Empire of the Ring

Chapter 455: Position (2)

Some of the revolutions that had a profound impact on world history included the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the French Revolution in France, the American Revolution in the United States, and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

There were countless other small revolutions, and they were only called revolutions because they were successful.

To resonate with the world’s most famous revolution, the planned revolution in Kazakhstan had to have a good cause, so Youngho was bent on finding a cause. If it were only to stabilize the political situation in Kazakhstan, it would be treated as a coup, not a revolution. He needed to find a cause that would back off its justification and convince the international community.

“Suh Min-seok, did you find a plausible phrase?”

“There are a lot of plausible phrases in the Russian revolution like the Bolshevik Revolution, but there is no proper phrase for a revolution that retreats from democracy to a constitutional monarchy.”

“Did you describe the constitutional monarchy as a retreat?”

“The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution took place in opposition to the monarchy. So, it’s like we’re going back to the old system.”

“If you think that way, you should be excluded from this revolution. If there’s someone who sees it negatively, it’s bad luck.”

Suh Min-seok freaked out. He had thought that he would be getting a high position when the revolution succeeded, but now the opportunity was slipping away from him.

“Oh, prince consort! It’s never a negative view. It’s just an unusual revolution going back to the monarchy.”

“You need to throw away the prejudice that everything old is bad.”

“I didn’t mean everything old is bad. Absolutely no.”

“All right, then, I’ll give you an assignment that’s due tomorrow. Make a proper statement for the revolution. Otherwise, I’ll assume you don’t try hard enough.”

When countless field officers from all over Kazakhstan came to the autonomous state, Min-seok got excited to think that he was witnessing a historic moment.

It was no wonder that Min-seok felt that way. It was impossible for incumbent military officers to leave their workplaces without an order from the central government or the defense ministry.

“Commissioner Kim, are there any politicians who are respected by people?”

“There are about nine members of the House of Representatives who are from ethnic minority groups. They were there because their people supported them as their representatives. They should be respected by their people.”

“I’d like to contact them. Could you please set up an occasion?”

Kazakhstan’s population consisted of Kazakh people, which occupied about 58 percent of the total population of 17 million, and the 120 other ethnic groups occupying the rest.

Among them, there were about four million Russians, about 400,000 Uzbeks, and Ukrainians each, and about 200,000 Uyghurs, Tatars, and Germans each. There were 100,000 Koryoins who were considered to be the eighth-most populous group in terms of population distribution. Thus, there were always Koryoin members in the House of Representatives.

“If we invite other ethnic politicians to the state, they’ll come at once, but I don’t know how the Russian politicians would react.”

“We must meet Russian politicians.”

Russians made up 27 percent of Kazakhstan’s population, so Youngho had to meet the politicians who represented them and ask whether the Russian cities wanted to return to the socialist country of Russia or remain a member of Kazakhstan. If they wanted a separation, there would be a long complicated battle since he could not lose Kazakhstan’s territory.

***

Nine members of the House of Representatives were invited to the Arirang Autonomous State, but only seven of whom accepted the invitation. The Russian and Koryoin politicians were absent.

The Russian congressman was too busy because of the urgent situation of the northern cities, and the Koryoin congressman could not come because of personal reasons. Instead, he expressed his willingness to accept all the decisions made by the meeting today. He seemed to feel comfortable to trust the decision of the day since only politicians of minorities attended there. Members of the minority House of Representatives who gathered in the Great Palace were very encouraged to see the development of the autonomous state. They were hoping that one day they would be able to give such a rich life to their people.

“If you didn’t invite us here, we wouldn’t have had a chance to look around the Arirang Autonomous State. What an enviable and orderly city. I don’t know if our people will ever be able to live like this.”

“This is highly possible if you start building factories to create jobs first.”

Among them, the Tatar politician was the most envious. This was because, among some 200,000 Tatars, there were no prominent businessmen.

“We don’t have such a talented economist among us. Someone has to hire a Tatar to make him a prominent figure. Also, all of the Tatars are scattered. They only live in a group of 10,000 people. No matter what we make, we’ll end up with a small factory that’s as small as a cottage industry.”

“If you want, would you like me to help you build a daily necessities factory? All of the commodities industries of Kazakhstan are on the verge of disappearing due to Chinese products, so it’d be great if we operate our own factories and help each other. If there’s no market for the products, all the people here can come forward and help sell it, right?”

“You’re going to build us a factory?”

“I have some funds to spare, so I’ll help you. I’ll trust you and make an investment, so I just need you to pay back the principal later.”

Hearing Youngho’s remarks, other politicians also started asking for investment in their cities. The reason that Youngho called today’s meeting was to listen to each ethnic group’s intent to live as members of Kazakhstan. But, strangely enough, it was turned into a meeting where Youngho was creating jobs for each ethnic enclave. Regardless of Kazakhstan’s current situation, the problem of making a living was more urgent. In a way, they did not care about the current political instability. It was because the current government had not been listening to the voices of ethnic minority groups very well so far.

“The only way to a greater Kazakhstan is to strengthen ethnic minority groups. I will build factories in any areas where they’re needed.”

“How can you take the lead in something that the government hasn’t done before?”

“It’s true that minorities are at a disadvantage in Kazakhstan. That’s what I felt when I established the Arirang state. I’m trying to help because I’m also in the same category. If a new government is launched soon, there will be many benefits to minorities more than ever. Now that we’ve got a foothold in Kazakhstan, we’ll try to find a way to live well together, so you can look forward to it.”

“We don’t have much to complain about the current treatment of minorities. We only wish that people would be given equal opportunities regardless of their ethnicity. The president has been prioritizing Kazakhs and Russians only until now.”

“The state of Arirang intends to enjoy prosperity with the whole Kazakhstan, and it will not tolerate any disadvantages to minorities.”

“You’re leading the movement on behalf of the minority people. It’s so hopeful to hear that.”

Several agreements had been reached between representatives of minorities and the Arirang Autonomous State.

The state agreed to provide financial support for the establishment of daily necessities and industrial goods factories to help minorities stand on their own feet and to receive talented young minority people to study abroad in the Arirang state for advanced education. In return, the minority groups would give support base to Arirang.

“I hope we will have meetings like this more often in the future. We never got to voice ourselves in the House before.”

“Duke, if you take the lead in solving the problems of minorities, we’ll unite around the Arirang state. We have to stop minorities from being discriminated.”

“If we can, we’d like to move here because there is no discrimination between people here. I hope the whole Kazakhstan was like this.”

The minority politicians complimented Youngho and the state as they agreed to support each other. It seemed that they had been living under unfairness and deprivation of support.

***

“It’s a shame that the Russian politician didn’t make it.”

“Well, we’ll still inform him about the decision we made from the meeting today.”

“The whole north area is a factory zone. Why would Russians want to be part of us? Besides, they had been treated as the majority in Kazakhstan.”

“The northern cities are full of industrial parks, but they still lack daily necessities as anywhere else. Tell our agents to find great factory sites. It’d be weird if they refuse to build a daily necessities factory for free.”

“I’m still worried that those northern cities will become the cause of conflict in the future.”

After Kazakhstan became independent, a large number of Russians left for the mainland. They saw that there would be a conflict with the Kazakh people later on. But, four million still remained in Kazakhstan. It was because of them, their cities not only had a great economic base but also were their hometown. They were born and raised there, though of different religions and races, and there was no reason to abandon their homes and go to Russia. Going to Russia meant that they would abandon a democratic society where freedom was guaranteed and private property was recognized.

“We must secure the northern cities no matter what. It is terrible to think of Kazakhstan, where its industrial base has disappeared. How long would you hold out if you were to rely on imports for everything? We don’t even have a sea near us. If Russia shuts the route, we’d be doomed. At that time, our only option will be Iran or China. How are we going to deal with them?”

“Why don’t we cross the Caspian Sea and go to Azerbaijan?”

“You should also think about logistics costs. We have to make Kazakhstan a self-reliant economy on the premise that the route to the outside is blocked. That’s why I’m trying to persuade the Russians in the northern city.”

“Then I’ll have to launch an operation at the intelligence service level. I need to make something to impress the Russians.”

“It doesn’t matter how much money you spend. Just make them feel like they have to stay in Kazakhstan. If you do that, I’ll carry you around.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take vodka from house to house and make them fall in love with us. Maybe you’ll have to carry me around sooner or later.”

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