Chapter 992
The First Time I Was Celebrating Failure
The atmosphere was oppressive, and Sister Qian, Lao Zhao, and Gu Shenyan sat in silence.
Once Gu Shenyan arranged the assassination, there was no turning back—even without the delays in the journey, it would have been impossible for Old Gu to contact Zhang Hao immediately.
Once Zhang Anping went to the airport, there was no turning back!
But is this Gu Shenyan's fault?
During the War of Resistance against Japan, there was an extremely cruel incident:
The husband told his wife that he was going to fight the Japanese devils—there was no news for several years until that day, when a group of puppet soldiers brought several Japanese devils to his wife's door.
Among this group of puppet soldiers, the wife saw her husband, whom she hadn't seen for several years, who was avoiding her and dared not look her in the eye.
The puppet soldiers demanded that their wives cook for them.
The wife went to do it—but she mixed a packet of arsenic into that sumptuous meal.
Now, my wife is still receiving subsidies from the People's Government, which she believes is a reward for fighting the Japanese after she killed puppet troops. However, no one has ever told her the truth:
This is not a subsidy, this is... a form of compensation for the families of martyrs.
At this moment, how is Gu Shenyan any different from that great wife?
If there's anything to be said—what's even more cruel is that Gu Shenyan now knows the identity of the big spy in his eyes.
After a long while, having completely calmed down, Sister Qian softened her tone and said:
“Old Gu, there might still be room for maneuver in this matter—with his intelligence, he might be able to detect your actions. This matter is not yet settled, so let’s not dwell on it for now.”
"Also, go back immediately and prepare for what to do next."
Gu Shenyan nodded blankly. Seeing him turn to leave, Old Zhao hesitated, unsure how to comfort him.
Watching Lao Gu's desolate departing figure, Lao Zhao looked at Sister Qian, hesitating several times as if he wanted to say something.
Completely calm, Sister Qian then said in a deep voice:
"Old Zhao, according to the emergency plan of Beiping Station, prepare for the worst-case scenario—the counterattack that follows may be... more brutal than we imagine."
Old Zhao nodded slowly.
"You go ahead with your work, I want to be alone."
Old Zhao glanced at Sister Qian. Although Sister Qian didn't seem to be acting strangely at the moment, he knew how turbulent her emotions were.
After hesitating for a moment, he said softly:
"Comrade Chongwen, we...we all have to look forward."
"I know—you go ahead and get busy."
"I'm tired."
Old Zhao sighed and slowly left the house.
The air outside was still so cold; the breath seemed to turn into bone-chilling ice the moment it left the mouth. Old Zhao looked up at the sky.
Moon stars are rare.
Inside the house, after Lao Zhao left, Sister Qian's face showed sorrow.
Zhang Anping's face seemed to appear before her eyes again—in the Military Intelligence Bureau, and now in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, Zhang Anping was the deputy director that people dared not look directly at, but in Sister Qian's eyes, Zhang Anping was always that young comrade who she thought was too impulsive.
Although he proved to be more reliable and calmer than anyone else.
“Anping…”
Sister Qian involuntarily uttered a soft cry, and a glistening tear involuntarily slid down her cheek.
That young comrade who always seemed too impulsive... will he still be able to go home?
……
What happened today was somewhat sudden—the uprising of Zheng Yaoxian and Tewu was indeed a plan that Zhang Anping had long ago laid out, but after he was stationed in Xuzhou, the command authority had actually been transferred.
Ancient Chinese generals, in the course of war, often uttered a phrase that led to their deaths:
A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders.
Zhang Anping didn't think he was better at command than the future generals who would lead the Huaihai Campaign, so he "obediently" handed over command to Zheng Yaoxian and Xu Baichuan.
After all, he wasn't on the battlefield, so he couldn't coordinate precisely, which would only waste time.
Therefore, Lao Zheng's "uprising" came as a bit of a surprise to Zhang Anping—he thought that Lao Zheng and Lao Xu might deliver a fatal blow to the National Army at a critical juncture in the second or third phase of the Huaihai Campaign, but he did not expect that Lao Zheng would "uprising" before Huang's army group had even been encircled and annihilated.
It seems that Mao Renfeng, this incompetent opponent, is even more formidable than I imagined!
Zhang Anping, who always wore a long face as if everyone owed him eighty yuan, was actually quite the drama unfolding in his mind.
It wasn't until he got to the airport that he managed to suppress his inner turmoil.
The convoy drove directly to the side of the runway, and airport officials rushed forward to greet them upon seeing the convoy approaching.
"Commander Zhang, I'm so sorry. Please wait a moment, the plane needs another 15 minutes to warm up."
Zhang Anping, clearly on the verge of exploding with rage, glanced at his watch and rebuked him with a dark expression:
"Do transport planes on duty also need time to warm up in extreme cold?"
Zhang Anping contacted the airport as soon as he left the hotel, requesting that the scheduled transport plane be used.
The on-duty state is the warm-up state, which can be activated in at most ten minutes. Although a cold start takes 15 minutes, the temperature in Beiping in November is very low, reaching the preconditions for extreme cold. Under such circumstances, a warm-up time of about half an hour is required.
Seeing that Zhang Anping even knew the warm-up time for the C47 in extreme cold conditions, the person in charge didn't even dare to argue anymore—aircraft on duty maintain a certain idling speed for a certain period of time every hour so that they can take off quickly, which consumes fuel.
Undoubtedly, this alone can "save" a lot of money—as for whether it goes to the Party, the State, or the province, there's no need to investigate that.
Zhang Anping was "not in the mood" to investigate further and initially intended to board the plane first, but then, as if remembering something, he said:
"The guards will board the plane first—Zheng Yi, come with me."
"Take me to the telegraph room—I need to send a telegram!"
The last sentence was addressed to the airport manager, who immediately invited Zhang Anping to his car. Zhang Anping glanced at the Stypton Slimau, which had been priced at a premium of five thousand US dollars, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
It seems that being in charge of the airport is a lucrative job. Old Wu from Tianjin is at least a major general in the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, but I didn't expect that the colonel in charge of Nanyuan Airport would drive a car of the same caliber as Old Wu!
When the person in charge saw the coldness in Zhang Anping's eyes, he just wanted to slap himself twice.
I was out of my mind! I was worried it would be too cold to find a Jeep to match my location, so I drove this storefront car out without thinking twice. That decision was absolutely disastrous...
Hopefully, the troublemaker next door won't use this as an excuse to cause trouble...
Zhang Anping did not take advantage of the situation. The general situation of the National Army was that they relied on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood. He, an outsider, could not be so foolish as to become the vanguard of the party and the country's anti-corruption campaign.
Upon arriving at the telecommunications room, Zhang Anping quickly got out of the car, signaling to the airport official to keep his distance with his eyes. He then turned to Zheng Yi, who was following closely behind, and said:
"Draft a telegram and send it to Cai Jierong in Nanjing, telling him to immediately arrest Zheng Yaoxian's family members—as well as the families of all the core officers in the Special Weapons Corps!"
Zheng Yi instinctively agreed, but a hint of doubt lingered in his eyes.
You're not really going to arrest me, are you?
No, this is a real arrest—Zheng Yaoxian's family should have been evacuated, but the families of the core special forces officers could not have been evacuated!
You...
Although he didn't know what Zhang Anping was trying to do, Zheng Yi faithfully carried out the order and personally relayed Zhang Anping's command.
When Zhang Anping was about to leave the telecommunications room after sending the message, he changed his mind:
"Resend the message—arrest only Zheng Yaoxian's family members; do not arrest the families of others. Have Cai Jierong transfer people from the security department to secretly guard them!"
Zheng Yi immediately understood the reason behind Zhang Anping's seemingly pointless and irrelevant statement!
The first telegram reveals Zhang Anping's murderous intent after losing his composure, while the second telegram shows that his decision-making has been brought back to the control of reason.
Anyone who comes into contact with these two telegrams can read the blow that the Special Forces' "rebellion" dealt to Zhang Anping.
That's professionalism!
After the message was sent, the airport official, who hadn't dared to change cars, pulled the two of them back to the takeoff point. Zhang Anping continued to act as if he was owed money, his eyes seemingly listless, but in reality, he was envisioning the prosperity of Nanyuan Airport many years later.
Just as they were approaching the takeoff point, Zhang Anping inadvertently spotted an acquaintance.
Zhang Hao!
He knew that the other party was Xu Zhongyi, who was "taken in" by Zhang Hao after Xu Zhongyi was "driven away" back then. He had memories of Zhang Hao in his mind, and when he caught a glimpse of Zhang Hao's face again, he instantly remembered the other party.
What is he doing at Nanyuan Airport?
Zhang Hao had led the workers' movement and even commanded guerrilla forces after the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan. How could such a person still be carrying out a covert mission...?
wrong!
Zhang Anping suddenly realized, "Damn it, they're coming for me!"
He was convinced that Lao Gu had murderous intent towards him, and that Lao Gu was planning to assassinate him in a desperate situation. So he hadn't given Lao Gu any chance in the past two days—he had originally planned to clear up the misunderstanding after Sister Qian arrived.
When Lao Zheng launched his uprising, Zhang Anping was only thinking about going to Xuzhou to cause trouble for Mao Renfeng and muddy the waters; he didn't even consider Lao Gu's side.
Seeing Zhang Hao now, he instantly realized Lao Gu's ability to "seize every opportunity".
real……
Zhang Anping smiled bitterly to himself, then quickly racked his brains for a solution.
There's a high chance that Lao Gu will use a hidden bomb to sabotage himself—Zhang Anping could even guess the specifics of how he would do it:
Someone sent a box of "secret goods" to be "casually" placed on the plane and "sent" to Xuzhou, with the bomb hidden inside!
Otherwise, why would the person in charge of a military airport, a mere Class A airfield (regimental level), be considered a "boy" in Stipunk?
And when this "private goods" finally took to the sky, it made a loud bang...
He naturally couldn't let Lao Gu's scheme succeed. The only way now was to "coincidentally" discover the hidden goods and then find the bomb inside.
What should we do after the bomb is found?
If it weren't for Lao Gu, the airport manager would never have put his own contraband on the plane he was on. And the first thing the airport manager would do after finding the bomb was to betray Lao Gu, who was usually on friendly terms with him!
So... what's next?
This is the reason why Zhang Anping was pondering.
[We can only win over Old Gu!]
It seems Old Gu will have to go into hiding...
Zhang Anping sighed inwardly. He had originally intended for Old Gu to receive a "surrender" treatment, but this time...
[But it's all good! This is an opportunity to crack down on the entire intelligence system in Beiping, and also to purge the die-hard loyalists on the list!]
Zhang Anping had a list of loyalists. He originally planned to find an opportunity to infiltrate these people and have his comrades call them out one by one in the future, but this would inevitably lead to omissions. So he thought he would let Xu Zhongyi and his men handle it. But now it seems that it is no longer necessary!
While pondering, Stipunk drove to the takeoff point. Unaware that the car would soon no longer belong to him, the airport manager eagerly got out of the car, wanting to open the door for Zhang Anping.
But he was too late; Zheng Yi had already opened the car door before him.
Zhang Anping nodded to the person in charge: "Thank you for your hard work."
Those three words made the other person feel flattered and almost wanted to shout that it was an honor to serve Commander Zhang.
Watching Zhang Anping board the plane, the person in charge breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that he would give the car away later; it was too conspicuous, too conspicuous!
The person in charge felt reluctant at the thought of giving away his beloved Stipponco. It was a luxury car on par with Chennault's, and driving it around would make him look very prestigious. Giving it away...
He gritted his teeth and thought to himself:
You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub; you can't cling to a powerful figure without risking your stickman!
Seeing that the plane hadn't even taken off yet, the airport manager, who had just been furious, flew into a rage:
"Why isn't it taking off yet? Damn it, can you please stop causing trouble right in front of me?!"
Just then, the cargo door, which had been closed not long ago, opened, and a captain leaned halfway out, shouting:
"Colonel Nan! Please come up here! Our instructors have something to ask you!"
Are you calling me?
The person in charge was startled and immediately thought of another possibility:
Holy crap, their personal agenda has been discovered!
No! What personal gift? That was clearly a gift from Gu Shenyan to Zhang Anping!
Damn it, this old Gu swore that Zhang Shihao would definitely accept it with a smile, is that what you call accepting with a smile?
While cursing Gu Shenyan in his heart, he hurriedly had the boarding stairs that had just been pushed away pushed back over, and as soon as they were set up, he jogged over the boarding stairs and onto the plane.
As soon as they entered the cabin, the person in charge began to explain, "Commander Zhang, this is..."
He wanted to say that Gu Shenyan had asked him to put him on the plane, and that it had nothing to do with him—but after saying only a few words, he sensed that the atmosphere in the cabin was not right.
The next second, several fully armed soldiers captured the person in charge.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!!"
The person in charge screamed in agony.
But the special operations team didn't stop just because he cried out in pain; instead, they became even more ruthless. The poor, pampered airport manager actually fainted from the pain...
Inside the cabin, Zhang Anping stared coldly at an open box, his gaze settling on a small metal box.
The small, dark green tin box has a diamond-shaped pattern on it. Through the round convex glass on the front, you can see the copper components inside, which resemble a timer dial—and the components inside are currently in operation.
This seemingly ingenious iron box is actually a standard-issue bomb manufactured by the Secret Service—a purely physical structure!
After glancing at the person in charge who had fainted from the pain, Zhang Anping spoke coldly:
"Splash him awake!"
Without hesitation, the menacing special operations team members poured cold water from their canteens onto the person in charge's face. A few cries of pain escaped his lips as he slowly opened his eyes, momentarily stunned, before letting out a scream:
"Commander Zhang, spare my life!"
Zhang Anping stared coldly at the other party:
"Who gave you permission to assassinate me?"
Assassination?
The person in charge was dumbfounded. What the heck?
Seeing the other player feigning ignorance, one team member kicked him without hesitation, then half-squatted down, grabbed the other player's head, and asked menacingly:
"Speak! Who ordered you to assassinate our instructor!"
The person in charge then realized what was happening, and, forgetting the pain, screamed in agony:
"Innocent! Innocent! Commander Zhang, how could I dare to assassinate you? It's a misunderstanding! There must be some misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstand?"
Zhang Anping laughed: "Is this a misunderstanding?"
He took the small metal box from the small box directly into his hand. A group of special operations team members watched in fear, wishing they could throw the thing away immediately. But Zhang Anping held it steadily in his hand, stroking it as he said in a nostalgic tone:
"I remember it was around 1944 when the Special Research Institute developed this thing. At that time, the timer was only ten or twenty minutes long, and there was a certain margin of error. I felt that the time was too short, so I asked them to change the timer mode to five minutes to two hours."
"I never imagined that one day this thing would appear on the plane I was on!"
"This is truly a...surprise!"
surprise?
The person in charge was now terrified—he understood Zhang Anping's words and realized that the small iron box was actually a time bomb.
"Innocent!"
"I'm innocent, Officer Zhang!"
"This was sent by Gu Shenyan. He said it was a gift for you! It has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me!"
After these words were spoken, the cabin fell into a deathly silence.
Zhang Anping's shocked expression caused most of the team members to gape, but only Zheng Yi's face showed a hint of sadness after the initial shock.
Gu Shenyan, he...
How could he do this!
"Zheng Yi!"
Zhang Anping was the first to come to his senses, and upon giving the order, Zheng Yi immediately and instinctively stood at attention.
"Take a team to the General Headquarters to mobilize troops."
"Detain everyone at Beiping Station!"
“Gu Shenyan, once he’s caught, you’ll personally guard him. No one is allowed to see him—and take him with you, interrogate him thoroughly.”
As Zheng Yi responded, her eyes were fixed on Zhang Anping. Only after Zhang Anping nodded almost imperceptibly did she take a deep breath and then order a team of special agents to drag the airport manager off the plane with her.
The plane stubbornly chose to take off.
On the ground, Zheng Yi watched the plane change from taxiing to takeoff, and the complex look in his eyes gradually faded.
She understood why Zhang Anping had specifically asked her to personally guard Gu Shenyan, and she also understood that this was Zhang Anping's instruction to her after seeing the fleeting sadness in her expression. After a sigh of relief, she transformed back into the capable Secretary Zheng.
……
After returning home, Gu Shenyan immersed himself in darkness.
Two lines of clear tears involuntarily slid down her cheeks.
The man he had always thought was a major spy turned out to be his comrade!
Over the years, he has suffered so much criticism and so much resentment from his comrades.
The light is right before our eyes, but one of my decisions...
Gu Shenyan felt a heartache so intense he could hardly breathe. That man had held up a ray of light for them, his comrades who had been lying in wait, in the darkness, but the final cold arrow came from him, the very comrade who had brought light to their lives!
"right……"
He wanted to whisper an apology, but the words stuck in his throat.
He's not qualified!
Gu Shenyan let his tears fall continuously.
When I see him after I go down there, will he... hate me?
Gu Shenyan dared not think about it.
The shrill ring of the telephone caused Gu Shenyan's tears to vanish in an instant. After the phone rang for a while, he finally answered it, speaking in a sleepy tone:
"I am Gu Shenyan."
The voice of Gu Jingbu, the director of the communications department, came from the other end of the phone: "Station Chief Gu, there is a piece of intelligence here that requires your personal signature—would you like to come to the station headquarters or should I send someone to deliver it to your home?"
"Don't send it over, that's against the rules—I'm coming right away!"
Gu Shenyan's voice suddenly cleared, but at this moment his face was filled with wild joy.
The telecommunications director was one of their own, and the phrase "you see" at the beginning of the last sentence of his statement was a warning. Normally, this phrase wouldn't be used; adding it as a prefix signifies a warning.
Danger!
Very dangerous!
But what the telecommunications director saw as danger was, in Gu Shenyan's eyes, fantastic news.
If Zhang Anping's plane crashes, we won't realize it's missing until tomorrow, and then the search will begin—just like Dai Chunfeng, whose plane was only found several days after the crash!
But now, a "very dangerous" situation has arisen!
There is only one explanation:
Zhang Anping discovered the bomb on the plane!
In this way, Zhang Anping was able to pinpoint his identity immediately by recognizing his surname as Nan.
He found out! He's alright!
At this moment, Gu Shenyan felt as if he had jumped from hell to heaven.
fine!
It's good that you're alright!
It's okay, that's great!
At this moment, Gu Shenyan, despite not believing in the gods and Buddhas in the sky, still expressed his heartfelt gratitude to these non-existent things.
I turned on the lights, tidied up briefly, and went out as usual.
As they passed a public phone booth, Gu Shenyan got out of the car and dialed a number.
"Old Zhao, it's me, Old Gu—haha, sorry to disturb your sweet dreams! I have something to do here, and I'll probably be late by the time I'm done, so I won't be able to join the card game at noon. Please apologize to Old Qian and the others. I'll treat next time at Zuixianlou!"
After hanging up the phone and getting into the car, Gu Shenyan unconsciously started humming a little tune.
Comrade Anping...you must be having a headache about how to deal with me now, right?
Haha, this is truly a happy problem!
……
Old Zhao's family.
Old Zhao hung up the phone, his face full of disbelief.
He and Gu Shenyan had agreed on a secret code: if Gu Shenyan's plan failed, he would inform him in advance through this code.
The agreed-upon code was the content of this phone call, except for "Old Qian" and his group.
So, the translation is:
Old Zhao, my plan has failed. You should tell Sister Qian right away!
It actually failed?
Old Zhao was overjoyed; this was the first time he had ever been so happy about a failed plan.
After hanging up the phone, he went straight to the living room where Sister Qian was. He was probably too excited and forgot to knock on the door.
Ms. Qian, who had previously said she was "tired," had not gone to sleep. When the light was turned on, her red eyes could be seen.
Faced with the sudden switching on of the lights, Sister Qian wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes while covering them.
But Lao Zhao didn't see this scene, or rather, he was too excited to notice it.
"Sister Qian, good news—Old Gu just called, and he used the previously agreed-upon, failed code!"
"His assassination plan failed!"
"The assassination attempt failed! He's been discovered! He's safe!"
Sister Qian's eyes widened, then she muttered to herself:
"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it..."
At this moment, Sister Qian could no longer hold back; she laughed as tears streamed down her face.
She herself remained completely unaware. (End of Chapter)