Chapter 29 Chapter 28: Hidden Crisis

An open and secret struggle was going on fiercely within the "Central Cultural Revolution".The power of the deputy group, Jiang Qing, is rapidly expanding. Jiang Qing formed a united front with his advisor Kang Sheng.The special status of Jiang Qing's "First Lady" made her confident and fearless. When Chen Boda recovered from his illness and was discharged from the hospital, he found that "the real power of the "Central Cultural Revolution" had been "represented" by Jiang Qing. Besides Jiang Qing, that "consultant" had also been coveting the power of the "Central Cultural Revolution".

※ ※ ※ Since becoming the No. 5 figure in the Communist Party of China, Chen Boda has become famous.Letters written "Received by Chen Boda, Head of the Central Cultural Revolution Team" flooded in from all over the country.According to Chen Boda's secretary, he received a sack of letters almost every day!Chen Boda has never been so "popular" before... At this time, Chen Boda had two secretaries... Wang Baochun and Wang Wenyao. Wang Baochun served as the confidential secretary and also served as the leader of the "Chen Ban" party group.He joined the Party in 1947 and worked as a confidential secretary in the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. When Chen Boda's wife Liu Shuyan gave birth in 1960, he was transferred to work as a secretary.

In the second half of 1965, Wang Wenyao was transferred to Chen Boda as a secretary. The two "kings" have never been so busy: one "king" is guarding four telephones, making phone records at any time, watching documents, telegrams, and letters; the other "king" has to follow Chen Boda, sometimes Diaoyutai, sometimes Zhongnanhai, sometimes the Great Hall of the People, sometimes colleges and universities. The driver Yu Ziyun is in a state of "always ready".Chen Boda ordered the car to be dispatched at any time, day or night. After the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, all members of the Central Cultural Revolution Group attended the meetings of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.Such a "group" is expanding its power infinitely, replacing the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.Chen Boda, the "group leader", holds great power and is full of ambitions. He is different from others in that he still verbally calls himself "little common people" and "ordinary common people" to cover up his vigorous political ambitions.

Chen Boda became China's "Public Opinion Manager".After he led the working group to the "People's Daily", he worked there for a month. In order to concentrate on drafting the "Sixteen Articles", he handed over the "People's Daily" to Tang Pingzhu, acting editor-in-chief.He is the editor-in-chief of "Red Flag".At this time, he handed "Red Flag" to Guan Feng.As the "General Manager of Public Opinion", he manages People's Daily, Red Flag, Xinhua News Agency, and the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China...

Chen Boda's letter to Mao Zedong on August 13, 1966, which is still in the archives, shows how lenient Chen Boda was at that time.It can be seen that he is the veritable leader of the "Central Cultural Revolution" group, and he reports directly to Mao Zedong, and he is responsible to Mao Zedong. Chen Boda was in his "heyday". However, he has his worries.He talks about "little common people" all day long, just to show that he has no desire for power—even though his ambition is not small, and his desire for power is not small. An open and secret struggle was going on fiercely within the "Central Cultural Revolution".

The power of the deputy group, Jiang Qing, is rapidly expanding.Jiang Qing formed a united front with his advisor Kang Sheng.The special status of Jiang Qing's "First Lady" made her confident and fearless. Chen Boda knew very well that Jiang Qing should not be messed with.Originally, Jiang Qing was only one of the four deputy team leaders, and was not called the "first deputy team leader"—— ——Among the four deputy team leaders, she is ranked first.When the "Central Cultural Revolution" first "appeared" among the masses, someone pointed to Jiang Qing and introduced: "Comrade Jiang Qing is the first deputy head of the 'Central Cultural Revolution'." Since then, the title of "first deputy head" has been passed down. Opening it seems to have become her official job.

Jiang Qing was not satisfied with being the "first deputy team leader".Chen Boda knew what it meant. In late August 1966, Chen Boda suffered from pneumonia and had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, and was admitted to Beijing 301 Hospital.After Chen Boda proposed to Mao Zedong, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice on August 30, 1966: "During Comrade Chen Boda's sick leave or when he is away from Beijing, Comrade Jiang Qing will act as the head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group." The influence of the "Central Cultural Revolution" has expanded.When Chen Boda recovered and was discharged from the hospital, he found that "the real power of the "Central Cultural Revolution" had been "represented" by Jiang Qing! Chen Boda once recalled:

Not long after Chairman Mao inspected the Red Guards for the first time, I fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. Jiang Qing, of course, acted as the team leader.When Chairman Mao inspected the Red Guards again, Jiang Qing gave a speech. Since then, she has been domineering in the group.I put forward some opinions to the people who went to see me in the hospital, which greatly offended Jiang Qing.When my illness did not improve, Jiang Qing asked Guan Feng to go and get me out of the hospital.I already knew that this woman was difficult to deal with, so I decided to leave the hospital.Leaving aside Jiang Qing, I approached Wang Li, Guan Feng, and Qi Benyu to draft a document to be sent to the Central Committee, confirming that the Central Cultural Revolution Group was a working organization directly under the Central Political Bureau.The meaning is: the words and deeds of the central cultural revolution must be consulted with the central government, and cannot be decided without authorization.This will make Jiang Qing restrained.Before the meeting was over, someone might have leaked it to Jiang Qing. Jiang Qing came and made a big fuss.I don't remember what she added now, but she said, "My sentence is the most important." Since then, the Cultural Revolution Group has not held separate meetings.Chairman Mao instructed: In the future, the meeting will be presided over by Premier Zhou, and it will be called the Central Cultural Revolution Meeting.

In addition to Jiang Qing, that "advisor" has also been coveting the power of the "Central Cultural Revolution". "Consultant" Kang Sheng initially started on the same starting line as Chen Boda. They were "classmates" of Shanghai University in the 1920s.However, Kang Sheng was better at making money than him, so his status in the party soon surpassed him.During the rectification movement in Yan'an, Kang Sheng was Chen Boda's boss. When the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in 1945, Kang Sheng was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and ranked 17th, while Chen Boda was only an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and ranked 47th.Since then, Chen Boda surpassed Kang Sheng at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China by relying on "following Mao Zedong".At that time, Chen Boda and Kang Sheng became alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at the same time, and Chen Boda's name was ranked just before Kang Sheng!

Chen Boda and Kang Sheng were both "big scholars" and "theoreticians" of the CCP. They had worked together for many years and were at odds with each other. When it came to writing, Chen Boda was better than Kang Sheng. Kang Sheng was a man who spoke but didn't write. Therefore, he is known as a "theoretician", and his "theoretical works" are very few, while Chen Boda is clumsy in eloquence and good at writing. Therefore, from the drafting of the common program, the constitution, the resolution on mutual assistance and cooperation in agricultural production, the sixty articles of the people's communes, and the "International Communist Movement" "Twenty-five Articles", "Twenty-Three Articles" of the Socialist Education Movement up to the "May 16th Notice" and "Sixteen Articles" were all written by him or participated in the writing. Chen and Kang each had their own way of dealing with power, but After all, Chen Boda was not as good as Kang Sheng.

Kang Sheng often sneered at Chen Boda.When Chen Boda became the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kang Sheng said in a sarcastic tone: "What kind of president can Chen Boda be? He is only worthy of being the president of the 'Oolong Yard'!" "Oolong Yard" is also a brothel! In the "Central Cultural Revolution", having such a "first deputy team leader" and "advisor" made Chen Boda quite difficult. Zhang Chunqiao, the deputy team leader, was Jiang Qing's confidant, and Yao Wenyuan was "supported" by Jiang Qing, and he obeyed Jiang Qing's words. Wang Li, Guan Feng, and Qi Benyu were all members of the editorial department of "Red Flag" magazine, and they were originally three generals under Chen Boda.After Tian Jiaying's unjust death, Qi Benyu replaced Tian Jiaying and became Jiang Qing's confidant.Both Wang Li and Guan Feng are also good at "playing by ear". When Chen Boda became famous as the head of the "Central Cultural Revolution", the axis of the "Central Cultural Revolution" had gradually shifted to Jiang Qing.The crisis has been hidden, but he is at the peak of politics, the hidden crisis has not yet been revealed publicly, and he himself has realized the hidden danger... As the "team leader", Chen Boda tried his best to suppress his position and led the "Central Cultural Revolution" to charge forward --- because Liu and Deng were only criticized on the issue of dispatching a working group, and they did not completely collapse.