Chapter 417: Clandestine Operations in the Kingdom of France (2/2)
The subordinate agents nodded their heads before doing as they were told.
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Weeks passed, and Linde sat within the confines of the Royal Palace within the City of Kufstein; by now, her belly had grown quite large, as she was several months pregnant. Despite this, she never ceased her responsibilities as the Director of Intelligence, even though much of her work was adequately delegated to the appropriate branches. In front of her was none other than Deputy Director Hemma, dressed in her full uniform, reporting information regarding their ongoing operations in France.
”Our agents have infiltrated the rebellious duchies of Aquitaine and Burgundy and have successfully supplied their leaders with the weapons and munitions necessary to inflict more significant casualties upon the French Armies. Their aliases are intact, and the rebels genuinely believe they have the backing of the Iberian Union.
Your plan of having our soldiers in Iberia capture the Union's knockoff Arkebuses and distribute them to our field agents for use in our covert operations was absolutely genius. If we were to use our supply of such primitive weapons, it would be much more difficult to conceal our identities.”
Linde had a smug smile on her beautiful face as she heard this compliment; it was indeed nothing impressive, after all, she was the one who created Berengar's spy network from scratch, and with very little assistance from her husband, was capable of reforming it into a modern Intelligence Agency far beyond the capabilities of their rivals.
In comparison to this feat, the small details of their current operations in the neighboring Kingdom to the West were mere child's play. She had an arrogant tone of voice as she began to inquire about the next phase of their work in France.
”With Arkebuses in the hands of the rebels, it is only a matter of time before they use them on the field of battle; when that happens, the French loyalists will be forced to employ the arms we have already given them.
When the French people realize that their Monarch has accepted military aid from Austria, it will cause a massive scandal; thus, with our hidden agents' support in the field, France will soon find itself embroiled in a far greater conflict than they have seen thus far.
When this happens, the English will be sure to capitalize on it. As such, we must work swiftly to ensure that these new rebellious groups have anti-English sentiments so that they too have their work cut out for them!”
Hemma nodded her head as she heard Linde's train of thought before commenting on the situation.
”I will make sure to relay your orders to the field; before long, the entire Kingdom of France will be one giant warzone. I do not doubt that such a thing will spark a refugee crisis; what should we do about this potential outcome?”
Linde's smile went from smug to cruel as she sipped the tea in her cup; after drinking from it, she responded to this question with a bold statement.
”Seal the border, and give our soldiers orders to open fire on anyone who tries to enter the Kingdom of Austria illegally. I highly doubt Berengar would want a bunch of filthy French peasants entering his Kingdom.”
The Deputy Director of Austrian Royal Intelligence immediately saluted her superior officer before responding to this order in the affirmative.
”It will be done, your highness!”
After saying this, Linde placed down her teacup filled with tea and dismissed her subordinate.
”If there is nothing else, then you may leave; I have many things to prepare for...”
Hemma nodded in silence before departing, leaving Linde by her lonesome as she drank from the rest of her tea in silence. Truthfully, she was not that concerned with the outcome of the Hundred Year's War, at least not in comparison to her husband. Instead, She was apprehensive about Berengar's safe return from the War in Iberia. As such, she spent some time in silence praying for his well-being.
While Berengar continued to wage war against his enemies, his Second Wife was hard at work, overseeing the various operations of Austrian Royal Intelligence; after all, it was not just France that had garnered Austria's attention.
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