Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

There are actually many intelligent people in the Party-state.

Zhang Anping viewed the Northeast People's Liberation Army's summer offensive as a signal of a strategic counter-offensive from a God's-eye view. But the smart people in the Party-state didn't need a God's-eye view to see what this meant.

Of course, the corresponding solutions were also formulated as a result:

You take the lead, then I'll just defend!

I couldn't beat you on offense because I wasn't familiar with your tactics, but I fought a long defensive war against the Japanese. Although I was very passive, I still managed to hold on, didn't I?

I can hold off the Japanese, how could I not hold off you?

Well, this is just a simplified summary, because behind this conclusion lies a wealth of well-reasoned analysis.

These well-reasoned analyses all point to one fact:
They firmly believed that the Party-state could successfully counter the counterattack from the People's Liberation Army even under difficult circumstances.

Therefore, the report on the expansion submitted by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics naturally received mixed reviews—some people thought it was alarmist and believed that even if the National Revolutionary Army suffered some losses in the early stages of the Communist counter-offensive, it would not suffer major losses.

Therefore, countless people opposed the Bureau of Secrecy's expansion report.

However, the General Staff was tempted, and some even supported the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics' expansion report from a purely military perspective, specifically citing various examples from the War of Resistance against Japan.

Therefore, the Executive Office finally made up its mind, changed its past strategy of suppressing and restricting the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and agreed to the Bureau's report.

For this reason, the Attendant's Office specifically emphasized:

The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) has a heart to share the burdens of the Party and the country, which is commendable. Moreover, the BIS's arguments have been tested in actual combat. Most importantly, when the Party and the country encounter setbacks, the BIS tries to find ways to do things!

Well, once those words were spoken, no one else dared to say anything more, even if they objected. Otherwise, they would be seen as having ulterior motives.

With Dai Chunfeng's example already established, who would want another Dai Chunfeng to emerge?

As a result, some people secretly took action.

For example, in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics' expansion report, it was proposed to reassign the Traffic Police Corps to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and rename it the Special Operations Corps. However, these people demanded that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics raise its own funds to start from scratch, arguing that the Traffic Police Corps' current organizational structure was already fixed. This involved Tang Zong, Mao Renfeng, and many other veterans of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

The reason is simple: the reason the Security Bureau supported this report was that it was about expanding the pie, but how many of Zhang Anping's staunch supporters were there in the Traffic Police Corps? If they were to return to the Security Bureau, wouldn't the future Special Operations Corps definitely be under Zhang's control?

How can you even eat cake like this?!

Well, this was exactly what Zhang Anping had expected—he knew from the beginning that the Traffic Police Corps could not be transferred to the Bureau of Secrecy; the best option was not necessarily the one that would benefit everyone.

Secondly, in order to ensure that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics would not have the opportunity to become the only dominant entity in the future, Mao Renfeng, who was previously somewhat disliked, suddenly became a guest of honor for many people and gained a great deal of friendship.

Clearly, the essence of these "friendships" was to contain Zhang Anping. They were worried that Zhang Anping would completely sideline Mao Renfeng, so they extended a hand of friendship to Mao Renfeng—the expansion of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics must not be allowed to repeat the situation where Dai Chunfeng held absolute power within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Unfortunately, Zhang Anping didn't care about any of these things.

At that moment, he was at a bureau meeting, holding a thick stack of lists and expressing his opinions.

"This is the list of trainees compiled from various locations, totaling 1,379 people!"

The Executive Office had not yet approved the report on the expansion of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, but the Bureau itself had already taken action—each station and group was conducting preliminary selections of personnel in local schools to prepare for the upcoming expansion.

Note that the order for the pre-selection of personnel was not issued by Zhang Anping, but by Mao Renfeng in his own name.

Inside the meeting room, once Zhang Anping began to speak, everyone realized what he was going to say.

"Judging from the list, each station group has put in a lot of effort. I have roughly compared the personnel files of previous training courses—the overall quality of the personnel files of each station group after the preliminary selection this time is obviously very high."

"It's pretty good."

Those present thought to themselves that this was a classic example of a speech pattern that first praises and then criticizes.

As expected, Zhang Anping then said:

"Gentlemen, but I don't think it's necessary to start the personnel selection process from scratch—"

Zhang Anping changed his usual cold speaking style and spoke in as gentle a tone as possible:
“During last year’s reorganization, our bureau laid off a large number of agents. Now that we need to expand, I think we can recruit from the agents who were laid off. This would also avoid a long training period.”

"The most crucial point is that these elderly people have a wealth of experience and can start working immediately after being recruited. Unlike newcomers, even after nearly a year of training, they still need a long period of internship to fully master the skills."

"Fellow colleagues, the Executive Office has approved our expansion. We must achieve results as quickly as possible, rather than wasting precious time on personnel training!"

Is there any truth to what Zhang Anping said?
Makes sense!
Just as he "hopes" that the newly established Special Task Force can be reorganized based on the Traffic Police Corps, rather than starting from scratch—this is the most reasonable, time-saving, and optimal choice.

It may be reasonable and optimal, but it is not the option that best suits all vested interests.

“Deputy Director Zhang, I object.” A senior member stood up, his tone sincere: “I’m simply stating the facts.”

"First of all, what have these people done in the nearly one year since we laid them off? Have they had any contact with the Communist Party? We can't be sure of any of that. And since laying off is essentially an act of abandonment, will they harbor any resentment?"

"We can't guarantee any of that. What if the Communists use this opportunity to infiltrate?"

“We can conduct large-scale screening, but these people are all veteran agents with rich experience. Simple screening is of no use to them.”

"We can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch—and with this expansion, we currently have over three thousand positions. How many bad apples are going to be recruiting so many elderly people at once?"

Upon hearing this, everyone else agreed—no, they all strongly supported it.

Mao Renfeng, who hadn't said a word, was secretly overjoyed. Zhang Anping, Zhang Anping, you're dumbfounded this time, aren't you?
These past few days, Mao Renfeng has felt like she's the chosen one, and she loves the feeling of having countless people fighting for her common interests without her saying a word.

As for why this happened, the reason is quite simple.

When the layoffs were initially announced, Zhang Anping used every means possible to secure substantial severance pay for the laid-off personnel, even going so far as to pay it in US dollars.

However, the stations below received US dollars from the headquarters but issued legal tender. Only the headquarters, under Zhang Anping's supervision, did not experience this substitution.

Holding onto US dollars allows one to ignore the current inflation of fiat currency.

As for fiat currency, if you deposit it in these days of soaring prices, it's like depositing a whole pig a year ago and now you can only get a tuft of pig hair!
Although many of the dismissed agents did not receive US dollars, it is certain that once these people returned to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, they would be Zhang Anping's most loyal supporters.

There is another reason:
These disbanded agents, regardless of their rank, are essentially a group of abandoned individuals. Once they return to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, will they still follow their former superiors?
impossible!
They will only choose Zhang Anping, who has been extremely kind and righteous to them!
The current expansion of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics is a feast for the top echelons of the Bureau's power pyramid. Who would want Zhang Anping to be the ultimate winner?

These two reasons alone are enough to make everyone outside Zhang's faction oppose it with all their might.

Therefore, even the best solution is useless if it does not benefit the majority.

Zhang Anping seemed to have been prepared. Faced with unanimous opposition even without Mao Renfeng's involvement, he could only sigh and give up the "struggle."
"The screening process will be very strict. I'd like to take the lead in setting up a review committee to be responsible for screening personnel. What do you think, Director?"

“That’s only natural,” Mao Renfeng nodded slightly, but then said with concern, “However, Anping, you are now in charge of both training matters and the preparation, establishment, and training of the Special Operations Brigade. People’s energy is limited. You shouldn’t bother with this review committee. What do you think?”

Zhang Anping thought for a moment and did not argue, but nominated a candidate: "Then let... Shanwu take over, hmm, Qiu Ning can lend him a hand."

Dai Shanwu, a name that is almost forgotten.

Qiu Ning, the head of the investigation team who had just returned from Shanghai, was a staunch supporter of Mao Renfeng.

"Shanwu... that's fine too." Mao Renfeng didn't object. This position wasn't that important, so naturally, the others didn't get involved either.

Therefore, the expansion of the existing personnel within the Bureau of Secrecy was decided based on the opinions of the majority.

Zhang Anping then silently took a sip of tea, indicating that his "topic" was over.

He's completely shirked responsibility, so now all he can do is watch the show!
Gone?

The attendees looked at each other in bewilderment. It was because today was the day to divide the cake that the elder who had opposed Zhang Anping's proposal had even used the phrase "I'm just stating the facts" to show his weakness.

But now you're not going to talk about it anymore?
Upon seeing this, many quick-witted elders felt their hearts sink. Holy crap, another backroom deal?
These elders certainly had the power to tip the scales, but this was only true in the context of the Zhang-Mao confrontation; whichever side they favored would win decisively.

However, if Zhang and Mao reach an agreement and join forces, then they will not be able to cause any trouble.

Therefore, the essence of the bureau meeting is:
Zhang Anping or Mao Renfeng could win the support of the elders and then overwhelm the other side.

However, Zhang Anping was unwilling to compromise on some matters, which led to Mao Renfeng, who was willing to compromise, appearing to have more power—but this was also the fundamental reason why Zhang Anping turned the tables in the Chen Ming incident.

Now that Zhang and Mao have clearly reached a shady deal, the elders are extremely frustrated and can only wait for the next outcome—if their demands are not met, they can't blame them for finding fault!
At this moment, Mao Renfeng glanced at Zhang Anping with a rather resentful look, as if to say, "I always keep my word, and now I'm taking the blame."

"Cough cough!"

Clearing her throat, Mao Renfeng began to speak:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the investigation team led by Qiu Ning returned to Nanjing last night—this is the investigation report from the team, you can take a look."

As he spoke, the prepared staff stepped forward and distributed copies of the investigation report. However, almost no one paid any attention to them, because they already knew almost everything they read—since the two had reached an agreement, the investigation results would inevitably be the one that favored Mao Renfeng.

As I said before, there's nothing secret in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics!
"Gentlemen," Mao Renfeng's expression turned icy, "Du Shijun is a fool who dares to interfere in the affairs of my Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. I don't care who he is or who is behind him. Since he has stretched out his dog claws, those claws must be chopped off. What do you all think?"

As long as you two are satisfied!

While the elders were inwardly criticizing them, they all expressed their support. In any case, they were not going to do anything, so they could do whatever they wanted!
The previously high-profile case of Yu Xiuning's disappearance has come to an end in such a bizarre and unpredictable way.

Mao Renfeng was not surprised. He then cleared his throat before talking about the "cake-sharing" that everyone was looking forward to.

"Okay, next topic—discussions on the establishment of the Special Operations Brigade and the training arrangements for trainees."

"This is a draft I prepared with Deputy Director Zhang. Please take a look." The "cake-sharing" plan was distributed to all attendees by the meeting staff, who picked it up and examined it closely.

hiss--

Zhang's faction, 40%?
Mao's faction, 30%?
They split 30% among themselves?
Mao Renfeng was appointed commander of the Special Operations Brigade, and Zhang Anping was appointed deputy commander, in charge of all affairs of the Special Operations Brigade.

According to the current power structure within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the true Zhang faction actually accounts for barely 30%. The Mao faction was roughly the same at its peak, but later suffered a devastating downfall. However, with Mao Renfeng's official appointment, the Mao faction has regained its 30% share, while the veterans' power accounts for approximately 40%.

Of course, the power structure during the Military Intelligence Bureau period was not like this. These veterans who dared to band together and challenge Zhang Anping and Mao Renfeng were Dai Chunfeng's most loyal subordinates during Dai Chunfeng's time. No matter how much power they had, a single order from Dai Chunfeng could bind them.

After Dai Chunfeng's death, the Military Intelligence Bureau was reorganized. These people aligned themselves with Zhang Anping or Mao Renfeng, managed to remain unscathed in various struggles, and gradually "solidified" their power, thus forming slightly independent and somewhat powerful factions.

To put it bluntly, it was the constant turmoil within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics since its reorganization that gave them the confidence and time to establish their own faction.

Each individual hilltop is not very big, but when they come together, they occupy a large portion of the land.

Now, Zhang Anping and Mao Renfeng are dividing the cake. They own 40% of it, but can only eat 30%. Moreover, the parts of the cake with fruit and chocolate are basically all taken by Zhang and Mao – this is clearly another instance of the two of them working together to suppress each other.

However, they simply do not possess the ability to oppose the two joining forces.

To put it bluntly, they are a group of people banding together, but they are not close-knit. A 30% share of the pie won't starve them, but it won't feed them either. It's a number that makes them want to rebel, but they can't.

Therefore, they could only express their dissatisfaction with this outcome through silence.

But that's precisely where Mao Renfeng's shrewdness lies. He, Mao Renfeng, a dignified bureau chief, only shared 30% with you all. You have objections, and I have objections too!
This is also the source of Mao Renfeng's confidence in ensuring that these veterans would not fall back into Zhang Anping's arms. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and since Zhang Anping has taken the most hits, he will naturally become the target!

If no one explicitly objects, it means everyone agrees, and the plan to divide the cake is naturally agreed upon.

The meeting is over!

……

After the bureau meeting set the tone for the expansion of the Bureau of Secrecy, Zhang Anping threw himself into the busy work that followed.

The Party Affairs Bureau next door was utterly astonished at this point.

Your Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was so pitiful before that it didn't even have enough funds to train new recruits. Now, in the blink of an eye, it's expanding its organization and setting up a special operations brigade to take control of the military. I've invested so many resources, and the new recruits haven't even been trained yet, and you've already wiped them out.

Damn, it's not that easy!

Ye Xiufeng rushed to Zhang Anping's house overnight, demanding that Zhang Anping fulfill his obligation to conduct joint training and not leave the Party Affairs Bureau out—last time he was looking down on Zhang Anping, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, it was his turn to look up to Zhang Anping.

It's truly a case of fortunes changing and the dealer changing every turn!
Zhang Anping offered a hypocritical guarantee that he wouldn't favor one over the other, but to Ye Xiufeng, these words clearly meant:

I can't just abandon my family and focus all my energy on you, can I?
Fortunately, Ye Xiufeng had already thought of a solution, and upon seeing the situation, he revealed his plan:
The joint training program was expanded, with the Party Affairs Bureau covering 70% of the expenses. The initial participants were assigned by drawing lots as previously agreed, while later participants were assigned on their own.

It's obvious that the Party's Information Bureau can't just stand by and watch the neighboring Bureau of Investigation and Statistics expand its staff. The Party's Information Bureau probably can't handle military power, but its staffing expansion must be consistent with that of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Seeing that Ye Xiufeng was so sensible, Zhang Anping threw out a bait:
We are willing to train a small, specialized force for the Party's communications bureau!
Of course, the price... well, you have to spend money!

Unlike Zhang Anping, who was restrained within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, Ye Xiufeng was not restrained at all. He agreed without hesitation and without bargaining, directly providing a substantial sum of money as training expenses—this money was just right as the start-up capital for the Special Operations Brigade.

After reluctantly letting the Party Bureau get on board, Zhang Anping restarted his business network, but he wasn't going to engage in small-scale, unambitious activities like smuggling and reselling to make money.

Zhang Anping isn't that petty!
You have to go for the best from the start!
By uniting global trade, they directly invited domestic capitalists to undertake large-scale factory construction.

The specific operating procedure is as follows:

Global trade provides capitalists with financial services and equipment procurement services, supporting these capitalists in building various factories on a large scale.

The Bureau of Secrecy earns commissions and collects service fees from both parties—global trade needs the Bureau of Secrecy to guarantee the recovery of funds from financial services, while capitalists need the Bureau of Secrecy as a guarantor when lending to global trade.

Moreover, the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics also invested in the capitalists' newly built factories—investing "real money".

The Secret Service certainly doesn't have that much money, but global trade does!

The Bureau of Secrecy mortgaged the shares it acquired to Global Trade, which provided corresponding collateralized loans. The Bureau of Secrecy then used these loans to complete its shareholding.

Because the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics is a special agency, it is reasonable for the factory's valuation to increase after it openly and legitimately invests in the newly built factory. After a series of operations, with almost no investment, the funds to set up half of the special operations brigade were "extracted" in less than half a month.

The key issue is that the so-called factories and equipment are still just on paper!

In addition, Zhang Anping also invested in several transportation companies in the name of the Bureau of Secrecy. The specific operation method was still to get something for nothing: investing, mortgaging, and completing the final procedures of "real money" investment, while taking some profits from the appreciation.

These two consecutive attempts to gain something for nothing seem to only result in losses for global trade.

But, how is this possible!

How could global trade possibly suffer a loss!
Global Trade packaged the Bureau of Secrets' mortgage loans into a five-year "dollar investment package." As soon as this "investment package" was completed, the powerful and wealthy elites of the Nationalist government rushed in and swallowed it all up in one go.

why?
Because the annualized interest rate is as high as 6%, and it's in US dollars!

At that time, the highest interest rate offered by American banks for fixed deposits was no more than 3%!

Furthermore, with Zhang Anping's reputation as a "God of Wealth" being revived, these powerful figures in the Nationalist government readily accepted these investment packages out of trust in him.

This action by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics even received private verbal praise from the Executive Office.

After all, with Zhang Anping personally orchestrating this operation, everyone seems to be the ultimate winner—the only question is whether it's a scam. But can the names "Secret Service" and "Zhang Anping" really be associated with a scam?
Even the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was astonished by Zhang Anping's brilliant move.

Holy crap, without spending a single penny, I got a huge amount of assets (shares) and a huge amount of cash (the premium from the stock pledge after the investment). This is insane!

Of course, the Bureau of Secrecy needs to pay 8% interest every year, but this tiny amount of interest can be completely ignored because the huge number of shares held by the Bureau of Secrecy means that the annual dividends are enough to easily cover it.

There will likely be a large surplus.

Although I already knew that Zhang Anping was a god of wealth, I never expected that this god of wealth would be so... high-class!

Even the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Nationalist Government, after witnessing Zhang Anping's efficient way of making money, wanted to invite him over, but unfortunately, the favor was destined to be given to the blind.

While Zhang Anping was making this money-making scheme, Mao Renfeng was not idle either; he took action.

They took action in the name of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Du Shijun, the son-in-law of a distant relative of the Kong family and the nephew of Du Yuesheng, was secretly arrested by secret agents of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics who "descended from the sky" while he was enjoying the bright lights and revelry of a dance hall. On the third day after his arrest, several national newspapers published articles about Du Shijun's abuse of power.

Suddenly, Du Yuesheng and the Kong family behind Du Shijun were caught in a media storm.

The scale and momentum were extremely large.

At that time, Zhang Anping's shady schemes to amass wealth were not yet complete, and Mao Renfeng's intention was to provoke the Kong family's anger towards Zhang Anping.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, Master Kong lost his official position due to being tricked by Zhang Anping. Later, he was also swindled out of a lot of money by controlled drugs in the United States. He had already fallen out of the category of top-level powerful people. It was only because of his kinship that he still gave outsiders the impression of being as strong and powerful as a tiger.

But in reality, he was a paper tiger—it was precisely because he thought the other party was a paper tiger that Mao Renfeng dared to provoke him in the name of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

He was really looking forward to the Kong family going crazy and fighting the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to maintain their "respectability"—he was confident that he could sabotage the Kong family's fight against the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and turn them into the ones fighting against Zhang Anping.

After all, Zhang Anping has always been a major enemy of the Kong family.

A very ideal plan.

However, as Zhang Anping's money-making plan proceeded, the Kong family, who had just shown their claws, decisively chose to back down. They even became the first to snap up the "financial package" of global trade. This sudden change almost made Mao Renfeng's old back hurt.

The reason is actually quite simple. If the Kong family tries every means to cause trouble for Zhang Anping at this time, the capitalists behind Zhang Anping will go crazy, and even the entourage will have to get involved. Zhang Anping's move can be described as supporting national factories. What are you up to by going head-to-head with Zhang Anping at this time?

Because of the Kong family's eventual retreat and change of heart, Du Shijun was sentenced to imprisonment for embezzlement and bribery, and the "Yu Xiuning disappearance case" came to an inexplicable end.

The last ripples of the wave eventually subsided into calm, seemingly without any clear reason.

……

The Kong family's unimaginable transformation was utterly insignificant to Zhang Anping.

At this moment, he was "trembling with fear".

It's because... I was excited!
He finally got the information he had been wanting.

In later generations, historians have had differing opinions on how much wealth the four families amassed through US aid. However, the generally accepted view is that the four families alone turned approximately $30 billion worth of military and civilian supplies into $20 billion in deposits (cash and gold).

Zhang Anping had been trying to obtain data on the wealth of the four major families in order to fundamentally destroy the credibility of the Nationalist government's power class.

But getting your hands on this thing is incredibly difficult.

But this time, he got it!

The four major families, driven by greed, monopolized the global trade "financial package." Even Du Yuesheng, who offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics' forgiveness of Du Shijun, failed to secure the global trade financial package.

In this process, the wealth controlled by the four major families inevitably came into the view of global trade. Global trade immediately used various shady means to secretly track them down and finally got a glimpse of the enormous wealth held by the four major families.

Based on global trade estimates, the data they possess represents less than half of the wealth held by the four major families.

But for Zhang Anping, that was enough!
Totally enough!
Let global trade detonate this bomb! (End of Chapter)