Chapter 40

This morning, as soon as Wilhelm entered the office, Annie followed closely behind. "Your Highness, the memorandum I wrote for you a year ago, codenamed 'Operation Bernard,' has expired." At that time, His Highness had asked her to draft a memorandum with the codename "Operation Bernard." However, he didn't disclose the specific content to her, only mentioning that she should remind him after a year. Now, a year had passed, and she was worried that His Highness might not remember this action plan with just a codename and no details.

"So, it has already been a year." Wilhelm couldn't help muttering quietly. In this past year, he had gradually grown accustomed to his new identity, but sometimes he still couldn't help feeling bewildered, as if he was still just an ordinary person from before his transmigration.

After reflecting for a moment, Wilhelm shook his head, no longer dwelling on these useless thoughts, and gave his orders. "Summon Reinhard."

Soon, Reinhard hurriedly entered the room. "Your Highness, what are your orders?"

Wilhelm gestured towards the couch, indicating for him to sit down. "Has the intelligence department gathered enough information?"

Reinhard's words carried a sense of confidence. "Yes, Your Highness. Mr. Hans mentioned that he is considering early retirement!"

"Excellent, I knew I made the right choice." Wilhelm took out a document and handed it to him. "This is the blueprint for the national intelligence organization that I have planned. Take a look."

Reverently accepting the document, Reinhard began to read it carefully. After reading it twice in a row, he couldn't help but sincerely admire, "Your Highness, you are wise. This is an elaborate blueprint."

Wilhelm smiled. In fact, he didn't need to exert much effort in creating this intelligence organization blueprint. He simply transplanted the structure of the American intelligence agencies from the original timeline. Although he didn't know if there were any hidden departments, in the public sphere, the United States had 16 intelligence organizations coordinated by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), also translated as the National Intelligence Agency. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was directly commanded, managed, and controlled by the President.

Of these 16 intelligence organizations, all except the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which dealt with satellite surveillance, could be established at any time. Wilhelm changed the NRO to "Geheime Staats Polizei" (Secret State Police), Germany's secret police organization.

Seeing Reinhard about to place the document back on the table, Wilhelm waved his hand. "Keep the document. I can see that your abilities should not be confined to just the intelligence department. In the future, you will assume the position of Director of National Intelligence. You don't have much time left, so be prepared."

Reinhard stood as straight as a pole, giving a respectful salute. "Thank you, Your Highness, for your guidance. I will do my best and fulfill your trust."

Wilhelm remembered that a year ago, when he asked Reinhard to take over the intelligence work, Reinhard said, "I will do my best," right? It seemed that he had indeed adapted well to the intelligence work.

Wilhelm gave him a special reminder. "I want the Secret State Police to infiltrate every corner of society, in all professions and industries, to gather and extract various pieces of information. However, remember that without my specific orders, the Secret State Police cannot exercise the power of arrest. Moreover, it's not just Germany; you should also prepare for infiltration across all of Europe. In the future, I want the eyes of the Secret State Police to be watching every move in Europe."

He knew he didn't need to say much more. Reinhard would execute the tasks excellently. A U.S. journalist stationed in Berlin before World War II wrote, "Your son, your father, your wife, your cousin, your friend, your superior, your secretary—all of them could be spies for Heydrich's organization."

After understanding the instructions, Reinhard nodded. "Understood."

"I called you here this time to assign you two top-secret missions. The first mission is codenamed 'Operation Andrew.' The plan involves secretly gathering and capturing those skilled in forgery. Anyone capable of forging passports, documents, stamps, cultural relics, and other items should be identified. I want to mass-produce counterfeit currency that is indistinguishable from real money, even if it is deposited in the Bank of the British Empire, it will not be detected as fake."

During World War II, Germany printed a large amount of realistic counterfeit money to disrupt the markets of the Allied countries and acquire supplies through deception.

Using counterfeit money as a weapon of war is not a new concept and was not invented by the Germans. The history of counterfeit currency can be traced back to ancient Greece. Frederick the Great of Prussia had manufactured currency to circulate in Poland during the Seven Years' War. Napoleon approved the production of counterfeit Austrian and Russian banknotes. During the American Civil War, both the North and the South extensively used counterfeit bills to undermine their enemy's financial system.

In fact, during World War II, Britain also established its own counterfeit unit called "Operation Bernhard," but their work was limited to manufacturing forged passports, documents, stamps, and disguises. They never engaged in large-scale counterfeit money production.

They did consider it, though. In 1940, the head of British intelligence organization approached Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to inquire about the possibility and feasibility of spreading forged German marks in enemy territory. Chamberlain concluded that the difference in strength between the British pound and the German mark was too significant, and the potential retaliation from Germany would cause greater losses to Britain.

While the British had concerns, the Germans did not. Arthur Nebe, the chief of the German criminal police, first proposed the idea of manufacturing counterfeit money, which was approved by Reinhard Heydrich. Thus, the operation led by SS officer Bernhard Krüger was officially launched, named "Operation Andreas" (often mistakenly referred to as "Operation Bernhard" due to the surname of its supervisor).

Towards the end of the war, a rescued printing worker calculated that the entire operation had produced counterfeit money worth approximately £135 million. Although this estimate may have underestimated the total value of the counterfeit money, the news still shocked the world.

In February 1945, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer ordered the withdrawal of all circulating ten-pound notes, and it was publicly announced that this unprecedented measure was not due to a counterfeit crisis. In early 1946, counterfeit-proof banknotes with metal strips running through them replaced all other denominations of the pound. Even today, people can still recognize these metal security features on the banknotes currently in use.

By January 9, 1951, the Bank of England had collected a total of 1,860,223 counterfeit banknotes of various denominations. By 1959, over three million counterfeit banknotes had been collected. All counterfeit banknotes were destroyed, but that did not mark the end of all "Operation Andreas" banknotes.

Upon hearing Wilhelm's counterfeit money plan, Reinhard immediately responded without hesitation, "I understand, Your Highness."

"For the second plan, you need to establish a secret department and gather individuals with expertise in finance. These people should not be from the Junker nobility nor have any involvement with the Jews. They must have unquestionable integrity and loyalty to the royal family. The department's responsibility is to investigate German financiers, entrepreneurs, and businessmen. Whether they are from the Junker nobility, Jews, or ordinary entrepreneurs, I want everyone below the Emperor to be thoroughly investigated. We must expose those parasites who engage in speculation, usury, and hoarding, and do not contribute to real work. Do you understand?"

Wilhelm had discussed this matter with Kaiser Wilhelm II in advance. Kaiser Wilhelm II asked what should be done after finding evidence against those individuals. Wilhelm's response was straightforward, "Capture ordinary people and individuals like the Jews directly. Confiscate their properties and throw them all into concentration camps to work until death. For those with great influence, we may temporarily spare them, but we will fatten them up first and settle accounts with them in the future. However, Grandfather, you must warn them not to be too greedy. If they become excessively rapacious, I don't mind resorting to extrajudicial means to deal with them."

Kaiser Wilhelm II nodded; this child truly had thorough considerations.