Empire of the Ring

China also did not have the right to oppose Kazakhstan when it wanted to pay for the construction of One Belt One Road in Kazakhstan’s section. To China, the problem was that Kazakhstan was adamant that it would also be involved in the southern Central Asian sections. Even if China completed its route to southern Central Asia, it would be meaningless if it failed to persuade Kazakhstan since it was an important location on the way to Europe.

The previous administration of Kazakhstan was compliant with China’s plan of the One Belt One Road project, but now it was changed by 180 degrees. Youngho, who caused a huge problem to China’s plan, was now planning something else at the royal palace in the royal property with Basten and other investors.

“China claims to be the world’s central state, but I want to stress that Kazakhstan stands at the core of the world.”

“Your Highness, are you talking about the One Belt One Road project when you say Kazakhstan is in the center of the world?”

“It has been the center of transportation logistics from the past. I’d like to remind you of the importance of Kazakhstan’s role on the Silk Road in the past.”

“Europeans don’t know about the importance of Central Asia because Europe was the destination.”

“You might not know that the Trans-Siberian Railway and Kazakhstan’s Northeast and West North Lines are already connected. If a straight line to the Caspian Sea is added on top of that, China won’t be able to resist it. It’s a golden route to exaggerate a little bit.”

“What if China changes the course to Kyrgyzstan?”

“Kazakhstan’s East-West transportation network is a route for China and Central Asian countries to go to Europe, but it’s also an entry route. Southern Central Asian countries cannot go to Europe, let alone Russia unless they get through Kazakhstan.”

“You mean Kazakhstan’s route is absolute.”

“Even if China gives up on this route, East-West traffic networks are worth saving.”

Listening to Youngho’s explanation, Basten and the investors all shook their heads. Although it was a bit of an argument that Kazakhstan was the center of the earth, it seemed to be profitable to invest in infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan considering its bright future.

In addition to guaranteeing the cost of the project, the royal family was also giving incentives to the investors if they started their business in Kazakhstan in the future.

“Since Your Highness is so confident about it, I don’t see a reason why we should be hesitant. Now that you’ve already heard the terms of your investment, your decision is all there’s left.”

Basten asked for other investors’ intentions.

“Mr. Basten, you don’t have to be in such a hurry. Time’s on our side, anyway.”

“There is no reason to hesitate since you’d be carrying out the construction regardless of China.”

“It won’t be too late to make decisions after our delegation came back from visiting China. We’ll be able to calm southern countries’ resistance when we have the justification that China had rejected our request. The southern countries are expecting that the One Belt One Road business will boost their sagging economy.”

“What are you going to do when China says it will give up the southern route because of Kazakhstan?”

“I have my own plan.”

South Asian countries were still under the charm of China’s pork-barrel investment to their countries, not knowing China’s true intentions, but there would be no leader who would put his head into the bear’s mouth to earn some minimal transportation costs.

If they would insist, Youngho was going to overthrow their governments even by encouraging the anti-government organizations of each country. He was already funding them in secret.

Basten and European investors flew to Kazakhstan as soon as Eriksson contacted them. Kazakhstan was a very attractive investment destination for them. They would be hesitant if the Kazakh government was leading the business, but since the royal family was on the lead, they were all excited. The royal family of Kazakhstan was known to have an astronomical heritage inherited from the Serbian kingdom, on top of the Duke’s own huge assets.

Not only that, the family had full support from Kazakh people, even though it was just born.

Kazakhstan was a prospective country that was continuing to develop. The adoption of the constitutional monarchy itself aroused curiosity, but it was now going against China’s will like it was nothing. The people who visited the royal territory today all believed that there had got to be something that Kazakhstan believed in to act out so boldly against China.

***

“I didn’t expect you to visit Kazakhstan so soon, Mr. Basten.”

“How can I stay put when Your Highness wants to see me? I had to come as soon as I could.”

“I’ve made a mistake for the busy man. You’ve worked hard for Kazakhstan. Is there anything you need? I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“We promised to help you, but we didn’t do much.”

“What are you saying? We’ve received technology transfer of Sweden’s fighter jet manufacturing technology.”

“That’s what you earned from having a legitimate deal. You didn’t even give me a chance to move.”

“Can anyone make such a deal? It must’ve been risky for Sweden to take such a step to deal with Kazakhstan. It’s all because of you. And Sweden was the first country to respond to participate for our arms industry exposition.”

“I was surprised to hear that you’re holding a fair. Even in the developed world, many countries don’t dare to hold a global conference like that. Many times, you don’t get to achieve your goal even after spending a huge budget on it.”

“I decided to venture out of doors hoping that the world will pay attention to Kazakhstan. Success is a secondary goal. The fair is a lure. I was only trying to get a chance to interact with military contractors in developed countries.”

“Hahaha… You are indeed a bold guy.”

It would be too much to ask if Youngho wanted the arms industry fair in Kazakhstan to be a success. Although there was no law that said not to hold such fair in Kazakhstan, the resource fair fitted the reality of Kazakhstan. But he chose the military fair to overcome the reality of being caught in the midst of great powers. There was a need to show a false attitude to achieve that. He went overboard since there was a chance to get useful weapons if he got lucky.

“Your Highness, I didn’t do much to help you, but I want to ask you a favor.”

“Feel free to ask. I’ll do anything for you.”

“I’d like to buy Kazakhstan’s gold. Would it be possible?”

Youngho had quite a lot of gold himself now. The Kazakh government was also planning to produce more than 100 tons of gold every year.

“Is there a problem in the world financial market?”

“I’m sure it’ll fluctuate sooner or later. That’s another reason I came to Kazakhstan.”

“The U.S. market seems to be pretty firm now, and I don’t think the European market will shake either.”

“It’s China.”

“What? The country that’s shaking the whole world for its One Belt One Road business?”

“China’s nation’s debt level has reached the highest level in the world. China’s rapid growth is due to its credit expansion policy. China’s total debt reached 260 percent of its GDP now. It’s already at a dangerous level, but if it goes beyond this point, it can trigger an economic crisis at any time.”

People said that when China sneezed, the world would catch a cold.

Experts were pointing out that as a single country, China’s debt problem would be beyond its borders, as its contribution to the global economy was the highest since China had contributed more than a third of the world’s economic growth.

“It seems that China is using the One Belt One Road project to hide its internal crisis.”

“Do most countries know about this?”

“They know, but the domestic market that 1.3 billion people consume is also a formidable one, and everyone thinks that China will be able to hold up.”

“It sounds like you’re the only one that doesn’t believe that.”

“There’s nothing bad about taking extra caution. The dollar or euro, the key currencies, could be hit hard by the economic crisis that China will bring. That’s why we must increase our gold holdings in case of a rainy day.”

Youngho originally planned to lower the ratio of Kazakhstan’s foreign debts from next year, but he decided to have the government pay them off right away. Any gold produced in the country would be stored in the Central Bank anyway, so he planned to increase the volume of Kazakhstan’s currency to boost its domestic demand. In other words, Basten gave him valuable information, not to mention that Youngho now had another card to pressure China.

“How much gold do you need?”

“Pardon?”

When Youngho suddenly asked how much gold he needed, Basten was startled.

“You said you need gold, and I told you I’ll do anything for you.”

“I’m so surprised to see you decide so quickly. Can you control the government-controlled gold?”

“I have some in the royal palace, too.”

“I need about five tons of gold, so can you do that?”

“I can give you a little more if you want.”

“I should’ve come to you earlier since you’re so generous like this.”

“I’ve got one condition for you though.”

“…”

“Can I get it in your company’s stock, not in dollars or euros?”

The Information Agency was not listed on the stock market, but it was a major shareholder of the global fighter jet maker, Saab Group. Youngho said that he would get a stake of the Information Agency since he would be able to attract global companies to Kazakhstan if he did.

Basten, who was lost in thought silently for a while, grinned.

“If the Kazakh royal family participates as a shareholder, we will have a strong ally, not to mention it will gain the military strength of the royal family. It is an honor to have Your Highness as a stockholder.”

“That’s a huge favor. So Eriksson’s staying here would not be a problem at all in the future as well.”

“It’s only natural for a large shareholder to run his own staff.”

“Eriksson has been a big help to us. I’d like to give some of the shares to Eriksson.”

“Eriksson will be moved.”

“Thanks to you for sending me a good man.”

“I didn’t send him. He volunteered.”

“Really? I thought you sent him.”

“He always thanked you for saving his life in Chechnya. He said he was born again that day. When he said that he would repay you for that, I couldn’t stop him. And in fact, it’ll be a waste of his talent if he stayed in our Information Agency, so I had to let him go.”

Youngho once accompanied Eriksson to Chechnya when he met Chechen rebels, and he was lucky enough to save Eriksson. It was nothing to Youngho or Jong-il, but for Eriksson, it was surviving from death. It had been years and Youngho had completely forgotten about it, but it seemed that Eriksson and Basten’s favor to Youngho had been because of that event.

“It was an escort service to protect Eriksson. I would have tried to save anyone.”

“Eriksson said that he would not have been able to survive from there if it wasn’t for you and your friend.”

“If Eriksson’s staying with me just because of that, I can’t have him here any longer. I always feel sorry that he’s living apart from his family because he’s staying in Kazakhstan.”

“Neither Eriksson nor I don’t think that way. He wants to stay near you, so don’t push him away.”

“He said he’d go back to the Information Agency one day.”

“Sweden is his home, and he owns a stake in the company. Of course, he’d want to return someday. But I think Eriksson is happy to be here. He’s more energetic than ever, and I’m jealous. I’ve never seen such a bright side of him when he worked for our company.”

Eriksson had been on Youngho’s mind since he felt sorry for Eriksson for leaving his home. It was a relief to hear that he looked very happy in the eyes of Basten. It seemed that Eriksson was attracted to the dynamic side of Kazakhstan than being in the Information Agency where money was the priority. Working for Kazakhstan was giving him a sense of achievement.