Chapter 39 Chapter 81

At 13:00 on September 12, 1971, Mao Zedong’s special train for the southern tour stopped at Fengtai Station in Beijing. After summoning several leaders of the Beijing Military Region on the special train, the special train arrived at Beijing Station at 16:05 pm.When he got off the train and took the car back to Zhongnanhai, looking at Chang'an Avenue and Tiananmen Square passing by outside the window, a kind of extreme fatigue filled his body and mind.This southern tour departed from Beijing on August 15th, first went to Wuhan, then to Changsha, then to Nanchang, and arrived in Hangzhou on September 8th. Everywhere he went, he took the party, government and army from several surrounding provinces to be responsible People are called to a meeting.This "traveling around the world" speech is mainly aimed at the inner-party struggle since the Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee last year.

The Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee held in Lushan in 1970 exposed the political ambitions of Lin Biao and Chen Boda. The acting is really very good.Their program was to establish a president of the country, and their theory was the so-called theory of genius, which exposed Lin Biao's eagerness to become the president of the country and his intention to seize power.For the first time, he was truly wary of his submissive successor for several years.Since he assumed power, he has never loosened his control over military power. When Lin Biao had a considerable amount of military power in his hands but showed signs of conspiracy, he had to adopt a series of deployments to prevent problems before they happened.Lin Biao is the successor he cultivated by himself. He serves as the vice chairman of the Communist Party. If he wants to weaken Lin Biao's political prestige and power in the upper echelons of the party, government and army, he can only personally come forward. Other political arrangements can be sent to do it. However, no one can replace Lin Biao, who has been written in the party constitution as his successor.He talked a lot along the way, practicing Marxism-Leninism instead of revisionism;He severely criticized Lin Biao's group: Ye Qun, Huang Yongsheng, Wu Faxian, Li Zuopeng, Qiu Huizuo.For Chen Boda, he was even more classified as a counter-revolutionary.Regarding Lin Biao himself, he only made more implicit criticisms, saying that Lin Biao was also responsible for the trend of conspiracy and split at the Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee. This was done to stabilize Lin Biao and stabilize the overall situation.

He has not yet fully seen Lin Biao's full true face. His current actions can be offensive or defensive.If Lin Biao's power was weakened to a certain extent, and Lin Biao would keep his own place in the future, then China's political situation would undoubtedly be more stable; if Lin Biao really plotted against the law, then this series of deployments also prepared for his final elimination.At first, Mao Zedong did not take the situation too seriously. Before leaving Beijing, he said to those who accompanied the southern tour: "Chen Boda walked in North China for dozens of days, lobbying everywhere. I also learned from Chen Boda and traveled around the world. , Lobby the princes from all walks of life.” In Wuhan, Changsha and Nanchang, he summoned the leaders of the party, government and military in various provinces and cities one after another, and he still talked with the calmness and generosity of ordering the world.However, after arriving in Hangzhou on September 8, he smelled an atmosphere of insecurity. When he arrived in Shanghai on September 10, he felt that "the mountain is about to come and the wind is overwhelming", and he even smelled a military coup.He was very vigilant immediately, personally arranged the driving route and parking place, left Shanghai in advance by surprise, and arrived in Fengtai via Nanjing, Bengbu, Xuzhou, Jinan, and Dezhou.The decision to meet several commanders and political commissars of the Beijing Military Region just now was made when he was passing through Dezhou. His experience in political struggle made him make arrangements for China's political and military structure in the most vigilant way.Now, seeing the peaceful scene on the streets of Beijing, the dangerous cloud hanging over the way home seems to have dissipated. In the slight jolt of the car, he felt the extreme fatigue of a 78-year-old man.

In the three or four days since he traveled from Hangzhou to Beijing, he has not slept for an hour. Like a tiger passing through the jungle, he feels that there are many cold arrows and black holes pointing at him. He does not dare to take it lightly.Now, back to my nest, it seems that I can relax my body and mind.After returning to his own residence in Zhongnanhai, he was particularly tired of the old and familiar layout, old items, and old atmosphere.Nurse Li Xiuzhi assisted him to sit down on the sofa. He leaned back on the sofa and stretched his legs, feeling as if all the joints in his body had collapsed. The two arms resting on the armrests of the sofa were heavy. It was heavy, and the outstretched legs were also heavy, as if I lacked the strength to move them.It was almost evening, and the room was a little dark, Li Xiuzhi asked in a low voice, "Do you want to turn on the light?" He closed his eyes and leaned on the back of the sofa and shook his head slightly.He wanted to rest quietly for a while in the dark atmosphere he was familiar with.

Wang Dongxing, director of the General Office of the Central Committee who had been accompanying him on his southern tour, walked in and leaned over to report to him: "Just now I talked to Premier Zhou on the phone on the special train and reported that you have arrived in Fengtai and will soon enter Beijing. Premier Zhou was at that time Surprised, he didn't expect you to come back so soon, and asked why the plan was changed?" Mao Zedong closed his eyes and shook his head with a teasing smile.Wang Dongxing went on to say: "I told the Prime Minister that there was a situation, so I changed the plan, and we will discuss the details after meeting. The Prime Minister said that you will report to him as soon as you arrive. If you need him to come, he will come right away." Mao Zedong was still lying on the sofa He closed his eyes and rested his mind. At this time, he raised his hand slightly and waved it. Wang Dongxing said: "Then you can rest for a while. I will report to the Prime Minister that you have rested." When Wang Dongxing left, Mao Zedong felt like he was stranded on the beach. A large whale, like an aircraft carrier stranded on the beach, lay motionless, also like a huge floating cloud, floating lazily in the evening sky.It's hard for a person to imagine what he's doing when he's cocky when he's physically and mentally exhausted. Fortunately, everything has been arranged, so he can rest assured that he can temporarily rest here.He knew that after the extreme fatigue passed, people's emotions would change again, and at that time, they could understand what they were doing when they were arrogant.

The room is gradually getting dark, and I feel that this old house is very comfortable. I think of my hometown in Shaoshan, Hunan, and that old house is still floating around me like a dream boat.The house is made of wood. It is on a small hillside. The hillside is not a hillside. It is a highland in the village. There are bamboos in the front and back of the house, and there is a pond in the distance. There are roads and fields outside the pond.The house is surrounded by a small open space on three sides. The house is very dark, with mud floor and little light. When I ran around the house when I was a child, I thought it was like a maze. You can hide and hide in it. It is a game of cats and mice. world.When I slept in that old house, I could hear mice barking, snakes climbing the beams, cats walking at night, dogs barking in the distance, and smells of ponds, rice fields and trees in the dark. Floating in, weaving into an indescribable dream.Now, he still remembers the smell of that old house, the heavy smell of earth, the smell of heavy wood, and the smell of straw piled up in the yard soaked and rotted by rain.It's the turn of the rainy day, standing in the dark room, leaning on the doorpost and looking out, the rain and fog are vast, the bamboos are crooked, and the man in the straw hat is leading the cow to the field or to the village in the distance. Swaying in the rain and fog, smoke rose from one or two chimneys.I just walked out of this old house to create various new trends, went to Jinggang Mountain, and went through the 25,000-mile Long March to revolutionize all the way to Beijing.

Now, the house in Zhongnanhai has become his old house again, and there is also a familiar smell wafting here.It used to be the royal garden of the Qing Dynasty. He lived here for a long time, was infected by the summit meeting of the Communist Party he convened, was walked back and forth by the nurses and guards around him, and was also cultivated by the books he piled up. It has a sense of Mao Zedong. odor.He finds comfort in the smell. In the dimness, someone put down a water basin at his feet, and then his feet were lifted up one by one, his shoes and socks were taken off, and he was immersed in warm water.In the swaying drowsiness, he still knew how to cooperate with his feet to test the water temperature, sinking his two plump and tired feet into the hot water, sinking there to the bottom, letting a pair of supple hands scrub them in the water, massage them watching them.Since he marched and fought in the Red Army, he has developed the habit of ironing his feet every night. Now, this kind of washing and massage has become an indispensable subject for his self-cultivation.The two feet are like two submarines lying in the water, and like two big sharks sleeping in the water when they are full and have nothing to do. A comfortable feeling comes from the soles of the feet with warmth, and it is pushing back the whole body The fatigue of the whole body is aggravating the fatigue of the whole body. The stranded aircraft carrier is lying on the beach even more weakly, and the dark clouds floating in the sky are floating more intoxicated.Faintly heard Li Xiuzhi asking: "Chairman, do you want to eat something?"

He shook his head slightly, knowing that Li Xiuzhi couldn't see his expression at all in such darkness, but felt the answer on his feet through his body.Li Xiuzhi said that after taking care of his feet for a long time, he developed feelings for him. At this moment, after taking a bath and massage in a state of extreme fatigue, he felt that he also had feelings for those supple hands.He suddenly discovered that he had become a person who needed more and more care. He had fought all his life and been a hero for a long time, but in the end he lay down, just a poor man. The feet were washed, scalded and massaged for a long time, almost as long as the 25,000-mile Long March and this southern tour. After the feet were soothed, they put on a pair of dry and clean socks and soft slippers, and they were pressed heavily again. put it on the ground.Those flexible little hands raised his head, and placed a soft pillow under the back of his neck, and he relaxed his whole body even more flutteringly.

This time, he fell into a deep sleep, with saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth, and his soft little hands gently wiped the corners of his mouth with a towel.Just as he was about to wake up from the floating trance, he felt that the light in the room was turned on. Although the light was not very strong, it also reminded him to make new arrangements for him.Sure enough, Li Xiuzhi's cautious voice sounded in his ears: "Premier Zhou and Director Wang are here. They have something important to report to you urgently." Mao Zedong slowly opened his eyes and looked at the spacious room. The layout, everything was exactly the same as before the southern tour. Under the dim light, sofas, curtains, tables, chairs, and purple wooden doors were all waiting for him at first sight.Li Xiuzhi was bending over and standing beside her like a rainbow.With her support, he sat up, Li Xiuzhi pulled out the small pillow from under his neck, put it on his waist, and asked in a low voice, "Shall I invite them in?" Mao Zedong blinked to wake himself up, and clicked nodded.Li Xiuzhi wiped the corners of his mouth and eyes lightly with a wet towel, and he simply took the towel and wiped his entire face. He woke up from the wetness and cold, then stretched out his hand, and Li Xiuzhi smoked a cigarette Put it in his hand, lit a match for him, and spit out a puff of smoke.

He waved his hand, and Li Xiuzhi hurried out. After a while, Zhou Enlai walked in with a serious expression, and behind him was Wang Dongxing, the director of the General Office of the Central Committee with an honest and majestic expression. The two sat down on the sofa, one on the left and the other on the right.Zhou Enlai's first sentence was: "I just received a report that Lin Biao fled from Shanhaiguan by plane. Ye Qun and Lin Liguo were also on the same plane." Mao Zedong woke up suddenly. This was extremely shocking news. After pondering for a few seconds, he smoked a cigarette and asked, "Is the situation true?" Zhou Enlai raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and said affirmatively, "The situation is true. Lin Biao, Ye Qun, and Lin Liguo took a Trident plane from Shanhaiguan Airport. It took off at 00:32, and it took off in a hurry, without enough fuel and forced to take off, the navigator and the co-pilot did not have time to board the plane, Lin Biao's hat and Ye Qun's scarf fell on the tarmac." Mao Zedong heard Then he understood, and he said: "It seems that he fled in a hurry." Zhou Enlai looked at him with piercing eyes and said, "Yes, the plane is flying north, and it may have entered Inner Mongolia now." Mao Zedong looked at the large plane on the wall. By the wall clock, it was already 1:00 a.m. on September 13th.At this moment, another person ran in to report: "Premier Zhou, Director Wang, and Wu Faxian called from the Xijiao Airport." Wang Dongxing stood up and said, "I'll pick it up." In a room, tens of meters away, Wang Dongxing's heavy and hurried running sound was heard.Zhou Enlai said: "I sent someone to accompany Wu Faxian to the Xijiao Airport. Let him control the airspace of the whole country, and at the same time monitor him." Mao Zedong squinted his eyes and nodded.No matter how big the matter is, it will be normal when it comes to the present. Everything depends on the development of the situation.

Wang Dongxing ran back and said, "Wu Faxian called from Xijiao Airport, saying that Lin Biao's special plane had taken off for more than 30 minutes and was flying north. It was about to leave Hebei from Zhangjiakou and enter Inner Mongolia. Wu Faxian asked for instructions. Don’t send attack planes to intercept? I have already told Wu Faxian to ask Chairman Mao not to leave.” Zhou Enlai and Wang Dongxing stared at Mao Zedong intently. Chairman, it’s going to rain, and my mother is going to get married, so don’t stop him, let him go.” Wang Dongxing immediately said, “I’ll go and tell Wu Faxian and tell him not to send planes to intercept him.” After a long period of time, Wang Dongxing came back and reported to Mao Zedong: "The plane has flown out of the border." Mao Zedong looked at the wall clock on the wall, and Zhou Enlai also raised his wrist to look at the watch. The time was already 1:15 am on September 13. Mao Zedong's sleepiness stopped, and he immediately entered into urgent discussions with Zhou Enlai and Wang Dongxing.Mao Zedong briefly told Zhou Enlai about the situation after the southern tour to Hangzhou, and talked about his temporary change of plan and the deployment of returning to Beijing ahead of schedule. Zhou Enlai nodded repeatedly and said: "Chairman is wise, chairman is sharp, otherwise, he may be murdered by them. Lin Biao's escape showed that they were planning a counter-revolutionary coup." Mao Zedong nodded slightly. There have been many dangerous moments in his life, but every time he was saved from danger like a ghost, and he once again felt that he was blessed by the gods.The problem before us was very urgent. Lin Biao must have flown to the Soviet Union, and social-imperialism would definitely take advantage of this opportunity. Therefore, a series of emergency arrangements were necessary: ​​blockade of the national airspace, the entire army into a state of first-level emergency combat readiness, Immediately convene an emergency meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, dispatch troops and generals, and monitor Lin Biao and his group of Liberation Army Chief of Staff Huang Yongsheng, Air Force Commander Wu Faxian, Navy Commander Li Zuopeng, PLA General Logistics Minister Qiu Huizuo, and a series of minions.At around 3 o'clock in the morning, the Air Force Command called again, reporting that a helicopter flew away from Beijing Shahe Airport, and that Lin Liguo's minion Zhou Yuchi and others were on board.When Wang Dongxing ran back from the duty room to report, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai said almost at the same time: "Give the order that the Air Force send planes to intercept." The night passed in sleepless tension. The next day, on the morning of September 14, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee convened an emergency meeting in the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Zhou Enlai presided over the meeting, informed everyone of the important situation of Lin Biao's escape, and discussed a series of important decisions.Mao Zedong was resting in the Beijing Hall of the Great Hall of the People, ready to deal with the most urgent situation at any time, and the army across the country has been put on alert.At noon, Wang Dongxing walked into the Beijing Hall out of breath and reported to Mao Zedong: "Premier Zhou asked me to report to you. Just now, at 12:20, the Chinese ambassador to Mongolia reported to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that a Chinese jet plane was in Mongolia. There was an accident.” Mao Zedong sat up from the sofa, opened his eyes wide and asked: “What else is going on?” Wang Dongxing replied: “At 8:30 this morning in Ulaanbaatar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Mongolian People’s Republic called China. The embassy, ​​their foreign ministers are going to meet with our ambassador to report on the crash of a Chinese jet plane in Mongolia.” Mao Zedong obviously couldn’t believe this result, he asked: “Is this news reliable? It fell to the ground, did it run out of fuel, or did you misread the airport?” Wang Dongxing said to Mao Zedong: “It’s unclear what happened to the plane, and our ambassador is going to investigate on the spot. Why did it fall down?" Mao Zedong asked again with concern: "Is there anyone alive on the plane?" Wang Dongxing said: "Probably not, but the current situation is not clear, and it needs to be reported." Mao Zedong breathed a sigh of relief, he sat down on the sofa, nodded, and Wang Dongxing withdrew.The situation is obviously not as serious as imagined. Now that Lin Biao and Ye Qun have fallen to their deaths, the danger of this group of people wanting to join the Soviet Union in launching a military strike against China will no longer exist for the time being. There was a relatively sufficient period of time to make adjustments to the domestic political and military power structures, to wipe out all the remnants of Lin Biao's party, and to eliminate all hidden dangers. Once everything was settled, even if Lin Biao's escape was announced to the whole world, no external forces would have anything to take advantage of.For the next series of political and military arrangements, Mao Zedong felt relatively calm.He knew that Zhou Enlai would preside over the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee well, and he also knew that Zhou Enlai would ask him for instructions as soon as the meeting was over. He was already well prepared for the next round of political struggle in China.When the worst of the situation was over, extreme fatigue struck him again, and he sat heavily on the sofa, his thoughts hazy.When Zhou Enlai and others were busy dealing with the political situation urgently, what he thought of was that after more than five years of the Cultural Revolution initiated by himself, this unjustifiable result appeared. The door opened, and Zhou Enlai led Kang Sheng, Jiang Qing, and Zhang Chunqiao in. Mao Zedong nodded and motioned them to sit down. The emergency meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee had just ended, and Zhou Enlai gave him a concise report. He listened and nodded slightly from time to time. Zhou Enlai is very capable, and he handles all matters large and small very properly, and he has enough peace of mind about all these.After listening to Zhou Enlai's report, he added two more instructions: "Give Huang Yongsheng, Wu Faxian, Li Zuopeng, and Qiu Hui ten days to watch them and ask them to confess and try to be lenient. Old comrades are allowed to make mistakes. It is allowed to correct the mistakes, and it is enough to confess." Zhou Enlai nodded and took notes, and Mao Zedong looked around the people present and said: "We must quickly sort out the criminal evidence of Lin Biao's counter-revolutionary clique, and make an explanation to the whole party, the whole army, and the people of the whole country." Zhou Enlai nodded immediately, and Kang Sheng, Zhang Chunqiao, and Jiang Qing all sat leaning forward, staring at Mao Zedong intently.Mao Zedong saw loyalty in their expressions, and he also saw a trace of excited fighting spirit: since the Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee, they have been fighting against Lin Biao and Ye Qun. Now that Lin Biao has collapsed, this is a day they want to celebrate. good thing.Thinking of this, Mao Zedong felt bored: it seemed that the children still wanted to fight, but the parents were already tired; they were just fighting for themselves, and no one really thought about him.When Lin Biao's Trident plane crashed in the Mongolian People's Republic, he was probably the only one who suffered a heavy blow. He personally launched the Cultural Revolution and appointed his successor. His theories, wisdom, judgment, and deeds in history will all cast a heavy shadow because of Lin Biao's defection.When these people were fighting high and ready to charge, what he felt was his old age and exhaustion. When Zhou Enlai, Kang Sheng, Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao and others got up to leave after reporting, he was also about to stand up, but he did not stand up while supporting the sofa with both hands.Zhou Enlai found out, and quickly stretched out his hand to support him, while looking around, he asked, "Where's Xiao Li?" Li Xiuzhi ran in and helped Mao Zedong up.When he stood up slowly, he shook again. At this moment, he felt that he was showing his old age.Both Zhou Enlai and Jiang Qing found out, and they looked at each other. Zhou Enlai said to Mao Zedong: "Chairman, you should have a good rest, don't send it away." Mao Zedong stood there and nodded. Jiang Qing stepped forward, stepped in front of Zhou Enlai and said, "Chairman, it's time for you to take a good rest, we will arrange everything well." Mao Zedong nodded wearily, feeling bored again.