of the month Tao had appeared firmly established as
 number four man in the post-August hierarchy. When he
 moved to the center Tao had retained his power base
 in the Central South Bureau where he had for years
 been first secretary. He subsequently attempted to enlarge
 it by acquiring supporters among party leaders
 in East China, where the regional bureau had been
 without a designated head for nearly two years and had
 probably been managed by Teng Hsiao-ping before his
 downfall. Posters appearing in late November charged
 Tao with protecting several party bosses in the provinces,
 including Li Pao-hua--third secretary in the
 East China Bureau and party chief in Anhwei Province.
 Tao would thus have had an interest in blocking a drive
 to eliminate power centers outside Peking. His sudden
 and unexpected denunciation at the end of December may
 indicate that he joined the military and party opposition
 in desperation when the issue came to a head.
 The Army Reacts to the Purge
 21. It was clear that bringing down Ho Lung and
 his fellow conspirators did not mark the end of the
 matter so far as the military establishment was concerned.
 Even the newly reorganized armed forces' purge
 machinery was not regarded as reliable by its creators.
 Within a few days after the reorganization, two
 members--both editors of Liberation Army Journal--had
 been removed. Instead of stimulating new enthusiasm
 for the "revolution," the move to strengthen the military
 purge apparatus, together with attacks on major
 military figures, may actually have operated to heighten
 fears regarding their future position among senior troop
 commanders--generals of armies and high-ranking staff
 officers in the military regions--and inclined them to
 hang back.
 22. Many of these men had former ties of one sort
 or another with military leaders who had come under
 attack, and even those with no connections which then
 appeared to be potentially dangerous must have been
 fearful of what a further enlargement of the "revolution"
 might bring in the way of ex post facto charges later
 on. Up to Mid-January local political leaders had been
 successfully resisting in virtually every province, and
 commanders in almost every military region must have
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