Chapter 1294 Lurker (First update, please subscribe)
“I had a hunch.”
In the British Embassy in Ming Dynasty, Clunes said with a smile while smoking a cigar.
"I can guarantee that the arms smuggling in South Africa is controlled by the intelligence agencies of the Ming Empire. The Ming Empire sees the war in South Africa as an opportunity to weaken us. They will definitely not maintain the so-called neutrality like they are doing now."
"evidence!"
Randolph said from the side.
"Major, just having a hunch is not enough to convince others. What we need now is evidence that the Ming Empire is supporting the Boers in South Africa. At least we need to find evidence that they are smuggling arms."
For these intelligence personnel, they have been paying attention to the arms exports of the Ming Empire over the past period of time, but they have not found any evidence that the Ming Empire is supporting South Africa.
But no one can explain why South Africa can obtain a steady supply of weapons. It is absolutely impossible to rely solely on ordinary arms smuggling.
Moreover, the Ming Empire itself had a criminal record. During the American Civil War, they had sent a large amount of arms to the South.
It is also for this reason that the British side has sufficient reason to believe that the Ming Empire is supporting South Africa, but there is no evidence.
"Alas! This is the most troublesome thing. If Lawrence was still alive, it would be great. His intelligence network would have penetrated into every aspect of the Ming Dynasty. We could have obtained the information we needed through them. It's a pity that he drowned."
Krens said with some regret.
"Do you believe that he really drowned?"
Randolph sneered.
"Have you forgotten that not long after Lawrence's accident, the Ming Empire uncovered a bannerman intelligence network? If I'm not mistaken, there must be a certain connection between Lawrence's death and the Ming Empire."
“There’s a connection between them.”
Krens looked at the officer with confusion and asked.
"Are you saying that Lawrence betrayed England?"
"Lawrence did not betray Britain, but he may have exposed his identity. Maybe he was betrayed by a spy. Who knows? But it's a pity that his intelligence network disappeared just like that."
After thinking for a while, Randolph continued.
"But I don't think his intelligence network was completely destroyed. If my guess is correct, there must be someone who survived. After all, even Lawrence himself doesn't know how many people are in that network. He can't betray everyone. In this case, there must be someone who survived."
The officer's words made Krens think for a while, then he said
"If it's true, if we find him, maybe we can rebuild this network and get more intelligence, what do you think?"
"Find him? It's almost impossible. After all, with the destruction of the network, he is likely to have gone into hiding. Unless he takes the initiative to find us, it will be difficult for us to find him. But I am sure that he will come looking for us soon."
Randolph said slowly.
"This is my intuition and I trust my judgment."
…
intuition!
Sometimes people's intuition is accurate.
Jin Biyun had no doubts about this, and she was even a little relieved.
Last year, she had finally established a connection, but just as she had developed that inside line, she realized some danger.
What kind of danger?
Until now, she has made it clear that it was just a hunch.
Although it was just a hunch, she still chose to leave and even took the initiative to cut off contact with the target.
Two months later, she saw the news in the newspaper - the Imperial Security Bureau uncovered a foreign spy network, and the spies were all bannermen disguised as Han Chinese.
This news frightened her so much that she cut off all contact with all parties. However, even so, she did not escape from the Ming Dynasty, but fled to Nanyuan, the steel city of the empire. Here she disguised herself as a new identity and lived quietly.
"Hello! Teacher Yun!"
"Hello!"
When she occasionally meets someone on the street and greets her, Jin Biyun will respond with a sweet smile. Now she is no longer Jin Biyun, but Yunting, a music teacher who just graduated last year.
In the more than one year since she came to Nanyuan, Jin Biyun has not contacted anyone, let alone tried to contact the British. After the previous intelligence network was destroyed, it is unknown how many people were arrested and how many people knew of her existence, but one thing is certain: she would never take risks.
"How did you reveal your identity?"
Walking on the neat and beautiful sidewalk on the side of the road, Jin Biyun was thinking about the various possibilities of exposing her identity. She was very sure that there was no problem on her side.
"Even if one person is exposed, it is impossible to involve any intelligence network. What went wrong?"
Although she was full of doubts, she was eventually attracted by the shops on the roadside - those beautifully decorated ready-made clothing stores. In the Empire, these ready-made clothing stores are called "specialty stores", a type of store with a very Imperial style. The beautiful dresses on the mannequins standing behind the glass curtain walls always attract women's attention.
Those brands are not only popular in Ming Dynasty, but also in Europe and the United States. However, their largest market is still Ming Dynasty, the place of origin of the products. After all, Ming Dynasty has a large number of middle-class people with high incomes, so they have the money to consume these luxury goods which are not considered extravagant.
Even as a spy, Jin Biyun was a very normal woman who was attracted by beautiful dresses, cosmetics and jewelry.
"This skirt is so beautiful. Summer is coming soon. Now is the perfect time to wear it!"
When Jin Biyun's attention was attracted by the pink dress on the mannequin behind the glass window, what she didn't notice was the joy on the face of a young man when he saw her.
"Hi! Miss Yun! Hello. We meet again!"
When Jin Biyun was about to enter the store, a smiling young man walked up behind her and greeted her with an expression of surprise that was difficult to conceal.
"Ah! Hello, Mr. Li!"
Jin Biyun was startled and turned around to see the young man. He was an engineer she met at the dance last week, so she quickly smiled and greeted him.
Her smile still looks pure, and her eyes are full of feminine charm.
"Miss Yun, are you free this afternoon?"
Li Huafeng took the initiative to invite.
Ever since he danced with Miss Yun at the party last week, his mind was filled with the beautiful and innocent Miss Yun. He even forgot that he had a fiancée.
"Well! I'm really sorry, Mr. Li, I have classes this afternoon, and I just took the time to come out and hang out. Class will start soon, so why don't we pick a time next time! Okay?"
Jin Biyun tactfully declined the engineer's invitation.
Of course, this rejection is just a means.
Even the reason why she attended those dances was to get close to those engineers and obtain information. The reason why she chose engineers was because these engineers also had information of inestimable value.
Of course, she would not waste her precious time on them. The person in front of her was just one of her targets.
"Ah! That's how it is!"
Although he felt a little regretful, Li Huafeng still refused to give up.
"How about... Miss Yun, there's a coffee shop over there. I'd like to treat you to a cup of coffee. What do you think?"
Seeing that the other party did not have time, Li Huafeng still took the second place and invited her. For Li Huafeng, a famous playboy in school, he did not know what rejection and concession meant, and he directly used his best and worst tactics to cling to the beauty in the hope of winning her heart.
"Well... that's... okay!"
After a little hesitation, Jin Biyun reluctantly agreed. Playing hard to get is the most common tactic used by a spy.
"...Actually, I didn't originally plan to work in the Nanyuan Arsenal. Compared to the arsenal, I prefer to run a factory. Miss Yun may not know that my family is from Guangdong and is a famous gentry in Guangzhou. More than ten years ago, I came to Daming to avoid disaster. These years have been fruitful..."
By the flower bed facing the street in the coffee shop, Li Huafeng showed off his family's wealth to Miss Yun in front of him. According to his past experience, family background is an irresistible temptation for women, especially for women of ordinary background like Miss Yun in front of him.
"Oh! So Mr. Li is actually the son of a wealthy family. It is really a waste of your talent to work in a munitions factory. I believe you will definitely go back to inherit the family business in the future!"
Jin Biyun half-flattered this guy who was full of confidence and constantly boasted about his family background in his words, but she did not have much good feelings towards him.
In terms of family background, can you compare with me?
My father is the prince!
Who are you?
All of this is the Ming Dynasty! If there was no Ming Dynasty, not only would the Heavenly Kingdom have been destroyed long ago, but even Li Hongzhang would have been buried with the dead birds, and she would still be a princess. She would not be like this now, risking her life in the enemy camp...
Jin Biyun couldn't help but regret in her heart. She couldn't understand why she agreed to have coffee with such a guy.
However, a guy like this seems to be a good development target.
Just when this thought came to her mind, perhaps realizing that she had no interest in his family background, Li Huafeng changed the subject.
"Did you know?"
Li Huafeng looked towards the street and spoke with sadness.
"Maybe, all this will disappear soon..."
(End of this chapter)
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