From left: Deng Xiaoping, Ye Jianying, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong handed over military power to Chen Xilian
In October 1937, during the night attack on Yangmingbao, Chen Xilian served as the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and led his troops to destroy 24 Japanese aircraft in one fell swoop, setting a precedent for our infantry to fight aircraft.
After 1966, Chen Xilian became the actual person in charge of the northeast, serving as the commander of the Shenyang Military Region, the director of the Liaoning Provincial Revolutionary Committee, and the first secretary of the provincial party committee.
In December 1973, the commanders of the Eight Military Regions were transferred, and Chen Xilian was transferred with his old subordinate Li Desheng, and he was appointed commander of the Beijing Military Region. In January 1975, Chen Xilian was promoted to a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission and vice premier of the State Council, in charge of the national defense industry and sports work. It can be seen from this that Chen Xilian was deeply valued by Mao Zedong in his later years. On February 2, 1976, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued Document No. 1, which contained only two articles: at the suggestion of Mao Zedong, the Politburo unanimously approved Hua Guofeng as acting premier of the State Council; during Ye Jianying's illness, Chen Xilian was responsible for presiding over the work of the Central Military Commission.
At that time, Zhou Enlai had just died, and Deng Xiaoping was besieged by the "Gang of Four". Mao Zedong, who was seriously ill, handed over the command of the three armed forces to Chen Xilian because at that time, chen Xilian, Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, and others were the only ones who were both members of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and members of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission. After weighing it up several times, Mao Zedong said: "Chen Xilian joined the revolution since he was a child, he can fight wars, he has led a corps, he has brought artillery, and he also has a position in the State Council. ”
Rumors of "Chen Xilian seizing military power" were once very popular
After Lin Biao's escape on September 13, 1971, Ye Jianying, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, who was appointed at a time of crisis, began to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission. On October 3, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made another decision to abolish the Central Military Commission's office group and establish a working meeting of the Central Military Commission chaired by Ye Jianying. Under the leadership of the Central Military Commission, the working meeting of the Central Military Commission is responsible for handling the daily work of the Central Military Commission. After the Central Committee issued Document No. 1 in 1976, Ye Jianying mostly participated in some central meetings, and the army basically stopped intervening.
Chen Xilian (right) and Mao Yuanxin
Mao's decision also delicately strained Chen Xilian's relationship with Ye Jianying. When Recalling the incident, Chen Xilian's wife, Wang Xuanmei, said that at that time, rumors that "Chen Xilian seized Ye Jianying's military power" were once very popular. I heard that Ye Jianying wanted to leave Beijing to live in Guangzhou, and once Chen Xilian made a special phone call: "Ye Shuai, you can't go to Guangzhou." Ye Jianying was a little angry: "Are you afraid of my tricksters?" Where can I not do it if I want to do it? Chen Xilian, who felt that he had been misunderstood, told his wife: "I stayed in Beijing because I wanted to keep more votes in the Politburo." ”
Ye Jianying's health was no problem
Was there another reason for Mao Zedong's decision? According to the book "Ye Jianying's Extraordinary Path," in the eyes of the "Gang of Four," after Zhou Enlai's death, what they continued to hinder their seizure of power was also what they feared the most, and there were two other representative figures: one was Deng Xiaoping, who presided over the daily work of the central authorities instead of Zhou Enlai and persisted in carrying out "comprehensive rectification," and the other was Ye Jianying, who presided over the daily work of the Central Military Commission and held military power. Therefore, they attacked Deng Xiaoping and Ye Jianying on various occasions. Soon, Deng Xiaoping was forced to stop the leadership of the central authorities and "take charge of foreign affairs"; Ye Jianying was declared "ill" and put others in charge of presiding over the work of the Central Military Commission.
At that time, many people called or wrote letters to Ye Jianying's office to greet Ye Shuai's condition, and Comrade Ye Ban had to quietly and truthfully tell him: Ye Shuai's body was the same as usual. As early as 1927, Wu Fushan, deputy commander of the Air Force who was engaged in revolutionary activities with Ye Jianying in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, went to see Ye Jianying and asked as soon as they met: Chief, why didn't you do it? Ye Jianying replied: Who said not to do it? They didn't tell me to do it, they had to stop it!
Marshal Ye Jianying, who inspected the air force unit
Deng Xiaoping: Chen Xilian has no ambitions
In mid-April 1976, Hua Guofeng, who presided over the work of the Central Committee, suggested that Ye Jianying participate in some of the work of the Central Committee. As a result, Ye Jianying began to appear in public again. Ye Jianying, who re-entered the center of power, became the expectation of many veteran marshals.
Chen Xilian, who replaced Ye Jianying in holding military power, would communicate with Ye Jianying in a timely manner if there was anything important in the army. At the time of Mao's death, he did not choose to support the Gang of Four. When he and Li Xiannian guarded Mao Zedong's spirit together, he repeatedly expressed his attitude toward the "Gang of Four" to Li Xiannian, saying: "This will not work, and we must find a way to deal with those people!" Since then, Chen Xilian has participated in the planning meetings presided over by Hua Guofeng many times, agreeing on the main deployment and timing of the operation.
During this period, Chen Xilian proposed to Hua Guofeng that Ye Jianying continue to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission. Hua Guofeng said that Ye Shuai wanted to assist him in handling domestic affairs, and he would continue to preside over the work of the Central Military Commission.
After the "Gang of Four" was crushed, on some occasions, some old comrades had views on Chen Xilian, and Deng Xiaoping broke the siege for him at the right time. Deng Xiaoping said: "Chen Xilian has no ambitions, he will not rebel, he is not a rebel." In January 1980, Chen Xilian responded to Deng Xiaoping's call to resign from all leading positions, and subsequently, he was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Committee. On June 10, 1999, Chen Xilian died in Beijing.
——Excerpted from Party History Tiandi, No. 31, 2014