Upon hearing Heti's words, Gwen was not surprised at all because he had already expected all of this.
The sudden revival of the dead, the sudden return to the Southern Border, the sudden establishment of a pioneering territory, and the sudden export of cheap 'secondary alchemy potions' and arcanotech devices … Gwen Cecil's name itself was an eye-catching signboard. Coupled with the series of events, it was impossible for the nobles of the Southern Border not to be curious about the rapidly changing land.
The contemporary Ansu nobles were slow. When Gwen first began to develop, most of the nobles of the Southern Border did not even react. Probably in their minds, 800 people running to the foot of the Gloom Mountain Range to survive was a suicide mission. Even if they survived, it would probably take several years for them to be self-sufficient. And before that, the entire pioneering territory might need the support of the royal family, so they did not put too much effort into it at first.
No one could imagine how these 800 people managed to gain a foothold under the leadership of Gwen Cecil, and no one could imagine that the population of this land had skyrocketed to tens of thousands in less than a year. They built towns and cities, had a stable food foundation, and even began to export products and plunder profits. The slow-witted nobles of the Southern Border probably only realized the change of the situation when the caravans led by Cecil poured into their territory. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw that merchants under the name of Cecil's Chamber of Commerce had spread throughout the Southern Border. It was only then that they slowly took action.
Well, compared to the current aristocratic system, the response of the nobles was actually quite fast. But in Gwen's view, they were still slow enough.
Gawain listened attentively to Heidi's report. After she was done, Heidi could not help but ask curiously, "Ancestor, how did you know in advance that a large number of refugees would be spies sent by the nobles in the winter?"
Gwen said faintly, "It's very simple. The most suspicious thing is that they could walk to Cecil's territory alive."
Heti froze for a moment, and suddenly understood what Gwen meant.
It was now winter in Ansu, and the Southern Border was the most desolate place in Ansu. The wilderness here was far more dangerous and vast than the central region. Especially for Cecil who was at the foot of the Gloom Mountain Range, the surrounding traffic was even worse.
Under such circumstances, how did the refugees, who lacked food, warm clothes, weak bodies, and no means of transportation, walk to Cecil's territory?
It may sound cruel, but the truth was that the real refugees would either not migrate to Cecil's territory, or die on the way.
Thinking of this, Heti could only sigh and shake her head slightly. Gwen asked her, "The investigation didn't cause too much of a stir, did it?"
For a long time in the future, the territory would be severely lacking in population, and attracting outsiders was a long-term policy. So even if he knew that some of the refugees were 'not innocent', Gwen did not want the investigation to cause too much of a stir. Once it caused panic, not only would the outsiders be afraid, even the new immigrants who had recently joined the territory would become unstable. This was not what he wanted to see.
Heti could not help but laugh when she heard this question. She shook her head and said, "Not much. In fact, it was too easy to find those guys. The population registration system and the residential management system that you introduced were new to those guys. I'm afraid they never thought that everyone in this land would have their own identity, name, and registration information. They would be exposed even without a detailed investigation by the government office. In addition, according to your instructions, except for those who were caught on the spot while passing information or trying to sneak through the checkpoints, we have not alerted the rest of the spies. We are just keeping an eye on them. "
Cecil had an unprecedented population management system in this era. Whether it was immigration registration, residence registration, or community management, it was beyond imagination. However, the spies who tried to infiltrate the city did not know this at all. Some of them tried to pretend to be migrant workers and sneak into the construction team that returned from outside the city every day, but they were stunned when the workers lined up to hand in their work cards and meal tickets. Some of them were lucky enough to sneak into the city and disguised as vagrants, but they were taken away by the security officers of each block. Most of them pretended to be refugees and tried to sneak in at the port, city gate, and other checkpoints. They probably never thought that there would be a noble who would specifically register the name, age, origin, profession, and skills of every 'untouchable'. Before the 'untouchables' entered the city, they had to be observed and educated in the quarantine camp. Almost eighty percent of the spies were exposed in this process.
Of course, there were also a lot of lucky and smart guys who passed the layers of tests. No matter what method they used, they succeeded in sneaking into the city. However, they imagined that as refugees, they would not be noticed by the nobles and would most likely be kicked into the gutter to fend for themselves. Then, they would take advantage of the situation when no one was looking and move around to collect information and develop their influence among the local ruffians. But in fact, they were registered with a lot of information and became the glorious construction workers of Cecil. They had work cards and work numbers, lived in the collective dormitory and ate the collective canteen, and by the time they realized that they were actually spies, they had already been moving bricks on the construction site for several days.
Gwen listened to Heti's report and the various situations found in the investigation process, and even felt a little sympathy for the spies.
Heti had a smile on her face the whole time. After the report, she could not help but sigh. "Ancestor, the personnel management system you designed is really a genius. Although it needs some manpower to operate and maintain, as long as these systems are in place, no one with ulterior motives will be able to sneak into the territory!"
Gwen raised his eyelids and looked at his eldest granddaughter. "Then why did you complain to me every day?"
Heti's face suddenly became a little embarrassed. She lowered her head slightly and said, "At that time, I really thought that I would be exhausted to death. But now, the government office is up and running, and the newly recruited clerks and secondary supervisors have taken over most of the work, so I can be a little more relaxed."
Gwen smiled and nodded. Heti was a person who would never show fatigue or other imperfections in front of others. But in front of him, the "coffin opener ancestor", this lady was getting more and more used to letting herself go. Probably because she had to bear too much pressure in daily life, but because of her identity, she could only bear it on her own. Now that she finally had an elder to act coquettishly and complain to, she was gradually getting used to this way of getting along with him.
But no matter what, he still had to remind Heti to prevent her from being too relaxed and careless. "The system is not perfect, and there will always be loopholes. You can't pin everything on the opponent who will always be stupid."
"Yes, I know." Heti nodded at once, and then asked, "Ancestor, how do you plan to deal with those families with bad intentions? They have begun to send spies to Cecil territory … "
Gwen waved his hand indifferently. "There is no need for additional response."
"Ah?"
"The Cecil Chamber of Commerce has begun to operate. This network will penetrate the entire southern part of the kingdom, and even the entire kingdom. Its development is the first priority. Now we just need to slowly build and build this intelligence and economic network. Other than that, there is no need to do anything else. "Gwen leaned back in the chair and looked at the surprised Heti." Those who are 'curious' about Cecil will not die out. As long as we are still developing, there will always be more eyes here. And with the promotion of arcanotech devices and the magic network, their attention will only increase. In the current situation, we can't send troops to wipe out all the nobles in the south. It is better to let them rest for the time being and wait for Cecil's economic and intelligence network to penetrate every corner of their territory. "
The noose was slowly tightening. If he showed the knife at this time, the prey in the noose would be scared away.
"But those spies who have already entered the territory … should we execute them?"
"Execute? Why should we execute them? " Gwen smiled. "They have already been exposed. And with their common sense and 'professional level', they can't jump out of Cecil's management system no matter how hard they try. At this time, a mass execution of these spies from the nobles in the south won't do us any good. On the contrary, it will stimulate the fragile nerves of the nobles. They may not do anything on the surface, but the expansion of our Chamber of Commerce will definitely be affected. After all, we still have to maintain a friendly relationship on the surface. "
Heti frowned. "Then you mean …"
"Send all the captured spies to the north bank for reclamation. As for the spies that have been locked down but haven't been alerted … Haven't they already become the glorious construction workers of Cecil? Organize them into a new construction team and specialize in the construction of various new districts. Now that the west of the territory is building a new industrial zone, we just happen to lack a large number of people. Just treat it as their new job. Remember, this is a normal job transfer. Don't let them suspect this. "
Gwen paused and then continued. "The new construction team will be named 'Production and Construction Brigade 25'. They will carry out independent management and isolated production and life. They can communicate with the outside world, but all communication will be reviewed. From now on, if new spies are found, first test their ability. The dumber ones will be sent to the land reclamation or mining, and the smarter ones who are good at disguise will be sent to the 25th brigade."
Heti did not get it for a moment. She asked in a daze, "Won't these people notice that something is wrong? If their movements and communication are restricted, they should immediately realize that they have been exposed … "
Gwen smiled. "No, you just have to tell them — 'Don't ask about the situation. You are carrying out the duke's secret plan'. They will imagine the rest."
Heidi was dumbfounded. "…"
After a moment of stunned silence, Heti came up with another question. "But if they observe the people around them, won't they also realize the nature of the 25th brigade? Ah, no, they won't!"
"Yes, the spies who have successfully infiltrated the territory must be excellent spies, and the spies who enter the 25th brigade later will also be excellent spies, and excellent spies will never let themselves be exposed," Gwen said happily. "The entire 25th brigade will believe that they are the only spies. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility of two or three spies sneaking in and being sent to the 25th brigade together, but it doesn't matter."
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