Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

The director's polite manner made the previously agitated reporters feel embarrassed, and his magnanimity also made them feel good about him.

So, they politely stopped making noise and waited for the director to speak next.

Seeing that the group of reporters had quieted down, the section chief continued in a slow voice:

"My journalist friends know my personality—I have always had zero tolerance for corruption!"

"Therefore, when I learned that the Communist Party fabricated the claim that Deputy Director Zhang had transferred a large sum of money to the national treasury, my first reaction was that the Communist Party had misunderstood the information, but foreign friends insisted that this was the truth—so, where is the problem?"

"The problem can only be with Deputy Director Zhang!"

"You probably don't understand how carefully I considered things when I decided to take down Deputy Director Zhang—I saw in today's newspapers that some people are saying he's been scapegoated, and that's something I had to consider when I ordered his temporary detention."

"Later I realized—if corruption continues, the Party and the country will not be at peace!"

"Compared to personal honor or disgrace, the interests of the Party and the nation are paramount!"

"Therefore, I ultimately personally issued the order to temporarily detain Deputy Director Zhang and sent people to liquidate the assets of Deputy Director Zhang's family."

As the section chief spoke, his expression shifted to one of profound admiration, his eyes even welling up with tears. Then, his voice inexplicably rose in intensity:
"But the liquidation of Deputy Director Zhang's family assets was a shock I could never have imagined!"

After saying that, the director took out an account book, opened it, and pulled out a pawn ticket. He spread the pawn ticket out with both hands, allowing the reporters to take pictures freely.

"I never expected to find this in Deputy Director Zhang's house—Deputy Director Zhang's wife had to pawn her gold bracelet because the family's maid urgently needed money!"

"And here's a household expense ledger—this is the daily account book kept by Deputy Director Zhang's mother. You can take a look at the contents later!"

Amid the reporters' gasps of shock, the flashbulbs began to go off.

After taking the photos, a reporter raised his hand and shouted:
"Director, do you mean that no huge amount of unexplained assets were found in the Zhang family?"

"This is the asset inventory list, which contains information on all the assets identified by the inventory team—" The section chief held up the inventory list, preemptively silencing any potential critics amidst the flashing lights:

“Some might say this could be fake—I understand, because many people have a lot of distrust of the Nationalist government.”

"But I can tell you something:

Deputy Director Zhang's two children didn't attend the expensive Central University Affiliated Elementary School, as he considered it, but instead went to the free Army Elementary School!

hiss--

A collective gasp filled the air.

Other things can be faked, and assets can be hidden, but the fact that your child is attending an army primary school cannot be faked!

Given Zhang Anping's status, if he were to abandon even the slightest bit of his principles, he wouldn't need to personally spend any money to send his child to the Central University Affiliated Primary School!
Yet he actually sent his two children to a free army primary school.

How could there be such a person in this world?

The shock lasted for a very long time, until a reporter's question finally broke the unimaginable calm:
"Director, so you mean that Deputy Director Zhang didn't pocket a single penny of the huge fortune he received during the Shanghai evacuation?"

The section chief's expression turned serious:
"My friend, reporter, were you not listening carefully to what I was saying?"

"During the Shanghai evacuation, in order to prevent a large amount of wealth in the foreign concession banks from falling into the hands of the Japanese army, Deputy Director Zhang, out of a desire to protect the wealth, took the money."

"However, this money was ultimately destroyed by the Japanese army's continuous bombing after their meticulous attempts to seize it. The smoke of the War of Resistance had just dissipated, and any of you reporters who have been to the front lines and experienced the Japanese bombing know just how severe the Japanese bombing was! Although Deputy Director Zhang took many people with him from Shanghai at that time, in the end they were a bunch of rabble who had not received professional military training!"

"During the arduous march of thousands of miles from Shanghai, the retreat was filled with unimaginable hardships and cruelty. Deputy Director Zhang, being a man who loved his soldiers like his own children, neglected to protect this enormous fortune. After the Japanese obtained intelligence, they launched a brutal bombing campaign, and the troops guarding this fortune, along with the fortune itself, were completely wiped out in the bombing!"

"This is a settled matter that has been established for a long time. Why do you all not believe Deputy Director Zhang's report, but instead believe the mudslinging from the Communist Party?"

The director's righteous and stern words made many reporters wonder if this was the truth.

But most of the "veteran drivers" just chuckled to themselves. They believed the director's earlier statement, but they didn't believe the story about all the wealth being destroyed.

Who doesn't have a scale in their heart?
A reporter raised a question:

"Mr. Director, but the original source of these words wasn't the Communist Party, but an American newspaper!"

After this question was raised, many reporters took notice. Which newspaper's reporter is this? So brave!
Huh, the Central Daily News?

When did reporters from the JoongAng Ilbo become so brave?
Is this dog... a shill?
A keen-eyed reporter couldn't help but recall the events, and his expression instantly turned strange—from the beginning until now, it seemed that those who raised the most pointed questions were all mouthpieces of the Nationalist government!
What a sharp question!
The section chief's expression turned cold at this moment:

"Don't American newspapers ever talk nonsense?"

"Foreign banks formed a group to try to extort this loss from the Nationalist government, so they published this slander in the newspapers, and then forced the Nationalist government to launch an investigation on the grounds of Deputy Director Zhang's embezzlement—as long as they found that Deputy Director Zhang was corrupt, they could use this as a breakthrough!"

"In fact, the Nationalist government had long understood the sinister intentions of foreign banks, and many people opposed removing Deputy Director Zhang."

"But the chief aide believed in Deputy Director Zhang's integrity and loyalty to the Party and the country, so in the end they chose to investigate—this was to prove his innocence by tearing out his own heart!"

"But those with ulterior motives have repeatedly listened to slander and attacked the National Government!"

If Zhang Anping were there, he would definitely shout two words:
Pretty!

The section chief's move was truly brilliant!

He secretly linked Zhang Anping's innocence with the innocence of the four major families, namely:

The accusations of Zhang Anping's embezzlement were fabricated, and so are the accusations of embezzlement by the four major families.

The core reason was that foreign banks harbored wolfish ambitions and wanted to extort the Nationalist government to bear this loss for them.

This is a truly masterful sleight of hand in manipulating the concept.

A reporter then asked, "Mr. Director, but President Truman accused some people of being 'thieves' at the press conference. How do you explain that?"

The sharp-eyed veteran reporter took a closer look and, sure enough, it was a reporter from the mouthpiece newspaper of the Nationalist government!
"Only with a country can there be a home!" the section chief said righteously. "Ordinary people understand this principle, so how could the elites of the Party and the country not understand it?"

"I admit there are many scoundrels in the party and the state, but it is definitely not to the extent that President Truman said. I suspect that President Truman must have been misled by the intelligence organizations below him. Please ask yourselves, when the country was in such a difficult situation during the War of Resistance, how could the elites of the party and the state so recklessly seize personal interests?"

"Without the Party and the state, they are nothing! They surely understand this!"

The reporters scribbled down the director's words—they knew full well that this was the Nationalist government's response to the current uproar in public opinion, and that it would inevitably cause a huge uproar after it was published tomorrow.

Next came the formal Q&A session. The director answered each question from the reporters with ease, and the core of his answers was:
He acknowledged that corruption was rampant within the party and the state, but not to the point of being widespread. Moreover, he said that most of the party and state's elites, like Deputy Director Zhang, were people of integrity. He claimed that the current public opinion campaign in the United States was essentially a ploy by foreign banks to pressure the Nationalist government, and that the so-called truth was merely a fabrication.

He even guaranteed that the anti-corruption team he would lead would take strong anti-corruption actions and have zero tolerance for corruption!
The press conference lasted for two hours before finally coming to an end. The director maintained a gentlemanly demeanor throughout, but as soon as the reporters dispersed and he returned to the auditorium's lounge, an uncontrollable look of disgust finally surfaced on his face.

At the press conference just now, he implicitly linked the Taotie's innocence to Zhang Anping, and even endorsed them in his words—but how could he not know the truth?

But for the sake of the bigger picture, he had no choice but to do so.

But one can imagine the disgust they felt.

This press conference should be able to turn public opinion around, but unfortunately the credibility of the Party and the State is far too low. My actions should be able to dispel some of the doubts in the public and barely manage to cool things down.

The secretary knocked and entered at that moment, and the disgust on the director's face instantly disappeared.

The secretary asked, "Director, reporters from several newspapers want to do an exclusive interview for you. What do you think?"

"Those reporters from those newspapers" refers to the reporters who acted as shills at the press conference—the reporters at this press conference were actually carefully selected, and their sharp remarks were naturally scripted.

"No need—arrange a car, I'll go to the Chen residence."

The Chen Mansion was naturally the place where Zhang Anping was imprisoned.

……

After finishing lunch, Zhang Anping lazily leaned back on the sofa and read the newspaper. Faced with one newspaper after another criticizing him, he frowned, but his eyes, hidden by the newspaper, revealed obvious doubt.

No one delivered the news to him in the morning; the newspapers were delivered with his lunch. This is the only time he can see the news from the outside world through the newspapers.

But the situation was very different from what he had imagined!

He believed that news of his arrest should not have been widely reported, especially by mouthpieces of the Nationalist government.

The reason is simple: the raid on his home must have been carried out immediately after his arrest. Given the Zhang family's situation, the director would realize after the raid that he had "arrested the wrong person." No matter what he thought, his first priority would definitely be to control the public opinion and prevent the news of his arrest from being published in large volumes.

Otherwise, the more fiercely they are attacked now, the more severe the backlash will be against the four major families caught in this media storm once the truth is revealed. While people today may not have a clear concept of public relations, these are basic human principles that the section chief couldn't possibly be unaware of—even if he wasn't, his vast think tank would make him understand!

Why would the section chief allow this news to break out?

Zhang Anping's hearing was astonishing. Last night, he overheard the secret agents guarding him whispering about the results of the raid on his home. Under such circumstances, how could the director allow the news of his arrest to spread like wildfire?
He closed his eyes and pondered, putting himself in the director's shoes to analyze the reasons for doing so. As he analyzed, a strange feeling involuntarily emerged.

He realized where the problem lay!
The current department head is an idealist!
When Zhang Anping was making his plans, he would analyze the nature of the people he was targeting. The section chief was a seasoned and experienced man, and Zhang Anping also had some impression of him from later generations, so he regarded him as a mature and shrewd politician.

A seasoned and mature politician, when faced with such a "mistaken" arrest, would never immediately admit their mistake. Instead, they would use political maneuvering, employing a series of subtle and manipulative tactics to prevent themselves from harboring resentment.

To put it bluntly, it means not releasing oneself immediately, but rather letting oneself experience the "benefit of the emperor" – while releasing oneself quickly is equivalent to admitting one's mistake.

But judging from the current situation, the section chief did not reprimand him as he had planned, but instead directly admitted his mistake!
Thinking of Zhang Anping, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, knowing where he had made his mistake.

The current section chief is actually still an idealist, and his own integrity seems to him as if he has found a comrade-in-arms. He may understand the methods of both persuasion and suppression, but he clearly does not want to do so when facing someone he considers a "comrade-in-arms".

If the section chief comes to see me in person today, it will prove my guess was correct!

Thinking of Zhang Anping made his teeth ache; he hadn't even considered that the section chief had taken him for a comrade!

Just as he was about to put himself in the director's shoes and think about how to deal with the situation, the sound of a convoy of cars braking came from outside. Zhang Anping couldn't help but purse his lips. They came... really fast!

They arrived quickly. Just one minute later, the section chief entered the living room where Zhang Anping was staying alone, while the surrounding agents were summoned away by their superiors after the section chief stepped in.

Don't smile at him!

In a flash, Zhang Anping made a decision—indeed, this was a very good opportunity. As long as he played his part and opened his heart to the director, he would become the director's closest comrade-in-arms from then on.

Zhang Anping understood perfectly what this meant, but it was not what he wanted!

Moreover, if the section chief strongly supports him to become the director of the secrecy bureau, wouldn't that be digging a huge pit and burying himself alive?
Therefore, Zhang Anping decided to continue to implement his previous approach and try his best to maintain a distance from the section chief.

Therefore, Zhang Anping chose to treat the section chief who appeared with indifference and did not get up to greet him.

The section chief wasn't annoyed by Zhang Anping's sitting in the central command tent. He simply sat down opposite Zhang Anping and said with a faint smile:

"Brother Anping, you don't seem flustered at all?"

Zhang Anping's reply, though seemingly gentle, was barbed: "In ancient times, as long as you didn't rebel, you wouldn't implicate your family."

The section chief laughed: "It seems Brother Anping is quite angry?"

"Don't dare."

It's not that we don't dare to, but that we don't!
The section chief was slightly taken aback, but he could understand why Zhang Anping was so cold, so he laid his cards on the table:

“I was wrong about this. I thought Brother Anping was no different from others—he relied on his past merits to disregard the law and was insatiably greedy!”

The director's bluntness exceeded Zhang Anping's expectations, and he couldn't help but show a look of surprise and astonishment.

"But Brother Anping ultimately gave me a profound shock—I was too shallow!"

"Brother Anping, I'm so sorry about this!"

After saying this, the section chief stood up and actually bowed in apology.

Faced with the director's actions, Zhang Anping swiftly dodged, but due to his "poor coordination," he tripped over the sofa and almost fell over.

At this moment, Zheng Yaoquan, who was secretly observing, couldn't help but curl his lips. Everyone said that Zhang Anping's marksmanship was divine. He didn't know if his marksmanship was divine or not, but he was sure that the rumors that Zhang Anping's skills were extremely poor were not unfounded.

The section chief almost burst out laughing at Zhang Anping's blunder, but he had come to see Zhang Anping with genuine sincerity, so he didn't lose his composure and instead stepped forward to try to help Zhang Anping up.

Zhang Anping naturally dodged away, his wariness quite obvious.

The section chief sensed the wariness in Zhang Anping's series of movements, so he took a few steps back, sat down again, and said frankly:

“Brother Anping, to be honest, my initial plan was indeed to force you to apologize and commit suicide after I found out that you had embezzled and accepted bribes.”

When Zheng Yaoquan learned that the raid on his home had uncovered a rare, incorruptible official, he knew he had done something wrong and confessed his mistake to the section chief that very night.

Although the section chief was furious at Zheng Yaoquan's unreliability, since he genuinely considered Zhang Anping a comrade, he naturally needed to open up to him. Therefore, he took the opportunity to reveal all his considerations and plans.

"Once you are dead, the foreigners' plans will fall through, and they will no longer be able to cause trouble. I will also use you as a double-edged sword to deter others and curb the rampant corruption within the Party and the State!"

A saying from later generations goes like this:

Sincerity is the ultimate weapon!

The section chief may not have heard this saying before, but he is putting it into practice right now.

Faced with the section chief who put his words into practice, Zhang Anping secretly groaned, but at the same time had to deliberately smooth out the wrinkles between his brows and soften his expression.

"But what surprised me was that Brother Anping, despite possessing enormous wealth, never took a single penny, and despite wielding great power, never showed favoritism—I... admire him to the extreme!"

The section chief stared intently at Zhang Anping, his eyes seemingly flashing with fire—not the fire of anger, but the excitement of seeing his fellow traveler.

"Brother Anping, from now on, can we address each other as brothers?"

Zhang Anping personally experienced the meaning of a line from the "Memorial on Dispatching the Troops":

I was originally a commoner, tilling the fields in Nanyang, barely surviving in this chaotic world, not seeking fame or fortune among the lords. The late emperor did not consider me lowly and humble, but condescended to visit me thrice in my thatched hut, consulting me on the affairs of the time. I was deeply moved and thus pledged myself to serve him.

If Zhang Anping were truly a loyal subject of the Party and the country, based on the director's words alone, he would not hesitate to go through fire and water without batting an eye.

If you treat me as a national hero, I will repay you as a national hero!
In less than two seconds, Zhang Anping's expression shifted from shock and disbelief to gratitude and then to instinctive wariness. He involuntarily took two steps back, bowed slightly, and whispered:

"Don't dare!"

If it were someone else, especially someone like Master Kong, they would have angrily rebuked him for being ungrateful!

But the section chief did not react that way, nor was he particularly disappointed.

In the past, his understanding of Zhang Anping was:

This is a very capable intelligence strategist, and also a very discerning person. If I were to come to power one day, this kind of person could continue to lead the intelligence agency.

But now, through his lens, Zhang Anping has been elevated to a true colleague and comrade. Faced with the olive branch extended by someone in power, Zhang Anping's hesitation is seen by the section chief as a shining virtue in him!

Therefore, faced with Zhang Anping's "lack of appreciation," the section chief was not annoyed, but calmly said:

"The friendship between gentlemen is as bland as water, while the friendship between petty men is as sweet as wine; gentlemen are close through blandness, while petty men break off through sweetness."

“Brother Anping, we are the same kind of people. We both deeply love this country and hope that it will get better and better.”

"We are true comrades!"

He stood up, did not continue to press the matter, but after taking a few steps to create some distance, repeated:

"A gentleman's friendship is as pure as water, but we share common ideals, and we will soon be walking hand in hand!"

"When you go home, please apologize to your aunt for me. I disturbed her yesterday, it was my fault. I originally wanted to go back with Brother Anping to apologize to your aunt."

After saying that, he turned and left. Zhang Anping hesitated for a moment, then bowed slightly to see him off.

After a long while, he finally plopped down on the sofa, as if lost in deep thought—

Actually, he was just inwardly marveling at the director's methods.

What a perfect example of a gentleman's friendship, as pure as water!

Unfortunately, we are not true companions!

Zhang Anping sighed softly. The section chief was truly born in the wrong place. Someone like him was actually more suited to the other side.

Unfortunately, his identity destined him to struggle within this corrupt regime. (End of Chapter)