Well, here, more than a little belatedly, is the POD, laid out in full, as it really happened (well, you know, in TTL). Departing from the usual “scrapbook” format, and also from our current point in the chronology, let’s go back to the beginning of the timeline, twenty-six days after the death of Chairman Mao.
---------------------
October 5, 1976
Hua Guofeng, as the senior vice-chairman of the CCP, calls a meeting of the Politburo members present in Beijing. The team of secretaries and attendants normally present at such meetings are on this occasion not permitted to attend. Jiang Qing is suspicious. She has already made several comments to members of her entourage suggesting that she is convinced that there are individuals in the top leadership plotting against her, and the secrecy of this meeting, as well as the unusual haste in which it was called, only heightens her suspicions. Feigning illness, she leaves the meeting early.
Her suspicions are all correct. The October 5 meeting has been prepared as a sort of practice run for a similar gathering planned for the next day, to which only Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen, and Yao Wenyuan will be invited, and then promptly placed under arrest. Hua Guofeng is convinced that it is Jiang Qing, together with the other three radicals, who is planning her own coup. Such fears are shared by others in the Politburo, and in particular by Wang Dongxing (the head of the Zhongnanhai security forces and Hua’s de facto chief of staff since Mao’s death) and defense minister Ye Jianying, who have joined together with Hua to overthrow the radicals before they themselves are overthrown. As a precaution, on October 4 the three secretly moved out of their Beijing homes and took up residence outside of the city in the Western Hills, arriving there after a long and circuitous trip designed to throw off anyone who might be trailing them.
And here is the exact Point of Divergence:
On the evening of October 5, Jiang Qing makes a phone call to Hua Guofeng, as she has done several times since Mao’s death, requesting access to the chairman’s papers, to which she has heretofore been denied. She is unable to reach him. Jiang Qing calls again later, but again, Hua is not there. Displeased and somewhat suspicious, she next calls Wang Dongxing, but he too does not answer. Unbeknownst to her, Hua and Wang are at that moment making their trip to the Western Hills. Never one to give up easily, nor to tolerate a perceived slight, she goes in person to confront Wang’s staff, but finds them evasive and on-edge, and notices that the bulk of Zhongnanhai service personnel has seemingly disappeared.
Jiang Qing is convinced that Hua and Wang are in the midst of springing a trap. She flees Zhongnanhai and takes temporary refuge in Beihai Park (located across the street from Zhongnanhai to the north, in the 1970s it was closed to the public but was one of Jiang Qing’s favorite haunts). From there she phones Wang Hongwen, of the four radicals the one most closely connected to the military (and in particular the militia). Wang Hongwen agrees that the story sounds suspicious, but privately reserves doubts: he is well-aware of Jiang Qing’s penchant for wild conspiracy theories and her tendency to overreact to trivial matters. But to placate an increasingly frantic Jiang, he promises to investigate.
After hanging up on a skeptical Wang Hongwen, Jiang Qing places her next call to Chi Qun, a member of Wang Dongxing’s guard unit, but also a devoted radical currently serving as head of Qinghua University. She then proceeds to the Beijing north train station and leaves the city headed for Shenyang, which is under the control of her ally (and Mao’s nephew) Mao Yuanxin. Chi Qun makes his own call to Wang Dongxing, but receives the same response as Jiang Qing had. More inclined than Wang Hongwen to believe her suspicions, he places the university guards on alert and reports this to Wang Hongwen.
Meanwhile, Wang Dongxing and Hua Guofeng have arrived in the Western Hills and are informed of the phone calls made in their absence. Convinced that the radicals have uncovered their plans and have in all likelihood already begun their moves to seize power, Hua immediately orders troops from the Zhongnanhai garrison to be sent to arrest the four radicals at their homes, as well as to Beijing and Qinghua Universities (both hotbeds of fervent radicalism) to prevent an uprising.
Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan, both living in central Beijing, are the first to be arrested. Jiang Qing, of course, is not found.
Upon their arrival at Qinghua University, the soldiers of the Central Garrison corps are refused entry. Notified of their arrival, Chi Qun calls Zhang Chunqiao, but of course receives no answer. He next turns to Wang Hongwen, to whom it is now clear that a coup is indeed underway. Residing on the outskirts of Beijing, Wang is able to escape before the troops arrive, and proceeds to the nearest airfield, from which he flies to Shanghai. While in the air, Wang relays orders to his followers in Shanghai. The city’s militia is put on high alert, and a slew of false reports are issued to Beijing alleging that various PLA regiments stationed across the surrounding Hebei province are now moving towards the capital. In response, Hua Guofeng orders that martial law be declared in Beijing. The Beijing Garrison is sent into the streets, the army takes control of radio and newspaper offices, and defensive positions are hastily set up on the outskirts of the city.
It is now the early morning of October 6.
Hua summons the Politburo to the Western Hills. The members are taken by military escort, as a protection against possible reprisals by agents loyal to the radicals. With Wang Dongxing and Ye Jianying beside him, Hua announces to the Politburo that the radicals have launched a coup d’etat, and that while Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan are in custody, the whereabouts of Jiang Qing and Wang Hongwen are unknown.
The Politburo is stunned. To be sure, many of them had long distrusted the radicals, but it is understandably rather shocking to be given this news in the middle of the night after having been woken up by armed guards and secretly ferried to a bunker in the Western Hills. Zhang and Yao are brought in to explain themselves and to reveal the location of Jiang and Wang. The two protest that they know nothing about any plan for a coup, and have no idea where Jiang or Wang could be (although their claims of ignorance are met with a good deal of incredulity).
Hua calls upon Chen Xilian, who has been tasked with overseeing the defense of Beijing, to report on the status of the supposedly imminent arrival of the nearby regiments. Chen replies that he has contacted the regiments in question and followed up with reconnaissance, but that in fact there has been no movement whatsoever. Hua is stunned, and no one else quite knows what to make of it all.
With this news, the evidence for an actual coup attempt by the radicals is looking very thin indeed. It slowly becomes apparent that, on the basis of a few rumors, Hua Guofeng has:
- ordered the extra-legal arrest of four members of the Politburo (including a vice-chairman, a vice-premier, and the widow of the recently-deceased Chairman Mao)
- declared martial law in Beijing, sending soldiers into the streets of the capital, and stationing tanks and artillery in the city’s outskirts
Hua has, to put it mildly, overreacted. He has also grossly overstepped his authority.
To be sure, the overwhelming majority of the Politburo bear a great deal of hatred towards Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao, and don’t have much respect for Wang Hongwen or Yao Wenyuan either. But the radicals’ crime which earned them such antipathy was their disregard for legality, discipline, and order. Hua’s preemptive coup has only perpetuated that same Cultural Revolution modus operandi, but has brought in the added specter of military rule. The members of the Politburo likely recall a certain quote from Mao: “The Party must always control the gun. The gun must never be allowed to control the Party.” They think back just a few hours to when they were roused from their beds by soldiers, and they can easily see themselves in the shoes of Zhang and Yao, who by all legal rights should be attending that meeting, but are instead standing before it in handcuffs.
And furthermore, they now have a crisis on their hands. The disappearance of Jiang Qing and Wang Hongwen now means that two very dangerous individuals are on the loose and probably out for revenge. Ever since the April 5th Tiananmen Incident and the Tangshan earthquake, the primary goal of the leadership has been maintaining public order. But now, Hua’s rash actions have raised the likelihood of all-out civil war. No one doubts that if Jiang and Wang led armies against Beijing, they would be defeated, but the turmoil and destruction that would result…well, no one in the Politburo really wants to think about that.
Hua Guofeng also realizes the colossal mistake he has made. Hanging his head, he lets out a sigh, and orders that Zhang and Yao be released. Wang Dongxing protests, insisting that even without concrete evidence of a coup, it’s clear that the four are up to no good. “We all agreed,” he says, “that the problem of the radicals must be solved, didn’t we?” This is somewhat of an overstatement. It is true that even before Mao’s death, several members of the Politburo had spoken privately of a need to deal with the disruptive and antagonistic Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao, and most had agreed that to do so, Yao and Wang would have to go, too. But these conversations had mainly been limited to members of the elder generation of revolutionary veterans and military men. Even among their ranks, there had been disagreements as to how the four were to be removed, with some favoring a vote of censure or dismissal by the Politburo, or perhaps the entire Central Committee. And about half the Politburo had been entirely outside of these discussions. In any case, Hua silences Wang’s protests. Zhang and Yao are uncuffed and take their seats.
The Politburo sets about the task of finding Jiang and Wang, and getting them back to Beijing peacefully. They are easily found, and Zhang and Yao are sent to bring them back in person. The troops are sent back to their bases.
October 7, 1976
The Politburo is convened in Zhongnanhai. Hua Guofeng performs a self-criticism and offers to resign, but Wang Hongwen stands up to interrupt him. He insists that Hua retain his positions, stressing the importance of unity and continuity (it was Mao who had appointed Hua to his posts, after all, and it was Hua who gave the eulogy at Mao’s funeral). Nonetheless, Wang suggests that perhaps it would be best if Hua allowed some other comrades to assume some of his duties, as the events of the previous day have shown that the burden of his responsibilities has clearly placed him under a great deal of stress.
Wang Dongxing stands up next and delivers his own self-criticism. It is brief and vague, barely apologetic and full of none-too-veiled attacks on Jiang Qing and the radicals. This is too much for Jiang Qing. She bursts up from her seat, demanding that Wang be imprisoned, even executed, and calling down wrath upon Hua and the entire Politburo. Again, it is Wang Hongwen who rises to interrupt her, calling for restraint and calm, with Zhang Chunqiao meekly supporting him. Jiang Qing reluctantly sits back down.
With Wang Hongwen now taking the lead, Wang Dongxing is called to step down from his command, with Chen Xilian temporarily overseeing the Central Garrison Corps in his stead. The Politburo quickly warms to the idea of identifying Wang Dongxing as the main culprit in this affair; those who were involved in the coup hoping to deflect as much attention and blame as possible away from their own roles. Wang Dongxing, of course, resists, but as days go by and an investigation into the affair is launched, he willingly assumes responsibility in the hopes of protecting the remaining moderates on the Politburo. Hua Guofeng’s role is downplayed. No mention is made of Ye Jianying.
It is decided that the entire Politburo (as opposed to simply those in Beijing at the time) should be assembled and briefed on the incident. Wang Hongwen chairs this meeting, as while Hua Guofeng retains his seniority, a definite shadow has been cast over him, and his judgment and his leadership abilities are now in serious doubt. Wang Hongwen, of course, still bears the stigma of his previous failures and his general lack of distinction, but as the second-ranking vice-chairman he is next in line to lead the Politburo as first-among-equals.
Wang Hongwen, as can only be expected, has been profoundly influenced by the incident. Having narrowly escaped capture, sown confusion among his enemies, and then returned to Beijing in victory, as it were, he has emerged from the past few days firmly believing as never before in his own ability as a leader. He is calm, confident, and firm, yet deferential to the old guard and aware of the limitations of his position. Such qualities make his new role presiding over the Politburo considerably more palatable to the rest of the leadership, especially in light of their earlier fears that his return to Beijing would be at the head of a rebel army out for revenge.
At the full Politburo meeting, Hua Guofeng repeats his self-criticism, and Wang Hongwen surprisingly follows with a somewhat informal admission of his own mistakes and faults. The next to speak is Zhang Chunqiao, who makes a more formal self-criticism, followed by Yao Wenyuan. The two of them have been profoundly humiliated by the whole affair, and are aware as never before of the weakness of their position among the leaders.
Jiang Qing, intractable as always, does not perform a self-criticism. But her new status in a world without Mao is clear to all, including herself. As time goes by, she starts withdrawing more and more from public life. She is confident, however, that one day the tide will turn, and she will once again take her rightful place at the highest levels of the leadership.
