The Red Princeling: What if Mao's son had survived the Korean War?

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Fire, Fury and Fried Rice
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman


    1671892446222.png

    Mao Zedong's family photo, with his son Mao Anying standing at the center.
    ​
    25 November 1950
    Despite being the Chairman's favorite son, Mao Anying (毛岸英) did not choose to spend his days idly on the home front, far away from the horrors of war. Instead, he had volunteered to serve in the Korean War, a decision opposed by high-ranking officers but received the support of his father. After all, the junior Mao was no stranger to the hardships on the battlefield, given his experience of serving in the Soviet Army. The headquarters of China's People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was located at an abandoned mining settlement in Tongchang County, North Korea, which unfortunately was not outside US-controlled airspace. Thus, only a brief moment of letting one's guard down is enough to cost lives.

    Last night was indeed a sleepless one for the young Mao, as he had to do his nighttime duties amidst the shivering cold of November. It took a long while for Mao Anying to his short but well-deserved slumber, as the howling cold gusts outside kept waking him up. The next morning, Mao woke up with a hungry stomach. He wanted to make some fried rice with eggs for breakfast, but still hesitated to go, since officers were prohibited from cooking at daytime to avoid being spotted by the enemy. [1] And as the Chairman's son, Mao thought that he was supposed to set a good example for his comrades and not to violate any rules. Mao the junior came to the conclusion that risking his life just for some fried rice was not worth it, and decided to stay in his shelter. Indeed, just a few minutes later, US planes started dropping napalm bombs in the area, one of which hit a makeshift building near Mao’s cave. Mao couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief; had he been present in the building, he would never be able to live to tell the tale.

    Time went on, and the Korean War ended in 1953 without a conclusive result. As the Great Helmsman's dearest son returned home unscathed, his PLA superiors were pleased that they would not have to face the his father's wrath for letting Mao the junior be in danger. Regardless of all the odds, Mao Anying still made it through the war alive and well - and was more than ready to serve his beloved People's Republic.

    [1] There are multiple accounts about Mao Anying's death, but I chose to go with what is seemingly the most popular scenario: the younger Mao being hit by an American napalm bomb while making fried egg rice for breakfast.
     
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    • Red Prince Rising
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman

    “Mao Anying was showered with praise upon his return to China. Once all the flattery surrounding him has cooled down, the younger Mao decided to seek for a career in the People's Liberation Army [1]. Just before his son joined the military, Mao Zedong personally wrote a letter to Defence Minister Peng Dehuai, telling him to instruct army officers not to treat Mao Anying with favoritism just because he was the Chairman's offspring. Nevertheless, Mao Anying was much more privileged compared to his comrades; when the 1955 rank system of the PLA was adopted, he was already a junior officer of the zhongwei (lieutenant) rank based on his military experience fighting for the Soviets.”
    - Mao Anying: China's Red Prince

    “Mao Zedong’s occasional swimming exercises in the Yangtze didn’t make up for his unhealthy lifestyle. Contrary to his personal credo “civilize the mind, but make savage the body”, the Great Helmsman was well-known for his heavy smoking and unhygienic habits. His problems with constipation, bronchitis and muscle weakness has built up over the years and was only getting worse. [...] After having repeatedly denied medical treatment, Mao died of a heart attack on 9 September 1967, just more than one year since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. Alongside his state funeral, preparations were being made for CCP Vice-Chairman and Mao's unwilling yes-man Lin Biao to assume the position of China’s paramount leader.”
    - Cultural Revolution and Power Struggle in China, 1966-1979

    “His election to the Party Central Committee in 1969 was Mao Anying’s first stepping stone to political prominence. Being a blood relative of Mao Zedong, Anying allied himself with the hardline Maoist faction within the CCP, which was opposed to Lin Biao's suppression of the Cultural Revolution's excesses."
    - Mao Anying: China's Red Prince

    [1] IOTL Mao Anying had never served in the People's Liberation Army.
     
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    • The Awkward Gang
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman

    "The Gang of Six was made up of the most firebrand of Maoists within the party's upper echelon. Two of them had personal relationships with the late Chairman Mao: his wife and personal aide Jiang Qing, as well as his son Mao Anying. Zhang Chunqiao and Wang Hongwen, the latter being the Gang of Six's youngest member, rose to national prominence due to their role as leaders of the 1967 Shanghai Commune. Kang Sheng, head of China's internal security organs and apostle of Stalinist mass terror methods, was perhaps the most notorious among the Gang. [1] Last but not least was Yao Wenyuan, a literary critic who actively participated in the party's propaganda efforts during the Cultural Revolution. [...] The 10th Party Congress in 1973 further cemented Gang of Six control over China's state apparatus, as all of its members were elected to the Central Committee."
    - Cultural Revolution and Power Struggle in China, 1966-1979

    "Zhou Enlai being voted out of the Communists' top leadership was a shocking event, even to the most experienced China observers. Not a single mention of his name can be found in the list of Central Committee members, lest that of the Politburo. Given that Zhou is undoubtedly one of the most influential political figures in the country, some even compare this to the bloodless coup which deposed Soviet leader Khrushchev in 1964."
    - Reuters correspondent in Beijing, 28 August 1973


    Members of the 10th Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, elected in 1973
    Lin Biao (PLA), Chairman of the Central Committee
    Wang Hongwen (Gang of Six), Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee
    Mao Anying (Gang of Six), Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee
    Qiu Huizuo (PLA), Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee
    Kang Sheng (Gang of Six), Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committee
    Ye Jianying (PLA), Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee
    Li Desheng (PLA), Vice Chairman of the Central Committee
    Zhu De (PLA), member of the Politburo Standing Committee
    Zhang Chunqiao (Gang of Six), member of the Politburo Standing Committee
    ​
    [1] The Gang of Six's power base would be more reliant on Kang Sheng's security apparatus rather than Mao himself like IOTL.
     
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    • Tabs

    Tabs

    Very interesting premise! My own timeline features a surviving Mao Anying (just with a far different POD), and it’s a very underused POD. Watched with great interest!
     
    Two Suns on the Sky
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman

    "Communist China's leader Lin Biao passes away at 69 [1], son of late Mao Zedong to be successor"
    - Washington Post, 13 September 1976

    “Resolutely continue the struggle against the Four Olds”
    - Guangming Daily, 1 December 1976

    “Mao Anying's rise to power signaled the beginning of the Gang of Six's virtually total exertion of control over the nation. Nearly all organs of political power in China were under Gang of Six sway with the sole exception being the PLA, which power base was weakened by Lin Biao’s death.”
    - Cultural Revolution and Power Struggle in China, 1966-1979

    "As the son of the late Chairman Mao, Mao Anying wanted to create a sense of continuity between him and his father as the paramount leader of the People’s Republic. Portraits of Mao Anying and the elder Mao being placed next to each other was a common sight in many ordinary households and school facilities. Mao’s iconic portrait on Tiananmen Square also recieved the same treatment. While Mao Zedong was given the endearing title of "the Great Helmsman", Anying styled himself as "the Northern Star" (北极星), an allusion to the all-encompassing power wielded by China’s feudal emperors.”
    - Mao Anying: China's Red Prince

    [1] The PRC did not gained its seat in the UN Security Council like in OTL. Nixon’s visit to China did not happen either.
     
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    • GSD310

    farmerted555 said:
    Will China ITTL be like OTL North Korea on steroids?
    Click to expand...
    What ITTL North Korea’s succession be like as a result of Mao Anying becoming leader is what I’m curious about. It establishes precedent for Kim Jong Il succeeding (Kim Il Sung can say “See, China did it too?” but it can also create a “Not gonna let that happen here” situation in the DPRK when it comes to succession if there are party cadres still strong enough to stand up to Kim Il Sung at this point.
     

    jasper the spectator

    Watched! The Gang of Four (or should i say Six) winning the post-Mao's death power struggle and taking over China has always been interesting to me, can't wait to see how you take this!
     

    Beatriz

    Please don't make this like Fear Loathing and Gumbo where 25% of China's population dies due to the Lesser Mao replicating OTL Pol Pot policies
     
    Continue the Revolution
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman

    "Being a foreign correspondent in China has become an extremely dangerous and even fatal job. Any person on the streets who resembles a foreigner would be subject to harassment and attacks by fanatical Red Guards, while the local police would just stand aside and watch. There have been decrees from the central government explicitly ordering the army and law enforcement not to interfere in the Cultural Revolution."
    - Reuters correspondent in Beijing, 1 October 1977

    "Only in larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai is order somewhat maintained. For weeks, my city of Guangzhou was affected by fighting between the Red Guards. It's like a warzone there, with heavy artillery, grenade and even tanks being used (for fighting) [1]. Even local PLA soldiers are saddened that they can't simply intervene in the situation since their arsenal is in Red Guard hands, leave alone orders from the government. We couldn't just take it anymore and decided to move to the countryside. Many inhabitants (of the city) also left as well."
    - Interview with a Cultural Revolution survivor, 1998

    "The "anti-party plot" of 1979 [2] is largely considered the climactic end to the power struggle in China since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. A group of "degenerated" PLA officers and "capitalist roaders" within the party, led by General Ye Jianying and former Hunan provincial chief Hua Guofeng, was accused of planning a military coup against Mao Anying and the Gang of Six. The incriminating documents retrieved at Hua's residence included a detailed plan of the coup, which would be done via the kidnapping of Chairman Mao Anying during his planned trip to Shanghai. Investigators also found notes of contact with the KGB, denoting Soviet support for the coup attempt, and the lineup of a shadow cabinet with Hua as Chairman and Ye as Premier. [...]
    While accusations made by the Chinese government towards the USSR were met with scathing rebuke, a massive campaign attacking Ye and Hua's "treasonous plot" was ramped up by state media. Headlines like "Smash the treasonous plot of the anti-party clique" and "Down with the Soviet revisionists and their petty henchmen" dominated the nationally circulated newspaers. Eventually, all those who were involved in the plot were judged in a highly-publicized trial lasting for more than four days. Ye, Hua and their fellow putschists all pledged guilty of high treason and received the capital punishment. Not only this coup attempt ended the PLA's role as a prominent political force in China, it provided the perfect excuse for Mao Anying to eliminate any remaining opposition within the party."
    - Cultural Revolution and Power Struggle in China, 1966-1979

    [1] Such "violent struggles" did happen in OTL.
    [2] China would be too preoccupied to start the Sino-Vietnamese War. However, this does not mean that China wouldn't get involved in any armed conflicts for the near future.
     
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    • marathag

    marathag

    Banned
    With the Gang of Six, its likely to me that Tricky Dick would say he's going to turn a blind eye on any Sino-Soviet war, with only the request to be notified in advance if Nukes will fall on China, and thus avoid any US miscalculation on Soviet intentions
     
    Poking the Bear
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    • Onedotman

    Onedotman

    "Though Sino-Soviet relations had remained frozen for more than a decade, the PLA's failed coup attempt in 1979 - or more precisely, the KGB's involvement in aiding the putschists - had given a new lease of life to the hostility between the two giants of the communist world. Things did not just stop at diplomatic denunciations, however. Clashes between Soviet and Chinese border guards made headlines in both countries, followed by an exchange of strongly worded condemnations. The Soviets accused the Chinese army of sabotaging border posts on the border with the USSR, while China claimed that its soldiers were exercising their right to self-defense against provocations from the Soviet side."
    - Bloodstained Glory: the China War of 1983-1989

    "In the wake of the PLA's coup attempt, Mao Anying thoroughly purged China's armed forces, viewing them as a stronghold of subversion against his rule. Many high-ranking officers were forced into retirement or simply executed. However, this does not mean that mainland China has been stripped of all combat capability, as there is still a "reserve army" of more than a million armed Red Guards throughout the nation."
    - Excerpt from Washington Post editorial, Why we should not be ignoring the Sino-Soviet conflict, 11 November 1981
     
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