In 1968, Zhang Wannian served as the division commander of the 127th Division of the 43rd Army, and Guan Guanglie was the political commissar.
But many years later, the two took completely opposite paths. One was promoted to vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, while the other was sentenced to ten years in prison. After being released from prison, he made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings.
Things have to start on September 15, 1971, when Zhang Wannian received a call from the 43rd Army, asking him to keep an eye on Guan Guanglie and never let him run away.
What is going on here?
In 1965, Guan Guanglie was transferred by the organization to the 127th Division of the 43rd Army as the deputy political commissar, and three years later as the political commissar. He could have had a bright future, but suddenly his fate took a major turning point.
Before the September 13th incident, the document appointing him as the director of the Military Political Department had already been printed, and the notice was just waiting to be issued.
However, the outbreak of the September 13th Incident completely changed his fate.
On September 15, 1971, after the “Lin Biao defection incident”, the 43rd Army immediately called Zhang Wannian, the commander of the 127th Division, and said to him: “Something has happened, you must take care of Guan Guanglie, and you must not let him escape. .”
Although Zhang Wannian didn’t know what happened to Guan Guanglie, but the military department attached so much importance to it, he couldn’t just ignore it.
So, he drove to Guan Guanglie’s residence, intending to test it out.
Zhang Wannian found a reason for the military exercise and talked with Guan Guanglie for nearly two hours. After some probing, he thought that Guan Guanglie had no emotional or ideological problems, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
Obviously, his relaxation was premature.
Three days later, Zhang Wannian received another order from the military, asking him to quietly take Guan Guanglie to Zhengzhou, Henan Province for inspection. Therefore, Zhang Wannian took Guan Guanglie on the way to Zhengzhou on the grounds of a meeting.
This trip completely ended Guan Guanglie’s political career and completely changed his life.
After arriving in Zhengzhou, the two knew what had happened.
During the conversation with Guan Guanglie, the leader of the military department told him that Lin Biao defected after the failure of the armed coup. At the same time, because Guan Guanglie had been Lin Biao’s secretary for nearly seven years, he was someone Lin Biao trusted, so he was also on the screening list.
Coupled with the fact that Guan Guanglie went to Beijing privately a few days before the “September 13th Incident”, the organization suspected that his going north was related to Lin Biao.
In fact, Guan Guanglie was deceived by Lin Liguo when he went north. On September 8, 1971, under the guise of Lin Biao, Lin Liguo invited Guan Guanglie to Beijing to discuss matters.
After Guan Guanglie arrived in Beijing, Lin Liguo took the so-called “Lin Biao Warrant” and asked Guan Guanglie to do things for them.
At that time, Guan Guanglie refused bluntly, and then returned to the army. Guan Guanglie explained the situation of the trip to Beijing to the military leaders in detail, but obviously the effect was not good.
Soon, Guan Guanglie was sent to Xishan Asia Nursing Home in Beijing, and later sent to Qincheng Prison.
Originally, Guan Guanglie might not necessarily be imprisoned. Like Lin Biao’s other secretaries, he might be imprisoned in Beijing’s “Asian Therapy” for one year, then sent to a farm for three years to be rehabilitated, and finally assigned work by the Political Department again. His old age is also unknown.
But it is a pity that the fate of others, it was the trip to Beijing that he thought was unnecessary to report, which caused him to suffer ten years in prison.
In 1980, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China conducted a public trial of two counter-revolutionary groups, Lin Biao and Jiang Qing.
In addition to the two “principal criminals”, there were 60 “accomplices” in this trial, and Guan Guanglie was among them. Later, Guan Guanglie was sent back to the Wuhan Military Region , where he was sentenced.
In January 1981, the court sentenced Guan Guanglie to ten years in prison. At this time, since 1971, Guan Guanglie has been imprisoned for nearly ten years.
Although Guan Guanglie has been revoked of military registration, party membership, position, rank, etc., but because the central government has not identified him, he has actually been paid these years.
However, when he asked the relevant department about the whereabouts of his salary, he was told that the money had been “handed in”. A few years before Guan Guanglie was released from prison, the government gave him 60 yuan a month for living expenses, which was difficult to support his living expenses. In order to make a living, he had no choice but to open a cultural relic shop near the Longmen Grottoes , selling calligraphy and paintings for a living.
Guan Guanglie’s wish for many years is to return to the army, but it is a pity that his wish has not been fulfilled. On the other hand, his old partner Zhang Wannian developed smoothly in the army, and later became the vice chairman of the Military Commission .
