Espionage: I became sworn brothers with Zheng Yaoxian at the beginning, and became the Seventh Broth

Chapter 530 Xu Baichuan in Action

Within the Nationalist government, the Baoding faction wielded considerable power.

If judged solely by power, their influence is even greater than that of the Whampoa Military Academy clique controlled by Chiang Kai-shek.

The reasons for this situation are complex.

Ultimately, it was due to the social unrest in Baoding during the Republican era. The constant warlord conflicts over the decades allowed the students of the Baoding Military Academy to gradually rise up in the life-and-death struggles and eventually take control of the military and political power during the Republican era.

Who are their representative figures?

very many.

Let me give you a few simple examples.

During the later stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, Chen Cheng, who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Nationalist Government and Vice President of the Kuomintang, Bai Chongxi, Minister of National Defense, Zhang Zhizhong, Minister of Political Affairs of the Military Commission, Gu Zhutong, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Zhou Zhirou, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, were all from the Baoding Clique.

These people are just the representatives of the Baoding clique on the surface. In addition to them, there are also Qin Dechun, the Vice Minister of National Defense; Guo Jiqiao and Guo Qian, the Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff; Xiong Shihui, Xue Yue, Liu Zhi, and Fu Zuoyi, the chairmen of Jiangxi Province, who are all from the Baoding clique.

They banded together for mutual support, and within the entire government, they wielded power and status far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Even the bald-headed Chiang Kai-shek, who possessed the Whampoa Military Academy and was backed by the Jiangzhe financial magnates, despite his lifelong meticulous planning, when he finally retreated, the power of the Whampoa clique he controlled was insufficient to rival that of the Baoding clique.

Although the Special Service Department was an intelligence agency personally established by the bald-headed Chairman, he still had to compromise with many bigwigs in the Baoding clique at the beginning.

By bringing Zheng Jiemin, a representative of the Baoding faction, into the organization, a tacit understanding was reached with the Baoding faction, granting the Special Service Department the right to be stationed in the military, verify military law, and eliminate enemy agents.

It was precisely because Ye Shaohong understood this point and was aware of the immense power of the Baoding faction that he asked this question.

That's why I specifically came to ask Xu Baichuan about the situation.

Have no idea.

The Baoding faction's power is too great; even Ye Shaohong would have reservations if he wanted to take any action.

These things must be clarified.

"That's it."

"As you know, since the establishment of the Special Service Department, the Director has been trying to find ways to undermine the Baoding faction's influence within the department."

"But the Baoding faction's power is too great. Even though Zheng Jiemin is weak-willed, the Director has not gained much over the years."

"More than half of the staff in the logistics department are under the control of Deputy Director Zheng Jiemin." "By the way, Xiao Ba is also from the Baoding system."

"Ask him about these things; he should know more about them."

Upon hearing Xu Baichuan mention Xiao Ba, Ye Shaohong instantly thought of his chubby little brother.

This was the only one among the eight sworn brothers who was younger than him.

He had always found it strange that Xiao Ba, who was only in his early twenties, could occupy such a lucrative position in the logistics department.

So it turns out he has powerful backers.

"Is that so?"

“I haven’t seen him for a while, so I’ll go ask him tomorrow.”

At this moment, Ye Shaohong already had some ideas in mind, but he didn't intend to tell Xu Baichuan about them. Afterwards, the two chatted for a while longer.

I talked about the current situation.

He talked about the situation in Shanghai and the future changes.

Finally, Xu Baichuan introduced Ye Shaohong to the recent personnel changes in the Special Service Department, as well as the forces and backers behind these people.

This casual conversation lasted for more than an hour. As it grew late and Xu Baichuan became somewhat tired, Ye Shaohong finally got up to say goodbye.

"Then, Fourth Brother, I'm counting on you for my matter."

"You must speak up for me and make sure those bastards in the Party Affairs Investigation Department don't get away with it, and they can't let them look down on us brothers."

Ye Shaohong stood up and gave a final instruction. His words seemed to be filled with indignation, but his gaze still fell on the desk in front of Xu Baichuan.

Instantly, Xu Baichuan's muscles tensed up. "You brat."

"I know, now get out of here. It's so late, why are you bothering me?"

"Go away, go away, I get annoyed just looking at you, don't get in my way."

Xu Baichuan was truly helpless. He didn't know when it started, but Ye Shaohong had been coming to his office to freeload.

At first, he didn't care.

But gradually, as the losses increased, he also began to feel the pinch.

Even if he was a high-ranking official in the Secret Service and had many ways to make money, he still couldn't stand others eyeing him like that.

"cut."

"You're so stingy. It's just a box or two of tea. Why are you so upset about it?"

"Alright, alright, I don't want it anymore. Next time I go back to Jinling, I'll find you some good tea to shut you up."

Muttering to himself in dissatisfaction, Ye Shaohong finally stood up, waved his hand casually, and turned to walk out of the office.

Watching his departing figure, Xu Baichuan finally felt relieved.

But Ye Shaohong was too cunning.

He walked halfway, then suddenly turned back, ran back to Xu Baichuan's desk, and pretended to pull open Xu Baichuan's desk.

This terrified Xu Baichuan.

“What are you doing…?”

Xu Baichuan lunged forward, landing heavily on the desk, narrowly managing to stop Ye Shaohong's attack.

He managed to preserve his last bit of wealth.

"Humph."

"They're pretty tight on security, fine, I don't want it anymore." "I'm going to Sixth Brother's place to see what good cigarettes he's hiding. He's not here now, he can't keep blocking me, can he?"

This time, Ye Shaohong is really gone.

He left decisively, closing the office door under Xu Baichuan's watchful eye.

"call!"

"This kid is getting more and more slick."

"Looking back, he was better when he first joined the secret service. He was such an innocent kid back then. He was so cute when he first met me, so reserved."

"Now...how about now?"

Shaking his head, Xu Baichuan seemed to have thought of something, and then burst out laughing again.

immediately.

The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by anger. "The Party Affairs Investigation Department?"

"What audacity! They even dared to attack our brothers. It seems they've really had too much free time since the two parties started cooperating."

With a cold, muffled groan, Xu Baichuan reached out and picked up the telephone on the table.

"Hello, this is Xu Baichuan."

"Yes, I remember you reported to me last time that you had discovered several secret locations of the Party Affairs Investigation Department?"

"These are their smuggling routes, which means these outposts can't be exposed, right?"

"Very good. Arrange for men to take them down immediately. Kill everyone inside. Be swift and decisive, and don't leave any obvious traces."

"Why ask so many questions? I'm just asking you to do something, so just do it honestly. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame and it won't affect you."

"Hurry up, I need to hear definite news by tomorrow morning."

"Alright, let's get started!"

With a cold snort, Xu Baichuan hung up the phone, his eyes narrowed, as if a cold glint was flashing within them.

"Three smuggling routes, more than twenty lives—that should be enough to calm Xiao Qi's anger."

"This is such a troublesome matter..."