Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

Mao Renfeng would never say that the shadow is you.

Mao Renfeng lost to Zhang Anping countless times in their chess matches, but one particular defeat was the most unforgettable.

At that time, he was so disheartened that he wanted to completely give up his criminal activities.

That incident was the "Zeng Moyi's alleged communist sympathy incident".

That incident was a setup he orchestrated.

After the incident at the military dog ​​base, Zhang Anping felt that his personality might be related to the Communist Party, so he tried to make his move from that angle. As a result, Zhang Anping's wife, Zeng Moyi, walked right into his trap.

Mao Renfeng devised a plan, using a special agent under the alias Lu Xiangyang to try and recruit Zeng Moyi into the underground party—and he succeeded; Zeng Moyi was indeed recruited into the underground party.

But in the end, he became what Zhang Anping called "mentally disabled".

Finally, disheartened, he transferred from the Military Intelligence Bureau to the Second Department to retire.

In that incident, Mao Renfeng heard the code name "Shadow" for the first time. Shadow was Zeng Moyi, who was sent by the underground party to "recruit" Zhang Anping's wife.

The conclusion of the investigation at the time was:

The underground party discovered Huo Cunzhi's betrayal and then used Huo Cunzhi to antagonize Zhang Anping.

But now, according to Zhang Anping, Huo Cunzhi is a shadow, but not a real shadow; he exists only to cover up the shadow.

In this situation, there must be some connection between Huo Cunzhi and the real shadow, and the real shadow must be able to use the fake shadow Huo Cunzhi to "escape" and ensure his own safety at a critical moment.

This is standard practice in the intelligence field. Even if Mao Renfeng was an outsider, he had been in the intelligence agency for so long, how could he not understand this principle?
So, since there is a connection between the real shadow and the fake shadow Huo Cunzhi, and Zhang Anping controls the real shadow, how could Zhang Anping not know that the fake shadow had turned Zeng Moyi against him?
There is even another possibility:
The exposure of the false shadow may be the work of the real shadow!
And this must be Zhang Anping's direct will!
So, thinking deeper:
Was Zhang Anping truly unaware of the situation at the time?

Mao Renfeng just wants to say now:
To hell with not knowing! This son of a bitch not only did Zhang Anping personally prepare the whole scheme he set up before, but he also orchestrated the entire setup back then!

Why does Mao Renfeng still hold a grudge about what happened back then?

That's because, on the surface, he was defeated by Zeng Moyi, a former female special agent who retired and became a devoted wife and mother.

To be honest, this result caused Mao Renfeng to question the meaning of life for quite some time.

Now that Mao Renfeng knows, the pit was dug for him by Zhang Anping himself—failure seems easy to accept.

When Mao Renfeng exclaimed in shock, "It's you!", Zhang Anping remained unmoved. He guessed that Mao Renfeng had realized that he was the one who orchestrated that incident back then—but so what?

His biggest fear was Dai Chunfeng. Mao Renfeng thought it was a scheme targeting him, but in reality, he was just the "grass" in the "killing two birds with one stone" scenario.

So what if the truth comes out now?
Mao Renfeng took a deep breath, but a deep sense of apprehension lingered in his eyes.

What kind of person is Zhang Anping in his eyes?

He prioritized the interests of the Party and the state above all else, treated the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics as his everything, and even his family was a sensitive nerve that he would never offend...

But now, it's been torn down!

If he sees his family as a dangerous threat that he will be quick to anger, then would he use his wife as bait?

If he truly considered the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics as everything, how could he possibly allow Huo Cunzhi, this fake shadow, to be exposed in order to scheme against him, Mao Renfeng?
Even Huo Cunzhi's death may have been orchestrated by Zhang Anping himself, with the aim of muddying the waters!
But this is the very person Mao Renfeng prides himself on having a keen eye for people, and only now has he suddenly seen through his true colors—that's the most terrifying thing!

At this moment, he thought of something else. The reason he returned to the Second Hall was because Dai Chunfeng wanted to check and balance Zhang Anping. He guessed that Dai Chunfeng probably realized Zhang Anping's treacherous nature at that time, which is why he was sent out again to check and balance him!

【Spring Breeze, oh Spring Breeze, I always thought you saw Zhang Anping as your successor because of our family relationship, but I never imagined you saw right through him long ago!】

Looking intently at Zhang Anping, Mao Renfeng said softly:

"You and I are probably the same kind of people!"

No, you are more terrifying than me. I am a villain, but you are a complete hypocrite!

Zhang Anping frowned: "Director Mao, you called me here just for this?"

Mao Renfeng watched the hypocrite's performance and suddenly burst into laughter:
"You don't really care that much about the annihilation of the 74th Division, do you?"

Zhang Anping returned a deep gaze without uttering a sound.

"The joint training program ends here—and this intelligence you have is also... put on hold."

Zhang Anping neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in rejection. He deliberately got up and made himself a cup of tea. Under Mao Renfeng's gaze, he took a small sip and said:

"This intelligence must be taken seriously."

We can't fall into the same pit twice.

He didn't say I wouldn't report it to the Attendant's Office, which clearly indicates that he had reached an agreement with Mao Renfeng.

"This is natural."

After Mao Renfeng finished speaking, he picked up his cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, and pretended to take a sip. When Zhang Anping saw this, he said goodbye. Mao Renfeng didn't say anything and continued to drink his tea. Only after Zhang Anping left did he slam the cold teacup heavily on the table.

I realized I had misjudged Zhang Anping from the very beginning!
Indeed, if he were truly a scoundrel wholeheartedly devoted to the Party and the country, even with Dai Chunfeng standing behind him, could he have reached this point?

We can't get there!
Can anyone who's gotten this far be a good person?

It's ridiculous that I only realized it now.

He recalled his confrontations with Zhang Anping, and after removing his previous prejudices, he re-examined all of Zhang Anping's actions, and the chill he had suppressed before resurfaced.

Damn it!
Both Zhang Anping and I are ruthless and unscrupulous in our pursuit of power, yet Zhang Anping has managed to portray himself as a loyal and patriotic figure, while I am the one in question.

He was actually verbally abused by Wang Tianfeng, who practically accused him of being a Communist!
Mao Renfeng was lost in thought. He had realized a truth earlier and resolved to put it into action, namely:
In his power struggle with Zhang Anping, he wanted to use righteousness to subdue Zhang Anping and to portray himself as a good person.

It's ridiculous to think about it now. Zhang Anping had been using these methods for a long time!
"To hell with the idea that a gentleman can be deceived by his principles!!!"

Mao Renfeng cursed in frustration, "No wonder I can't beat Zhang Anping. No wonder every time I fight Zhang Anping, I always lose so decisively."

So he was using the same methods he used on a gentleman to deal with Zhang Anping, but Zhang Anping was a complete hypocrite from beginning to end!

The methods I use to deal with gentlemen are bound to fail against a hypocrite who is a hundred thousand times more hateful than a true villain!
Slowly suppressing her embarrassment and anger, Mao Renfeng recalled the last meal with Zhang Anping that she hadn't eaten, and a sense of unease gradually surfaced in her heart.

You, Zhang Anping, really went to great lengths!
I used to think that I had chosen to bow down to Ye Xiufeng for the sake of the bigger picture, and I was laughing all the way to the bank back then. But now it seems that Zhang Anping deliberately made me think that way—that bastard is creating the illusion that he is a gentleman for me every moment.

Luckily, I've realized it now, otherwise I would lose terribly every time, and I would never know which part of the process went wrong!

……

It seems that in Mao Renfeng's eyes, I've now gone from being a gentleman to a hypocrite.

Back in his office, Zhang Anping felt somewhat... disappointed.

Logically speaking, he has won again this time, and the only price he should pay is being labeled a hypocrite by Mao Renfeng. He shouldn't be like this.

For Zhang Anping, however, the change in his public image in the eyes of the enemy meant that his subsequent plans would have to be adjusted. He could not even follow his usual approach and would have to consider more factors, which was indeed a loss.

But if Zhang Anping were to run again, he would still have to do the same thing—the current manpower of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) was indeed too small. The annihilation of the 74th Division had practically set the stage for the Kuomintang's widespread defeats, making the expansion of the two major intelligence agencies, the BIS and the Party's intelligence bureau, inevitable. Rather than adding more uncertainty due to expansion, it was better to control the most crucial aspects from the beginning, especially by also controlling the recruitment of new personnel for the Party's intelligence bureau.

Therefore, Zhang Anping had to push for the joint training course—but the Bureau of Secrecy rejected the joint training course from a legal standpoint, so the existence of this joint training course would be questioned, and it was very likely that in the end, not only would he be unable to control the Bureau of Secrecy's funding channels, but he might even lose control of the Party's funding channels.

Therefore, Zhang Anping had to push it forward strongly.

This is the core reason why Zhang Anping played the "Shadow" card.

Just as Mao Renfeng thought, if Mao Renfeng did not choose to compromise, Zhang Anping would definitely report the matter to the Attendant's Office.

Admittedly, the direct cause of the 74th Division's annihilation cannot be seen from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, but the chief adjutant wanted to shift the blame for the division's complete destruction—

Zhang Lingfu can be blamed, the friendly forces that failed to provide adequate relief can be blamed, and the commanders on the battlefield can be blamed. So why can't the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics be blamed?
Would Mao Renfeng dare to gamble that the Chief Constable would protect the Secret Service's loyalists?

He doesn't dare!
Therefore, he had no choice but to compromise with Zhang Anping, exchanging the legitimacy of the joint training program for Zhang Anping's peace.

But for the power structure of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, this result was... extremely frustrating.

It even had a huge impact on morale.

His next step is to find a way to regain his composure—he has to do it, otherwise morale will collapse.

Zhang Anping quickly put aside his disappointment and instead began to savor the moment.

As a formidable opponent, Zhang Anping had to provide Mao Renfeng with an outlet for his frustrations.

Zhang Anping stood up and looked towards the northeast.

……

Northeast China, Shenyang.

The situation in Northeast China is terrible—of course, this is from the perspective of the director of the Northeast Headquarters' Inspection Office.

From the perspective of a member of the underground Communist Party, the current situation in Northeast China is simply thriving!
It has been less than a year since the civil war officially broke out, but looking at the current situation, it feels like many years have passed. How arrogant the Nationalist army was on the Northeast battlefield when the civil war first broke out?

It seems they could wipe out our army with the flick of their wrist.

As a result, less than a year has passed, and the Northeast Liberated Area has cut off the land links between the Kuomintang troops and has now launched a summer offensive—it seems that our army is going to carry out large-scale urban capture operations in this summer offensive.

This would have been unimaginable a year ago!

Minglou glanced at the map of Northeast China hanging in his office. Looking at the map, he couldn't help but think that perhaps within three years, the enemy in the Northeast would be completely wiped out by our army!

Anping had initially planned to continue the charade for a few more years, delaying the construction of these American-made arms factories indefinitely. But now, it's unnecessary! Absolutely unnecessary!

Minglou couldn't help but smile.

Not long ago, the Kuomintang army in the Northeast was still quite stubborn, believing that it was only a temporary setback in the offensive, a stalemate, and a shift from offense to defense, but that it would soon be able to reorganize a counter-offensive—this was reflected in the attitude of the Kuomintang army in the Northeast towards the batch of military equipment held by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

At that time, he took advantage of the Kuomintang army's stubbornness and insisted on continuing to build the arsenal, thus laying the foundation for the subsequent counter-offensive.

At this point, Zhang Anping proposed to find a way to move the military equipment away—he couldn't openly say that he didn't think the situation in Northeast China was good, so his words were rather veiled. In addition, there was strong opposition from his own side, so of course it didn't work out.

However, just as news of the annihilation of the 74th Reorganized Division arrived from afar, our army launched its summer offensive. The Kuomintang in the Northeast was clearly panicked, and some people began to stop the construction of arsenals—indeed, reality is always the most educational.

[Now that land transportation is cut off, the military equipment can't be transported out. We need to figure out how to preserve it—once the Kuomintang army is on the verge of defeat, they will definitely try to destroy this equipment.]

Minglou pondered for a moment and decided to let Xu Zhongyi take over the equipment. He would be responsible for blowing it up, and he could get away with it. If Xu Zhongyi didn't blow it up, it was because he had defected to the Communists. What did that have to do with Minglou?
[That brat's going back soon, perfect opportunity for him to tell Anping what I'm thinking.]

At that moment, there was a knock on the office door. Minglou immediately suppressed his smile and resumed his serious and solemn expression—the situation of the National Army had been very bad recently, and as the director of the inspection office, he couldn't let anyone see him smiling.

"Enter!"

It wasn't the secretary who entered, but Mingtai.

Seeing this, Minglou deliberately shouted, "What are you doing here!"

Mingtai came to Northeast China to escape Wang Tianfeng, but after arriving, he acted as if he was doing things for his teacher and trying to "persuade" his elder brother to surrender. Therefore, Minglou's relationship with Mingtai was very bad on the surface.

But after Mingtai closed the door, the reprimand on Minglou's face disappeared.

"Are you leaving?"

Minglou felt slightly melancholy and worried.

The Northeast Security Bureau appears to be embroiled in fierce internal strife—Xu Zhongyi, representing Zhang Anping's will, unites Zhang's forces in the Northeast to fight against him.

But in reality, Xu Zhongyi's side was almost completely filled with his own comrades.

Gong Shu joined the Party last year—he was personally introduced to the Party by a comrade named Zhao Gang;

After Yu Xiuning found Xu Zhongyi's weakness, she was faced with a choice between killing her "brother" or ignoring him. She was persuaded by Gu Yufei pointing to the child in her arms.

After the liberation of Northeast China, the people did not enjoy a better life. Corruption, disorder, and other problems combined to cause widespread suffering. Gu Yufei asked Yu Xiuning:
Do you want your child to grow up in a hopeless country under Kuomintang rule?

Qi Siyuan released the underground party members who had fought alongside him during the Japanese occupation.

If even the top figures of the Zhang faction in Northeast China were like this, let alone their subordinates—the reason why this happened was that during the Japanese occupation, although they established a huge foundation after entering Northeast China, their own environment was never good.

For a considerable period of time, they even fought alongside the guerrillas.

The camaraderie forged in battle, coupled with the Zhang family's strict discipline—how could they not be disappointed in the Kuomintang after it reclaimed Northeast China and revealed its insatiable greed?
The more honest and upright a person is, and the more expectations they have for the country, the more likely they are to become completely disillusioned with the Party and the state.

Therefore, the Northeast's Bureau of Investigation and Statistics can be described as the most "sci-fi" branch.

Compared to the Northeast Security Bureau, which can be described as "science fiction," the situation in Nanjing was like dancing on a knife's edge.

Mingtai naturally sensed his elder brother's worry, and he smiled and said softly:
"Brother, don't underestimate the teacher. Actually, I think the situation is better in Nanjing."

Minglou chuckled inexplicably. He remembered how the third brother had been very wary of his teacher after joining the organization, but now he was particularly protective of him.

This made his older brother a little jealous.

After teasing his elder brother with a single sentence, Mingtai's expression returned to solemnity:
"Big brother, it's the teacher's order."

"explain."

"The teacher told you to use embezzlement as a starting point to take down Chen Ming."

Minglou was stunned, unable to believe that this was Zhang Anping's order.

Yu Xiuning knew Gu Yufei and Xu Zhongyi's identities, and she even let Xu Zhongyi go, but she did not choose to join the organization—to a large extent, because of her troublesome husband.

Taking down Chen Ming would only put Yu Xiuning in a difficult position. (End of Chapter)