Chapter 1017
The Hidden Story Behind the Scenes: The Enemy is at the Gates!
There was a knock on the office door, and Zheng Yi stepped in.
As soon as he entered, Zheng Yi reported to the leader:
"Chief Qu, news has come from Miyun that an intelligence team has been dismantled, and the entire network... has been uprooted."
"A reconnaissance squad belonging to the Second Bureau encountered a Communist army checkpoint while secretly withdrawing from the direction of Miyun. For some unknown reason, they were exposed, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides. In the end, the entire reconnaissance squad was wiped out."
After pausing for a moment, Zhang Anping said:
"Send a telegram to headquarters to retrieve their information, and the compensation will be issued immediately."
"Yes."
"In addition, issue a notice that all officers of the rank of lieutenant colonel and above in the intelligence system should attend a meeting in the conference room on the third floor at 5 p.m. this afternoon."
"Yes."
After Zheng Yi turned and left the office, Zhang Anping simply put down his pen and went straight to the window, standing there silently.
In the eyes of later generations, the starting point of the Pingjin Campaign was the siege of Zhangjiakou—that is, November 29.
But at this time, everyone actually counted December 5th as the day the battle would truly break out.
Because that day was the day Miyun was captured and the 35th Army was ordered to return to Beiping.
On December 8, the 35th Army was trapped in Xinbao'an. Until yesterday, when the main forces of the 16th and 104th Armies were wiped out, even if we count from December 5 when Miyun was captured, it has only been a mere eight days.
Over the course of eight days, the military battlefield was a scene of great upheaval, and the results achieved by our army were truly exhilarating.
But behind all this lies an unseen struggle on the intelligence battlefield!
The advance corps of the Northeast Field Army entered the pass - two columns set off from the Northeast at the end of October. A whole month passed before the surprise attack on Miyun was exposed, but the North China Suppression Headquarters did not receive any intelligence. This was simply because the National Army was incompetent.
Do not!
It was because the clues discovered by the Nationalist army had all been deliberately erased!
Therefore, the North China Suppression Headquarters was unable to discover that the advance corps had entered the pass.
In the Battle of Miyun, the advance corps achieved a resounding victory, but the intelligence received by the North China Suppression Headquarters indicated that:
The Dongye Vanguard Corps consisted of only one column!
It was precisely because of this intelligence, which the North China Suppression Headquarters had never doubted, that the 16th and 104th Armies "openly" went out to meet the 35th Army.
Then, these two armies suffered heavy losses:
The main force was almost completely wiped out. Even though many people managed to escape, they lost all their heavy equipment and suffered heavy losses in light equipment as well.
Why did the 16th Army and the 104th Army suffer such a crushing defeat?
Because their assessment and prediction of the enemy situation were based on a single column plus the North China People's Liberation Army, they were certain that the People's Liberation Army was incapable of encircling and annihilating the 16th and 104th Armies.
But it was precisely this extra column, an unexpected column, that became the elephant that crushed them.
The two pieces of news Zheng Yi just reported, on the surface, only involved the annihilation of an intelligence team and a reconnaissance squad, but in reality...
But it was Zhang Anping who ended it!
That's right, it's the wrap-up.
Their intelligence mentioned that the advance force consisted of two columns...
Now, they have no chance of finding out what intelligence Zhang Anping reported to his superiors.
Logically speaking, the North China Suppression Headquarters, having suffered such a great loss, should have severely punished its intelligence system, especially Zhang Anping, who was in charge of the intelligence system.
However, Zhang Anping's repeated prophetic predictions prevented the North China Suppression Headquarters from causing him trouble. Although the intelligence was wrong, Zhang Anping's judgment was never wrong. Under such circumstances, how could the Central Army generals allow the North China Suppression Headquarters to deal with him?
Even the generals of the Sui Army were too ashamed to cause trouble for Zhang Anping—the intelligence was indeed wrong, but battlefield intelligence was always like this, and they all knew what kind of mess Zhang Anping inherited when he was stationed in Beiping.
These damned spies, for their own selfish gain, don't even care about the face of the Party and the country. They'll even kill themselves and collude with the underground party to shift the blame.
After Zhang Anping took charge, he gave them chances time and time again, but in the end, he had no choice but to deal with them severely.
It's normal for incomplete intelligence to occur when intelligence systems are hastily integrated.
But was Zhang Anping's prediction ever wrong?
Moreover, the other side had no regard for the Suiyuan Army or the Central Army; they only cared about the interests of the Party and the State.
They really don't have the nerve to cause trouble for people like that.
To put it bluntly, the current Suiyuan Army commanders trust Zhang Anping more than they trust their colleagues.
Little did they know that this very "Zhang Zhuge," whom they trusted implicitly, had been pulling off one sleight of hand and deception after another right under their noses...
……
Sister Qian was alone in the room, pacing back and forth excitedly.
coming!
Here they come!
The long-awaited Dongye army is finally about to be deployed to the battlefield!
To be honest, Sister Qian has been on tenterhooks ever since she received the assignment.
The number of our troops in North China was far less than that of the Nationalist army. Without the Northeast Field Army coming, our troops in North China alone were destined not to be able to defeat the Nationalist army in North China.
But the Northeast Field Army is coming, and the enemy is not a wooden puppet. They will retreat south or west. Our goal is to leave behind hundreds of thousands of troops in North China and secure victory with a decisive and annihilating battle.
She has no worries about intelligence gathering; she can provide our army with accurate intelligence.
However, what she wanted was to hold off the enemy and prevent them from leaving!
Only by preventing the enemy from escaping can the Northeast Field Army annihilate all the enemy forces in North China with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
But how can we delay it?
How can we drag this out!
Zhang Anping, however, delivered a satisfactory answer:
The strategic deception continues, interspersed with a mix of true and false information;
At a critical moment, he could turn the tide and use a piece of "half-true" intelligence to wipe out two enemy armies in one fell swoop.
Zhang Anping's role in the intelligence battlefield cannot be underestimated, but the most brilliant aspect is actually our army's strategic layout:
From the moment the attack on Zhangjiakou began, the enemy was completely trapped in our army's trap. First, they deployed the 35th Army, the darling son of the Sui Army, then they captured Miyun and advanced directly towards Beiping, forcing the 35th Army to return to reinforce. Finally, they trapped the 35th Army in Xinbaoan and used Xinbaoan as bait to wipe out two armies!
The battle had barely begun when the enemy's forces were reduced to one-fifth of their original strength, a feat that seemed like a stroke of genius.
Now, 800,000 of the main force of the Northeast Field Army are about to be deployed to the battlefield—they are about to be deployed to the battlefield, not to enter the pass!
Because they've already crossed the border!
Next, it will be... a magnificent cutting and encirclement!
……
Zhang Anping is presiding over a meeting in the conference room.
This meeting has only one theme:
Infiltrate!
In fact, after Zhang Anping completely integrated the Beiping intelligence system, he began to carry out infiltration operations. However, the previous assessment was that they had enough time, after all, there was at least a two-month preparation period.
Give yourself at least two months to prepare. No rush, no rush.
However, the Northeast Field Army has not yet entered the pass, but the Nationalist Army in North China has already lost three armies. In addition, the 11th Army Corps is trapped in Zhangjiakou and the 35th Army is trapped in Xinbaoan. More than 100,000 people are essentially useless. Judging from this situation, it may take more than a month.
Therefore, all departments stepped up their efforts in infiltration, and Zhang Anping held meetings to inquire about the infiltration situation of each department.
Shortly after the meeting began, as Qi Qingbao, the newly arrived director of the Party Communications Bureau, was explaining the Bureau's infiltration plan, Zheng Yi rushed into the meeting room in a great hurry.
As Zhang Anping's secretary, Zheng Yi usually gave people the impression of being unfathomable, never even flinching when faced with a pile of corpses. The panic he showed now was something no one had ever seen before.
This anxious look displeased Zhang Anping, who frowned and asked:
"What happened?"
Zheng Yi lost his composure, swallowed hard, and said with difficulty, "The Northeast Communist Army, they've entered the pass!"
All the secret service chiefs stared wide-eyed. They'd already entered the pass?
Zhang Anping froze, and after a few seconds of silence, he asked in a hoarse voice:
"Where exactly is it located?"
“Traces of the Communist army have been found in Tongxian, Shijingshan, Mentougou, Tangshan... They are all wearing dog-skin hats.”
brush
Zhang Anping jumped up in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief: "What did you say?!"
Other intelligence chiefs had similar reactions—what a joke, didn't they say they were going to enter the pass?
Is this customs clearance?
They're right under our noses!
This...this is impossible!
A spy chief staggered and said, "They...they flew over here? The air force conducted a major reconnaissance of the Xifengkou and Lengkou areas a few days ago, but found nothing unusual!"
Entering the country and appearing right under your nose are two different things!
The entry into the pass would have occurred at Xifengkou, Lengkou, or Shanhaiguan, places far from Beiping, making it impossible to attack them quickly. But the problem is, the Northeast Field Army is now right under our noses?
Only flying over can explain this!
"impossible!"
Zhang Anping seemed to only then realize what was happening: "Re-verify!"
Zheng Yi then came to his senses and spoke much more steadily: "It has been verified twice. This is intelligence from our secret station. They saw it with their own eyes."
“How could they possibly fly over here—” Zhang Anping refused to believe it and said through gritted teeth, “Notify the Air Force to verify immediately!”
"They've already been notified, they should do it immediately..."
Before he could finish speaking, the director of the confidential office rushed in in a panic:
"Teacher, something's happened! Something's happened!"
Zhang Anping glared murderously at the chief of confidential documents:
"Say!"
"There's been a problem with the Air Force. All eight reconnaissance aircraft in the reconnaissance squadron have defected."
The chief of staff's words answered the previous question—Hungry Field Army couldn't fly, but they could tamper with the Air Force's reconnaissance...
Zhang Anping sat down weakly, unable to believe what had happened.
Seeing Zhang Anping's loss of composure, Zheng Yi gave the others a wink. The distraught secret service leaders understood her meaning and left the conference room one after another, leaving it to Zhang Anping.
After leaving the conference room, the group of secret service leaders were still in a daze.
How did Higashino end up right under our noses?
Although many parts of North China were occupied by the People's Liberation Army, their intelligence network was still very large, with nearly 10,000 agents in the entire city of Beiping.
Why did we only find out when it was right under our noses?
Director Qi speculated, "During this period, our intelligence network in North China has suffered severe losses. In various places... they are probably hiding and dare not move, and they are dealing with us with news from various Communist army newspapers every day!"
cope……
These intelligence chiefs felt a chill run down their spines.
These bastards! You try to fool us with things from the newspapers, but we hand over our precious knowledge to Zhang Anping, this devil. Do you know what we'll face if something goes wrong?
Most importantly, now... there's a real problem!
And it's a life-threatening problem!
They were on the verge of tears, unsure of what Zhang Anping would do to them next.
Will it be rejected?
They couldn't help but think of the two people who had been eliminated in the conference room, and one by one they involuntarily shuddered.
What should we do now?
After Zhang Anping and Zheng Yi were left alone in the conference room, Zhang Anping adjusted his posture and gave Zheng Yi a meaningful look. Zheng Yi responded with a light laugh, as if to say:
I'm not bad either!
Zhang Anping nodded, gave Zheng Yi an approving look, and then gave the order in a gloomy voice:
"Get the car ready, I'm heading to the headquarters!"
Zheng Yi agreed, but cast an admiring glance at Zhang Anping. She couldn't maintain a smile while still speaking in a somber voice...
……
At this point, the generals were still arguing.
And the argument got even more heated.
One of the Sui army generals couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "To hell with it! You can retreat south and we can retreat west! You can cover our own retreat, and we'll cover our own retreat!"
Retreat westward?
Upon hearing this, the Sui generals' eyes lit up. Yes, they still had the option of retreating westward!
Although Zhangjiakou was besieged and the Communist army was advancing directly towards Beiping, once the 200,000 troops retreated westward, could the Communist army in North China stop them?
We can also rescue the 35th Army and the 11th Army Corps while we're at it!
"Retreat west! Retreat west!" A Sui army general immediately stood up.
"What's the point of arguing now! Let's retreat west! We'll sell our backs to the People's Liberation Army and see if they attack the Central Army first or us first!"
The generals of the Central Army were completely stunned.
Why didn't they leave so early?
It's precisely because if the Suiyuan Army were to retreat south, it would inevitably retreat west, and then the People's Liberation Army would definitely attack them first!
Because the Sui army was going to Suiyuan, they could still fight later, but the Sui army was retreating south by boat to strengthen the Yangtze River defense line.
Therefore, we must fight them!
Now look what happened; that dead knot has circled back to this dead knot.
Previously, the Communist army in North China numbered only around 200,000. Without the Suiyuan Army, there would be pressure if they retreated south, but it wouldn't be that great.
But now the Communist army in North China has 300,000 troops, including two columns of 100,000 men wearing dog-skin hats—those are dog-skin hats!
If the Sui army retreats westward and they retreat southward, only tens of thousands of people will likely be able to leave...
Fu Huabei had been waiting for this opportunity. Now that his subordinates had finally realized that retreating south was a dead end, he immediately seized the chance:
"Gentlemen, the tide of battle is irreversible! In that case, let's retreat!"
"For safety's sake, evacuate in two groups!"
Why don't you say that the Sui army fled west while we fled south?
The Central Army generals were furious. "It's because your Suiyuan Army won't withdraw that we've been dragged on until now, and yet you still want to retreat westward?"
Believe it or not, our 300,000-strong army can disarm you—though we certainly wouldn't dare…
Li and Shi hurriedly tried to smooth things over. They both felt aggrieved, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn't really let the Sui army retreat westward, could they?
They have stayed until now, ultimately to bring over 200,000 Sui troops to strengthen the Yangtze River defense line.
Just as he was about to speak, the conference room door was pushed open, and Zhang Anping, with a gloomy face, strode into the conference room.
Fu Huabei's face showed anger. How rude! This kid... is too rude!
"Deputy Director Zhang!" Commander Li immediately shouted sternly upon seeing this, "Do you even respect Commander Fu? Get out! Shout 'Report!'"
Despite his stern shouts, he was actually trying to save Zhang Anping.
This is not a school!
Senior military officers are in a meeting, and you barge in without saying a word. What are you trying to do?
They'll accuse you of mutiny and execute you. Who will you turn to for justice then?
Zhang Anping completely ignored Commander Li's good intentions and walked up to Fu Huabei on his own. Fu Huabei's guards immediately drew their pistols, but Fu Huabei stopped them with a gesture.
"Zhang Anping, what are you trying to do?"
Fu Huabei looked coldly at Zhang Anping.
“We can’t leave.” Zhang Anping stared at Fu Huabei with a grim face.
"We can't leave!"
Fu Huabei was taken aback, and the generals in the conference room also looked at Zhang Anping with suspicion—what kind of trouble was he causing?
Zhang Anping said in a bitter voice:
"Communist troops appeared near Tongxian County—all wearing dog-skin hats."
"Communist troops have appeared in Qinghe, Yangfang, Shijingshan, and Mentougou, all wearing dog-skin hats."
“North of Xianghe, Wuqing, and Langfang, large numbers of Communist troops also set out, all wearing dog-skin hats.”
"Tangshan, Beitang, and Lutai are all the same; they are all dog-skin hats."
The Nationalist army in North China was terrified of dog-skin hats—because it was winter, and the Northeast Field Army was equipped with dog-skin hats.
The places he mentioned were either passageways between Beijing, Tianjin, and Tanggu, or key nodes that could cut off maritime transport.
In other words...
Forget about retreating south, forget about retreating west, we're about to be surrounded!
"Impossible!" Commander Li stood up in shock.
"Absolutely impossible!"
"The main force of the Communist army in Northeast China cannot possibly appear under our noses!"
"We've never given up on monitoring their entry routes during this time. We've been monitoring high-frequency words every morning, noon, and night. If they were entering the country, it's impossible that we wouldn't have noticed!"
How could hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops in North China have been brought under someone's nose?
Moreover, the Communist army was everywhere, which must have been the main force of the Northeast Field Army. But that was a force of hundreds of thousands. How could they possibly escape the detection of reconnaissance planes?
Unless, you can fly!
But how is that possible?
Zhang Anping said in a hoarse voice:
"It has been confirmed that all eight reconnaissance aircraft in the reconnaissance squadron have defected to areas controlled by the Communist forces..."
"We've been blind for a very long time..."
The meeting room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Actually, there's an "extremely absurd" fact here:
You might say the intelligence system is incompetent?
Well, the enemy is right under our noses, but only the intelligence system has reported it, while the troops in various places are completely unaware—even a blind man would be better than them!
An army's defense zone is so large, with so many troops, yet not a single discovery was made!
But if you say the intelligence system is amazing—Higashino was right under their noses, and they only just received the news!
But no one could come up with a reason to blame Zhang Anping first...
(Just a quick question: Do you have any tickets? By the way, I've updated 15.6 words this month...) (End of Chapter)