Empire of the Ring

“There’s a rumor going around that the royal family will own an airline.”

Youngho was drinking tea with Park Jong-il, who came to the office to report his work.

“Suh Min-seok suggested it, so I asked him to look into it.”

“We should have done it already. It doesn’t make sense that we don’t have an airline when we are producing propeller planes.”

“Even if we set up an airline, we won’t touch the route to federal states and domestic flights. The royal family should operate only non-redundant international flights because I don’t want to violate the existing airline’s territory.”

“I heard a Russian airline offered to open a direct flight. What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to push ahead with it, too. I don’t think many people will use the Russian airline, which is old and lacks competitiveness.”

“I see. But by the way, Putin is determined. He likes our royal family so much that he thinks of opening a direct air route.”

Despite the fact that there was already a direct route between Astana and Moscow, it was surprising to open a separate route in the royal territory. This meant that Putin was working hard on the Kazakh royal family.

“Even if I were Putin, I would try to do that much. It’s kind of a client management thing, isn’t it?

“He already impressed me enough by letting us have the license to produce the next generation of tanks.”

“It’s probably because it’s easier to put us forward than to deal directly with China.”

“He might ask us to fight a local dispute instead of Russia.”

The royal family already owned a private military company, so fighting for Russia was not an unimaginable thing.

The U.S. also often jumped into international disputes as long as it was beneficial to the country.

From now on, international disputes would also be dominated by proxy battles between private military companies.

In a way, Kazakhstan might also be playing a mercenary role for Russia.

“If we get unlucky, there could be a proxy war between American companies and our companies.”

This might be possible because Kazakhstan was helping Russia, the enemy of the U.S.

“We can worry about it later. Is there anything you want to say to me? I think Aliyev would have said something by now.”

Youngho was curious about Aliyev’s recent situation.

“I was wondering why you are not saying that. We’ve also recovered a lot of borrowed-name property from the Aliyev family. It’s mostly real estate, and it’ll be about 150 million dollars at the market price.”

“Great. Now I guess we’ve recovered most of his slush funds. Why don’t we pick the right place for him and his family to settle?”

“How much do you want me to give him in his hand?”

If he lived in poverty, it could be more noticeable to the public.

Aliyev should be given enough to live in comfort, or he could be more noticeable to the public. Also, his whereabouts and movements should be consistently managed as well since he could be still hiding something.

“Why don’t we give a certain amount of money every year? If we give a lot at a time, he might end up plotting something using it.”

“Yes, we should. He should be under our close watch anyway.”

Aliyev served as the president of Azerbaijan and could leak national secrets if he was not watched. It was delayed, but the Aliyev family problem was finally coming to an end.

Thanks to the slush funds collected by the Aliev family, Kazakhstan introduced the latest weapons from Russia and invested in the gas field development and pipeline business, so there was some gratitude.

Youngho wanted to let them live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

***

As the introduction of the T-14 Armata tank became visible, it created a tremendous sensation both at home and abroad.

In particular, China vehemently criticized arms cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan.

It threatened to fully review economic cooperation with Russia, claiming it was an irresponsible act that would break the military balance in the region.

Meanwhile, it suggested a speculation that Russia could have been behind the Uyghur and Tibet armed struggles and their independence movement by encouraging Kazakhstan.

Such a reaction from China was because it was afraid of Kazakhstan’s rising defense capabilities, but China’s voice was nothing but an echoless cry because the Russian government did not respond at all.

Since it was fun to wait and see China getting embarrassed, Youngho was planning a visit to Kashgar to stir the Chinese government some more.

He had nothing to fear because he already confirmed through the intelligence service that Putin was deeply offended by China’s ridiculous speculation.

Kazakhstan was being sabotaged as Russia’s second-tier squad anyway.

This was because the more China and Russia grew apart, the greater would be the scope of movement for Kazakhstan.

Youngho was head-to-head with Prime Minister Kasim in his office over his visit to Kashgar.

“Mr. Prime Minister, the Russian government is neither positive nor negative toward the Uyghur issue. I think it’s safe to accept it as a sign of its involvement in it.”

“Isn’t Russia trying to get a free ride now that we’ve done all the work?”

Kasim, who particularly did not trust Russia, did not like Russia’s current stance.

He used to be a military commander at Kazakhstan’s western border and had gone through a lot of trouble due to Russian troops, so he had hostile feelings toward Russia.

He also did not like the fact that Russia was hiding the former president of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev.

“Russia is also a stakeholder since it borders China, too.”

“That’s true, but I can’t trust it. It’s not like Russia has given up its southward policy…”

“Let alone the southward policy, Russia is in the position of being afraid of China’s advance to the north.”

As for Russia, it was like getting a free ride since if Kashgar became independent, there would be a buffer zone between Russia and China.

“China won’t sit back and watch when you visit Kashgar. Should we provoke China for no reason?”

Kashgar was an autonomous republic but it was officially Chinese territory.

If the Duke of Kazakhstan visited Kashgar without China’s consent, it would be a kind of provocation.

“It’s given the status of an autonomous republic, but it’s an isolated, hostile country in reality.”

Although Kashgar earned the status of an autonomous republic, it maintained the status only because its troops were pointing guns at Chinese troops at the border.

There was no physical exchange with China at all.

“China will of course oppose your visit, but it will be better for the future if you move after taking a diplomatic measure.”

“Okay, if we need a cause, I will notify my visit to China through a diplomatic channel before making a move.”

“Your Highness, if China conducts an armed protest, I’d like you to reconsider your visit to Kashgar. The Chinese government will try to stop you using any means.”

“If I give up my visit to Kashgar because of China’s protest, it’s only going to drag down our status.”

When Youngho insisted on his plan, Kasim frowned. He knew that Youngho’s stubbornness was notorious.

“Your Highness, the border has just been stabilized, but if the tension at the border intensified again, it will be harmful to our economy.”

It was not that Youngho was unaware of the issue, but he could not step back because of China’s threat since the problem of Uyghur was directly related to Kazakhstan’s future.

It was because China could try to retrieve Kashgar as soon as it was out of global attention.

“I believe our economy is strong enough not to be shaken by such an outside threat. Has there been a stability in global society? Every day is like a battle.”

“Phew! Very well. I can never wear you down.”

Kasim gave in as he learned that Youngho could not be convinced.

***

When Youngho announced his visit to Kashgar, China was even more stirred up and complained that Kazakhstan was intervening in another country’s domestic affairs for no special reason.

China also threatened Kazakhstan by saying that if Youngho visited Kashgar without China’s consent, Kazakhstan would have to be responsible for the aftermath of its action.

“This is concerning.”

Even Park Jong-il showed his concern as China’s reaction intensified.

“Oh, it’s just making a fuss to target Russia since it gave us the second Yamal project and next-generation weapons. China has been controlling Russia like it’s its own with its endless capital, but it’s furious now that we disturbed that cycle.”

“But do you really have to go? We don’t want to provoke China too much…”

“You know this is why we have to provoke China more. China can’t act out because of Russia, so don’t worry.”

Youngho was forcing his trip to Kashgar because he had a back-up.

He learned that Putin was thinking of Kazakhstan as a rival horse against China, thus it was providing its newest weapons.

As Russia needed Kazakhstan to stay strong, it would help Kazakhstan more if China protested harder.

As long as Russia had Kazakhstan’s back, China would never think of crossing the border like last time.

“Don’t we have to strengthen our border then?”

“There’s no need to be afraid just because China is complaining hard. It’ll stop if we ignore it. China can’t start another war with us, you know.”

The morale of Chinese troops had plummeted already because of the recent battles against Kazakhstan and the militias of Uyghur and Tibet.

The Kazakh military also proved its worth against Chinese troops.

This was another reason that Youngho did not think much of China’s threat. He believed that he had strong troops that could protect the country against any provocation.

In order to break China’s intention to defoliate Kashgar by not allowing anyone’s access to it, Youngho must visit Kashgar.