Chapter 1058
"Support" - The Dark Hand Reappears
Headquarters.
Deputy Director's Office.
Zhang Anping put his feet up on the table, lazily basking in the sunlight.
That bastard Mao Renfeng is truly inhuman. He kept saying he'd arranged for someone to clean up the office—but the dirt's piled up three feet high.
This person has no vision, no vision at all!
"Old Mao should see through my 'scheme,' and I reckon he won't release them today no matter what!"
"Give him some 'face'! Otherwise, this old bastard will just give up and do whatever he wants—without Mao's Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, would it still be called the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?"
Zhang Anping couldn't help but laugh out loud. How hard was it for him to keep Mao's fighting spirit burning forever?
In fact, Zhang Anping was very grateful to Mao Renfeng!
This is no joke.
After my father was "chosen," he went to Taiwan to pave the way. Logically, I should have started planning for Taiwan, but I've been too busy lately to spare the energy for it.
However, it's not appropriate to entrust the task of developing the Taiwan island with the responsibility of Chai Ying.
His original plan was to wait until after the peaceful liberation of Beiping before slowly making arrangements, but he did not expect that Mao Zedong would do him a great favor—he purged the key members of Zhang's faction in the headquarters.
If it's just a simple review, it's actually quite troublesome, since the review will end after the official is reinstated.
But Mao did something drastic:
He immediately took over the empty spot as soon as the cleaning began!
The power structure is pyramidal, with positions becoming increasingly scarce at the top, a classic case of one person, one position. Once those positions are filled, key members of Zhang's faction face the predicament of having nowhere to go after their investigations are completed.
This was originally Mao Renfeng's "trump card," but Mao never expected that his so-called trump card would actually do Zhang Anping a great favor.
What should be done with the manpower that has nowhere to be placed?
It's that simple—just arrange a trip to Taiwan!
So Mao's help was so great that Zhang Anping even wanted to send him a banner of appreciation.
[Fighting me is so satisfying! Every time I'm low on health, I transform into a healer and give me a boost—Old Mao is probably strategizing right now, isn't he?]
……
Indeed, Mao Renfeng is currently "strategizing and planning".
Now that he realized Zhang Anping wanted to save face through him, how could he possibly let Zhang Anping achieve his goal?
"Aren't you trying to prove that you're still you through this?"
Mao Renfeng gave a wicked smile, and then said, "I'll pull down your underwear!"
He secretly ordered the agents at Outpost No. 3:
Immediately spread the word about the mistreatment Zhang Anping suffered during his investigation.
"Didn't you want me to release the people before one o'clock?"
He secretly leaked a message through his confidants:
Zhang Anping harbored deep resentment towards the chief attendant, which aroused extreme dissatisfaction from Attendant Zhuang and the chief attendant!
These two news items are clearly complementary.
The former can showcase Zhang Anping's predicament, while the latter, and his escape from reprimand or punishment, can make people realize a fact:
Zhang Anping appears to have fallen out of favor!
Zhang Anping is indeed very tough. He has outmaneuvered the Four Great Gluttons countless times. Compared to the Four Great Gluttons, who are behemoths, where does a deputy director like him get his confidence?
The source of their confidence is the trust of the chief aide!
However, once someone is suspected of falling out of favor, there will likely be many people eager to bring up their past grievances.
"You want to fight me?!"
Mao Renfeng sneered and gave instructions to Qiu Ning over the phone:
"Operation at Outpost No. 3 is temporarily suspended! Except for essential staff on duty, everyone else is to be given early leave!"
"Those under investigation? Let them wait! Release them after the New Year according to procedure!"
……
The Bureau of Secrecy is not secretive—this has been proven by countless facts.
Therefore, the scene that unfolded in the director's office spread throughout the entire Security Bureau within just two hours.
"Just as expected! No matter what trouble he causes, all his efforts are in vain as soon as Commander Zhang arrives!"
"What do you think you're after?"
"If it were me, I wouldn't do anything. Anyway, no matter what I do, Commander Zhang will beat me until I'm exposed."
The above is clearly from the perspective of a member of Zhang's faction.
"Director... eh..."
"It must be tough for the Director to have such a strong-willed deputy!"
"Yes, it's tough for the Director too! Compared to Boss Dai..."
The atmosphere among the group suddenly became strange. The agent who was speaking had originally intended to say that compared to Boss Dai, Director Mao's job as director was far more frustrating, but then they suddenly remembered something:
Dai Chunfeng was the deputy director of the Military Intelligence Bureau from beginning to end!
And now, the deputy director of the Bureau of Secrecy is Zhang Anping!
The agents looked at each other, and the current situation seemed... well, it wasn't hard to understand?
One of the agents quickly changed the subject: "Forget it, don't think about these things. We should be able to have a more comfortable New Year now, right?"
"After the New Year, there will probably be another bloodbath!"
"Definitely. Those cadres who were investigated won't even have a position when they come back. Knowing his personality, he'll definitely cause trouble, and who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause then!"
The agents in the conversation let out a helpless sigh.
At this moment, such sighs echoed throughout the entire headquarters—
Members of the Mao faction were pessimistic, believing that the headquarters would be in chaos after the New Year.
Their ability to reach this conclusion clearly indicates that they have confirmed one thing:
In a little while, the investigation of all Zhang faction members will be completed...
They all kept their eyes on the courtyard, waiting for the return of the Zhang faction's key members who were under investigation. But as time went by, none of the Zhang faction cadres they were waiting for returned!
1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m....
Zhang Anping gave a deadline of 1 p.m. to send all the Zhang faction members under investigation back, but two full hours have passed and not a single one of them has been sent back.
The spies at headquarters were in an uproar!
Mao Renfeng is actually going to stand firm to the end?
It was at this time that rumors began to spread like a virus.
"Hey, did you know? When he was taken down for questioning by the Director, the No. 3 outpost, acting on the Director's orders, really gave him a hard time! I heard he was only given two cornbreads a day, and there might have been something 'stuffed' in them!"
"Hiss—no wonder he looked so thin this time, he must have been given extra 'ingredients'?"
"That's not all! He was treated so badly, but when he went to Xikou, the chief attendant didn't even stand up for him!"
"Shh—I know that. I heard... he has some complaints about some of the chief sergeant's decisions!"
"Complaints? Come to think of it, it's actually quite normal..."
"Shut up! Don't you want to live?"
"Let's talk about something else—I heard that our Director miscalculated this time!"
"The Director miscalculated? What do you mean?"
"I heard it from the rumors—I heard that the chief of staff originally wanted to fire him, but our director gave him a divine intervention and made him suffer so much that the chief of staff softened when he saw his condition and didn't pursue the matter of his grievances! However, the chief of staff didn't hold our director accountable—gentlemen, what do you think this means?"
The gossipy spies stared wide-eyed, which naturally meant that the chief of staff's trust in Zhang Anping had... diminished!
"And he still gave the Director a fierce ultimatum?" "Are you stupid! The more aggressive he is, the more he should act tough! Unfortunately, our Director has sharp eyes and knows he's all bark and no bite, so he completely ignored him!"
"That's not right, the security personnel were all..."
"You're so stupid, you still won't admit it! The bureau chief has shoes on, of course he's afraid of someone who has nothing to lose. Don't forget what happened in Xuzhou!"
The agents exchanged glances, perhaps because of Zhang Anping's overwhelming influence, they felt something was amiss—yet deep down they also agreed with this explanation.
After all, considering Mao Renfeng's current situation, this explanation seems impeccable.
At this moment, someone casually said:
"In the past, the Director couldn't defeat him because the Chief of Staff's trust in him was unparalleled! But now... things are different!"
Things are different now!
These four words sent a chill down the spines of the spies. Indeed, without the absolute trust of his chief of staff, he was like a tiger without claws.
The news spread like wildfire at headquarters. As it continued to circulate, the agents felt the dark cloud overhead dissipating at a visible speed. When they looked up again, they found only three words above them:
Rear Admiral Mao!
Commander Zhang is no more.
……
Hiding in his office, Zhang Anping used his exceptional hearing to his advantage, and he seemed to be thoroughly amused by the distorted and fabricated messages.
That's more like it!
Mao was quite clever; he finally made a move that aligned with his own wishes.
"With the support of this wave of rumors, he should be able to hold out for a while—it's hard to say if he can hold out for a year, but he should be able to hold out for about six months, right?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Anping got up and stretched.
Now that Chairman Mao has made his move, it's time for me to go back.
After stretching for a moment, he turned and opened the door. The instant the door opened, his face turned as black as ink, and he exuded a strong aura of anger.
Throughout the journey, Zhang Anping did not respond to the agents who saluted him until he reached the car. Normally, he would get in directly, but this time, before getting in, Zhang Anping's gaze fell on the window of Mao Renfeng's office. He stared at it for a full five seconds before angrily getting into the car.
This scene was captured by observant people, who saw what seemed to be the end of an era.
Mao Renfeng held her teacup and watched Zhang Anping's car leave, her gaze becoming wistful.
He thought that Zhang Anping, for the sake of his reputation, would have to find a way to get him to release the person before 1 a.m. no matter what.
But what did Zhang Anping do?
He just waited there until now, realizing that staying any longer would only make him a laughingstock, before leaving indignantly. Zhang Anping's actions proved that his guess was correct. Although he did not lose his official position, this complaint must have made him lose a lot of points with the chief attendant.
Everything made sense, except for the warrant, which Mao Renfeng still couldn't figure out.
"What exactly is this warrant about?"
Mao Renfeng hadn't expected an answer, but she laughed heartily. She decided to put that question aside for the time being—the most important thing now was how to take advantage of this opportunity to see through Zhang Anping's bluster and gain even greater benefits!
"Yes, the most important thing now is..."
"get off work!"
……
Zhao Weiheng, the head of the confidential section of the secretariat, drove towards Huiyuanli. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and he expects to be busy with a lot of things. So today he needs to appease his mistress to prevent her from throwing a tantrum because he won't come during the New Year.
As they approached Fucheng New Village in Huiyuan, a figure suddenly waved to stop the car. Zhao Weiheng initially didn't want to pay attention, but upon getting closer, he realized that the figure stopping the car was none other than his nightmare.
Squeak!
The car came to a stop, and Zhao Weiheng, his expression annoyed, glared at the figure that had swiftly jumped into the vehicle, and said resentfully:
"Wang Tianfeng! When will you ever stop?!"
The person who stopped the car was Wang Tianfeng, a wanted criminal who was being pursued by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and who had served as the deputy director of the Bureau.
If possible, Zhao Weiheng really wanted to plot to kill Wang Tianfeng, but he didn't dare—Wang Tianfeng had leverage over him. Given Wang Tianfeng's personality, he must have already made thorough preparations. Once he actually plotted against him, it was hard to say whether he could kill him, but the leverage in Wang Tianfeng's hands would definitely be revealed.
At that time, Zhao Weiheng will only have one way out: death!
Faced with Zhao Weiheng's undisguised hatred, Wang Tianfeng said indifferently, "The last time!"
Zhao Weiheng roared, "The last time! It's the last time again! You said it was the last time last time!"
Wang Tianfeng glanced indifferently at Zhao Weiheng:
"A piece of intelligence, do you want it?"
"What intelligence?"
“Your lover is from the Party's intelligence bureau, codenamed ‘Razor’—” Wang Tianfeng pulled a file from his pocket and tossed it to Zhao Weiheng:
"The last time!"
It was obvious that Wang Tianfeng was using this intelligence to exchange for Zhao Weiheng helping him one last time.
Zhao Weiheng stared wide-eyed at Wang Tianfeng in disbelief. Facing the still indifferent Wang Tianfeng, he looked at the file in his hand with suspicion, but finally couldn't resist his doubts and opened it.
What catches the eye is a photo of his mistress—in the photo, the mistress doesn't have a seductive air, but rather exudes competence, and her clothing is in a standard, traditional Chinese style.
His heart sank to the bottom.
You can't go wrong!
He roared angrily, "You knew all along? Didn't you!"
Wang Tianfeng glanced indifferently at Zhao Weiheng, offering no reply, but the meaning in his eyes was clear:
Let's get down to business!
Zhao Weiheng leaned back weakly, and after several rapid breaths, he finally spoke:
"These past few days, the bureau..."
He slowly recounted what had happened at the headquarters of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics in the past few days—nothing major had happened in the first few days, and he had already told Wang Tianfeng about Zhang Anping's investigation.
Therefore, he focused on what happened at headquarters today.
"Your backer has lost the trust of the chief aide this time because of his careless words! I guess he originally wanted to cover up his own weakness by pressuring Director Mao and getting Director Mao to give in, but he backfired and Director Mao saw through his weakness instead—with these two pieces of news, the prestige behind the name Zhang Shih-hao has been completely destroyed!"
Zhao Weiheng looked at Wang Tianfeng with satisfaction: "You've come up empty-handed—no chance! No chance! Hahahaha!"
From Zhao Weiheng's perspective, Wang Tianfeng's concern for the various affairs of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics headquarters must be aimed at his comeback.
But now Zhang Anping is in dire straits, barely able to save himself, and Wang Tianfeng can forget about returning to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
Even the status of being wanted cannot be removed.
Wang Tianfeng seemed not to hear Zhao Weiheng's mockery, but there was a hint of relief on his indifferent face.
After a long while, Wang Tianfeng suddenly said:
"I'll give you a great achievement, do you want it?"
Zhao Weiheng shook his head without hesitation: "No!"
Zhao Weiheng believed that the great achievement Wang Tianfeng spoke of must be a great achievement, but he really didn't want to have any further involvement with Wang Tianfeng.
He wouldn't accept even a major achievement.
But Wang Tianfeng continued to speak to himself:
"There is an underground Communist Party mole in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, codenamed 'Green Pine'."
Zhao Weiheng was the head of the Confidential Section of the Secretariat, so he naturally knew about this matter—which was also a major blunder by Wang Tianfeng!
Zhao Weiheng, who was unwilling to do business with Wang Tianfeng, immediately asked with a playful tone after hearing Wang Tianfeng mention this matter: "You found out about him again?"
Wang Tianfeng said indifferently, "Su Mosheng, senior advisor of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is Qingsong."
Zhao Weiheng was stunned, staring at Wang Tianfeng in disbelief.
If he remembered correctly, Su Mosheng was Ye Xiufeng's classmate from the Party's Intelligence Bureau, and the intelligence group of the Party's Intelligence Bureau in the Ministry of Economic Affairs was in Su Mosheng's hands.
"If you don't want this credit, you can use your mistress to pass the intelligence to the Party's intelligence bureau." (End of Chapter)