Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

However, there haven't been any major issues with personal conduct so far. Especially regarding financial matters, there haven't been any "big tigers" found. Compared to other departments, the Propaganda Department is much cleaner. But this time, Gao Gang won't miss the opportunity to overhaul the Propaganda Department.

At the national propaganda conference, Lu Dingyi was criticized.

Lu Dingyi is a benchmark in the field of propaganda of the Communist Party of China. As early as the Agrarian Revolution, he served as the Minister of Propaganda. Since then, he has been in the field of propaganda and has a deep-rooted position in the propaganda department.

Apart from anything else, the CCP currently has influence

Among the influential newspapers, such as the "Liberation Daily" and the "Xinhua Daily", they were all under his leadership.

If Gao Gang wants to reorganize the propaganda department, he has to take action against him.

But it's not easy.

Because Lu Dingyi is not a cadre without roots.

Within the current leadership of the propaganda department overhaul, Peng Zhen is protecting Lu Dingyi. During the Secretariat meeting, Rao Shushi supported Gao Gang's opinion that the propaganda department should be overhauled. However, after communicating with Comrade Xiuyang, his attitude began to become ambiguous. After all, Rao Shuyou was promoted by Comrade Xiuyang during his time in the New Fourth Army.

But Gao Gang is not the kind of person who gives up halfway.

After all, he was the main person in charge, so he kept holding Lu Dingyi and pursued him relentlessly, which was a huge blow to Lu Dingyi. Lu Dingyi made several self-criticisms at the meeting, but Gao Gang criticized him for not being proactive, serious, or sincere.

Gao Gang's approach made many new propaganda cadres dissatisfied.

However, many cadres from the former liberated areas also supported Gao Gang. This was because since the recruitment of a large number of cadres from the Kuomintang-controlled areas into the propaganda department, the status of many propaganda cadres in the remote liberated areas had declined rapidly.

Compared to the more educated cadres from the Kuomintang-controlled areas, the cadres from the former Liberated Areas were no match for them in writing. Many propaganda cadres from the former Liberated Areas, while also students, had limited education, most with only primary and secondary school degrees. Many others came from humble beginnings and gradually rose through the ranks of propaganda cadres during the revolution. However, the newly recruited propaganda cadres from the Kuomintang-controlled areas were highly educated, with a large number of them holding university degrees. The propaganda departments of the People's Republic of China were required to fight a "regular war," so those with high academic qualifications and strong writing skills were far more valued than the "country bumpkins" from the Liberated Areas.

Gao Gang's criticism of the current propaganda department as being detached from the masses and out of touch with the people is viewed by many propaganda cadres in the liberated areas as Gao Gang's support. After all, engaging with the masses and promoting policies to them was a specialty of the propaganda cadres in the former liberated areas. During the Eighth Route Army's expansion of base areas and the land reform efforts during the Liberation War, these propaganda cadres interacted with ordinary people daily. Their educational level was lower than that of the educated people from the Kuomintang-controlled areas, but when it came to engaging with the people, they crushed the educated ones.

So they all supported Gao Gang's rectification.

However, rectifying the propaganda department directly offended many intellectuals and had a huge impact on public opinion, which put Gao Gang under great pressure.

Therefore, he promoted Duan Chengwei to serve as the interim secretary-general of the Propaganda Department rectification team. Gao Gang was stubborn and decisive, but he was definitely not a reckless person. On the contrary, he was very strategic. He was familiar with the current situation in the Propaganda Department.

Minister Xi Zhongxun has not yet completely established his foothold in the Propaganda Department. Among the remaining deputy ministers, Lu Dingyi is deeply rooted in the propaganda department; Zhou Yang is both a revolutionary and a representative of left-wing intellectuals; Chen Boda is the Chairman's political secretary; Xu Teli is one of the Five Elders of Yan'an and the Chairman's teacher, with both experience and prestige; the last deputy minister is Duan Chengwei, who was born in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei, and also worked under Ren Peiguo and Chen Yun.

In addition to winning over Xi Zhongxun, who wanted to change the Propaganda Department, Gao Gang also set his sights on Duan Chengwei.

Duan Chengwei is the lowest-ranking deputy minister in the Propaganda Department, and his rank is even lower than that of the propaganda ministers of local central bureaus. Those propaganda ministers are at least members of the local central bureau's standing committee, either administrative level 4 or 5 cadres, but Duan Chengwei is currently ranked at administrative level 6 or 7. Li Shaocheng's rapid rise to the position of Minister of Agriculture was due to his outstanding performance in land reform.

Gao Gang singled out Duan Chengwei because he is the only deputy director of the Propaganda Department who has participated in the construction of the base area since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War and is responsible for party affairs and propaganda work in the base area. Duan Chengwei has risen through the ranks thanks to his achievements at the grassroots level, which fits perfectly with Gao Gang's current thinking on rectifying the Propaganda Department. Furthermore, most of the current mid- and lower-level cadres in the Propaganda Department are former cadres from the Propaganda Department of the North China Bureau. This means that although Duan Chengwei ranks last, he is a very strong figure in the Propaganda Department.

Of course, Gao Gang prioritized Duan Chengwei for another reason. Duan Chengwei was a Jin-Cha-Ji cadre, a favorite of Wei Hongjun, and his right-hand man in Party affairs during the War of Resistance. Gao Gang understood Wei Hongjun, and perhaps shared many policy philosophies with him, because both had prior experience working in local areas.

So Gao Gang was willing to unite with Wei Hongjun.

Just when Gao Gang was making drastic changes to the propaganda department, aiming to make it more down-to-earth and better cooperate with the country's rural policies, rural literacy campaigns, and changing customs, the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee was held.

824 Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee

In February 1950, the Communist Party of China held the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee.

This conference was not as significant as the previous Seventh National Congress, the Second Session of the Seventh Central Committee, or the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee. However, it still left a significant mark in the history of the Communist Party of China. It can be said that the Seventh National Congress of the Party is one of the most important conferences in the history of the Party.

Because it involves summarizing the party's history, the CCP began to break away from the influence of the Soviet Union and the Communist International and began to make independent decisions. It also happened to be stuck in the important changes during the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the Liberation War, and the founding of the People's Republic of China.

So several meetings are important.

Some important officials were absent from the meeting.

For example, Ren Peiguo, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Central Committee, and Marshal Lin Biao, an alternate member of the Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, did not attend the meeting. Ren Peiguo was recuperating in the Soviet Union, while Marshal Lin Biao continued to negotiate with the Soviet military while recuperating in the Soviet Union.

In addition to them, some members and alternate members of the Central Committee were absent from this meeting due to various reasons. The meeting procedures were the same.

The main leaders of the Central Committee and those in charge of key departments and key tasks would first report on their work for the year. These reports would then be discussed in groups, and any questions raised within the reports could be raised. If the reports were approved, at the end of the meeting, some of the reports would become documents for the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee.

After discussing these reports, the meeting focused on four main topics.

—One is the change in the Politburo.

Former Politburo members Zhang Wentian and Kang Sheng lost their membership of the Politburo at this meeting, and only retained their membership of the Central Committee. This point has long been a consensus within the party.

At the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee

The two were about to leave the Politburo. However, the main topic of the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee was to weaken local power, so the Politburo did not make a big fuss.

A year later, at the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee, there were no more such concerns.

Zhang Wentian was a scholar, and the Chairman himself called him an "enlightened monarch." It can be said that Zhang Wentian made significant contributions to the process of establishing the Chairman's position within the Party in Yan'an, from the time before and after the Zunyi Conference until the end of the Long March.

But Zhang Wentian has too many traces of his Soviet roots.

This wasn't just Zhang Wentian; the same applies to Wang Jiaxiang, currently serving as ambassador to the Soviet Union. Despite their significant contributions during the Long March and during the Party's transitional period, many Party cadres didn't believe they were capable of holding high positions within the Party. In other words, many Party cadres with a more pragmatic perspective were dissatisfied with them.

Many powerful figures within the Party had risen to high positions step by step, relying on their political achievements. However, those who studied in the Soviet Union were all scholars, many of whom had never experienced frontline work. As a result, after traveling to the Soviet Union, they were parachuted into high-ranking positions in the Central Committee. Moreover, when they were parachuted into the Central Committee, they were very young.

This is something that many cadres are dissatisfied with.

Furthermore, the Soviet-educated faction was too powerful in the Central Soviet Area. After the Yan'an Rectification Movement, many cadres instinctively disliked these former Soviet-educated central government officials. Wang Ming, Bo Gu, Zhang Wentian, and Wang Jiaxiang were deeply influenced by the Soviet-educated faction. Without the Chairman's support, they would have faced difficulties at the Seventh National Congress. With the exception of Zhang Wentian, the others were unable to even obtain alternate membership in the Central Committee.

Zhang Wentian was not an ambitious cadre, possessing more scholarly fervor than political ambition. Therefore, he calmly accepted the outcome. As for Kang Sheng, the Yan'an Rectification Movement had offended too many people.

Comrade Xiuyang was primarily responsible for the Yan'an Rectification Movement, with Kang Sheng, Peng Zhen, and Gao Gang as key figures. However, the others were spared and even gained political points, rising through the ranks within the Party. Kang Sheng, however, saw his career decline steadily after the Yan'an Rectification Movement. This demonstrates how much Kang Sheng was hated during the movement.

Despite serving as a Politburo member and Shandong Branch Secretary for the past few years, he has largely withdrawn from politics. He has been ostensibly recuperating, rarely participating in work. Even the Shandong Branch's daily operations are currently handled by Xiang Ming, acting as Secretary. Kang Sheng, a veteran and intelligent member of the Party, understands his current precarious position within the Party and cannot afford to step forward rashly. Therefore, he readily accepted this outcome.

After Zhang Wentian and Kang Sheng withdrew from the Politburo, Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian joined the Politburo as alternate members. They were the first cadres to enter the Politburo after the Seventh National Congress.

Very eye-catching.

In terms of age, both are relatively young cadres within the Central Committee. Wei Hongjun will be 35 in a few months, and Deng Xixian will be 46 in a few months. Currently, there are only 14 members of the Politburo, and Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian are among them.

This is undoubtedly the leader of the Party and the country.

Furthermore, both Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian are well-established cadres with a strong base of supporters. Their inclusion in the Politburo is a major event for the entire political arena. Second: the issue of inner-party unity.

Over the past year, numerous problems have emerged within the Party, the most serious of which has been the intensification of internal struggles. This has occurred not only within the central government but also among local officials. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, leaders have been divided over development strategies, and many factions and groups have been eager to "take the helm and share the spoils," leading to numerous conflicts.

The purpose of discussing the issue of inner-party unity this time is to resolve these issues.

Both the Chairman and Comrade Xiuyang have emphasized unity within the Party on several occasions.

He said it was normal to have differences within the party, but problems needed to be resolved through formal party discussions.

In addition to these problems, separatism is a serious issue. Therefore, a proposal was passed at this meeting.

That is, meeting reports from the State Council and its various committees must be submitted to the Secretariat. Important meetings and policy announcements must be reviewed and approved by the Central Committee before they can be released. Private notifications of important policies are not permitted.

This applies not only to the State Council but also to the Military Commission and Party committees. Important policies must be reviewed and approved by the Central Committee and the Secretariat.

This was the Central Committee's latest measure to combat "separatism" within the Party, following its criticism of "localism" at the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee and subsequent punishment of several cadres who exemplified this "localism." The State Council was the most severely affected by the problem of "separatism" within the Party.

Many officials in the State Council advocated for "separation of Party and government." Since the Premier's self-criticism, Dong Qiwu has been the one who championed this trend. This meeting, however, severely criticized this trend and reorganized the Party Leadership Group of the State Council.

The Premier serves as the Secretary of the Party Group of the State Council, Chen Yun serves as the First Deputy Secretary of the Party Group, Nie Shuai serves as the Second Deputy Secretary of the Party Group, Wei Hongjun serves as the Third Deputy Secretary of the Party Group, Deng Xixian serves as the Fourth Deputy Secretary of the Party Group, and Li Fuchun serves as the Fifth Deputy Secretary of the Party Group.

Dong Biwu, the former third deputy secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the State Council, only served as a member of the Party Leadership Group of the State Council.

This resolution dealt a heavy blow to the "separation of party and government" ideology within the central government. However, unlike Zhang Wentian and Kang Sheng, Dong Qiwu, despite facing criticism, had considerable experience and high status. While he faced criticism for "separatism" within the party, it would not have a significant impact.

The third is a proposal to rectify the work style of party members and cadres.

After a year of the "Three Antis Campaign," numerous problems among Party members and cadres were uncovered. While the Central Committee was somewhat surprised by the instances of corruption and bribery, it was still accepting of the issue. The Central Committee's current concern is bureaucracy among Party members and cadres. Therefore, over the past year, the Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Nie, and Dong Biwu have been jointly developing a "Party Member Code of Conduct," which is a set of rules that Party members must abide by.

It was all theoretical before.

But this time it's a real rule.

It doesn't simply discuss what Party members should do. Instead, it stipulates the penalties for violating the regulations, becoming the most important supplement to the "Party Constitution." Fourth, it addresses rural work.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the central government's work shifted from rural areas to cities. In order to change the mindset of cadres who had been working in rural areas, the central government has been emphasizing urban work on various occasions and in various meetings.

However, at the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee, the Central Committee re-discussed rural work.

With China accepting large-scale Soviet aid projects in 1949, the central government's finances came under renewed pressure. After some effort to balance the budget, the deficit widened again in the second half of 1949. This deficit proved difficult to resolve in a short period of time.

Therefore, the central government has once again turned its attention to rural areas. While rural China is poor, its biggest problem is its large population, with nearly 500 million people living in rural areas. This means that rural China has unlimited potential.

The CCP was founded in the countryside, so it has a deep understanding of rural conditions. However, the current rural fiscal contribution is far less than central government calculations suggest. In particular, despite the completion of land reform in the newly liberated areas, tax collection is not very good. Compared to the older liberated areas, rural tax revenue in the newly liberated areas is proportionally much lower. Furthermore, the amount of RMB absorbed by the countryside is also seriously insufficient.

Therefore, the central government hopes to further promote rural work, improve land reform, change rural customs, and improve rural taxation to support fiscal revenue. At the same time, it also hopes to develop the rural economy and absorb more RMB, which will allow the central government to increase currency issuance.

The current situation is that the central government needs to control prices, so it can't issue too much RMB. However, the vast majority of things New China needs to do require an increased supply of RMB. Therefore, the central government requires rural areas to shoulder greater responsibilities and absorb more RMB. Only in this way can prices be stabilized while also increasing the money supply and supporting China's current industrial development.

Finally, the meeting decided to establish a formal Rural Work Committee.

Wei Hongjun served as secretary of the Rural Work Committee, with Deng Xixian, Xi Zhongxun, Deng Zhihui, and Li Shaocheng serving as standing committee members. Together with six other members, the Rural Work Committee comprised 11 people in total. This Rural Work Committee had more to deal with than the previous Land Reform Working Committee.

Almost all jobs in rural areas can be managed.

Previously, Wei Hongjun was also in charge of rural work, but this was mainly because he was in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and was responsible for land reform. However, as Wei Hongjun became the secretary of the Rural Work Committee, he was able to intervene in the management of the entire rural work.

After these four issues were concluded, the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee was about to end. However, at this time, Lin Boqu, Xu Teli, Wu Yuzhang, and Xie Juezai submitted their retirement reports.

Retired in 825

Ever since the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China formulated the retirement system for Party members and cadres, many people have been waiting to see whether it can be implemented.

If this policy is implemented within the party, then it will be implemented outside the party without any problems. Therefore, the most important question is whether some of the party's leaders will actually retire. Currently, there are still many senior members in the CCP, some of whom even participated in the Tongmenghui.

These people are now basically in their sixties and seventies, which is also the retirement age. Among the central government, the Yan'an Five Elders are the oldest.

Especially Xu Teli and Wu Yuzhang, one is 73 and the other is 71. Not to mention that neither of them is currently a member of the Politburo, even if they were members of the Politburo, they should retire at the age of 70 according to the regulations of the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee.

But both of them have extensive experience and high political status.

Wu Yuzhang participated in the Tongmenghui in Japan and led the renowned Sichuan Railway Protection Movement. He was a prominent revolutionary leader in Sichuan during the late Qing Dynasty and joined the Communist Party in 1925. He participated in the Long March and traveled to countries such as Japan, the Soviet Union, and France. He served as president of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region New Characters Association, president of the Lu Xun Academy of Arts, and president of Yan'an University. He later served as president of North China University in North China and is currently president of Renmin University of China.

There is no need to mention Xu Teli.

After the Xinhai Revolution, he served as Vice Chairman of the Hunan Provisional Parliament and was also the chairman's teacher in his youth. In his forties, he went to France to work and study. After the Kuomintang and the Communist Party split, he gave up his high-ranking official position and participated in the Nanchang Uprising. After his army was disbanded, he went to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, Soviet Union.

Both of them are representatives with extensive experience and great contributions.

After a lifetime of revolutionary work, they finally established the new China. But to retire them now would be like never having tasted victory. Chinese history has always been a taboo against "putting away the bow when the birds have all flown away."

Now that the People's Republic of China has just been established, who would have the nerve to ask the founding heroes to retire? But if their retirement is not resolved, then the retirement regulations adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh Central Committee will become a hollow document.

It was Xu Teli who took the initiative to step forward.

After the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee, Hütli had been pondering this issue. He was the oldest of the current central leadership. Furthermore, the "Three Antis Movement" launched in 1949 had a significant impact on him.

On the one hand, there was the shocking corruption and degeneration of party members and cadres, and on the other hand, Gao Gang attacked the Propaganda Department, which affected Xu Teli.

Gao Gang's attempt to apprehend a "big tiger" within the propaganda department impacted Lu Dingyi's wife and Xu Teli's daughter-in-law. While the situation ultimately resolved without significant consequences, it nonetheless affected Xu Teli. What ultimately spurred Xu Teli's decision was a discussion he had with Ren Peiguo before leaving for the Soviet Union to recuperate.

That is why Xu Teli decided to submit his retirement report at the Fourth Session of the Seventh Central Committee.