Rebirth of the Spanish Empire

Even after learning a lot about the intelligence operations of this era, he felt even more that in fact, the so-called mystery, compared to that era, seems to me now that the two correspond to each other, but what is inside is kindergarten. Compared with universities, the universities here naturally refer to the 21st century.

However, until the middle of the 20th century, this was still a very mysterious place.

As if he had predicted it before his death, Sir Cumming did not approve of his subordinates writing a book about their secret work and telling the public. During a traffic jam, Cumming said to his housekeeper: "I also want to publish a memoir. It will be in quartz format. The title "The Reckless Words and Deeds of the Director of Secret Intelligence" is written in big red letters on the cover. It is 400 pages thick, page by page. It’s all blank!”

Because Cumming and "Chief" both start with "C" in English, perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps out of respect for Cumming, the successive heads of MI6 since then have been called "Codename C". Ian Fleming, the author of the 007 series of novels, also took Cumming's name out of respect for Cumming. He took the initial letter m of Mansfield as the code name of the head of the intelligence agency in the novel. When writing m, he also Use green ink. Both those within MI6 and the novel's author are full of nostalgia for the founder of this agency. The cold-blooded agents can sometimes be quite humane.

In fact, his love for 2007 also made Alfonso know more about Cumming.

The most famous figure among Cumming's subordinates was Sidney Reilly, known as the "King of Spies". In addition to being a spy, this person was also inextricably linked to the utilization of oil. The polite, handsome Riley was born George Rosenblum. A Jew, he left the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa in 1893.

He was eloquent, sometimes claiming to be the son of a Catholic priest, and sometimes claiming to be the son of a Russian nobleman. But he was actually an agent of Scotland Yard's Political Security Service who later became the leader of the Russian branch of MI6.

In 1901, Reilly pretended to be a drug salesman and was sent to Tehran to investigate matters involving Australian gold prospector William Knox-Dutch. Dutch spent 10,000 pounds to buy mining rights from the King of Persia to search for local oil field resources. The British government has valued this new energy source and hopes that the UK will also intervene in this matter.

Reilly believed that the discovery of oil was very important and suggested buying the northern province of Persia and the territory in Russia. His suggestions were not adopted until 1905. The British government learned that Dutch was bankrupt. He had found oil in Persia, but the quality was not what it was promised. He ran to Europe. Hoping to find a buyer for the privilege bought from Persia. Britain decided to buy.

Reilly was sent to Cannes, France, where Dutch was said to be preparing to negotiate with the French branch of Rothschild Bank. Reilly disguised himself as a Catholic priest and boarded the Rothschild family yacht, where he pretended to beg for donations for orphans. He deliberately confused black and white. Pulled Dutch to his side. Tell him that the British government is willing to pay double the price for his privilege.

What Riley did with the money is not recorded in the history books of the time. But there is indeed a record of Dutch completing a deal with the British government, and the British [Persian] Oil Company was born.

At Churchill's "advice", the company later changed its name to the famous British [Petroleum] Company. The British government acquired 51% of the shares.

1908. Oil was again mined in Persia, this time of a quality that ensured Britain's vital fuel supply for decades. Churchill made the decision to switch the British naval fleet from coal to oil, a move that gave Britain a great advantage in World War I. A warship is as powerful as a tank full of oil on land.

The secret mission that Riley completed in disguise benefited Britain a lot, but Riley himself became the victim of this successful event. After being awarded the Military Cross in 1919, he was arrested in the Soviet Union and executed in a forest near Moscow.

In 1901, Riley and his wife moved to Lushunkou in Northeast China and traveled across China. However, some people pointed out that Riley was actually acting as a double agent while in China, collecting intelligence for Britain and Japan at the same time. Together with a Chinese engineer, Ho Liang-shun, Reilly used his shipping company as a cover to steal Russia's Port Arthur defense plans for the Japanese Navy. According to this defense plan, on February 6, 1904, the Japanese navy was able to sail through the minefields protecting the Russian harbor and launch a surprise attack on the Russian fleet.

What’s even more amazing is that not only do some people suspect that Reilly is the prototype of Bond, there are also people who believe that Reilly is the prototype of the “Gadfly” in the novel “Gadfly”. Because Voynich, the author of "The Gadfly", met Riley in London and traveled to Italy together.

Sir Cumming, the first head of MI6, has always been fascinated by the development of invisible ink. He even invited an expert in the development of invisible ink from the Royal Society. Walter Kirk, a senior official of MI6, wrote in his diary in October 1915: "I heard that the best invisible ink has been found, which is man's semen." Researchers say semen is insensitive to iodine vapor, making it perfect for use as invisible ink. But not long after, this technological discovery turned c's joy into worry, because this ink lacked source and had a smell. Agents also carry rings containing suicide pills.

People in MI6 will use some high-tech gadgets like 007, but sometimes due to limited conditions, they often use some "homespun methods". For example, in Italy during World War II, in order to carry documents through enemy inspection posts, MI6 personnel wrapped the documents on the genitals of war horses and passed the customs smoothly. Of course, it happens from time to time that the sheep is shaved off and the documents are hidden and then the sheep are covered with wool.

Just as the codename C of Sir Sir Cumming, the first head of MI6, is like a password, passwords can be seen everywhere in intelligence agencies. Sir Cumming's successor Hugh Sinclair spent his own money to buy Bletchley Manor, where MI6's code-breaking agency is located. At its peak, the manor, which was only a small area of ​​0.22 square kilometers, was home to about 12,000 people.

If Sir Cumming sacrificed a son and a leg for MI6, then Sinclair's use of private assets to buy the manor and establish a cryptography institute laid the foundation for Britain to decipher the German Ingmar code in World War II. Self-sacrifice may be something that Bond 007 in the movie will never understand, because every time he sacrifices his associates or the girls around him.

All this made Alfonso understand that this Cumming, in addition to being a very cold person in the movie, is also a leader who can abandon his friends to protect himself. For such a person, catch him His weakness can be broken with one blow, and he can quickly disappear from Peking University. Or, by catching his wound, he might even be able to serve Spain. Unfortunately, there is still a gap between movies and reality, especially Now is the time when the British Empire, the Great Britain, and the Empire of the Sun Never Sets, are at their most glorious. It is difficult for such a person to betray him. After all, he can be the head of intelligence. His heart is definitely one of the darkest existences in human beings. Therefore, we can only start in other aspects.

Having made up his mind, Alfonso said: "You can keep a close eye on this person. We are now starting to choose to use the dark processing method to slowly track, and finally we will slowly close the net. As for now, our most important thing is to attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire." The next issue that should be dealt with after the disintegration of the country is the most important thing. Also, we still use your Intelligence Division 5 of the Ministry of the Interior to continue to monitor the movements in the UK. It is best to also pay attention to the United States in North America. I have a feeling in my heart, that is, it seems that something is brewing over there in the United States, which always makes me feel very uneasy."

When Jose heard this, his heart also suddenly jumped. He understood that many of His Majesty's premonitions were very accurate, especially in the past, many of them had hit the target. If His Majesty's premonitions were still so accurate this time, then , this matter is really not very reassuring.

Within a few days, Alfonso wanted to slap himself several times, like a crow's mouth. He just finished talking to Jose. However, now he was waiting for news that made him stunned. The arrival of this news , but it disrupted the plans of many countries, especially everyone was waiting for the attitude of Italy and other countries towards Spain's new ally Hungary. However, this incident suddenly diverted attention. , because this country deserves everyone to do this, because it is the United States, and because what the United States has done this time seems to be no less important than the split of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe.

After being suppressed by Spain for a long time, the United States finally regained its confidence after being beaten by Spain in Hawaii and South America. In other words, because Spain has focused its energy on the Eurasian continent and Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean in recent years, The evolution of the situation among the major powers in Europe made many people, including Alfonso, slightly relax their surveillance of the United States. As a result, such a bitter fruit finally came, and it came so quickly and far away. Much faster than Alfonso thought.

On May 2, 1913, this day, the United States was shocked, because the President of the United States formally announced at a press conference in the White House that he recognized the newly established government of the Republic of China. This news came, including East Asia. All regions of the world are almost unable to turn a corner. China is finally recognized by the world's major powers? (To be continued...)

ps: Second update, the transformation has begun. You will see that from this point on, this book will enter another stage, instead of just wasting time as everyone said. Hehe, please support me!