Chapter 774: Zheng Qinghong’s Proposition

The memory of Zheng Qinghong was hazy.

He was the type to orchestrate things behind the scenes, mediating disputes between factions within the Communist Party, rather than taking the spotlight.

Though called Jiang Zemin’s strategist, he belonged to the Princelings faction, composed of the children of the Communist Party elders.

He held power because of Jiang Zemin’s trust, but Jiang Zemin’s successors didn’t like him much.

‘Is it because of the Shanghai faction’s interference that he’s going to be ousted from the next leadership?’

As I organized my thoughts, waiting for Zheng Qinghong to speak, he seemed deep in contemplation.

Then, in a low voice, he asked:

“Are you considering joining hands with Chairman Hu Jintao?”

“Well, that depends on how Chairman Hu Jintao acts.”

I didn’t trust Hu Jintao.

I simply needed Hu Jintao to deal with Jiang Zemin.

Zheng Qinghong shook his head at my response and said:

“That’s not a good option. Even if Chairman Hu Jintao returns, it will be difficult to directly attack Chairman Jiang as long as the old guard supports him from behind.”

In my past life, Jiang Zemin survived until the end, wielding his influence.

“So? If not Chairman Hu Jintao, who can deal with Jiang Zemin?”

“What about me? I think I could be a good partner.”

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at Zheng Qinghong’s proposition. Partner with him?

‘I didn’t expect this.’

Seeing me just stare at him without saying a word, Zheng Qinghong continued.

“I am well aware of President Kim Mu-hyeok’s power. You understand the nature of power better than anyone else and you are someone who can get what you want by using your connections and wealth. While others may try to belittle you, I don’t.”

He looked me in the eye and said seriously.

“You told me to talk about my real intentions. This is it.”

Zheng Qinghong could have remained a behind-the-scenes coordinator if he stayed as he was.

I couldn’t readily speak, not understanding why he wanted to join hands with me.

As if reading my thoughts, he smiled faintly and said:

“I know what you are thinking. You’re wondering why I’m making this offer. The reason I want to join forces with President Kim Mu-hyeok is for the future. I want the next leader after Hu Jintao to come from our Princelings faction.”

In my past life, Zheng Qinghong had faithfully played the role of a kingmaker.

He couldn’t become king, but Zheng Qinghong was the one who could make a king.

Swallowing that down, I asked:

“You don’t seem to have any intention of doing it yourself.”

“By the time Chairman Hu Jintao’s term ends, I will be at the age when I should retire.”

He had to step down due to age regulations, but his intention to not let go of power was hidden within his words.

“Are you going to remain a behind-the-scenes power broker like Deng Xiaoping? That would be difficult.”

The reason Deng Xiaoping could remain the supreme leader until the end was that he held onto the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission until his death.

Jiang Zemin also tried to hold onto the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission until the end, even while passing the positions of General Secretary and President to Hu Jintao.

But it was unlikely that Zheng Qinghong would hold the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission.

“You know what kind of work I do. I just want to stay in the background.”

No matter how intelligent and adept at walking the tightrope he was, being a behind-the-scenes power broker was not as easy as it sounded.

But that was Zheng Qinghong’s problem, and what I would gain was what mattered to me.

“I understand your thoughts, Vice-Chairman.”

I picked up the teacup in front of me, and a smile curved my lips.

“But that is not a reason for me to join hands with you.”

“I will help you to remove Jiang Zemin. And I will assist you in everything you do, President Kim Mu-hyeok.”

The fragrant scent of green tea touched my nose. I deliberately took my time drinking the tea before placing the cup down.

It was an offer that sounded too sweet to be true.

“It’s such a tempting offer that it makes me feel uneasy.”

“I understand that you don’t trust me.”

“Understand? No matter how I think about it, it’s too favorable for me. You can continue to maintain your power as you are. But to betray your boss and join hands with me? It makes me think it might be a trap by Jiang Zemin.”

“I never thought of him as my boss. I only wanted to grow the Princelings faction by using Chairman Jiang’s power.”

To grow the faction slowly for the right moment.

That alone wasn’t enough to explain all the reasons he was making the move now.

As I continued to look at him with suspicion, Zheng Qinghong sighed quietly and opened his mouth.

“…It was me, Zheng Qinghong, who moved the old guard to hand over the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission to Hu Jintao this time.”

This was the first time I heard of this. Zheng Qinghong took Jiang Zemin’s power and gave it to Hu Jintao?

“Why would you go so far…”

I trailed off, closing my mouth involuntarily. Something flashed through my mind.

“You wanted the position of Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission.”

“…….”

If something happened to Hu Jintao, the person who would inherit that power was the Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

“Now I understand why you tried to assassinate Hu Jintao.”

When Jiang Zemin handed over the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission to Hu Jintao, everyone expected Zheng Qinghong to take the vice-chairmanship.

But Xu Caihou, Jiang Zemin’s most trusted military aide, took the position.

Zheng Qinghong could not help but feel betrayed.

“I opposed the assassination of Hu Jintao.”

“That’s because you didn’t get the vice-chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. If you had been given the position, you might have thought differently.”

“I won’t deny that. But the die is cast. If I leave it as it is, I might be swept away by the fierce purge that Hu Jintao is carrying out.”

Everything had gone wrong with this failed assassination attempt. It practically gave Hu Jintao the justification he needed, so it made sense that Zheng Qinghong would approach me this way.

“Originally, the next leader after Hu Jintao was supposed to come from the Shanghai faction. This was agreed upon before transferring power to Hu Jintao.”

“I’ve heard about that.”

The Princelings faction was excluded from the power structure.

The power of the Princelings faction originally came from their elders.

As time passed, and their parents died one by one, that power base was weakening.

Therefore, it was a well-known story that the Shanghai faction and the Communist Youth League had agreed beforehand to take turns in holding the supreme leadership, excluding the Princelings faction.

“This time, I advised him to give up the next supreme leadership to suppress Hu Jintao’s anger, but Chairman Jiang refused. That is the decisive reason why I gave up on going the same way as him.”

That was advice that Jiang Zemin could never give in to.

If he declared that, then at that moment he would lose not only his power after Hu Jintao’s retirement but also all of the power he currently had.

“So, I will join hands with President Kim Mu-hyeok, and make the person I support as the next successor. That successor must come from the Princelings faction.”

“And you will be the one to decide that.”

“That’s all I want.”

“If Jiang Zemin had accepted your request, there would have been no reason for us to talk like this.”

“Yes. That’s right. If that were the case, I would have mobilized all my power for Chairman Jiang.”

Zheng Qinghong was only telling the truth, perhaps to gain my trust.

He would join hands with anyone to achieve what he wanted.

Adding the information I knew and my future knowledge, it was easy to surmise that his words were not false.

“You didn’t come empty-handed, what did you bring as a token of trust?”

“I see you expected that.”

He smiled bitterly, pulling out a notebook from his pocket.

He tore a sheet of paper from the notebook and handed it to me.

“That is the token of trust I offer.”

As I took the paper, a question suddenly arose.

“What kind of list is this?”

The names written on the paper didn’t seem to be Chinese names.

“These are the people that Jiang Zemin has planted in preparation for an emergency.”

That was right. The paper listed the names of North Korean politicians and soldiers.

“And he is thinking of using them now to overthrow the regime.”

Just as I had expected, that’s how he was planning to move.

Then, Zheng Qinghong added one more thing.

“I advised him to do so.”

I turned my gaze from the paper back to Zheng Qinghong.

Zheng Qinghong twisted his lips upwards. The eyes behind his glasses held a strange heat.

“Even if you didn’t know, the probability of succeeding in an overthrow is slim. But if you know about it beforehand, it’s not just a slim probability, but a definite failure.”

As Zheng Qinghong said, even if I hadn’t known about this, there was no way it would succeed.

Because I had already persuaded Jang Seong-taek to increase surveillance.

But instead of saying that fact I waited for Zheng Qinghong to continue.

“That will become Jiang Zemin’s Achilles heel.”

If this fact was known, Jiang Zemin would have no choice but to step down.

Zheng Qinghong gave me Jiang Zemin’s weakness by moving directly.

“How is it, President Kim Mu-hyeok? My token of trust.”

I smiled while folding the paper and putting it in my pocket.

“I like it. Now, let’s talk openly.”

Unlike other people, he knew me well. He must have been telling the truth.

Instead of trying to gain my trust with vague words, he offered me a clear token of trust.

I decided to make Zheng Qinghong my partner.

* * *

Hu Jintao returned to Beijing.

“I’m relieved that you’re safe. What exactly happened?”

Wen Jiabao, who had been under a form of house arrest, sought out Hu Jintao.

“Suddenly, another warship attacked the destroyer I was on. Luckily…”

Hu Jintao explained the whole assassination attempt in a subdued voice.

Wen Jiabao’s face hardened as he listened to the story.

“That happened? I had no idea. I didn’t receive any report about that.”

“It must be that crazy Jiang Zemin who did it. That must be why he imprisoned the Prime Minister. I tried to contact you, but that would have revealed my entire plan…”

Hu Jintao trailed off, holding one of Wen Jiabao’s hands.

“I’m sorry. You had to suffer because of me.”

“It’s alright. What do you intend to do now?”

Wen Jiabao covered Hu Jintao’s hand with his remaining hand, comforting him.

“I have to counterattack now. I have the justification. There’s no reason for me to stay quiet.”

“Are you thinking of confronting Chairman Jiang Zemin directly?”

Hu Jintao nodded his head and released Wen Jiabao’s hand.

“Thanks to Kim Mu-hyeok’s actions, it has become much easier for me to move.”

Wen Jiabao was surprised and asked again.

“Huh? Did you contact him?”

“No, I didn’t contact him directly. But if what he wants aligns with what I want, I expected him to move that way. Though, I did not expect Russia to join him.”

“Handing over the credit for the gas pipeline construction to Chairman Jiang at the time has been so helpful now.”

“I hated Kim Mu-hyeok back then, but I am grateful now.”

When Hu Jintao joked, Wen Jiabao smiled faintly.

“By the way, the Vice-Chairman is in North Korea?”

“Yes. They say it’s to resolve the situation. I believe he’s trying to reconcile President Kim Mu-hyeok and Chairman Jiang.”

“I guess so. The Vice-Chairman is the type to do anything for Jiang Zemin.”

“There’s no way President Kim Mu-hyeok would accept that. I know that man better than anyone. He is more generous than anyone when you don’t cross the line, but he’s unforgiving once you cross it. Sometimes, that makes him scary.”

Hu Jintao nodded his head at Wen Jiabao’s quiet murmur.

He also had experienced Kim Mu-hyeok’s nature this time.

North Korea and Russia moving at the same time while risking diplomatic disputes with China. He could not help but be surprised after receiving the report.

Though he hated to admit it, he had no choice but to admit it now.

Kim Mu-hyeok was someone that they had to help even at the cost of damaging relations with China.

“Can we call that friend Kim Mu-hyeok to Beijing?”

“It will probably be difficult. He probably doesn’t trust anyone.”

“Doesn’t he trust the Prime Minister? I heard you two are like brothers.”

“That is true, but I couldn’t do anything this time. He might have lost faith in me because of it.”

Hu Jintao groaned and rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“If he doesn’t join hands with me, I will have no choice but to face that man as an enemy.”

It was a calm statement, but Wen Jiabao felt a chill run down his spine.

“If that’s the case, what are you going to do?”

“…No matter how good a friend President Kim Mu-hyeok is, he can’t compare to you, Chairman.”

Only then was Hu Jintao satisfied with Wen Jiabao’s answer and nodded his head.

“Since we’re going to meet in Russia, we can decide then.”

Hu Jintao put Kim Mu-hyeok aside for the moment and proceeded to reveal his plans.

“I plan to convene a plenary session.”

“You are going to convene a plenary session when it hasn’t been long since the last one?”

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is required to be held at least once a year, but it is known that up until now it has been held only once a year.

To overturn that precedent and convene a plenary session again…

“I have to fill all the important positions, including the Shanghai Party Secretary, with my people. Especially the position of the Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission. I intend to replace him no matter what.”

A fierce light poured out from Hu Jintao’s eyes. Wen Jiabao, who was struck directly by that gaze, involuntarily trembled.