Free Web NovelHu Jintao looked at Zeng Qinghong without saying a word.
“It’s been quite a while since the Vice Chairman and I met alone like this.”
“That’s true. We used to meet often.”
“Power is a strange thing. There are no eternal allies or eternal enemies.”
Originally, Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong did not have a bad relationship.
In fact, it had once been very good.
They had been active in the Communist Youth League around the same time, and since they were close in age, they had often shared drinks while discussing China’s future.
Despite the stark difference in status and rank, the two had maintained a personal relationship.
But as time passed, those days faded, and now he stood as a political enemy blocking Hu Jintao’s path.
“Chairman, I’ll come in.”
A knock sounded at the door, and the secretary entered carrying two teacups.
After placing them in front of the two men, he quietly left.
Hu Jintao lifted the teacup, inhaled the aroma, and spoke.
“This time I almost died. I never imagined someone would try to kill me.”
“I heard about it.”
“You didn’t just hear about it, Vice Chairman. Didn’t you take the lead in planning and executing it? After all, you’re Jiang Zemin’s Zhang Liang.”
Hu Jintao sneered as he took a sip of tea.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, an investigation will reveal the truth anyway. But after nearly dying once, I started wondering why I’ve been living like this. Why I kept watching Chairman Jiang’s mood and holding myself back.”
“......”
“If I’m going to die either way, shouldn’t I at least struggle?”
After narrowly escaping death, Hu Jintao regretted how long he had endured and lowered himself.
Jiang Zemin’s influence still lingered, and the Shanghai faction remained powerful. But he had never expected them to attempt assassination the moment they lost even part of their power because of the SARS crisis.
After finishing about half of the pu’er tea, Hu Jintao set the cup down and asked,
“Aren’t you drinking? Afraid I might have poisoned it? I don’t do such things.”
Zeng Qinghong then lifted the teacup and drained the hot pu’er in a single gulp before setting it down.
Despite the scalding tea, he showed no reaction.
“I understand why you don’t trust me.”
“Good that you know. So what exactly did you come here to tell me? Something that’s good for me as well, you said.”
Hu Jintao inwardly grimaced at how ruthlessly Zeng Qinghong drank the boiling tea.
“I’ve decided to join hands with President Kim Muhyuk.”
“What?”
Hu Jintao asked in shock.
“You and Kim Muhyuk? How is that possible? That man could never ally himself with Jiang Zemin.”
“You misunderstand. I didn’t say Jiang Zemin. I said me.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not at all. I may currently be on Chairman Jiang’s ship, but I can step onto another ship whenever I want. I’m not foolish enough to stay aboard a sinking vessel.”
“......”
Hu Jintao was speechless.
Zeng Qinghong used the metaphor of changing ships, but in truth he had just declared he would betray Jiang Zemin.
When Jiang Zemin rose to the central leadership, the person he brought with him was Zeng Qinghong.
Jiang Zemin’s personal ability was exceptional, but it was Zeng Qinghong’s strategies behind the scenes that had consolidated that power.
In other words, Zeng Qinghong was practically Jiang Zemin’s right hand.
The better Jiang Zemin did, the greater the benefits for him.
And yet he was suddenly saying he would switch sides.
“Even if I try, I can’t understand this. Explain it properly, Vice Chairman.”
“I met President Kim Muhyuk in Pyongyang.”
Zeng Qinghong carefully explained the contents of his conversation with Kim Muhyuk.
“So you’re saying you’ll betray the Shanghai faction? You’ll take the lead in striking Jiang Zemin and the Shanghai faction?”
“I cannot act openly. But I can help from behind. President Kim Muhyuk also prefers it that way.”
“Hm...”
For Hu Jintao, there was no real reason to reject the proposal.
Zeng Qinghong was Jiang Zemin’s right-hand man. No one knew the internal workings of the Shanghai faction better than he did.
Even if he didn’t openly participate, that information alone would be immensely valuable.
It was a tempting proposal.
But there was one issue.
Could Zeng Qinghong really be trusted?
Seeing the suspicion in Hu Jintao’s eyes, Zeng Qinghong smiled.
“That look says you don’t trust me.”
“It’s difficult to trust you easily. Our rivalry has lasted far too long.”
“That’s true. But I had nothing to do with this assassination attempt. If I had planned it, it wouldn’t have been so sloppy. You know that better than anyone.”
Hu Jintao nodded.
Their feud had already lasted more than ten years.
Hu Jintao had endured quietly under Jiang Zemin’s overwhelming power, but he knew that Zeng Qinghong’s influence lay behind many major political moves.
The recent assassination attempt was far too crude to have been Zeng Qinghong’s work.
Because of that, Hu Jintao had returned unharmed.
But it still left him puzzled.
“I also find that strange. But that alone doesn’t prove your innocence.”
“What would make you trust me?”
“Tell me what you gain by betraying Chairman Jiang. Without understanding that, I cannot accept it.”
Politicians never change sides without benefit.
“Give the next top leadership position to someone from our Princeling faction.”
“......”
“I belong to the Princeling faction. I allied with Chairman Jiang because it benefited the growth of our faction. But the Shanghai faction has always restrained me. Even though I gained some power through Jiang Zemin’s favor, they never stopped keeping me in check.”
“That’s inevitable...”
Even if Jiang Zemin was excluded, none of the Shanghai faction figures who might succeed him possessed greater political weight than Zeng Qinghong.
Wu Bangguo and Jia Qinglin ranked higher in formal hierarchy, but their real political influence was far weaker.
Naturally, they would try to restrain him.
“So you want the next leader to come from the Princeling faction? And what do I gain from that? I could simply purge them all and choose the next successor myself.”
“That will be difficult. Even if you hold the justification, the Shanghai faction will not collapse so easily. The elders will not quietly watch you monopolize power.”
Zeng Qinghong had pointed out exactly what Hu Jintao had been worrying about.
“But if you promise the next leader to the Princelings, the elders will support you more strongly than anyone. After that, the following leader can return to the Communist Youth League faction. We simply take turns. The opponent just changes from the Shanghai faction to the Princelings.”
Hu Jintao’s support base was too weak for him to monopolize power.
But if he joined hands with Zeng Qinghong, that weakness would no longer matter.
Most of the Princeling politicians had also passed through the Communist Youth League at some point.
“Do you understand now why I want to change ships? President Kim Muhyuk agrees with this idea and has decided to support me. And he does not trust you very much.”
“What do you mean? That man doesn’t trust me?”
“During our attack, you did not actively defend him, did you? It’s not strange that his trust was shaken.”
“That was...”
Hu Jintao began to speak, but Zeng Qinghong shook his head.
“He said he understands it logically, but emotionally he wasn’t pleased. After all, you had to sacrifice quite a lot to block that attack.”
Hu Jintao glared at Zeng Qinghong with visible irritation.
But Zeng Qinghong had not come here to submit.
He met Hu Jintao’s gaze directly.
“In the end, that entire plan collapsed. We tried to attack you through Yoo Seongjin, but he kept his mouth shut. And President Kim Muhyuk remained loyal to you.”
“......”
“President Kim Muhyuk kept faith with you and the Prime Minister. Yet he received nothing in return. Even so, he said he has no intention of turning against you.”
“So he intends to help me, then. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. He will join hands with me and help you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Hu Jintao relaxed his expression and nodded.
“We can discuss the rest later. It’s too early to settle everything now. First we deal with Chairman Jiang, and then...”
Even as he indicated willingness to cooperate, Hu Jintao stopped short of giving a firm promise.
“For now, that is enough.”
Zeng Qinghong nodded with a deep smile.
“Aren’t you planning to replace the Shanghai Party Secretary?”
“...You already anticipated that.”
The list Hu Jintao had given Luo Gan did not contain the name of the Shanghai Party Secretary.
Jiang Zemin had intended to position him as the next successor after Hu Jintao.
Therefore he had strengthened him politically.
To strike him down would require a decisive method.
“If you seize Shanghai, it would be a humiliation for the Shanghai faction. After all, Shanghai is their political base.”
“......”
“I will help you do that.”
“What do you mean by help?”
“Among the Standing Committee members, the only true Shanghai faction figures are Jia Qinglin and Huang Ju.”
“...What about Wu Bangguo and Li Changchun? And Luo Gan?”
“I will ensure they remain neutral.”
“Is that really possible?”
“Yes. Luo Gan can switch sides at any moment. Wu Bangguo and Li Changchun align with the Shanghai faction, but they won’t want to sink with it.”
If Zeng Qinghong’s words proved true, the situation would become much easier.
Among the nine Standing Committee members, six were considered part of the Shanghai faction.
Wu Guanzheng, Secretary of the Central [N O V E L I G H T] Discipline Inspection Commission, had remained neutral.
Fortunately, after the assassination attempt, Wu Guanzheng had begun leaning toward Hu Jintao.
But the only person firmly on Hu Jintao’s side was Wen Jiabao.
“If the Shanghai Party Secretary is dismissed and arrested, the others will immediately turn neutral.”
If the rest became neutral, the Shanghai faction’s power would essentially disappear.
“So? Do you regret joining hands with me now?”
Hu Jintao was satisfied.
He could now understand why Jiang Zemin had valued Zeng Qinghong so highly.
With that, Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong began discussing plans to weaken Jiang Zemin.
“And Chairman Jiang is trying to restore Kim Jongil by mobilizing pro-China factions inside North Korea.”
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Hu Jintao shouted in shock.
* * *
After meeting Kim Jongil, we drove toward Kaesong to return to Korea.
Unlike before, the roads had been well maintained, allowing us to travel quickly without much shaking.
“That’s strange.”
Not a single vehicle was traveling on the highway.
I asked my aide, who was assisting me in place of Chief Ma.
“Manager Kim. How far do we have left?”
“We’ll reach Kaesong soon.”
“I have a bad feeling. Let’s move faster.”
The highway between Kaesong and Pyongyang should never be this empty.
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
As my vehicle accelerated, the soldiers Jang Songthaek had assigned to escort me increased their speed as well.
After driving for some time, we spotted a checkpoint I had never seen before.
The number of soldiers guarding it was far too large to be normal.
We stopped the car while the checkpoint was still barely visible.
“Find out what’s going on.”
Manager Kim stepped out of the passenger seat and walked toward the military escort vehicle.
“Just in case, prepare to turn the car around.”
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After giving the order to the driver, I sank into thought.
Did Kim Jongil ignore my warning?
I had spent half a day in Pyongyang after meeting him before departing.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Manager Kim returned.
“They say to wait a moment. They claim they don’t know anything about it.”
I nodded.
If Jang Songthaek intended to stop me, he wouldn’t use such a method.
One military vehicle passed our car and drove toward the checkpoint.
Watching it, I gave the order.
“Turn the car around for now.”
Just as the driver began to turn the vehicle—
Gunfire suddenly erupted.
