Empire of the Ring

The signing of a military agreement with the Indian government was processed quickly as the British government joined.

The British government was very pleased to hear that the Kazakh military would be bringing in additional Aegis destroyers and multi-purpose landing ships. The British navy was not in a position to help its allies with recent cuts in the defense budget, so it was like the Kazakh military was playing Britain’s role. Britain also promised to provide support for old battleships to help the Indian government. Although older, the battleships were welcomed by the Indian government as they would still be usable when some equipment was replaced.

The Indian government showed its appreciation to the Kazakh royal family for signing the military agreement as it was able to further reinforce its naval capabilities. It was a natural response as it was able to reduce the cost of construction of the development of the Chabahar port with the royal family’s joining in the project.

When the announcement that India and Kazakhstan would sign a military agreement and also jointly develop the Iranian port, China was startled. The withdrawal of troops from Pamir was ordered to maintain a smooth relationship with Kazakhstan, but the Kazakh government was moving in a completely different way from China’s intentions.

This could not happen unless Kazakhstan was hostile toward China.

***

Youngho was planning to station a shear-type mobile fleet each in the North Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Northern Sea Fleet would use a port in Denmark since it was the nation of the royal family’s family-in-law, while the Mediterranean fleet would use the Arirang Island in Greece as its home port. And finally, the Arabian fleet would be based in Iran’s Chabahar port and its supporting fleet would be based in the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi port.

Each fleet would consist of one Aegis destroyer, three frigates, and one supply ship.

The remaining two Aegis destroyers and multi-purpose landers of the Kazakh royal family would operate as support vehicles and remain as emergency forces.

Because Youngho had such an idea, he needed six mid-sized destroyers and four more supply vessels which were classified as frigates.

However, with the capacity of the Danish Shipyard owned by Youngho, the building of the Aegis destroyer and the multi-purpose landing ship that was currently under design was overwhelming. So, for frigates, it would be better to bring in and repair the old destroyers and make them as supply vessels.

If his plan could be carried out without difficulty, Kazakhstan’s naval power would never lag behind the naval forces of any other country.

When Youngho shared his idea with Jong-il, he looked concerned.

“I like your idea, but what are you going to do about the immediate shortage of Navy officers and engineers to run the Aegis destroyers?”

“The troops to be sent to the Korean Navy from January next year have already been selected, so don`t worry.”

“I’m not sure if they will be able to operate high-tech warships like Aegis destroyers just because they’ll be receiving strong training in Korea.”

“That’s why I’m thinking about bringing in some retired officers and non-commissioned officers from the Korean Navy. We need a lot of instructors to use to operate submarines.”

At this level of strength, the Navy should have at least 10,000 men, but it was very hard to find skilled soldiers.

Contemplating over this, Youngho and Jong-il thought of recruiting those from discharged Korean Navies.

Most of the officers and noncommissioned officers who served in the Korean Navy usually worked on a ship for overseas service or fishing boats because many were not able to land jobs due to the global shipping industry’s slump.

If former Korean navies could be recruited, it would serve as an opportunity to naturally introduce the Korean Navy’s advanced battle techniques to the Kazakh Navy. Moreover, former Navy officers were well-educated enough to be called high-level engineers, which would help the development of the Kazakh Navy.

Compared to Korea, Kazakhstan could not offer better treatment, but if Kazakhstan offered payments more than enough to live in Kazakhstan, Youngho was certain that former officers would crowd in like a flock. He was also willing to accept the active-duty soldiers, not as civilian workers, if there were more applicants than expected.

***

China’s special envoy visited Kazakhstan when about a third of the border fence work on the Pamir Plateau was completed.

The Chinese military at the border area had just discovered the construction of a fence. It was because no one imagined that the fence would be built in such a severe cold weather.

China’s embarrassment was much greater than when Kazakhstan signed a military agreement with India. It was also quite bold of Tajikistan for pushing ahead with the construction despite knowing that it would be a cause of conflict.

All China could do was to protest against the Tajik government and scare it as if China would go to war at any moment, but it dared not to act. Surprisingly, the Tajik government insisted that it was not involved in the construction of the military.

“I flatly refused his request to take the fence down right away. When I said it was China’s intervention in domestic affairs to tell us what to do with our economic assistance at the request of our ally, he couldn’t say any more.”

“I’m sorry that you went through the trouble for me, Prime Minister.”

“He requested to see you. When I asked why the royal family’s mentioned in the matter of government-to-government consultations, he said that he should deliver a personal letter from Xi Jinping. So I said I’d deliver it for you and sent him back.”

“The Chinese dispatch of special envoys is to build a cause.”

“I think so. His insistence on seeing you also seems to have an intention not to take the Kazakh government seriously. Since Xi Jinping thinks of him no less than an emperor now, he’d rather talk to the Kazakh royal family.”

The Chinese National Congress unanimously passed Xi Jinping’s long-term regime and ended. As long as nothing terrible else happened, the Xi Jinping regime would last for a long time. This was signaling that China’s move would be more outspoken in the future than it was now. It would not make any concessions in border disputes or territorial disputes and would speed up its One Belt One Road project based on its huge foreign exchange reserves.

The letter brought by the envoy was full of rhetoric that Xi Jinping hoped the bilateral relationship would become more intimate. There was no mention of the one-sided barbed wire fence work in the Pamir Plateau. This was only mentioned through the mouth of the special envoy.

Anyway, it was true that the Chinese government was inwardly surprised by Kazakhstan’s recent moves. The special envoy could have come to see Kazakhstan’s response after learning through the media about Kazakhstan’s participation in Iran’s development of the port of Chabahar, as well as military cooperation with India.

China must be feeling that its influence stood powerless in Central Asia although it was great in neighboring countries of Northeast Asia

“Your Highness, the military agreement with India was a divine decision. I think China just realized that if we and India blocked the road, it won’t be able to make its way into the Middle East.”

“The Chinese leadership made a big mistake. As they’ll see later, they’ll certainly regret the loss caused by starting a border dispute with a neighboring country. Its greed over a small deserted land will be huge.”

It would not take much time for China to realize that the complacent thoughts of the Chinese leadership, which thought it could tame its neighbors by mobilizing forces, had actually blocked the important export routes.

It was because Youngho was planning to deploy five combat ships, including Aegis destroyers and frigates, in the Arabian Gulf next year as soon as they arrived. If China pushed its way to the Pamir Plateau, the Kazakh Navy would not standstill.

“Now that we’ve sent a special envoy, we’ll deploy our forces to the Pamir Mountains.”

“They won’t be able to come in winter. They’ll decide whether to continue to the border disputes in Pamir and India during the winter.”

“Don’t we have to prepare more?”

“Don’t worry about that. That’s why I sent the royal bodyguards to Afghanistan as a peacekeeping force.”

Although Youngho sent troops to Afghanistan at the request of the U.S., the ultimate goal was to station troops in Tajikistan and possibly prepare for a conflict on the Pamir Plateau.

That was why he accepted the U.S. request.

“Then, are you thinking of sending additional troops besides the royal bodyguards?”

“Of course I will. There are nearly five thousand Kurdish enlisted men. We will send them to Tajikistan as soon as their training is over.”

“I’ve heard that they’re still learning the Kazakh language. Wouldn’t there be a problem if we can’t communicate with them well?”

“What do you need to say on the battlefield? They just need to know a few terms. Unless it’s about dealing with precision weapons, they’re going to fight more bravely than our soldiers.”

“The whole world knows about the bravery of the Kurds. But that was the case when they risked their lives to win independence, wasn’t it? I wonder if they’d be so enthusiastic about Kazakhstan’s matter.”

“Wait and see. You will find out that such concerns are not necessary.”

The Kurdish soldiers are classified as the Kazakh army, but they were also assigned as the royal bodyguards. It was their great pride since they wanted to protect Princess Jelyan and they were grateful for the Kazakh royal family for saving them.

This was why that enlisting among young men became popular even though no one forced them. Another reason was that they knew that they would be given good weapons, ample supplies, and a great salary to support their families.

Youngho was certain about the Kurdish soldiers’ performance in the military because of the temperament of Kurds. They fought for independence for a long period of time and lived in insecurities. Such circumstances had changed their temperament. Once they were on the battlefield, they were persistent and determined that they would not leave the scene until they achieved victory unless they were killed.