In 1976, Premier Zhou, General Zhu and Chairman Mao passed away one after another. The people of the whole country were immersed in great grief, but the "Gang of Four" and his group stepped up their conspiracy activities. Many founding older generations were worried about this. At that time, Ye Jianying held many important positions and had a high prestige. Moreover, when he met with Maogong at , he risked his life to send the secret telegram from Zhang Guotao to Chen Changhao to Chairman Mao, making great contributions. Chairman Mao repeatedly compared Ye Jianying with Prime Minister Lu Duan, saying that he was "not confused about big things."
Faced with the crisis, Li Xiannian and others came to Marshal Ye’s home to discuss. Whenever this is the case, Ye Jianying always turns on the radio loudly. The secretary beside him was very confused at that time, because Marshal Ye was already a little rude at this time, and people usually had to speak louder so that he could hear clearly. Now that the volume on the radio is turned on so loud, it will be difficult for others to hear clearly. Later, after the "Gang of Four" was crushed, the secretary realized that Marshal Ye did this mainly to prevent eavesdropping.
Although the radio volume has been turned on very loudly, Ye Jianying still feels it is not safe. So when they were discussing with Li Xiannian and others, they wrote the words they wanted to say on paper, and then burned them after reading them. Why be so careful? Because the "Gang of Four" was very powerful at that time, and there were many ears and ears, so I couldn't be careful. At that time, Chen Xilian was in charge of , the Military Commission work, and Ye Jianying and Chen Xilian had very little intersection, so he put a question mark behind his name.
Li Xiannian is very familiar with Chen Xilian. He was the one who led Chen Xilian on the revolutionary path. During the Red Army period, the two fought side by side for many years and formed deep friendship. Therefore, after seeing Ye Jianying put a question mark after Chen Xilian's name, Li Xiannian immediately wrote on the paper: "It's totally reliable, please rest assured." As it turns out, it is true. When Chen Xilian and Li Xiannian were guarding Chairman Mao together, while no one was paying attention, Chen Xilian quietly said to Li Xiannian: Those people may have to take action, be careful. Fully show your attitude.
Later, this incident also received support from Nie Rongzhen, Hua Guofeng, Wang Zhen and Wang Dongxing. Out of his old age, Nie Rongzhen specially found Yang Chengwu and said to him: "The Gang of Four can do anything bad. Be vigilant and prevent them from taking action first. If they put Marshal Ye under house arrest, it will be troublesome. The Gang of Four relies on Jiang Qing's special identity and often cheats at meetings, is unreasonable, and it is useless to use normal methods to solve their problems. Only when we take action first and take decisive measures can we prevent accidents."
Yang Chengwu nodded after hearing this, and then Nie Rongzhen instructed Yang Chengwu to ask him to go to Ye Jianying's house and tell him these words to him and let him be more careful. The next day, Yang Chengwu came to Nie Rongzhen's house and told him that Ye Jianying and his views were very consistent, and Nie Rongzhen was relieved. After that, Ye Jianying acted more cautiously and moved houses frequently at night. On the eve of the gang of four, he moved home three times a night.
His secretary later recalled: "Moving was a very common thing during that time. Sometimes you could move three times a night. You just settled down there and suddenly a phone call: Go, move, and move to another place. Moving. We are all used to moving, so the things around us can be easily removed, and they are all held casually. Later I said, "You can't sleep well if you move a few times this night." He said that this is a cunning rabbit's three holes, and it's absolutely right to be careful."
At that time, the "Gang of Four" was stepping up the activity, and even the standard photos were taken. After Ye Jianying and Hua Guofeng and others discussed, they decided to arrest them in the name of a meeting. At 7 pm on October 6, Ye Jianying arrived at Huairen Hall, Zhongnanhai on time, and sat in the main hall with Hua Guofeng. Wang Dongxing was hidden behind the screen and directed the on-site operation. The soldiers of the Central Guard Regiment were fully prepared.
The first person to come to Huairen Hall was Wang Hongwen. He resisted fiercely, and after breaking free, he rushed towards Marshal Ye fiercely.Ye Jianying, who was used to the strong winds and waves, was very calm and did not panic at all. The guards immediately caught up and controlled Wang Hongwen. Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan who appeared later were also controlled one after another, and Jiang Qing was also taken away from his residence. At this point, the "Gang of Four" was smashed in one fell swoop. Marshal Ye once again made great contributions at an important juncture in history. In 1986, Marshal Ye Jianying died of illness at the age of 89.
