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source:New Youth 8341

author:New Youth 2020

Afternoon of January 15, 1980, Great Hall of the People, Beijing.

When the meeting held by the State Council was about to end, then Vice Premier Chen Yonggui walked out of the meeting room early and stood at the door of the lounge waiting for an important person.

Soon, the meeting ended, and Chen Yonggui stopped the smiling Deng Xiaoping and invited him into the lounge.

Deng Xiaoping hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked into the lounge.

Deng Xiaoping seemed to understand what Chen Yonggui wanted to ask. He sat down on the sofa calmly, crossed his legs, slowly lit a Panda brand cigarette, took the first puff, the smoke rolled in his mouth, flowed through his lungs, and out of his nose, and he felt a strong sense of satisfaction.

Chen Yonggui could not wait to say:

"Comrade Xiaoping, you have been holding meetings every day these days, constantly proposing new ideas one after another. I can't accept them. I want to ask, are you still implementing Chairman Mao's revolutionary line? Do you still want to hold high the great banner of Mao Zedong Thought? Does Chairman Mao's theory of continuing revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat still count?"

Comrade Xiaoping had already anticipated this conversation.

He knew that Chen Yonggui in front of him was a very stubborn person, but the more stubborn he was, the more he had to teach him a lesson.

Deng Xiaoping seemed to have heard nothing, but also seemed to have heard it but didn't take it seriously. He took another puff of cigarette, looked at Chen Yonggui, and smiled. Chen Yonggui later recalled that Deng Xiaoping's smile that day frightened him.

Time seemed to stand still. Deng Xiaoping put out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and said grimly:

"Do you think it's still the time when the Gang of Four was in power? The question you asked is so ridiculous, as naive as a three-year-old child. In the history of the Chinese Communist Party, I am the most qualified person to say such things. I have the most say in what Mao Zedong Thought is. How long have you been a member of the Communist Party? Comrade Yonggui, I hope you will first examine yourself according to the standards of a Communist Party member."

Chen Yonggui said unconvincedly:

"Don't forget the self-examination you made when you stood up. Don't play double-dealing with the Party Central Committee. You should think about what line you are going to implement now."

In fact, what Chen Yonggui wanted to say was: On August 3, 1972, didn’t you say in your letter to Chairman Mao that “this revolution is completely necessary and very timely”? Didn’t you “assure the Central Committee that you would never reverse the verdict”? On April 10, 1977, didn’t you say in your letter to Comrade Hua Guofeng that you “fully support the principle of governing the country by grasping the key links”?

Now he said one thing and did another. What on earth was going on? Chen Yonggui's mind was still buzzing.

In fact, Chen Yonggui did not deeply understand Comrade Xiaoping's letter. Comrade Xiaoping did review some of his mistakes, but who doesn't make mistakes? Reviewing one's own mistakes will not reduce one's prestige, but will win a good reputation for being modest and low-key.

Furthermore, Comrade Xiaoping made it very clear in his letter to Comrade Guofeng, "We must use accurate and complete Mao Zedong Thought to guide our entire party, army and people from generation to generation." So what exactly is "accurate and complete Mao Zedong Thought"? The Chairman is no longer here, so who has the most authoritative interpretation of Mao Zedong Thought? Of course, it is those old generals who followed Chairman Mao to conquer the world, not you, Chen Yonggui, who changed his career halfway.

Deng Xiaoping then said to Chen Yonggui:

"You can have your own opinions and keep them to yourself, but you must obey the party's discipline and leadership, just as we all obeyed them back then. If you want to plot something behind the organization's back, that's not what a Communist Party member would do, and the way to deal with it won't be the way to deal with conflicts within the party, but the criminal law."

Deng Xiaoping's words had a great deterrent effect on Chen Yonggui. After a long pause, he said:

"I reserve my opinions for the central government, but I obey the party's discipline and regulations."

Deng Xiaoping squinted his eyes, lit another cigarette, and said:

"A Communist Party member should be able to rise and fall. For example, I was overthrown twice after the founding of the People's Republic of China and left the leadership position of the Central Committee twice, but I did not fall, nor did I engage in any unorganized activities. I continued to strictly conduct self-examination. I am not asking you to be like me, but I hope you can do it according to the standards and discipline of party members. You are not the 'Gang of Four'. The Central Committee knows that you have done a lot of work in the past, which is good. As for your shortcomings and mistakes, you can examine as much as you can recognize. The Central Committee does not require you to do anything. However, you must strictly abide by the party's secrets and do not engage in unorganized activities with others."

Chen Yonggui wanted to say something, but Comrade Xiaoping might be too busy or he didn't have the time to continue working on this stubborn man. Without waiting for Chen Yonggui to open his mouth, Deng Xiaoping picked up his briefcase and turned away.

The next day, Deng Xiaoping delivered a report entitled "The Current Situation and Tasks" at a cadre meeting convened by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, emphasizing that economic construction should be the center and all other tasks should be subordinate to this center and revolve around this center, and must not interfere with or impact it.

From April to May, he pointed out in many talks that we should fully study how to build socialism, and stressed that we should not leave reality and go beyond the stage. Socialism must first develop productivity. Whether the socialist economic policy is right or not, in the final analysis, depends on whether the productivity is developed and whether the people's income increases. However, there are still old comrades who question his short-sighted policy.

Not long after this conversation, Chen Yonggui went to bid farewell to Hua Guofeng.

Chen Yonggui's eyes were red, as if he had just cried. He had taken off the familiar white towel on his head. Even his white clothes looked less radiant than before.

He said:

"It's all in the past, like a dream, but I don't regret it. I was able to be connected with Chairman Mao in this life, so it was not in vain. People are always destined to die, and I have not brought shame to Chairman Mao. As a farmer, who could have thought that I would become a member of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee? I dare say that I am a farmer who has never been seen before and will never be seen again. In the future, there will never be a great leader like Chairman Mao who can lift a farmer to such a high position. Don't be afraid of you laughing at me, I am a lucky person. I have lived to such an old age and I can survive any social situation. Can you imagine how easy it is for a farmer to reach my point?"

In the late 1980s, when Chen Yonggui was dying, he finally returned to his original identity as a farmer. He said to those who came to visit him:"I dreamed of Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao asked me to continue working for him in another place..."