Empire of the Ring

The dinner with Prince Al-Sarki, who was rather quite easygoing and free for such a royalty with high pride, ended in a cordial manner.

When the dinner was over, Park Jong-il went out with the prince to escort him to his room.

"Director Park seems to like the Crown Prince. I guess he is trying very hard to be promoted and win a new title. It looks like he's trying to make a difference by getting something out of the prince."

"Oh, what's the big deal about a mere title?"

"Your Highness, I think it's time for our royal family to expand the scope of the title of nobility a little bit. What do you think? If you grant peerage to the Prime Minister and other Cabinet members, it will encourage their pride, not to mention it will serve as a reason to be loyal to the royal family."

"Wouldn't other European royal families look down on us if we give out so many titles? Families who have worked for the nation and the people for generations should, of course, be properly respected, but I think it is too much to give titles to our close aides or cabinet ministers without any hesitation…"

Since even the criteria for conferment of titles were not clearly established, Youngho was a bit hesitant to accept Eriksson's advice. This was because there was a possibility that public opinion would be divided over this issue.

"It's probably natural to give a high title to a nation's founding contributors. In the European royal families, it is customary to give titles of those close to royalty when a new king takes office."

"Really? Then let's discuss the title issue in depth later."

Since Eriksson said there would be no problem with rewarding titles, he had no reason to be stubborn anymore. Several people, including Prime Minister Kasim, who was one of the founding members of the new government and the Kazakh royal family, had yet to be honored.

It seemed that the issue could be brought up once the Tajikistan issue was over.

Thanks to the Crown Prince's visit, Park Jong-il would be receiving the title of marquis that he had been singing about. Imagining this made Youngho laugh because he was very curious about how Park Jong-il would react.

He would be boastful of the title for months.

"I guess you're imagining something funny now."

"Hahaha…"

The Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates served as an opportunity to broaden Youngho's horizons.

Kazakhstan had been only focusing on its alliance with Europe and North America due to Russia and China's influence, but he had never imagined that there would be an Arabian country that was interested in Kazakhstan.

He had overlooked the fact that among Arab countries, there were pro-Western countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"Man, we should be incorporated into a capitalist country quickly. I don't feel very proud that Kazakhstan is being called a Third World even though it is at the edge of Europe."

"Your Highness, it's better to be in the third world for diplomatic purposes. How many developed capitalist countries are in an antagonistic relationship with China? The U.S. and Japan seem to be that way, but they're really taking all of the advantages and benefits they could get in the back scene. I think India and Vietnam are the only ones that truly raise their voices."

"I've been actually thinking about cooperating with India which has a border dispute with China these days. Is there any way?"

"Do you intend to cooperate militarily?"

"We should cooperate if we can. Once the railway is opened, we will go to the Indian Ocean, and we must make sure that India is our economic partner."

"I have an important customer from India at the Information Agency. May I introduce you?"

"Is it an Indian businessman?"

"He's a globally famous person from India, but he lives in England now."

"An Indian businessman living in England?"

"Most successful people in the Commonwealth countries are proud to send their children to study in Britain. There's a joke that most of the owners of London's luxury houses are from Commonwealth countries."

***

Lakshmi Mittal, who was known as the King of Steel of India, visited the royal territory less than a week after Eriksson mentioned him.

Lakshmi Mittal was the world's third wealthiest man with 25 billion dollars in assets. Living in England, he was a big spender who splurged 65 million dollars on his daughter's wedding.

He was born as Vaishya in the social order and always had a pride in his Indian heritage.

The reason why he was even described as the King of Steel was that he had steel companies all over the world.

His company's crude steel capacity was over 100 million tons a year, nearly twice the production capacity of China and the world's second-largest.

His company's crude strength was directly linked to the size of its manufacturing and defense industries. His company's capacity was seen as a gauge of India's military might. India's military might was largely veiled, and some were evaluating it to be on par with China.

India's border tensions with China were recently being escalated.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Your Highness. It's an honor that you invited me here."

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Lord Mittal. You've come a long way. I'm sorry to have made you come."

"Lord Eriksson took care of everything quite nicely. I didn't feel discomfort coming here at all."

Mittal, who was knighted by the British royal family, was ingrained with aristocratic etiquette.

India was an independent country, but for some reason, it still remained a Commonwealth country. It was a great honor for many Indians to receive a title from the British royal family.

In the case of Mittal, he made a private contribution of submarines and fighter jets to the Indian government, and the British royal family, which thought Indian armament was the power of Britain, issued a knighthood to Mittal to honor him as a nobleman.

Mittal himself wanted to be called a Lord rather than a chairman.

"I live in England because of my business, but my mind is always in India. Watching the recent border conflict between India and China, there was no way to contain my anger. I know a mere businessman's help could only do so much, but I'd like to add even a little strength."

"How can I believe that the world's steel giant, Lord Mittal, is powerless?"

"I'm flattered. I was lucky enough to get to where I am today. And that's not because of my own ability but because of the help of a lot of people."

"You're right. You can't do it all by yourself. I asked to meet Lord Mittal because I was wondering if there was any way for India to join forces with Kazakhstan."

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'll help you by any means. It's because China's behavior is becoming more and more intolerable now."

"We maintain tension with China in different regions, but we believe that we can pressure China enough if the two countries cooperate. Will you be able to become a bridge to the Indian government?"

Pressing both sides at the same time would make even the most powerful—China—wince.

India had been suffering greatly from border disputes with China in different provinces.

"I'd be happy to help you if you would leave it to me. I have close acquaintances that can influence the government's policies."

"Kazakhstan will press China first in Pamir, so I'd like India to pressure China after a while. If India comes out first, there is a risk of it being a major conflict, so we're going to go first."

"It doesn't mean who will be the first in pressuring China. India is already ready to go to war."

Mittal said he was only a businessman, but he already knew the Indian government's countermeasures against China. This meant that he was already deeply involved in Indian government policy and knew its internal situations.

"We'd like to attack first because there's not much to lose even if there's a battle in Pamir because the people there have already evacuated."

"Your Highness. India is on the same page. The most contentious area will be Bhutan's territory. Since it's in uninhabited mountains, there is not much pressure for us."

"I'm glad to hear that it's a deserted place. Then can you arrange a meeting with your military chief?"

"We can do that right away. Please select the person in charge who will go to India with me."

"Are you going to India yourself, Lord Mittal?"

"It's too big of a deal for me to just sit back and wait after introducing you. I'd like to be involved in the process myself."

"Thank you. Lord Mittal's hard work will be repaid separately by our royal family."