This time, the three Caucasian nations, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, attended as observers.

As Azerbaijan was a federal state of Kazakhstan, it was natural for the Kazakh royal family to attend the European Union conference.

Fatima's popularity in Brussels was great.

Younger and better-looking than any living European royal queen, wherever she went, she was bound to be a target of journalists' attention.

Fatima received more spotlight than any leader who attended the European Union conference in Brussels.

The higher their interest in Fatima, the greater the ripple effect of a word from her mouth.

When she was given a chance to speak, she first mentioned the human rights issues of poor women in Eastern Europe and urged member states to continue to pay attention, which drew a lot of people's attention.

Then she went on to address the issue of children's and women's rights in poor countries in Eastern Europe.

Since bringing up the Uyghur issue at the conference might not be appropriate and there was no guarantee that it would be received well, she did not mention it.

However, she had another plan which would lead to publicizing the Uyghur issue through first ladies of each country's leaders.

She worked hard to spread the story of the anti-humanitarian activities in Uyghur by inviting them to have tea time from time to time while she stayed there.

In this way, she drew attention from the first ladies by naturally bringing out the horrors that took place in Uyghur after setting the mood from the inside.

Through their mouths, husbands became interested, and at last, publicly denounced China's anti-humanitarian behavior.

As a result, EU member states decided to adopt a joint statement urging the Chinese government to stop Uyghur's human rights violations.

Prime Minister Kasim, who came with the royal couple to Brussels, was surprised at the Queen's move.

He thought that she was a person who was not interested in politics at all, but she showed off bold political moves as if she was an experienced politician.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty is very influential. The adoption of the European Union's joint statement will indeed scare China."

When Kasim praised Fatima, Youngho also felt proud.

She has achieved something that even Youngho or Kasim could have achieved.

"I asked her to do it, but I didn't know she would achieve this much. The Queen seems determined to gain the cause to intervene in Uyghur's independence."

Fatima truly performed well to her best ability on this trip.

She informed the EU members of the reality of Uyghur that she knew.

"I wonder how China will react."

"The adoption of the joint statement will not make it easy for China to change its Uyghur policy, but it will definitely flinch."

Individual partic.i.p.ation could worsen relations with China, but urging caution in the name of the European Union would be less burdensome.

This was because China would not be able to pick a fight against the entire European Union.

Until the beginning of the Uyghur's independence war, it was necessary to put pressure on China to reduce the sacrifice of the Uyghurs even by one person.

If people clamored here and there urging China to stop anti-humanitarian behavior, the Chinese government would have to be cautious as the Chinese economy also depended on the trade with many other countries.

"Your Grace, I have more work to do here, so I'm afraid I can't a.s.sist the Queen to the end."

"It's alright. We can visit Turkey on our own."

Now that they achieved their desired goal in Brussels, all they needed to do was to find out what the Turkish government's intention was.

"Your Highness, I heard that the Turkish government is interested in purchasing the latest weapons, but what if it makes an unacceptable demand?"

On the surface, it mentioned the Gripen fighter jet, but Youngho guessed that Turkey would be interested in the Russian Sukhoi Su stealth jet.

It was a matter of concern because it was not something that the Kazakh government could not handle arbitrarily.

"We'll see how it goes. It claims to be a brotherly country to us, so I hope it won't be so harsh on us. Don't worry, if that happens, I'll give you a flat refusal."

"Why don't you offer an option first? If we promise to provide more crude oil that's been in full production lately, it won't make any other demands."

"You and I have the same mind. The Turkish government will love it if we expand the oil supply."

National defense was important, but the economy came first.

This was because if the economy improved through the import and export of goods, and if the nation became rich, any weapon could be bought with its wealth.

"You could also make a generous offer by saying we're willing to export mineral resources as well. We don't have the market to sell the resources from Uyghur's Kashgar region yet."

"That's a way. I heard Turkey is interested in importing mineral resources. It would like it."

Turkey also had underground resources, but the amount was only enough to suffice the domestic demand. However, due to the increase in the domestic production unit price, it was dependent on imports.

It was also very active in exploring overseas resources because it wanted to save domestic resources as much as possible.

"If we ask them to take it directly from Kashgar, we can aim for killing two birds with one stone since it'll be like recognizing Kashgar as an independent state."

Youngho admired Kasim's wisdom.

It was a means of attracting Turkey naturally.

If it signed a mineral import contract with Kashgar, it would have no choice but to engage in Uyghur issues to maintain the import line.

That meant that other European countries could be drawn in with the same means.

***

The Kazakh Queen's party, which moved directly from Brussels to Turkey, was treated well by the Turkish government.

Turkey would not have favored the Kazakh royal family this much a few years ago, but it was the result of Kazakhstan's increased national power.

Istanbul was the place where the Queen of Kazakhstan was born, so the eyes of the citizens toward her were very warm.

"They would never have thought that a girl from a slum would return as a queen."

Fatima looked refreshed.

She did not have good memories of Istanbul, but the fact that it was her hometown had not changed.

"It's an unforgettable place for me too. Why don't we visit the flea market after the official schedule?"

Fatima blushed when Youngho mentioned the flea market.

It was all the more so because it was a place where she showed her bare reality to Youngho at a time when she had nothing and could not afford even a single meal for her and her siblings.

"I wonder how it has changed. Do you think the place where I sat and opened a stall in the past remains?"

Istanbul had not changed much since the past except that the slum where the siblings used to live was redeveloped and disappeared.

It was because Zeynep's social welfare facility was established there.

One of the first things Zeynep did after establis.h.i.+ng a social welfare foundation was to build a social welfare facility in the slums of a Jewish village to help children in poverty.

Youngho also helped her both materially and mentally, knowing how much she regretted living in poverty.

"Let's take a look around the slums where you lived if we get a chance."

Fatima gave a faint look and nodded quietly.

Many years had pa.s.sed, but one's poor childhood could never be forgotten.

If she had not met Youngho then, she and her siblings would have died of hunger.

"Thank you so much for reaching out to me then. Otherwise, my siblings and I would have had a terrible ending."

"Come on. You say that every time. I guess we shouldn't come to Istanbul from now on."

"How can I forget about it?"

"Even if you didn't meet me then, you would've found your place since it was destined, so don't say that anymore."

"If you hadn't shown up, such fate would have been spared."

If Youngho had not drunk like a mess the day before in commemoration of becoming sworn brothers with Mustafa, he would not have gone to a flea market.

In other words, alcohol and Mustafa were a medium between him and Fatima.

"Don't even think about nagging me about drinking in the future. I've met you because of alcohol."

"..."

Not understanding what he meant, Fatima only looked at Youngho with a puzzled look.

***

The meeting with Turkish President Erdogan ended in amity.

Just in case, Youngho summoned Eriksson, who was staying in Greece, to prepare for the talks, but there was no demand for the export of Sukhoi Su fighter jets as he feared.

It could be because he offered an unlimited supply of crude oil and mineral resources before the government made such demands.

President Erdogan expressed great satisfaction when Youngho promised to support the licensing and production of the Gripen fighter jet and mineral resources export.

They also agreed to use Kazakhstan's railways to transport the mineral resources of Kashgar to the Caspian Sea.

"Your Highness, I think Erdogan supports us because he has been in power for a long time and needs internal solidarity."

Erdogan won both six general elections and two presidential elections, but it was a time when internal unity was needed more than anything else.

Not long ago, there was a military coup, and there was widespread discontent among hard-line Islamic nationalists due to antipathy against the secular-oriented government.

So, he tried to turn the public's attention to Uyghur even at the expense of uneasy relations with China.

"Your view on it is probably right, Lord Eriksson. As we have seen in the presidential election, Erdogan's approval rating is not very high."

Winning a majority of votes in a democratic country was also a remarkable thing, but considering Erdogan's approval ratings in history, it was declining in a rapid way.

After realizing that his support base had weakened only after the presidential election, Erdogan turned to foreign countries for internal solidarity.

The target was Kazakhstan.

If it was in the name of helping a brother country that struggled alone with China, the people of Turkey would not ignore it with their peculiar Turkish temperament.

It was especially because the Queen of Kazakhstan was from Istanbul, Turkey.

With a good excuse and a big gift of economic cooperation, Erdogan might want to dance right now.

"That's why I think we should not be the only ones to give it away, but also get military support from the Turkish government."

"It won't be easy for Erdogan to decide on that alone. There's a subtle stream of air flowing between Erdogan and the Turkish military."

In the aftermath of the failed military coup, many soldiers had to go to jail or get fired.

Some of them were dealt with unfairly, so the military complaints from the military remained harsh.

It was highly likely that sending such soldiers out of the country would be another headache for the president.

This was because a separate government in exile could be set up on overseas military bases.

"It's a Turkish domestic issue, and we don't have to consider it. We should strongly request Turkish military a.s.sistance if Turkey wants to secure a stable supply of Kashgar's mineral resources."

"We're supposed to meet again tomorrow, so I'll take my chances, but don't expect too much."

Just declarative support was a great help.

The adoption of the European Union's joint statement was smooth because Turkey supported Kazakhstan first.

It would be a cherry on top if Kazakhstan could also get military aid from Turkey, but it would not be easy for the president because of the political burden.

"It's time to divert public attention somewhere else. If it were for us, the Turks would welcome it greatly. Tell President Erdogan that it's a way to raise his approval rating as well."

The main agents of the Uyghur's independence war would be the militia and civilian military companies.

However, when it came to the end of the war and a cease-fire, the forces that would stick to the borderlines would be necessary.

If that was not the Kazakh military, but the allied forces, it would be a more solid boundary.

In this case, it would be possible if the European Union or the Turkish military came forward in the name of preventing expansion and solidifying a cease-fire.

"He indeed seemed to be bending over backward to increase the support rate..."

"He was re-elected as president, but he must have been very shocked to have barely pa.s.sed the majority. Of course, he has no choice but to be eager for the approval rating."

On the one hand, Youngho was convinced.

He himself was quite sensitive to approval ratings.

If the royal family's approval rating fell slightly, he did not hesitate to mobilize Fatima or his children to boost the approval rating.

This was because even with strong authority, without the public's approval rating, it would be like a castle on the sand.

He planned to suggest a way to increase Erdogan's approval rate when he met him tomorrow.

It would probably be of great help if he mobilized Fatima.