My own war game

Chapter 405 The Growing Red Mercury
"Turkey? He, can you say it again?" Christine thought she had heard it wrong.

"No, nothing. I haven't been sleeping well lately and I'm just talking nonsense." He Chi shook his head and didn't continue the topic. He just had some guesses in his mind and there was no need to create unnecessary anxiety at this time.

"Rest for a while. We will dock in the afternoon. Today has a different meaning. Everyone is waiting for you." The French girl hugged He Chi and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

Today is a special day for the entire Red Mercury Organization - 17 years after its establishment, they can finally appear in public openly.

The South African government just recently completed an internal power transition.

Mandela's guards took over the president's residence without an exchange of fire. Erwin Morrison went into exile. At the same time, the African Democratic Union announced its support for Mandela to exercise power on behalf of the party in the country and to select him as the party's candidate to compete for the presidency of the new government.

Although the general election will not begin immediately, given the size of the African Democratic Alliance in Congress, it is only a matter of time before Mandela successfully becomes president.

Throughout the internal struggle, Red Mercury provided Mandela with a lot of under-the-surface support, and even helped Mandela form a personal armed guard while providing core intelligence.

After achieving success, Mandela began to return the favor. The first thing he did was to give Margaret official state guest treatment and prepare to award her a special medal.

Red Mercury's personnel officially landed in Cape Town under the name of Margaret's Guards.

It can be expected that unless Mandela falls, South Africa will gradually become a private domain of red mercury.

In a sense, these spies who were once abandoned by the international community now have their own "home" in this world.

At Cape Town Harbor, when Margaret stepped off the ship, the entire dock was in an uproar, with people spontaneously lining up on both sides of the road to welcome the "people's princess".

At this time, South Africa had achieved true political independence. Thanks to Margaret's passionate speech ten years ago, she enjoyed a very high reputation among the people.

At this time, the second princess became playful and even took the initiative to interact with some civilians on the dock.

"I can't believe that she has such high popularity even though she hasn't appeared in Cape Town for ten years. I thought these people were really hired by the government." Jima, who was wearing casual clothes, said in surprise as she looked at the scene in front of her.

"You don't think that what you said back then would be remembered by these people for so many years, do you?" Christine looked at everything in front of her and explained in a light tone.

"Starting in 1953, we began to use our resources to invest in South Africa, including two coal mines, a manganese mine and a diamond mine."

"These industries combined provide jobs for about 130 people in the local area. The salary we offer is about % of the local equivalent of the same type of work. And these investments are openly made in the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess."

"So these people are welcoming their boss more than they are welcoming Margaret."

He Chi on the side also turned his head in surprise. "You did all these things? When did they happen? How come I never knew about them?"

"Fu~fu~fu~" Christine shook her fingers. "If we had to rely on you as a man for everything, we would have broken up long ago."

The French girl's tone at this moment was as if she was teasing her husband who didn't earn much salary outside.

"There's more to it. Follow me." Christine led the way with her long legs, and boarded a car that had been waiting at the dock. The car stopped at a large factory in the suburbs of Cape Town.

When He Chi got out of the car, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere here was different, because the guards at the gate were all armed soldiers, and there were even machine gun positions.

"This is the assembly center. The first batch of machine tools you brought back from Berlin was purchased by us. Later, we purchased a lot more from other channels."

"We are now able to partially imitate Soviet equipment. If necessary, we can supply a troop of about 3000 people without any problem." Christine continued to act as a explainer.

"Are there any more surprises coming up?" Based on He Chi's understanding, the French girl must have something else to say at this time.

"Yes" Christine smiled

"There is also a laboratory here. Professors Oberth and Heisenberg each have a team working on technology development. The current topic is the development of a launch platform for ship-borne missiles. I estimate that the Minerva will be equipped with a new one during the next major renovation."

"Sinniel, these must have cost a lot of money. Did we earn that much before?" He Chi felt something was wrong.

"The money you extorted from NATO back then was enough to cover normal expenses. The money here is actually..." Christine leaned over and whispered a few words.

"What?! Benjamin got...imitation coins?!"

"Don't be so surprised. Isn't this the news you gave him?" The French girl patted He Chi gently, as if she thought he was making a fuss out of nothing.

In order to offer Benjamin a reward, He Chi once specifically suggested a location to him - Lake Grundl in Salzburg, Austria.

The lake was actually where the Germans hid counterfeit US and British pounds during World War II.

During the war, both the Allies and Germany tried to crack the printing anti-counterfeiting technology of each other's currency, and both made relevant samples. However, the Allied products were relatively crudely made, and the signs of counterfeiting could still be seen with the naked eye, which did not have a very good effect.

But in 1942, German general Heydrich launched the famous Bernhard Operation, in which he used coercion to control a group of counterfeiting experts, including top painters, mathematicians, and economists (mostly Jewish).
They figured out the algorithm for the serial number and re-experimented with the paper and ink. After countless comparisons and corrections, they produced banknotes that were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

These almost undetectable pounds and dollars quickly flowed into the market, dealing a heavy blow to the British and American economies while even paying salaries for German spies.

In early 1945, with Germany on the verge of defeat, Heinrich Himmler ordered all evidence destroyed.

These counterfeit coins were eventually sunk into Lake Grundl in Austria. After the relevant information was decrypted, it was found that antique coin enthusiasts dug out a portion of them for collection, while most of the rest were destroyed by the Allies.

However, the information described here in later generations was too simple. He Chi only knew that the money was lost in this place, but he didn't know how much exactly was there.

When Benjamin brought up a huge amount of imitation US dollar bills, his first reaction was - I wonder if he will be silenced.

(End of this chapter)