Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 249 Let the Emperor Open His Eyes

The makeshift anti-tank tactics that Lelouch discussed with Oswald Lutz and Guderian at their farewell banquet before they went to the front lines quickly proved effective at the Verdun and Metz fortress fronts on the western front.

This allows the Demacian army to no longer rely solely on the Metz fortress and the Moselle River defenses for a desperate defense, but instead to more easily push their lines forward to the high ground west of the Moselle River.

By utilizing tunnels, reverse-slope mortars, concealed tunnel entrances and artillery observation posts, and a combination of line-filling divisions and anti-tank grenadier regiments, the enemy was worn down and engaged for an extended period.

Of course, Lelouch was too busy to personally pay attention to the situation at the Verdun front.

While Guderian was fighting a bloody battle on the front lines for the past two days, Lelouch had already taken up his new post at the Naval Intelligence Bureau and successfully assumed the position of deputy director. He would then have to meet with the Saint to report his insights and new plans.

The emperor had long wanted to summon him, hoping he would immediately come up with a new and detailed solution. This would not only resolve the issue of the leaked naval codes but also take advantage of this information gap to launch a counterattack against the Yinbu people.

However, Lelouch did not want to appear to have planned this all along, and there were many details he needed to confirm in person after taking up his post at the intelligence agency.

Therefore, Lelouch stated that "no one has the right to speak without investigation," and requested a "three-day agreement" from the emperor. Only after the emperor had fully understood the situation for three days after taking office would he dare to offer any advice.

The emperor granted his request, so the official reporting date was set for May 13th.

……

May 11th marked Lelouch's first day officially starting work at the Naval Intelligence Bureau.

As he stepped into his office early in the morning, he was taken aback by its shabby and cramped state. It wasn't a separate building, but rather just an office on a floor within the naval operations department.

Colonel Arthur Tapken, the director of the intelligence agency, along with several key subordinates, including Lieutenant Commander Fritz Prieg, who was in charge of overseas maritime intelligence gathering, Lieutenant Commander Paul Albert, who was in charge of naval counterintelligence, and Major Friedman of the communications and cryptography department, welcomed the new deputy director at the door.

"The Demanians during World War I must have been incredibly lax in their intelligence work, with a colonel holding the position of bureau chief. This bureau probably wasn't even a proper bureau-level unit."

Lelouch thought to himself, but then he realized it made sense, because intelligence work these days really does involve multiple departments. The Army's General Staff has its own Third Bureau, the Navy has its own intelligence agency, and there are also some other miscellaneous agencies.

Each organization only cares about its own intelligence, resources are scattered, and there is a possibility that they will hinder and hold each other back. It would be a miracle if they could accomplish anything significant.

Many readers unfamiliar with the situation might mistake these agencies for the intelligence agencies later led by figures like Homley and Heydrich in the Earth dimension, but in reality, their status is incomparable.

The Demacians have never been good at underhanded tactics, and in every war they've been outmaneuvered by their enemies in the intelligence field. In contrast, the Blades and the Ugly have far more underhanded people.

Lelouch knew that the Emperor had temporarily appointed him as deputy director simply because he was new to the job and not yet familiar with it.

As long as he can quickly achieve some results and convince the emperor that he has "some understanding" of leadership, he can be promoted to bureau chief at any time.

Even after being promoted to director, Lelouch was still dissatisfied. With the current fragmented administration, what great things could he accomplish by following these insects? He needed to at least utilize his concurrent position as the "Army and Navy Joint Operations Coordination Office" to integrate the intelligence of the Army and Navy in the future!

……

Lelouch didn't have time to waste words with his colleagues. Although he was the deputy director, he held the rank of major general and had other military positions, so he could speak very casually and directly with the colonel who was the director.

He could also sense that Colonel Tapken, the director, was also holding back his anger and was unwilling to be suddenly told what to do by an outsider, but he had to force a smile because of the other party's rank.

The other guys with even lower ranks probably also thought that Lelouch was an amateur directing an expert.

Since that's the case, I have no choice but to show off my skills as soon as I arrive and completely intimidate these guys.

"What did you guys do? The navy's codes were leaked long ago! That's why Marshal Rupprecht's frontline inspection telegrams were intercepted by the Britannians, leading to this assassination attempt! Many of the navy's previous operations were also discovered in advance by the enemy because of code problems!"

Lelouch didn't stand on ceremony with them. Behind closed doors, he laid out the core issues with this limited group of people, presenting himself as a reformer.

"Director, do you have any evidence to support your claim? At this point, we can only speculate that our intelligence was leaked, and these points do match up, but we still don't have a conclusion on the specific channel through which it was leaked. You insist on saying it's a problem with the Telecommunications and Cryptography Department..."

Major Friedman, who was directly in charge of the relevant work, was afraid of losing his job and wanted to shirk responsibility one last time. His position was far inferior to Lelouch's, but he also knew that if he didn't make any excuses, he would definitely be packing his bags and going home.

"At least three of the Navy's operations last year were leaked in advance, and these involved different theaters of war. Two of these operations were turned into victories because the commanders adapted to changing circumstances and executed orders flexibly on the spot! The assassination of Field Marshal Rupprecht was even less likely to have been leaked through any other channel!"

The people involved in these leaks were completely different; the only thing they had in common was that they used the same codebook, nothing more! There are no other similarities! His Majesty has already reached a conclusion on this point, and the Navy has acknowledged it. This topic ends here, and I stand by this conclusion!
If you suspect something is wrong, suspend him from his duties and place him in solitary confinement for investigation.

Lelouch directly dismissed the head of the Communications and Cryptography Department under the Naval Intelligence Bureau. He figured the technical staff would still be retained, but an incompetent officer who hadn't realized the leak for so long was useless. Making an example of him would also facilitate the operation.

Lelouch waved his hand, and several military police officers from the Navy Department came in and took Major Friedman away for strict surveillance and interrogation.

These naval inspectors were sent by Admiral Hipper after applying to Field Marshal Tirpitz, who directly approved their deployment. Their authority and procedures were absolutely flawless.

Major Friedman's arrest finally served as a warning and deterrent to the others, including the chief of staff, who dared not say anything more.

After wielding his big stick, Lelouch wanted to immediately demonstrate his professional skills, so he took out a sketch and had someone bring in a technician he had recently hired.

"I promised His Majesty to reorganize the naval intelligence department, and of course I came prepared. Given our current problems, which are mainly due to code leaks, I plan to spend a few months reorganizing a completely new encryption system, no longer relying on human calculations for encryption and decryption as before."

As Lelouch spoke, he pointed to a technician he had brought in and introduced him, “This is Mr. Arthur Shelbius, who used to work at the Institute of Electrical Mathematics in Munich. I gave him an idea, and he will help me bring it to fruition and develop a new cipher machine. Your relevant departments will need to cooperate on the necessary resources and other coordination work.”

I have already vouched for Mr. Sherbius to serve as the deputy head of the telecommunications cipher group, with the rank of captain, and to oversee the development of the new cipher machine.

Everyone was shocked by Lelouch's words. Director Lelouch had actually appointed a digital electrical researcher who wasn't from a military background, given him the rank of captain, to lead the development project of the cipher machine.

However, this bureau had just caused a major disaster and was punished by higher-ups. Lelouch had come with extensive authorization, so these people dared not object and could only reluctantly cooperate.

"Let's cooperate with him for a few months first, without giving him any ammunition or leverage, and see if there are any results. If we can't produce any results, the higher-ups will naturally transfer these people away." Several managers thought the same way.

Nobody wants to be the first to make a splash when a new official takes office; let's just be patient for now.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I will work hard and hope you will cooperate with me to build the new machine envisioned by Director Lelouch." Dr. Shelbius, who was excited about being recruited and incorporated into the organization, was also very polite and introduced himself to his colleagues one by one.

That's right, this Arthur Shelbius is the same digital electrical expert who later invented the Enigma machine in 1918.

Since Lelouch knew that Demania's intelligence code was flawed, he would naturally have taken precautions in advance. As someone well-versed in military history, he was certainly familiar with the famous Enigma code and knew that it was invented by Shelbius.

Lelouch not only knew Shelbius, but also the general principle of Enigma. The core of Enigma is to use several rotor encryption wheels. After each letter is input and encrypted, the wheel will rotate, changing the result of the next encryption. This makes it seem like there is no pattern to "a certain letter becomes another letter after encryption", greatly reducing the dependence on constantly changing the codebook.

Of course, Lelouch also knew that the so-called security of Enigma was eventually cracked by the "Bradley Manor" project of British mathematicians, using computers such as Alan Turing.

But in any case, Enigma was absolutely safe in the 1910s. Since it could be used for a long time, why not just copy the answer from history?
So as early as the second half of last year, as Lelouch's status gradually rose and he gained more resources, he had already begun searching for Dr. Shelbius and making plans. Historically, Shelbius left his job to work independently at the end of World War I, later partnering with friends to start a company to research cipher machines, which he successfully completed at the end of 1918.

The period from 1916 to 1918 was not long, so as long as Lelouch provided the ideas and directions, and with Shelbius's own efforts to solve some engineering details, it was entirely possible to put together an Enigma machine within six months.

Lelouch had already privately arranged for him to do some preparations, which started around March, after Lelouch graduated from military academy and was officially promoted to major general.

Lelouch believed that by July or August, the Enigma machine would be in production and could be distributed to high-ranking military officials in September.

Moreover, Lelouch's approach to Enigma had an additional benefit—the Enigma cipher machine in the Earth plane was the first to be developed as a commercial technology, so Shelbius would apply for a patent as soon as he made a breakthrough.

One of the main costs of applying for an invention patent is that the basic principles of the technology must be disclosed to the public. However, the Demanian military had just been defeated and did not realize how ineffective its cryptographic system had been in World War I. They were also unwilling to spend a lot of money to buy cipher machines, resulting in almost no sales of the Enigma machine between 1918 and 1926. They simply disclosed the basic technical principles of the technology for nothing.

Ironically, the Demanians' final decision to purchase the Enigma aircraft was ultimately driven by their enemy—Walton Spencer, the former British Admiral who had already resigned. Spencer had written a memoir of World War I in which he mentioned…

"Thanks to the incompetence of Demanian naval intelligence, the codes were transparent to the Royal Navy of Burkina Faso throughout World War I, which is why we were able to completely block them for four years and ultimately lose the war."

This memoir, written in 1923, became a bestseller in 1924, a slap in the face to Demanian intelligence. After suffering such a humiliating defeat, they dared not complain about the price of the Enigma machine until 1926, even though the wholesale price was as high as 4 marks per unit.

In this life, Lelouch recruited Shelbius with a high salary and generous rewards at the very beginning, before Shelbius had made up his mind to start his own business. He also promised to treat Shelbius well financially in the future and let him develop the Enigma machine project as a secret military project.

In this way, he would no longer need to apply for a patent, nor would he be allowed to apply for one. He could only use it as a confidential technology and would not consider selling it to others.

The principles of the Enigma machine can be kept secret for several more years. Although once the machine is in use, the enemy will know that "the Demagnesians must have used a new encryption technology, because all the messages received from then on have become seemingly meaningless random messages."

However, it will take the enemy at least one or two years, or even longer, to figure out what this new encryption technology is and how it works. In this way, it is entirely possible to maintain secrecy until the ceasefire in this war.

As for the possibility of renewed warfare years after the ceasefire, the existence and basic principles of this machine will likely be exposed. However, deciphering it will still be extremely difficult for the enemy. Lelouch can simply remain humble and upgrade the code later.

……

At this moment, Lelouch introduced Dr. Shelbius, roughly assigned tasks, and explained his design principles in detail, picking out the parts he could talk about.

The chief of staff, Colonel Tapken, and the other two operational leaders, Lieutenant Colonel Prigo and Lieutenant Colonel Albert, were also immediately stunned.

"I never imagined General Lelouch had such a profound understanding of intelligence encryption... Compared to his approach, our previous encryption methods were utterly useless..."

This is where the Demacians' relatively straightforwardness comes into play. Compared to the Bretons, they are more likely to obey truly strong individuals, as long as you can win their respect and demonstrate genuine ability.

Lelouch clearly possesses genuine skills, because the quality of encryption technology is the most objective and undeniable indicator of its effectiveness.

When it comes to math, you can't fool anyone. Brilliant is brilliant, and rubbish is rubbish; the difference is immediately apparent.

"The Naval Intelligence Bureau has long needed a wise and far-sighted general like you to lead it. Once the results of this project are presented to His Majesty and Marshal Tirpitz, they will certainly appoint you as the head of the bureau immediately. We will all be convinced."

"This is what the current director, Colonel Tapken, said sincerely."

Lelouch simply patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, do your job well. If you admit your mistakes and correct them, you're still a good comrade. I don't care about this position of bureau chief either. You'll still be in charge of this area of ​​work from now on."

The Empire's intelligence agencies are currently too fragmented. The General Staff has its own Third Bureau, which only handles army intelligence, and the Navy also has its own intelligence department. In my opinion, military intelligence shouldn't be separated; where does the logic in the army and navy each managing their own area come from?

His Majesty has now appointed me to concurrently serve as the Joint Operations Coordination Office of the Army and Navy. I will certainly reorganize it in the future to ensure that the intelligence departments of the Army and Navy have unified command, and that intelligence and counter-espionage can be shared.

Lelouch didn't want his future intelligence agencies to become as incompetent as the Japanese in Earth's world. The Japanese were a mess because their army and navy were too clearly separated, causing them to hinder each other in every aspect.

In Demania, during the first war in the Earth dimension, the navy was still very strong, and the army and navy actually operated independently. Later, because the navy was destroyed and its status declined, intelligence authority was relatively unified.

In this dimension, the navy will certainly not be destroyed, but the intelligence division caused by the strength of both the sea and land forces is something Lelouch must rectify and resolve.

Upon hearing this, Colonel Tapken realized that Major General Lelouch's ambitions were far from small; he didn't care about the small task of naval intelligence at all. He wanted to be a global integrator, and his future prospects might be even greater.

"I see. We promise to cooperate fully with General Lelouch's work."

Tapken no longer dared to make any promises, only saying that he would do whatever they were told, and they were completely convinced.

After winning over these underlings, Lelouch finally asked the second crucial question he had asked today upon assuming his new post.

"We have three months to gradually work on the cryptography rectification. In the next three months, there is another task that is even more important than the cryptography rectification."

That is to take advantage of the fact that the enemy does not yet know that we know they have cracked our code, and use this information gap to finally deceive the enemy and launch a fierce counterattack.

I have a rough outline of the specific plan. But before reporting to His Majesty the Emperor, I need you, especially Lieutenant Colonel Prigo, who is in charge of overseas intelligence, to confirm whether you can fulfill one of my requests.”

Lieutenant Colonel Prigo, the head of the overseas intelligence department, whose name was called, immediately stood at attention, saluted, and asked the director for instructions.

Lelouch then revealed his true intentions: "Do you have a sufficient spy network in London? If I ask you to monitor the movements of Count Alexander Constantinovich Benkendorf, the Luzar ambassador to Britain, can you do it?"

Now, you can set aside all other work and devote all your efforts, at all costs, to ensuring this for me! If, one day, Ambassador Alexander Konstantinovich Benkendorf leaves London, or boards a cruiser prepared for him by the Royal Navy of Burkina Faso to return to St. Petersburg via the Arctic route for his duty report, I want to know immediately!

This is the biggest gamble Lelouch has ever taken since his time travel, and it directly affects the outcome of the war.

Colonel Tapken and Lieutenant Colonel Prigo were both taken aback by Major General Lelouch's sudden sternness, but after a tense discussion, they still stated unequivocally:

“We still have some intelligence networks in London, and if we're willing to go to great lengths to gather intelligence, we can definitely do it! However, if we're too aggressive in our intelligence gathering, it could expose some of our spies who were already well-hidden…”

Lelouch raised his hand decisively: "These are all prices I can afford. As long as you're sure you can do it, I'll go report to His Majesty!"

"Absolutely, we guarantee we can do it! We'll come up with a detailed action plan right away, and you can review it tomorrow."

-

P.S.: Readers who can guess what scheme the protagonist will report to the emperor tomorrow, I declare their IQ is at least 140, maybe even 160.

Currently, there is only one key lead, which I can state openly: Count Alexander Konstantinovich Benkendorf, the Luza ambassador to London.

(End of this chapter)