Lin Biao
Lin Biao replaced
Peng De-huai as
Defense Minster after
Peng pissed off
Mao by criticizing the
Great Leap Forward in 1959. He instituted heavy political indoctrination for
PLA soldiers, mobile guerilla tactics, and unquestioning loyalty to
Mao Ze-dong. He abolished ranks in 1964 in preparation for
GPCR. Made
Mao’s heir apparent after
GPCR,
Biao apparently attempted a coup and was "found dead" in plane crash over
Mongolia in 1971.
The
official version of these events states that after
Biao attempted to flee
China in fear of the escalating
Cultural Revolution. After a firefight into and through the airport,
Biao boarded a plane and forced the pilot to take off before finishing refueling. As a result, the plane went down over
Mongolia on its way to the
USSR.
The
alternate version is based on information supposedly leaked from China since
Deng Xiao-ping's reforms. This version
claims (and please, don't take this as fact. When dealing with Chinese intrigues, there are no such things) that
Biao had attempted at least 2 assassinations of
Mao.
Biao and his conspirators were forming their last-ditch plan, which pretty much boiled down to starting a war with the
Soviet Union, creating a diversion that would allow a
Chinese bomber to fly over
Mao's house unnoticed.
(OK, whatever, Biao)
This war never materialized. Tipped off by
Biao's doughtier -- who loved her
Chairman Mao like any good
Chinese Communist --
Mao moved to disrupt
Biao's plan with typical
Chinese grace... he invited him over for dinner. While Zhou En-lai and their wives watched, the two men who had been like father and son ate and talked like old friends. They both knew what was up. After dinner, they said good by and wished each other good health. Then
Biao got in his car and drove down the mountain.
About a mile from
Mao's house, a squad of PLA soldiers were waiting with 4
60mm rockets and 2
80mm rockets. The blast was so intense that not only was the car destroyed, but several soldiers lost their lives in the close quarters on the mountain side.
The story about the plane crash was only disinformation, according to this theory. The body may, in fact, have been
Biao's son. The "truth" will likely never be known, but the moral of the story is clear:
DO NOT FUCK WITH MAO