Lin Biao was the commander of 115th division of the eighth army in 1937​

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Only his thick eyebrows perhaps gave an indication that just three years prior, he was the commander of the Red Army’s First Army Group with over thirty thousand men, and had battled with the nationalist army for over seven years. Lin Jianhan was Lin Biao’s grandnephew. He was born after Lin Biao died in 1971.

Before his death, Lin Biao was the vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, second only to Mao. After his death, he was labeled a "political careerist", "conspiracist" and “traitor.” Over the years, the name Lin Biao gradually became synonymous to “insidious and cunning”.

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At 00:32 AM on September 13, 1971, Lin Biao, his wife Ye Qun, son Lin Liguo, and two associates boarded an airplane at the naval airport of ShanHaiGuan, a city three hundred kilometers east of Beijing, Two hours later, the plane went down on a prairie near Öndörkhaan, a city in the middle of Mongolia. The plane broke apart into pieces which littered across an area 800 meters long. A huge gasoline-fueled fire burnt the whole area and consumed the lives of five passengers and four crew members. This was termed the “Lin Biao incident,” or the “September 13 incident.”

The communist government’s version of the death was that Lin Biao had ordered the pilot to defect to the Soviet Union, and the plane crashed in Mongolia during an emergency landing on a grass field because it ran out of fuel. This version was questioned from the start by experts and laymen alike since it had so many holes. One problem was a huge fire on the prairie indicated the plane had plenty of fuel when it crashed. Another problem was it was unclear whether the plane was on fire before or after the crash. Also the evidence that Lin Biao intended to defect was very weak.

The name Lin Biao was taboo for Jianhan since childhood. When Jianhan became an adult, however, the government loosened up media control. The cause of Lin Biao’s death became a controversial topic among ordinary citizens’ conversations. Growing up, Jianhan was determined to overturn the unjust “official” verdict on his great-uncle.

Lin Biao’s two calligraphic artworks were displayed on walls as well. One said “Zhang Liang Fan Li, daring retreat in the face of a rapid current”, referring to two ancient Chinese statesmen who left imperial courts after contributing in the establishments of new dynasties. The other calligraphy contained a quote from Confucius: “Among ten thousand things, this is the top priority: self-discipline for the recovery of the order.” Jianhan was not sure what “order” his great-uncle had in mind, but he wanted to restore Lin Biao’s name.

It would have been an unimaginable crime to openly display Lin Biao’s portrait when Lin Jianhan was a child. By the time he graduated from the police academy, however, the government relaxed its control. Various speculations concerning Lin Biao’s death became open and rampant on the Internet, inside and outside of China.

After finishing a day’s work, Jianhan stood up from his chair and saw his cousin Lin Jianyou entering through the door. Jianyou literally means “sword friend” in Chinese. He was tall, big, and a part-time employee while studying in college. He was also keen on uncovering the secret behind the airplane crash which killed Lin Biao and eight other people. And he had worked just as hard as his cousin toward that goal.

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Jianhan and Jianyou had discussed interviewing Li Wenpu for some time. Before the Lin Biao’s death, Li Wenpu was the Chief Guard for Lin Biao, and was on the post for over ten years. Li led a platoon guarding Lin Biao’s residence. Around 12 AM on September 13, 1971, when Lin Biao, his wife and son were on the way to the airport, Li was in the same car. According to Li, when he heard Lin Biao asking “How far away is Irkutsk (a city in the former Soviet Union on the border with Mongolia)?”, he realized Lin Biao was going to defect. Li therefore called for a stop. After the driver stopped the car, Li got off, and told people in the car he would never betray his fatherland. By Li’s account, at that point, Lin Biao’s son rolled down his window, and shot Li with a pistol. Li was hit in his left arm, and fell on the roadside. The car resumed its journey to the airport at a very high speed. Li was later treated in a hospital. But his left arm’s mobility was never fully recovered.

The public had doubts about Li’s account, and suspected from the beginning that Li had shot himself in his left arm. However, the communist government took Li’s account as truth, and never bothered to check whether the bullet was fired from his own pistol. Lin Biao and everyone on the car were labeled as traitors based solely on Li’s account.

Had Li stayed with Lin Biao, he would have perished in the big fire after the crash like the other passengers. Many people suspected that when Li got out of the car, he not only knew the airplane was going to fly out of China, but also that it would crash in the end.

Li never changed his account over the years. Getting anything new out of him would be nearly impossible. That was very clear to Jianhan and Jianyou. Still, they felt that interviewing Li was the first thing to do.

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“I figured out how we can question Li Wenpu.” said Jianyou.

“How?” Jianhan asked while putting his laptop into a bag.

“Freud said—”

Jianhan laughed.

Unhappy with the response, Jianyou raised his voice. “Listen, Freud said, ‘The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.’”

“Freud was really good with words.”

“Of course!” Then Jianyou paused.

“Please continue.” Jianhan said.

“Let’s get out of here. We will talk in the restaurant.”

It was a Thursday—the day Jianhan would dine with his close friends. Half an hour later, the two arrived at HuiLong Restaurant. HuiLong, meaning “coming back dragon,” was also the name of Lin Biao’s hometown in HuangGang. Entering the restaurant, Jianhan waved at waitress, who smiled back. The restaurant was almost full. A man over forty, wearing a navy suit and a pink floral pattern tie, sat at a table next to a wall. The two Lin’s sat down at the opposite side.

Jianhan said, “Haven’t seen you for a month! Our president must be pretty busy lately.”

The name of the “president” was Lu Dingfeng, who owned a few companies.

“That’s right,” said Dingfeng, while looking at the palms of his hands. “Don’t know how the time went.” He said, “Heard you’re going to pay a visit to Li Wenpu.”

“Yes. A few years ago, Li told the press that he had stories to tell and he would only do so at a future time.”

“That bastard!” said Dingfeng.

Jianyou felt the same way, and said, “Chief Lin was condemned based solely on Li’s account.”

Among Lin Biao’s admirers, “Chief Lin” was a popular way of referring to him, because Lin Biao was the Commander in Chief of the vast Northeastern Army Group on the communist side during the civil war between 1946 and 1949.

Jianhan said, “Li knew that everyone getting on that airplane would die. The question is, what exactly did he know, and where did he get the information?”

“How could he possibly tell you?”

“He won’t,” said Jianhan, and shook his head.

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Three middle-aged men entered the restaurant. All of them were frequent participants in the gathering, and were also from HuangGang. Sitting around Dingfeng were two businessmen, Wu and Qi. Sitting next to Jianhan was Hu, an accountant. After meals were ordered, Jianhan asked Jianyou, “What does Freud have to do with interviewing Li?”

“Freud said, ‘He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.’”

Qi nodded with a loud “Yes!”

Dingfeng also nodded.

Jianyou continued: “We can detect Li’s secret through his gestures and facial expressions. He can’t hide it.”

Dingfeng said, “Why not bring Freud with you?” Everyone laughed.

Wu asked, “Have you settled on a date with Li?”

“Not yet,” said Jianhan. Dingfeng asked, “Through whom?”

“Through his daughter. Li does not communicate with others directly.”

Hu said, “All contacts go through a woman. Sounds like Li works the same way as Chief Lin.”

“How could you compare him to Chief Lin?” asked an angry Jianhan.

Nobody said anything.

Dingfeng said, “Maybe Li’s daughter reports everything to the government behind Li’s back, like Lin Doudou did.”

“Doudou” was a nickname of Lin Biao’s daughter, Lin Liheng. Five days before the air disaster, Doudou made a secret report to the government, saying that her brother and mother planned to “kidnap” her father to Hong Kong.