Sword of Dawnbreaker

”The Cecil Chamber of Commerce has already begun operations, and this network will infiltrate the entire southern part of the kingdom, perhaps even the entire kingdom. Its development is the priority. Now we just need to steadily build and perfect this intelligence and economic network; there’s no need for additional actions,” Gawain leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly to the surprised Aunt Heidi, ”Those who are ’curious’ about the Cecil Clan won’t disappear; as long as we continue to develop, there will always be more eyes watching us. And with the spread of magic-conducting machinery and the Magic Web, their attention will only increase—in the current situation, we cannot deploy troops to sweep away all the southern aristocrats, it’s better to let them wait calmly, waiting for Cecil’s economic and intelligence network to permeate every corner of their territories.”

The noose is slowly tightening, and pulling out the knife too soon will only scare the prey in the loop away.

”But what about the spies who have already infiltrated the territory... should they be executed?”

”Executed? Why execute them?” Gawain smiled faintly, ”They’ve already been exposed, and with their common knowledge and ’professional standards,’ no matter how they jump, they can’t escape the management system of the Cecil Clan. Executing a large number of these spies from various southern aristocratic domains doesn’t benefit us much and would instead stimulate the delicate nerves of the local nobility. They might not act openly, but our commercial expansion would definitely be affected. After all, everyone still wants to maintain a friendly appearance.”

Aunt Heidi frowned: ”Then you mean...”

”Send all those directly caught spies to the northern banks to open up new lands. As for those identified but not yet alerted spies... haven’t they already become honorable Cecil construction workers? Organize them into new construction groups, responsible for the construction of each new district—the western part of the territory is currently building a new industrial zone and just happens to be short of manpower, so this can be their new work assignment. Remember, this is a normal job transfer, don’t let them suspect anything.”

Gawain paused for a moment, then continued: ”Name the new construction group ’The 25th Production and Construction Brigade’, implementing separate management and isolated production and living. They can communicate with the outside world, but all communication must be reviewed. If any new spies are discovered from now on, first assess their abilities. The more foolish ones should be sent to open up new lands or mine, while the smarter and better at disguise should be sent to the 25th Brigade.”

Aunt Heidi was momentarily confused and asked blankly: ”Wouldn’t these people realize something is wrong immediately? If their actions and communication are restricted, they should immediately realize they’ve been exposed...”

Gawain smiled faintly: ”No, you just have to tell them this—’Don’t ask questions, you are executing the Duke’s secret plan,’ the rest, they’ll imagine for themselves.”

Aunt Heidi was dumbstruck: ”...”

A moment after being stunned, Aunt Heidi managed to squeeze out another question: ”But if they observe those around them, wouldn’t they still realize the true nature of the 25th Brigade... Ah, no, they won’t realize it!”

”Exactly, spies who managed to infiltrate the territory without being discovered at first are undoubtedly excellent spies. Later recruits to the 25th Brigade will also be excellent spies. An excellent spy would never expose themselves,” Gawain said delightedly, ”Every member of the 25th Brigade will believe they are the only spy. Of course, there might be cases where two or three entered together and got sent to the 25th Brigade together, but that doesn’t really matter.”

Aunt Heidi remained speechless: ”...”