Empire of the Ring

Youngho found out many things from this trip to Volgograd.

Russia would definitely exert its power on Ukraine, and the Black Sea would be sealed off temporarily.

Such events would affect the delivery line of Zeynep Wine and the safety of the car ferry which regularly sailed to Istanbul through the Volga-Don Canal.

The Russian Black Sea fleet could detain merchant ships or even sink them to make an example. Although Youngho was a good friend of Yaniv, accidents were inevitable in times of war.

The best thing to do now was to transport wine and sell it in Istanbul and Frankfurt ahead of time.

“We need to refrain from crossing the Black Sea for some time. Let’s transport as much wine as possible first and prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

Zeynep Corporation had three vessels that crossed the Volga-Don Canal. A car ferry and two freighters in the 3,000-ton class. They usually transported cargo from Istanbul to the Caspian Sea through the Volga-Don Canal.

If war broke out, the northern part of the Black Sea and the canal would be blocked automatically and the only route left for transportation would be land routes across Georgia.

“The vessels that navigate on the Atlantic Ocean won’t be troubled since they only travel to Istanbul but the mineral transportation would be problematic.”

It seemed like Youngho would make a lot of money no matter what, but he would not profit if there were no goods to be traded. What was more, all of the huge freighter shipping companies that worked under Arirang Shipping that delivered minerals would lose their job as well. This would again backfire on Arirang Shipping.

“Jeez. We’ve got another problem now that the autonomous state is making some profits.”

The profit made from selling minerals was a huge hope for the residents of the autonomous state. Knowing that they could not trade minerals anymore would crush them. This was what Youngho was concerned the most. They were already living in a barren environment. Taking away one of the residents’ hopes would greatly discourage them.

“Man, why should those Russian brown bears have to be so greedy? They’ll still be rich with the resources buried under the vast Siberian land.”

Frustrated by the situation, Jong-il blamed Russia.

“You know nationalism can really blind people.”

“Man, any white people look the same in my eyes. It’s really odd that they have to fight for such a small matter.”

Youngho also wanted to fly to the Crimean Peninsula at once and destroy all of Russia’s missiles but that would only provoke war.

What he could do now was to find ways to minimize the aftermath of war.

“Jong-il. If you have any extra room in storage units, just stock up whatever you can regardless of what kind.”

“I was thinking about that too. Man, meeting Yaniv made me realize how serious this is.”

“Contact Mr. Choi of Arirang Shipping and ask him to buy some of our daily necessities from New York as much as he could.”

Although the Crimean situation might end in a short period of time, its aftereffect could last long.

Most of the countries of the Caspian coast rely on imported industrial products. Their daily necessities would suffer an extreme increase in cost, which was a good cause for social unrest.

Once it became difficult to buy things due to high prices, people would criticize national leaders. When people suffered from poverty, young people would turn to terrorist groups like IS. This might be a huge jump of thought but this was the reality of the Caucasus now.

***

There was a place that was not shaken by the intense situation.

It was the Arirang Autonomous State.

People of the state were living their routines regardless of the outside world. Watching them working hard and living as if they did not care was a huge comfort for Youngho.

The construction sites of the medical school building and the new general hospital that would have about 200 rooms were crowded by hardworking laborers.

In addition, Kazakhstan’s influential figures continuously visited the state. They usually brought their families along with them. Their purpose was rather to get treated by the Korean elite medical team for their illness, and not because they wanted to look around the state. However, Youngho could not charge them for their treatments. In fact, they did not expect to get charged since the educational and medical cost was free in Kazakhstan’s public institutions.

There were a few people among them who wanted to pay knowing that it was a private hospital, but Youngho graciously refused them. It was better to earn their favors for now rather than to make money from their visit. Moreover, what they spent while they stayed at the state could usually make up for their treatments.

Kim Chun was the one that made it possible.

He had raised the hotel’s fee instead of charging their medical treatments.

“Commissioner Kim. Are the hotel guests being charge too much?”

“The hotel facility is as great as a five-star hotel in Atyrau, but we’ve been charging people with the cost of a four-star hotel.”

“But this is a remote area where there’s no infrastructure nearby. I’m afraid that they might criticize us for charging them too much.”

“Boss. Our hotel’s free breakfast’s quality is better than foods from high-class restaurants. Where would Kazakh people experience such food? I’m sure they’re satisfied with our service.”

Breakfast meals were similar in every hotel and the breakfast from the Arirang Hotel in the state was no different. Kim Chun strongly believed that its breakfast was the best in the world.

Jong-il left to Istanbul with two freighters and a car ferry.

Youngho also wanted to do something, but he could not concentrate on a specific matter since his mind was so busy. So, he frequently went out in the wheat field and helped out with farming.

The wheat in the field was growing rapidly. It was a blessing that there was a crop that could grow in a barren environment.

Korean rice farming needed a lot of care and plenty of water in order to have a good crop in the fall but wheat farming was extremely simple. After sowing, wheat farming needed only a little attention from the soil’s moisture. The plants would grow well until the harvest season even if they didn’t take care of it too much.

Although last year’s crop was pathetic, farmers comforted everyone saying that they were expecting a good crop this year. People were worried that they might not grow well because the total precipitation for May and June was only 20 millimeters but thankfully, all of them had grown to their full size. Now, all people had to do was to wait until all the grains became ripe.

Wheat was not really expensive, but it was a symbol for the autonomous state. The atmosphere of the whole state depended on the situation of the crop. In all ages, people were strengthened if there was plenty of food to eat. Any person who had spent a harsh winter from Central Asia was relieved when their storeroom was full of grains.

***

The wharf was full of daily necessities that were unloaded by a freighter.

Residents of the state were just happy that more supplies had arrived; even though they had no idea what was going on

Youngho, who was watching the whole unloading process at the wharf, felt relieved now. He sent the amount of wine that could cover the sales demand until the winter came to Turkey and Germany, and now the supplies that would be used for the residents of the autonomous state and Baku. It seemed that he could finally relax.

Jong-il, who was overseeing the unloading process, came to Youngho with a serious face.

“The inspection was so tight when we came through the canal. I feel like Russia will even take away other country’s cargoes.”

“They wouldn’t seize private cargoes unless they’re crazy.”

It seemed like Jong-il went through trouble as he passed through the Volga-Don Canal.

“I had to call Sergey, so the guards would let us pass through.”

This was a warning from Russia since the canal belonged to the country. Since Russia made money from trading oil crude, gas, grains, and weapons, blocking the canal meant that it was going to bear the loss of trade profits.

Although Youngho’s concern about the situation would not change it, he needed to prepare for the worst case scenario. He wanted to make sure that he would not regret anything later.

When the autonomous state was in its developmental stage, Youngho built a lot of warehouses. The purpose of most of them was to store grains and necessary supplies for the residents. Some of them were built to hide weapons that were previously taken from Georgia and the Black Sea. The warehouses for weapons were now almost empty except for French arms because large armed vehicles and missile launchers were hidden in different places of the state.

Youngho thought that there was plenty of room to store the newly transported supplies because there were newly built warehouses. However, the number of supplies was more than enough to fill all of the warehouses. Some of them were just laid in the open-air.

“Commissioner Kim. So, I heard there are still extra supplies?”

“We filled up all the warehouses and empty spaces, and even each family’s storage units are full with supplies but we still have some left.”

“Then, can you make a call to the Navy and tell them to take the supplies? Well, I guess we can’t help it. Why don’t we do something nice to the Navy? You know, since the Navy that was living in the state already know about this.”

“That’s an amazing idea. I get to save my face in front of Lieutenant Commander Jun in a long time.”

“He doesn’t come here often since it’s an emergency situation.”

Twenty naval families had already moved into the state now. There were now more than 50 navy-related families living in the state including the former navies, who would be recruited as the Countryside Force, and their families. Among them was, of course, Lieutenant Commander Jun and his parents.

“I think they just sleep at the wharf of the state most of the time. You know, there are a lot of naval vessels at the wharf. Have you seen them?”

“I thought they only come here during the weekends.”

“No, apparently soldiers just love to come here since Arirang Wharf is much more comfortable for them than the Port of Atyrau.”

The vessels that were supposed to be moored at the Port of Atyrau were now staying at Arirang Wharf ever since the new facilities for the Navy and Countryside Force on maritime police duty were built. Youngho was now a little bit worried that there would be too many naval vessels at Arirang Wharf.

“Youngho. How long does a regular shipbuilding process take?”

“You know, that’s going to take too long. So, we decided to repair a used vessel. There were a lot of used ships at the Port of Atyrau. The engineers at the shipyard were confident that they’ll make it look like brand new.”

A new vessel was needed to travel through the Volga-Don Canal since Youngho visited Volgograd often. Using the canal would be much more convenient than traveling on regular airplanes. It would take about six hours to get to Volgograd; the traveling time was the same even if Youngho used a regular airline.

“They’re not magicians. How will they transform a ten-year-old ship in such a way?”

“You know, it’s much more economical if they reinforced the body and repair its interior.”

“Well, alright. Tell them to make it look as luxurious as possible. Those inspectors seem to overlook yachts because they don’t know who their owners are. They don’t want to get in trouble for that.”

Rich and influential people were the ones who usually owned a yacht in Russia. That was why inspectors frequently let yachts pass by without any trouble. A yacht in the 100-ton class was about 20 meters long in length, so it was perfect to sail through the Volga-Don Canal.

“You’re going to arm the ship with all sorts of weapons, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s for a disguise but that should be used as a high-speed ship in an emergency. We can’t just go sightseeing peacefully with this. I’m going to ask to install the best engine for this to the shipyard. Just do your thing and not worry about this.”

Youngho wondered what crazy stuff his friend would do now that he received a great toy under the pretext of traveling to Volgograd more conveniently.