Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 190: Chapter 146: Disguises

When Prime Minister Prim learned that the so-called treasure was located in the Indian Colony under British control, his first reaction was one of surprise, but he soon found it quite reasonable.

The United Kingdom’s strength was heavily reliant on its vast colonies. Among all the colonies of the British, the most brilliant was the land known as the jewel of the British Empire, a fertile land that provided massive financial income and mineral resources to the British Government—India.

However, the British had not always ruled this land. Before the British, this land was home to many states, and they were the true masters of this land.

If the British could obtain immense income and minerals from India, what about the original masters of these lands? Would their income be any less?

Even if the varying-sized states did not earn as much as imagined each year, the accumulation over several decades or even centuries would be quite substantial.

Moreover, the history of India certainly extends beyond just decades or centuries. Even wealth accumulated over a century is an enticingly enormous figure.

Thinking about this, Prime Minister Prim could no longer sit still, his curiosity piqued by the legendary Indian Temple Treasure.

Since the treasure hunt was to take place in the Indian Colony under British control, the most important matter was selecting the personnel responsible for the excavation and transportation to India.

The number of people involved in the operation was not large, as it was not easy to conceal it from the Indian Colonial Government and the British Government.

There were not many foreigners in India, and they were generally concentrated in a few larger colonial cities. If foreign people suddenly appeared in droves in Indian native cities, it would easily draw the attention of both the Indians and the colonial government.

The selected team for India had to be elite soldiers, with a reliable leader to guide them. In addition, when heading to India, they had to disperse and travel separately to minimize the risk of being discovered by the Indian Colonial Government and the British Government.

The personnel chosen by the government would serve as the main force, while intelligence officers from the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau would act as assistants, working together to complete this treasure-hunting journey across thousands of miles.

Carlo had considerable trust in the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau. Appointing Kadir as the director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau proved to be a very wise decision, as he paid great attention to its establishment and personally selected every intelligence officer.

Specifically, for those elite intelligence officers, besides mastering combat skills and infiltration knowledge, they needed to have a comprehensive understanding of the customs and common knowledge of various countries around the world.

Additionally, they needed to proficiently use weaponry from different countries, including pistols, rifles, cannons, carriages, and small warships that a few people could operate.

To avoid exposing the specific entity of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau in front of Prime Minister Prim, these assisting intelligence officers would participate under the guise of Royal Palace guards.

As for whether Prime Minister Prim and others would become suspicious, that was not something Carlo needed to consider.

February 1873, Southern India.

While February still fell within winter for most of the Northern Hemisphere, the climate in this part of Southern India resembled midsummer.

In January, the average temperature was above 24 degrees Celsius, and by February, it had reached an average temperature of 28 degrees Celsius.

Spain’s target for this operation was Kerala in Southern India, a region separated from Sri Lanka by the sea, and the southernmost point of the Indian Subcontinent.

This area was one of the most densely populated regions in India and naturally boasted several sizable colonial cities. Over a hundred people participated in this operation, grouped into pairs, arriving in India through various means and eventually rendezvousing in Kerala.

Due to the fact that the total number of people involved was only over 100, and that all acted individually, the Indian Colonial Government and the British Government could not possibly react in time.

Although India was a British colony, it was ultimately open to foreigners. Each year, thousands of tourists traveled from Europe, and naturally, the Indian Colonial Government couldn’t possibly identify each one as a foreign spy.

February 4th, the weather was overcast, with no sun.

Moreover, because there was no sun, today’s weather was quite pleasant, with an average temperature of around 26 degrees.

Perhaps due to the rain from the day before, there were few pedestrians on the muddy dirt road, and two intelligence officers, disguised as foreign tourists, walking on this road did not appear suspicious.

Although these two people’s actions didn’t resemble those of foreign tourists, their white skin and European appearance deterred the Indians from paying them much attention.

One should not think that the British colonial policy was benevolent; their policy in India remained brutal, essentially disregarding the humanity of the Indians.

This was mainly due to the dense population of the Indian region, where the loss of millions of people would seemingly have little impact on the area.

The history of Britain’s colonization of India was, in fact, a history marred with the blood and tears of the Indians. The number of Indians who fell at the hands of British colonists was not in the millions but rather several million, and those who died indirectly were tens of millions.