Empire of the Ring

“Sir Eriksson, I want to buy an excavator. Which country’s product is strong and fast?”

“What are you going to do with an excavator?”

When Youngho informed him about the underground cave that Park Young-sun found, Eriksson also showed interest.

“TBM is the most well-supplied drilling machine. I’ve heard that there are various excavation calibers, so you can drill with any size you want.”

“I’m going to use it to drill a path to the underground cave. I think it can serve as a shelter facility. What do you think?”

“If you build such a facility, I’m all for it. Kazakhstan is blessed that the cave was found.”

“What does that mean?”

“Advanced countries are already preparing a lot of underground facilities. They can serve as an emergency shelter from threats from space and for a possible World War III. They usually cost a lot because many of them are made by artificially drilling into mountains. So finding a natural underground cave that’s 150 meters long is indeed a blessing.”

“In that case, it’s truly a blessing since we can save time and money.”

“Your Highness, we need to expand such facilities across the country.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t worry about that. Kazakhstan was once Russia, remember? There are many such facilities in the eastern cities already. Even Almaty has subway built 100 meters below the ground level under the former regime’s guidance.”

Russia had prepared such facilities well during the Cold War era, so they were scattered across the country. Since the royal territory was a new city, it did not have such a facility yet.

“Preparations for the future must be made no matter how much it cost. It was fortunate that we found a natural cave.”

Youngho wished there were more of such caves, but there was little chance of finding a cave that was as great as this one. So he was hoping that the newly discovered cave would turn out to be even deeper. If it was where underground water used to flow, it would be connected to other caves as well.

“North Europe also has a lot of mountainous areas, and they use a lot of tunneling equipment. If you want, we can order equipment right away from there. If I talk to the Information Agency, they will arrive in a few days.”

“Please do so. I want to see the cave as soon as possible.”

“Haha… I got you.”

“And Zeynep has a plan to run a hospital ship. Could you also look for medical staff and equipment?”

“You know I was quite impressed when I heard about that. How could the princess have such a grand idea?”

“Isn’t our Zeynep awesome?”

Eriksson smiles at Youngho’s comment.

“Your Grace. Do you plan to build only one hospital ship?”

“Zeynep wants 300 beds, so we’re going to start with that. Do you have a different opinion?”

“You’d have to have that kind of hospital ship to accommodate a large number of people, but there are many medical blind spots in Central Asia and the Caucasus, so it has to be easily accessible. Shouldn’t we build one that can get through the canal?”

“You mean we need a medium-size ship.”

“If we’re doing volunteer work to promote the royal family’s image, it will be better to operate two small hospital ship lines, each with 50 to 100 beds.”

A ship of that size should weigh between 3,000 tons and 5,000 tons.

The minimum size of ships going in and out of the ocean should be big enough to weigh more than 3,000 tons to withstand heavy waves and carry enough materials for long-distance trips.

“The 300-bed ship can be operated when there are large-scale victims or in war-torn areas while smaller ships can be operated during normal times. Within a few months of the operation of the Kazakh royal hospital ships, it will gain global fame.”

“There should be a minimum of armament.”

“Of course. Most of the places the hospital ships visit will be out of administrative power or have ethnic conflict.”

“I’m worried that Zeynep will board the ship too.”

“The royal guards will protect her.”

“Well, then the problem will be recruiting medical teams. If the working environment is a hospital ship, everyone’s going to shake their heads.”

“You can adopt a rotation system. If they’re only on the ship for a month or two a year, they’re going to love it since they can travel on the ship.”

***

“Your Highness, I found the entrance to the cave.”

Dr. Park Young-sun appeared at the office looking scruffy as if he just came back from the cave.

“Great. Is it big enough for people to get in and out?”

“We’re still digging it, so it’s a little too premature to say that, but it looks like a place where the surface water used to flow in. It’s likely that there used to be a lot of forest here.”

“It must have been before Christ.”

“Probably. We believe that the groundwater has been exhausted because there has been no inflow of surface water.”

“You mean it’s not an artificial cave after all.”

“Are you disappointed that it was not what you expected?”

“I was expecting a bigger secret. Still, wouldn’t there be more paths that surface water used to flow in?”

“There could be a larger flow path somewhere. Maybe that’s where people came in and out of the cave.”

“Your face is telling me not to expect anything special. Alright, I won’t imagine anything crazy anymore.”

“Hahaha… Your Highness, it’s too early to conclude anything. We might find some things that would not disappoint your imagination.”

“Oh, you don’t have to cheer me up.”

“I’ll go down there soon so that I can give some answers to your questions.”

“Don’t you wonder why I’m so interested in the cave, Dr. Park?”

“I assumed that it’s because our neighboring countries are potential threats to us. Who will protect us if we don’t?”

“That’s right, but don’t you get nervous since I look like I’m preparing for war all the time?”

“You’ve so thoroughly prepared our nation, so what am I to worry about? In fact, I’m relieved that you’re not invading neighboring countries yet.”

“Hahaha…”

“Do you seriously think that I will do such a reckless thing?”

“Well, if you have power, you shouldn’t bow down to other powers. You’re preparing Kazakhstan with state-of-the-art weapons, and I’m sure they’re not only for defense, am I right?”

“I’m not going to sit back and wait if there’s provocation. The best defense is offense after all.”

“Of course you should. I support you 100%.”

Park Young-sun whom Youngho thought was a quiet geologist showed another side of him today. Having to live in Kazakhstan for a long time, he was now becoming a Central Asian. No, he was a complete Central Asian now.

***

Szechenyi in Denmark informed Youngho that he had found a vessel that could be converted into a hospital ship. It was decided to remodel a ship to shorten the time instead of building a new one.

“How old is the ship that will have 300 beds?”

-It’s about 15 years old. The hull’s in very good shape. It will survive for the next 20 years if we change our internal facilities. Officials at the Danish Shipyard also said the ship was in good condition.

“Isn’t a ship in the 25,000-ton class too big?”

-That is only big enough to go back and forth across the oceans without being supplied in-between.

“Okay, what about the ship to be converted to a mid-sized hospital ship?”

-I can’t find suitable ships in the 3000-ton class, but 5,000-ton ships are overflowing. Considering safety, wouldn’t a bigger ship be better?

“It’s not like it’s going back and forth to the ocean.”

-There is little difference in the price of the hull and the cost of the repair. I think this size would be great for a rainy day. You have to think about the comfort of sailors and medical workers. And even though it’s a hospital ship, shouldn’t it be armed to a certain extent for protection?

“An armed hospital? Don’t you know it’s a violation of international law?”

-Come on, you always stressed that. There should be at least one hidden room.

Youngho emphasized self-defense as he taught Szechenyi since he was young. He used to say that there should be a hidden trick to protect one’s self and his family. Having learned from Youngho, Szechenyi was also emphasizing it now.

“Well, old destroyers will be arriving from England in the near future. Make sure you keep your security tight and make it well.”

-Don’t worry. I’ve already arranged that. I’ve also found a dock that will be dedicated to the Royal Navy.

“Won’t the Queen or the Crown Prince of the Danish royal family worry about that?”

-Not at all. They actually loved that their armed forces are strengthened because of us. They’re saying that if the two navies join forces, it will be the second most powerful next to Britain in this area.

“It’s just one Aegis destroyer and three frigates. I hope they don’t get disappointed to see them.”

-They’re state-of-the-art missile-equipped combat ships. What are you talking about? Also, we have a backup squadron there. Who’s going to take us for granted?

“It sounds great to you, but it’s nothing compared to the Russian navy.”

-With a multi-purpose landing ship and a support fleet of two Aegis destroyers, the navy will be invincible.

“The support unit is not a static force. It will mostly be stationed in the Persian Gulf.”

-Hyung, please station them in the Danish port for my sake. You can quickly get into the Persian Gulf from here, right?

“What on earth did you say to the Danish royal family?”

-I didn’t say anything bad. I just said that you are planning to manage the Arctic Sea route while using our port as the base.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

-But you’re actually going to do that, aren’t you? You told me a man should know how to act boldly at the right time.