Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wei Hongjun was deeply troubled by students like Lin Xiling. China had finally managed to stabilize after the "Secret Report" and the "Polish-Hungarian Incident," and the Ninth National Congress had been a complete success. It could be said that everything was moving in a positive direction.

At this time, a student with considerable influence suddenly appeared and caused this kind of incident.

How could Wei Hongjun not be angry? Unexpectedly, He Zai was now involved in Lin Xiling's problem.

"Secretary Wei, we have never met Lin Xiling. Let alone supported her in the name of the Central Office leaders."

Wang Wen, the branch secretary of the Political Secretary's Office, also spoke immediately.

Lin Xiling’s issue is very sensitive now.

Given Lin Xiling's situation, obtaining the original text of the "Secret Report" was no easy task. Hearing about some of the contents of the "Secret Report" was entirely possible, but possessing the complete original text of Khrushchev's "Secret Report" was no small matter.

In particular, the original text of the "Secret Report" in Lin Xiling's hands was the original text of the report translated by the Central Translation Group.

This is no longer an ordinary serious incident.

There are several versions of the "secret report" circulating in the country. No matter which version Lin Xiling has, the problem will not be so serious. The only thing that is abnormal is that she has the original report translated by the Central Translation Group.

The original translation of this Central Committee report was not available to Party cadres except those of a certain rank. This was because the Central Committee prohibited the original text of this "secret report" from circulating within the Party. Consequently, many local deputy provincial-level officials had never seen the original "secret report," let alone non-Party university students like Lin Xiling.

What Wei Hongjun sent people to investigate was how the original text of this "secret report" came into Lin Xiling's hands.

He Zai and Wang Wen's Party ranks weren't high, but their positions were important, allowing them access to the original text of the "Secret Report." They could directly refute and defend other issues, but they couldn't afford to be careless on this one.

Contacting Lin Xiling would be a major event that would affect one's political life.

"Then how many times did Lin Xiling talk about the support of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee leaders at Renmin University?"

Lin Ke would not let this matter go.

Wei Hongjun said, "Comrade Lin Ke, you can't make random statements without absolute evidence."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun sorted out all the arguments from the meeting, and slowly formed some thoughts. So, he said, "Comrades, everyone has spoken freely and well today. Everyone has expressed their thoughts. I understand the specifics. Please wait a few days, and I will give you an explanation. Comrade Yang Shangkun, Comrade Tian Jiaying, you two will stay."

After everyone left, Wei Hongjun said, "You two should talk too."

Wei Hongjun looked at Yang Shangkun.

Yang Shangkun then spoke up, "The problem that occurred this time is ultimately an internal management issue. Although New China has been established, the Political Secretary's Office has not yet been fully formalized and still continues to follow the practices of the war years. Therefore, how to manage the Political Secretary's Office has always been a major problem."

Said a lot of nonsense.

But he also said what he wanted to say.

Tian Jiaying was more cautious than Yang Shangkun. He said, "Secretary Wei, Comrade He Zai and his men are veteran revolutionaries who came from the war years. Many of us in the Political Secretary's Office are former students. Our working styles are inconsistent, so some conflicts are inevitable."

They all avoid the important issues.

But they are all correct.

Wei Hongjun said, "What you said makes sense. So I thought about it and felt that this matter cannot be left unattended. The Political Secretary's Office serves the central leadership. The nature of its work is quite special, so stability is essential. Therefore, I believe that the Political Secretary's Office should have two types of cadres: one is the secretaries and backup secretaries of the central leadership, and the other is the staff of the Political Secretary's Office."

"Secretaries and alternate secretaries to central leaders must hold a rank and position within the Political Secretary's Office. However, their primary job is to serve as secretaries to the leaders, so they require the presence of Party cadres. The Political Secretary's Office isn't just for secretaries to leaders; it also provides all central leaders with the necessary information. And the task of organizing this information falls to Party cadres."

"We must define the division of labor between the two types of cadres and not confuse their powers and responsibilities. Comrade Yang Shangkun and Comrade Tian Jiaying, go back and make a detailed plan for the rectification of the Political Secretary Office. For each position and each type of cadre,"

"As for Comrades He Zai and Wang Wen, my suggestion is to transfer them out of the Political Secretary's Office. The Central Committee has repeatedly reiterated that the 'Secret Report' is not to be disseminated or discussed. As important cadres in the Political Secretary's Office, this is a violation of discipline and cannot be tolerated. However, I think they have good work abilities, so we shouldn't condemn them all at once. Give them a position that suits their work. Comrades Yang Shangkun and Tian Jiaying, please discuss and submit a list of cadres to replace them for review."

Originally, the General Office of the Central Committee could decide on the cadre adjustments in the Political Secretary's Office.

Wei Hongjun will not interfere.

But since they have made things so serious, Wei Hongjun has to directly intervene in the appointment of cadres.

"As for the young cadres in the Political Secretary's Office, they are all too proud and need a lesson. They need to learn to respect their leaders and veteran comrades. They are still young, and if they don't understand the importance of things, they will fall flat on their face in the future. Some of them need to be trained at the grassroots level."

It can be said that these people in the Political Secretary's Office are all very talented.

But it is precisely because their starting point is too high.

He joined the Central Political Secretary's Office right after starting work and quickly stood out for his talent. Then, because he was close to the Chairman and other central leaders, they all had a high opinion of themselves.

It started to swell up quite a bit.

Later, most people fell into trouble.

In fact, in the eyes of the central leaders, they were nothing. They were different from Chen Boda, Ye Zilong, Hu Qiaomu, and Tian Jiaying. They were the chairman's full-time political secretaries, confidential secretaries, personal secretaries, and security secretaries.

Qi Benyu and others are not the chairman's full-time secretaries.

When the Chairman needed him, he would follow him and serve as his temporary secretary. After the work was done, he would return to the Political Secretary's Office. Therefore, he was not on the same level as Hu Qiaomu, Tian Jiaying, and others.

It's like when the Chairman came to Lin Ke for something, only to find out that Lin Ke had already been isolated and investigated by the General Office of the Central Committee. This also shows the difference between full-time secretaries and secretaries like Qi Benyu and Lin Ke.

If it were Hu Qiaomu or Tian Jiaying, not only the General Office of the Central Committee, but even the Secretariat would not have handled it casually. They would have to consult the Chairman first. Wei Hongjun still felt a little sorry for the talent of these young people in the Political Secretary's Office.

So I want to give them a way out.

These individuals possess talent and theoretical knowledge. Having worked alongside central leadership for many years, they possess a broad perspective on matters. If they can hone their skills at the grassroots level and integrate theory with practice, they may achieve considerable success in the future. Of course, if they aim too high and fail to connect theory with practice, they will likely not achieve much.

"Secretary Wei, you mean to give the political secretarial office's office work to the office cadres, separate from the full-time secretarial cadres."

In fact, this is what Yang Shangkun thought.

He assigned He Zai to the Political Secretary's Office in order to separate power and responsibility. He Zai and his colleagues would be responsible for the office's internal affairs, while Qi Benyu and his colleagues would honestly serve as secretaries to the central leadership, helping them collect, review, and provide information.

It didn't work out.

The section chiefs of the Political Secretary's Office had teamed up to force He Zai out. With the situation in the Political Secretary's Office at this point, Wei Hongjun couldn't handle these section chiefs quickly, so he had no choice but to transfer He Zai.

But this left a very bad impression on Wei Hongjun.

So now Wei Hongjun's message is clear: the Political Secretary's Office must be rectified. We can't let the current secretaries of the leadership in the office be left alone, doing secretarial work for the leadership while also managing the office's work. They truly treat the Political Secretary's Office as their own private domain.

Wei Hongjun did not ask Tian Jiaying's opinion on this matter.

Wei Hongjun also indirectly expressed his dissatisfaction with Tianjiaying in this matter.

"You two should prepare the rectification plan first, and then I will take a look at it. Then the three of us will report to the chairman together."

After all, the Political Secretary's Office has always worked for the Chairman.

Rectification must be approved by the Chairman.

However, Wei Hongjun was not worried about this because the Chairman's personality meant he did not interfere with these matters.

"Secretary Wei, there's news from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. The results of Lin Xiling's investigation have come out."

"What's going on? Who leaked the original 'secret report' in her hands?"

This is what Wei Hongjun cares most about.

This is a leak.

Zhao Han said, "Comrade Cao Zhixiong leaked it."

"Who is he?"

Wei Hongjun frowned.

The person who could have leaked the original text of the "secret report" must have been a cadre of a certain rank. Wei Hongjun had just prepared for the Ninth National Congress and was well aware of all the cadres at or above the eighth and ninth administrative levels in the Party, government, and military departments across the country.

But Wei Hongjun had never heard of the name Cao Zhixiong. It was an unfamiliar name. Yang Shangkun, who was standing next to him, was very surprised and couldn't help but say, "Cao Zhixiong is the secretary of Comrade Hu Guoguang, the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League."

1010 Leak

"Comrade Hu Guoguang's secretary?"

Wei Hongjun was very surprised.

Wei Hongjun and Hu Guoguang weren't particularly familiar with each other. Although Hu Guoguang had also participated in the revolution in Jin-Cha-Ji and North China, he arrived there with students and teachers from the Anti-Japanese War, first in central Hebei and later in southern Shanxi. Wei Hongjun, on the other hand, remained in Chahar. Consequently, the two men had limited contact during the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation. After liberation, Wei Hongjun served in the State Council, while Hu Guoguang served in Sichuan. After being transferred to the Central Committee, they joined the Communist Youth League Central Committee. After Wei Hongjun assumed the position of First Secretary of the Secretariat, he failed to even reorganize key departments like the Organization Department and the Propaganda Department, let alone the Communist Youth League Central Committee.

Although not very familiar with him, Wei Hongjun knew that Hu Guoguang was a cadre highly regarded by the Chairman, Comrade Xiu Yang, and the Premier. At the just-concluded Ninth National Congress, Hu Guoguang had been elected a member of the Central Committee and appointed First Secretary of the Communist Youth League Central Committee.

Hu Guoguang is currently forty-one years old, about two months younger than Wei Hongjun. Among cadres of similar revolutionary seniority and rank, Hu Guoguang is considered the fastest rising officer. Many military officers at the corps level, including current commanders and political commissars of major military regions, are not even alternate members of the Central Committee. Zhang Zihua, Wei Hongjun's most capable general, was only an alternate member of the Central Committee at the Ninth National Congress. However, Hu Guoguang was only director of the Corps Political Department at the time of liberation, yet he was already a member of the Central Committee at the Ninth National Congress. This demonstrates how highly he was valued by the central leadership.

"Correct."

Yang Shangkun nodded.

Secretaries of central leaders are not chosen randomly.

All secretaries of central leaders must be approved by the Organization Department and the General Office of the Central Committee. Even secretaries recommended by central leaders themselves still need to be reviewed by the Organization Department and the General Office of the Central Committee.

This review is not a simple formality.

Instead, we should start with the historical issues. Not to mention that there are stains in history, even if there are some vague issues, they will not agree to be the secretary of the leader. Hu Guoguang is the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and his secretary also has to go through this process, so Yang Shangkun is familiar with Cao Zhixiong.

Wei Hongjun frowned. He didn't expect that Hu Guoguang would be involved in this leak.

Lin Xiling had been extremely active that year, even proposing a change in the socialist path after the 1956 Polish-Hungarian Incident. Her outrageous remarks prompted criticism and punishment from Renmin University of China. When news reached Hu Guoguang, he criticized the university's criticism as wrong and the punishment as arbitrary. Consequently, Renmin University of China rescinded its punishment of Lin Xiling.

It wasn't a big deal.

Hu Guoguang was in charge of the Communist Youth League Central Committee, and these young students were part of his purview. Criticizing Renmin University of China's work style and rescinding Lin Xiling's punishment was a piece of cake for Hu Guoguang, the first secretary of the Communist Youth League Central Committee.

So no one cares.

But now that Lin Xiling has spread the "secret report," and implicated Cao Zhixiong, this is no small matter. Leaking secrets from one's own secretary is a significant blow to the leader. Not to mention Hu Guoguang's previous actions, which, if taken too far, could even be considered "shielding" Lin Xiling.

Wei Hongjun asked, "What is the relationship between Cao Zhixiong and Lin Xiling? Why did he give the original 'secret report' to Lin Xiling?"

"We're dating."

Zhao Han told Wei Hongjun.

"Nonsense."

Wei Hongjun really couldn't control his temper.

What the hell.

It's normal for young men and women to date. We've all been in revolution for so many years, striving to build a peaceful new China, a country where young men and women can freely fall in love. Cao Zhixiong and Lin Xiling, one a secretary to the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League Central Committee, are both young and promising. The other a stunningly beautiful student at Renmin University of China, were a match made in heaven, a perfect match.

Once Lin Xiling starts working, the two of them getting married will definitely be a beautiful story.

The future of both of them will surely be bright.

But now?

This is a leak.

Cao Zhixiong's rank didn't qualify him to read the original text of the "secret report." But the reality was different. After all, he was the secretary of the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League Central Committee, so he would have seen some documents.

It's okay if you read it, but if you leak it to others, that's a big problem.