took them very seriously. Comrade Hongjun, can you tell us about some of the measures formulated after the Central Committee's discussion?"

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun has always been in the State Council.

Therefore, I didn't have much contact with them. However, as Wei Hongjun began to take charge of party affairs and presided over the Secretariat, he would meet with these non-party members more and more often.

"Minister Luo stated that the unjust, false, and wrongful convictions that occurred during the Land Reform, Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries, and Three Antis campaigns should be re-examined, and the central government strongly agrees. Therefore, the central government has decided to address this issue in two ways. First, it has decided to strengthen training for personnel in the public security, procuratorial, and judicial systems to improve their work capabilities and reduce the occurrence of unjust, false, and wrongful convictions at the source. Second, it has decided to strengthen the Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision."

"Our Supervisory Commission and Ministry of Supervision advocate people's war when conducting supervision. Therefore, we have implemented a system of supervisory correspondents and liaisons. If you discover that public security, procuratorial, or judicial departments have done anything wrong, you can report it to the Supervisory Commission and Ministry of Supervision at any time. If you wish to participate in supervision work in the future, you can become a correspondent or liaison for our Supervisory Commission and Ministry of Supervision. It's all possible."

The Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision have always been understaffed.

Besides, the central government has always advocated people’s war.

Therefore, to fulfill their supervisory tasks, the Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision have implemented a comprehensive system of correspondents and liaisons. These correspondents and liaisons are all supervisors scattered across government agencies, enterprises, and the private sector.

The commander-in-chief added, "We old guys aren't completely useless. We can't just sit around at home and do nothing after retirement. I've already decided that after I retire, I'm going to be a supervisory correspondent and help catch those who break the law. What do you all think?"

"Yes Yes."

The other party nodded awkwardly.

They don't want to be an ordinary, so-called supervisory correspondent.

Wei Hongjun watched the Commander-in-Chief effortlessly control the meeting's initiative, and he truly admired him. The Commander-in-Chief possessed seniority, status, and influence within the Party, but since the Seventh National Congress, he had remained steadfast, willingly and quietly relinquishing his leadership position. He then assumed responsibility for the most offensive aspect of Party discipline.

Now I am actively retiring again.

Wei Hongjun continued, "The central government also thinks the 'Political Design Institute' proposal mentioned by Minister Zhang is a good one. Therefore, the central government has decided to establish a Policy Research Office within the State Council. This office will be responsible for policy research and decision-making consultation, providing a basis for the State Council's decisions. In addition to the State Council, local governments will also establish institutions like this one, fully respecting scientific guidance and promoting democratic development."

"Comrade Hongjun, Comrade Xixian, Comrade Zhongxun, you should listen more to everyone's opinions when doing your work in the future. Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang."

The Commander-in-Chief interjected again.

Wei Hongjun, Deng Xixian and Xi Zhongxun all nodded.

The commander-in-chief then addressed the democrats, saying, "Retirement only means we'll no longer hold government positions, but it doesn't mean we can't speak out. We won't hold government positions and won't participate in national decision-making, but we can still provide advice to decision-making bodies. Whether it's the Policy Research Office of our Party or the Policy Research Office of the State Council, we welcome your opinions."

"Brother Bojun, what do you think?"

Zhang Bojun was one of the early leaders of the party.

The commander-in-chief was also quite familiar with him. Zhang Bojun smiled awkwardly and said, "Yes."

The commander-in-chief seemed in high spirits today. So at the symposium, he spoke endlessly about everyone's friendship and the current state of development in New China. He alone silenced dozens of democratic figures.

It can be said that the entire meeting was completely under the control of the commander-in-chief.

But yes.

The commander-in-chief is about to retire, which can be said to be a case of being strong without desires.

What can these democrats who want to put pressure on the CCP to change its retirement policy say at this moment? They usually act very noble, but what can they say now when faced with a cadre like the commander-in-chief who dares to give up his position as a national leader?

As a result, this symposium ended like this.

They came to the symposium excitedly, determined to win. But when they left, they were all listless. They didn't even want to talk about the "secret report."

Most people will leave government agencies next year anyway.

After the commander-in-chief intervened to suppress the democratic figures, Wei Hongjun once again devoted himself to preparations for the Ninth National Congress. Currently, delegates to the Ninth National Congress were selected on a provincial basis. These delegates were divided into those recommended by the Central Committee and those elected by the provincial system.

Just like Fang Fang and Qian Ying, they are currently working in the central government.

However, the delegate quotas were all at the local level. Therefore, the central government would recommend Guangdong provincial officials like Fang Fang and Qian Ying to Guangdong Province to participate in the Ninth National Congress as Guangdong representatives. Others, like Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu, who wanted to become delegates to the Ninth National Congress, had to be elected within the Guangdong provincial system.

Then, the representatives recommended by the central government and the representatives recommended by the provincial system must be voted on and approved at the provincial representative conference. Depending on the number of votes, some will become official representatives to the Ninth National Congress, while others will only be alternate representatives.

This is what Wei Hongjun is busy with now.

The Secretariat began to receive lists of candidates for the Ninth National Congress delegates and alternate delegates from various provinces. Therefore, the Secretariat drafted a 28-member Ninth National Congress delegate qualification review committee and submitted it to the Politburo.

After the Politburo’s approval, the Ninth National Congress Representative Qualification Review Committee was formally established.

Wei Hongjun serves as the director of the Qualification Review Committee, and Deng Xixian, Dong Biwu and Chen Tanqiu serve as deputy directors.

The other members were primarily drawn from Party committees, the military, government departments, and local officials. The largest number of Party committee members came from the Secretariat, primarily secretaries and alternate secretaries. From the military, there was General He, Director of the Political Department Tan Zheng, Director of the General Cadres Department Wang Zhi, Secretary-General Huang Kecheng, and Director of the General Logistics Department Zhao Lu. From the government, there were State Council officials Tan Zhenlin, Lin Feng, Li Xuefeng, Jia Tuofu, and Zeng Shan. Local officials included Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Luo Qirong, Shanghai Municipal Party Secretary Shu Tong, Heilongjiang Provincial Party Secretary Ouyang Qin, Yunnan Provincial Party Secretary Xie Fuzhi, and Sichuan Provincial Party Secretary Li Jingquan.

This work requires great meticulousness.

After all, there are nearly 1300 candidates nationwide for delegates and alternate delegates to the Ninth National Congress. Many of these officials' histories and recent situations need to be understood. The review committee will ultimately eliminate approximately 100 candidates.

While Wei Hongjun was busy preparing for the Ninth National Congress, he suddenly began to receive reports from Guangdong, Hunan and other places.

Many Guangxi disaster victims appeared in Guangdong, Hunan and other places.

994 Guangxi Incident

Wei Hongjun was very angry after receiving these letters of complaint.

The letters were mainly from cadres in Hunan and Guangdong to Wei Hongjun. They stated that disaster victims began arriving in Guangxi in March and April 1956 and began entering Guangdong and Hunan. Hunan and Guangdong had already notified Guangxi.

But in May, the problem of disaster victims was still not completely resolved.

So they continued to communicate with Guangxi. Even the Guangdong and Hunan provincial committees notified the Guangxi provincial government. The Guangxi provincial government stated that they were aware of the situation and had already dispatched personnel to address the damage. However, despite the Guangxi provincial government's promises, the problem persisted. So, officials from the Guangdong and Hunan provincial governments, enraged, wrote a letter to the central government.

He even wrote a letter to Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun currently works primarily in the Secretariat, but he remains Vice Premier of the State Council and holds the most influential position among central officials on rural issues. Furthermore, many officials in Guangdong and Hunan are familiar with him.

So many of them wrote letters directly to Wei Hongjun to complain.

Zhou Hui, Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee Secretariat and First Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, was particularly harsh in his letter. Zhou Hui is indeed a stubborn cadre who isn't afraid of offending others. In his letter, he directly and harshly criticized the leaders of the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government.

Wei Hongjun met Zhou Hui only after he took charge of rural work.

We don't have much personal relationship.