"Your Highness, the atmosphere is strange. They seem to avoid us."

"I don't think they're trying to avoid us. They're trying to draw the line."

"If this trend continued, our status as the leading nation of Central Asia will be shaken."

"But we can't help it. We can't please the countries that were led by a dictators.h.i.+p."

"I hope they don't return to socialism to keep their current regime."

"We already have enemies on both sides. We can't pay attention to the south. We can't let that happen."

"How about helping pro-democracy forces instead?"

Prime Minister Kasim was also concerned because he knew what the U.K. Intelligence Service had diagnosed. The more pro-democracy groups were in power, the more those countries would be distant from Kazakhstan because they believed that Kazakhstan's revolution had provoked the movement. However, it was risky to support the pro-democracy movement either since no one was sure who was really behind it. After overthrowing the regime, they could be worse than the current regimes if they were intoxicated by the sweetness of power. It was still too early to expect mature citizens.h.i.+p from Central Asians.

"Let's wait and see. It won't be too late to decide whether or not to intervene after we've settled the border with China."

"I'm afraid we're going to miss the right timing."

"What do you mean?"

"I wonder if China or Russia is already working on the south. It's because the countries at the conference seemed to avoid us already. What do you think that means? I think we should do something apart from the border issue with China."

If Prime Minister Kasim felt uneasy, chances were high since he must know how Central Asian countries were like as a native Kazakh.

"When the regime falters, it becomes a catastrophe. I'm worried that the whole Central Asia will be in turmoil."

"That's the only way Central Asia will be reorganized. We can't expect stability at this rate, anyway."

"Okay, if we're in a state of instability, we'd better have the democratic forces in power. Let's contact and support the democratic forces in secret."

***

"Your Highness, I hear you bought an island in Greece this time?"

"It's a small preparation for the future. The five oceans won't always be as safe as now. The Black Sea won't allow naval vessels from other countries to enter, so our vessels will wait in the Mediterranean to protect our cargo s.h.i.+ps."

"I see. Commander Jun was all about the newly ordered Aegis destroyers from Koç Holding."

"It's kind of a reward to the company for moving its factory to Kazakhstan."

"Your Highness, I have a different opinion. Would you like to hear it?"

"Of course, I'll listen to your opinion any time, Prime Minister."

"I'd like to ask you to order those s.h.i.+ps from Korea or the U.S."

"I already gave my word. Do you want me to reverse my decision?"

"If you didn't sign a contract yet."

"Could you explain why I should do that?"

"I'm a former soldier, so I'm confident that I know more about weapons than anyone else. Europe's weapons system still had a long way before it can catch up with U.S. technology. We need to have overwhelming firepower because our opponents are Russia and China. In terms of performance and firepower, there is nothing like U.S. weapons. Even though the U.S. is very picky about technical ties, we'd be able to convince the U.S. since we'd be fighting against Russia and China. In the same way, Korea is also a country that has powerful defense technology since it has continued to develop technology to keep up with its Northeast Asian neighbors."

"You have a point."

"It is not that Koç Holding's s.h.i.+ps have poor performance, but it will be better for us in terms of maintenance to order it from Korea or the U.S. rather than from a company that a.s.sembles parts imported from various places."

"I guess I was too hasty to decide."

"I'm sorry that I'm telling you what to do when you're using your own money to buy the s.h.i.+ps."

"Oh, I'm rather grateful that you corrected my mistake. I'll keep my ears open for you any time, so please speak up. I'm sorry for Chairman Kaya, but I'll reconsider building the Aegis destroyers."

"Tell him that an old soldier under you is stubborn. And you're not breaking your word, you're changing it."

"Changing?"

"The defense budget for next year already includes items to build wars.h.i.+ps."

"Aren't they for building small-size missile boats?"

"We've gotten 500-ton patrol s.h.i.+ps from the United States this time. So now we're thinking of building mid-size s.h.i.+ps."

"Would destroyers be suitable for the Caspian Sea?"

"The Caspian Sea is about the same width as the Black Sea. And it's not necessary to float in the Caspian Sea. We can place them at the Greek island and use them in the Mediterranean."

"That's an excellent idea. I'm sure Kaya won't be too disappointed."

"Koç Holding is now a company that belongs to Kazakhstan. We should offer other benefits at the government-level."

"That's up to you, Prime Minister. Thank you for saving my face."

***

The Royal Body Guards and Royal Armored Division deployed near the Chinese border were operating effectively at the border despite the harsh weather.

It was possible because the mobility of the armored vehicle was supporting the soldiers. Turkish tactical armored vehicles at the royal territory and Russian-made BTR tanks owned by the Kazakh military were all mobilized.

Kazakhstan had about 1,000 armored vehicles and 300 Russian tanks. Although the tanks were old, they were still in good shape since they were made st.u.r.dy.

Starting next year, the new armored vehicles would be produced in the royal territory. All of the older Russian armored vehicles would be replaced with new products. Chul-hwan and Jong-il were talking as they were watching the Russian armored vehicles.

"They're still good to use. You're going to dispose all of them?"

"It's directly connected to the morale of the soldiers. Would they be happy to drag around vehicles that are more than 20 years old?"

"In this cold weather, the vehicles would be great for a soldier's resting place."

"Well, it's true that they have a lot of s.p.a.ce inside. They're perfect as mobile posts."

"It's safer to use the vehicles as mobile posts rather than using a sloppy guard post. There are more than 1,100 armored vehicles like this, so don't throw them away as sc.r.a.p metal. You should think about using it for other purposes."

"Youngho wanted to overhaul the Russian-made weapons system."

"There are no weapons as st.u.r.dy as Russian-made ones. The morale of soldiers is important, but we should also consider the natural environment of Kazakhstan."

"So, you're telling me to use these as mobile guard posts?"

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"Yes, frankly, they're not at the condition to be disposed of now. They can be around for another decade. So far, they have better firepower than Chinese vehicles."

"Hey, speaking of which, it's weird that the Chinese mountain troops are not moving at all."

"Maybe they're holding back because we had an incidental dispute last time."

"It's strange that they are staying still when they saw us moving the border signs. What are they thinking?"

According to a survey of the border area, the number of Chinese nationals living inside the Kazakh border area was a little more than 2,000 in 400 households. Uyghurs and Han Chinese were living in remote areas of the Tian Shan Mountains. The size of their villages was about 10 to 20 families in bigger groups, and most of them consisted of three or four families.

Many of them lived off collecting herbs and raising goats. Their living conditions were awful since there were no paved roads in the rugged mountains. They violated the border, so they were all caught and sent to temporary camps as of the moment.

After evacuating them, the soldiers got rid of the villages and started to fix the border area. However, it was weird that the Chinese side did not take any action when their citizens were being captured.

"Were they just watching because they were afraid that their citizens would get hurt?"

"I just got a call from the intelligence agents. They said that the Chinese military stationed in Xinjiang Uyghur is on alert. The Chinese border guards were watching us forcibly take our people and burn their villages. They must be pretty upset by now."

Since so many Kazakh soldiers rushed at once, the Chinese side was unable to cope with the situation. Moreover, re-establis.h.i.+ng the borderline, which had been tacitly recognized by the Chinese, was a huge provocation. It was a matter of pride for the Chinese side. They had not expected that Kazakhstan would take such a forceful action all of a sudden.

Kazakhstan mobilized more than 2,000 soldiers this time and 300 more armored vehicles. It would have seemed threatening to the Chinese border guards.

Kazakhstan had about 30,000 army soldiers, and 20,000 of them were focused on the border area with China. The forces at the border with Russia and southern Central Asia were replaced by combat police now.

The Russian government was very happy about removing army troops from the Russian border area and replacing them with combat police. This was because the current administration had taken a more pro-Russian measure than the previous administration. As for Youngho, who had no choice but to maintain friendly relations with Russia for the time being, there was no reason to place military troops at the border with Russia.

Youngho's aim was to make China realize that Kazakhstan's cooperation was necessary when it pa.s.sed through Central Asia in order to make its foray into Europe. Without Kazakhstan's help, China could not do much.