Now that it turned out that there was a potential oil field, this was a place to defend by all means.

The possibility of oil or gas reserves in the region of Kashgar was very likely because oil was being produced in the Tarim Basin nearby.

It was already confirmed by the media that the oil underground reserves in Xinjiang Uyghur only occupied one-third of the whole Chinese oil underground reserves. Not only that, but the region was also rich in dozens of other underground resources such as coal, iron, manganese, gold, lead, and zinc.

It was also a cultural and commercial center for the Uyghurs as the region was already occupied by the Uyghurs. It would have been unfortunate if another place was chosen as an Uyghur independence forces' foothold.

On the other hand, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet did not get a lot of attention.

It did not have many benefits as it was a barren and high place that was difficult to live in. It only had a symbolic meaning as a foothold.

However, Tibetans were still grateful for it.

They did not mind living on the top of mountains if they could live freely from China's rule.

Now that the battle frontline was being static, the Chinese government was suffering a huge backlash in and out.

Encouraged by Uyghurs and Tibetans, other ethnic minority groups were also shaken, and many trusted companies went bankrupt due to the trade war with the U.S.

Due to such internal and external shocks, the current regime was even losing people's approval.

Thus, the government was bending over backwards to retrieve the areas captured by independence forces.

It was necessary for the current regime to show off its undiminished ability.

For this reason, the military was driven to the battle, but the already exhausted troops were stopped by the independence forces every time.

It was only natural that the Chinese soldiers could not exert their full strength as they were deployed from all over China and had moved by train and truck for many days to get to the battlefield.

Especially to get to Kashgar, they traveled on unpaved, rough mountainous roads.

It was because the militias had cut off all the roads and railroads to prevent Chinese troops' transfer.

Having taken a topographically advantageous position, the militias and mercenaries continued expanding its foothold toward the east side.

The independence forces aggressively expanded its land defeating the Chinese forces.

If only the Chinese forces had known what was buried in the middle of the wilderness, they would not have pulled back so helplessly.

It was reaching August after a long dispute when the independence forces could advance to a little beyond the lake in the east of Kashgar.

In order to do so, countless militias were killed or injured, but the Uyghurs did not care about it. As there had been more people sacrificed by the Chinese government so far, this much damage did not seem so big.

Rather, they focused on retrieving the place that could be called the home of the Uyghurs.

The second biggest city of Uyghur and the center of culture and commerce, Kashgar was a hub that connected West and East.

The Chinese government was flipped to have failed to protect such a place, but on the contrary, Uyghurs were in a celebratory mood saying that the return of Kashgar was the re-establishment of East Turkistan.

***

The U.S. government was trying its best to wrap up the situation by negotiating with the Chinese government.

It was a negotiation that did not include Kazakhstan, which was a major partic.i.p.ant in the current independence struggle.

It was because China did not want Kazakhstan's involvement at all as it was trying to reduce the independence struggle of ethnic minority groups so that Kazakhstan would have no say in it.

It wanted to end the situation only by giving autonomous status to the captured areas.

From the Chinese point of view, it was not a bad deal. Even if those areas were given autonomy, they would still be Chinese territory. Of course, such autonomy could be taken back any time upon necessity.

Youngho already knew China's intention, but he did not mind it because he was confident that the captured areas would be permanently set.

Although the Chinese government would insist that they were autonomous regions, Uyghurs and Tibetans would think that they were independent nations.

Youngho would make them establish diplomatic relations with other nations and grow their troops so that the current front lines would be turned into national borders.

If they were willing to accept the Kazakh royal family as Azerbaijan did, he could also take them as federal states of Kazakhstan or form military alliances.

It was because even if they became independent countries, they were powerless without Kazakhstan's help.

The only exit that did not pa.s.s through China for them was Kazakhstan.

It did not mean he wanted to interfere with their domestic affairs. He was satisfied that there were buffer zones between Kazakhstan and China.

As the under the table negotiation progressed, the fire exchanges at the front lines decreased.

The Chinese government then began promoting its generosity to the people through the media, saying that it decided to give autonomous status to ethnic minority groups of China.

It was, in fact, not a big deal for China to do so since there were already some regions with autonomy.

Such regions had low populations that they were not huge threats to the Chinese government.

Also, it could take it back if it wanted.

When the truce negotiation began, the leaders.h.i.+p of Kazakhstan was gathered at a conference room to discuss the situation.

"Your Highness, are you really going to back up now?"

It was the Minister of National Defense. He was not fond of the current situation.

"It's unfortunate, but we have to accept the mediation of the U.S. If this escalated, it can lead to world war."

"But I still think it's such a waste to end it just like this. It's obvious that the Chinese side will break the truce in the near future…"

"We'll deal with it when it happens. We won't have to worry if we're fully prepared any time."

"Then how about stationing our troops in each region when the truce is signed?"

"It's not actually going to be a truce. Officially, it will be in the form of the Chinese government a.s.signing autonomy to each region. If autonomous states drew in other national troops, it would be canceled right away."

"Then are you going to entrust the borders to the inadequate militias? How on earth can they be our buffer zones with such power?"

"We'll have to maintain our border security the same way for a while. I intend to refrain from any activity to provoke China and help the two states to strengthen their power for now."

Then the minister shook his head in disapproval.

"We'll at least have to station mercenaries from a private military company to be safe."

Youngho agreed to his opinion as he was already planning to station mercenaries in the two regions for a while.

"That's a good idea. The U.S. also thinks that private military companies' help is needed until the two regions stabilize, but I was hesitant because of the cost."

"The U.S. is not funding them anymore?"

"When they become autonomous states, the U.S. can't give aids anymore even if it wants to, or it'll offend China and the whole deal will be off. But since the royal family has a private military company, we can forge doc.u.ments as much as we need."

"You're saying that the regular army won't be deployed in any case."

"That is right. Our regular army can never step its foot in either of the states in any case. When the autonomy is given to the states, they'll try to claim to be independent states, and China will provoke them again. If the Kazakh Army is deployed in each border in that situation, the situation will get out of control."

If the Uyghur and Tibetan states try to claim independence, the Chinese military would not refrain from crossing their borders.

In order to stop such variables, it was necessary to persuade the leaders of the two states not to take reckless actions.

It gave Youngho a headache to think about the problems that would be poured out when the truce was declared.

However, such an inconvenience was nothing compared to the benefits of the two states; Kashgar in Uyghur and Ngari Prefecture in Tibet would bring to Kazakhstan.