Empire of the Ring

The generals excluded from the revolutionary army were bent on impressing young officers of the revolutionary army. Major General Kasim who could not see the revolutionaries suffering, came forward to speak to other generals.

“Should the military impose discipline, will the hierarchy of the military personnel be destroyed for not joining the revolutionary forces, General Kasim?”

“Who in the world treats generals like that?”

“They won’t treat us badly so bluntly, but we can sense it. It’s obvious that they’re ignoring us since we were appointed by the former president Nazarbayev. Has anyone else ever done that instead of the president?”

“That doesn’t matter now. The revolutionary government will review the commanders of each army. Please understand that we cannot ignore the wishes of the young officers.”

“With what right? Aren’t you too proud to have succeeded in the revolution? Then there’s going to be a huge backlash from the military.”

His voice was sharp. It was like saying that those excluded from the revolution could go against it. Then Kazakhstan could really be a bloodbath.

“It’s going to be a backlash from only a few generals. If you’re trying to move the subordinate force, you should stop it now.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No. It’s not a threat. The generals who have been doing well will never be disadvantaged.”

“The revolutionary government has broken the constitutional order. In what qualifications are you re-examining our command?”

It would be unfair to them. They understand that the young officers rose up and revolutionized, but now that they were going to be re-examined by the young officers, which was unacceptable.

The command was not taken away from them now, but even the officers under them who joined the revolutionary forces were not listening to them anymore.

“The people of Kazakhstan have already recognized the existence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. You sound like an attempt to redress a corruption-ridden country is wrong. Can’t you see the threat of China and Russia in your eyes? We just couldn’t see our nation being ripped into pieces.”

“But the idea of denying generals who are higher in rank and who had been in the army longer is also problematic.”

“We never thought of such thing, so don’t get us wrong.”

Youngho interrupted the quarrel between key revolutionary forces and military generals. As it was already known that Youngho was the center of the revolutionary forces, so it was not strange that he stepped up.

“I’m Lee Youngho, who leads the state of Arirang.”

“I am well aware of your prestige, duke. I’m sorry to meet you like this.”

Unlike his previous attempts to push out junior officers, he seemed to be nervous to talk to Youngho. This was because Youngho’s status was high, and only when a deal with him was made, the generals could get their own way.

“I couldn’t stand still knowing that there are forces that want to bite off Kazakhstan from all of its sides.”

“It was a shock to us that you were involved in the revolution. Is the situation really that critical to the point we need a revolution?”

“I can’t give you the details of the source of the information, but it’s a very dangerous situation. Would the United States, Britain, and other Western countries support the revolutionary government if we did it only to take power?”

“…”

“Russia and China are coveting the whole of Central Asia. The reason the West supports the revolutionary government is to have Russia and China in check.”

After the U.S. and Britain, the European Union also claimed to support the democratic revolution. Only then, the domestic press was also in favor of the series of events in the revolutionary government. The Kazakh public also started responding positively to the revolutionary government’s handling of the situation.

Knowing how the situation was going, the generals were getting even more nervous.

“Who can be without mistakes? Now is not the time to argue about that. I ask you all to join forces for Kazakhstan. If you have made mistakes in the past, please do your best for Kazakhstan now. Then the people will trust you.”

It was no problem to get rid of all administrative officials and hire new ones, but the military was a special case, so Youngho needed to persuade them. Mistakes could be punished later on. For now, the military should join forces in order to not get underestimated by China and Russia. The generals, who were aggressively arguing, were softened by Youngho’s remarks.

“Since the duke says so, we feel relieved and encouraged. I haven’t been able to sleep well these days because I think I’ve lived wrongly that I wasn’t even able to join the Revolutionary Armed Forces. It’d be the same for all of us. Though belated, we’ll give all our power for Kazakhstan.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. If that’s the case, our revolutionaries and the Kazakh citizens will look at you differently soon.”

Youngho decided to take a step back for now since it would not solve anything if he fired all of the corrupted military generals. For now, the priority was to work together to overcome the crisis. The evaluation would be given by the people and future generations of Kazakhstan.

***

As if a phone call was not enough, Eriksson flew to Astana himself to meet Youngho.

“Duke, congratulations!”

“Eriksson, thank you. It’s still a little early to be congratulated. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“Reform is important, but if the people fail to keep up with it, it’ll be just an empty echo. Now that everyone in the West is supporting the revolution, I think we can speed it up.”

“It’s hard to change the basics with gradual transformation, especially Russia and China are pressuring Kazakhstan.”

“I think Russia would rather be relaxed. You’re already in a secret relationship with Russia, aren’t you?”

“Well, I have a good business relationship with Russia, personally, but it will change when the various treaties and contracts with the Kazakh government are shaken.”

“So I came running. You must not maintain a hostile relationship with Russia for the time being. Pressure from both sides may cause Kazakhstan’s new movement to lose power. It is enough to have only one enemy at a time.”

“I fully sympathize with your idea. But I think it’s a long way from getting out of the shadow of Russia without reassessing our relationship with Russia.”

“Kazakhstan is economically and militarily inseparable from Russia. You don’t have to pretend that you’re done with it. Western countries are fighting for a breakthrough, but Russia is just sitting back and waiting. Now, when Russia believes that Kazakhstan is in its hands, you have to use it in reverse.”

He was speaking the truth. If Russia really was determined, it would have destroyed Kazakhstan in a moment.

“Are you saying we should send a special envoy to Russia or something?”

“Yes, exactly. Russia needs to be explained that the reason for the revolution is to eradicate internal corruption and reestablish the nation. You’d have no choice if you need the support of four million Russians living in Kazakhstan.”

“Phew, I wanted to clean up our relationship with Russia. What a shame.”

“It’s never too late to do it after building Kazakhstan’s strength. Establishing inner cohesion is a priority.”

There was no state that the new government would make enemies out of neighboring countries in the revolutionary pledges. It only said that it would correct corruption and political instability.

It was reasonable to listen and revise the plan if it was the opinion of a middleman of the Information Agency that offered information to the whole world. Although Youngho did not like the fact, winning Russian support was also important for now.

“Do you have any special person that you can send as an envoy to Russia?”

“I can’t think of anyone for now. If it’s not going to be me, I’d like to send someone who could talk to Putin.”

“You mean the Mafia boss by someone who could talk to Putin?”

“Yes. I think that Mr. Yaniv speaks for me well. What do you think?”

“He’s an unexpected figure, but he is the right person for an under-the-table work. Since he’s business partners with you, he’ll do just fine.”

“There will be a problem when Russia asks too much from us.”

“You should tell the Russian government that the revolutionary government has no authority to do that now. It would not be so forceful if you ask them to wait until there was a consensus of the National Assembly elected by a referendum.”

“I’m afraid that if we still have to maintain a humiliating relationship, there will be discord within the revolutionary army.”

“You’re only sending a message from your side to Russia. They won’t have to know about it. You can tell the others that Russia supported the revolutionary government by its own will. By the way, the reason why the U.S. government is actively helping is because of you, isn’t it?”

“It’s a revolution involving some who used to be a CIA agent. The U.S. fears that there would be problems caused by the fact. The reason that the U.S. rushed to give a statement of support can be because of the economic benefits, but my presence must’ve taken a huge role in it too.”

“It must have been Michael’s work.”

“Yes, indeed. He played a big role. He must have gone through a lot of trouble for me.”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure he’s clapping inside because you’ve been involved in this.”

“Well, since the U.S. was the first one to support the revolution, it might ask something big in return in the future. We have to admit that we are grateful that the U.S. has given us a lot of power.”

If the U.S. intelligence agent became known for his involvement in the revolution, the U.S. would be in huge trouble. Even if Youngho had acted independently without consulting the CIA, the international opinion would be that the U.S. had something to do with the revolution. That was why it decided that supporting and helping the revolution was mutually beneficial.

“The reason Russia has yet to announce its position is because it lost its chance since the U.S. had announced first. If all Western countries are backing up the revolutionary government, there would be no point for Russia to make a state in opposition. That’s why you should console Russia and build its pride back. That way, you’ll be able to think about your future steps in the diplomatic relations with Russia.”

“Okay, I’ll send a special envoy.”

“I have one more suggestion. Would you like to hear it?”

“Since your company has a global information network and brain, I’m willing to listen to it any time.”

“I think it’s good to slow down the pace of social reform by one tempo for Kazakh people’s harmonious life.”

“That was the ultimate goal of our revolution, if we slow down the reform, we’ll be delaying our purpose.”

“To lead the political situation in a stable manner, you need the support of bureaucrats. If they don’t have a prominent mistake, cover their mistakes first. I’m sure the bureaucrats are very nervous right now especially when they’ve heard the revolutionary pledges.”

Eriksson meant that the government could strike corrupt officials once things were stabilized. The revolutionary government would lose its official support base if all of the officials were punished and replaced too soon. In order to finish the national referendum well, the support from the official group was a must since there was no one who could replace them immediately.

National unity was more important than anything else at the moment.

If the majority of the Kazakh public supported the revolutionary government fully, it would be able to punish officials by then.