Empire of the Ring

Cessna’s twin-engine propeller transporter produced in the Arirang Royal Territory had a maximum take-off weight of 20 tons with a maximum speed of 670 km/h, a cruising speed of 400 km/h, a constant distance of about 6,000 km and a maximum climb altitude of 8,000 meters.

With this type of aircraft, it could travel 2,400 kilometers from the state of Pavlodar, where the Altai Mountains were located, to the royal territory without refueling.

Youngho took a breath while looking at a twin-engine plane take off a temporary runway that was hastily built to carry tactical nuclear missiles.

“Phew, it’s finally over.”

“We could’ve moved it in two times but we did it three times for nothing.”

“You have to calculate the weight of the plane, too. And how are you going to handle the turbulence if you meet one? That thing is more precious than gold bars to me.”

Each nuclear missile weighed 300 kilograms and with 100 of them, it weighed 30 tons, so it could not be handled carelessly. Since they had been neglected for decades, Youngho and the guards just sent them to the royal territory while carefully treating them like babies.

“Whoa, it won’t be weird if the sun came up from the west tomorrow since Lee Youngho refuses to accept gold bars.”

“They will act better than gold in the future. Man, in my mind, I want to take a picture of them and spread it on the Beijing sky.”

It would be shocking for the Chinese government if the photos of Soviet-made tactical nuclear weapons produced in the 1970s were shown.

“Man, you can be evil sometimes. Who would they suspect if that thing came into the world? Of course, they will doubt us.”

“You’re too naive. There were numerous tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus and Ukraine. They’ll think it’s one of them.”

“Wait a minute. I just thought of a good idea now that you say Ukraine. If we are caught to have tactical nuclear weapons, we can make an excuse that they’re from Ukraine.”

Youngho and Jong-il were excited like kids after sending the last tactical nuclear weapons to the royal territory.

In his excitement, Park Jong-il came up with a slightly far-fetched idea.

“Why do you think we’ll get caught? No one will find out about it if we hide them well.”

“That’s why I said ‘if.’ We can say that we got one from the Ukrainian black market.”

“Didn’t all of Ukraine’s tactical nuclear weapons get recalled?”

“No one knows exactly how many were deployed in Ukraine.”

“The Soviet-era nuclear management department must know.”

“It’s a problem because all management departments work individually and even Russia doesn’t know the exact number. The Soviet Union suddenly collapsed and the nuclear power fell into the hands of each independent state. That’s why the world turned upside down.”

“Man, let’s just try our best not to get caught.”

“If something goes wrong later, my words will pop up in your head.”

“It almost feels like you want things to go wrong.”

“I’m just saying we need to prepare for a rainy day instead of panicking when it became reality.”

“OK, just think of a place where we can keep the nuclear weapons safe.”

“There’s a place we’re making right now.”

“…”

“The world’s largest underground shelter! Wouldn’t it be the safest place? Cars can be in and out of 150 meters below the ground, so we’ll be able to use the missiles in case of emergency.”

Jong-il was referring to the underground cave shelter in the royal territory, which was discovered by Park Young-sun previously.

If vehicles could enter and exit the cave, helicopters could also get in as long as the propeller was folded.

It was also being developed as a shelter for any attacks.

“Right, we had a cave. It’s safer than any other place.”

***

Work was underway to expand the access passage of the underground cave. It was to make it easier for Apache helicopters equipped with strategic nuclear weapons to enter and exit.

Kim Chun looked back at Youngho with a satisfied smile as he watched the TBM—a tunnel boring machine—operated with a loud noise.

“Your Highness, I feel like I’m already full without a meal. Who would you have known that the former president had left this legacy behind?”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s ironic that I’ve come to praise the man who was the subject of criticism. A leader needs that level of guts. I would’ve supported him if he was not a dictator…”

When Youngho blurred his words, Kim Chun shook his head.

“Now forget the past. If it wasn’t for the revolution, he would never have stepped down. Your Grace is beginning a new history in Kazakhstan.”

“I don’t know if I’m doing well. I don’t even know having this weapon will be a good thing for Kazakhstan.”

“It’s not what we developed. We only need to keep it in a safe place.”

“Well, I just hope that we won’t ever get to use them.”

“Your Highness, do you intend to keep our entire fighter jets and Apache helicopters in the cave?”

“Yes, since this place won’t be used for now, I will use it as a military base. It’s so wide that I think one corner will give us enough room.”

The underground cave was being prepared as a shelter for residents in an emergency, but it would be a waste if the huge space was left alone only for a rainy day, so Youngho planned to use it as storage for reserved supplies and military facilities.

As the temperature inside was kept constant throughout the year, it was also perfect for storing military supplies, daily necessities, and grains that were sensitive to changes in temperature.

The fighter jets and helicopters were able to move in and out of it on tow trucks as long as the wings and propellers were folded, making it possible to deploy them in the event of an emergency.

“I’ll resent it if nothing happens after pouring such effort to prepare all this.”

“Even though it seems like a great waste, we should not be lazy to maintain our defense capabilities. It has a net function as a deterrent. We have no choice but to spend it even if it’s a waste.”

“Phew! You have to meet good neighbors, but we weren’t that lucky.”

“Let’s be glad that President Nazarbayev left something to use.”

“He’s a mess, too. How did he think about stealing nuclear weapons?”

“If he is in front of me, I would like to carry him on my back.”

***

“Director Min. Do you think we’ll be able to finish dredging and embankment work of the Ural River by next year’s thaw season?”

“It’s going so fast that I’m afraid it’ll lead to a defect. It’s because we have more than enough manpower.”

The Kurds, who moved to the royal territory, were overcrowding, leading to massive civil engineering projects.

“We must stop the flooding of the Ural River to make use of the land nearby.”

The Ural River was always inundated by melting snow from the Ural Mountains during the thaw season.

In the past, people would have liked flooding as it would make the land fertile, but now the people were working to dredge and raise river banks because it threatened Kurdish settlements amounting to one million.

“I heard that dredging sand is useful for manure.”

“We distributed it to farmland for a test and the crops are growing very well. I think we won’t need fertilizer from now on.”

“Great. There are many places where the ground is dying from over-spreading fertilizer and pesticides during the Soviet era, so please supply them with dredge.”

The high-quality sediments from the upper reaches of the stream were not only used for fertilizer but also for saving sick land.

If they were added with the bentonite waste together, it seemed it could save the semi-deserted western region.

The biggest challenge in western Kazakhstan, where there was the Arirang Royal Territory, was to prevent desertification.

To avoid the ever-present sandstorms, there was no choice but to reduce the semi-deserted areas.

The effort to prevent desertification was not only limited to using such sand as fertilizer. There had been other efforts such as developing grasslands, windbreaks, and small repairs as a way to change the course of dry winds.

“Continue dredging and embankment work even to the areas outside the royal territory. That way we can use the waterways to get to the City of Oral.”

“Your Highness. Ten years is even too short if we want to connect to the city of Oral.”

“It’s not like anyone’s coming after us, so let’s take it slow and easy.”

When Youngho, who had always been in a hurry for anything, appeared relaxed, Construction Director Min was looking back again at Youngho’s face.

“What’s on my face?”

“You look more relaxed these days.”

“Something happened lately. I received a pretty big legacy.”

“Is there any more inheritance of the Serbian Kingdom?”

“Well, I’ve got to say that the whole Kazakhstan is a legacy for all of us.”

“We are indeed blessed compared to the past when Kazakhstan was shunned as a barren place.”

“We have to keep this place safe so that we can pass it down to our future generations, right?”

“Since the royal family stands firm, there will be no threat to us. The people of Kazakhstan and I don’t even have that concern.”

Youngho was not sure if it was fortunate that the people of Kazakhstan had no concerns about neighboring countries’ threats.

Such an attitude was quite strange to him.

In a situation like Korea, no one knew when the war would break out, and such tension was the driving force behind economic prosperity. The DNA of Koreans who struggled to survive in a small lump of land was just right for this era.

This was how Korea had been able to grow into an economic power without any special given resources.

For Youngho, who had to live on the edge of his seat to survive, the mindset of the people here, who were relaxed even with the great powers around them, had yet to be understood.