Chapter 1056
A Peaceful End
While the attendant was away to summon Zhang Anping, the head attendant was thinking about how to express his anger to Zhang Anping and then reprimand him.
The fact that Zhang Anping had complaints made the chief attendant uncomfortable, but just as the attendant had guessed, although he was uncomfortable, he never questioned Zhang Anping's loyalty.
Hmm, here's a contradiction:
Since their loyalty to Zhang Anping was never questioned, why send Zheng Yaoquan to Beiping to "cause trouble"?
The reason he made this terrible move was that Li and Shi had repeatedly praised Zhang Anping in telegrams. Although it was unintentional on their part, the chief of staff saw it as a bad sign!
Because he learned a lesson from Dai Chunfeng!
Initially, Dai Chunfeng was low-key and diligent, but as he interacted with powerful figures in the military, he gradually developed ambition. His loyalty was beyond question, but his actions of turning the General Staff into an independent kingdom and seeking the position of Navy Commander displeased the Chief of Staff.
He didn't want Zhang Anping to follow in Dai Chunfeng's footsteps, so he sent Zheng Yaoquan to Beiping despite Li and Shi's high praise for Zhang Anping.
To put it bluntly, this was a warning and a reprimand, including the subsequent agreement to Mao Renfeng's purge of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
The purpose was to make Zhang Anping understand:
Do not cross the line!
You are the future intelligence chief I value, and you absolutely cannot associate too much with military personnel!
Of course, looking back now at the incident of sending Zheng Yaoquan to Beiping, it was truly a terrible mistake—if given another chance, he would definitely not make the same mistake again…
This also shows that the chief attendant's opinion of Zhang Anping has never changed. Even now that Mao Renfeng has proposed a "retirement at the height of his career" plan, he still trusts Zhang Anping more.
However, as the saying goes, Zhang Anping is still too young in the eyes of the chief attendant. Being young means being impetuous—how could he possibly have any complaints if he were a more mature person?
Even if he did, he wouldn't reveal it.
"Still too young!"
The chief attendant sighed. When will the little guy learn to keep his thoughts to himself like Mao Renfeng? Only then will it be his turn to sit on the position of director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics!
Just as he finished sighing, the door to the reception room was pushed open. The chief attendant was about to unleash his fury according to the script he had conceived, but the breath he had just managed to take caught in his throat when he saw Zhang Anping.
How did it get like this?
The chief attendant was shocked. In his memory, Zhang Anping had always been young, vigorous, and full of energy. But where was Zhang Anping now?
Although he was wearing a neat, straight, and clean military uniform, he not only had an indescribable stench, but he was also extremely thin, as if he had suffered endless abuse.
He was a hard-hearted man. He could calmly accept the enormous disaster caused by the Huayuankou disaster and the subsequent drought in Henan, which resulted in the deaths of millions of people. But he was sometimes extremely soft-hearted towards those around him.
As for Zhang Anping, whom he had watched grow up, seeing Zhang Anping like this suddenly made the process of strategizing in his mind vanish into nothingness.
No wonder the little guy was complaining...
He instinctively thought that Zhang Anping was so thin because he had been mistreated during his house arrest in Beiping and then arrested without any explanation after returning to Nanjing, which was why he had resented Zhang.
From the moment Zhang Anping entered, he "dared not look directly into the eyes of the chief attendant," but this did not mean he was oblivious to the changes in the chief attendant's expression and gaze. Noticing the rare look of pity the chief attendant showed because of his own thinness and foul odor, Zhang Anping thought to himself:
perfect!
He continued to bow his head, whispering hoarsely, "Chief Attendant."
His tone was like that of a child admitting a mistake, but it also carried a hint of defiance.
Dai Chunfeng's heart was full of holes—in a good way, he was clever and resourceful, but his nephew Zhang Anping had him completely under his thumb.
Now, Zhang Anping has once again unleashed his secret weapon, which he had used to train Dai Chunfeng for ten years, and sure enough, the chief attendant... took the bait.
The chief aide has now drastically changed his script and decided to directly address the issue:
"I heard you have some complaints?"
Zhang Anping was taken aback at first, then looked up at the servant before quickly bowing his head again:
"Your subordinate dares not."
The head attendant couldn't help but twitch his lips; the little guy really couldn't hide his thoughts!
"You dare not? Then you must have!"
"Speak, what exactly is your complaint? If you can't explain it clearly today..."
The chief aide paused, then said, "You can forget about working in the Security Bureau from now on!"
Zhang Anping immediately became agitated: "I'll talk—Chief Attendant, I'll talk!"
After taking a deep breath, he asked, "Why did you change generals at the last minute?"
He adopted a "what's the use" attitude:
"The intelligence system in Beiping was a chaotic mess. It took me a long time to sort out the entire intelligence system in Beiping, and then you handed Zheng Yaoquan over to me!"
"He ruined my plans as soon as he arrived! Not long after, he usurped my place and took my place, and then he restricted me in every way!"
"If it weren't for him, how could the intelligence system in Beiping have failed? And how could the situation in Beiping have turned out this way!"
Zhang Anping spoke with great anguish at the end, clearly harboring a tremendous amount of resentment.
The head attendant's lips twitched as he listened to Zhang Anping's question. Was this the little guy's resentment?
He might reflect on his actions, but how could he possibly admit his mistakes?!
The chief attendant gave Zhang Anping a cold look. Zhang Anping initially dared to meet his gaze, but bowed his head in less than a second.
The chief attendant then countered, "Is this your complaint?"
Zhang Anping admitted, "Yes."
"Fine—then I'll explain my reasons!" The head attendant slammed his hand on the table after speaking, and only after Zhang Anping was jolted did he angrily say:
"I don't know what you did in Beiping, but I do know that Li Zuobin and Shi Jingcheng sent you telegrams time and time again, and every single one of them was full of praise for you!"
"Zhang Anping, you're the deputy director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics! Don't you know what 'discretion' means?!"
The chief attendant shouldn't have said these things to Zhang Anping directly—Zhang Anping should have been allowed to figure them out himself. Only when he understood them could he comprehend that his position dictated certain things he couldn't do.
However, from the chief attendant's perspective, Zhang Anping was ultimately young and impetuous, so he had no choice but to make it clear.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Anping was struck dumb, his face blank, seemingly never expecting that Zheng Yaoquan's sudden arrival was for this reason...
Since the chief attendant has brought it up, let's just be frank about it.
"And there's the matter of the Beiping station chief being a communist sympathizer! The Beiping station, such a core branch of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, was actually headed by an underground party member! Such a big matter, and you never reported it to me—Zhang Anping, where did you get the audacity to cover this up?"
Zhang Anping was speechless, his lips moved as if trying to explain, but he was interrupted by the chief attendant.
At this moment, the chief attendant suppressed his anger and said in a slow voice, "If I weren't a retired old man, I wouldn't be telling you these things so frankly!"
Do you still have any complaints now?
The two things the chief aide mentioned led to Zheng Yaoquan's parachuting into Beiping, while the latter allowed him to usurp power and take control of Beiping's intelligence system.
Faced with the chief attendant's question, Zhang Anping replied in a voice filled with regret:
"Your subordinate..."
"Your subordinate... knows his mistake!"
"No complaints whatsoever!"
The chief attendant found it somewhat amusing; was the little fellow admitting his mistake now?
Now that they've admitted their mistake, then... they should continue to criticize them!
He threw out the newspaper he had been reading earlier:
"You feel wronged, you have grievances—"
"But what about the wrong things you did? You beat up your commander at the gate of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters!"
"And what's going on with Tianjin Station? Hmm?"
"The acting station chief of Tianjin Station, your good student, before the Communist army even took Tianjin, he couldn't wait to lead the Tianjin Station of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to defect to the Communists—"
"Explain yourself!" The chief attendant didn't actually want an explanation.
Everyone makes mistakes in judging people; to say nothing of other things, he misjudged Fu Huabei.
Therefore, he didn't care about the fact that the acting station chief of Tianjin Station defected to the Communists. In less than three years, with millions of soldiers lost, what was the big deal about an acting station chief defecting to the Communists?
He was just using this to give Zhang Anping a warning.
By the way, he actually wanted to bring up the special forces and traffic police.
Although Zhang Anping did not hold any positions in the traffic police or special forces, these two armed forces had close ties with him. Some even reported that Zhang Anping used his vast wealth to provide the traffic police and special forces with a large amount of equipment.
But he swallowed the words back down his throat.
He was too ashamed to mention it—with all five main forces collapsing or falling, he was genuinely embarrassed to bring it up.
In his opinion, Zhang Anping should honestly admit his mistake in the face of this probing question.
To his surprise, Zhang Anping, who should have obediently accepted the reprimand, actually started to argue.
"There is actually more to the story about Tianjin Station than meets the eye."
Zhang Anping explained: "Yu Zecheng's defection to the Communists was actually planned by my subordinates. He defected to the Communists at my behest."
Faced with Zhang Anping's startling reply, the chief attendant asked in surprise, "Your instruction?"
Zhang Anping quickly explained the current situation of his undercover work.
The three major intelligence agencies—the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Second Bureau, and the Party Intelligence Bureau—had almost no long-term presence of their undercover agents in the fallen city.
Against this backdrop, Zhang Anping, after much painful reflection, devised the Hidden Edge Plan.
"The core of the Hidden Edge Plan is to use a series of betrayals to hide our intelligence personnel. They will be completely hidden as traitors, captured and surrendered individuals, etc. Only when we launch our counter-offensive will I awaken these hidden personnel and have them cooperate with our army in the counter-offensive!"
As Zhang Anping explained the core ideas of the Hidden Edge Plan, the chief attendant was deeply moved.
Compared to the "retirement at the height of one's career" plan brought by Mao Renfeng and Zheng Yaoquan, Zhang Anping's quietly implemented "concealing one's talents" plan was entirely based on the overall interests of the Party and the country.
This plan alone demonstrates Zhang Anping's dedication.
He had intended to find fault—for example, why didn't you consult me? But then he thought that he had just said that he was a retired old man, and it would be a bit embarrassing to say that again, so he gave up the idea of questioning him.
"This plan is good. Didn't you discuss it with Mao Renfeng?"
Zhang Anping shook his head: "No."
"You don't need to discuss this with him anymore. You can continue with this matter. As for funding, I'll give you a written order. You can talk to Mao Renfeng about setting aside a portion of the future funding specifically for the Hidden Edge Project."
The chief attendant was very pleased with this plan to conceal his strength.
It's not because of the name—Hidden Edge, concealing one's sharpness.
Rather, it's because of the plan's underlying purpose:
The effects will be remarkable when we launch a counterattack!
Zhang Anping nodded in agreement, secretly chuckling to himself. The same tricks he used against Lao Dai were still incredibly effective on the chief attendant!
He initially intended to communicate with the chief of staff before implementing the Hidden Edge Plan, but as the situation changed, he chose to communicate with the director first, while the chief of staff decided to postpone it.
The main reason was that he was worried that the chief attendant would remain stubborn and refuse to admit defeat, even if North China had not been lost.
The chief aide's subtle maneuvers during the Huaihai Campaign clearly showed that he was determined to win the decisive battle.
Luckily, I didn't mention it before!
Now that the three major battles are over, the chief attendant has come to terms with reality, and he is very satisfied with the Hidden Edge Plan!
What he was satisfied with was undoubtedly the counterattack awaited in the Hidden Edge Plan—
However, he was dreaming!
Zhang Anping's introduction of the Hidden Edge Plan also disrupted the chief attendant's rhythm of admonishment. He wondered if he should find another excuse to reprimand Zhang Anping, but he couldn't find one. In addition, Zhang Anping's Hidden Edge Plan was very much in line with his own psychology, so he gave up the idea of continuing to admonish him.
The chief attendant then pressed the doorbell, and an attendant immediately came in.
"Let Weihong in for a moment."
Attendant Zhuang, who was waiting outside, was summoned in by his colleague. When he entered, the chief attendant was writing a warrant. After a while, when the warrant was finished, Attendant Zhuang said:
"The little guy has been locked up for so long, I wonder how his health is. Arrange for him to see a doctor, so he doesn't develop any chronic illnesses. Here's the warrant, little guy. Give it to Mao Renfeng later and have him allocate a portion of the funds for you to take charge of."
"Yes!" Zhang Anping answered loudly.
After he respectfully accepted the warrant, Attendant Zhuang explained:
"I heard that when Deputy Director Zhang was in Beiping, he was so angry and frustrated because of the traffic police that he vomited blood once. He didn't get proper rest afterward, and that must have been the cause of his illness."
After he finished explaining, he gave Zhang Anping a subtle warning look, the meaning of which was very clear:
Don't contradict me.
A hint of displeasure flashed across Zhang Anping's face before he lowered his head, seemingly accepting the warning from Attendant Zhuang.
After hearing this, the chief attendant gave Zhang Anping a deep look, and then let out a long sigh.
Zhang Anping was so enraged by the annihilation of the traffic police that he vomited blood. What about himself?
In Xuzhou and Bengbu, and in North China, a million-strong army was wiped out!
After escorting Zhang Anping out of the reception room, Attendant Zhuang had someone arrange a car while taking Zhang Anping to the servants' lounge. He instructed a servant to prepare a change of underwear, then led Zhang Anping aside.
"You blame me?"
Zhang Anping shook his head: "No—Uncle Zhuang has his reasons. Although I don't understand them, I know that Uncle Zhuang would not harm me."
Attendant Zhuang was surprised that Zhang Anping used the title "Uncle Zhuang" at this moment, but since Zhang Anping had used it, he naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony, and so he said:
"My behavior this time was rather out of line, do you understand?"
Zhang Anping looked puzzled: "I don't understand."
How could he not understand?
Attendant Zhuang's care for him was genuine!
However, this kind of care clearly went against the servant's position.
"The New Year is almost here, and your father should be back from Taiwan. Go and consult your father about this matter!" Attendant Zhuang knew that Zhang Anping's political comprehension was somewhat lacking, so he could only let Zhang Anping go to his father—some things, even if you say "good" about them, others may not necessarily agree.
"I will make Mao Renfeng repay you double for the injustice you suffered, as if I, Uncle Zhuang, owe you!"
After finishing speaking, Attendant Zhuang left and then brought in a change of clothes, tossing them to Zhang Anping and indicating that Zhang Anping should go take a bath first.
Zhang Anping, completely bewildered, expressed his gratitude to the servant Zhuang, but after entering the shower room, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Do I really need to ask my dad about something like this?
How could he not understand!
This time, Attendant Zhuang went a bit too far for his own sake, but he covered up for Mao Renfeng in front of the chief attendant. In the end, Mao Renfeng owed Attendant Zhuang a huge favor. In fact, Attendant Zhuang had also calculated things very clearly. Even if he exposed Mao Renfeng's mistreatment of Zhang Anping, what could he do?
At this moment, the chief attendant cannot rashly replace the general!
It'll just be a reprimand, nothing more.
However, if he were to cover up for Mao Renfeng, he could use this as a pretext to force Mao Renfeng to make certain concessions.
Attendant Zhuang would not infiltrate the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics; his position did not allow him to do so. However, he could advocate for Zhang Anping's interests.
Zhang Anping chuckled to himself, "Old Zhuang... he's not a bad person. His investment acumen is alright!"
To put it bluntly, Attendant Zhuang's actions were nothing more than an investment in Zhang Anping! (End of Chapter)