Chapter 998
Returning to Beiping with Deadly Power
Mao Renfeng's trip to Huaihai was facilitated by Zhang Anping. From the perspective of Zhang Anping, a loyal minister of the Party and the State, Xuzhou and Bengbu were of paramount importance to the Party and the State at this moment. In addition, given the precedent of the Jiawang Uprising, counter-espionage work here had to be taken seriously.
Nothing shows greater importance than having the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) present.
However, from the perspective of Zhang Anping, a member of our Party, Mao Renfeng's trip to Xuzhou was not a good thing.
Admittedly, Xuzhou Station had already fallen under the control of our Party, and with the covert support of Xu Baichuan and Zheng Yaoxian, Mao Renfeng's trip to Xuzhou was entirely within our control—but for Zhang Anping, Mao Renfeng's existence was a bomb.
Moreover, he personally "delivered" the bomb to it.
This is obviously not going to work!
Therefore, after Mao Renfeng "forced Zheng Yaoxian to rebel," Zhang Anping brazenly "flipped the table"—how could Mao Renfeng, who had been so humiliated and whose nominal subordinate Zhang Anping was now a pig-headed man, possibly have the face to stand in charge?
He will most likely not leave Xuzhou, but he will definitely not appear in public. This means that all the information he receives has been "verified"—Mao Renfeng is no longer a threat in Xuzhou.
Zhang Anping is now worried about one thing:
If Mao Renfeng were to have a change of heart, he might flee with the Xuzhou army in the future...
That would be a lot of fun!
I'll lose a perfect scapegoat then!
Watching the runway rush by, Zhang Anping thought sincerely:
Hopefully, Mao Renfeng will be quick-witted and slip away immediately upon hearing the news that Huang Er's army corps is surrounded! Any later and he won't be able to escape!
The plane stopped taxiing on the runway. As the cabin door opened and steel was laid over, Zhang Anping slowly walked towards the plane.
"District Chief!"
Zheng Yi was the first to come over. Behind her stood four officers who were on high alert. Further away, a guard equipped with submachine guns was already in position.
Zhang Anping didn't recognize any of the four officers, and he had no recollection of the guards equipped with submachine guns.
Zhang Anping looked at Zheng Yi with a puzzled expression, and Zheng Yi immediately explained:
"When Commander Yuan of the Fourth Army Corps heard that you had narrowly escaped assassination, he transferred one of his companies to your command."
The 16th Army of the Fourth Army Corps was Hu Xibei's direct subordinate. Hu Xibei had a close relationship with Dai Chunfeng, and after Dai Chunfeng's death, he took good care of Zhang Anping.
Upon hearing the news of this incident, Commander Yuan of the 16th Army immediately expressed his "sincerity."
Commander Yuan did this to cultivate a good relationship with Zhang Anping—there are currently five Central Army units stationed outside Beiping, and they should be united as Central Army troops.
On the contrary, the five armies are five different factions, and their relationships are not very good.
With a powerful figure like Fu Huabei above him, Commander Yuan was now intentionally trying to get closer to Zhang Anping.
Zhang Anping had previously visited the high-ranking officials of the Central Army in Beiping, meeting six people including the commander of the Second Army Corps. Among these six, the commander of the 31st Army, being part of the Youth Army system, treated Zhang Anping the best, as they were essentially under the same roof. The next best was Commander Yuan.
Compared to these two, the other four were rather indifferent, especially Commander Shi of the 13th Army, who also served as the commander of the 9th Army Corps. He was the most indifferent to Zhang Anping, probably because during the great defeat in Henan, Hunan and Guangxi, Zhang Anping was particularly fierce in cursing the commander-in-chief, who was known for his "floods, droughts and locusts"...
Commander Yuan was "secondary" because he acted like an elder when facing Zhang Anping—and Zhang Anping, seeing that the other party was going to act like an elder, simply lowered his posture.
I never expected that being a junior like him would be worthwhile. As soon as something happened, he just waved his hand and sent over an elite submachine gun company!
Several officers were also sent along – these men were undoubtedly sent specifically to coordinate and mobilize the 16th Army, which clearly shows Commander Yuan's intentions:
My 16th Army strongly supports it!
Since they had such a kind offer, Zhang Anping naturally couldn't be pretentious. He specifically asked Zheng Yi to introduce the four people to him.
Faced with Zhang Anping's outstretched hand, all four officers were visibly excited—Zhang Anping's reputation had suffered in the past two years, but it had been excellent in the past, and the title "Commander Zhang" carried considerable weight!
Many young officers idolized him, so how could the four not be excited in the face of the approachable Zhang Anping?
After a brief introduction to the four men, Zhang Anping got into the car and, under the protection of the guards, drove away from the airport in a grand procession. The newly appointed head of the airport watched from afar and only breathed a sigh of relief after Zhang Anping had left.
He thought to himself: People always call this guy a plague god. I used to think it was just hearsay, but now it seems the name is truly fitting! How powerful was Colonel Nan, who used to be in charge of the airport? And now…
Gee...
In the speeding car, Zheng Yi asked in confusion:
"Chief District Commander, why are you back so soon?"
Zhang Anping's trip, including the round trip, didn't even take more than 20 hours!
“Something has happened—the Attendant’s Office has ordered me to return to Beiping immediately.”
Something happened?!
An order?!
Zheng Yi's eyes showed even more doubt, and even a deep sense of worry.
She instinctively assumed that "something happened" meant Zhang Anping had been exposed.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Anping's heart trembled, then he shook his head and said:
"Upon arriving in Xuzhou, I ran into Mao Renfeng at the entrance of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters. I couldn't contain my anger and we got into a fight."
Upon hearing Zhang Anping's explanation, Zheng Yi's eyes widened in surprise. What?
What do you think?
They had a fight?
You fought with Mao Renfeng?
Zheng Yi stared wide-eyed, involuntarily imagining the scene:
Zhang Anping and Mao Renfeng exchanged blows in full view of everyone...
hiss--
The scene is too "beautiful" to even imagine!
A qualified driver should be indifferent to whatever his superiors say and only focus on driving. The current driver was carefully selected by Zheng Yi and naturally met this requirement. However, because of Zhang Anping's words, the car almost crashed into the car carrying the guards in front.
This shows the impact of those words!
After his initial moment of distraction, Zheng Yi immediately realized that the claim of "losing control" was pure nonsense, and that his district commander had definitely planned it all along.
She couldn't help but mourn for Mao Renfeng:
This guy was born to be used by the district chief!
First, he was "tortured" back and forth for two years, and now he has been viciously beaten by the district head on some pretext. The authority of the bureau chief has probably been shattered. Mao Renfeng has lost all face this time, and he will definitely be too ashamed to put his sword back in its sheath, so he will have to start an even more intense internal struggle.
But he never dreamed that this was the ending his own district commander most wanted to see!
She looked at Zhang Anping and found it hard to reconcile the idea of "fighting" with his undercover identity.
Noticing the smile in Zheng Yi's eyes, Zhang Anping decisively changed the subject:
"Is there anything amiss with Gu Shenyan? What about Beiping Station?" Zheng Yi sensed the helplessness Zhang Anping was emanating from his change of topic, which she found quite pleasing and subtly enjoyable. However, she knew her place and, faced with Zhang Anping's deliberate shift in topic, reverted to her usual self as Secretary Zheng:
"Gu Shenyan has been imprisoned. A total of 21 people have been imprisoned at Beiping Station, all of whom were close associates of Gu Shenyan."
Zhang Anping's expression gradually turned cold and even icy, then he slowly said, "Go see him!"
Zheng Yi nodded slightly, then said to the driver:
"Go to Gongxian Hutong!"
……
The case of Gu Shenyan's assassination attempt on Zhang is currently only circulating within Beiping City. Although it has not yet reached the point of being known to everyone, those who need to know already know—especially the intelligence system, whether it is the Second Bureau or the Party Intelligence Bureau, they all know.
Would they laugh at Zhang Anping?
Do not!
In fact, they were all trembling with fear at the moment—cursing Gu Shenyan as a scoundrel while trembling and pondering countermeasures with worried expressions.
Zhang Anping came to Beiping to integrate the intelligence system, a fact he made no secret of, having revealed it openly when he summoned them previously.
But at that time, they each had their own agendas and were unwilling to be integrated by Zhang Anping. On the one hand, they were trying to curry favor with their superiors, hoping that their own leaders would intervene; on the other hand, they were trying to protect themselves.
Zhang Anping's reputation within the intelligence system was so formidable that it could stop a child from crying at night; they were genuinely afraid of being dealt with by him.
But their fear at that time stemmed from the fact that Zhang Anping would deal with them within the rules.
But it's different now.
Gu Shenyan is actually going to blow up Zhang Anping!
Based solely on the grounds that their personal safety was threatened, Zhang Anping had 120,000 legitimate reasons to take action against them, and he did so in the most direct and violent way possible to deal with those who did not cooperate.
Even their high-ranking officials couldn't mediate, because Zhang Anping's assassination was a serious matter that couldn't be taken too seriously.
This even made them suspect one thing:
Could it be that Gu Shenyan was acting on Zhang Anping's orders?
But it doesn't seem like it!
Fortunately, Zhang Anping went to Xuzhou, and it was estimated that he would be gone in five, six, seven, eight, or nine days—just as the heads of the various intelligence networks were secretly rejoicing that they still had some time to struggle, the "bad news" arrived:
Zhang Anping is back!
Zhang Anping's return to Beiping was a grand affair, which naturally couldn't escape the notice of the intelligence system, known for its keen ears.
I am!
Wasn't he in Xuzhou because of Tewu's defection?
Why did you go there in the early morning and come back in the evening?
Wait, could it be that, as they suspect, the so-called assassination of Zhang was actually a staged act by Gu Shenyan and Zhang Anping?
The goal is to use this as a pretext to wipe out all the non-cooperative parties!
The heads of several major intelligence agencies in Beiping were dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, "How could you, Zhang Anping, joke about something like this?"
Just as they were wondering whether it was a "show" or not, almost simultaneously, each of them received a telegram from headquarters.
And the contents of these telegrams were surprisingly similar:
Cooperate with Zhang Anping; do not outwardly comply but inwardly defy him! Those who disobey orders will be severely punished!
The heads of various intelligence agencies in Beiping were dumbfounded. How could the attitude of the higher-ups change so suddenly?
Previously, Zhang Anping had expressed his intention to integrate them, and the higher-ups had unhesitatingly hinted that they should passively cooperate and actively resist, so as not to let the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics "eat" them up. How come the tone has changed so drastically in the blink of an eye?
Is this play really that important?
So they subtly expressed their confusion to their respective headquarters via telegram—didn't we agree not to let the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics "eat" us?
What happened that made you change your mind?!
Then, they received a piece of information that sent chills down their spines:
The deputy director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics beat up the director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics in front of the Xuzhou General Headquarters.
This kind of behavior, which would at least result in dismissal and investigation in most places, only resulted in Zhang Anping being "ordered" to return to Beiping.
In fact, if that were all there was to it, the Second Department and the Party Affairs Bureau wouldn't care, and would certainly continue to instruct their subordinates to passively cooperate and actively resist.
The problem stemmed from a conversation that circulated in the attendant's quarters:
"This little guy may act arrogantly, but he has the Party and the country in his heart! This little guy must know that going to Beiping to clean up the mess is a thankless task, but he still went! Why?"
Because he has the Party and the country in his heart!
Although he acts impulsively and prudently, he is ultimately a child at heart!
He was nearly killed in an explosion, but he still went to Xuzhou without hesitation—because his heart was with the Party and the country!
The situation in the Party-state is so dire, with the drums of war beating in Xuzhou and Bengbu, and war clouds gathering over North China. Yet, what about some people? They're still preoccupied with their own petty schemes. If you ask me, those little devils should really have a lot of people executed!
While news from the Attendant's Chambers can easily spread, it's not easy for the Attendant-in-Chief's words to be circulated verbatim (really?). If you can hear the complete version, especially if you hear it immediately—don't doubt it, it must be what the Attendant-in-Chief wants you to hear!
These words were spoken in anger by someone trying to get the chief of staff to severely punish Zhang Anping on the grounds that Zhang Anping had assaulted a superior and disregarded party and state laws.
In fact, even before the beating of Mao Renfeng in Xuzhou occurred, the chief attendant had already received several accusations against Zhang Anping.
The reason for the accusation is simple:
Zhang Anping wanted to absorb the power of various intelligence agencies in Beiping!
In a peaceful context, Zhang Anping's behavior was indeed no different from courting death. Intelligence agencies should check and balance each other; how can you be allowed to have absolute power?
Not to mention annexation!
If Zhang Anping had done this in peacetime, the chief attendant would at least have been dismissed and investigated.
Is it a state of peace at this time?
No!
Given the looming war clouds over North China at that time, Zhang Anping's actions, even if driven by personal motives, should still be supported. Moreover, no matter how you look at Zhang Anping's actions, you can't see any personal motives!
Therefore, the chief attendant reprimanded the people who accused Zhang Anping.
Now that the incident of beating Mao Renfeng in Xuzhou has happened, these people thought they would have a chance to retaliate, but instead they received this warning—they openly said, "It's time to kill a bunch of people." How dare the Second Department and the Party Affairs Bureau still murmur?
The Second Department and the Party Affairs Bureau backed down, so how could the other smaller agencies dare to cause trouble?
It was precisely because of this background that they were forced to send telegrams to their respective superiors in Beiping, instructing them to obediently cooperate and stop thinking about passively cooperating or actively resisting.
The "knocking" from the attendant's office would naturally not be communicated to the heads of the various intelligence agencies in Beiping, but for them, the fact that Mao Renfeng could be beaten up at the gate of the General Headquarters and then escape unscathed was enough to make them bow down and kneel to serve him.
If they knew the real inside story, they'd probably be crawling on their knees and licking his boots!
Undoubtedly, the direct statements from their respective headquarters allowed the heads of these intelligence agencies in Beiping to breathe a sigh of relief:
"We used to worry that if we didn't resist, headquarters would hold us accountable, but now it's all good. There's a clear order from above—they definitely won't hold us accountable later!"
This can actually be considered a blessing in disguise!
In short, the current intelligence system in Beiping has now completed its psychological preparation to become like a kitten in front of Zhang Anping...
We're just waiting for Commander Zhang to integrate them! (End of Chapter)