Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Mr. Chen spoke indifferently.

"There's also the issue of colonies, particularly Algeria. We oppose France's continued colonization of Algeria, and that's our stance. But this is directed at all colonized countries and nations around the world. We support the independence and liberation of all nations and peoples. Furthermore, given France's current situation, they must find a way to reconcile with their colonies. So this won't be an unsolvable conflict between our two countries."

China and France once fought a war.

But that was all very early on.

China's current enemy is not France. On the contrary, China and France can find many common ground.

"Comrade Red Army, please also express your opinion."

After listening to the diplomatic officials' opinions, the Premier turned to Wei Hongjun. The Foreign Ministry officials were all eager to speak, but Wei Hongjun remained silent, so the Premier called on him.

Wei Hongjun put down his pen and said, "Everyone, comrades, has said something very good. I'm very inspired. The issues that Charles de Gaulle must address when he returns to power are France's colonial, economic, and diplomatic problems. These three are the most important issues plaguing France right now. His visit to China is also aimed at addressing these three areas. So we should focus on these three areas."

"On the issue of colonization, we must firmly oppose it, but we must also acknowledge history. We can't expect France to resolve the colonial issue now, immediately. Instead, we should actively help France come up with a solution. Diplomatically, we must be bolder and strive to establish diplomatic relations with France. Even if there are some differences between our two countries on diplomacy, we should overcome them and complete the process of establishing diplomatic relations. As for the economy, France faces numerous economic challenges. We must boldly import machinery, equipment, and various technologies from France. Many French industrial sectors currently operating at low capacity should be very willing to cooperate in this area."

"If we can reach an agreement with Charles de Gaulle on these three points, first, establishing diplomatic ties with France would be a major victory for my country's diplomacy, as we would have opened a gap in the imperialist camp. With France as an example, it would likely spark a wave of European countries establishing diplomatic ties with my country. Second, helping France resolve its colonial issues would enhance my country's reputation in the world. Third, it would strengthen economic cooperation between my country and France and improve my country's industrial level."

The Prime Minister nodded.

The officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs chattered for more than two hours.

Wei Hongjun summarized the entire content in just a few sentences. So the Premier said, "Comrade Hongjun, that's a good summary. We will now develop a detailed negotiation strategy based on these three aspects."

If Charles de Gaulle saw this meeting in China, he would be shocked.

I guess they don’t want to come to China anymore.

During this meeting, everyone carefully analyzed the current situation in France and Charles de Gaulle's speeches in recent years, and then predicted what Charles de Gaulle would discuss in China. They also listed in detail what he might discuss.

Then how should China respond and how should it fight for its own interests?

It's really too detailed.

And this is just the first draft. After more contact with Charles de Gaulle, it will be further edited and reduced.

After the meeting, the Premier and Wei Hongjun compiled the content of the meeting and handed it over to the Chairman. After concluding the joint meeting with the Foreign Affairs Commission, Wei Hongjun continued his work in the Secretariat.

Wei Hongjun talked one by one with every secretary, alternate secretary and the departments behind them under the Secretariat.

You can understand the specific situation more directly and in-depth.

However, Wei Hongjun hadn't even begun his work when a letter of complaint arrived from the Political Secretary's Office of the Central Committee. It wasn't just one or two individuals, but eight section chiefs from the Political Secretary's Office who jointly filed a complaint against the deputy director, He Zai, who actually ran the office's daily operations.

Wei Hongjun was in a bad mood after seeing the letter of complaint.

I didn't expect that after taking charge of the Secretariat, I would start to encounter really tough problems. This was the Political Secretary's Office of the General Office of the Central Committee, and the eight section chiefs were all secretaries to central leaders. Most of them were members of the Chairman's secretariat.

It is no small matter for these people to unite and sue one person.

If things weren't handled properly, who knows what would happen. But now that the problem had arisen, Wei Hongjun, as the First Secretary of the Secretariat, had to resolve it. He immediately summoned officials from the General Office of the Central Committee, the Central Committee's Directly Affiliated Institutions Committee, and the Political Secretary's Office.

1008 Contradictions in the General Office of the Central Committee

Wei Hongjun called over the main cadres from the General Office of the Central Committee, the Central Committee's Directly Affiliated Institutions Committee, and the Political Secretary's Office.

Yang Shangkun, Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Central Committee's Directly Affiliated Institutions Committee; Tian Jiaying, Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Political Secretary's Office; Zeng Haijun, Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Party Committee and Director of the Archives Bureau; Lai Zulie, Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Zhongnanhai Administration Bureau; Gong Zirong, Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Li Jiebao, Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Liu Jingxian, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee Party Committee; He Zai, Deputy Director of the Political Secretary's Office; Peng Dachang, Deputy Director of the Political Secretary's Office; Wang Wen, Branch Secretary of the Political Secretary's Office; and Zhao Han, Deputy Director of the Political Secretary's Office.

Then there was the section chief of the Political Secretary's Office.

Qi Benyu, Zhu Gu, Ma Zhixun, Wang Xiangqian, Li Gongchuo, Lu Cheng, Lin Ke and others.

Wei Hongjun glanced at these cadres.

Each of them either has a long revolutionary career or has connections with the central leadership and has powerful channels of communication.

Wei Hongjun looked at Yang Shangkun, the Director of the General Office and an alternate member of the Secretariat, the most senior and highest-ranking of the group. However, Yang Shangkun remained silent, sitting there without making any statement. Wei Hongjun then looked at Tian Jiaying, one of the Chairman's most trusted secretaries and one of the most powerful officials in the General Office of the Central Committee. But he remained silent as well.

Both of them looked at their noses and their hearts, as if this incident had nothing to do with them.

Each one of them is a big shot.

Because of this incident, Wei Hongjun also specifically learned about the current situation of the General Office of the Central Committee.

I can only say it's a mess.

It has been almost ten years since the founding of New China, but the internal management of the General Office of the Central Committee is still a mess.

Of course, the chaos within the General Office of the Central Committee also has historical connections, going back to the Yan'an period.

After the Red Army's Long March, the Secretariat held a high position during the Yan'an period, representing the Party Central Committee. Therefore, the current Central Political Secretary's Office was the former Secretariat Office. Comrade Ren Peiguo handled the daily work of the Secretariat, and thus the Secretariat Office was under the leadership of Comrade Ren Peiguo. The Confidential Office, formerly the Confidential Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was subordinate to the Secretariat Office and was headed by Ye Zilong. Both Comrades Ren Peiguo and Ye Zilong were directly under the Chairman's leadership.

The confidential secretaries of the five secretaries at the time were all cadres in the Confidential Affairs Section. This included Zhao Han, Wei Hongjun's current confidential secretary, who was both the head of the Political Secretary's Office and the head of the Confidential Affairs Office. Unlike ordinary secretaries, the information they handled was Party secrets.

During the Yan'an period, the General Office of the Central Committee was headed by Comrade Li Fuchun. Li Fuchun possessed extensive Party experience, a gentle personality, and a knack for uniting people. During his tenure as Director of the General Office, he maintained excellent relationships with the surrounding cadres and departments. At the time, the General Office's mission was to oversee the logistics and administrative aspects of the central government, including providing logistical support for the Secretariat Office and the Confidential Affairs Section.

After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Fuchun went to Northeast China, and Yang Shangkun became director of the General Office of the Central Committee. When the People's Republic of China was founded, the Secretariat Office was renamed the Political Secretary's Office, and the Confidential Section was renamed the Confidential Office, both still led by Comrade Ren Peiguo. However, the General Office of the Central Committee was led by Comrade Xiuyang.

Because of this, Yang Shangkun established the Central Secretariat and the Central Confidential Office within the General Office of the Central Committee. However, the Central Secretariat, under the General Office, could only work outside the office and could not operate in Zhongnanhai like the Political Secretary's Office. The Central Confidential Office was also a purely technical organization, responsible for sending and receiving telegrams. Any telegrams it received would be handed over to the Confidential Office, headed by Ye Zilong, for delivery to the Chairman. After the Chairman's approval, the Confidential Office would then return them to the Confidential Bureau for dispatch.

Later, as Comrade Ren Peiguo's health deteriorated and he became unable to work, the Central Committee decided to transfer the management of the Political Secretary's Office and the Confidential Affairs Office to Yang Shangkun, Director of the General Office of the Central Committee. However, Comrade Ren Peiguo was still in office at the time, so the Central Committee only assigned Yang Shangkun the management of the Political Secretary's Office and the Confidential Affairs Office, without specifying any subordinate relationship between these two offices and the General Office of the Central Committee. So, although Yang Shangkun was in charge of all three, the three offices were considered parallel units.

In other words, the hidden danger was buried from the beginning.

The Chairman thinks about big things every day and never cares about trivial matters like this.

Originally, this matter needed to be resolved by Comrade Xiu Yang, who was in charge of Party affairs at the time, or Comrade Gao Gang, First Secretary of the Secretariat. They needed to clarify the relationship between the General Office of the Central Committee and the Political Secretary's Office and the Confidential Affairs Office.

After all, they are all institutions serving the central leadership, and only by sorting out their internal relationships can they cooperate with each other.

But none of them moved.

Because the Political Secretary's Office and the Confidential Affairs Office were so sensitive, the majority of section chiefs in the Political Secretary's Office were secretaries to the Chairman. For example, Lin Ke was the Chairman's secretary for international affairs and his English teacher, while Qi Benyu handled documents and conference affairs for the Chairman, essentially serving as his "penman." While they couldn't compare to Chen Boda and Tian Jiaying, they were still top-ranking officials on the Chairman's side.

This is the case with the Political Secretariat, not to mention the Confidential Office.

They were all confidential secretaries of the Politburo Standing Committee members, veteran Red Army soldiers, veteran Party members, and veteran cadres. Each one had extensive experience and high rank, and had been secretaries to the five major secretaries for many years.

Not easy to deal with.

Therefore, both Comrade Xiuyang and Comrade Gao Gang turned a blind eye to this matter. As long as these institutions can operate normally, that's all that matters. In this respect, the Chairman truly needs the Prime Minister.

If the Prime Minister were in charge of these matters, he would have sorted out the internal problems long ago.

Comrade Xiuyang and Comrade Gao Gang ignored the matter and passed it on to Yang Shangkun, Director of the General Office. Yang Shangkun was currently in charge of the work of these departments, but the Political Secretary's Office and the Confidential Office completely ignored him.

No one listened to Yang Shangkun when he spoke in these two institutions.

Yang Shangkun was the political commissar of the Third Corps during the Red Army era and a participant in the Zunyi Conference. His seniority and rank were exceptional. While the secretaries in the Political Secretary's Office may have connections to the central leadership, many of them were young intellectuals in their twenties and thirties, many having been members of the Party for less than ten years. After the Central Committee relocated to Beijing, they needed a large number of writers. Their educated talents led them to join the Political Secretary's Office. Their talents later earned them the recognition of the central leadership, especially the Chairman, leading to their current positions.

Yang Shangkun really couldn't touch the confidential room.

They were all veteran revolutionaries, former confidential secretaries to the five major Party secretaries. Yang Shangkun didn't want to anger them, nor did he want the central leadership to think he was touching sensitive secrets. So, Yang Shangkun decided to consolidate power, starting with the Political Secretary's Office.

Yang Shangkun’s approach is to merge the Political Secretary’s Office with the Secretariat currently under the General Office of the Central Committee.

After all, Yang Shangkun is of a high rank.

Unable to touch the bigwigs in the Confidential Affairs Office, the people in the Political Secretary's Office were nothing more than small fry in Yang Shangkun's eyes. Tian Jiaying was the Director of the Political Secretary's Office, but his main job was to serve as the Chairman's secretary. Therefore, the daily work of the Political Secretary's Office was originally handled by Peng Dachang, the Deputy Director of the Political Secretary's Office and Party Branch Secretary.

However, Yang Shangkun transferred He Zai to the Political Secretary's Office.

He Zai was also a "38-style" cadre, but even then, a "38-style" cadre was still a veteran Party member with nearly twenty years of Party membership. Before his transfer to the Central Committee, he was Director of the Northwest Bureau's Office. He then moved to the Political Secretary's Office as Deputy Director, replacing Peng Dachang in handling daily work. At the same time, Wang Wen was transferred to the Political Secretary's Office as a branch secretary.

He Zai is just a lone commander.

After he arrived at the Political Secretary's Office, he began to transfer a large number of cadres to the office. Although those people were just ordinary cadres, most of them were veteran revolutionaries who had participated in the revolution during the Anti-Japanese War.

Each one is of very high level.

There are even quite a few people whose level is around administrative level ten.

The section chiefs of the Political Research Office, while seemingly arrogant and boasting direct access to the central leadership, actually joined the revolution relatively late and held relatively low administrative ranks. Take, for example, Qi Benyu, who was highly regarded by the Chairman.

He is only 26 years old this year and was previously just an ordinary staff member in the political secretary's office.

The Chairman was busy with work, but he still had to take time to read the newspaper every day. Qi Benyu was very smart and immediately seized this opportunity. He figured out what issues the Chairman wanted to see reported in the newspaper every day. So he would cut newspapers or copy newspapers every day, and each time he would read about the aspects that the Chairman wanted to know. The Chairman immediately remembered this young man.

As a result, the Chairman valued him more and more, and he became the section chief of the Political Secretary's Office.

But even if he became a section chief, his revolutionary credentials were limited. He joined the revolution just before liberation, so his administrative rank was very low. In today's terms, he was only a section-level cadre, not even at the county or department level.

Many other section chiefs in the political secretariat's office are in this situation, and most of them are not even at the county or department level.

But the cadres He Zai had recruited were completely different. Some even came from the Red Army. They were incredibly experienced and high-ranking, with the lowest being county-level officials, and the majority being bureau-level officials. Therefore, in their daily work, they simply ignored these young people and reported any issues directly to He Zai.

Furthermore, with He Zai's adjustments, many of the existing cadres in the Political Secretary's Office began to waver. Besides this group of young intellectuals, the Political Secretary's Office also housed a number of veteran revolutionaries. They had been in the office for a long time, but their poor education gradually prevented them from keeping up with the demands of the central leadership. Therefore, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, they were reduced to simple tasks. The limelight was completely stolen by these young intellectuals.

Now that He Zai had arrived, they were all very happy, because He Zai, like them, was a veteran revolutionary.

He Zai was transferred to the Political Secretary's Office by Yang Shangkun himself.

In addition, He Zai's work style was very strict. He didn't give these young people face at all and frequently criticized their work. As a result, this contradiction had been accumulating and accumulating, and now it suddenly exploded.

These young cadres, recruited into the Political Secretary's Office at around 20 years old, had been working alongside the central leadership for years, and were quite arrogant. When He Zai criticized them, they believed he was "starting a new organization" and attempting to seize power.

They can't just sit and wait to die.

So the letter of complaint came directly to Wei Hongjun.

"Comrades, the Chairman has said that the most important way to resolve contradictions within the Party and among the people is through criticism and self-criticism. Some comrades have objections to Comrade He Zai's work. So let's be frank and open today. Feel free to raise any opinions. Let's see what the problem is and who is at fault."

"Let's start with the first point. Comrade He Zai, many cadres in the Political Secretary's Office believe that you are indifferent to the suffering of the masses. Previously, some unemployed workers or people who were persecuted and had no food or clothing were on the verge of suicide. They came to visit and asked to see the leadership. We reported it to the authorities, but you and the leaders of the General Office of the Central Committee never met with these petitioners. An old farmer named Yang from Yangjialing missed his life in Yan'an and visited several times hoping to see the leadership. The Chairman met with them once each time, but you and other leaders of the General Office of the Central Committee never met with them."

The issues that these cadres in the Political Secretary's Office responded to were certainly not the same as some of the local "big-character posters".

Write whatever you want.

These people are all writers, and they specialize in theory, so what they write goes straight to the point.

The first is to directly accuse people of not caring about the suffering of the people.

This hat can be large or small.

At the most basic level, it's bureaucracy, a violation of the central government's mass line. At the most basic level, it's a problem with work attitude.

He Zai is not very old, only 38 years old. Now facing such criticism, he directly said: "Secretary Wei, there are so many people who come to our office every day, and so many people who write to us every day. Do I have to receive them one by one? If I receive them one by one and handle them all personally, then I, the deputy director of the political secretary office, will have nothing to do all day long except this one thing."

"I'd like to ask those comrades who are accusing me: do you personally handle every situation like this? Secretary Wei, I disagree with this point. Secretary Wei receives so many letters every day. Does Secretary Wei have to open and read every one of them himself?"

Wei Hongjun listened to He Zai's words and couldn't help but look up at him.

This is a cadre with a hot temper.

This kind of personality shouldn't be in a central government agency. Wei Hongjun is now a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, directly managing the Secretariat, a legitimate Party and state leader. He Zai had the audacity to say this in front of Wei Hongjun. He was completely clueless.

But Wei Hongjun didn't say anything.