Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

Nanjing fell too quickly, so quickly that the Kuomintang felt like they were dreaming.

Although Nanjing fell, it wasn't the first time!
However, when Nanjing fell during the War of Resistance against Japan, the Kuomintang knew that the people's hearts were on their side—even in the face of a difficult situation, they still held great hope.

But this time it's different!
They know all too well how they have eroded public morale—can they really take Nanjing back this time after its fall?
Xikou.

After hearing the news of the fall of Nanjing, the chief attendant remained silent for a long time.

Strategic planning is one thing, and psychological preparation is another, but when this reality actually arrives, the despair is very real!
"The natural barrier of the Yangtze River could not be defended!"

"The Guangxi clique is incompetent! The Guangxi clique is incompetent!"

Guangzhou.

Upon hearing the criticism from Xikou, Li Dai, who had retreated to Guangzhou, angrily said:
Who is incompetent?

"Who is quietly managing Taiwan? Who is transferring gold and silver? Who is holding onto the 45 troops in Shanghai and Hangzhou, unwilling to strengthen the defenses of the Yangtze River? And who appointed the garrison commander of Jiangyin?"

The two men’s angry accusations from afar quickly turned into a mutually tearing-down cooperation!
Previously, the two sides could maintain a superficial unity, but from this moment on, the contradictions between the Guangxi clique and the Central Army became completely public, and they entered a stage of full-scale military confrontation, each making their own plans, and distrust.

The Guangxi clique, which commanded an army of 40, was thinking of seizing control of the southwest and Guangdong and Guangxi, with the worst plan being to retreat to Hainan.
At this point, the Central Army had only one thought:
Manage the Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle area well, safeguard the southeast region, and the worst-case scenario is to retreat to Taiwan.

……

"What kind of business is this Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle now?!"

At the military meeting, the locusts roared angrily.

He did command hundreds of thousands of troops, but according to the chief of staff's strategic plan, his defensive logic was:
With the Yangtze River as its first line of defense, Jiangyin guards the vital passage to the lower reaches of the Yangtze.
By leveraging the containment provided by Zhenjiang and Nanjing, a permanent defense line will be built along Wusong, the Yangtze River estuary, and the outskirts of Shanghai.

Under this defensive logic, even if Nanjing were lost, with the existence of the Jiangyin Fortress, the garrison in Nanjing could retreat to Shanghai and rely on Shanghai's permanent defense line to properly manage the Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle area.

But now, Jiangyin has been lost—no, not lost, but directly rebelled!

Jiangyin was stuck between Nanjing and Shanghai, which prevented the defeated troops and supplies in Nanjing from being evacuated to Shanghai. This caused Jiangyin to lose a large amount of supplies and reserves in its defensive strategy!

The Nanjing garrison was, in his mind, the reserve force for the defense of Shanghai.

But now, it's gone!

He essentially had no reserves left!
That's not the worst part. The worst part is that he now has to guard against the north side of Shanghai.

Previously, this location was protected by the Jiangyin Fortress, which was considered invincible. There was no need to worry about the People's Liberation Army launching a pincer attack on Shanghai from the north and west after the fall of Nanjing.

But now, he has to guard against the north—a location that, unfortunately, has no permanent fortifications built. How can he defend it?
How can we defend it!
That's why he shouted those words at the military meeting in a way that was almost like giving up.

The attending generals remained silent.

The Jiangyin Fortress was defended by the Whampoa clique, and they revolted just like that—the Jiangyin Fortress, this Maginot Line of the East, was lost so easily. How long could their position last?

Perhaps too angry, Shui Hanhuang suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his furious gaze falling on Zhang Anping, who was attending the meeting:
"Zhang Anping, what kind of deputy director are you in? Are you a bunch of incompetent fools? The Jiangyin Fortress Uprising is such a big event, and you didn't receive a single word of news about it!"

"Even a little time to issue a warning would be helpful!"

Zhang Anping stood up, head bowed, silent, letting the floods, droughts, and locusts attack him.

But Zhang Anping was well-liked!

Immediately, someone stood up to speak for Zhang Anping:
“Commander, this matter cannot be blamed on Anping—in Jiangyin, it was Mao Renfeng's people who were in charge. Before, Anping was fighting desperately in Beiping, and that damned Mao Renfeng took the opportunity to purge Anping's core group clean! His confidants at the Jiangyin fortress were also investigated in the purge…”

At this moment, Mao Renfeng, who was lying dead in a hospital in Guangzhou, suddenly felt a strange heaviness on her back...

The man, who was both afflicted by floods and locusts, pointed at Zhang Anping, too frustrated to speak.

Whose fault is this?

After taking a deep breath, the locust said fiercely to Zhang Anping:

"The Jiangyin matter is put on hold for now—according to the chief aide, we need to dismantle and relocate the factory in Shanghai, and this matter is entrusted to you!"

"I have only one request: the demolition and relocation work must be completed within two months!"

"If you cannot accomplish this..."

The drought-stricken man looked at Zhang Anping with a gloomy face: "Then don't blame me for being ruthless in military law!"

Without a doubt, there was far too much personal resentment involved in this arrangement regarding floods, droughts, and locusts.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, floods, droughts, and locusts dominated Henan, earning him the "reputation" of being the last of the four pests. Dai Chunfeng concealed his evil deeds, but Zhang Anping once criticized him.

Now that Zhang Anping has "fallen" into his hands, he naturally wants to cause trouble for Zhang Anping.

Originally, he planned to use the responsibility for the Jiangyin Fortress Uprising to punish Zhang Anping, but with someone intervening, he had no choice but to dump the dirtiest job on Zhang Anping.

……

"Anping!"

After the meeting, a military commander called out to Zhang Anping: "The commander's words were a bit harsh, but he was just anxious. Don't take them to heart."

Zhang Anping shook his head: "It's not because of what the water commander said—that the Yangtze River, a natural barrier, is so easily defeated—that I find it hard to let go of this matter!"

The military commander, who had intended to comfort Zhang Anping, was also bewildered upon hearing these words.

After a long while, he patted Zhang Anping on the shoulder:
"Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

Zhang Anping got into the car with a somber expression.

The driver was Zheng Yi.

“Lord Qu, the floods, droughts, and locusts are deliberately making things difficult for you—no matter how well you do, they probably have other ways to continue making things difficult for you.”

It seems that the Kuomintang is truly doomed—Zheng Yi, who was waiting outside, was able to quickly grasp the contents of the military affairs meeting, which is truly a ridiculous situation!

The gloom on Zhang Anping's face disappeared, and he chuckled:

"How do you think he knew I criticized him?"

Zheng Yi stared at Zhang Anping in astonishment.

"How can I take on this job if I don't give him an excuse?"

"Let's go find some logistics dispatch experts—I'm going to give them a good lesson!"

……

One thing can be seen from the arrangements for floods, droughts, and locusts:

The current stance of defending Shanghai is no longer aimed at protecting the city itself, but rather at delaying the inevitable.

The purpose of delaying was to relocate—to relocate all factory equipment around Shanghai, as well as various raw materials, gold, and so on.

The drought and locusts assigned Zhang Anping the least profitable and most troublesome task: "transferring factory equipment." This was the most disgusting task. The factory was the lifeblood of capitalists and the lifeblood of workers. If the factory was to be transferred, capitalists might choose to compromise out of fear of gunfire, but what about the workers?
This job is really tough!
That's why the matter of floods, droughts, and locusts was entrusted to Zhang Anping.

But Zhang Anping was a loyal subject of the Party and the State, a renowned loyal subject of the Party and the State.

Faced with this task, he didn't give up; instead, he started researching it after taking it on.

That evening, Zhang Anping appeared at the official residence of the flood, drought, and locust control officials, carrying a report.

"Commander, I consulted some logistics experts today and specially prepared this relocation plan. Would you like to take a look?"

The unruly Zhang Anping was now respectful before him, which made Shui Hanhuang feel very comfortable. Even his attitude softened a bit: "Anping, you've worked hard—let me see."

Upon looking at it, he was immediately drawn to the plan.

Zhang Anping's relocation plan was, in essence, a multi-pronged approach.

The first step was to mobilize all the factory workers in Shanghai and expand the docks in preparation for the large-scale migration—while expanding, various transshipable goods were first gathered there.

The second step involved transporting supplies according to their level of difficulty, prioritizing the essential and valuable materials. During this step, workers were secretly organized to dismantle, number, and relocate the factory equipment. Zhang Anping explained the reasons for this approach in detail in his plan:
The underground Communist Party wielded unimaginable influence among the workers. If the factory were demolished rashly, the workers could easily rebel under the leadership of the underground party.

Therefore, the workers were first lured away with heavy workloads, and then the factory was secretly dismantled and relocated.

This can prevent workers from causing trouble.

Shui Hanhuang seemed indifferent to Zhang Anping's relocation plan, but upon seeing the end, he was astonished:
"Huh? You mean you're confident you can complete the relocation within 45 days?"

If Jiangyin is lost, the Shanghai defense line will be indefensible, but the chief attendant insists that he hold it—supplies must not be transferred until the end, and retreat is strictly prohibited!

His staff gave him two months to relocate.

But now, Zhang Anping says in his plan that it can be completed in 45 days—which means he can stay for half a month less!

Zhang Anping's answer was concise and direct:
"The department can sign a pledge!"

"Good!" Shui Han Huang was overjoyed: "You go back and immediately set up the 'Transfer Committee,' with me as the director and you as the sole deputy director, fully responsible for the work of the 'Transfer Committee'!"

"If the transfer and loading can be completed before June 10th, you, Zhang Anping, will be a hero of the Party and the country! If not..."

Shui Hanhuang smiled coldly: "I don't care who you are, when the time comes, there's only one way out: military law!"

"Yes!"

……

On April 25, 1949, Zhang Anping, the sole deputy director of the Shanghai Transfer Committee, took office.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, Zhang Anping's most frequently uttered phrase was:
"Shanghai, my little corner of the world..."

This time, Deputy Director Zhang's appointment has once again proven the value of this statement.

Massive demolition near the port!
The area around the port is truly prime real estate, with many shops backed by either high-ranking members of the Green Gang or military and political elites.

If you brought a different soldier here, he would be constrained and restricted.

However, Zhang Anping, with the help of secret agents from the Shanghai station, completed the expansion work around the port in just three days.

At the same time, the special agents at Shanghai Station also completed the "mobilization" of workers. Except for essential factories dealing with people's livelihoods, all the workers from other factories were conscripted to participate in the port expansion, road expansion, and the construction of temporary material storage points.

The large-scale demolition sparked fierce opposition from many people. The Green Gang leaders even instructed their disciples and followers to secretly cause trouble. However, Zhang Anping showed no mercy and arrested at least a thousand people under the pretext of being communist sympathizers.

Subsequently, executions were carried out under the pretext of executing Communists—a large number of Green Gang members fell in pools of blood.

What the newspapers reported, however, was Zhang Anping overseeing the execution of communist elements...

……

While Zhang Anping was carrying out the relocation work in full swing, fleet after fleet of ships crossed the vast sea and sailed to Shanghai!
It was global trade that facilitated the large-scale procurement of factory equipment and munitions for the Nationalist government.

In fact, the fleet had arrived in Southeast Asia more than 20 days earlier, but it was stopped by the US military—someone reported that the military equipment carried on board the fleet was involved in behind-the-scenes transactions.

The Americans intercepted the convoy in the Philippines and conducted a large-scale search of the weapons on board. There were even rumors that the Americans might send the convoy back.

Both Xikou and Nanjing were in a panic and sent delegations to negotiate with the Americans.

The negotiations lasted for about twenty days—in fact, it only took about ten days for the Americans to sign the permits and allow the huge fleet to pass. But something went wrong, and the news never reached the Kuomintang.

It was precisely because the news of the fleet's release had not been relayed back that the fleet "abruptly" arrived in Shanghai—if the news had spread, the fleet would have been intercepted long ago and would have sailed directly to Taiwan instead of Shanghai.

When news of the fleet's arrival in Shanghai spread, the man in Xikou panicked—how could they possibly go to Shanghai?
Turn around immediately and head to Taiwan!

By the way, the other half of the arms were also sent to Taiwan. Li Dai, the chief of staff, and I are half-brothers. As brothers, it is reasonable for me to accept the arms purchased by the Guangxi clique, right?

But the fleet's ship owners wouldn't have it!

The spirit of contract!

Do you even understand the spirit of contracts?
The destination was supposed to be Shanghai, and I've already arrived. Why are they changing my destination again?
People from Xikou came over for emergency consultations, and after three days of discussions, a result was reached:
Pay more!

Just when everyone thought the fleet would set sail, another unexpected problem arose—Global Trade, acting as the cargo owner, forcibly recalled the fleet to Shanghai just four hours after it left its post.

the reason is simple:
That damned Zhang Anping, he broke the contract!
"These factories have pledged shares! Ownership is temporarily held by Global Trade. Your direct demolition and relocation of the factories is a desecration of the contract, and God will not bless you!"

"We can dismantle the factory, but you must release the corresponding shares from the pledge!"

"Otherwise, the fleet would never have left Shanghai!"

The people in Xikou are almost going crazy. At this point, you're still talking to me about the spirit of contracts in global trade?

Xikou sent people to negotiate again, promising to demolish the structures first and then compensate for the corresponding equity later.

However, the global trade authorities are stubbornly clinging to their positions, clearly indicating a lack of trust in the current Nationalist government.

After a seven-day stalemate, Xikou finally compromised and agreed to release the pledged shares in cash.

So, global trade convened a large number of accountants to begin the verification process—which took another three days.

And as expected, some trouble arose during this period:

When the Guangxi clique learned that the arms they had ordered were to be accepted by their half-brothers, they were immediately in an uproar and negotiated with the Americans, demanding that the fleet be sent to Hainan.

Global trade can be completely ignored:
I'm sorry, but when we were inspected in the Philippines, the rude American soldiers ordered all our supplies to be unloaded. Now all our supplies are mixed together and can't be sorted at all!
The Guangxi clique and the Central Army, who were almost mortal enemies, had to hold emergency consultations. In the end, the Central Army made the following promise:

The supplies should be sent to Taiwan first, and the supplies from the Guangxi clique can be transferred there later.

Therefore, Xikou, which had long since stopped receiving military funding from the Guangxi clique, had no choice but to make up for the shortfall in military funding for the Guangxi clique...

After much trouble, it was finally settled—at this point, as long as Xikou paid approximately $40 million in release money, global trade would no longer prevent the fleet from leaving Shanghai.

money……

There is money in Xikou, but it's all been sent to Taiwan!

Fortunately, at this time, Xikou remembered Zhang Anping—it is said that during his time in Shanghai, Zhang Anping "arrested communists" and amassed a large amount of gold, to the point that people in Xikou were constantly making suggestions:

Zhang Anping is a traitor to the party and the country!
Don't ask why arresting Communists would provoke a backlash from the party-state's stragglers; the answer is... they're sympathizers of the Communists.

Xi Kou gave the order, requiring Zhang Anping to make up approximately 40 million US dollars in debt relief funds for global trade.

Zhang Anping, a loyal subject of the Party and the State, always went all out and never compromised in his work for the Party and the State. Upon receiving the order, he immediately transferred all the US dollars and gold he had to global trade.

But at this very moment, the biggest local tyrant in Shanghai finally "heard" the news!
With such a large fleet, the news naturally couldn't be kept from the floods, droughts, and locusts.

Initially, the water-drought locusts didn't have any ulterior motives, but now they have.

The reason, of course, is that the People's Liberation Army ended the siege and launched a general offensive.

By May 3, the People's Liberation Army had already completed the encirclement of Shanghai from three sides.

However, the floods, droughts, and locusts were stubborn and had no intention of surrendering. After our army failed to persuade them to surrender, we launched a general offensive on May 12.

The water-drought locust was initially full of confidence, but once they engaged in combat, he realized he was wrong.

The PLA's offensive was too swift. His meticulously constructed and seemingly impregnable defenses around Shanghai crumbled like paper under the PLA's onslaught.

Meanwhile, in Xikou, he was strictly ordered: if the supplies could not be sent out, Shanghai must not be abandoned.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, someone reminded them of the locusts and the floods:

Commander, what's the panic? Did you see the American convoy? The weapons on board are worth a full two hundred million dollars!
If you seize the weapons, we can hold out for two months, or even a year, without any trouble!
"Moreover, we can requisition the American fleet!"

"Such a large fleet, how many people can it carry! Add to that the ships we already have prepared, and when people and supplies travel together, who can stop us?"

This statement completely shattered the concerns of the people regarding floods, droughts, and locusts.

As long as I can bring the 200,000 troops from Shanghai back, I will be a hero who turns the tide for the Party and the country!
Let's do it! (End of Chapter)