Empire of the Ring

“Your Highness, the Russian North Sea Fleet is heading for the Bering Strait after the joint training.”

“How many warships were there?”

“One nuclear-powered cruiser and two 7,000-ton missile destroyers of the Russian North Sea Fleet attended the two hours of joint training.”

Suh Min-seok reported the result of the joint training to Youngho.

“But what kind of training ends in two hours?”

“The North Sea Fleet didn’t demonstrate much firepower and had no icebreaker.”

A nuclear-powered cruiser was a warship that had enough strength to break the ice.

The Russian Navy must have hurried back not to overpower the engine for breaking the ice.

The joint drill was only an excuse and was intended to watch Kazakhstan’s Aegis destroyers’ capabilities.

“The Russian Navy must have not revealed its firepower because of the financial burden.”

“Our Navy showed a variety of firepower demonstrations, including missiles.”

Commander Jun would have shown all sorts of weapons.

This was a great opportunity to demoralize the Russian navy, so it could not be overlooked.

He also needed to show that he was authorized to launch expensive missiles without hesitation, so to show that he could use such firepower at will in the field if there was a situation.

“There is now a free passage for the Kazakh Navy in the Arctic Ocean.”

“So from now on, can our warships could go around at any time?”

“Is it a normal country if you treat an ally as hostile?”

“It’s strange to have an alliance with Russia.”

“You still haven’t drained the water of Koreans.”

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s a little awkward to me.”

“By the way, where is Sergeenko. I haven’t seen him.”

Sergeenko, the Mafia boss of Krasnoyarsk, was staying in the royal territory secretly since yesterday.

“He went to take a look around the Kurdish settlements with Commissioner Kim.”

“Why there?”

“He went to see if it’s a good place for Evenki people to live as well.”

“Siberian nomads settle in Kazakhstan?”

“There are quite a lot of Evenki people who live in the city of Krasnoyarsk. But most of them are living as lower classes and they’re not treated very well.”

“Did Commissioner Kim come for drinking yesterday?”

“Yes, sir. Those two are about the same age, so they quickly became friends.”

Kim Chun, who spoke fluent Russian, joined the drinking table last night to entertain guests, but apparently he and Sergeenko got along well.

Then, it was obvious what would have happened last night.

Kim Chun must have told Sergeenko to bring all the Evenki to the city.

“So he told to bring all the Evenki people.”

“How do you know so well? He’s confident you won’t oppose it, either.”

“Has he? Then I’ll have to oppose it. I wonder how he would react.”

“Your Highness, you have to pretend that you don’t know about it. If the commissioner finds out that it was me who told you, I’d be in trouble.”

“You’re afraid of Commissioner Kim more than I am.”

“You know how he’d hold a grudge for a long time once a thing goes wrong.”

“Hahaha…Right. He acts sensitively because he means well for the royal territory and the royal family, so be generous to him. He doesn’t spare himself for a job.”

“I know that well.”

“Anyway, that mafia is something.”

“He’s quite humane for a mafia. He takes care of his own people.”

Min-seok also hung out with Sergeenko for a day yesterday, and how he was complimenting him.

***

“Your Highness. If you give the Evenk a small land and they will die for the royal family.”

“Mr. Sergeenko. We do not force loyalty to all people living in the royal territory. This is where everyone lives on their own free will.”

“But wouldn’t it be better if there are more people loyal to the royal family?”

“But I’m afraid they’ll be able to settle down here. I’m telling you this because I’ve seen Kazakh nomads going back to their nomadic life after trying to settle in cities.”

It was no easy task for nomadic people who had been nomads for generations to settle in one place.

In a life where eating and sleeping could be solved only with livestock and leather, life in the city was more like asking to die.

There was nothing for them to do in the city due to their short learning.

“Even though the Evenki are nomadic, they are well adapted to their residential lives. However, because of the short learning, life in the city is difficult because there are no suitable jobs. There are so many jobs here, wouldn’t the problem of making a living be solved?”

“Hmm… Then did you ask for their will?”

“I don’t even have to ask. They’ll trust and follow wherever I recommend.”

“You seem to have your kinsmen who are Evenki since you’re so confident.”

“It’s because it includes my men’s families. My men will cheer up if their families settled in a safe place.”

“You mean the Evenki people who live in the city joined the mafia?”

“They have no choice but to wander around in the back alley because they have to make a living somehow. I gathered them to prevent them from going astray. It’s been possible because you’ve helped me in many ways.”

His logic was that the mafia was less bad than the back street gangster, but Youngho was not sure whether the mafia was cleaner.

“I don’t remember helping you much… What are you talking about?”

“Not only did you buy diamonds from me, but you gave us exclusive access to vodka and combat food distribution, which helped us a lot.”

“So you haven’t been involved in anything illegal?”

“I’ve been so busy in distribution business that I didn’t have time to look at anything else.”

Sergeenko’s remark somehow slightly touched Youngho.

Youngho thought he was the leader of a greedy mafia region, but he was a very humane man as Min-seok said.

“How many people are moving?”

“There are about 60 families right now. I bet we’ll find a hundred households in no time.”

“Are there so many Evenki living in the city?”

“There are quite a few people who give up nomadic life because of Moscow’s education policy. The whole family moved into the city because they couldn’t leave their children city alone.”

It was the result of compulsory education conducted as part of the Russian government’s policy to assimilate immigrants.

“Okay, if they’ve already met civilization, it won’t be that difficult to settle down here. Migrate them to the royal territory at any moment. Soon, with an icebreaker at the front, our car ferry will go to the Yenisei River. The immigration documents will be prepared by our royal family, so all you have to do is to get them ready to leave.”

“Your Highness, I’ll pay you back for your generosity through the rest of my life.”

“Don’t say that. Now that we’re in the same boat, we’re like the same family. There are plenty of jobs, so there won’t be any trouble making ends meet. And there’s nothing to worry about a place to sleep right now. Isn’t that right, Mr. Commissioner?”

“Of course. Your Highness, for starters, they can live in temporary lodgings. If they get jobs, I can show them the site for their houses.”

When Kim Chun said he would even provide the site for their houses, Sergeenko was very excited. Then he carefully asked if it was possible to live as a group.

“Commissioner, may the Evenki live together?”

“I’ll do that if you want. It’s not that difficult.”

“Well, all we have to do is prepare the money to build houses.”

“You don’t have to do that. The city administration will provide housing financing. It’s an interest-free, long-term loan, so if you’re diligent, you’ll be able to pay it back in five years. There’s no place like this in the world.”

Kim Chun was anxious to show off how good the royal territory was.

There were 1.3 million people living here, but so far they were doing well without any problems. If they were diligent, they had nothing to worry about.

***

Sergeenko, who looked around the housing site the next day, looked very pleased.

This was because Kim Chun showed a residential area near the river.

There was also a light industrial complex nearby, making commuting easy.

“How is the residential area that Commissioner Kim showed you? If you don’t like it, tell me because there are other places. There are many small residential areas for the Evenki people to live in.”

“That’s enough for people who don’t have anywhere to go. It’s a great blessing for the Evenki people to have a place to move anytime. Your Grace.”

“I hope they like it here.”

“I’m sure they can adapt well here. In Russia, minorities don’t have many choices even though Siberia is obviously a land of the natives.”

“I’ll do my best to help them adjust.”

“Your Highness. Thank you. My men would love to have their families settled in a place where there is no discrimination. Then your plan can be carried out sooner.”

“I don’t mean to draw them into anything dangerous. But I’d like to protect their homeland, Siberia. Please don’t do anything reckless. The safety of your organization members is a top priority.”

“If you collide with Chinese companies, we will have to suffer some sacrifice. We have to have a scapegoat to create a situation so that we can bring out the anger of the citizens of Krasnoyarsk.”

Sergeenko was also a person who has usually complained about Chinese companies’ illegal activities.

When Yaniv recently promoted the Krasnoyarsk branch to a new organization and ordered him to help the Kazakh royal family, he understood what he meant at once.

He knew all too well that the creation of a new organization would soon be a stage for testing one’s capabilities.

So he was trying to be more active and take the initiative in resolving the situation.

“First, we should delve into all the illegal activities committed by Chinese companies. This is to prepare for a conflict that could result in an intervention. And we should bring out the anger of the citizens so that they can protest against Chinese companies.”

“You must have a scapegoat to do that. That’s how we can promote conflict.”

“I don’t like that we have to sacrifice someone.”

“We’ll try to do it in moderation so no one gets hurt.”

“Don’t spare any money for this operation. We’ll be happy to support you.”

“We also have funds for our activities.”

“Please distribute the funds to the families of the members who settle here. That way, the members of your organization will be loyal to you. I’ll fill you in on the money you’ve spent.”

“You don’t have to do that. Your Grace.”

“It’s a royal service for the Evenki people who settle here, so please don’t refuse. And a large number of our intelligence personnel will be dispatched. Please don’t be upset that they interfere with you, but cooperate as much as possible. It’s to make sure we succeed.”

“Of course. We will only follow the instructions. It’s easier to use your body than to use your brain.”