Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 56: Chapter 55: Royal Security Intelligence Bureau

To be honest, Carlo is also very curious about who is behind the assassination of Prime Minister Prim.

Having the courage to assassinate the Prime Minister proves that this person was well-prepared and could not have acted on an impulse.

It must be known that if the assassination fails, it would be very difficult for someone unprepared to escape the stringent screening of the government.

Archbishop Pedro’s choice to back down in the face of the government’s challenges actually indicates that the Church is likely not the mastermind behind the assassination.

The remaining forces that might have plotted the assassination are probably only the aristocracy and the Republican Faction, which also indicates that the Royal Council established by Carlo might not be a monolith.

However, this is also good news. When the government and the Church jointly ferret out the mastermind, it will be time for Carlo to expel the traitors from the Royal Council who are not loyal to him.

The Royal Council is one of the ways Carlo controls the Spanish aristocracy, so naturally, it cannot allow disloyal rebels to wreak havoc within.

The task of investigation is left to Prime Minister Prim and Archbishop Pedro. Carlo has no time to focus on these matters and only needs to wait for the final result.

For Carlo, the most important thing is still about his own industries, as having money in hand is the real truth.

On May 17, 1870, on what seemed a very ordinary day, the mysterious organization that Carlo had high hopes for was officially established and named the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Bureau.

As the name suggests, this is a new organization specifically responsible for intelligence and espionage, training professional intelligence personnel, that is, so-called agents.

Concerning the director of the Intelligence Bureau, Carlo was quite troubled with the choice. As the person in charge of an important organization for gathering domestic and foreign intelligence, the director of the Intelligence Bureau must possess good ability and high loyalty.

In the end, Steward Loren recommended a candidate to Carlo, who was also one of the subordinates sent by his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, to Carlo: Kadir Bruno.

Vittorio Emanuele II would certainly not harm Carlo. The subordinates he picked for Carlo are all loyal to the Italian Royal Family, and naturally, they are also loyal to Carlo.

At least in Spain, a foreign land, Kadir Bruno is already a trustworthy and worthwhile candidate for Carlo to use.

At least for the time being, he is qualified to be the director of the Intelligence Bureau. After Carlo nurtures his first batch of close subordinates in Spain through orphan relief, then it will not be too late to consider other candidates.

After personally meeting with Kadir Bruno, Carlo finally understood why Steward Loren recommended him.

Kadir Bruno looked tall and thin and very ordinary, but through a few brief questions, Carlo determined that he was a promising talent for intelligence work.

“Kadir, I have a daunting task for you to complete. Do you have confidence?” Carlo asked aloud, looking at Kadir, whom he met for the first time.

“Please command, Your Majesty.” Kadir Bruno responded immediately without any hesitation after hearing Carlo’s inquiry.

“Very well.” Carlo nodded with satisfaction. As a leader, Carlo certainly doesn’t want to see his subordinates hesitate and lack confidence in completing tasks when he assigns them.

“I need you to establish an intelligence organization to gather important domestic and foreign information for me. I need to be informed of all major events happening in Spain, including the nobility, factory owners, the Church, and even those officials and parties within the scope of intelligence gathering.

Can you do it?” Carlo smiled and asked.

“As long as Your Majesty gives me enough manpower, even if it’s what Prime Minister Prim had for dinner, I’ll find out for you.” Kadir Bruno replied immediately.

“Of course, the target is not Prime Minister Prim,” Carlo continued to maintain his smile and was not angered by Kadir Bruno’s words. “However, while Prime Minister Prim is loyal, who can guarantee that the next Prime Minister will continue to be loyal?

Your targets are all the officials, parties, and powerful forces in Spain. I need to know their every move.

As for the personnel you need, you are free to choose from the Guard Army, and you can also recruit suitable talents from among the people. I will give you one year. After a year, I hope the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau will play a significant role.”

“At your orders, Your Majesty. If, after one year, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau fails to play its role, I am willing to accept any punishment.” Kadir Bruno promised.

He understood that this was not only a task given to him by Carlo but also an opportunity for him to truly become Carlo’s confidant and gain immense power.

Although nominally the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau is only for gathering intelligence on officials and forces, who can guarantee that the Intelligence Bureau won’t have the power of disposal?

Kadir Bruno understood when he heard his mission, that the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau is Carlo’s important means of understanding external information, and he is Carlo’s hidden eyes.

These eyes can also turn into a butcher’s knife at any time, wielded at those officials and forces who harbor disloyalty when necessary.

The establishment of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau was silent, even Prime Minister Prim did not know what Carlo was doing.

Besides granting Kadir Bruno 500,000 pesetas in funding and allowing him to freely select personnel from the Guard Army, Carlo provided no further assistance to Kadir Bruno.

Kadir Bruno’s task is to preliminarily form the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau within this year and initiate the intelligence gathering on domestic officials and forces.

One year later is the time to assess the results. If Kadir Bruno’s Royal Security Intelligence Bureau is successfully established and can function effectively, he will become Carlo’s confidant and enter the core of power in Spain.

But if the formation of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau fails, Kadir Bruno will not only lose this valuable opportunity but also lose Carlo’s trust.

Due to the special nature of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, the welfare and treatment of all intelligence personnel who join are top-notch.

Their salaries are much higher than those of Spanish soldiers and the Royal Guard, and if they die due to intelligence work, the intelligence personnel’s families will receive compensation, ensuring their families can continue to live.

If Kadir Bruno can’t train a batch of qualified intelligence personnel when given money and manpower, then his capabilities would indeed be questionable.

Carlo initially doubted whether Kadir Bruno could get the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau on track within a year.

But after hearing Kadir Bruno’s selection criteria for intelligence personnel a few days later, Carlo dismissed his doubts.

Among the Royal Guard force of about 2,500, only less than 50 were qualified to join the Intelligence Bureau after Kadir Bruno’s strict screening and selection, averaging two out of every 100 guard soldiers passed the screening and selection.

Even with such stringent selection criteria, it is enough to ensure that the selected intelligence personnel possess decent capabilities.

After all, Carlo’s Guard Army has undergone rigorous selection from both the military and civilian arenas, and in terms of combat power alone, it’s no worse than the regular Spanish military.

If intelligence personnel are selected this carefully, Carlo has already begun to anticipate the role the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau might play after one year.