Empire of the Ring

The Xinjiang Uyghur independence fighters’ performance was amazing.

As simple foods as combat foods and individual firearms became available, the scope of their activities was widened, and finally, they attacked a public security office in Xining the province of Qinghai, near Xinjiang Uyghur.

The attack on the public security office, which was a key department of the Communist Party of China. China’s public security authorities were flustered since they had not expected that the situation would get this big.

In the meantime, the Royal Guard commandos attacked the Chinese military headquarters in Urumqi and other subordinate units simultaneously.

China even declared a state of emergency in Xinjiang Uyghur. It was because the unit’s oil storage exploded; killing and injuring about 20 soldiers—destroying the tanks and armored vehicles around it.

It was a successful operation without firing a single shot.

Usually, there was no case where oil storage facilities in military units with strict military discipline were exploded due to careless handling. The Chinese military was doubtful that the military was responsible for the incident, but it could not announce that the independence fighters were responsible for it since it would like admitting the military’s weak defense network.

“You didn’t find the camp?”

“I guess our intelligence agents should be sent to find it.”

“I told you that our intelligence service would look into it first. We need to plant intelligence agents in the Xinjiang Uyghur region as local informants.”

Park Jong-il and Cho Chul-hwan were eager to send intelligence agents, but it could be dangerous for the security checks of the Chinese guards who were very tight that the agents could be sacrificed.

“Do you have any agent who can speak the Northwest dialect or the Uyghur language?”

“Of course. Do you think that our intelligence service has been slacking off? Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared to accept Uyghurs.”

It seemed that Jong-il had recruited and trained some Uyghurs who had immigrated to Kazakhstan already. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for outsiders to work in Xinjiang Uyghur, with tight security in the region.

The fact that the Chinese government had launched a biometric recognition program was intended to prevent outsiders from engaging in activities. Even young backpackers who toured around the world had given up traveling to Xinjiang Uyghur because of it.

“Chul-hwan, tell the royal guards to come back. Things will get complicated if one of them gets hurt.”

“I’ll have to do that. I did satellite communications yesterday, and they said that even Uyghurs can’t go to the streets freely now because of the Chinese security officers are around every corner of the streets.”

Once people were caught, they would be dragged to the camp and would never be seen again. So, people were afraid to go outside. Currently, the number of Chinese living in Urumqi which was the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur was more than the number of Uyghurs living in the city. So, many Uyghurs left the city one by one and lived near the border area near Kazakhstan.

“If we think of the Uyghurs as our brothers, shouldn’t we have to resolve it with China?”

“How?”

“Why don’t we ask the Chinese government to move Uyghurs to Kazakhstan?”

“That means we’re giving up the Xinjiang Uyghur region. Who’s going to benefit from that?”

“It’s not a great land. Just let the Chinese take it all.”

Youngho was dumbfounded by Jong-il’s absurd suggestion.

“You are crazy. If the Uyghurs heard it, they’d come up to you with a knife.”

“The Chinese government is trying to get rid of the Uyghurs from the region. If we just wait, there won’t be any Uyghur left in there anyway.”

“The Uyghurs will never leave their hometown so easily. They’ll rather prepare to die and fight for independence. Think of the militancy and pride of the Central Asian peoples. It’s so obvious. They’re all going to fight against China even if they die.”

“I’m saying this in frustration. They might all be dead at this rate. We can save them now and come up with a measure in the future. It’ll be a terrible waste if they fight against China now. Youngho, we need to take an action now. What’s the point of talking like this if we don’t do something about it? If our royal commandos can’t find the location of the camp, would our agents be able to find it? The Chinese government is determined to get rid of Uyghur independence fighters. I want to go there myself, but I’m not in a position to do that anymore. If it was like a year ago, we could, but I’m now the head of the intelligence service of Kazakhstan. And you, you are like a fatherly figure of the whole nation of 25 million people.”

Jong-il’s words were true.

Although Youngho wanted to run to the scene himself, the future of Kazakhstan and even Central Asia could depend on his decisions.

People of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also believed in Youngho when they decided to serve the Kazakh royal family. It would be a great sin against those people if he was dead.

It was important to help Uyghurs, but he had to think of priorities first. However, he could not just sit there knowing the lives of Uyghurs were in danger.

He must find the camp in Xinjiang Uyghur and let the world know what was truly going on there.

***

The world was shocked when Xinjiang Uyghur’s reality began to be known in detail.

Countries around the world blasted China for what they called an ‘anti-humanitarian act’ that could not happen in the 21st century.

The U.S. also showed a great interest in the massive terrorist attacks and military raids in the region. So, it dispatched a large number of CIA agents to Kazakhstan to check the situation. It was because the CIA knew that Kazakhstan was helping Uyghurs.

It seemed that Youngho needed to visit the U.S. too.

Michael had asked him to visit the U.S. several times to discuss the situation in Central Asia. Moreover, as the U.S. Air Force was stationed in Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. had no choice but to talk to Youngho about the Kyrgyz Air Force base. Since the U.S. had not withdrawn from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan’s U.S. Air Force base was necessary for the sake of the national interest.

Although the international influence of the U.S. was weakened now, the U.S. still remained as the strongest country in the world and its economic scale was immense as well as its consumer market. It was beneficial for Kazakhstan to maintain a strong relationship with the U.S. as long as possible.

Considering the relations with China and Russia, having the U.S. as an ally was a must. This was because while U.S. policies changed often according to its national interest, Russia and its allies feared the U.S.

“Your Highness, no matter how informal this visit is, if not accompanied by government officials, it would lower the dignity of the Kazakh royal family.”

“Don’t you think that’s too much of a hassle?”

“Even if it’s an informal visit, the official in charge of diplomatic work must follow you. It’s not appropriate for you to take care of the diplomatic business.”

“Fine. You can take care of that, Prime Minister.”

“I’m a little worried that there might be a problem because your visit is not prearranged.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. The Kyrgyz Air Force base is related to the U.S. national interest. And Kazakhstan is the first line to deal directly with Russia and China. There is no reason to look down on us. Also, our relationship with the United States is stronger than you think.”

Youngho could not say that he used to be a U.S. CIA agent before, so he roughly equivocated. He continued,

“You can have that kind of confidence. We are the only country that can stop China’s advance in the front line. From now on, there will be a lot of countries who will reach out to us. I’m only telling you Mr. Prime Minister, but please know that the royal family’s legacy is beyond imagination.”

“The mere mention of it gives me strength. I’m so curious to ask how much property the royal family has, but I’m going to hold it for today.”

“Yes, just be aware of it and be worry-free.”

The royal money could be called a legacy.

Youngho had secretly taken away the slush funds that the former president had kept, but since it would be used for Kazakhstan, he could say that he inherited it.

Furthermore, it was estimated that at least 3,000 tons of gold were deposited in Almaty’s mine, which was acquired by the royal family this time.

Kasim just knew that only a major vein of gold had been found out in depth, but had no idea about the amount of reserves. These were all wrapped up as royal legacies now, and Youngho had informed Prime Minister Kasim of them.

It was the first time that Kasim heard about royal funds through Youngho’s mouth, although he was vaguely speculating that the family’s financial strength was great.

“Do you intend to use all of the royal funds in your time?”

“To put Kazakhstan in orbit, we have to put some royal funds into it. I think there’s no reason to attract foreign investments when there’s money.”

“The royal family is the power of Kazakhstan. That comes from authority and power, while money plays a part. If the money to support the royal family is gone, Kazakhstan’s moving power will be lost. We must preserve the royal funds as much as possible.”

“Mr. Prime Minister, the time we can change Kazakhstan is only a few years from now on. This is the most important timeline of our country, how can we hesitate at this moment?”

“It’s not like I don’t know your compassion for Kazakhstan, but if you want a bright future for Kazakhstan, please consider a different option, Your Highness.”

“I’m telling you. You can feel safe because we will never run out of royal funds.”

“It sounds like you have the widow’s cruse or something.”

“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”