Chapter 10: Matters Concerning the Establishment of the Special Training Class

Zhang Anping has been promoted.

On his eighth day at the Secret Service, he received an extra star on his shoulder, moving from second lieutenant to first lieutenant. The justification was solid: he was a returnee with an overseas education and had made significant contributions in capturing Japanese spies.

Naturally, he also left the Security Section at the same time, returning to the General Affairs Division—though this was merely a nominal affiliation, as he had joined the "Preparatory Office for the Special Training Class."

The director of the Preparatory Office was, naturally, the Bureau Chief himself, serving concurrently. The deputy directors were veterans from the Secret Investigation Group, though they were largely hands-off. The real work fell to seven officers, including Zhang Anping. The members were: Xu Baichuan, Wang Tianfeng, Wu Jingzhong, Lü Zongfang, Zheng Yaoxian, Li Weigong, and Zhang Anping.

The General Affairs Division cleared out a room for the Preparatory Office, and the seven officers gathered there to discuss the logistics.

Zheng Yaoxian broke the bad news first: "The Military Commission's General Office won't let us use their name."

"As expected," Zhang Anping said, having studied the history of the Honggong Temple Special Training Class. "The Bureau Chief holds a concurrent position at the Central Police Academy. We can use their name instead."

"That problem is solved. Now, for the next one: location? According to the Bureau Chief’s requirements, this training class needs to accommodate at least five hundred people. Half will be existing Secret Service personnel undergoing refresher training, and the other half will be new recruits. Honggong Temple has a site, but it cannot hold that many."

"Besides, this is the headquarters; it’s not suitable for training."

Zheng Yaoxian remarked, "Nanjing is a big city. Finding a school that can hold five hundred people shouldn't be too hard."

"The most important issue," Wang Tianfeng interjected, "is the source of the students!"

Xu Baichuan sighed, "During the Honggong Temple training sessions, the recruits were mainly Whampoa graduates. But if we need over two hundred, we won't find enough from Whampoa alone."

There were many Whampoa graduates in the Secret Service, but most were the "failures" who hadn't secured positions after graduation. Since the number of such graduates each year was limited, recruiting two hundred at once was impossible.

"Let's select them from various universities," Zhang Anping suggested. "Send dispatches to the provincial stations, give them a quota, and have them recruit from local colleges. Let’s try to bring in as many as possible. Those we don't select can be recommended to the Police Academy. We'll keep their files at the office and maintain a relationship with them. These people can become our eyes and ears in the future."

Everyone praised the idea: "Brother Shihao, that’s a brilliant plan!"

"Of course, we must make one thing clear to the provincial stations: they must vouch for the people they send. If a recruit is unqualified, it’s not a major issue, but if a Communist infiltrates our ranks, the station will be held accountable! This must be made clear so they don't slack off. Also, I suggest we establish a 'Background Investigation Section.' Every trainee's background must be strictly vetted. We absolutely, resolutely cannot allow Japanese spies or Communists to slip in!"

After Zhang Anping proposed this, everyone raised their hands in agreement. They unanimously decided that the "Background Investigation Section" should be established immediately and suggested that one of the deputy directors of the Preparatory Office should serve concurrently as its chief.

"Brother Shihao, I think you should be the deputy chief of the Background Investigation Section!" Xu Baichuan immediately nominated him.

Wang Tianfeng agreed, and the veterans Wu Jingzhong and Li Weigong chimed in as well. Wang Tianfeng had been asked to look into Zhang Anping by the Bureau Chief, and combined with the Bureau Chief’s oddly detached behavior during yesterday’s meeting, he suspected Zhang Anping had a special connection to the top. As for Wu and Li, they knew the Bureau Chief’s nature too well—anyone he specifically mentioned surely had a reason, and it was easy to win favor by going along with it.

After all, having a stint as a deputy chief of the Background Investigation Section on one's resume was very important for future promotions.

"Gentlemen, this isn't a cushy job," Zhang Anping said with a wry smile. "If a Communist or Japanese spy slips through, the 'Background Investigation Section' will be the one taking the blame!"

The others smiled without speaking. If something went wrong, the provincial stations would be the first to face the music—they would be the ones taking the blame. The Background Investigation Section wouldn't have many people, so how much blame could they really shoulder?

Seeing this, Zhang Anping stopped refusing. "Very well, since you all are so generous, I won't stand on ceremony—Brother Zheng, Brother Lü, you two should join the section as well. I'm all talk and have zero practical experience; I need you to keep an eye on things for me."

"Brother Shihao, you're looking for someone to take the fall with you!" Zheng Yaoxian said, his face full of forced smiles.

The other "Brother" was Lü Zongfang, another veteran of the Service. Faced with Zhang Anping's "invitation," he initially declined, but he couldn't resist the constant badgering. Once it was established that the section needed a steady veteran to hold the fort, and with the others chiming in to persuade him, Lü Zongfang could only accept with a bitter smile.

Seeing that both Zheng Yaoxian and Lü Zongfang were pulled in, no one had any further doubts about the section.

Only Zhang Anping felt a sense of irony: the Background Investigation Section, designed to filter out Communist spies, was being run by three of them. *Tsk, tsk.*

The meeting continued.

Xu Baichuan brought out another document for everyone to review: "These are the Bureau Chief’s suggestions regarding the classification of the training classes."

While everyone was reading, Xu Baichuan stood up and wrote the "suggestions" on the blackboard: Telecommunications, Interrogation, Espionage, Operations, Logistics, and Infiltration.

In reality, these were Zhang Anping’s original suggestions, now presented as the Bureau Chief’s. Zhang Anping had no objections—when the same words came from his cousin-in-law rather than himself, they carried a completely different weight. If he said it, someone would always find a way to pick a fight; if the Bureau Chief said it, it wasn't a suggestion—it was an order.

"The Bureau Chief truly has a high-level perspective and long-term vision!" Wu Jingzhong said sincerely. "As the saying goes, there is a specialty for every trade. Professionalizing intelligence personnel by classifying them is a stroke of genius!"

Zheng Yaoxian kept his expression neutral, but thought to himself: *Old Wu, you really know how to suck up. It’s a pity that this time, the person you’re sucking up to...*

Wang Tianfeng, Li Weigong, and Lü Zongfang also expressed their agreement.

"Next, the curriculum—" Xu Baichuan wrote on the board, then put down the chalk. "The curriculum is divided into general courses and specialized courses. Each specialty has different general requirements. Let's discuss which general courses correspond to which specialties."

The group began to deliberate.

There was much heated debate. It took over two hours to finalize the curriculum—and that was only because of Zhang Anping’s timely suggestion that every trainee must take three mandatory general courses; otherwise, they might still be arguing until nightfall.

Once the courses were set, the next step was selecting the instructors. Unlike a regular school, the training class couldn't have one fixed teacher for every subject; each course required multiple instructors. Except for Zhang Anping, the others knew the Secret Service's internal situation inside and out, and they quickly listed suitable candidates for each subject.

After double-checking for omissions, they moved on to the next topic.

One agenda item followed another. Establishing the training class was essentially building a new school from scratch, involving countless details. If it weren't for the three veterans in the office, the four younger members, including Zhang Anping, would never have thought of everything.

For instance, formalism—it seemed useless, but the higher-ups loved it. So, under the guidance of Li Weigong and Wu Jingzhong, they added many superficial procedures that were sure to satisfy the superiors. Examples included the trainee induction ceremony, study sessions on the Leader's speeches, political indoctrination, and commemorative events.

The meeting lasted for ten full hours. After compiling a stack of reports and confirming everything was correct, they signed off and submitted them to the Bureau Chief, then began scouting for a location.

For several days, the four younger men ran themselves ragged. They finally selected five potential sites. Li Weigong and Wu Jingzhong visited all five, eliminated two, and submitted the remaining three to the Bureau Chief.

The Bureau Chief looked at the three names and, without a second thought, circled one:

Guanwang Temple.

People in this era were superstitious, and the future head of the Military Statistics Bureau was no exception. The name "Guanwang Temple" immediately evoked the virtues of loyalty and patriotism. Since training secret agents required these virtues above all else, he didn't hesitate.

With the paperwork ready and the location set, all that remained was to obtain the authorization documents from above—a task the Bureau Chief handled himself.

Perhaps sensing the gathering storm, the usually sluggish higher-ups approved the establishment of the training class in just a few days and allocated a budget.

However, the training class would still be affiliated with the Central Police Academy. The Bureau Chief's suggested name, "The [Redacted] Special Training Class," was not approved, likely because it sounded "too grand."

Reluctantly, the Bureau Chief had to settle for the name "Central Police Academy Special Police Training Class."

According to the documents, the training class was divided into two systems and six categories. The first system comprised the regular special training classes: Telecommunications, Interrogation, Logistics, Operations I, Operations II, and Espionage/Infiltration. The second system was the refresher training classes, consisting of eight groups (Refresher Operations Classes I through VIII).

The Telecommunications, Interrogation, and Logistics classes formed the First Squadron; Operations I and II formed the Second; Espionage and Infiltration formed the Third; Refresher Operations I through IV formed the Fourth; and Refresher Operations V through VIII formed the Fifth.

The Bureau Chief would serve as the head of the training class, with a General Captain’s Office, Academic Affairs, Political Training, General Affairs, Accounting, and Medical departments established underneath.

Although there were only five hundred students, the training class required over fifty full-time staff and instructors, plus thirty resident part-time teachers. Other part-time instructors didn't need to stay on-site but were required to teach at least ten sessions per month. Additionally, all other veterans of the Secret Service were required to teach two sessions per month.

It was clear that this session was merely a trial. If the results were impressive, the Bureau Chief would have most of the Secret Service personnel undergo refresher training and recruit heavily from universities in the years to come.

Everyone was satisfied with the establishment of the training class.

Of course, the most satisfied person was Zhang Anping.

Because of him, the Linli Class, which wouldn't have appeared until 1938, had emerged two years early. More importantly, through his subtle maneuvering, Lü Zongfang and Zheng Yaoxian were now in the "Background Investigation Section." The future Military Statistics Bureau was destined to be filled with members who were "Red at heart but White on the surface."