Palace Coup · Full chronicle and history

Deng Xiaoping convened a meeting at home and decided to remove Zhao Ziyang from the position of General Secretary. Zhao Ziyang and Hu Qili were not notified of this meeting.

Deng Xiaoping convened a Politburo Standing Committee meeting at home to discuss whether to impose martial law in Beijing, and Zhao Ziyang explicitly stated that it could not be carried out.

After Mao Zedong's death, the Central Guard Bureau under Wang Dongxing's control arrested the Gang of Four overnight at the Huirentang, testing the multiplication logic of absolute control over guards and personnel at the core of power.

In October 1976, the operation to arrest the Gang of Four inside Zhongnanhai was carried out by the Central Guard Regiment (Unit 8341), with Zhang Yaoci leading dozens of guard soldiers to carry it out; at the time Wang Dongxing concurrently served as director of the CCP Central Committee General Office and head of the Guard Bureau.