Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

Headquarters of the Bureau of Secrecy, Office of the Deputy Director.

Zhang Anping stood by the window, quietly watching the menacing Nationalist soldiers in front of the headquarters gate, a hint of amused glint in his eyes.

That's quite a big operation!
In fact, such a large-scale operation was beyond Zhang Anping's expectations.

His public persona is that of a loyal subject of the Party and the State, and now he is being cultivated to appear as the last loyal minister and the last conscience of the Party and the State. If you want to investigate him or arrest him, is it necessary to make such a big fuss?
No need!
But they had to use it!

There is only one explanation:
Someone might be plotting to kill!
Zhang Anping wanted to roll his eyes. Please, look carefully. I am the last loyal subject of the Party and the State, the last conscience of the Party and the State. How can you treat me like trash?

If you guys do this, I'll feel like my public image is a complete failure!
Clearly, Zhang Anping had not worried about his safety—because he already knew who the "advisors" were when the department head's anti-corruption investigation team was still being prepared.

Zorc, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai and now a major general, is the U.S. representative among the advisors. Zorc is also a close friend who has fought alongside him in the trenches. With Zorc around, even if someone wanted to secretly kill him, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

As for driving yourself to your death?

hehe!
Zhang Anping chuckled, "I'm not a true loyal subject of the Party and the State, try forcing me!"
Therefore, such a grand display, which seemed to be someone demonstrating their determination, was actually a complete joke in Zhang Anping's eyes.

The bigger the commotion, the better!

The bigger the commotion, the larger the villain's buttocks are exposed in contrast.

Zheng Yi's hurried footsteps approached, and the next second the office door was kicked open—the moment the office door was flung open, the playful look on Zhang Anping's face vanished without a trace, replaced by a strange expression that was hard to describe.

"Commander, Zheng Yaoquan has arrived with his troops!"

Zheng Yi burst in, barely having time to catch his breath, and shouted urgently, his voice filled with anxiety: "Go out the back door, I'll try to stop them!"

"bar?"

Zhang Anping turned his head and looked at Zheng Yi with an "ethereal" expression:

Why are you stopping me?

Zheng Yi then clearly saw Zhang Anping's expression.

It was an expression that conveyed a complex mix of indescribable feelings of powerlessness, disappointment, and loss.

Faced with Zhang Anping's question at this moment, Zheng Yi was speechless—she knew very well that Zheng Yaoquan had not taken it upon himself to bring troops to "see" Zhang Anping; behind his actions was definitely the will of the chief attendant.

Is it necessary to stop them or to run away?

“District Chief,” Zheng Yi took a deep breath:

Have you thought about how they would handle this?

Zheng Yi has never been a fool.

She was extremely intelligent—before meeting Zhang Anping, she was the head of the intelligence department of the Chongqing station. Although her superior was her teacher, for a woman to rise to the position of head of a major station in the cutthroat world of espionage, her efforts and her own abilities far surpassed those of her colleagues!

However, after becoming Zhang Anping's secretary, she concealed all her sharpness and used all her wisdom to assist Zhang Anping.

When Zheng Yaoquan appeared with a large number of soldiers, she keenly realized what the higher-ups were thinking.

The looting of foreign banks in the foreign concessions during the Shanghai evacuation was orchestrated by Zhang Anping, and the four families at the center of the current public opinion storm are also being condemned for corruption. Zhang Anping, who seems unrelated to the latter, could bring both incidents to a reasonable conclusion if he is punished for corruption.

Because of his rank, his life was destined to serve as proof of the chief aide's determination to fight corruption.

Zhang Anping's death could have ended the foreigners' investigation into the transfer of wealth by the concession banks.

Faced with the same question, Zhang Anping simply smiled, though the bitterness in that smile was evident:
"What can be done when the nation is weak and powerless?"

He responded with eight words, then waved his hand:

"Let the gatekeeper let him in—I'll wait for Zheng Yaoquan here. After I leave, things at the bureau..."

Zhang Anping smiled inexplicably, and said in a self-deprecating tone:
"The world will keep turning even if someone is missing, right? I won't worry about things at the bureau—"

Looking at Zheng Yi, Zhang Anping hesitated, then finally uttered a few simple words:
"They won't make things difficult for you—don't be too stubborn in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi's eyes inexplicably reddened. After giving Zhang Anping a deep look, she turned her head away before turning back. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

Zhang Anping turned around and continued to stand by the window, looking down at the entire Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Before long, the gatekeeper made way for them, and Zheng Yaoquan stepped into the cleared passage, leading his elite team into the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Advance rapidly, seize advantageous positions, and control the arms trade.

A blatant occupation mode!

There was no obstruction, which clearly indicated that orders had been received.

Zheng Yaoquan sighed silently, as expected—that person wouldn't be so foolish as to do that.

He walked down the familiar corridor with a complicated expression, finally arriving at the office he had visited many times but never liked.

The office door was open, and Zhang Anping stood calmly by the window with his back to the door. Even the sound of Zheng Yaoquan entering the room did not disturb him.

Zheng Yaoquan entered, stood for a while, and then spoke:
"It seems like you've been in this office ever since you moved to Nanjing?"

Zhang Anping turned around and chuckled softly:

"It's always a good habit for people to be consistent."

Looking at that extremely young face among those of the same level—in the past, Zheng Yaoquan had always felt jealousy and indignation upon seeing this face, but now, he only felt…regret.

Staying true to one's principles is always a good habit...

After silently repeating the sentence to himself several times, Zheng Yaoquan spoke:
"Let's go together."

Zhang Anping stretched out his hands: "Wear handcuffs?"

"unnecessary."

Zheng Yaoquan chose to respect Zhang Anping.

"Then... let's go."

Zhang Anping glanced longingly at his office before getting up and walking out.

Zheng Yaoquan followed closely behind, while the soldiers standing on both sides of the corridor slowly caught up with him, eventually forming a long line.

The atmosphere inside the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was unusually heavy.

In the courtyard, everyone from the bureau headquarters appeared at some point, silently standing on both sides of the courtyard, clearing a wide path.

When Zhang Anping appeared first, the atmosphere in the courtyard inexplicably became tense.

Some people slowly reached into their clothes—not just one or two, but many!
The soldiers behind Zheng Yao noticed something amiss and immediately raised their submachine guns, aiming them at the crowd.

The next second, Zhang Anping's cold gaze pierced through them like a sharp arrow, and those restless hands instantly returned to calm.

Zhang Anping slowly scanned the area with his still-cold gaze before continuing to walk forward without saying a word, as if he were on a business trip.

The agents in the courtyard watched quietly, silently. Just as Zhang Anping was about to leave the Security Bureau, someone finally stepped forward—and what he received in return was countless dark gun barrels.

But this person showed no fear whatsoever.

It's Mingtai!
Mingtai ignored the dark gun barrels and stared directly at Zheng Yaoquan:
"Deputy Minister Zheng, may I ask... why were Commander Zhang taken away?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes in the courtyard turned to Zheng Yaoquan. Although Zheng Yaoquan was used to being the center of attention, he still felt like he was being pricked by needles.

why?
Zheng Yaoquan thought for a moment and decided to give an answer:
"The section chief has set up an anti-corruption investigation team—we have asked Deputy Director Zhang to go and assist in the investigation."

He didn't use the word "arrest," but rather the phrase "assisting in the investigation."

Mingtai gave Zheng Yaoquan a deep look, then slowly stepped back to make way for him.

No one came to stop him; everyone simply watched Zhang Anping leave with heavy, strange gazes.

The car began to roar, and as the roar gradually faded into the distance, an indescribable heaviness suddenly filled the courtyard of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Assist with the investigation?
If they remember correctly, the current uproar is actually aimed at the four major families!

The person who was just taken away for "assistance in the investigation" had done something that ordinary people would not even dare to imagine during the difficult years of the War of Resistance against Japan. Whether he embezzled funds or not is not important, really not important. What is important is that he disregarded fame and fortune and injected an unimaginable amount of money into the then financially depleted Nationalist government through both overt and covert channels.

That was a "losing proposition" because without this public outcry, people would have had no idea that someone had done such a thing.

Ironically, he appeared in this media storm not because of his achievements, but because of the $4000 million he secretly channeled into the Party and the State. However, this sum amounted to only a few hundred thousand dollars, which ultimately became the weapons available to the soldiers…

Now, however, he is being "assisted in an investigation" because of his past actions that disregarded personal gain.

"The anti-corruption investigation team?"

Someone pronounced this "alternative" name in a strange tone, clearly without any intention of being sarcastic, yet everyone inexplicably felt a sense of absurdity.

Currently, the overwhelming public opinion is directed at the four greedy families, and at the Song family and the other three families who have been criticized by the US president as "thieves".

But the first shot of the "rebound" was aimed at the man who disregarded fame and fortune and transferred hundreds of millions of yuan to the Party and the country.

Whether the man was greedy or not is not what people care about. What they care about more is why, out of $4000 million, only a few hundred thousand dollars worth of weapons ended up in the hands of the soldiers on the front lines.

"Anti-corruption?"

Some people emphasized these two words.

The response was one of bewilderment and disorientation.

This man is the last person who should be...anti-corruption!
At that moment, someone, gritting their teeth, uttered a statement that resonated with everyone:

"Look at this, look at our Commander Zhang, just how much... he can embezzle!"

Immediately after Zhang Anping was "taken down," a group of people appeared at Zhang's house.

A blond, blue-eyed foreigner and a serious-looking Nationalist government official—this unusual combination barged into the Zhang family home.

The only "good news" was that there were no soldiers carrying weapons.

The Zhang family consisted of only Zhang Anping's mother, Wang Chunlian, and their maid, Wu Ma. Faced with the sudden intrusion of the unwelcome guests, the two women had no time to launch an "offensive" before they were taken away by several female staff members and "settled" in a small house and locked up.

A foreigner dressed in U.S. military uniform had been standing a short distance away. Relieved that the female staff members weren't being too rude, he then turned to check on the others. However, as soon as he turned around, he overheard the female staff members muttering:
"Was that really Commander Zhang's mother just now?"

"Of course, is that even possible?"

"Something doesn't seem right. The only valuable piece of jewelry she's wearing seems to be a ring. Why doesn't she even have a bracelet?"

"Maybe...it's because he doesn't like it?"

Their murmurs were noticed by the female officer in charge, who cast a cold glance at them, and the group quickly fell silent.

The officer in the U.S. military uniform paused, recalling his interactions with Zhang Anping—they had spent a long time together, and Zhang, in his eyes, was indeed a person who didn't care about or pursue money.

This American officer was Zorc, an advisor representing the U.S. military.

Zoker was actually quite surprised—based on his understanding of Zhang Anping's military achievements, he felt that no matter how much pressure those capitalists who should have hung up the streetlights exerted, the Nationalist government would never investigate a meritorious official like Zhang Anping.

In fact, the Nationalist government accepted the conditions and conducted an investigation with almost no setbacks.

This mind-blowing fact made him think for a moment:
Could it be that Mrs. Zhang was so greedy that she eventually angered that powerful figure who no longer wanted to protect her?
So he was very curious about what kind of family fortune the Zhang family would have.

He came to the Zhang family specifically to oversee the asset inventory process, driven by this curiosity.

But this "good start" made Zork a little nervous. Zhang's mother didn't have many decent pieces of jewelry.

Is it because they are well-versed in the Chinese tradition of keeping things hidden?

Zorc tried to assume the worst about his friend – after all, as a China expert, he had encountered no truly incorruptible officials among the many people he had met during his years living in China.

Not right either!
Zorc inexplicably thought of his trip to the guerrilla zone—those people, they were indeed as incorruptible as water.

The asset inventory is still ongoing, but Zorc noticed that many people have started sweating.

Zorc realized this was because they had come up empty-handed, so he apprehended a young staff member:

Why don't you register these antiques?

He pointed to the various vases in the study and asked this question in a very strange way.

"General Zork, this is not an antique, it is a modern work of art."

"Oh—have you found any property deeds or similar documents?"

Zorc knew that Chinese people loved these fixed properties the most. He remembered a police chief who had been found to own more than a dozen properties.

Faced with Zorc's question, the staff member awkwardly replied:

"We haven't found any other contracts for this one room yet—we found a few IOUs, but the amounts are small, and they're just loan agreements between relatives."

In fact, the staff were also desperate at this point. They had conducted "asset liquidation" many times, but this was the first time they had encountered such a situation.

Normally, in the first stage of "asset liquidation," they would be able to find property deeds, multiple bankbooks, gold bars, and various antiques. However, after searching the Zhang family's property for so long, they couldn't find any real estate deeds except for the deed to this house!
Leaving a big spectrum!
Zorc asked tentatively:
"Could it be hidden in other properties?"

“I know that. The information we have so far is that the Zhang family only owns this one house—General Zork. You can ask Director Liu about it.”

The staff started to shift the blame, their years of experience in "asset liquidation" telling them that they had probably run into a tough opponent this time.

It's still that kind of unsolvable "tough nut to crack".

The "Director Liu" mentioned by the staff was the person in charge of this investigation. Seeing that the other party was obviously unable to handle him, Zorc "kindly" let the other party go and went to find Director Liu.

At this moment, Director Liu was sweating profusely while looking at a pawnshop receipt.

Having worked in asset inventory for many years, this was the first time he had ever seen a pawnshop receipt in the home of someone he was investigating—a pawnshop receipt for three silver dollars, which he found in a dressing box in Zhang Anping and his wife's room. This was... utterly mind-blowing!
"Xiao Wang, take this receipt to this pawnshop and check what was pawned and who pawned it!"

Suppressing his unease, Director Liu summoned one of his subordinates to assign him tasks.

Just after dismissing the subordinate, the person in charge of the external investigation team arrived, sweating profusely. The full name of the external investigation team is the External Investigation Team, which is specifically responsible for gathering information from people around the investigated party during the asset inventory process.

"Director Liu, we haven't found any useful information."

Director Liu suppressed his unease:

"What do you mean?"

The head of the external investigation team deliberately approached and reported in a low voice:
"The ladies who have dealt with Mrs. Zhang all say they've never seen her spend money extravagantly. She even has very little jewelry. Oh, and some people say they've seen Mrs. Zhang's daughter-in-law sneak into a pawnshop. This is still a joke among them."

Director Liu felt inexplicably dizzy. Suppressing his discomfort, he whispered:
"Keep checking."

"Yes!"

After his subordinate left, Director Liu walked towards the subordinate in charge of registration in a slightly flustered manner, completely unaware that Zorc was following behind him like a ghost.

Director Liu walked up to the subordinate in charge of registration:
"Let me see the register!"

He took the register and quickly flipped through it, becoming increasingly alarmed as he read—of all the registered assets, the only major one was this house; besides that, there were only IOUs totaling nearly 1,300 silver dollars.

There are several bankbooks, but they are all empty.

There are over 100,000 in legal tender, which would have been a huge sum ten years ago, but now, those 100,000 in legal tender are only worth a few silver dollars.

"Director! Director! I've found this!"

A subordinate rushed over with an account book. Director Liu took it and confirmed that it was the family's income and expenditure account book. However, the dense entries and occasional complaints made Director Liu have to lean against the wall.

He really couldn't stand up anymore.

Such household income and expenditure ledgers are naturally safe from falsification, and they also provide a clear picture of a family's specific living conditions.

There's no need to discuss the accounts; a few occasional complaints are enough to illustrate the point.

There was no surplus again this month.

Old Zhang, he's almost out of rice in his own bowl, yet he still borrows from relatives.

[That brat Anping returned the delivered things again! He didn't even see Wangwang and Xixi drooling over them!]

Oh, Aunt Wu, you need help in this emergency, but who will help my family in our time of need?

[I'll lend you ten silver dollars, Mo Yi. I'm sorry to trouble you.]

As Director Liu flipped through the complaints in the ledger, his breathing became increasingly difficult, yet a strange emotion was brewing within him.

It turns out that the Party-state really does have officials who are as clean as water!
Even if this person is... a spy.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang in my ears:

"Director Liu—could I have this?"

Director Liu was startled. He looked up and saw it was Zorc from the United States. He quickly smiled and said, "I'm sorry, General Zorc, I wanted to send this to the section chief."

"Send it to the section chief?" Zorc was taken aback, then said:
"Great! I was just about to go there. Give it to me, I'll take it to him!"

Director Liu was in a dilemma.

"Director Liu, are you in a difficult position?" Zorc asked deliberately.
"Are you planning to do something behind our backs?"

Faced with this accusation, Director Liu naturally couldn't bear it. After thinking for a moment, he handed the ledger over to Zorc.

Zorc took it and smiled slightly: "Then, you shouldn't mind if I take a picture of this, right?"

This time he was referring to the property register.

This American wants to publish this in the newspaper!

Director Liu confirmed Zork's intentions.

He couldn't help but recall the section chief's instructions before the raid on his home:

If the Zhang family's assets are too vast, you should act accordingly. Some things don't need to be registered. Do you understand what I mean?

It was obvious that the section chief was worried that the wealth confiscated from the Zhang family was too staggering and would affect public opinion.

but now……

Director Liu recalled the various times he had confiscated property over the years, and gritted his teeth:

"of course can!"

As a seasoned official, how could Director Liu not understand the impact of this matter being published in the newspaper?

As a seasoned "asset liquidation" expert who had seen countless people amass great wealth, he was ultimately moved by this inexplicable sense of "loyalty" in the face of such incorruptibility.

Such a person, who handled over a staggering sum of over 100 million without ever getting tainted by corruption, has ended up being liquidated—let's clear his name as a sign of respect for justice in the world!

As for whether the sky will break...

I'm just someone who raided a property, what's it to me! (End of Chapter)