Chapter 985
Zhang Anping's Delaying Tactics to Stop
Just as Zhang Anping had predicted, a pair of eyes were watching him intently from the darkness as he drove there and away.
It was indeed Wang Tianfeng.
Just how vigilant was Wang Tianfeng at this moment?
Only after there were no more pedestrians around did he emerge from his hiding place and cleverly scale the wall to enter Zheng Yi's house.
In the living room, Wang Tianfeng immediately spotted the note Zhang Anping had left on the coffee table—but his gaze first fell on the spot where Zhang Anping had been sitting.
Judging from the marks, he didn't sit in one place but moved around several times, which allowed Wang Tianfeng to imagine Zhang Anping's annoyed waiting.
Shaking his head to banish the image from his mind, Wang Tianfeng walked over and picked up the note from the coffee table.
Do not act on your own initiative; the Party and the State come first!
Come see me immediately!
Seeing the words was like seeing the person; from the words on this note, Wang Tianfeng sensed a deep annoyance.
He didn't believe Mao Renfeng could be an undercover agent! He also didn't want to create any unnecessary complications at this time!
Wang Tianfeng sighed softly. Zhang Anping was unwilling to believe that Mao Renfeng was an undercover agent. He guessed that firstly, if such a high-ranking and important official were to collude with the Communists, it would have a huge impact on morale; secondly, it would be a serious damage to the reputation of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
Secondly, Zhang Anping at this time should still be inclined to maintain stability – the current situation is not good, so he does not want to cause trouble for the current Security Bureau.
"Perhaps you are right."
"But I'm...walking a tightrope right now, you...can't get involved!"
Wang Tianfeng sighed again, then slowly folded the note and put it into his pocket.
There's not much warmth left in this world for him. Even though Zhang Anping stripped him of his position, he doesn't hate Zhang Anping in his heart—this note is the last bit of warmth this world has for him.
The dim lights went out, and Wang Tianfeng disappeared from the house as if he had never been there.
……
Inside the secret room, Zeng Moyi took the initiative to leave, leaving the space to Zhang Anping and Chai Ying.
Chai Ying got straight to the point: "I met Sister Cheng at noon. In accordance with organizational discipline, she did not disclose to me the personnel she had recruited in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. I thought about it and felt that there was no need to communicate with Sister Cheng through Sister Qian. What do you think? In addition, she wants to join forces with us to stop your trip to Beiping."
The news of Zhang Anping's intention to go to Beiping spread within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. In addition, it was normal for comrades from the Nanjing underground party to know about this, as they had persuaded some "idle" people within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to defect.
From the perspective of the Nanjing underground party comrades, the arrival of Zhang Anping, a major spy, in Beiping at this time was extremely disadvantageous to the situation in Beiping. Although the comrades in Nanjing were unaware of the organization's grand strategy in Beiping, the fact that Beiping was teeming with spies was a well-known fact.
If Zhang Anping goes to Beiping, he will organize these people, which will indeed be detrimental to the organization's operations in Beiping.
Therefore, it was understandable that the Nanjing underground party wanted to join forces with the No. 2 intelligence group to prevent Zhang Anping from going to Beiping.
Zhang Anping was not surprised and first affirmed Chai Ying's decision: "Your consideration is good. There is indeed no need for it for the time being."
He then asked, "Did you reject Sister Cheng's suggestion?"
"Ah."
Chai Ying naturally wouldn't agree—she initially opposed Zhang Anping going to Beiping, but Zhang Anping persuaded her. Now that they had reached an agreement, how could they let their comrades in Nanjing stop them?
"Agree to her!" Zhang Anping said seriously, "We must take some action, otherwise it will attract Wang Tianfeng's attention."
"Huh?" Chai Ying was taken aback. Wang Tianfeng?
This guy can't be seen in the light of day anymore, why are you still worried about him?
Zhang Anping then recounted what had happened that day.
When Chai Ying heard that Zheng Yi had seen through Zhang Anping's identity, her hair stood on end. However, she was relieved to hear that Zhang Anping had resolved the matter. But then she was completely dismayed—Wang Tianfeng was so certain that there were comrades from our side among "less than two people"?!
From her perspective, it was remarkable that there was an outlier like Zhang Anping in the Nationalist government. Now she was shocked to discover that there was actually a comrade of hers in that core command center.
Leaving a big spectrum!
But...it's great!
After the initial surprise, Chai Ying was immediately on high alert.
"Anping, Wang Tianfeng must be eliminated! He must be eliminated!"
Chai Ying's voice was more resolute than ever before. A comrade hidden in the enemy's command center was just too important. So important that Chai Ying believed without hesitation that it would be worth exchanging most of the Second Intelligence Group for him.
“We cannot act rashly now,” Zhang Anping rejected Chai Ying’s suggestion.
“Wang Tianfeng is taking a risk—once this gets out, he’ll be like a moth drawn to a flame. To protect me, he’s deliberately avoiding me about this.”
"Based on my understanding of him, his final trump card will not be given to me, but will be given directly to the section chief."
"The problem now is that we don't know what his backup plan is—once we take him out, that backup plan will be a ticking time bomb. And that comrade absolutely cannot afford to have any problems now."
If Wang Tianfeng didn't have a direct channel to the section chief, Zhang Anping would dare to devise a plan to eliminate Wang Tianfeng now, because the backup plan left by Wang Tianfeng, who has personally entered the game, can only be achieved through Zhang Anping himself.
However, Wang Tianfeng now has a direct channel to the section chief, which is what Zhang Anping is most wary of.
Upon hearing Zhang Anping's analysis, Chai Ying immediately calmed down. Zhang Anping was right; once Wang Tianfeng handed over his backup plan to the section chief, Zhang Anping would have no room to maneuver.
She asked worriedly, "What should we do?"
In her heart, this comrade was too important to her; she didn't want to see him in even the slightest danger.
"Actually, things haven't reached the point of no return—he absolutely has no evidence!"
"I even speculate that he came to this conclusion most likely because of the Liaoshen battlefield."
Zhang Anping said slowly:
"Without evidence, this speculation is a political taboo. Although he doesn't understand politics, he understands this point."
"A guess?"
Chai Ying stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that such an astonishing deduction was based on guesswork!
"That's normal—suspicious clues can be found simply by reviewing internal documents of the Security Bureau."
"During the Liaoshen Campaign, every adjustment made by the National Revolutionary Army was accompanied by an immediate adjustment by the Northeast Field Army. It was not a matter of being a step behind, but completely synchronized."
"Hindo also cut off all the key points and trump cards. Many of them were trump cards that only the top leaders of GFB knew about, and as a result, they were all targeted."
"Moreover, many orders from the GFB are deliberately exacerbating various conflicts—it's easy to see the deliberate intent behind these orders if you look at them with a biased perspective."
Zhang Anping shrugged: "But most people wouldn't dare to think that way. Only Wang Tianfeng, who is in dire straits, would think that way—so I suspect he's just guessing." This question had actually been bothering Zhang Anping all day.
Given Wang Tianfeng's level of expertise, it's impossible for him to obtain high-level intelligence information within our army. Even if such a scoundrel did exist, he wouldn't be under Wang Tianfeng's control.
It wasn't until tonight, at Zheng Yi's residence, that Zhang Anping had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of the possibility of "guessing".
Chai Ying thought Zhang Anping's speculation made a lot of sense, but she didn't dare to gamble!
“Anping, I don’t deny that your judgment is very reasonable, but… this matter cannot be based on reasoning! That comrade’s safety cannot be based on speculation, do you understand what I mean?”
"I know--"
Zhang Anping naturally understood Chai Ying's concerns, and he explained:
"Next, I will have someone secretly monitor the copies of the instructions related to the Liaoxi Campaign in the archives of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. If Wang Tianfeng eventually manages to secretly retrieve these documents, then it will prove my speculation to be correct."
"But until then, we can only try our best to keep him calm."
"Keep him calm?"
Zhang Anping explained, "Wang Tianfeng's current goal is to use this information to force 'Katyusha' to kill him! Since that's the case, let's follow his line of thinking for now—the most important thing right now is the war in Beiping and Huaihai. No matter what, we have to find a way to stall until the war is over. Even if he really has some evidence by then, if all else fails, we can find a way to get that comrade to leave."
"Once we achieve a major victory on the Huaihai and Pingjin battlefields, the Nationalist government will be like a grasshopper in autumn, unable to hop around for more than a few days. The cost of withdrawal will be something we can afford. What do you think?"
Chai Ying's breathing quickened involuntarily—she had been forcing herself not to think about the final victories on the Pingjin and Huaihai battlefields, because she was afraid that she would be too excited and make mistakes in her judgment. But after Zhang Anping said that the two battlefields had achieved great victories, she couldn't help but imagine the scene after the great victory.
During the Long March, she stayed in the Soviet area that was about to be purged;
During the War of Resistance against Japan, she shuttled between cities and base areas in the face of the well-equipped Japanese army.
Those cruel and desperate days seem like they happened just yesterday, and now, light is right before our eyes!
She took a deep breath, but still couldn't control herself. Just then, Zhang Anping handed her a water glass, and Chai Ying hurriedly drank several mouthfuls before she came to her senses. She then said to herself with a self-deprecating laugh:
"I dare not think about the future that is within my grasp right now."
As I said before, it was too fast, so fast that even these staunch believers couldn't believe the light had arrived so quickly—they had prepared to pave the way, only to find that the light was right before their eyes!
"I think you should discuss this with Sister Qian in person later!" Zhang Anping said softly when he saw that Chai Ying had recovered. "Sister Qian should discuss this matter with Comrade Li."
“Yes.” Chai Ying agreed. This matter was of great importance and required the approval of higher authorities.
"You should contact Sister Cheng again and make sure the action to stop me from going to Beiping is swift. Hmm, let's make Mao Renfeng the main force."
"I see."
"There's another matter—Wang Tianfeng has considerable control over information within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. I suspect he must have some dirt on several Bureau agents, and he uses that dirt to control them. I think I'll hand this over to Comrade Lao Bian to investigate."
Chai Ying agreed:
“That makes sense. It just so happens that Wang Tianfeng specifically asked Comrade Lao Bian to investigate, so it’s the most suitable person for him.”
……
Zhang Anping's specific plan needs to be discussed with Sister Qian and Comrade Li, but the preliminary preparations cannot be delayed—Wang Tianfeng's request for capable personnel must be answered.
Instead of providing Zheng Yi with a list, Zhang Anping instructed Zheng Yi to select people based on normal logic.
This "magnanimity" secretly shocked Zheng Yi. It was obvious that Zhang Anping had absolute confidence that among the capable people she had selected, there would definitely be her own people.
"Secret Service..."
Zheng Yi wanted to laugh. It really was the Secret Service!
She personally took charge and was extremely efficient. In just three days, she secretly transferred seven capable agents away with various orders. Among them were Bian Jike, who was specifically named by Wang Tianfeng, and Cai Jierong, the acting captain of the special operations team. Cai Jierong had cooperated with Wang Tianfeng many times, and even became the acting captain because of Wang Tianfeng.
After these agents quietly "left" after accepting various missions, they gathered together and were shocked to find that their leader was Wang Tianfeng—this greatly surprised the seven elite agents.
Wasn't Wang Tianfeng a "fugitive" of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?
Well, this must be the work of the district supervisor (teacher).
Faced with the seven agents sent by Zheng Yi, Wang Tianfeng felt that Zhang Anping's support for him was almost overwhelming—apart from Bian Jike, the other six were all key members of Zhang's faction, and through Cai Jierong, they could directly mobilize the Secret Service's Sharp Blade Special Forces. This support made Wang Tianfeng's throat itch and his eyes warm.
You still trust me so much!
This time, I definitely won't let you down!
During those three days, Chai Ying made a special trip to Shanghai and met with Sister Qian, who was there.
After listening to Chai Ying's report, Sister Qian had only one attitude:
I fully support Zhang Anping's plan!
In her words:
"Comrade Anping's consideration is very thoughtful. At present, the most important thing is the two major battlefields of Pingjin and Huaihai. Ensuring smooth intelligence flow during the current war is very important. Delaying is a very good idea."
Chai Ying already strongly agreed with Zhang Anping's idea, and now that Sister Qian had agreed, she naturally wouldn't delay. After returning to Nanjing, she communicated with Zhang Anping and formulated a plan targeting Wang Tianfeng, using delaying tactics as the core.
Meanwhile, within the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, turmoil was also brewing during these three days.
The source of this strong wind, however, lies with the Maoist faction.
The core issue is that Zhang Anping intends to go to Beiping in person.
Mao Renfeng initially supported Zhang Anping in his heart—not because he was acting in the same way as Zhang Anping, but because he felt that if Zhang Anping left Nanjing, he could live a good life for a while and take the opportunity to deal with Zheng Yaoxian.
However, a large number of dissenting voices emerged within Mao's faction.
"Director, a large number of special agents are gathered in Beiping now. Many elderly people from Northeast China have evacuated to Beiping. If Zhang Anping goes to Beiping, he will devour and digest all these people."
"Director, I don't think we can let him go to Beiping—we've finally managed to suppress the Zhang faction, and if he goes to Beiping, these people will inevitably join the Zhang faction, and then it will become too powerful to control again!"
Faced with these opposing opinions, Mao Renfeng thought it over and over and felt that they were quite reasonable. Therefore, at the bureau meeting, he rejected Zhang Anping's trip to Beiping, but this time he made a concession:
A special task force led by Zhang and Mao factions was formed to go to Beiping.
As for the other "idle people," they were naturally ignored by Mao Renfeng.
Faced with Mao Renfeng's rejection, Zhang Anping communicated with these "idle people" one by one, trying to gain more support.
However, aside from Zhang's faction, surprisingly few people supported him! (End of Chapter)