Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The United States is unhappy with China and wants to contain it in Asia. However, precisely because of the existence of the socialist bloc led by the Soviet Union, the United States cannot exert all its efforts to contain China. If the socialist bloc were to break up now, the United States could devote more resources to contain China.

"I think resolving this issue requires consideration from two perspectives. First, in terms of the overall direction, we must maintain the unity of the socialist camp and not allow it to split. From this perspective, we must support the Soviet Union and Comrade Khrushchev. Poland and other socialist countries in Eastern Europe must not leave the socialist camp. This is a major premise."

Wei Hongjun spoke.

This matter cannot be considered only in terms of right and wrong.

The question of stance and right and wrong is a vast topic, seriously, and could easily fill a treatise of tens or even hundreds of thousands of words. However, in this case, maintaining the stability of the socialist camp is paramount.

This is Wei Hongjun’s attitude.

Besides, China and the Soviet Union signed so many cooperation agreements in April this year, and these cooperations cannot be affected by this incident.

"Comrade Hongjun is right. The socialist camp cannot be split. This is what our party must uphold."

Comrade Xiuyang affirmed Wei Hongjun's words.

Comrade Xiuyang's opinion on this point has remained unchanged.

There are some opinions within the Politburo about whether supporting the Soviet Union would arouse the resentment of the socialist countries in Eastern Europe, or whether supporting the Soviet Union would encourage Soviet great power chauvinism.

But Comrade Xiuyang's attitude is obvious.

In dealing with Eastern European issues, ensuring the stability of the socialist camp was paramount. To ensure this, China had to support the Soviet Union, and the CCP had to support the CPSU. The only difference was how they supported the Soviet Union.

Wei Hongjun continued, "With this general premise, the second step is to analyze specific issues. We need to analyze the current problems in Poland specifically to see whether Poland wants to change its socialist system and leave the socialist camp, or whether Poland simply wants to change the original Soviet Stalinist political and economic system. These two concepts are completely different."

"If Poland wants to change its socialist system and leave the socialist camp, then the problem is much more serious. But if Poland simply wants to break away from 'dogmatism' and take an independent socialist path, without any intention of leaving the socialist camp, then this is a disagreement within the socialist camp. These two different contradictions require different approaches."

The Prime Minister continued, "According to the current news from the Soviet Union and intelligence from our embassy in Poland, while there is some public opinion in Polish society that opposes the socialist system, opposes the Soviet Union, and calls for separation from the socialist camp, within the Polish United Workers' Party, there is more demand for changing Poland's current economic development model, and there are not many calls for separation from the socialist camp."

"If that is the case, then while we support the Soviet Union in maintaining the stability of the socialist camp, we must also firmly oppose the Soviet Union's use of force to interfere in the affairs of the Polish Party and Poland's internal affairs."

Wei Hongjun spoke again.

Deng Xixian echoed this sentiment, saying, "To ensure the stability of the socialist camp, we cannot resort to military coercion. Once such an example is set, it will leave serious aftereffects. It will not only make it difficult to promote stability in the socialist camp, but will actually exacerbate divisions."

"Yes. Using force to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries' parties, especially when the other party is a fraternal party, will encourage the growth of Soviet great power chauvinism."

The Commander-in-Chief agreed.

Others also began to express their opinions.

Of the 17 Politburo members, Marshals Lin Biao and Luo Jung were absent due to health reasons, so the meeting was held by 15 Politburo members. The Chairman listened to everyone's opinions and said, "Comrades, what you said is very good. The overall approach is to support the Soviet Union, maintain the stability of the socialist camp, and oppose the Soviet Union's military intervention in the Polish Party and its internal affairs. But this alone is not enough."

"The immediate cause of the problems in Eastern Europe was the emergence of the 'Secret Report,' which disrupted the region's ideological landscape and left the political parties suddenly lost in theory and thought. But the deeper reason was that Eastern European countries were deeply influenced by the Soviet Union and dogmatically copied its experience, leading to domestic political and economic problems. It's inevitable that they now want to break free from this dogmatic shackles."

"But this kind of thinking conflicts with Soviet great-power chauvinism. Furthermore, the roots of this conflict didn't emerge today; they were already sown at the end of World War II, when the Eastern European nations were established. It's only erupting now through the 'secret report.'"

"If we want the socialist camp to be more stable and avoid future conflicts like this, the Soviet Union must first abandon great-power chauvinism and its 'party-in-chief' mentality. It must treat all proletarian parties in all countries, regardless of their size, as equals. At the same time, the CPSU must reassess Comrade Stalin. Only when the Soviet Union itself does this first can we more legitimately support it and safeguard the unity of the socialist camp."

The Chairman expressed his thoughts.

Based on the Chairman's instructions, everyone quickly figured out how to respond to the Soviet Union.

The Chairman glanced around at the Politburo members present and said, "I propose that Comrades Wei Hongjun, Deng Xixian, and Wang Jiaxiang represent the Central Committee and go to the Soviet Union to discuss with the Central Committee of the CPSU how to resolve the current Polish issue."

Finally, the Politburo approved the Chairman's proposal.

A delegation headed by Wei Hongjun, consisting of Deng Xixian, Xi Zhongxun, Wang Jiaxiang and Liu Xiao, attended the meeting with the Central Committee of the CPSU.

However, the CCP hadn't yet responded to Khrushchev, and Khrushchev was already getting anxious. On October 10, Khrushchev sent another telegram to the Central Committee, demanding that a CCP delegation travel to the Soviet Union as soon as possible to discuss Eastern European issues. Soviet Ambassador to China Roshchin met with the Premier and demanded a swift response from the CCP Central Committee.

On October 10, the Chairman convened a meeting of the Political Bureau Standing Committee.

At this Standing Committee meeting, it was decided that the Chairman, Comrade Xiuyang, and the Premier would directly contact the delegation.

Chairman Mao instructed Wei Hongjun that Eastern European countries were currently experiencing instability. Besides the Polish issue, this trip to the Soviet Union was likely to encounter problems in other countries. If any unexpected problems arose, he could briefly report the situation to the Central Committee and also share the delegation's thoughts directly with the Central Committee.

The Chairman, Comrade Xiuyang, and the Premier will respond to them quickly.

At the same time, the Chairman emphasized that although the most important purpose of this trip to the Soviet Union was to maintain the stability of the socialist camp, this goal should not lead to concessions on specific issues.

The principles that should be adhered to must be adhered to.

After the Politburo Standing Committee meeting, the CPC Central Committee formally responded to Khrushchev.

On October 1956, 10, Wei Hongjun, Deng Xixian, Xi Zhongxun, Wang Jiaxiang, and some other staff members flew to Moscow.

997 Panicked Khrushchev

Wei Hongjun's plane arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport in the afternoon of October 10rd. As soon as the cabin door opened, Wei Hongjun saw Khrushchev. He scanned the area and realized that Khrushchev had come alone to meet the Chinese delegation.

No other leaders of the Central Committee of the CPSU were present.

This surprised Wei Hongjun very much.

As the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev would not personally come to greet ordinary national leaders unless they were heavyweight revolutionary leaders like the Chairman visiting the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev stepped forward immediately when he saw Wei Hongjun.

Without even saying hello to the Chinese delegation behind them, he completely disregarded diplomatic etiquette and simply dragged Wei Hongjun towards his car. Wei Hongjun immediately signaled to Yan Mingfu, the translator accompanying the delegation, who quickly followed Khrushchev and Wei Hongjun and got into Khrushchev's car together.

As for the rest of the delegation, they sat in the car at the back, led by Soviet staff and Chinese Ambassador to the Soviet Union Liu Xiao.

Yan Mingfu is the newly appointed head of the translation group of the General Office of the Central Committee.

Shi Zhe, who had been responsible for accompanying the leaders on their visit to the Soviet Union, was transferred to Shandong after the Fifth Session of the Eighth Central Committee and served as Secretary of the Shandong Secretariat.

Yan Mingfu was transferred to the General Office of the Central Committee.

After getting in the car, Khrushchev did not greet Wei Hongjun, but immediately complained to him.

"Comrade Wei Hongjun, we are now facing the threat of imperialism from outside and traitors stirring up trouble within, which has led to the current serious situation. If left unchecked, the socialist camp will surely suffer a severe blow, and the international communist movement will suffer a major setback. Now I need the support of Chinese comrades. Let's work together to stabilize the socialist camp."

Khrushchev kept talking about how difficult his life was.

He spoke of how much he had worked tirelessly for the stability of the socialist camp and the development of the international communist movement. However, due to the existence of imperialism and internal collusion, the current situation was very bad.

I talked a lot of nonsense and didn't even know what I was talking about.

But Wei Hongjun had already seen it. Khrushchev was now completely at a loss, not knowing what to do. Looking at Khrushchev like this, Wei Hongjun really couldn't believe that this was actually the supreme leader of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The Eastern European issue is a bit of a headache now.

However, as a superpower and the elder statesman of the socialist camp, the Soviet Union possessed the power to overwhelm Eastern Europe in every way. The stronger side always had more leverage. Although the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were somewhat passive at the moment, it wouldn't cause their leaders to panic.

Khrushchev's behavior really made Wei Hongjun look down on him.

No wonder many people who later studied the history of the Soviet Communist Party during this period mostly mocked Khrushchev.

Khrushchev was actually even more confused than Wei Hongjun saw.

After returning from Poland, Khrushchev realized he had lost face. He felt as though the Soviet Central Committee was making fun of him. Whenever they whispered something, Khrushchev felt they were laughing at him behind his back.

This feeling made him restless and insecure.

He had no idea what to do about the current chaotic Eastern European situation. Otherwise, he would not have hurriedly sent two telegrams to the CPC Central Committee, requesting it to send a delegation to the Soviet Union.

He needs support from China so much now.

Khrushchev's behavior did not bode well for resolving the Eastern European crisis. In the short term, the socialist camp would have to rely on the Soviet Union to confront the imperialist camp. After all, while Eastern Europe had many socialist countries, they were far weaker than Western European countries. In Asia, although China defeated the UN forces in the Korean War, it was still not an industrial power.

The socialist camp was able to fight against imperialism, especially the United States, thanks to the Soviet Union's strong power.

Therefore, the Soviet Union had to be stabilized. At this stage, Khrushchev, as the leader of the Soviet Union and the CPSU Central Committee, had to maintain stability. Only in this way could the socialist camp be stabilized. So, in the car, Wei Hongjun repeatedly reassured Khrushchev, stating that the CPC Central Committee recognized and respected the history of the Soviet Union's leadership of the socialist camp and would maintain the unity of the socialist camp.

With Wei Hongjun's constant comfort, Khrushchev was no longer as panicked as he was at the beginning.

But this panic wouldn't dissipate until the Eastern European issue was resolved. So, when the delegation finally arrived at their villa, Khrushchev, regardless of the Chinese delegation's fatigue from the long flight, and without waiting for them to wash or rest, pulled Wei Hongjun to sit at a round table and continued to discuss the developments.

With Khrushchev acting like this, it was difficult for others to leave.

Fortunately, Khrushchev's staff reminded him that the Chinese delegation had not yet eaten. Khrushchev then invited the Chinese delegation to dinner. After the meal, Khrushchev once again grabbed Wei Hongjun.

"Comrade Khrushchev, you will go to Warsaw in person on the 19th. What exactly is the situation?"

Although this was Khrushchev's shame.

But Wei Hongjun still wanted to ask Khrushchev in person and hear his thoughts at the time. More importantly, of course, Wei Hongjun wanted to know what Khrushchev and the leaders of the Polish United Workers' Party had discussed privately.

Khrushchev became very angry when talking about this.

But he explained, "Initially, based on intelligence we received, we suspected Poland was going to side with American imperialism and leave the socialist camp. That's why we took decisive action and mobilized our troops. But after we arrived in Warsaw, we talked with Polish leaders for a day. After a heated debate, we discovered our suspicions were unfounded. So we changed our policy, prepared to recognize Poland's new leadership, and refrained from interfering in the Polish Party's internal affairs."

After a few days, Khrushchev finally came up with an excuse for his recklessness.

Or he could have simply said he was going to use force to intimidate the enemy. However, the Polish United Workers' Party leadership wasn't intimidated; instead, they remained resolute. This left Khrushchev unsure how to step down, as he had no real intention of taking Warsaw.

Riding a tiger, it is difficult to get off, that is, Khrushchev at that time.

But the thing is this, but he can't say it directly. He has to find an excuse for himself.

"What exactly does the Polish United Workers' Party mean?"

"They assured me that Poland would continue on the socialist path, remain in the socialist camp, and would not break with the Soviet Union. It was precisely because of this assurance that I decided to leave Warsaw."

"So what does Comrade Khrushchev mean?"

"The Polish United Workers' Party was frightened by this incident and is quite afraid of us. Although I told them that the CPSU recognized the new leadership elected by their national congress and had no intention of interfering in Poland's internal affairs, it was inappropriate for us to say this to them."

Khrushchev waited for the arrival of the Chinese delegation, and after being comforted by Wei Hongjun in the car, he gradually regained his confidence.

He started to give advice again.

"But you have a good relationship with them. If you come forward to help speak up, Poland will probably listen, which will be of great benefit to bridging the gap between our two parties and two countries."

Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian discussed it in a low voice.

The Polish question has been largely resolved.

No matter how humiliating Khrushchev's actions were, his concessions likely meant no major problems in Poland. So, after a brief exchange of views, Wei Hongjun said, "Since the Polish United Workers' Party has no alternative ideas, we, the Chinese Communist Party, support the Soviet Union and maintain the unity of the socialist camp."

"well."

After hearing the Chinese response, Khrushchev felt a huge weight lifted from his chest, his expression instantly filled with joy. A sudden thought struck him, and he patted his chest, reassuring, "The Chinese comrades are our Soviet Union's best friends. They have always been, are now, and will always be. I have good news for you. The atomic bomb model that Comrade Li Desheng mentioned to me in April has been assembled here. It will be delivered to China before this month."

Khrushchev really does whatever he wants.

However, Khrushchev did give good news directly.

The atomic bomb model was to be sent to China to help China's atomic bomb research. Of course, although Khrushchev supported China's atomic bomb project, he believed that it was still too early for China to successfully develop an atomic bomb.

Although there were Soviet experts in China's atomic bomb research, the core elements were all developed independently by China, so Khrushchev was not fully aware of China's atomic bomb development progress. Furthermore, in Khrushchev's view, China was an agricultural country with a minimal industrial base, and developing an atomic bomb was not an easy task.

After receiving the Chinese delegation's support, Khrushchev's goal for the day was achieved. At this time, Hungarian Prime Minister and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Gero, called Khrushchev. Gero had replaced Rakosi, the former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

After the "Secret Report" reached Hungary in May, those within and outside the Hungarian Party, already dissatisfied with Rakosi, unanimously demanded his resignation. In July, Suslov and Mikoyan traveled to Hungary to mediate, but Hungarian public opinion was boiling over and could not be suppressed. Ultimately, the Soviet Union decided to force Rakosi's resignation, with Gero taking over as First Secretary of the Hungarian Party Central Committee.