Empire of the Ring

The outdoor training of the Countryside Force went on for four more times.

It finally ended after all of the soldiers had practiced using heavy firearms.

Youngho went out every time to train with them. It was to get to know their training sequences in case he had to work with them in the future. The only way to maximize fighting efficiency was repeated training. One's strength and shooting abilities were important but he would only be a paper tiger if his skills were not backed up with actual fight training.

The training that incorporated real arms consumed a huge amount of ammunition. Because of this, the training field was wrecked. It was not only the ground force that had the training but also the maritime police.

The only arms that were attached to their patrol boats were 20-millimeter-long machine guns and Vulcan. So, Youngho ordered them to attach machine guns and rocket launchers on their vessels and let them practice shooting those firearms with the ground force.

There was no point to distinguish Countryside Force by departments since they were not a lot of people, to begin with. Any Countryside Force should be trained to fight on any place whether it was the land or the sea since dividing the land force and sea force and rotating them every three months would be a great way to run the force efficiently even if they were not a lot in numbers.

With the small number of people protecting the state, Youngho thought that it would be great if Cessna airplane pilots began to take police duties. They could be called a small air force.

As Youngho told that Cessna airplanes would become a small air force, Jong-il laughed hard.

"Man, it's too funny that you do a lot of things with such a small number of people."

As Jong-il teased, Insoo snapped at him.

"Hey! All of the agents of the intelligence department is also a Countryside Force, right?"

"Dude, please. They're extremely busy collecting information. You know I told you that we should get old combat planes this time. Did we make the runway bigger for nothing?"

"People will laugh at us if we have old fighters with propellers in this era."

Jong-il had been trying to convince Youngho to buy old fighters.

"There will be a symbolic meaning to it. You can still use the machine gun and bomb a place if you want. It can wipe out a place before a supersonic plane arrives."

"Oh forget about it. I'm thinking about buying a helicopter. What do you think?"

"Now you're talking about it? I'm in for any kind of attack helicopter."

"I might be able to manage to get a Cobra helicopter from America."

"Whatever it'd be, let's try that. The Countryside Force is our own military force. Don't you think we need at least two attack helicopters?"

In a country that was as large as Kazakhstan, people preferred fighters that had a bigger radius of action than helicopters that could only travel about 500 kilometers. However, helicopters were better to use within the Arirang Autonomous State. It seemed that helicopters would be a great addition to the state's military force.

***

Russia finally stepped in to mediate between China and other Central Asian countries because military forces were gathered near China's border areas. If things intensified, it was not good for Russia either. So, Russia suggested to China to retreat its force and missile base 100 kilometers away from the border to sooth the tension between the Central Asian countries and China.

China agreed to retreat and even reduced its force around the border down to 130,000 soldiers. Following China's move, other countries reduced the intensity of their military forces as well. It was because they had gathered to protest against Uyghur's oppression, not to begin a war.

Because of the current situation, Kazakhstan's plan to equip its military with U.S. military arms was postponed for now since it would be risky if Kazakhstan was misunderstood to be reinforcing its military strength against China or Russia.

Youngho was relieved to hear the agreement between Kazakhstan and the U.S. Although Arirang Shipping was in charge of transporting U.S. weapons to Kazakhstan alone, it was too risky to provoke Russia. It could damage his wine trade to Russia and might affect Yaniv's position as well.

The leadership of the Arirang Autonomous State was trying hard to make a small but invincible army of the state. The only obstacle was the small number of the Countryside Force.

It was already a lot that almost five percent of the whole population was serving in the Countryside Force, and it was now impossible to increase the number.

It would be the same in any country, but if a country reinforced its defenses it did not mean that the country that reinforced its defenses would want to invade other countries. Any country would just want to have an assurance in the form of a deterrent force. The strength of Arirang Autonomous State would also be an addition to Kazakhstan's defense force. It was a sense of duty but it was also because some people of the leadership group were crazy over weapons.

Those people were now gathered at a conference table and making a new plan.

"It's called a land warrior. Simply, it's a wireless network given to soldiers."

"Oh, I've heard about it before. The Stryker brigade of the U.S. Army is already equipped with it."

Cha Insoo still had no idea but Jong-il answered Youngho right away as a military mania.

The Land Warrior system would be a luxury for bigger armies but the state's small army could benefit hugely by it if each soldier was equipped with the system.

For example, a rifle with heat-seeking and a target detection function that could detect an enemy's location and automatically inform the distance and direction of that target.

The newest helmet had infrared discrimination and laser detection functions and a user could receive real-time information from the battlefield through its display at any time. He could also message other soldiers using a little keyboard on his wrist.

If a soldier was equipped with all of these devices, it would be quite heavy since they weighed about 3.5 kilograms but it could save soldiers' lives.

"We can just add a display device to what the Countryside Force has now."

"That's why I want to buy at least the all-in-one helmet."

"You think the U.S. would give them to us easily?"

"The ones made to export might be less functional than the originals, but it's worth a try."

Youngho had to give it a try, so he called Edward who was in the states.

"Ed. How's your wife doing?"

He was supposed to visit the autonomous state in the winter but because his wife had an injury from a fall, his visit was canceled.

"She's been asking to visit the Arirang Autonomous State as soon as she's out of her cast."

"How about the fourth week of May. There's Memorial Day weekend."

"Since you're inviting me, I'll be glad to come. Now, I know that you didn't call me just for that. Did you need something from me?"

Since the two had been friends for years, he knew exactly why Youngho was calling him.

"I'm trying to get Warrior helmets. Do you think that would be possible?"

"I'll try to get my hands on those as a visiting gift. I'll see you then."

Youngho liked this side of Edward. He did not ask for any explanation but agreed to find what Youngho needed.

***

Youngho ordered a large number of combat rations from Eti, the Turkish food company that recently opened a branch in Atyrau.

The combat rations were used by residents who often went outside of town and by the Countryside Force when they had outdoor training. Because the autonomous state's territory was huge, there was no place to cook when people traveled a little bit far away from the town. To anyone who often went out of town, combat ration was the best food for them.

The combat rations were unexpectedly tasty that teenagers also like them.

As the spring was arriving, people began to do outdoor activities and the convenient combat rations were their first preference for such occasions. Youngho had been giving them out for free since he thought that the people would get sick of them after eating it a few times, but now combat rations had become the residents' go-to lunch menu. Since many people lived off farming and ranching, they liked to eat convenient food while they worked.

In the end, Youngho could not give away free combat rations anymore. So, they were now sold by the state except for the ones that teenagers used for their outdoor activities at school. Although the demand for combat rations decreased after putting a price on it, they were still popular as a packed lunch meal.

"Boss. The seedling planting work in the lowland would be finished soon. We won't have many workers because all the people will be sent to help out with farming now. It'd be great if the Countryside Force could help out with finishing the work since their training is done. We've been borrowing young kids' hands but I don't want to interrupt their school life anymore."

Kim Chun was working on building a reservoir where there was a natural stream and planting seedlings around it. Planting would have to continue consistently for many years but this year's goal was to plant in 30 percent of the state's territory excluding areas of farming. That would decrease heat and dirt around the residential areas.

"How about getting the help of all of the residents on their break day?"

"They work for six days these days. I can't ask them to give up their only day to rest."

"We should ask for their understanding since they get to have a long break in the summer. If we miss this time, the trees won't grow so well this year."

There were no residents who would not help out in a town's big event.

There were some lazy people but they would have to come out and work with others because of the pressure they will get from those people who were working. Planting trees were one of the most important works at the autonomous state now since they want to give a better place for their descendants.

"First, I'd like to focus on planting trees in the northeast and southwest regions."

"Does the southwest region need trees now?"

"The summer wind is quite strong too. Some of the fully grown wheat was snapped by the wind."

The land suffered from continental winds and winds from the Ural Mountains in the winter and from winds that traveled the Caspian Sea in the summer. Since Atyrau was lowland, there was nothing that would block the wind that would blow through the region.

Although the warm spring wind could be helpful for farming, the wind was problematic since it was too strong.

The state was being equipped with the army of the Countryside Force but the worst enemy of farming was the wind now.