Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

Amidst the surging public opinion, the anti-corruption team led by the section chief made a "shocking debut" and began its anti-corruption work, while the Bureau of Secrecy also launched an in-depth investigation into the sealed-off Yihe Mansion.

On the day the investigation began after the seizure, a bill immediately stunned the secret service agents.

This is a bill found inside the Summer Palace, the expense bill for a banquet five days ago—a staggering 200 taels of gold. It made the secret agents of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics realize for the first time what it meant to have the rich feast while the poor freeze to death on the streets!

You should know that the monthly salary of an infantry division is only this much!
At the Summer Palace, this was merely the bill for a dinner party.

Ironically, during this period, the very forces that hosted the banquets were acting as mouthpieces for the Nationalist government, telling the general public in newspapers and on the radio:
The national economy is facing difficulties, and the people must support the country...

Normally, at this point, the gluttons should be unable to contain themselves and start jumping around. But strangely, although the results of the investigation within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics have been leaked out, the gluttons have all fallen silent, giving the impression that they are now at the mercy of the chopping block.

This left everyone else completely bewildered.

……

Chamber of Secrets.

The anxious Zheng Yaoxian finally saw Zhang Anping arrive.

Zhang Anping looked exhausted, but Old Zheng didn't have time to show concern; instead, he urgently said:

"Anping, don't tell me you want to be a loyal subject of the Party and the State now!"

From Zheng Yaoxian's perspective, what he saw was:

Because of Zhang Anping's affair, the four major families thoroughly outmaneuvered the section chief, ultimately escalating the situation for the chief attendant. Now, the section chief is wielding the chief attendant's sword and wreaking havoc, while the four major families have backed down in order to protect themselves.

As the vanguard, Zhang Anping's current image of loyalty leaves no room for doubt—even Lao Zheng is starting to have his doubts.

That's why he urgently arranged to meet with Zhang Anping.

"You probably haven't met Comrade Chai Ying before, have you?"

In Zhang Anping's No. 2 intelligence group, Zheng Yaoxian and Ming Lou are actually No. 2 and No. 3. Nominally, Cen Anyan and Chai Ying were the heads, but in reality, they are more like the chief stewards of the No. 2 intelligence group.

According to the emergency plan formulated by Zhang Anping, if something happens to him, Zheng Yaoxian will take over the command authority. However, Zheng Yaoxian has his own nominal superior, Lu Hanqing, but Lu Hanqing's superior is Chai Ying. Therefore, in urgent circumstances, Lao Zheng will basically not have any horizontal contact with Chai Ying.

Hearing Zhang Anping say this, Zheng Yaoxian pressed further, "Do you have other considerations?"

Zhang Anping smiled and patted Zheng Yaoxian on the shoulder, which was a way of expressing his gratitude to Lao Zheng—Lao Zheng had not communicated with Chai Ying beforehand about this matter, which was a testament to his trust in him.

"Next time, follow the organization's rules—contact Comrade Chai Ying if you have any questions!"

Zheng Yaoxian rolled his eyes at Zhang Anping's words, but he didn't argue because Zhang Anping was right.

But he had his reasons for doing so.

“I’ve spoken with Sister Chai – I bet the Nationalist government never disappoints when it comes to being disappointing.”

Zhang Anping said confidently:
"Believe me, the more high-profile you are this time, the harder you will fall when the director falls—the Nationalist government will definitely not let you down in this regard."

Zheng Yaoxian uttered two words: "The reason!"

He believed that the Nationalist government would never disappoint in terms of being disappointing, but he needed a clear reasoning process, rather than just Zhang Anping's empty speculation.

This is very important!
Zhang Anping explained:

"The section chief went to great lengths to secure this opportunity in the anti-corruption campaign—you can sense his determination, right?"

Zheng Yaoxian nodded, acknowledging Zhang Anping's statement—the director's determination was evident from the newspapers, and the Nationalist government needed an anti-corruption campaign to demonstrate its resolve to its allies.

"But the problem is..."

Zhang Anping chuckled:

"The problem of corruption is already deeply intertwined with the Nationalist government!"

"The entire Nationalist government was like a vast, dark expanse—a wound can be healed by removing the rotten flesh, but the entire Nationalist government was completely rotten. If all the rotten flesh was removed, would the current Nationalist government still exist?"

"So those four companies are holding back today, acting like lambs to the slaughter. But they aren't lambs to the slaughter; they're just waiting for an opportunity."

"An official who doesn't know how to make a living has no future opportunities—so, the section chief's enthusiasm was misplaced from the very beginning! In the Party-state's fight against corruption, this is simply a pipe dream!"

Zhang Anping's analysis left Zheng Yaoxian speechless.

So that's what Zhang Anping relied on.

He asked, "What if the section chief realizes this and chooses to conduct selective anti-corruption efforts? For example, making an example of someone to warn others, or vice versa?"

Zhang Anping sneered:
"Making an example of someone to warn others is useless under the Nationalist government—because the monkeys won't be deterred at all; they'll only become more rampant."

"If it's to make an example of someone..."

Zhang Anping couldn't help but think of the future anti-corruption campaign in Shanghai, and said with a smile, "That would be a blatant attack on the four major families. In that case, the fight would be a lose-lose situation, and the party would inevitably perish—would the Chief of Staff allow that to happen?"

Zheng Yaoxian couldn't help but laugh. So, no matter what the section chief did, there was no chance of success!
On second thought, why did our party go from being a minority at the beginning to the situation it is today?
It's all because the Nationalist government offered no hope!

Given the nature of the Chinese people, how could they easily abandon the Nationalist government if they could see even the slightest glimmer of hope?

"Looks like I'm overthinking it."

Old Zheng couldn't help but chuckle. Although losing face in front of Zhang Anping wasn't considered shameful, he still felt embarrassed, mainly because:

I actually thought the Kuomintang could be saved because of the anti-corruption campaign.

Clearing his throat twice to cover his embarrassment, Zheng Yaoxian began to discuss the latest intelligence he had gathered:
"Old Mao defected to the other side, so they should have accepted him."

"Over there" naturally refers to the four major families.

After saying that, Lao Zheng felt ashamed again—even Mao Zedong knew which side to stand on, so how could he have thought that the Party and the country could be saved because of the anti-corruption campaign?

He glanced at Zhang Anping and thought to himself:

It's probably because... they had too much faith in Zhang Anping!
Zhang Anping said with a hint of helplessness:

"This guy, I can't even hold him back..."

"I deliberately gave him some leverage to prevent him from acting recklessly, but I didn't expect that it wouldn't stop him from jumping into the pit. It's really worrying to have an opponent like this!"

That's certainly a pretentious statement. Mao Renfeng had no hope of hearing the truth in his lifetime, but if he heard it after his death, even if he was torn to pieces and his bones were scattered to the winds, he might be so angry that he would rise from the dead.
But Zhang Anping's words were truly heartfelt!

Zheng Yaoxian's expression was strange: "The matter of Guo Qiyun that Qiu Ning found out was indeed something you deliberately stirred up!"

"Are you scheming against both Lao Wang and Lao Mao?"

Zhang Anping smiled slightly and gave a "you know what I mean" look.

Wang Tianfeng was certainly well aware that Guo Qiyun was not a member of the underground Communist Party. In other words, although Guo Qiyun might receive help from the underground party, he would never receive their full support, because his identity dictated that the underground party had to maintain considerable suspicion and vigilance towards him.

This is determined by the brutal nature of underground work.

The problem is that Guo Qiyun was sent out by Zhang Anping. Although Guo Qiyun didn't know it, this passage was indeed arranged by Zhang Anping. Unless a major accident occurs, Wang Tianfeng will not be able to find out Guo Qiyun's whereabouts.

So, here's the question:
Since Guo Qiyun could not possibly receive full assistance from the underground party, why couldn't any clues be found when Wang Tianfeng secretly mobilized the police force and the garrison command?

Zhang Anping would never make such a mistake, so Mao Renfeng was foolishly dragged in to fill the hole—look, Guo Qiyun was able to escape smoothly because Mao Renfeng secretly exerted her influence.

In this way, all the problems will fall on Mao Renfeng, and Zhang Anping will no longer care what Wang Tianfeng thinks.

And there is another advantage to doing this:
If Mao Renfeng focuses his energy on planning to "rescue" Guo Qiyun, he will reduce his contact with the four major families—lest this foolish guy get on the four major families' side.

Medicine can't cure all diseases, and Buddha can only help those who are destined to be saved. Since Mao Renfeng is so clueless, there's nothing that can be done. Zhang Anping can only hope to "help out" this silly girl who runs around naked in front of him more in the future.

After Zheng Yaoxian figured out Zhang Anping's plan, he was speechless.

Should we laugh or cry at the level of someone like him and Zhang Anping, who went to such lengths as an undercover agent?
……

Although Zhang Anping failed to "rescue" Mao Renfeng, he unsurprisingly achieved another objective.

Wang Tianfeng quietly looked at the intelligence report in his hand. Although the subordinate who delivered the report stood aside indignant, Wang Tianfeng's face showed no emotion, only endless depth.

After waving his indignant subordinates away, Wang Tianfeng silently put away the papers, slowly closed his eyes, and began a brainstorming session.

every time……

Mao Renfeng was present at almost every event!
Anping's plans were often ruined by Mao Renfeng;
Moreover, Mao Renfeng played a dishonorable role in many key events involving the dealing with the underground party!

Previously, attention was focused on Xiang Yingxin, but now Xiang Yingxin has been deliberately driven mad—yet Mao Renfeng continues to do things in a "coincidentally" way.

Take Guo Qiyun's case this time as an example - his move was too "coincidental", or even an open cover-up for Guo Qiyun!

Coincidence?
"Anping doesn't believe in coincidences, and I believe even less in coincidences!"

Wang Tianfeng abruptly stood up, rapidly sorting through clues in his mind. These clues converged to form an unusual web, and two words appeared on this web:

Undercover!

What if Mao Renfeng was the deeply hidden undercover agent?

That real...Katyusha!

In cooperation with the underground party, they sent a fake image of Anping Development to Chongqing to contact and recruit Zeng Moyi.
By allying with Zheng Yaoquan and Tang Zong, they dismantled the once-powerful Military Intelligence Bureau; on the surface, they disregarded the interests of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and repeatedly engaged in internal strife with Zhang Anping—in reality, they used the guise of internal strife to carry out sabotage.

It was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the situation in Northeast China was on the verge of collapse, yet the crisis was ignored, and all the military equipment that Anping had painstakingly acquired from the United States was left in the Northeast...

Now, they're giving Guo Qiyun the green light, just so they can deliver a painful blow to Anping next!
Wang Tianfeng's eyes widened involuntarily—if Mao Renfeng really was an undercover agent, then his repeated brainless actions and his repeated attempts to fight despite knowing he was no match could all be explained reasonably.

Mao Renfeng...

Undercover!

Wang Tianfeng was panting heavily, as if he were suffocating.

If Mao Renfeng was that undercover agent, then what secrets would the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics still have against the underground party?
check!
Must be scrutinized!

From now on, all our energy must be focused on investigating Mao Renfeng!

After making up his mind, Wang Tianfeng wanted to formulate an investigation plan, but he couldn't help but recall the times Zhang Anping had been driven to despair by him. He couldn't help but think:

Should we talk to Anping about this?

This shouldn't be discussed!

Taking a deep breath, Wang Tianfeng banished the thought from his mind.

The Chinese people are actually very good at learning from history.

The regional separatism at the end of the Tang Dynasty determined the Song Dynasty's emphasis on civil administration and suppression of military power.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Ming Dynasty still instills lingering fear in officials today—which is also why the Military Intelligence Bureau was dismantled.

Once his secret investigation into Mao Renfeng is exposed, he will face immense pressure. He has caused Anping far too much trouble, and if Anping finds out, he will surely take the blame, given his personality.

There's no need to tell him. If something goes wrong, I, a dead man, will bear all the responsibility.

……

From Zhang Shih-hao's perspective, apart from Guo Qiyun's matter not going well, everything else is going incredibly smoothly.

Take the Summer Palace, which was the main target of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, as an example.

After sealing off the Yihe Mansion, they found far too many clues inside. The Bureau of Secrecy sorted through the clues and gathered some of them together to launch an investigation.

And this investigation often uncovers a whole host of cases.

For example, some clues pointed to the military's logistics system, and a brief investigation uncovered a shocking case of embezzlement:
Some logistics officials in the National Revolutionary Army accepted bribes on a large scale, purchasing and supplying large quantities of expensive but low-quality cotton-padded clothing to the National Revolutionary Army.

Should we investigate or not?
Of course we have to investigate!

And this investigation revealed a whole host of results, both big and small.

For example, clues gathered from the Yihe Mansion led to the discovery of corruption allegations against the director of the Nanjing Tax Bureau.

Shouldn't we investigate?
With the cooperation of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the anti-corruption team, a huge corruption network was uncovered with almost no interrogation.

Let's keep publishing in the newspapers.

In just five days, the anti-corruption team, with the cooperation of the Bureau of Secrecy, dismantled more than ten corrupt groups, and the number of corrupt officials, big and small, caught was staggering.

These events were continuously publicized, causing the director's reputation to rise to an unimaginable level in just a few days.

But at this moment, "Zhang Shih-hao" realized that something was wrong.

That night, he appeared in the director's office—the director had been eating and sleeping in his office for the past few days and had no time to go home.

"Director, we can't investigate anymore!"

Holding a thick stack of files, Zhang Anping solemnly explained his purpose upon entering the room.

The section chief, who had specially stood up to greet Zhang Anping, was stunned upon hearing this:
"why?"

"We can't investigate anymore!" Zhang Anping repeated these four words before spreading out a stack of files:

"We've fallen into a trap!"

"It's going too smoothly! All the investigations have gone too smoothly—in just six days, we've uncovered fourteen large and small corruption rings, involving more than three hundred people."

The section chief was even more puzzled. Isn't the purpose of fighting corruption and bribery precisely this?

He didn't understand Zhang Anping's meaning, so he asked in return, "Are you scared?!"

"It's not fear—there's a problem!"

Zhang Anping took a deep breath: "We haven't gotten any information about Chen Jingyao from him. We've taken down fourteen corruption rings and arrested over three hundred people involved, but all the leads we've gathered are spreading horizontally—actually horizontally, not vertically!"

"The clues about the Yihe Mansion should have led us to them if we had continued investigating—but what have we found after all this investigation? A massive corruption network, fourteen corrupt groups with over three hundred people involved!"

"This is still the result of the fact that there were some people we chose to let go of!"

As Zhang Anping explained, the section chief finally understood what Zhang Anping meant:
"You mean the reason our investigation went so smoothly is because they did it on purpose?!"

The "they" that the two people were referring to were naturally the gluttons that the director had been painstakingly trying to deal with.

"Are they planning to use a strategy of attrition?"

"more than!"

Zhang Anping remained solemn.
"Two hours ago, I received a telegram from the Fifth Army's Inspection Office—the Fifth Army urgently needed new cotton-padded clothes, but the logistics department kept delaying their delivery with excuses. After the Inspection Office intervened and investigated, it was discovered that the cotton-padded clothes that should have been loaded onto the trucks had been ordered by the logistics department to be destroyed on the grounds that they were substandard in quality."

The section chief was shocked upon hearing this, unable to believe that such an outrageous operation could still occur.

"There's another matter—my wife's colleague has been complaining about delayed salaries for the past two days. After receiving a telegram from the Fifth Army's Inspectorate, I had my wife inquire about it and learned that it was because we investigated the personnel in the finance department, and the municipal government ordered the accounts to be frozen. The salaries are not expected to be paid in the short term."

Ordinary civil servants of the Nationalist government actually lived a miserable life. In theory, their salaries were enough to support their families, but don't forget that the Nationalist government was putting all its effort into printing presses, and legal tender was being printed continuously as if it were free. Salaries simply could not keep up with the rise in prices, and delayed salary payments meant that the seemingly respectable families of ordinary civil servants were about to fall into a suffocating economic crisis!

Although the section chief knew that rising prices were causing hardship for the people, he didn't have a deep impression of it, so he didn't fully understand what Zhang Anping was talking about, but he still felt a strong sense of malice.

But Zhang Anping's words were not yet finished!

“I specifically looked into the areas these fourteen corrupt groups were involved in—the results were chilling!”

A file was pushed in front of the section chief by Zhang Anping:
"If things continue as they were just described, this corrupt group could cause problems with basic public services in Nanjing!"

"This corrupt group will cause problems with ammunition supplies at the front!"

"This will lead to widespread market closures by merchants..."

"This one……"

As Zhang Anping pushed the files over one by one, the section chief's face grew paler and paler, until it became eerily ashen.

A strategy to wear down the enemy?

No, this is... a coup!
Just as the section chief's face turned deathly pale, like a ghost, the shrill telephone rang.

Zhang Anping's solemn expression remained unchanged, but he thought to himself:

coming!

The section chief took a deep breath, composed himself, and then answered the phone.

Zhang Anping had exceptional hearing, so he naturally heard the voice on the phone:

"Director, this is Ye Xiufeng. In the past few days, the Party Affairs Bureau has been conducting thorough investigations, both overt and covert, and has obtained several pieces of intelligence about the corrupt group. What do you think, should we hand them over to the Anti-Corruption Team, or should the Anti-Corruption Team send someone to guide the work of the Party Affairs Bureau?"

Before Zhang Anping arrived, the section chief would definitely have chosen to send someone to the Party Affairs Bureau to guide the work and expand the results of the anti-corruption campaign.

But now, the section chief felt only a chill to the bone.

Even the Party Affairs Bureau is getting involved?

Ye Xiufeng, you and the Chen family... are ultimately in cahoots!

At this moment, Ye Xiufeng on the other end of the phone was clearly unaware that he had a “danger” sign on his forehead. Instead, he was pleased with his defection—he couldn’t let Zhang Anping have all the credit. Our Party’s Bureau of Communications could also become the director’s capable assistant!

The section chief composed himself, showing no displeasure, and instead said in a tone of entrusting an important task, "The Party Affairs Bureau should be able to solve this on its own, right?"

Ye Xiufeng was overjoyed upon hearing this and stood at attention over the phone:

"Please rest assured, Director, the Party Affairs Bureau will certainly live up to your trust!"

"Yes, I trust Director Ye to get things done. That's settled then. Report back to me when you have results, and I'll recommend the Party Affairs Bureau for commendation!"

After hanging up the phone, the director's expression flickered.

I underestimated their ruthlessness and methods!
He couldn't help but look at Zhang Anping:

"Brother Anping, what do you think we should do now?" (End of Chapter)