Empire of the Ring

The Turkish government happily welcomed Youngho’s offer by saying that if the Kurds could get out of Syria, it would offer help.

The government needed an excuse to stop its attack as it was being bashed by the international community for a long time. It was greatly appreciated that the Kazakh royal family was willing to accept the Syrian Kurds from Kazakhstan.

When Youngho asked for a reason to persuade the Kurds, the government immediately stopped its airstrikes. If the Kurds in the Syrian enclave were gone, the Kurds in Turkey would not be able to use their power either.

It was a win-win deal since Turkey would get rid of the problematic Kurdish militia, and the Kazakh royal family would be getting an additional military force.

“Your Highness, I’ve seen a sudden increase in Kurdish groups’ visit to the royal territory.”

“Why does it matter when our people are visiting here?”

“It’s because they’re coming here to see Princess Jelyan.”

The Kurds living in Kazakhstan had just found out that Jelyan was a Kurd as well, so they were crowding in to see her. It was a rare occasion since people usually visited to see the palace, not a princess.

The fact that Princess Jelyan, who was loved by the people of Kazakh public, was something to boast about for the Kurds.

It would take two days for the Kurds in the eastern part of Kazakhstan to get to the royal territory, but they had come to see her anyway spending their money to travel in this cold.

It was impossible to see Jelyan since she did not come out of the palace often in the cold, but they did not care.

“People who have come a long way are going to waste their time. Commissioner, can you please offer them some comfort?”

“You don’t mean to show them the princess, do you?”

“If there’s no problem with safety, I want to allow them to meet her at a distance.”

“I’m afraid the princess will be shocked.”

“She already knows that she’s a Kurd.”

After years of psychiatric treatment, her lost memories had come back to her gradually.

She suffered identity confusion when she regained her traumatic past but overcame it all with the love of Youngho and Fatima.

“I don’t mean that. I just worry that such huge attention might be hard for the little princess to endure.”

“She’s the only hope for the Kurdish descents. I would rather encourage them if they were to gather taking Jelyan as their pivotal point. Just like the Koryoins and Serbs, they will be a great stepping stone that sustains the royal family.”

“I see, if that’s your intention, I won’t worry anymore.”

“Thank you for understanding. So people who don’t have much money come all the way here only to see her, please provide them with accommodations and food for free. It’s all for the royal family and Jelyan.”

“Again, the royal family will go broke soon because of your spending.”

Kim Chun complained, but he was smiling.

He was proud that he had met a master who did not hesitate to help others in need.

“I won’t be taking my money when I die. I’d like to spend some to do good things.”

“People are praising you everywhere in Kazakhstan.”

“Commissioner, do you have a favor to ask? I’m scared whenever you flatter me like that. You rarely give compliments but scold me so often.”

“Oh, how dare me to scold you, Your Highness? Don’t make up a story. If people heard that, I’ll be stoned.”

“Then please take good care of the Kurds. How are you going to handle it if Jelyan is not happy with your treatment to the Kurds?”

“Oh, I see. It’s not because I feel bad about spending money, so please don’t say anything to Princess Jelyan. I’ll be in trouble if she heard it.”

***

As Turkey stopped its attack on the Kurds in Syria, they began to divide into two groups who agree and disagree to moving to Kazakhstan. Hardliners opposed it and moderates were willing to move in and settle. Not to mention a hundred years of being tossed around and yet, they still were in conflict.

The moderates argued that Syria would not leave them alone if the civil war was over.

The hardliners were mostly enthusiastic Muslims, and they would be a source of conflict in the future even if they were brought into Kazakhstan. There was nothing to be gained by forcibly persuading them to move, anyway.

It would be great if the hardliners could refrain from fighting for the duration when the moderates moved to Kazakhstan, but they tried to control Kurds leaving Syria in worry of exhaustion of combat supply when people left.

Despite the efforts of the U.S. Intelligence Service, they resisted.

It was problematic because if the decision was delayed, Turkey would resume their airstrikes and more civilians would be sacrificed.

“Your Highness. If this continues, there will be a civil war between Kurds. If you’re willing to accept the moderates, I’d like you to directly intervene.”

“It sounds like a force intervention. If we do that, all the Kurds could turn their backs on us.”

Park Jong-il insisted on a direct intervention.

In the conference room, the royal core officials were discussing the safe way to move the Kurds from Syria.

“I don’t mean to fight, but the hardliners have gone too far. The moderates who have decided to move are now our people. Shouldn’t we help them?”

“Let’s trust the ability of the U.S. Intelligence Service for now. The hardliners’ claims are not at all absurd either. I also agree with them to some degree.”

The hardliner Kurds had their own reasons for stopping their people from moving.

It had completely taken control of the northern part of Syria and declared an independent government, and if the residents left, the efforts that had been made so far would be in vain. It was not easy to let go of their place that they had worked hard for.

Even though Syria was not their country, they did not come from anywhere else. They were indigenous people who lived there for a long time ago. It was heartbreaking to lose it just because it was a dangerous place.

“What if the hardliners have no alternative? For the safety of the moderates, we should use a little coercive method.”

“That’s the worst-case scenario.”

“We might lose our chance if we wait until the last minute. We don’t know how long the Turkish government will wait. They don’t have much patience.”

“It’s not that Director Park’s opinion is wrong, but we can’t act on it recklessly. Let’s hope the Turkish government respect its promise to us.”

“Why don’t we do this then?”

Eriksson came forward and offered two alternatives as Youngho was having a hard time.

“First of all, it’s imperative to keep the Turkish government in check. We have to present our own pressure card so that it doesn’t resume its attack. The next step is to persuade the hardliners by visiting Syria and confronting them.”

“I agree to directly talking to them in Syria, but do we have any cards to pressure Turkey?”

Park Jong-il seemed intrigued by Eriksson’s alternatives.

“Director Park, you’ve visited Turkey as a special envoy before. Are there still any politicians you are personally acquainted with?”

“I know a close associate of the president, but he doesn’t have much influence. He doesn’t get involved in politics very much.”

“He must be a moderate in Turkey, isn’t he?”

“That’s right, but what does it have to do with that?”

“Turks have been fed up with the war on the IS, the Kurds, and the ongoing terror attacks. Fortunately, the battle is now on hold. People are no longer being killed or injured. The Kurds are refraining from it as well.”

“So you’re saying we should use the moderate politicians to put pressure on public opinion?”

“Exactly. The Turkish economy has no chance of restoring itself with war funding. We need to let politicians know that their economy is the priority rather than putting pressure on the Kurds.”

“Are you saying that our grain and oil may not go as far as Turkey?”

“You’re indeed the Director of Intelligence. On one hand, you should also stimulate the sentiment of moderate politicians.”

Fight back with Turkey by pressuring it could be poison to this issue depending on how it would be delivered.

Eriksson pointed out that it was a rather reckless strategy, but at the same time, he said that such pressure was possible because it was Kazakhstan, which had Jelyan as its princess.

On the surface, it was known that Kazakhstan had to be involved in this because of the princess. As the Turkish government already knew about Youngho’s personality, it would be more understanding of Kazakhstan’s move.

Eriksson continued, “You have to put Princess Jelyan on the front. The world knows how much you care about Princess Jelyan, right? Let’s make it known that the Duke of Kazakhstan has decided to accept the Kurds after failing to resist Princess Jelyan’s request.”

If Kazakhstan was to go against the will of Turkey, which was a brotherly country, some kind of scene should be plotted.

Park Jong-il would play a role in encouraging public opinion while staying in Turkey.

“What a blatant operation you have, Eriksson.”

“Your Highness, a childish operation, you know, is to catch the opposite party off guard.”

“If the U.S. Intelligence Service has wiretapped our meeting today, they’ll be laughing so hard.”

“It’s a childish idea, but given the dire situation of the Kurds, we should even pull dirtier tricks than this. If we can get them to Kazakhstan, we’ll have to put up with it a little bit because there’s more to gain than to lose.”

Eriksson was confident that the Turkish government would comply with Kazakhstan’s decision. Thus, the rather childish operation began.