Empire of the Ring

The French presidential residence was the Elysee Palace.

Situated on the Faubourg Saint-Honore Street in Paris’ eighth arrondissement, the splendid palace was particularly central to the French modern and contemporary history.

In the late 18th century, General Murat was said to give this mansion to Emperor Napoleon under the name of ‘Elysee-Napoleon’, and after many twists and turns became the French presidential residence of Elysee.

Youngho and his group arrived at this historic palace.

They unpacked their belongings on the official residence for visitors of the Elysee Palace.

Fatima, who was looking at the palace through the window, shrugged her shoulders and said,

“It’s beautiful, but it’s not as grand as our royal palace. It looked bigger a few years ago.”

“You mean our royal palace is better than the Elysee Palace?”

“Yes, there is no palace that can withstand a nuclear war. It’s more like a fortress, not a royal palace.”

Youngho was not sure whether or not Fatima was being sarcastic for the Kazakh royal palace.

He did not want to spend money to decorate his palace because he was someone who cared about efficiency and security the most rather than being fancy. If Fatima insisted, he would have to give in. He began to add reasons because of nervousness.

“It’s because Commissioner Kim and Jong-il insisted to build it strong. If you put a red stone on the exterior of the palace, it’ll look as good as the Elysee Palace.”

“Hahaha… Don’t worry too much. I didn’t say I didn’t like our palace. I would’ve dissuaded you if you asked me to build it luxuriously. We have enemies around us that have us as a target. We always have to keep the war in mind.”

“Aren’t you afraid of war?”

“What’s to worry about when a strong man like you are always around. I’ve already known how strong you are since the day I came to Baku’s vineyard.”

Her remarks were surprising because he said that he fired at a wolf to chase them away that night, but Fatima must have known that Youngho was after thieves.

He recalled the day when the Fatima siblings first visited Zeynep Farm, which was just a grape farm back then. Zeynep nagged to stay the night at the farm, so they all decided to sleep in the unfinished management quarters, but Youngho had to use his pistol to chase away the thieves who had come to steal the farm equipment.

“How did you know?”

“Did you forget that we used to live in Istanbul’s slums? It’s a place where all kinds of accidents and crimes continue every day. I’ve heard several shots, and I knew it was not a wolf.”

“You were not scared about it?”

“I wasn’t afraid because I’ve learned the power of the ring and leather shoes. And you were guarding us, so I wasn’t afraid. I thought it was fun.”

Youngho rather felt bad that he had been treating Fatima like a precious flower, not knowing that she was such a fearless and bold woman.

“What else do you know that you haven’t told me?”

“There have been a few suspicious activities, but after learning that you were a CIA agent, I didn’t have any fear. You will save me no matter what happened, won’t you? So I’m not afraid of war.”

There would be no men who would say no in this situation. She flattered Youngho so much that he wondered where she had learned such skill.

“If you envy Elysee Palace, I’ll make you a decent palace.”

Her compliments made him vulnerable to any request. He could do anything for her at that moment.

“It’s not because I’m jealous; it’s because I’m so proud of us. I can’t believe we are invited to the Elysee Palace as official guests.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve been the Queen of Kazakhstan for a while now. This is only natural. Don’t forget that you’re the Queen of a powerful nation.”

“Can we really become a powerful nation?”

“Of course, we can. Our stay at the Elysee Palace is proof that France recognizes us.”

De Gaulle Airport’s courtesy to the Kazakh royal family and ministers was amazing.

This was proof that France was thirsty for resources from Central Asia, and it was also an unspoken pressure for Kazakhstan to release more resources for it.

No matter what anyone said, France was a great power and the center of world culture, and it was quite impressive that France which had high self-esteem gave such a courteous treatment to the royal family and ministers of a developing country.

“I don’t know much about politics or the world, but I’m secretly worried. I think we’re wasting too much of our resources which should be preserved for future generations.”

“We can’t help it now until we reach a certain level of power. If we don’t have power, we’ll eventually be robbed of our resources.”

“But don’t we have great allies such as the U.S. and Britain that can help us?”

“They need us now so they’ve become our allies, but I honestly don’t know whether they will send troops for us in case of war. A proper resource deal is also desirable for the safety of our country. As long as we have friendly countries who want to use our resources around, we’ll be protected.”

Fatima seemed to accept Youngho’s explanation, so he added more.

“It’s a pity that we have to sell resources in order to join the ranks of advanced powers. But I’m not going to have too much resource sales to the point where you should be worried. I’ll leave enough resources for Leon and his generation to use.”

***

The French government wanted various resources from Kazakhstan.

African countries of Gabon, Congo, Senegal, and Chad were also French communities that had many resources. Even though France did not have to be obsessed with the resources of Kazakhstan, it was strangely being obsessive about them.

According to the Minister of Energy, who was negotiating with the French government delegation, once the Volga-Don Canal was completed, France would be able to travel directly to the Caspian Sea from the southern port of France through the Black Sea, which was quite a charming idea. Its calculation was that taking resources from Kazakhstan rather than Africa would save logistics costs.

The Volga-Baltic Waterway was also attractive, but the Volga-Don Canal was France’s best interest because it was a direct route to all countries around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

To Mediterranean countries, the fact that the Kazakh royal family was investing a billion dollars to expand the Volga canal was a great selling point.

“Your Highness, I think our aggressive investment in the two canals has been a key factor. French officials are very amicable to us. I feel like they’ll easily hand over some high-tech weapons and technology transfers. They emphasized that they have better weapons than what the U.S. can offer.”

Commander Kabak was encouraged to think that Kazakhstan would get some French-made weapons.

“Were there outstanding weapons?”

“There are pros and cons, but French weapons don’t seem to lag behind the U.S. weapons, and they’re cheaper.”

“Don’t take French officials’ words as they are.”

“What… What do you mean?”

“Commander Kabak, you don’t know about France very well. There’s a reason why many countries that had weapons deals with France turned their backs. They not only provided underperforming weapons but also violated or ignored the delivery deadline. Don’t believe it unless you see it with your own eyes.”

“How dare you do that when it’s a cross-country deal?”

“It’s just France. Israel, Korea, and many other countries have been victims of that. So we must make sure to do performance testing and set detailed terms for a technical tie-up.”

France recently made it in the top five weapons provider in the world.

Although France focused on quantity rather than performance in the beginning stage, many clients still bought weapons from it since its weapons were great, and France’s defense prowess was global.

Kazakhstan had already decided to bring in personal firearms and conventional weapons such as artillery from Britain, and Gripen fighter jets from Sweden, on top of the air defense system from the U.S. and Sweden. Although it was not necessary for Kazakhstan to bring in French weapons, Youngho was willing to accept them because it wanted to have access to advanced weapons. It was an opportunity to learn about weapons so that Kazakhstan could produce its own one day. There was no reason to refuse to do technical tie-ups.

“France is desperate for our resources, so please maintain your ambiguous attitude as much as possible when negotiating. They’ll then give us the technologies we need automatically. They know we’re already transitioning two weapons systems of the U.S. and in the U.K., so they’ll be eager to sell weapons.”

“I didn’t know France had been so disrespectful to other countries.”

“Maybe it was only a bad deal. So we’ll learn from history and pursue practical interests. Keep in mind that technology transfer comes first and then a resource export later.”

“I’ll just have to check the weapons performance and leave the rest of the consultation to a consulting firm.”

“That’s a good idea, too. Let’s take a look at the Swedish consulting firm’s skills. The Swedish company I know will get anything we want from France.”

“Is the company that good?”

“Sir Eriksson is also from that company.”

“I’ve always wondered why such a smart man is here with you. Of course, he must’ve been attracted to your character but is there any other reason?”

“I happened to help Eriksson from a dangerous situation.”

“So he’s here with you to repay your kindness?”

“Not only for that reason, but he had been very helpful because his company sells and buys information. I know all about France because of Eriksson’s advice.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll just check the weapons’ performance without worrying about negotiations.”

“It’s a fun country, so let’s take this opportunity to observe and learn from it.”