1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 75 The Oligarch's Noose

The night Constantine gave the order for the general offensive, the port of Piraeus was destined to be sleepless.

Professor Andreas's "army of accountants" worked tirelessly through the night, the kerosene lamps in the conference room burning until dawn. However, they were faced with a pile of meticulously forged, smeared, and even burned scraps of paper. Mavromie Harris's testimony provided direction, but not the key.

On the morning of the third day, Costas, covered in dust and exuding a menacing aura, kicked open the conference room door.

Behind him, two elite soldiers worked together to carry a heavy iron box.

"Found it!"

Costas's voice was like a thunderclap, waking all the accountants who were working long hours and had bloodshot eyes.

Based on Mavromi Harris's nearly collapsing identification, they dug up the floor of the Skopelos family's warehouse number seven. Three meters underground, within a layer of concrete, they discovered the iron box.

With a crowbar, the rusty iron lid was pried open, and a musty, stale smell wafted out. Inside the box lay a ledger wrapped in a single sheet of fine cowhide.

It has no name, no logo, and a smooth cover that exudes an ominous feel.

Professor Andreas put on white gloves and carefully picked it up.

Upon turning to the first page, everyone gasped in shock.

What was recorded there was neither numbers nor words, but a kind of unheard-of code. The names of various flowers, birds, fish, insects, mythological figures, and even desserts and drinks were densely packed, making one's scalp crawl.

"Establish a core decryption team immediately!" Andreas's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "The rest of you, continue searching the outer accounts for any clues that might be related to these codenames!"

A war over codes officially began in this small conference room.

A frenzied silence fell over the entire room. Soon, huge sheets of white paper were hung on the walls, covered with various codes and guesses written in charcoal.

"The 'Venus Necklace' might correspond to French luxury goods."

"The 'Egyptian cotton candy' may be made from high-count cotton yarn from Egypt."

"Those 'Turkish desserts' might just be high-grade silk smuggled into the Ottoman Empire!"

"Black Sea caviar... My God, this is weaponry! It's muskets sold to the Russians!"

As the coded messages were deciphered, the vast and dark smuggling empire of the Skopelos family was revealed, like an onion being peeled, layer by layer, its rotten core exposed.

Just then, the office door creaked open.

Constantine walked in, seemingly just casually surveying the scene, his gaze sweeping over the huge forms on the wall.

The members of the decoding team stood up and bowed, but he simply waved his hand, signaling them to continue.

He walked lightly, slowly pacing in front of the wall covered with charts, as if admiring a bizarre and fantastical painting.

"'Turkish desserts' represent silk, 'Black Sea caviar' represents arms..." he muttered to himself.

His finger traced across a piece of paper covered with codes to be deciphered, and finally, gently touched a single word.

That was a code name that appeared very frequently, but whose corresponding goods could never be found—"New Moon".

"This word..." Constantine's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Andreas's ears clearly, "...reminds me of something bad."

After saying that, he turned and left, as if his words were just a casual remark.

But Professor Andreas' body suddenly jolted.

new moon!

That's the flag of the Ottoman Empire!

He immediately rushed to the wall, staring intently at the word, as if lightning had flashed through his mind.

"Everyone! Drop what you're doing!" Andreas roared. "Immediately pull up every single transaction record related to the codename 'New Moon'! Every single one of them!"

Once the order was given, the entire team sprang into action again.

Soon, more than a dozen separate transaction records were presented to Andreas.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The transaction records show extremely large quantities of goods, often measured in "ships." However, in stark contrast to these massive quantities, the amounts received are pitifully small; some transactions even show zero payments!

What's even more puzzling is that none of these goods ended up at a normal commercial port.

"An abandoned dock deep in Izmit Bay..."

"A desolate coastline south of Trabzon..."

"A mountainous area near the Armenian border..."

These locations were all within the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and were all known for rampant rebel activity!

The air in the meeting room began to grow heavy.

Just then, a young accountant responsible for verifying the information of the transport ships jumped up from his seat as if he had seen a ghost.

"Professor! Professor, come quick!" His voice was trembling.

The crowd gathered around.

The young accountant pointed to a shipping record, his knuckles turning white from the force he exerted.

"That ship! The 'Hope'! The Skopelos family's cargo ship!"

"Records show that it was fully loaded with 'farm implements and building materials' last month and headed to Port Smyrna."

Trembling, he picked up another document from beside him, a tattered nautical logbook, a private record found in the room of a captain from the captured Skopelos family.

"However! According to this captain's log, the 'Hope' secretly shut down its signals in the central Aegean Sea and turned towards the Black Sea!"

"It...it finally came to rest here!"

The young accountant used a red pencil to draw a heavy circle in an inconspicuous place on the map.

"Akchakoca!"

Upon hearing this name, a former military intelligence clerk familiar with the situation in the Balkans turned deathly pale.

"Akchakoca...that's the largest secret supply point for the Armenian independence army, orchestrated by the Russians, within Ottoman territory!"

The mystery has been solved.

That fatal, final piece of the puzzle was perfectly put together.

At this moment, the meaning of the "new moon" needs no further explanation.

The entire conference room was deathly silent.

Everyone froze in place, forgetting even to breathe. The sounds of papers turning, the abacus clicking, everything vanished. Only the howling sea wind outside the window and the increasingly heavy breathing of the crowd remained.

The Skopelos family.

This incredibly wealthy family wields immense influence in Athens.

They were actually smuggling weapons and strategic materials to rebels within the Ottoman Empire, the country's archenemy!

This is not tax evasion!

This is not a commercial crime!

This is treason!

That's the highest level of treason!

Driven by self-interest, they showed no concern whatsoever that the entire nation might be dragged into an uncontrollable conflict with little support from major powers.

The records in that leather ledger, written in coded language, were not business transactions at all.

That was black money, stained with the stench of blood, obtained at the cost of Greece's future and the blood of its soldiers!

Professor Andreas held the newly compiled report, which could be described as a "death sentence," his hands trembling like leaves falling in the autumn wind.

He felt as if he were holding not a piece of paper, but a red-hot branding iron.

He staggered out of the conference room and burst through the door to Constantine's office.

"Your Highness! We've found it! We...we've found it!"

His voice was completely distorted by extreme excitement and horror.

Constantine looked up from the document, his eyes calm as still water.

He took the report and flipped through it page by page. His expression remained unchanged, as if it contained nothing more than a routine market analysis.

Andreas looked at him and felt that the prince in front of him was so unfamiliar and terrifying.

All of this seemed to be within his expectations.

Constantine finally finished reading the report. He slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the deep blue Mediterranean Sea.

On the port, the blue and white Greek flag fluttered in the sea breeze.

"very good……"

A chilling smile curved the corners of his mouth.

"Now, this knife is finally sharpened."