"Richard," whose real name was Augusta, was one of the heads of the British branch of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate Commercial Intelligence Department's covert network.
The Hohenzollern Conglomerate Commercial Intelligence Department had been established in 1866. At first, its duties really had been limited to gathering commercial intelligence for Ernst's reference.
Later, as the conglomerate and the East African colony developed, it began collecting intelligence on countries and regions as well. Ernst directly separated some people from the Hohenzollern Conglomerate Intelligence Department and formed a covert network. Nominally, they were commercial intelligence collectors for the conglomerate; in reality, they were a spy and intelligence organization under Ernst's command.
Most of its members had been selected from Hechingen Military Academy. They had received professional training and were relatively loyal. Their shortcoming was that they were generally quite young, which was why Augusta and the others seemed rather inexperienced.
The Hohenzollern Commercial Intelligence Department's covert network currently did not belong to the East African government. It was an intelligence organization under Ernst's private command. Within East Africa, it was attached to departments such as the national audit office, where it monitored the state of the country's operations. Even Constantin did not know that this organization existed.
Although the covert network was now under Ernst's personal leadership, it would inevitably be absorbed into East Africa's state apparatus in the future, serving as the predecessor of East Africa's national security department.
Abroad, the Hohenzollern Commercial Intelligence Department's covert network was mainly present in countries with elected governments, such as Britain, the United States, and France. Its members lacked experience, after all, so it was easier to operate in these loosely regulated countries and gradually accumulate practical experience for intelligence personnel.
Powerful authoritarian states like East Africa were not suited to intelligence operations, since it was