Deterrence

Stanton initially thought that a thorough investigation and verification of the time of the crime would eventually lead to the identification of the suspect. However, upon further investigation, he discovered that almost all of the peripheral members of the "Mine Research Group" could be found to have other witnesses who could prove that they had not spent extended periods alone with the technical data.

As for those who couldn't prove themselves, Stanton investigated them carefully, and then Hilbert told him, "There's no need to investigate this person; you understand."

Stanton immediately understood that this person might have indeed passed messages out, but the messages weren't directed towards France, but rather... so he stopped investigating him.

Therefore, following general logic, the possible mole must be among the core researchers. If these people were France spies, obtaining key technologies would be easy for them, as they frequently access these technical documents, which they themselves often wrote. If they wanted to leak crucial information, they wouldn't need to steal information; they could simply write down what they knew after returning home.

Stanton then began to scrutinize these researchers. First, he looked for any recent financial irregularities, such as suddenly receiving a sum of money or experiencing a sudden financial crisis for some reason. However, this investigation yielded no results.

Meanwhile, the Royal Counterintelligence Investigation Group also failed to uncover any reliable or useful information; conventional methods seemed to be increasingly ineffective.

Yes, Prime Minister Stanton mounting, so with the consent of the Prime Minister's secretary, Stanton had to resort to some less-than-honorable methods. Of course, Stanton assured the Prime Minister that his methods would leave no physical marks or evidence.

These methods proved effective. The researchers confessed that the entire "Mine Research Group," from the leader to the members, were all France spies.

As for the other peripheral personnel, apart from the Downing Street informant, they all admitted to being France spies.

As for the more important task of involving certain people, that's even less of a problem. If the Prime Minister needs it, even if he wants those guys to say that they were in contact with Jesus, that's perfectly fine.

Of course, the only problem was that these testimonies were a mess and contradictory, but Stanton spent some time sorting them out, and well, those problems disappeared. At least looking at the case file alone, the evidence was absolutely irrefutable.

However, on the other side, the "Royal Counterintelligence Investigation Group" reportedly made some progress and implicated some important figures. Stanton wasn't sure what happened next, but shortly after submitting his results, he was summoned by the Prime Minister again, and in the Prime Minister's office, he met another important figure—His Highness Prince George Augustus Frederick, the Prince of Wales.

The House of Hanover has a long-standing tradition of paternal love and filial piety. Almost every king and the Prince of Wales (a title reserved for the heir apparent to the Britain throne) have been bitter enemies. King George I and his successor, King George II, were mutually hostile, King George II and the current King George III were irreconcilable enemies, and King George III and the current Prince of Wales also despise each other.

King George III once publicly ridiculed his son as a fool and a playboy (at least that much is true), and His Highness the Prince of Wales also fairly stated the truth. "My father was often not quite right in the head." However, sometimes the truth is the most hurtful. Well, so there's absolutely no problem with the fine traditions of the House of Hanover continuing.

Generally speaking, in an Eastern country, such mutual animosity between the crown prince and the king would most likely lead to the crown prince being replaced. However, in the House of Hanover, which placed great emphasis on patriarchal clan system and had parliamentary checks and balances, the king could not actually replace the crown prince unless the crown prince rebelled. In addition, apart from the queen, the other kings of the House of Hanover were not particularly capable of holding on for long, so the crown princes of the House of Hanover always managed to outlive the king due to their age advantage.

Since the King has always maintained close ties with the Tory Party, His Highness the Prince of Wales has naturally maintained good relations with the Whig Party. (George III always felt that his son's philandering was entirely due to the influence of the Whig Party playboy Fox.) The fact that His Highness the Prince of Wales is here at this time largely reflects the Prime Minister's current attitude.

The Prime Minister's current political stance, especially his position on whether to support the war, has diverged from that of the Orthodox Tory Party who propelled him to the premiership. He has aligned himself with a group of Tory Party who made their fortunes through textile banks, calling themselves the New Tory Party. To counter pressure from the Orthodox Tory Party, the New Tory Party have moved closer to the Whig Party. If they can secure Whig Party support, at least Pitt Jr.'s attempt to initiate a vote of no confidence against him in Parliament will certainly be significantly less successful.

"Eisinger," Prime Minister Addington called out Stanton's name very warmly, "Let me introduce you. This is His Highness the Prince of Wales, and your future superior. His Highness will personally serve as the head of the Sixth Investigation Section."

The arrangement seemed quite reasonable, at least on the surface. As the future king, His Highness should naturally be aware of these matters. However, His Highness wasn't actually interested in Stanton's job; he merely gave a polite but perfunctory reply before leaving. In reality, this position simply meant extra income for His Highness. And as everyone knew, His Highness was heavily in debt and desperately short of money.

King George III couldn't depose his son, but he had another way to teach this rebellious son a lesson: cut off his money!

His Majesty the King used various methods to cut the Prince's annuity, depriving him of money. The Prince of Wales was a playboy; how could he be a playboy without money? His Majesty the King felt he had grasped the rebellious son's weakness. The rebellious son would either obediently surrender to him or change his extravagant habits.

However, His Majesty miscalculated. Since His Highness the Prince's position was unshakeable, and His Highness was not only younger than the King but also much healthier, it was obvious to everyone that one day, George III's reign would come to an end, and His Highness the Prince of Wales would ascend the throne.

Since the Prince of Wales will one day become king, even if His Majesty doesn't give him a penny, there will be plenty of people willing to lend him money. Therefore, although His Highness is heavily in debt, he can still borrow money continuously. He doesn't even need to borrow from Jewish loan sharks.

Of course, constantly borrowing money isn't a good thing. Having more of one's own money would be ideal. Besides, the Neo- New Tory Party was also vying for power, so His Highness the Prince joined forces with them again.

As for the final outcome of the case, well, after a secret trial by a military court, most of the members of the "Mine Research Group" were taken out and shot. Those implicated in the case file submitted by Stanton were mostly unharmed. Of course, those implicated in the investigation by the Royal Counterintelligence Investigation Group also escaped unscathed. It is said that both sides reached some consensus on certain issues and successfully ushered in a "Deterrence Era" in their relationship.

Although this matter was of great significance, it was mostly conducted in secret, so the vast majority of people were unaware of it. At that time, most Britain were still most concerned about the "Bay-Band Fair" in France.

Under the France advertising blitz of the "Sevenpence Alliance," the Barclays Fair had become the most anticipated event for Britain merchants. And it wasn't just merchants who were interested; others were also keenly interested. For example, Fagin's gang was particularly interested in a small medical item advertised—steel tweezers. The women, on the other hand, were very interested in various France trinkets and other such items.

Even the rural landowners were very interested in the "Bay Fair." While cursing the damned France, because they learned that the price of grain in France seemed relatively low, they began to pay attention to the price of woolen cloth and started to consider whether to convert more farmland into pasture and whether to drive away the tenant farmers.

After a period of calculation, these landowners came to the conclusion that if the actual transaction prices at the "Ba Trade Fair" were not significantly different from the estimates in the advertisements, then raising sheep would definitely be more profitable than growing wheat.

Some cautious landowners decided to wait until the trade fair ended before making a decision; while some impatient ones, after calculating, simply began to drive out their tenants and let their sheep graze directly in the wheat fields.

Fortunately, now that the "respectable" merchants knew that Britain would not initiate war for the time being, the textile industry began to expand further. Even some who had originally advocated war against France, seeing no hope of war in the short term, joined in, intending to make a quick profit. As a result, the demand for workers in the cities increased significantly. These displaced tenants wouldn't starve to death immediately, although they would likely die from exhaustion at their spinning machines within a few years.