Chapter 13: Zhang Anping’s Plan (Part Two)

The trainees were filled with excitement.

Because here stood an officer who truly understood them—an officer who recognized the nation's peril!

They looked at Zhang Anping with fervor, thrilled to have the chance to be here.

Once the trainees quieted down again, Zhang Anping spoke: "What will happen if war breaks out?"

What will happen if war breaks out?

The trainees pondered but found themselves at a loss for words.

Zhang Anping answered on their behalf:

"We will lose many places."

"The North, the South... countless territories will fall."

"But we will not fail! Because we have sufficient strategic depth! We can rely on every inch of our land to fight the Japanese to the death!"

"Until we drain every drop of their blood!"

"This will likely take a very long time—years, a decade, maybe even two decades!"

"But victory will be ours in the end!"

"Because our population is ten times that of Japan, and our territory is dozens of times larger!"

Zhang Anping drew a circle on the blackboard.

"Imagine this circle represents us. If the Japanese keep swallowing our land, they will occupy many areas—like these shaded parts."

"Our army will continually confront and battle them on the frontlines!"

"But can we simply allow these shaded areas to fall into their hands?"

Faced with Zhang Anping’s question, the trainees shouted aloud:

"No!"

"Exactly! No!"

Zhang Anping affirmed, "In these shadowed regions, we must continuously bleed the Japanese."

"We must fight them there using guerrilla tactics! Strike every convoy, attack every garrison!"

"And within these shadows lie many cities. After occupation, the Japanese forces will be stretched thin. They will be forced to retreat into the cities and key transport hubs, ruling through puppet collaborators."

"Can we allow them to rule our people in peace? Can we let them enjoy the spoils of their invasion?"

"No!"

The trainees responded loudly.

"Right! Never!"

"So, in these shadowed lands, we will entangle them in countless ways: attacks, sabotage, assassinations, espionage. We will make them know that on Chinese soil, invaders cannot even sleep soundly."

"This will be your mission, my mission, our collective future task!"

The trainees shouted passionately, "Make the Japanese restless day and night!"

Zheng Yaoxian, Xu Baichuan, and Wang Tianfeng exchanged glances, worried the trainees might not accept their future roles.

After all, the word 'spy' was almost always a derogatory term in the Republic.

Spies were often accused of unsavory deeds, and although spies frequently engaged in covert acts, the stigma was deep.

During the preparatory phase, many had voiced concerns. To retain the trainees’ loyalty, the preparatory office even decided to provide each trainee with a monthly stipend of ten yuan—higher than the pay of the average soldier.

But compared to buying loyalty with money, Zhang Anping’s approach was far more convincing.

Look—when he boldly spoke of attacks, sabotage, assassinations, and espionage, the trainees were not angry; instead, they grew even more fired up!

Once the trainees quieted again, Zhang Anping turned and wrote the word “Spy” on the blackboard.

“Class, tell me what you understand about spies—this student, you go first,” Zhang Anping deliberately called on Gong Shu, a fervent young man who had participated in many patriotic student movements.

Gong Shu stood and said after a moment’s thought, “Spies do all sorts of shady things. They arrest patriotic students and assassinate patriots...”

“Stop!”

Zhang Anping quickly interrupted.

Hey, Gong Shu, do you know what your future identity will be? How can you say such things?

Zhang Anping’s interruption displeased the trainees who had just admired him.

“Teacher, why did you stop him?”

“Teacher, why the interruption? Are you afraid to hear the truth?”

Zhang Anping glanced silently at the speaker—none other than Xu Zhongyi.

Of course, he was never one to sit quietly!

“Why did I interrupt? Because if I hadn’t, he would have exposed all the dirty secrets about spies!” Zhang Anping’s calm demeanor immediately quelled the trainees’ dissent.

“But he’s too far off the mark. First, let me introduce our organization.”

“Our organization has three departments. The first handles party affairs investigations—in other words, the group that deals with what that student just mentioned. Their personnel are poorly qualified and have no moral bottom line!” Zhang Anping cast all the blame on the future Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

“Our department is the second one.”

“The second department is also called the Military and Police Department! We handle military and police affairs.”

“Our main members come from the Whampoa Military Academy—that's the fundamental difference between us and the party affairs department. Also, the Military and Police Department has long conducted various training programs, from the early Honggongci training classes, then at the Zhejiang Police Academy, and now, we have recruited you.”

“Why?”

“Because we are a professional intelligence agency!”

“When the war breaks out, the attacks, sabotage, assassinations, and espionage I just described will be our work!”

“We will gather all kinds of intelligence on the Japanese and provide it to frontline troops to help them fight fiercely!”

“We will assassinate collaborators and Japanese soldiers alike, so those who want to betray the country will dare not do so; those who want to serve Japan will be too afraid! Every Japanese who sets foot on Chinese soil will be shrouded in the shadow of assassination, terrified, fearful, and hysterical!”

“In this shadowed land occupied by the Japanese, we will disrupt their supplies and transportation, constantly bleeding them dry!”

“We must also form strike forces to assault Japanese strongholds and garrisons, keeping them on edge every moment!”

“This is our mission—fellow students, if you are unwilling to sacrifice for the coming war, if you are not willing to pay the price, if you only want to enjoy the fruits of others’I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.