Chapter 339: Chapter 294: The Balkan Alliance and War Readiness_2

Sitting at his desk and thoughtfully considering for a while, Arthur called for the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, Barty Crouch.

Looking at Director Barty, who had hurried over, Arthur directly handed him the report in his hand, and with a touch of mockery, said, “Director Barty, I give you one week’s time to find out the force behind these indigenous people. Can you do it?”

“Absolutely, Your Majesty. Wait for my good news!” Director Barty accepted Arthur’s command decisively, and at Arthur’s signal, he returned to the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau to make his own arrangements.

The Royal Security Intelligence Bureau has developed for nearly ten years now, and its scale is no longer that of the small intelligence organization it once was.

Currently, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau has thousands of intelligence personnel, among which nearly a thousand are elite intelligence officers. Some of them are stationed in Australasia, and some are scattered in Europe, the United States, and the Southeast Asian region.

In addition to these nearly a thousand elite intelligence agents, there is also a majority working part-time.

In other words, they also have their own regular identities and jobs, but they also conduct deals with the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, occasionally providing intelligence clues to the Security Bureau.

The distribution of these people is even more decentralized, and apart from the management system of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, even ordinary intelligence personnel don’t know their whereabouts.

It is even very likely that pedestrians and shopkeepers who look normal on the street, or famous businessmen and capitalists from other countries, these intelligence personnel are spread far and wide.

Director Barty acted swiftly, and in fact, it only took him four days to fully investigate the force and purpose behind the attack on Charles Wynne.

This is also because Charles Wynne controls and integrates the Southeast Asian rubber market.

The force behind these indigenous people is in fact a rubber company that was acquired during the crisis.

The original owner of this rubber company was a member of the nobility of a state in the Dutch East Indies who took advantage of the high price to sell out his stocks in advance during the rubber crisis.

Now that the rubber crisis is over, he wants to buy back his company at a low price, but finds that his rubber company has been wholly acquired by a man named Charles Wynne and delisted a couple of months ago.

This angered the original owner of the rubber company. Because this rubber company took most of his capital to establish, it was not only his hard work, but it also created a huge amount of revenue for him each year.

Although he had already made a fortune from selling his stocks at high prices, facing that the company which should belong to him was taken away by others, made him tempted to resort to nefarious means.

However, upon finding out that Charles Wynne was from Australasia, the original owner of the rubber company didn’t act rashly, but through several layers of relationship, he gathered a few dozen indigenous people in a way that almost couldn’t be traced back to him, intending to create an incident that would lead to Charles Wynne’s death in an indigenous uprising.

As long as Charles Wynne is dead, he can easily take back his company, which is simply a win-win situation.

However, what he did not expect was that only a few days later, another group of indigenous people attempted to assassinate Charles Wynne. This made the seemingly accidental indigenous uprising very suspicious, and made Charles Wynne determined to report to Arthur in person.

Knowing that something was wrong, both forces behind these two groups of indigenous people hid away and tried their best to sever ties with the indigenous people.

Arthur scoffed and shook his head, his gaze falling on the two background forces that Director Barty had investigated.

The first hidden force was the Hoffman family from the Dutch East Indies, a family whose history in the Dutch East Indies could be traced back as far as 1596.

Of course, this does not mean that the history of the Hoffman family has been passed down since 1596. Rather, it was a history born in the late 17th century, when a colonial devotee from the Netherlands changed his surname to Hoffman to commemorate the first Dutchman, Hoffman, to arrive in the Dutch East Indies.

Nevertheless, the Hoffman family has been hovering in the Dutch East Indies for over a hundred years. Their influence and voice in the region are naturally significant, making them the unquestionably first family in the Dutch East Indies.

Another power lies within the Catholic nation, the Kingdom of Larantuka, within the territorial range of the Dutch East Indies.

The people of Larantuka, known as the Topas people, are in fact the descendants of local Portuguese men who married indigenous women. These individuals are also referred to as Black Portuguese by the Dutch.

Within the kingdom, there are the Dakosta and Dohna families, both of whom are constantly engaged in bloody power struggles.

Furthermore, combined with a small portion of domestic Muslim forces and the Sultan, the political situation in this Catholic nation located in the southern part of the Dutch East Indies is quite chaotic. The Dutch suzerain dispatched only one military and administrative officer and did not interfere much with Larantuka’s politics.

After reviewing the information on these two powers, Arthur glanced at the map of Southeast Asia and discovered that the Kingdom of Larantuka was very close to Australian Timor, lying across the sea to the west of Australian Timor.

After a moment of thought, Arthur finally spoke slowly, with a tone of determination and unquestionability, “The Royal Security Intelligence Agency is to immediately head to the vicinity of the Kingdom of Larantuka to gather more information, while also monitoring the reactions of the Dutch East India Colonial Government. Guard, summon the Cabinet Government. I want to convene an emergency meeting.”

Director Barty promptly complied and withdrew quite tactfully.

Soon, the cabinet ministers rushed to Sydney Palace, awaiting Arthur’s command.

“Gentlemen, since its establishment, the Australasian Army’s mission has always been to protect the country and all its people. Since the Fishermen’s Crisis, I believe our army has performed well. No country dares provoke the majesty of Australasia and the Australian People.” Arthur, looking at the slightly puzzled cabinet members, began.

“But I’ve received news that some of our domestic merchants’ legitimate commerce in Southeast Asia has been significantly obstructed by local forces, who have even deployed a large number of indigenous peoples to threaten our merchants’ lives. I hope the government can promptly investigate the course of events and demand that the relevant parties provide a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, they will face a full-scale suppression from the Australasian Army, which will fight for the dignity of our country and citizens.”

Arthur’s words instantly clarified several things for the Cabinet Ministers.

First, some forces in Southeast Asia have upset Arthur. Second, Arthur has made up his mind to take action against these forces.

As for Arthur’s other rhetoric, the cabinet members certainly wouldn’t take it literally.

Calling such a mobilization, directly summoning the Cabinet Government for an emergency meeting, was definitely not just about holding those forces accountable.

“In this incident, the Kingdom of Larantuka in Southeast Asia is most likely the backstage culprit. If this is confirmed, I suggest deploying our military forces in the Kingdom of Larantuka to give all our citizens a fair outcome.” Arthur said, looking at Defence Secretary Raul with a hint of connotation.

“Affirmative, Your Majesty,” Defence Secretary Raul immediately nodded.

Although Arthur had said it as a suggestion, Defence Secretary Raul would not foolishly take Arthur’s words as just a suggestion.

Not to mention that Arthur was the actual controller of the military, even if Arthur’s words were only a suggestion, Minister Raul would not dare to disregard them.

“Alright, let’s conclude the meeting here. The government shall immediately liaison with the Dutch East Indies, and the military shall enter combat readiness status effective immediately. Within three days, I want a precise answer from the Dutch East Indies.” Arthur did not pay attention to the cabinet members who were still receiving information and directly issued his final order.