Graycastle King's City, Garden Mansion in the Inner City.
Today was the scheduled information exchange day. Theo was sitting on a soft chair in the living room, waiting for the arrival of the pigeon and the top hat acrobatic troupe. After the beginning of autumn, the Inner City Gate was closed earlier than usual, so the secret meeting had to be changed to the afternoon.
Hill Fawkes was always the first to arrive at the mansion.
He was wearing a blue velvet open-collared coat, light gray tights, and moccasins. He even had a white bow tie around his neck, which made him look like an aristocrat. After saluting, he returned the book "History of the Kingdom's Customs" to Theo. The latter took the book and glanced at him with great interest. "Have you finished reading?"
"Yes," Hill nodded, then hesitated. "Won't you teach me some fighting and swordsmanship … or assassination skills?"
"Why?"
"When the demonic disease broke out, you said that you would train me to be a qualified intelligence officer." He scratched his head. "But so far, you have only given me some strange books to read."
"You mean 'History of the Kingdom'?" Theo poured himself a glass of wine and threw two ice cubes into it. "This is not some strange book. It records the origins, traditions, family emblems, as well as famous local products of the Kingdom's aristocracy. As an intelligence collector, you first have to be well-informed, so that you can roughly judge whether the information coming from different places has any value. As for swordsmanship and assassination? " He smiled. "I don't intend to let you infiltrate an organization or go deep into the enemy's territory to investigate information. That would be dangerous and time-consuming. If you have the time, you might as well spend the Golden Dragon to directly bribe the informants."
"But not everyone can be bribed," Hill insisted.
"As for those organizations that are watertight, it is also very difficult to plant eyes. Without ten or twenty years of effort, it is impossible to infiltrate them." Theo shook the glass and took a sip of the ice wine. "A qualified intelligence officer only needs to do two things: distinguish information and hide themselves. The books I gave you are the basis for distinguishing information. As for the second point … as a member of the acrobatic troupe, you should have more experience than me. For example, your outfit today is very good. "
"…" Just as Hill Fawkes bowed his head and pondered the meaning of these words, the clown and the others also arrived at the remote residence.
"Sir, everyone is here."
"In that case, let's get started," Theo put down his glass and opened his notepad, "Who's first?"
"I'll go first, my Lord." Rocky Mountain, who was the most muscular among them, was the first to speak. "There's a new group of people living in the camp on the outskirts of the Eastern District of the Kingdom."
This news made the guard's eyebrows twitch slightly. He didn't expect that the first piece of information he heard would be bad news. Ever since the Kingdom's Knight Regiment had lost more than half of its members, the barracks set up in the outskirts had become the militia's base. All the Rats, fugitives, and criminals recruited by Timothy would be stuffed into the East Camp before the expedition. More than a month ago, a group of more than a thousand militia was sent to the Western Region, and now there were new people to replenish it?
"How many?"
"Currently, there are only two or three hundred people. Most of them seem to be from the Northern Region … In addition, there are some rats from the Blood Sail Association. However, compared to the first two times, there aren't many rats willing to go."
"Closely monitor their movements, every time the camp increases by more than two hundred people, report to me." Theo ordered.
"Yes, my Lord."
There was only one use for these people, and that was to use them as consumables after taking the pills. Now that the Queen of Clearwater had gone to the North, there was no longer any resistance in the Southern Region. Timothy would undoubtedly continue to attack His Highness Roland's territory, so he had to send this news back to Border Town as soon as possible.
"Next, this clown will bring you confidential information, or should I say, a drunken chat," the clown said in an exaggerated tone. "I can't verify the authenticity of this news, but since the group of merchants said it with a nose and a face, I'll take it as true. They said that Garcia Wimbledon's Black Sail Fleet appeared in the Kingdom of Eternal Winter and launched an attack on the Church. As a result, the siege of Wolfsheart City collapsed. They are also preparing to take advantage of the time before the beginning of winter to bring some scarce goods to sell. "
The Queen of Clearwater actually went to the Kingdom of Eternal Winter? Theo was a little surprised, but it didn't matter whether this news was true or not. She had chosen to leave Graycastle in the North, which was tantamount to giving up the right to fight for the throne. "Is that all?"
"Well, I know that this matter is a bit far from Graycastle," he stuck out his tongue. "Next time, I'll ask for more useful information."
"Ahem," Hill coughed twice. "My Lord, I have a new clue about the task you entrusted me with. Timothy has built a new workshop in the Inner City, and has also recruited a lot of clay craftsmen. He has recently purchased a large amount of saltpeter and transported it there. However, the workshop is heavily guarded, so my people are unable to further find out the purpose of the saltpeter. "
"Oh?" Theo's spirit was shaken. "They really transported the saltpeter to the workshop?"
"Indeed," Hill nodded. "I personally followed a carriage that transported the goods."
This was extremely valuable information. After staying by His Highness Roland's side for a long time, he naturally knew that the all-conquering gunpowder was an alchemical item, and its main component was saltpeter. Since the saltpeter around King's City had been wantonly purchased, he had noticed this and had arranged for Hill Fawkes to inquire about the whereabouts and purpose of the goods.
Now that the other side had transferred the saltpeter from the Alchemist Workshop to the workshop, their intention was very obvious. From alchemical experiments to workshop production, it showed that they had already grasped the formula of gunpowder. This piece of information was even more important than the new soldiers in the Eastern Suburbs Camp.
"Good job," Theo praised.
…
After the secret meeting, everyone left the mansion in batches.
Before leaving, Hill suddenly asked, "My Lord, with what we have done, can we really push Timothy off the throne?"
"Of course," the guard smiled. "Didn't you see the letter that His Highness Roland sent through the defeated soldiers? His throne is already on the verge of collapse. "
In the evening, after returning to the Underground Trumpeter Tavern, Theo saw an unexpected acquaintance: Sean.
Like himself, he was also a guard of His Royal Highness the 4th Prince.
After entering the guest room on the second floor, the two exchanged greetings for a moment. Theo closed the curtains and asked in a low voice, "How did you know I was here?"
"His Highness gave me a token and told me to find Ms. Margaery. She knows where you are." Sean took out a sparkling red gem and shook it.
"Does he have a new task?"
"It's not a task, it's a gift," Sean smiled and walked to the window, opened the curtain a crack, and whistled. He saw three grayish-brown birds fly into the room, land on the table and chirp at him. After feeding each bird some wheat, they calmed down.
It was the first time that Theo had seen such a spiritual bird, "This is …"
"A messenger trained by a witch." Sean stroked the bird's neck and explained, "Unlike a carrier pigeon, they can travel back and forth between two places on their own, and don't need to be taken away and then released to return to their nest. You only need to say a specific password to the birds, and they will send the message to His Highness. If everything goes well, you only need to wait for a day, and you will receive a reply from His Highness. "
(To be continued. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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