Chapter 1043
Zheng Yaoquan: I'll run first!
After just over twenty hours, Tianjin Fortress, which had been built up over a year, fell!
When the news reached Beiping, both the Sui Army generals and the Central Army generals were deeply shocked.
The defense of Pingjintang was based on the idea that the three places would support each other from all sides.
In other words, no matter which stronghold the People's Liberation Army (PLA) attacks, the other two strongholds can send troops to threaten it, rendering the PLA's attack ineffective.
In this way, we can persevere.
But now Tianjin is gone!
If it were just Tianjin that fell, it would be acceptable, considering that too many cities have been lost in the war so far.
The problem is that Tianjin was lost too quickly!
More than twenty hours!
In particular, the commander-in-chief, Chen Jieshan, was captured in just 24 hours from the start of the general offensive!
That's too exaggerated, too exaggerated.
Especially the so-called "cornering" situation—Beijing didn't react or even bother to send troops, yet Tianjin was lost.
Tianjin was gone in just over twenty hours. How long could Beiping have held out?
Double? Or triple or five times?
Five times the amount sounds like a lot, but it still takes less than ten days.
The false hope shattered into dust at that moment.
Logically, after the fall of Tianjin, the Central Army, which was accustomed to communicating internally first, should have held a short meeting.
But this time, it didn't happen!
Neither Li nor Shi notified anyone of a meeting.
This shows the extent of their despair.
Faced with the complete lack of response from Li Shi and the other man, Zheng Yaoquan was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.
Why haven't you guys made a sound?!
He paced anxiously back and forth in the office that once belonged to Zhang Anping, pondering what to do next.
Beiping is beyond saving!
This is his current, unequivocal judgment.
But what should he do?
The most rational course of action would actually be to flee – having been added to the second batch of war criminals, fleeing would be the best option at this point.
However, if they run away, they can easily lose the trust of their chief attendant.
Beiping hasn't even fallen yet, and you, the head of the secret service, have already run away. What kind of behavior is this?
But if they didn't flee, they would have to be buried alive in Beiping.
If Fu Huabei were to rebel, I would definitely be a high-quality, high-standard gift and a pledge of loyalty.
The thought of this outcome made him shudder.
How blinded by greed did I become to foolishly travel all the way to Beiping (Beijing) to be tormented?
Zheng Yaoquan couldn't help but tap his head, hating himself for being so foolish.
Perhaps because of the tap on the head, a sudden inspiration struck him:
I certainly can't run away on my own initiative, but what if I'm "politely escorted out of the country"?
Once the idea came to mind, it began to spread. Zheng Yaoquan plopped down on the sofa and pondered the possibility of this idea.
[Fu Huabei, if he holds out in Beiping, he will only face certain death. I previously judged that he was very likely secretly negotiating with the People's Liberation Army—even if he hadn't done so before, now that Tianjin has fallen, this is the only path he can take!]
Furthermore, the Communist army was unwilling to let Beiping suffer the ravages of war, so both sides were in complete agreement, and negotiations were definitely going to take place!
If I keep causing trouble, Fu Huabei will only have two choices to avoid further complications: either take me down, or get rid of me!
[Win me over?]
Fu Huabei is a reputation-conscious man. If he takes me down, he'll get a bad reputation, so he might not do that.
Therefore, the possibility of them getting rid of me is extremely high!
Thinking of this, Zheng Yaoquan couldn't help but smile.
He was driven out of Beiping because he was loyal to his duty. With that reason, how could the chief attendant possibly blame him?
[That's a brilliant move! If I leave, the blame will fall on that bastard Zhang Anping. If Fu Huabei really surrenders, he'll be the one primarily responsible!]
Thinking of this, Zheng Yaoquan's smile deepened.
Suppressing his joy, he pondered how to get Fu Huabei to "politely see him off" as he left.
You must not completely enrage him; you must strike the right balance!
But I also need to make him feel threatened—feel that I can ruin his plans, only then will he "send" me away!
……
How can I provoke Fu Huabei without completely enraging him?
Zheng Yaoquan came up with a "brilliant idea".
The Suiyuan Army is suspected of being communist sympathizers!
That evening, Zheng Yaoquan, under the pretext of investigating underground party members, ordered his agents to raid a restaurant.
Several high-ranking Sui Army officials who were having a meal were almost arrested by spies—but in the end, things got out of hand, and the Sui Army directly arrested and detained all the spies.
The Sui Army originally thought this lesson would teach the spies to behave, but to their surprise, the spies launched two more raids the next day. At the first raid, they clashed with Sui Army officers, resulting in a melee that left many people injured.
The second location was the private residence of a Sui Army general. The agents arrested the general's family members on charges of being communist sympathizers. Somehow, the news leaked out, and during the escort back, the general and his men appeared and gave the agents a severe beating.
The three consecutive farces aroused the dissatisfaction of the Sui Army generals. Several Sui Army generals led their troops to the front of the Yandu Hotel, demanding an explanation from Zheng Yaoquan.
Fortunately, nothing serious happened, and these generals were eventually persuaded to leave by Fu Huabei's men.
It was thought that after such a commotion, Zheng Yaoquan would behave himself and behave himself. However, that very night, Zheng Yaoquan personally led a raid on a Sui Army officers' club and arrested more than 30 mid-level Sui Army officers on charges of being communist sympathizers.
When the news spread, the Sui army was furious and mobilized its troops overnight, determined to raze the Yandu Hotel to the ground.
In the end, it was only through Fu Huabei's personal intervention that the chaos was brought under control.
……
After Tianjin fell, Li and Shi remained "unmoved" and did not hold a meeting.
But now that Zheng Yaoquan has been causing trouble one after another, the two men couldn't stand it anymore. They summoned a group of generals for a meeting, intending to put pressure on Zheng Yaoquan and make him behave.
As it turns out, the main character didn't show up!
Zheng Yaoquan, using the excuse of needing to interrogate Suiyuan Army officers as communist sympathizers, did not attend the meeting.
He didn't come, and no one from the "godson" alliance came either.
This scene nearly infuriated Li and Shi – even in such a desperate situation, they were still harboring their own ulterior motives!
The Party-state was destroyed by people like this.
“Anping, Zheng Yaoquan has gone mad!” Commander Li said angrily to Zhang Anping, “Right now, only you can keep him in check—keep an eye on the intelligence system and don’t let him cause any more trouble.”
Commander Li could only place his hopes on Zhang Anping.
Zhang Anping couldn't help but sneer inwardly at Commander Li's words.
The ability of party-state generals to shift blame is no less than their own.
Zhang Anping, who usually chooses to compromise himself for the sake of unity, unexpectedly did not accept Commander Li's attempt to shift the blame this time.
His face was full of disdain:
"Commander Li, just let him cause a ruckus. How can he leave if he doesn't make a scene?"
Leaving?!
The moment those words were spoken, the conference room fell into an abrupt, deathly silence.
Commander Shi, puzzled, asked, "Anping, what do you mean by this?"
"He's trying to run away!" Zhang Anping said grimly. "He knows Beiping can't be defended, so he's trying to escape!"
“He could have just run away, but he was worried that his superiors wouldn’t let him off the hook, so he used this method to force Commander Fu to make him leave.”
"Don't you all understand?!"
After these words were spoken, the Central Army generals present at the meeting looked at each other in bewilderment.
Is he trying to force Fu Huabei to get rid of him?
They pondered Zhang Anping's purpose in revealing his true intentions, and the more they thought about it, the more they agreed with Zhang Anping's judgment.
Before Tianjin fell, Zheng Yaoquan suggested the possibility that Fu Huabei was secretly talking with the CCP, but he only suggested the possibility. His purpose was to report to Nanjing in a joint manner.
He was probably investigating, but his methods were those of a typical intelligence agent, not as drastic as they are now.
After Tianjin fell, Zheng Yaoquan's methods were too drastic, so drastic that even his own people felt it went too far.
But if his real purpose was to force Fu Huabei to drive him away, then it would make sense!
But this answer chilled them to the bone.
With Tianjin fallen, the fate of Beiping was already clear. Instead of thinking about how to break the deadlock, Zheng Yaoquan, as the vice minister, was thinking about how to escape—what happened to sharing weal and woe?
Normally, for the sake of morale, Li and Shi would definitely have denied Zhang Anping's words on the spot—regardless of whether Zheng Yaoquan was going to run away or not, they would have had to deny it.
But now, the two of them just sighed deeply, and then left without looking back.
This is probably what it means to be heartbroken!
The other military commanders also got up one after another and left in a daze.
Zhang Anping watched their departing figures with a cold eye, without uttering a sound. But once he was alone in the conference room, a playful glint appeared in his eyes.
Before Tianjin was liberated, Li and Shi showed signs of struggle. Based on the truth he has now revealed, if Tianjin had not been liberated, Li and Shi would have had to stand up for Zheng Yaoquan no matter what.
Even if they were disgusted to death by Zheng Yaoquan.
But they have to stand on this stage.
But what about now?
Neither of them expressed any opinion—not expressing an opinion is the strongest stance!
People's hearts have completely fallen apart!
Zhang Anping reached this conclusion through this test.
Now that he had reached a conclusion, he naturally wanted to communicate with Sister Qian.
……
Siheyuan.
When Zhang Anping arrived, Sister Qian was already waiting in the room.
"Anping, our superiors have highly praised our work in Tianjin!"
Upon meeting Zhang Anping, Sister Qian couldn't help but share the good news:
"The higher-ups unanimously agreed that the liberation of Tianjin was achieved jointly by the People's Liberation Army and the underground Communist Party!"
The Kuomintang (KMT) spent more than a year managing Tianjin, turning it into a war fortress—to put it bluntly, the KMT didn't even put this much effort into dealing with the Japanese!
Logically speaking, it would be impossible for the People's Liberation Army to completely liberate Tianjin in just over twenty hours.
But our army did it—even though the enemy had been building up Tianjin for more than a year and had 130,000 troops defending it, we liberated Tianjin in just over 20 hours!
why?
Because the enemy's fortifications and strongholds were completely transparent to our army from beginning to end!
Because our army has a backup of the latest version of the enemy's [city defense layout map]!
Because we have a clear and detailed understanding of the enemy's minefield, which contains more than 40,000 landmines!
Our army even had an exceptionally clear understanding of the enemy's communication trenches.
So every shell seems to have eyes!
Moreover, during the crucial stage of the offensive, the enemy's defense headquarters was completely unable to coordinate effectively—the enemy was fighting independently and was thus completely annihilated by our army without any clear understanding of the situation.
It was precisely this super support from the covert front that enabled our army to create a miracle of attacking fortified positions in military history.
That's why Sister Qian is so proud.
Zhang Anping chuckled and joked, "Comrade Chongwen, why do I feel like you're getting arrogant?"
Sister Qian laughed upon hearing this: "Comrade Anping, I'm not proud, I'm honored!" "Haha, it is indeed something to be proud of! The liberation of Tianjin is an extremely rare miracle in military history, and this miracle was created by our comrades on the hidden front and the heroic People's Liberation Army!"
After Zhang Anping laughed heartily and gave his opinion, he changed the subject:
"We've created a miracle, and the enemy is in for a tough time."
"Hmm? New information?" Sister Qian immediately became serious, and the pride on her face quickly disappeared.
"Yeah, Zheng Yaoquan is running away. That guy plans to dump the mess in Beiping on me."
Zhang Anping began to explain Zheng Yaoquan's madness over the past few dozen hours to Sister Qian.
Listening to Zhang Anping's analysis, Sister Qian's face showed a look of sudden realization.
No wonder the secret agents in Beiping "went crazy," arresting people indiscriminately like headless flies.
Faced with Zheng Yaoquan's previous madness, Sister Qian was filled with doubt:
If they were targeting the most active members, Xu Zhongyi and Jiang Si'an, then it would be reasonable.
But despite several arrests, none of his own comrades were affected!
She even wondered if Zhang Anping was behind it all.
Now I completely understand, it turns out Zheng Yaoquan was the one who wanted to run away!
Is he going to run away?
Should the mess be dumped on Anping?
Sister Qian suddenly burst into laughter, unable to contain herself. After stopping laughing, she said:
"Bringing Zheng Yaoquan into the game was truly a brilliant move!"
When Zheng Yaoquan was brought into the game, Sister Qian was worried that he would affect the peaceful liberation of Beiping.
But what is the truth?
With Zheng Yaoquan's arrival, the Sui Army and the Central Army, which had barely managed to mend their broken relationship, were completely driven to antagonism, and even Zhang Anping's role as a "lubricant" could not help.
He was initially worried that Zheng Yaoquan would discover Fu Huabei's secret contact with our army, but until now, he has not found any clues. He just intuitively knows that such a thing has happened, but he still has no evidence.
At this critical juncture, Zheng Yaoquan is actually trying to run away—a stroke of genius, truly a stroke of genius!
Zhang Anping said with a smile, "It wasn't that luring him into the game was a clever move, but rather that the factional struggles within the Kuomintang predetermined this outcome."
"Sister Qian, do you know how Li and Shi reacted after I told them this guess, as well as several commanders of the Central Army?"
Sister Qian guessed, "Stop him?"
"No—Li and Shi abandoned the meeting without saying a word!"
After her initial surprise, a look of joy spread across Ms. Qian's face:
"Comrade Anping, are you saying that now is the time for us to play our cards open?"
Sure enough, Sister Qian was one of the few people who could keep up with Zhang Anping's leaps of thought.
“That’s right!” Zhang Anping said, “We need to break the will of the Central Army generals in Beiping now! Make them face reality!”
"Therefore, I suggest that Xu Zhongyi and Jiang Si'an focus their efforts on winning over officers at the Central Army Corps level and below!"
“These people are the group that the Central Army generals can most easily reach, and they can also represent the will of the soldiers. When they recognize reality and completely lose their will to fight, these Central Army generals will also completely accept their fate.”
Previously, Xu Zhongyi, using the alias Xu Zhanggui, was trying to win over the generals of the Sui Army, while Jiang Si'an was in charge of contacting lower and middle-ranking officers of the Central Army.
However, compared to Xu Zhongyi's "frivolousness," Jiang Si'an is exceptionally low-key in his work, and his achievements are quite "dismal."
However, this so-called "bleak situation" was only on the surface, because Jiang Si'an's real work was to open up the situation and establish key nodes among the middle and lower-ranking officers of the Central Army.
Now is the time to activate these key nodes and expand them into a network.
Sister Qian had no objection to this—she had great trust in Zhang Anping's vision and judgment in this regard.
Since Zhang Anping believes the time is right, then let's proceed!
However, she was more worried about one thing:
"Anping, now that Zheng Yaoquan is gone, you're in the eye of the storm. Have you thought about how you're going to leave? Have you thought about how you're going to explain yourself?"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Anping chuckled softly and uttered three titles that left Sister Qian astonished:
"Director Yan!"
Director Yan was a comrade of our Party and also the head of the Second Division, the intelligence chief of the General Headquarters for Suppression of the Northern Expedition before Zhang Anping arrived in Beiping.
After arriving in Beiping, Zhang Anping first gave Yan, the section chief, a high position, and later imprisoned him.
Upon arriving in Beiping, Zheng Yaoquan immediately released this key figure from the Second Department.
"you……"
Sister Qian couldn't help but feel sorry for Zheng Yaoquan:
"Zheng Yaoquan is probably going to be unable to defend himself this time!"
Zhang Anping's meaning is quite clear:
He wanted to take down Director Yan and provide concrete evidence that Director Yan was an undercover agent for our Party.
On the surface, it appears that the master spy Zhang Shih-hao has discovered one of our undercover agents.
But actually?
This completely humiliated Zheng Yaoquan—you came to Beiping to oversee the intelligence system, and your most trusted deputy turned out to be a Communist!
No wonder you, Zheng Yaoquan, have no work results whatsoever.
But the most devastating and psychologically damaging thing is:
The first thing Zheng Yaoquan did after arriving in Beiping was to provide concrete evidence that Gu Shenyan was a communist sympathizer.
But Gu Shenyan was a communist collaborator, and it was Zhang Anping who exposed him. But what about you?
The child laborer you trusted as your deputy, you knew nothing about from beginning to end.
This is the most devastating thing you can do!
The fact that Director Yan was a communist sympathizer was enough to give Zhang Anping an explanation:
Zheng Yaoquan ran away, but I did do my job!
I was capable of doing things before, but Zheng Yaoquan replaced me and even used a Communist Party mole as his deputy—is this my fault?
Looking at Zhang Anping, three words came to mind:
non-stick pan……
……
Suppression Headquarters.
Zheng Yaoquan was brought before Fu Huabei by the guards.
"Commander Fu."
"Deputy Minister Zheng." Fu Huabei nodded slightly to Zheng Yaoquan and handed him a file:
"This is my outline of the defense of Beiping that I submitted to Nanjing. At this critical moment, I would like to ask Vice Minister Zheng to personally escort it to Nanjing. What is your opinion, Vice Minister Zheng?"
Zheng Yaoquan thought to himself, Fu Huabei is indeed a cunning old fox. He saw through his plans at a glance and even provided a suitable excuse.
However, he still has to "struggle" a bit:
"How about I send someone to escort them there in a private plane?"
Fu Huabei glanced at Zheng Yaoquan leisurely: "This matter is of great importance and must be handled personally by Vice Minister Zheng. I have already arranged the manpower, and I will send Vice Minister Zheng to the airport now."
Zheng Yaoquan said, "Then... I shall respectfully comply."
"Someone, take Vice Minister Zheng to the airport!"
The guards appeared and gestured for Zheng Yaoquan to proceed.
Zheng Yaoquan picked up the file folder and walked away, but after reaching the door, he stopped, suddenly turned back, and said:
"Commander Fu, thank you so much!"
Fu Huabei glanced at Zheng Yaoquan with a lingering look, said nothing, and simply waved his hand slightly.
……
airport.
Zheng Yaoquan was filled with mixed emotions. It seemed that Beiping was truly an incompatible place for him.
When I came here before, Zhang Anping arranged for me to be taken to the General Headquarters by truck.
Now, to leave completely, one must be "escorted" by others.
They clash!
We're really incompatible!
Before entering the airport, he signaled the driver to stop, got out of the car, looked towards Beiping (Beijing), and sighed deeply.
Our beautiful land will soon fall into the hands of the CCP!
After getting back on the bus, all his negative emotions vanished, leaving only a mind full of calculations.
But just as they approached the already-launched plane, Zheng Yaoquan's rather profound expression froze.
He saw two figures, two figures he never expected to see at the airport.
Li, Shi!
Why are they at the airport?
An ominous premonition rose within me.
After getting out of the car, Li and Shi quickly walked over. Fu Huabei, the bodyguard next to Zheng Yaoquan, was on high alert. Fortunately, Li and Shi did not completely enter the guard's range and stopped when they were still seven or eight meters away.
Commander Li was quite polite: "Deputy Minister Zheng, I've come to see you off."
But Shi's tone was quite playful:
"Congratulations to Vice Minister Zheng on achieving your wish. Have a safe journey."
Zheng Yaoquan initially wanted to argue, but after seeing the expressions on their faces, he abandoned the idea of humiliating himself.
The fact that Li and Shi are here means there's no point in him trying to deny it.
He forced a smile and said:
"Commander Li, Commander Shi, and Zheng and Zheng are waiting for you two commanders in Nanjing."
Li and Shi did not answer, but simply stared at Zheng Yaoquan.
Zheng Yaoquan felt a chill run down his spine; he didn't even know how he got up the steel ladder—just as he was about to enter the plane, Commander Shi suddenly shouted:
"Did Vice Minister Zheng live up to his conscience during his trip to Beiping?!"
Zheng Yaoquan pretended not to hear and quickly walked into the cabin, but his steps looked extremely awkward.
After the plane roared to take off, Zheng Yaoquan stared blankly at the earth through the porthole, his heart filled with despair.
Fu Huabei's cooperation in "acting" was exactly what he expected.
But Li and Shi's "encounter" and their "farewell" at the airport were completely unexpected.
Because now, he has gone from being forced out to becoming a true deserter!
All the calculations have failed!
Aside from leaving the vortex of Beiping himself.
"Vice Minister Zheng, after your trip to Beiping, can you face your conscience?"
The question posed by Commander Shi lingered in his mind. After a long while, he answered in a barely audible voice:
“Zheng Mou…”
"I feel ashamed..." (End of Chapter)