Chapter 1092

Any open secret, that's not a secret. Hoarding ordinary strategic materials and labeling them as aiding Russia is fine. Big guys like warships can't keep secrets at all.

Find a hidden port, and secret production is even more of a joke. Today is different from the past. The current battleships are tens of thousands of tons, and a lot of manpower and material resources need to be mobilized.

Unless Shinra plays closed doors, once the normal flow of goods becomes larger, it will not be able to keep secrets at all.

Hiding it, it's all a child's idea. In reality, it's simply not possible.

The era of free trade has accelerated the circulation of goods and capital, and at the same time created conditions for spies to lurk.

Since the Russian-Austrian naval agreement was signed, the major shipyards in Shinra have become the focus of spies.

It is naturally impossible to check directly inside. Such a stupid spy was eliminated in the last century.

Now everyone has learned to attack from the sidelines, for example: by counting the number of workers entering and leaving the shipyard every day, transportation vehicles, and price fluctuations in the raw material market, they can analyze and draw conclusions.

Needless to say, the accuracy rate is not much higher than that of guessing riddles. The raw materials were brought in, but what they were used for was beyond the knowledge of the outside world.

Shipyards not only build warships, but also merchant ships. Even if it is to build a warship, it is still impossible to determine what kind of warship to build.

Because of intelligence errors and wrong judgments, Britain has not experienced it once or twice. Except for a few real mistakes, most of the time it was the Royal Navy's deliberate mistakes.

Thinking back to the previous arms races, the Vienna government had an ambitious shipbuilding plan every time. Although it did not end in anticlimactic conditions, the shipbuilding time would be extended by "billion points".

It takes two or three years to complete the same shipbuilding plan and it takes more than ten years to complete, that is a completely different concept.

Technology is constantly improving. For warships, the later they are built, the better their performance will be.

In a certain period of time, building warships together seemed very majestic, but in fact it gave up the opportunity to optimize the performance of warships.

learn from mistakes.

The number of times of being deceived has increased, and the British government has also learned a lesson. No matter how serious the Royal Navy said, the London government must first investigate clearly before deciding whether to follow up.

This time is no exception. After receiving the naval treaty signed by Russia and Austria, the British government immediately ordered - check.

...

Hamburg, since the unification of the Holy Roman Empire, this ancient port city has become one of the shipbuilding centers of Shinra.

Especially after Shinra formed the North Sea Fleet, the importance of Hamburg was further increased, and it became the production and maintenance place of the North Sea Fleet's warships.

As the strategic position rises, more attention will be paid to it. As a member of the Naval Intelligence Department, Kabbah was stationed in the Free City of Hamburg to collect information on the warship construction of the Shinra Navy.

There is no doubt that, compared to most of his peers, Kabbah is responsible for collecting information on warship construction, which is definitely a good job.

Unlike ordinary people, Kabbah did not directly stare at the shipyard, but chose to open a coffee shop in the steel wholesale market.

At the beginning, Kabbah recorded the data very carefully and studied and analyzed it carefully. In the end, because of a misjudgment, the submitted information was distorted, and was criticized by the superior.

After several consecutive failures, Kabbah, who was hit, also became passive and slowed down. It is too risky to make a judgment in advance, so simply wait for the warship to be launched before reporting.

The news did lag a little bit, but the accuracy rate reached 100%. Besides, no matter how slow it is, it is faster than London newspapers, isn't it?

Although he has not been praised, Kabbah has not been criticized. After realizing that in the eyes of his superiors, no fault is a merit, Kabbah's fighting spirit was completely lost.

Benefiting from the rapid development of Shinra's economy, Kabbah didn't make much progress in intelligence collection, but the cafe he ran was booming.

If it wasn't for the fact that the Naval Intelligence Office still issued a subsidy and needed to report the news every once in a while, he probably almost forgot that he was an intelligence officer.

It's a pity that things always backfired. When Kabbah didn't want to work hard, the orders from his superiors came.

Theoretically speaking, if the Russian-Austrian naval treaty is true, in order to facilitate delivery, then most of the warships should be built in the north.

As an intelligence officer stationed in Hamburg, Kabbah received the order to find out whether several local shipyards have undertaken the construction of warships, and the specifications of the warships.

In short, the more detailed the information, the better. As for how to get the information, that is the business of the intelligence personnel below, and the superiors don't care about it.

After closing the Bible and burning the translated note, Kabbah was left with a bitter face.

He has not been in vain for so many years in Hamburg. There are natural developments offline, but they have never been activated.

To be exact, none of these downlines themselves knew when they became British intelligence officers. The connection with Kabbah is just an ordinary friendship.

The only difference is that most of these people are the staff of the shipyard, or those who can enter and leave the shipyard for various reasons.

Well, just to get some extra salary. Those who do intelligence work generally have a single line of contact. London doesn't know how many people there are.

Even if you want to verify it, you can't do it, because a check will lead to the disclosure of the identity of the potential personnel. Those who are a little more flexible will receive a few more salaries.

It's fun to fake together, and the crematorium afterwards.

Now Kabbah felt a little rushing to the "crematorium", perhaps because his usual performance was so good that his superiors overestimated his ability and issued this almost impossible order to complete.

Has the shipyard in Hamburg undertaken the task of building warships?

Without thinking about it, Kabbah can answer—yes. There are orders for warships every year, the difference is only in the size of the order.

It is not difficult to even figure out the number of warships built, and there will always be clues from the surroundings.

The trouble is figuring out the specifications of the warship, and this thing can't be done. It is estimated that before the parameters can be found out, the police will come to the door first.

Not to mention outsiders, even the workers in the shipyard don't know the specific parameters of the warship. Before the warship was launched, the insiders were all in the single digits, and anyone who wanted to buy him knew where to start.

No matter how difficult it is, Kabbah must investigate. This is a deadly order.

Having received the salary of the Naval Intelligence Service for so many years, how could he be allowed to back down when it was time to throw his head and blood for Britain.

Looking at his sleeping wife and children, Kaba sighed helplessly. You can't hide, and no organization will be lenient when dealing with traitors.

A sleepless night.

The next day, Kabaqiang cheered up, picked up the abandoned old business again, and began to pay attention to the entry and exit of vehicles.

It is a pity that today is different from the past. With the vigorous development of the navigation industry, the shipbuilding industry has also risen with the tide.

The most prominent thing is the demand for steel. The Hamburg Steel Wholesale Center has thousands of tons of steel coming in and out every day, most of which flow into the shipyard.

Today, civilian merchant ships also use a large amount of steel. It is already out of date to judge whether to build warships purely based on steel consumption.

Intelligence work is the most taboo to be impetuous. After all, he has received professional training, and Kabbah's mentality is still very peaceful.

...

Holding the youngest son in his arms and teasing him for a while, Kaba pretended to be calm and said: "Honey, there is a reception tonight, and I need to socialize, so there is no need to leave me a meal."

Usually, he would take his wife with him for such social gatherings. But it doesn't work now, and he has resumed his old business. Kabbah doesn't want to involve his family.

Although he was a bit puzzled, but after looking at the child, the wife didn't say anything, but only told him: "Come back early, don't drink too much."

"understood."

Kaba replied.

The relationship between middle-aged couples is often so simple and unpretentious. A few simple conversations, in fact, are full of endless care.

Driving out of the car slowly, Kabbah's heart is not calm. Although Hamburg is a free city, it does not mean that Shinra's anti-espionage capabilities are weak.

Everyone knows that now is a critical moment for Shinra and Britain to compete. If you win, everyone enjoys the bonus together, and if you lose, you will have to live a hard life together.

In a sense, now is also the time when the Holy Roman Empire is at its most united, with all classes of society waiting to receive Britain's legacy.

Liberty City is no exception. Many people who missed the great development of Shinra are gearing up and preparing to flex their muscles in this last wave.

In this context, life is naturally difficult for spies. Once the clues are exposed, they may be exchanged for credit at any time.

You must know that meritorious deeds can be accumulated in the Holy Roman Empire, and no one will think too much of this stuff.

No matter how good a friend is, they can't withstand the temptation of interests, especially when it involves the interests of the country and the nation, let alone.

As night fell, the reception also kicked off. The absent-minded Kaba remained motionless while holding the wine glass, as if he had fallen into a bewilderment.

"boom".

The sound of wine glasses colliding brought Kabbalah back to the real world. A familiar voice has already sounded in the ear.

"What's the matter, my friend. Your mental state is very wrong today. Could it be that you are in trouble?"

After looking at the person coming, Kaba replied calmly: "It's okay, I just didn't sleep well last night, and I'm not in a good condition today.

It's not like before. When people get older, they don't have enough energy to do anything.

Back then, I was able to pull myself together after staying up for three days and three nights, but now I can't stand it all night.

By the way, White. What are you up to lately, I haven't seen you for a long time. "

After such an interruption, White was also embarrassed to ask the bottom line: "Then you have to take care of your health, we can't afford it when we are middle-aged.

Look at me, no matter how busy I am, I never forget to take a vacation. Recently, the tasks in the shipyard are more urgent than the other, so I still take time out to relax. "

The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention.

The phrase "the task of the shipyard is heavy" reminded Kabbalist a lot. It's just that he knows that this seemingly carefree friend will be absolutely tight-lipped when it comes to confidentiality clauses.

In order not to arouse suspicion, Kaba pretended to be a layman and tentatively said: "Don't worry, I know how to pay attention to my body. If it weren't for the child's fuss in the middle of the night, I wouldn't suffer from insomnia.

On the contrary, you have heavy tasks, so you should give more to your apprentices.

It happens that young people need opportunities to exercise. Give them more opportunities, and you can relax a little bit.

Don't get so nervous that you don't even participate in daily activities. "

Divide the work among the apprentices, and White wanted to do the same. Everyone wants to be a shopkeeper, but the reality is cruel.

Students who just graduated from school without any work experience,

White is not worried about handing over important work tasks to these fledgling boys.

Rolling his eyes, White made a helpless expression: "You mean making coffee, anyone can do it.

My job is to build ships, the most advanced ships in the world. Every technology and every plan adopted is finally determined after many times of verification and deliberation.

Not to mention those boys, even I, an old engineer, can only follow along and be responsible for some simple processes.

..."

Before White could finish speaking, Kabbah interrupted: "Stop talking, it doesn't make any sense to talk about these professional things with me.

With these efforts, we might as well study it..."

The topic was ended ahead of time. It was news that could be inquired about, and now we all know it. White wouldn't talk about deeper things at all.

Rather than delve into it at the risk of being exposed, it's better to just let it go and continue to play his role as the cafe owner.

As for the task, an in-depth interpretation of the conversation just now is enough to write a report.

After making friends for so many years, Kabbah still has some understanding of White's position in the shipyard.

Although he is not one of the best big shots, he is also an absolute core engineer. Most of the ships were built independently by White.

If he, the core engineer, is to help, there is only one situation - to build a warship, and it is not an ordinary warship.

The construction site of a super battleship has been determined, and this information is enough for a while. As for the specific parameters, it can be said that "has not yet been determined."

No kidding, at the beginning of the construction of many warships, only the designer and the senior officials of the Ministry of the Navy know the parameters and performance, and the engineers of the shipyard can at most make rough judgments based on experience.

Experience is something that is undoubtedly unreliable. Shipbuilding technology is improving, and the displacement of the same warship is often very different.

When it comes to tonnage utilization, even if it is only increased by a few percentage points, the parameters of the final warship are very different.

Kabbah can say responsibly that the accuracy rate will not be much higher than his two knives calculations if he finds a professional to analyze and judge.

Back home, after a lot of deep thinking, Kabbah wrote down on the paper that the Krutt Shipyard suspected that he had received an order for a super battleship with a displacement of about "25,000 tons to 28,000 tons."

After pausing for a moment, Kabbah crossed out the displacement judgment again, leaving only one suspected super battleship.

Well, the information must not be submitted all at once. Only with a long flow of water can the superiors know their front-line suffering.

Not asking for much bonus, Kabbah is just looking forward to taking fewer tasks and reducing the risk of exposure, so that he can retire safely.

As for the "intelligence elites" who are often commended internally, it seems that they are indeed bright and promising, but Kabbah knows these intelligence stars and will change them every once in a while.

Although no explanation was given above, Kabbah also knew what was going on, it was nothing more than working too hard and being exposed during the intelligence gathering process.

As an organization that does not see the light, once the identity of the intelligence personnel is exposed, it not only means the failure of the mission, but also the end of life.

If it is a small and weak country, by virtue of Britain's name, it may still be fished out.

If it falls into the hands of a big country, unless you meet a boss with a conscience, and perhaps return to the country during the exchange of intelligence personnel, it will be a question of when to step into the gate of hell.

In his years of intelligence career, Kabbah has seen too much cruelty in the world, and he doesn't want to hand over his fate to others.

...

There are salted fish intelligence personnel, and there are also struggling intelligence personnel. Following an order from the London government, several major intelligence organizations in Britain became active.

The specific manifestation is that in the recent period, the number of spies arrested by the Shinra police has hit new highs.

Facts have once again proved the truth of "doing more and making more mistakes, not doing better".

Not to mention the beginning of the 20th century, even in the 21st century, it is very easy for spies to lurk.

It can be said that as long as nothing is done, there is no way to identify who is a spy. There is often only one reason for exposure, and that is "moving".

If you pay, you will be rewarded. Although the intelligence personnel have exposed a lot, it is still worthwhile compared to the information sent back.

Downing Street, in the Prime Minister's residence.

Looking at the intelligence collected from all over the world, Prime Minister Campbell's face became more and more ugly.

The most worrying situation still happened. Shinra did start to build ships frantically, but the number of construction was not the 8 super battleships on the surface, but 13.

There is no way to verify the authenticity of this number for a while. But whether it is 8 or 13, once so many super battleships are in service, they will break Britain's sea power advantage.

Shinra is different from Britain. As a land power country, the Vienna government dares to play Stud on the sea as long as it has five points of confidence.

If you win the bet on world supremacy, if you lose the bet, you will spend five years working hard in the Mediterranean, and then there will be a second decisive battle.

This is absolutely impossible for Britain. Not to mention the defeat of the Royal Navy, even if it is just a loss for both sides, Britain will fall from heaven to hell.

After confirming that Shinra started to explode warships, there was only one choice left for the British government——

follow up.

Not only to keep up, but also to build more warships to protect the dominant position of the Royal Navy.

As for the Russian-Austrian naval agreement, Campbell directly regarded it as farting. Even if the agreement is true, the Vienna government will perform in accordance with the agreement.

But once a war of hegemony breaks out, the Shinra Navy can also be requisitioned first, and then handed over to the Russians after the battle is over. Could the Tsarist government still say "no"?