Chapter 14 Chapter Four: Big Snow and Green Pine—Before and After the "Seizure of Power" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Even Zhou Enlai, who had been at the center of political struggles for decades, was unprepared for this political storm that had intensified since the spring and summer of 1966, so that he often fell into a passive position. During the "Red Guards Movement", he confessed his heart more than once: I never dreamed that such a situation would happen, that such a large mass movement would be launched; Learn and work hard, but still can't keep up, and often fall behind and make mistakes.Of course, due to differences in experience, status, and personality, as the "No. 3" leader and Premier of the State Council, Zhou Enlai naturally had to be more cautious and reserved when speaking on various occasions.But he always insisted on one point, that is, to seek truth from facts and pay attention to policies.

For example, when slogans such as "bombard", "bombard" and "down" were flying all over the sky, Zhou Enlai never followed suit and echoed others' opinions. Instead, he repeatedly emphasized the consistent policy of the party, opposed to doubt everything, and overthrew everything.An important argument he used to persuade and persuade the Red Guards and rebels was that the achievements of various tasks under the leadership of the party in the 17 years before the "Cultural Revolution" were the main ones, and the shortcomings and mistakes were secondary. Therefore, it cannot be said that all Regions and all departments are "black lines", "gangsters", and there are "people in power taking the capitalist road".The various tasks he mentioned naturally include the diplomatic work when he and Chen Yi successively served as foreign ministers since the founding of the People's Republic of China.In the early days of the movement, Zhou Enlai’s first place to stay was a foreign language institute in Beijing; he had directly listened to the reports of Foreign Minister Chen Yi on the situation of the foreign affairs movement many times, and the instructions on the movement of the foreign affairs system were often given by Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi. Issued jointly by the two.

Marshal Chen Yi, the second Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, was bold and frank by nature, and his poetic interest remained undiminished after many years of military service.It is said that he is the only person among the senior leaders of the party who can feel free in front of Mao Zedong, and he is also one of Mao Zedong's few "poet friends".As the saying goes: Jiangshan is easy to change, but nature is hard to change.However, an unprecedented "Cultural Revolution" caused many people to change their course. They often "know what is right now and what was wrong yesterday" when they were in Qin and Muchu.In a sense, this "Great Revolution" is indeed a "baptism" that exposes people's souls.However, in the face of this "trend" in which those who follow are prosperous and those who go against them suffer, our Foreign Minister Chen Yi is "ignorant of current affairs". In fact, he would say a few words from his heart and pour some cold water on the people who were caught in the "revolutionary" frenzy.

By the autumn of 1966, after three consecutive mobilizations at the top of the party (i.e., the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in May, the 11th Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party in August, and the Central Work Conference in October), the "Cultural Revolution" finally spread throughout the country. Open, the situation of chaos in the world is imminent.At this time, Mr. Chen, who had a personal experience of "internal troubles will inevitably lead to foreign troubles", could no longer bear it. He ran around and spoke out, taking the lead in criticizing various wrong practices since the launch of the "Cultural Revolution" in the party and the army. .

With the guidance and support of the conspirators, it didn't take long for the capital Beijing to set off a wave of counterattacks against the "November Black Wind". Among them, Foreign Minister Chen Yi was the first to bear the brunt. As soon as the so-called counterattack against the "November Black Wind" started, Zhou Enlai immediately stood up and blocked the shells fired at Foreign Minister Chen Yi, trying his best to protect the old comrades who shared weal and woe.The following is part of Zhou Enlai's two conversations with representatives of the student organization of Beijing Foreign Studies University, from which we can get a glimpse of the "situation" at that time.

The first conversation was held at 7:00 pm on December 3, 1966, in the State Council Chamber.Before the official talk, the student representatives present at the meeting expressed their dissatisfaction with Liu Xinquan, the head of the working group dispatched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Foreign Affairs Court and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister (to a student): You are only in your 20s this year, and you have 40 years left to live to my age.Do you know what kind of "ghosts and snakes" you will encounter in the future?Why did you make Liu Xinquan so scary?

Student: Liu Xinquan is a counter-revolutionary revisionist. Prime Minister (shaking his head): It is not yet possible to draw such a conclusion. Student: We did it. Prime Minister: I haven't agreed yet. Student (dissatisfied): Then let's reserve our opinions! When it comes to the inability to carry out the movement in the colleges and universities of the foreign affairs system in Beijing, and the suppression of "leftist" students, the students said: Comrade Chen Yi should bear a lot of responsibility for this, he is always "peaceful"... Prime Minister: You say he is "harmonious", he is trying to unite everyone, he has a good heart!That is, sometimes talking "goes off".We have been together for decades, and this old comrade has indeed done a lot of work for the party and the revolution.

Student: He said that opposing Chairman Mao is not anti-Party, so he did it twice. After Chairman Mao came to power, he still united with him... Prime Minister: Opposing Chairman Mao is not a counter-revolution. If you mean the struggle within the party line, you can also say that. He didn’t explain the situation clearly.He talked about this issue in isolation. "Fire" is where it's at. Students: On November 13, he gave a speech to the students of military academies, which was broadcasted by many schools. The antagonism among the students immediately increased, and the big debate that had stopped for several months started again.

Prime Minister: Oh, it has such a big effect? Student: The students of the "majority faction" revealed that Chen Yi lied to them. He supported the "majority faction" when he met them, and said something different when he met the "minority faction"... Prime Minister: Mr. Chen has not met the "majority" alone. Student: He said that two or three inspections by the working group would be enough, and he also said that it was Chairman Mao who said it... Prime Minister (nodding): There is such a thing, it is about Comrade Li Xuefeng.Li Xuefeng's inspection was quite good. The chairman said, "Two or three inspections are enough."

Student: Chen Yi also talked about the discipline of the "majority" at the disbandment meeting of the Red Guards of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister: Are you so strict with Comrade Chen Yi?It sounds like you guys are prejudiced against him, and only focus on "little pigtails". Student: ...Anyway, Comrade Chen Yi's many speeches did not work well.He also said that Liu Xinquan was sent by me, Chen Yi, and I took half the responsibility. Prime Minister (nodding, satisfied): It is a responsible word.Liu Xinquan was sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Comrade Chen Yi was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Of course, he must bear part of the responsibility.This is good.

Student: He also said that in the future, if you are right, you will make a contribution, and if you are wrong, you will apologize to me. Prime Minister (affirmatively): I heard Comrade Chen Yi say this. At this time, the prime minister looked serious and raised his voice: I don't have time to talk more about Comrade Chen Yi today.But I want to tell you that he is a member of the Political Bureau of our Party Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.You can't turn him into "black words" for his momentary slip of the tongue and "go off the rails".You have to consider international and domestic influences.As for your understanding of Comrade Chen Yi's problem, you cannot impose it on me.I have been with him for decades, we manage diplomacy together, and we often report to the chairman together. I know this comrade, he will not tell lies. Student: He asked us not to hang on to the working group all the time, which shows that he didn't understand the Cultural Revolution very much. Prime Minister: So he may admit it.We also said that we don't understand! Student: He always emphasizes personal experience. Prime Minister: This is a good intention.Maybe the place and time are inappropriate, and I didn't make it clear.Of course, this is also the advantage of this comrade, he did not hide his views and blurted them out.He thought that he could help you with his own words, but what you need is not that kind of words. ... Finally, Zhou Enlai warned the student representatives present: Do not attack the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for any reason.If you want to rush, I will definitely intervene, and you will have to walk away in the end. Ten days later, from the evening of December 13 to the early morning of the next day, Zhou Enlai once again had a conversation with representatives of the Red Guards at the Beijing Foreign Studies University for five consecutive hours. The students present still clung to Chen Yi's "problem", in fact forcing the Prime Minister to let go of the issue. , Express your opinion.Here are some passages from the final conclusion of the conversation between the two sides: Student (aggressively): We believe that the key to the foreign affairs issue now lies in nothing else, but in those in power within the party who are taking the capitalist road.For example, the problem of the working group is far from being resolved, and there are still people who stubbornly adhere to the bourgeois reactionary line. Chen Yi has not yet conducted an inspection and still insists on his previous views; Very welcome.In short, the resistance of the Cultural Revolution came from Chen Yi, so Chen Yi must be thoroughly criticized, otherwise the bourgeois reactionary line will not be defeated! Prime Minister: I am not going to talk about this matter with you today, I will talk about it later.You can't push me.You sent a large stack of things (Note: During the interview on December 13, the student representatives of the Outer Academy asked Zhou Enlai to forward the materials about Chen Yi's "problems" to the Central Committee), and I haven't read them yet.Let me figure out the material first... Student (interrupted): Prime Minister, you have to understand our feelings! Prime Minister (angrily): Tell me, I have been listening, patiently!But you can't always ask me to answer your questions right away. ...I can understand your feelings.But you attribute all problems to one person, which is not looking at the problem dialectically.The development of sports is wave-like, and it cannot always be "in full swing", and it will be happy if big things happen every day.I told you in the past that I never dreamed of such a big situation; maybe you have thought of it, and you have a great foresight!The development of things often exceeds our expectations, including various actions, and it is impossible not to make mistakes.The problem is that you have made a mistake, and once you realize it, you must immediately admit it and correct it.I'm telling you the truth.So, while I understand your emotions, please understand our emotions.In short, I didn't want to answer Comrade Chen Yi's question today, and I lost my temper so much, I'm sorry! After all, Zhou Enlai exited. While Zhou Enlai was earnestly speaking and using his body as a shield, some people's speeches were quite different from what Zhou Enlai said.On the same day (December 13) when Zhou Enlai met with the student representatives of Beijing Foreign Studies University for the second time, Jiang Qing came to the west gate of Zhongnanhai to "report the good news" to an editorial for the "Red Flag" magazine. ", in fact, let the leaders come out to meet and give a speech in order to gain the support of the "central head", which was common in Beijing at that time) the Red Guards made a speech, declaring: "Your rebellious spirit is very good, you are ours. Revolutionary comrades-in-arms, you are our young revolutionary generals; young revolutionary generals must be brave, and they must not be afraid of a small group of people who are taking the capitalist road!" She also urged: "Don't be afraid, you must have a strong bone", "We are heart-to-heart Yes, let's fire together against the bourgeois reactionary line!" The words of this powerful first deputy head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group (Note: Whenever Chen Boda, the head of the group, complains of illness, she becomes the "acting group leader"), these words at this time and place are by no means whim, casual I am just joking.In fact, when her "thoroughly criticize the bourgeois reactionary line" was repeatedly blocked, she publicly showed the sign of "backstage boss" to the Red Guards and rebels, and incited the naive "revolutionary young generals" to charge ahead!She knew that her speech would appear in the streets and alleys of Beijing under the title "Important Instructions of the Heads of the Central Committee" that day, and then spread throughout the country.At the same time, she also prepared all kinds of "hats" and "sticks": Do you want to discourage and guide these young students?That is to "set the frame and pour cold water on the revolutionary spirit of the young generals"; do you want to stop the chaos?That is "stubbornly implementing the bourgeois reactionary line", "suppressing the mass movement"... Especially for the speeches made by Chen Yi and other veterans in November, the Central Cultural Revolution group had long been dissatisfied and waited for an opportunity to counterattack.Jiang Qing once "set the tone" at a meeting of the Central Cultural Revolution: "These interviews by the troops are to suppress the masses!" Immediately afterwards, other important officials of the Central Cultural Revolution immediately responded to their masters on different occasions: "The masses have risen, some people want to suppress the masses!" It cannot be suppressed”; “You can’t pour cold water on the mass movement, and you can’t criticize it”; “The speeches (of the veterans) are wrong, and you must go to the masses to review and receive education from the masses” and so on. Under the "guidance" of the bosses in the background, various rebel organizations in Beijing heard the news and responded one after another.Including the rebels in the army, they also played the signboard of "criticizing the bourgeois reactionary line".The wave of counterattacking the "November Black Wind" was fierce and impacted the entire Beijing city. In early January 1967, the rebels in the army, behind Zhou Enlai and the Central Military Commission, decided without authorization to hold a "Congress to Expose, Accuse, and Criticize the Bourgeois Reactionary Line" on January 5.The "preparatory office" of the conference named Chen Yi and Ye Jianying to attend the conference to "receive education".Just the day before the meeting, Zhou Enlai personally dissuaded him, pointing out that the rebels in the army directed their criticism at Chen Yi and Ye Jianying, the two vice chairmen of the Military Commission, "in the wrong direction."Taking Chen and Ye as representatives of the bourgeois reactionary line in the entire army "is not realistic."He also made it clear that he "does not approve" of holding such a meeting, and does not intend to participate in such a meeting, "because it is not good for the whole army and the target of the attack is wrong." In this way, under the protection of Zhou Enlai, the momentum of criticizing Chen Yi and counterattacking the "November Black Wind" from the diplomatic and military systems that lasted for a month had to weaken; The party members also began to change their faces, "declaring their views" on different occasions, calling the two vice-chairmen Chen Yi and Ye Jianying "members of Chairman Mao's headquarters", and so on. However, the matter did not end there...