Hu Jintao "paramount leader", thus retaining military power. Western observers attribute a sense of caution to Hu's philosophies, citing China's recent history of fallen heirs. Deng Xiaoping appointed three party General Secretaries, all designed to be successors, and was instrumental in the ousting of two of them, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. His third and final selection, Jiang Zemin, won Deng's continued, although ambiguous, backing and was the only General Secretary in Communist Chinese history to voluntarily leave his post when his term ended. Although many believe Hu was originally hand-picked by Deng as the youngest member of China's top leadership and
He Jintao Chengde cavalry soldiers and defeated them, almost capturing the officer in iron mask, causing much apprehension among the Chengde soldiers. After a subsequent campaign that Tian conducted against Li Shidao the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), in which He Jintao made contributions, He Jintao was given the honorary imperial censor title of "Shiyushi" (侍御史). By 829, He Jintao was serving under Shi Xiancheng, who was ruling Weibo in "de facto" independence from the imperial government. However, as at that time, imperial forces were close to defeating the rebel general Li Tongjie, who controlled the