Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

Before Zheng Yaoxian could even push open the door to Mao Renfeng's special care ward, he heard Mao Renfeng roaring like a wild beast inside.

"An amateur directing an expert?!"

He said I was an amateur directing professionals!

"*&……%￥#@……"

Then came a barrage of greetings with extremely high levels of profanity, leaving Zheng Yaoxian stunned. Mao Renfeng was known as a smiling tiger. In the past, he had fought Zhang Anping so badly that no one had ever heard him lose his composure like this. Losing composure was inevitable, but since no news had spread, he must have been avoiding people. But now he was in the hospital, and there were several people guarding the entrance. Logically, he shouldn't be venting like this.

There's only one explanation: Mao has broken through all defenses this time!

Come to think of it, the suggestion on public opinion control was provided by Zhang Anping. Originally, Zhang Anping was in a hurry to go and test this issue, but he racked his brains and tried every means to drive Zhang Anping away.

No, not only were they driven out, but the responsible level was also completely excluded, not even a single member of the Zhang faction was put in—of course, before, this wasn't called the responsible level, but a proper "merit book" roster.

But now Zhang Anping has actually escaped this deadly calamity, and can even utter the hurtful words of an amateur directing an expert.

It would be strange if they didn't break through their defenses!
If he doesn't rack his brains and share the profits to snatch this bomb from Zhang Anping, then this "glutton" Zhang Anping would rather give up his own profits to take it over!

Zheng Yaoxian originally intended to wait until the extremely loud greetings from inside the ward subsided before knocking on the door, but after waiting for a long time without any calming down, and seeing that the bodyguards had already hidden far away, he had no choice but to cough a few times before knocking on the ward door.

吱

The door was opened, revealing Mao Renfeng's face, which was covered in sweat, flushed, and had a rosy complexion, as well as her bloodshot eyes.

Zheng Yaoxian was startled. Could Mao really be so angry that he died?

"Director, are you alright?!"

Mao Renfeng waved her hand, gesturing for Zheng Yao to come in first. She then dragged her weary body to the chair that had fallen over not far away, struggled to lift it, and sat down. After watching Zheng Yao enter and close the door, Mao Renfeng spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Seventh brother, I'm sorry you had to see this."

Mao Renfeng was indeed faking illness. After personally collecting that pile of propaganda materials, Mao Renfeng knew that he was doomed this time. Faced with the situation where his underwear had been completely stripped off, the chief attendant and the gluttons would have to find someone to vent their anger on, right?

And he, no matter how you look at it, is the perfect target for venting!
Most importantly, he has never possessed the extremely special attribute of being "irreplaceable".

Therefore, Mao Renfeng pretended to faint and dumped the mess on Zhang Anping. Given Zhang Anping's personality, he would have to clean up the mess and would inevitably have to face the first wave of anger from the chief of staff. Even if the chief of staff knew that Zhang Anping was cleaning up the mess, he would still have to take the blame for the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and bear the chief of staff's anger.

Mao Renfeng was betting that after the chief attendant vented his anger, he would regain some of his senses and not end up keeping Xu Enzeng company.

But Zhang Anping was too ruthless. At the meeting of the secret service station team leaders, he said that an outsider was leading an expert. This was clearly a blatant disregard for Mao Renfeng's reputation, and then he threw it into a latrine that had been fermenting for decades!

Destroying the spirit, even when killing someone, you still have to destroy their spirit!

In other words, Mao Renfeng is cunning and can control his emotions after a simple outburst—but now when he says something like "I'm sorry to make you laugh," it looks like a forced smile from a respectable woman.

“Director,” Zheng Yaoxian said, avoiding looking at the mess in the special care ward. Instead, he pulled a crumpled flyer from his pocket. As soon as he did, Mao Renfeng’s expression turned awkward.

No, to be precise, his veins were bulging, as if he were about to kill someone.

Because the flyer featured a striking number:

4000 million.

Zhang Anping, why the hell are you haunting me?!
Zheng Yaoxian seemed oblivious to Mao Renfeng's unusual behavior—or perhaps he was "afraid" to notice it; in any case, he quickened his pace:
"Director, I've been pondering a question—is Zhang Anping truly as incorruptible as water?"

He said in a self-deprecating tone, "Right now, if a plate of gold were passed right under my nose, and I could reach out and grab a few or more, I wouldn't be confident I could control my claws. But Zhang Anping... could he really control himself?"

"Some people say that being free from desires makes one invincible—I don't think that's quite right! Sometimes, when I broaden my horizons, I don't even bother to look at the petty gains that are right in front of me."

Mao Renfeng was an extremely intelligent person after all, and he immediately realized the other meaning in Zheng Yaoxian's words.

Another well-known fact:

Zhang Anping was firmly opposed to his subordinates giving him gifts—as for so-called filial piety, he completely ignored them.

Of course, Mao Renfeng initially thought this was because Zhang Anping had lofty ambitions, but later Mao Renfeng thought it was a sign of Zhang Anping's hypocrisy.

But after Zheng Yaoxian said that, he deeply agreed with Zheng Yaoxian's words:
Zhang Anping's incorruptibility stemmed from his disdain for such petty gains!
So why did he dismiss it?
It's that simple—because he's already well-fed, with plenty of meat and fish, how could he possibly be tempted by a few steamed buns?

Under what circumstances can you eat your fill?
The word "4000 million" on the crumpled flyer in Zheng Yaoxian's hand seemed to glow at this moment!
There is only one explanation:
The massive evacuation of Shanghai and the subsequent rescue of the foreign concession banks made Zhang Anping incredibly wealthy!
At that time, the Shanghai International Settlement was flooded with endless wealth. According to information revealed by the Great Trial, the Japanese army plundered hundreds of millions of dollars in the Settlement. The reason for using the vague unit of hundreds of millions is that it was really impossible to make a specific judgment. The Japanese themselves made the amount of wealth plundered vague, and the data of various banks had long been destroyed.

Of this "hundreds of millions" of dollars in wealth, a portion was obtained by Zhang Anping through preemptive action, but it was attributed to the Japanese.

Zhang Anping's wealth, both overt and covert, totaled less than 2 million in tributes—even if the wealth he kept and the tributes added up to 2 million, it would still be a huge fortune!

Thinking of this, Mao Renfeng's heart stirred slightly, as if she had realized Zheng Yaoxian's suggestion.

As expected, Zheng Yaoxian's suggestion was exactly the same as Mao Renfeng's:
“In the past, Zhang Anping used the excuse that the Japanese army had destroyed this money, and foreigners couldn’t hold him accountable. But now, that excuse doesn’t work anymore!”

Zheng Yaoxian's expression turned incredibly sinister:
"The chief aide has received money from Zhang Anping's secret tribute, so he certainly won't investigate. But those foreigners are probably in an uproar right now!"

"If we give it a gentle push..."

Zheng Yaoxian made a pushing gesture, his face radiating a wicked light:

"Foreigners will inevitably put pressure on the Nationalist government, and then they will direct their anger at Zhang Anping. What do you think... should the higher-ups investigate or not?"

Zheng Yaoxian didn't say the rest of his words, but Mao Renfeng knew what they were!
It's impossible not to investigate—the Nationalist government urgently needs to satisfy foreigners' demands in exchange for military aid!
Therefore, the only option is to investigate, and once the investigation is conducted, it will be discovered how much wealth Zhang Anping has embezzled.

And once this matter is investigated, there is one piece of data that will make it impossible for the chief attendant to protect Zhang Anping!

Here is a question:

Mao Renfeng's current trouble is that he has failed in his duties and will be kicked away by the chief attendant—so what's the point of dragging Zhang Anping down with him?

Becoming brothers in misfortune together?!
Of course not! As mentioned before, Mao Renfeng's position is unstable because he lacks a crucial attribute:
Irreplaceable!
Normally, the head of a secret service agency has to stay in that position for a long time, so why was Zheng Yaoquan, the former director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, kicked out so easily?
Because, like Mao Renfeng, he is replaceable.

Zhang Anping!
Everyone knows that as long as Zhang Anping is in the Bureau of Secrecy, the Bureau will never collapse—and this is the tragedy of Zheng Yaoquan and Mao Renfeng, the two former and current directors, because they are not irreplaceable!
Zhang Anping can replace them at any time.

However, if Zhang Anping were dragged into this mess and the Nationalist government were forced to punish him, then Mao Renfeng would become irreplaceable!
This also means that, for the sake of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, even if Mao Renfeng is punished, the Chief of Staff cannot allow Mao Renfeng to be associated with Xu Enzeng.

After figuring it out, Mao Renfeng felt as if she had eaten a bucket of ice on a sweltering summer day, and her whole body felt indescribably refreshed.

This seemingly unsolvable situation has been broken so easily!

"Seventh Brother, you are Zifang, my Zheng Zifang!"

Mao Renfeng excitedly grabbed Zheng Yaoxian's hand, her heart filled with emotion—when Zheng Yaoxian was arrogant before, he would call her "Old Mao" all the time, and would often put his feet on the table and talk to her in a haughty manner.

At that time, he made a firm decision: once he dealt with Zhang Anping, the first thing he would do was to take down that damned Zheng Laoqi!

Mao Zedong—is that something you can call him?

But now, Mao Renfeng feels that Zheng Laoqi is a good man with true feelings!
Zheng Zifang?
Zheng Yaoxian almost broke down. Well, after Ming Zifang, there's now another Zheng Zifang!

Zheng Yaoxian opportunely declared: "Director, Yaoxian is willing to be your vanguard!"

"Sit down, please sit down—I'll pour you a glass of water, let's have a good talk!"

Mao Renfeng's steps were no longer unsteady, and her body felt lighter. She personally poured Zheng Yaoxian a cup of tea, refusing his offer to accept it with both hands, and placed it directly in front of him, saying with emotion:

"Seventh Brother, time will tell! I won't thank you enough for this great kindness!"

"From now on, for every bite of food I, Mao Renfeng, have, you, Zheng Yaoxian, will have a bite of meat!"

Human nature, this is human nature!

Mao Renfeng thought to himself, "Although my life has been full of ups and downs, I have always had someone to help me at crucial moments. Minglou has always been there for me, and Zheng Laoqi has always had a brilliant plan to turn the tide. My luck is unbeatable!"

Invincible!
……

After the war ended, foreign banks that had suffered losses in the Shanghai concessions began to seek compensation from the Japanese.

However, a large amount of evidence was lost in the war.

Actually, it was deliberately destroyed. In the original timeline, the Japanese army intentionally erased all substantial evidence. (I suspect it wasn't due to concerns about the consequences of defeat; I suspect it was more likely to prevent the higher-ups from obtaining concrete numerical evidence.)
Therefore, based on actual evidence, the foreign bank initiated recovery proceedings through the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo.

Citibank reported a loss of US$1200 million (including deposits and gold) at its Shanghai branch based on existing evidence.
HSBC submitted evidence and filed a claim for $5000 million in assets lost by its Shanghai branch.
Other banks, such as ABN AMRO Bank and Crédit Agricole, have also filed claims based on their respective evidence.

However, this lawsuit is bound to be a long one – the Japanese converted a large amount of looted wealth into weapons and ammunition, and after announcing their unconditional surrender, a large amount of gold was also seized by the Allied forces. How could the Japanese possibly come up with any compensation now?
Foreign banks were prepared to lose all their money, but they still had to go through the proper procedures and were trying to extract as much as possible from the Japanese through their Allied connections.

(The actual data I found: Citibank demanded $1200 million in compensation, and the Japanese paid 23%; HSBC demanded $5000 million in compensation, and the Japanese paid $800 million through a later Anglo-Japanese reparations agreement.)
However, their confidence was clearly not very high.

But at this very moment, a bombshell dropped in the American media:
Holy crap, the War of Resistance against Japan nearly destroyed China, but I never expected that the four major families, especially the Song family, would be so filthy and greasy!
The appearance of this $4000 million "tribute" in particular made foreign banks realize one thing:

Heh heh, it was you Chinese who were the first to rob the banks in the concession!

From a military perspective, Zhang Anping's actions are beyond reproach and even worthy of being highlighted.
If the Nationalist government had not suffered the devastating defeats in Henan, Hunan, and Guangxi during the War of Resistance against Japan, and had not experienced such a crisis on the eve of victory, foreign banks would not have dared to seek compensation from the Nationalist government.

However, the Nationalist government suffered a major defeat in the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi campaign at the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, which was like tearing off its own underwear. Recently, the repeated defeats of the "guerrillas" and the urgent need for US aid have turned foreign banks into sharks that seem to have smelled blood—let's try to extort them, what if... what if it works?
Of course, they believed that the Nationalist government certainly couldn't come up with that much money right now, but by taking the opportunity to obtain some economic and financial privileges, wouldn't they be able to easily earn back that money several times or even ten times over?
As a result, the foreign banks began holding closed-door meetings to consider how to make a "reasonable" claim against the Nationalist government.

They knew they couldn't directly claim compensation; they had to find another way around it—but what way?

Just as they were pondering how to break the deadlock, a mysterious Chinese man appeared.

"Everyone, look at this propaganda material from the Communist Party—this person led troops to loot banks in Shanghai and then divided the money into two routes, one overt and one covert."

The foreigners were puzzled, asking why they were talking about Zhang Anping.

"Gentlemen, in China we have a saying, 'paying for the road,' and another term, 'offering tribute.' Don't you think that the forty million US dollars secretly transferred to the chief of staff is paying for the road and offering tribute?"

The mysterious man shrugged:
"Then why did he make offerings? Why did he pay tolls for passage?"

The foreigners immediately understood.

Because he was greedy!
Thinking of this, the foreigners' eyes lit up, and they exclaimed, "Here it comes!"

……

On this day, representatives from several foreign banks appeared together at the Nationalist government's foreign affairs department and submitted a "complaint" to the Nationalist government.

They didn't mention compensation, but each of them stated righteously and sternly:
During the Shanghai evacuation organized by the Nationalist government, Zhang Anping, the current deputy director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, embezzled a large amount of wealth. As an ally, the Nationalist government has the obligation and responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation into him!

To ensure impartiality, the Allied forces must assign a dedicated person to oversee the investigation.

Were they investigating Zhang Anping?
No!

They were using the opportunity of investigating Zhang Anping to find out exactly how much money the Nationalist government had received. Once they had concrete figures, they would have a way to pressure for compensation!
This is the key.

The so-called investigation into Zhang Anping is just a pretext for them.

Faced with these foreign banks' "attacks," the Nationalist government's first reaction was to directly reject them:
The Shanghai evacuation was not a large-scale evacuation operation organized by the Nationalist government!

However, this veto became ineffective after foreign banks brought in powerful American figures.

Although the Nationalist government felt wronged because the Shanghai evacuation was not organized by them, they had no choice but to "admit" it under pressure from the Americans.

So, the crucial question arises—to investigate or not to investigate?
The chief attendant fell into deep thought upon facing this question… (End of Chapter)