Kingsman Agent in Film and Television

The section chief had genuinely intended to kill him—he had received information that Zhang Anping was using his position as an advisor to the National Government Holding Committee to amass wealth on a large scale.

There is a lot of evidence of their embezzlement, involving nearly a million US dollars.

Many people told the section chief that Zhang Anping had been too honest in the past, but now he had lost faith in the Party and the country, which was why he had fallen into corruption—it was this hurtful remark that made the section chief decide to kill him.

If it weren't for the account book Zhang Anping just handed over, the section chief would definitely have secretly investigated Zhang Anping within two or three days and wanted to take Zhang Anping's head to vent his anger.

You know, he thumped his chest really loudly in front of the chief attendant.

After being humiliated like this, how could the section chief not be furious?
But now, the misunderstanding has been cleared up!
Zhang Anping is still the same Zhang Anping, still a loyal subject of the Party and the State—but he has no faith in the Party and the State.
Pooh!
How can one not have faith in the Party and the state if they behave this way?
This is clearly a declaration of loyalty to the Party and the state to the death!

After a good laugh, the section chief said:

"The amount of money is estimated to be about right. Even if there is a shortfall, it shouldn't be too big. We can ask the Ministry of National Defense to cover the rest—the Chief of Staff shouldn't have too much of a problem."

“Director, the key issue is personnel,” Zhang Anping said. “Could you transfer some technical personnel over here? Otherwise, the traffic police headquarters will have equipment but no one to use it, which would be a waste.”

"There's one more thing I need to ask of you—you need to find a way to recruit a group of experienced deputy commanders for the Traffic Police Corps. Some of the corps commanders can also be replaced. After all, the Traffic Police Corps used to conduct small-scale operations. If it's a full-scale deployment to the battlefield, the past experience is not reliable."

Zhang Anping's words stunned the section chief.

Another moment of astonishment.

But this time the astonishment was different from before.

There was a very common phenomenon within the Nationalist government:
Military leaders are everywhere!
To put it bluntly, military commanders wanted to replace everyone in the army under their command with their own confidants; to put it bluntly, this is called privatizing the National Revolutionary Army.

Such things were common in warlord armies. In the Central Army, they were not so common, but they were certainly ubiquitous.

Zhang Anping's request, though it sounded like a request, was actually a way of bringing in the director's people—in other words, it was a way of stripping him of his control over the traffic police headquarters!

The achievements of the Loyal Army are known to those who are interested.

But why did it eventually become a garrison force?
Because the characteristics of the Loyal Salvation Army's Military Intelligence Bureau are too obvious—even if it was renamed the Traffic Police Corps and placed under the jurisdiction of the Police Department, if Tang Zong wanted to interfere with the Traffic Police Corps, there would be only one answer:
Who are you?

Zhang Anping's "request" was an attempt to actively erase the mark of the traffic police headquarters, which was simply unimaginable in the Nationalist army, which wanted to keep the army firmly in its hands.

The section chief looked at Zhang Anping, his smile fading, and asked slowly:
"Anping, do you know what your actions mean?"

Zhang Anping laughed:
"Chief, the Traffic Police Corps is the Traffic Police Corps of the Nationalist Government."

One sentence left the section chief deeply moved.

Previously, Zhang Anping handed over the ledgers and reported a huge figure of more than seven million US dollars to invest in the traffic police brigade. This was a pleasant surprise for the director, and given the current situation, it cannot be said that Zhang Anping was building his own private army—but such behavior itself has the tendency of warlordism.

However, the inclination differs from the facts, and moreover, the section chief is confident that he will not allow Zhang Anping to become a warlord.

But now, Zhang Anping has proven with his actions that he didn't have so many thoughts at all—he did this out of affection for the army he had supported throughout the War of Resistance.

In fact, Zhang Anping was favored by the emperor not only because of money and the life-saving grace, but also because of Zhang Anping's actions in continuously sending loyal soldiers to the war zone headquarters during the War of Resistance.

And now Zhang Anping has once again proven his unwavering loyalty to the Party and the country.

"Good! I will select the right people! I will definitely live up to your expectations for this armed force!"

The section chief made a promise.

But the surprises Zhang Anping brought were far more than that.

The section chief originally intended to take Zhang Anping to the entourage room right now, but just as he made the move to stand up, Zhang Anping spoke again:

"Director, there's one more thing—"

The section chief stopped getting up and looked at Zhang Anping: "What is it?"

He thought to himself, "You're not going to give me another surprise, are you?"

"The corruption case of the Kuomintang army in Northeast China".

"Hmm?" The section chief looked at Zhang Anping with a puzzled expression, as if he had never heard the name before.

“I have a file here, and this is the name I’ve chosen for it—” Zhang Anping’s tone then became serious:
"These are clues that my old subordinates in Northeast China uncovered. Based on the existing evidence, they speculated that there was a fairly large corruption network within the Nationalist army in Northeast China."

"Ming Cheng, the director of the Northeast Headquarters' Inspection Office, played a very important role in this."

Upon hearing this, the section chief murmured, "Northeast... Northeast..."

After murmuring, he looked at Zhang Anping:

"Are you conducting a covert investigation?"

Zhang Anping shook his head:

"I deliberately stirred up trouble beforehand to see their reaction and to determine the possible scope of the situation."

"However, their reaction exceeded my expectations, and as a result, one of the logistics officers in the headquarters was smeared by the Communists."

"The day before yesterday, the Northeast Inspectorate was attacked by bandits, and four people died—"

Zhang Anping took a deep breath:

"I would like to halt the investigation and temporarily shelve this matter."

The corruption case involving the Kuomintang army in Northeast China was, to be precise, exposed by Zhang Anping at a bureau meeting of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. At the bureau meeting the following day, Zhang Anping and Mao Renfeng reconciled, and the matter "disappeared without a trace."

The section chief's mind raced:

From a timeline perspective, this matter "disappeared without a trace" on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. The last eight days were the Lunar New Year's Eve on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month and today is the seventh day of the first lunar month.

Meanwhile, four people died in the Northeast Inspection Office the day before yesterday. By reviewing this timeline, it's easy to make a judgment:
The initial exposure of this incident was what Zhang Anping called "tipping up the enemy," and the subsequent secret investigation suffered a severe backlash—four people died.

According to the rules of the intelligence system, it is in accordance with the rules for Zhang Anping to obtain a piece of intelligence and then conduct various investigations—it has only been nine days since Zhang Anping exposed this matter, including the three days of the Chinese New Year, which is in full compliance with all procedures.

The claim that "beating the grass to alert the snake" further corroborates Zhang Anping's "compromise" with Mao Renfeng. Ironically, it was the head attendant who deviated from the "procedure," as he learned of the news so quickly and even harbored serious resentment towards Zhang Anping because of it.

Of course, this makes more sense, since Zhang Anping has always been a lone minister.

The position he occupies is one that only a loyal minister can hold firmly. If it weren't for the War of Resistance against Japan, given his nature of making connections with powerful figures everywhere, Dai Chunfeng would not have been suitable to stay there for long. As for Mao Renfeng, who is now even more like a clown, he is even less suitable!

As a loyal subject, Zhang Anping was a thorn in the side of many people, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to be plotted against and betrayed!
Thinking of this, all the resentment the section chief had towards Zhang Anping vanished without a trace.

He masked his current sense of relief with a solemn expression:

"Why was the investigation stopped? Why was it sealed off?"

Zhang Anping looked directly at the section chief, showing no sign of guilt or fear:
"The situation in the Northeast is unfavorable; we must absolutely not allow anything to shake the morale of the troops."

The section chief fell silent upon hearing this. He realized why Zhang Anping had deliberately brought this up with him—because in Zhang Anping's mind, he was like Zhang Anping, someone who couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing. And the corruption case involving the Kuomintang army in Northeast China was bound to be extremely far-reaching. He was afraid that Zhang Anping's decision to stop the investigation would provoke his dissatisfaction.

And this, in turn, corroborates another fact:
Zhang Anping genuinely pledged allegiance to him, which is why he was worried about incurring his displeasure!

Thinking of this, the section chief couldn't help but sigh:
"Yes, the situation in the Northeast is unfavorable. At this moment, we really cannot afford to do anything that could shake the morale of the troops. All we can do is make an example of them to get them to behave a little."

The section chief noticed that Zhang Anping let out a slight sigh of relief after he finished speaking.

"Your decision was correct, but...shouldn't you report this to the chief attendant?"

According to his "bet" with the chief attendant, his statement was clearly a violation of the agreement.

However, for such a beloved subordinate, breach of contract is no big deal; the section chief can disregard it!
Zhang Anping's answer wasn't forceful, but his attitude was very clear: "It's my duty."

This attitude pleased the section chief even more—in the process of power transition, the newcomer always prefers those who are loyal to the former power holder, while opportunists who have contributed to the rise of the new leader, especially those in high positions, are more likely to be purged.

The reasons are simple: first, if there is no one left to be granted power, one will inevitably suffer misfortune; second, if the former rulers gave you power and status, but you secretly invested in others, even if it is a change of power through bloodline, the new rulers will not like such a person.

Zhang Anping clearly understood the importance of things and remained loyal to his chief attendant without wavering. This kind of loyalty is exactly what those in power admire or desire most.

"Then when the chief attendant summons you, you should report this matter—he should ask for your opinion, and you can bring it up then."

The two then chatted for a few moments, and the section chief seized an opportunity to jokingly comment on Zhang Anping's "selling":

Do this kind of thing more often, and remember to "sell" me for a higher price next time!
Zhang Anping smiled and said he would definitely. Before leaving, he specifically mentioned Wang Tianfeng. In Zhang Anping's words, Wang Tianfeng was naturally a loyal subject of the Party and the country. His only flaw was that he only cared about doing his job and did not consider anything else.

Upon hearing this, the section chief shook his head and smiled wryly, naturally affirming Zhang Anping's viewpoint and gaining a deeper understanding of Zhang Anping's "loyalty."

Wang Tianfeng was made his adjutant, but to avoid causing a stir, his activities were limited to his office. Outside the office, Wang Tianfeng was practically invisible. The section chief had created an impenetrable network around himself, confident that Zhang Anping wouldn't know that Wang Tianfeng was being "relyed" on him—so under these circumstances, ordinary people would never easily mention this person.

Zhang Anping, however, never forgot him, specifically mentioning and praising him. If his private morality was like this, his public morality must be even more impeccable.

……

In the speeding car, Zhang Anping feigned sleep to conceal his joy at the complete success of his plan.

The corruption case involving the Kuomintang army in Northeast China was actually fabricated by him—of course, the corruption is beyond doubt, and the number of people involved is even greater than anyone imagines.

The curtain has now fallen, a perfect ending.

As for the so-called Shanghai secret station smuggling case, Zhang Anping was not worried at all. The exchange between Gu Shenyan and Xu Tian was his own determination. Once the director and the chief of staff saw it, they would understand that he had not changed.

They remain absolutely trustworthy party-state elites.

Most importantly, what he did did not affect the "popular sentiment" at all - apart from the director and the chief of staff, outsiders did not know that his compromise was for the sake of the overall situation, and would still think that Zhang Shih-hao, who could not bend his spine, had bent his spine!

In fact, all of the above are just supplements or continuations of the previous plan. What really made Zhang Anping happy was that things were done!

Not only was the reorganization and deployment of the Traffic Police Corps to the battlefield accomplished, but the heavy equipment arming of the Traffic Police Corps and Special Forces was also accomplished.

Of course, the price paid was that the section chief's close associates entered the traffic police brigade.

But these people won't be here until at least April, by the time the Huaihai Campaign breaks out. How much can they accomplish then? Moreover, their arrival will effectively sideline and decentralize Xu Baichuan, and these very factors will later become reasons to force Xu Baichuan into rebellion!

[Once the traffic police brigade and the special forces revolt, it will probably give Mao Renfeng, who is already on the verge of collapse, another chance to live... Old Mao, you could call me dad, it wouldn't be an exaggeration!]

Zhang Anping gently shook his head, suppressing all the smiles that he hadn't shown.

He thought to himself: In the Nationalist government, it is difficult to be a loyal subject, but it is not difficult to pretend to be one.

……

What happened next was exactly as Zhang Anping had predicted.

After the section chief met with the chief attendant and reported the details of Zhang Anping's "corruption," the chief attendant, who had previously called Zhang Anping by name, reverted to referring to him as "little fellow."

He even remarked with emotion:
"Everyone else is eager to seize control of the army, but he went to great lengths to find and invest money, only to generously hand over control to the Party and the state in the end. His loyalty is beyond question!"

He finally said to the section chief:
"You won! Your confidence in him was right! Little guy, he lived up to your trust!"

But it's not necessarily true that the chief attendant had no objections!
Why does he have a problem with this?

This was naturally Zhang Anping's reporting procedure.

Zhang Anping should have reported the corruption within the Kuomintang army in Northeast China to me first, instead of reporting it to the section chief.

The order was important, but Zhang Anping chose to report to the section chief first—which made the chief of staff very uncomfortable, after all, he was the deputy director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and should be his eyes and ears.

"We need to suppress it, we still need to suppress it."

After suppressing his rising thoughts, the chief attendant couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself that this little fellow always seemed to lose his sense of priorities at crucial moments. He would have to give him a good talking-to when he met him tonight.

Do you know how many times you've unintentionally lost your position as head of the Bureau of Secrecy?

The head servant shook his head and murmured to himself:
"Still young and impetuous..." (End of Chapter)