Monitoring the Caravan

The Intelligence Department's temporary headquarters remained in that secluded old warehouse in the castle.

The place was dimly lit, simply furnished, and filled with the faint smell of old wood and dust.

For this department that needs to operate in the shadows, this inconspicuous, low-key environment is more suitable than a conspicuous official office.

Karl and Richter sat facing each other, separated by a rough wooden table on which some files and maps were spread out.

"You did an excellent job uncovering the Sauron spy network, Richter," Karl said, his tone clearly praising him. "The action was swift, the judgment accurate, and the subsequent interrogations and handling were clean and efficient. This has removed a huge threat to the territory."

"It's all thanks to your trust and support, sir." Richter bowed slightly, responding humbly, but his eyes gleamed with the exhilaration of receiving affirmation.

Karl nodded and continued, "Intelligence work is the eyes and ears of the territory, and its importance is self-evident. Next, I will allocate more special gold coins for expanding manpower, improving equipment, and funding operations. If you need anything, you can submit a report directly to Edgar, and I will approve it."

"Thank you, sir!" Richter's face showed gratitude; funding was always the key factor restricting operations.

But he immediately became serious and raised the core challenge we currently face. "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, but our biggest problem is not just funding, but also a shortage of manpower, especially reliable core personnel with the necessary skills."

He analyzed in detail. "Right now, the Intelligence Department has just been established, and its main focus is on internal counter-espionage. It is barely holding on with the help of a few capable people like Franz."

"But with the continuous influx of refugees, the sheer number and the mix of good and bad, it's virtually impossible for our Intelligence Bureau, with just a dozen or so eyes, to thoroughly screen them and prevent new spies from infiltrating."

Richter made a suggestion. "I believe that counter-espionage cannot be handled by our Intelligence Department alone. I suggest that 'monitoring suspicious persons and reporting them promptly' be made a basic duty and clearly assigned to the heads of each Tunbao, as well as merchants who need manpower and the company and platoon-level officers of the Militia Camp."

"Being at the grassroots level and having the most contact with migrants, their initial, routine observations and screenings can greatly improve efficiency and coverage."

After listening attentively and pondering for a moment, Karl expressed partial agreement. "Your thinking is correct. Counter-espionage requires mobilizing grassroots forces. This can be added to the duties of the village chiefs; they manage civil affairs, so it's their responsibility."

But then he changed the subject, "However, let's forget about the merchants and militia officers. It's already difficult enough for the merchants to open their shops and earn a meager profit just to make a living."

"Given their current operational pressures, expecting them to undertake administrative functions similar to 'political vetting' is clearly asking too much. They lack both the professional expertise and the necessary technical means."

"Forcing these ordinary business owners to act as 'counter-espionage' outposts will only make businesses hesitant to hire new employees, ultimately hindering labor market mobility and stagnating the entire socio-economic system."

"As for militia officers, their primary task is military training and preparation for war. They should not be distracted by too much energy. Moreover, identifying spies requires special sensitivity and skills, which are not their forte. Forcibly assigning them tasks may alert the spies or lead to wrongful convictions."

He proposed a more practical institutional solution. "The resettlement and management of refugees is indeed the biggest loophole. I will discuss with Edgar and immediately implement the Baojia system. All newly arrived refugees must be organized into 'groups' and 'teams' before being allocated land and shelter. Ten households form a group, and three groups form a team."

"Within this group, a strict system of collective responsibility and rewards/punishments is implemented. If someone colludes with the enemy and is discovered and reported by others in the group or team, the entire group and team will be heavily rewarded. However, if a spy infiltrates and is discovered by your Intelligence Bureau, and the members of their original group or team failed to notice or report it, the entire group and team will be punished collectively."

"By binding interests in this way, we force the displaced people to monitor each other, making them our most basic line of defense."

"Your Excellency is wise! This method is feasible!" Richter's eyes lit up; this could indeed solve the problem of source screening from a systemic perspective.

Karl smiled and said, "There's nothing brilliant about it; it's just a tactic that all Lord use: letting the common people spy on and oppose each other. This is detrimental to the development of the territory and is ultimately not a long-term solution."

"You should expedite the expansion of key personnel. Once funding is available, we can relax some requirements, but it's better to have fewer qualified candidates than to hire the wrong ones. Loyalty and reliability remain our top priorities."

Karl gave his instructions, then steered the conversation in a more profound direction, "With the initial purge complete, the Intelligence Department can no longer be content with just defense; it's time to extend its reach outwards."

Upon hearing this, Richter's spirits lifted, and he guessed with a hint of excitement, "Does Your Excellency mean... we're finally going to start actively sending spies to the Sauron?"

To Richter's surprise, Karl slowly shook his head and said, "No, for now, it's not a direct military target against the Sauron. The Sauron are skilled in espionage, and with our current level of expertise, it's difficult for us to infiltrate them. Our first external target is the caravans."

"A caravan?" Richter was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right, especially large caravans like Grimm's, which travel between the north and south year-round and may even have secret trade dealings with the Sauron forces," Karl explained coldly.

"You must understand, merchants are profit-driven and ruthless. Their loyalty is only directed towards gold. For the Sauron, these mercenary merchants are the easiest channels to bribe and plant spies with money."

"Conversely, for us, these merchants who shuttle between various forces are also an excellent springboard for obtaining intelligence from the outside world and even for infiltration. We should find ways to identify or bribe people who have close ties with these caravans and can be used by us."

"They don't need to risk their lives; they just need to pay attention to the types and quantities of goods coming and going, inquire about the conversations of caravan leaders, and observe which special individuals are in contact with the caravans... These seemingly fragmented pieces of information, after being summarized and analyzed, can often be pieced together to reveal crucial strategic intelligence."

Richter suddenly understood, his eyes filled with admiration for his Lord's foresight. "I understand! Starting with these neutral but well-informed merchant networks to establish our peripheral intelligence channels is indeed more reliable and efficient than directly sending spies to Sauron the heart of Soren."

Karl added, "That's right. Intelligence warfare isn't always about swords and spears; it often takes place quietly over drinks, in markets, and in the flow of money. Let's cast our net first on these seemingly insignificant but actually interconnected 'capillaries'."

"Yes, sir! I will begin planning immediately!" Richter replied emphatically.