Chapter 405 Book Encryption

Walking down the stairs of the command center step by step, Charles felt a sense of crisis.

As the commander-in-chief of France, Joffre always had the power to mobilize troops, and the army is a place where orders are executed, which would inevitably bring uncertainty and danger to Charles' future.

Charles can use the Italian army to get through this hurdle today, but what if Joffre finds an opportunity to issue a similar order one day in the future?

Joffre seemed to have lost his patience and was ready to put Charles within reach.

There seems to be only one way to avoid this situation.

Thinking of this, Charles walked towards the Officers' Club unconsciously. When he was almost there, he suddenly realized that it seemed a little early and it was still light outside.

Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a voice from the officers' club: "General, are you here to see Lucia?"

The door of the club room opened and a woman dressed as a bartender appeared in front of Charles.

Ciel recognized her, Garel, Lucia's colleague and friend, who Lucia would occasionally talk about.

"Yes." Charles nodded: "I can come back later."

"General," Garrel replied, "She's off today, but I can have her come right over."

"If she's resting, I can do it another day..."

"No, no, General." Garrel hastened to explain: "Lucia would be so happy if she knew you were coming to see her. She wouldn't want to miss this opportunity, I promise."

Charles was stunned, then smiled.

Well done, Lucia, you fooled Garrel into believing you were in love.

After entering the club, Charles did not sit in his previous seat, but chose a chair by the window and sat down, slowly savoring the coffee brought by Garrel.

When I was almost finishing my cup of coffee, I saw Lucia coming in from the headquarters door, panting.

She was in a hurry and only casually put on some lipstick. She stopped in front of the club, fixed her hair, put her hands on her chest and breathed slowly, as if she didn't want Charles to see her panic. Then she quickly took out a mirror from her handbag and looked at herself before stepping in.

However, when she saw Charles sitting by the window, she felt bad.

Lucia sat opposite Charles with a little embarrassment, thinking, this guy must be very proud that this woman cares about him so much.

Unexpectedly, Ciel came up to me and whispered, "You don't need to be so anxious next time. I usually don't come to you for urgent matters, although they may be very important."

Lucia was stunned. This guy actually thought that he came here in such a hurry because of the mission?

"Understood, General." Lucia replied coldly: "Any instructions?"

Charles moved closer and asked, "What's the situation with Grevy?"

Lucia shook her head slightly: "There has been some progress, but we have encountered difficulties."

There were Garrel's footsteps behind her, and Lucia naturally changed the subject: "Are you free this weekend? I don't want every date to be here."

"You know." Charles shook his head in embarrassment: "I don't have time, Lucia, I have a lot of things to do."

Charles's acting was a little unnatural, but fortunately Garrel didn't notice anything unusual. She brought Lucia a cup of coffee, smiled and nodded at the two of them and walked away.

Lucia continued: "We can receive the telegram sent by Grevi, but his telegram is encrypted using the 'book'."

"Book encryption?" Charles had never heard of it.

"Yes," Lucia explained, "you select a book, and the power is transmitted with the page number, row number, and column number."

Charles suddenly realized.

This encryption method is simple to use and difficult to decipher because it does not have any pattern, and you only need to know which book they are using.

"We even sent people to infiltrate Grevi's servants, but we never found it." Lucia frowned: "I guess the code book is in his safe."

Charles was silent for a while, then said, "He may take action in the near future."

Lucia understood what he meant, which meant that Charles would release a bait in the near future.

However, if you don't know the code book, even if the fish is hooked, it will be useless and you can only watch the fish slip away from your hands.

Lucia blamed herself a little: "We will find a solution as soon as possible..."

"I think there's someone we can use." Charles interrupted Lucia.

"who?"

"Harry."

Lucia stared at Charles with wide eyes: "The spy?"

Ciel nodded.

"But she is a German spy. How can we use her?" Lucia looked confused.

"It's very simple." Charles answered calmly: "We know her secret, so we can use it to threaten her and develop her into our spy."

Lucia nodded slowly, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but then she shook her head: "But Grevi is not interested in women..."

"Armand." Charles interrupted Lucia: "Let Harry get close to Armand."

Lucia understood immediately that Armand was a playboy, and it would be easy for him to seduce Hari. Plus Hari's tricks, he might be tricked into revealing all the secrets he knew.

"Let's try." Lucia nodded, then stole a glance at Charles and asked with concern: "Something happened, right?"

Before this, Charles had never cared about Grevey's affairs, and he gave the "Lady in White" plenty of time to investigate.

Now that he has suddenly sped up his pace, he must have encountered some difficulties.

"Nothing," Charles answered. "Just some little things."

In fact, this is not a trivial matter, but it concerns Charles' future and even life.

Apart from Schneider, the only person who could suppress the commander-in-chief Joffre and prevent him from giving orders to Charles was Parliament.

If Charles wants to have enough say in parliament, he must win over the right-wing forces.

Greve is the obstacle between Charles and the right wing. He is smart, cautious, and more importantly, has his own ideals and principles.

Such a person is difficult to bribe with money, so Charles had no choice but to consider getting rid of him.

As for Armand, his talent for speaking might be worth using, so he is a target for winning over.

"Also." Charles told Lucia before leaving: "I need information about the Cambrai area, and I may need the cooperation of other personnel."

Lucia's eyes lit up instantly: "To Belgium?"

Cambrai is near the Franco-Belgian border. If it is in the direction of Belgium, it means that Charles has to enter Belgium to regain lost territory.

Charles nodded slightly. There was nothing to hide in this regard. He had to trust the "Lady in White" completely.

Lucia was so excited that she almost cried out. She kissed Charles on the face and held his face in her hands, expressing her true feelings: "Thank you, General. Thank you very much! We have been waiting for this day for a long time!"

Charles laughed. "So, what we said before was not just for Belgium, it was all a lie?"

Lucia smiled and replied, "No, General, it's not a lie. But it would be even better if I could help Belgium at the same time!"

(End of this chapter)