Empire of the Ring

The button on the charcoal grill was dripping with oil, and Nikolay, whose face was red with a whiff of sweet and sour liquor, was as excited as he could be.

Youngho said a word because he felt sorry for Andrey, the chief secretary of Nikolay, who watched him with a worried face.

"Andrey, I think the chairman's feeling great today, so don't worry too much. We're the only ones here. It's a place where there's no one to blame for making mistakes."

"Prince consort, isn't this a foreign country and that's a police chief? I'm afraid he'll make a mistake."

"Sevan is not police now. He's a very close relative to me."

"Is he really?"

"A friend who's like a brother to me is Sevan's family-in-law. So don't worry about anything and have a drink."

"I will refrain from drinking since I still have to serve the chairman."

"You forgot that I'm the owner of this place. You should know that there are laws of Siberia, but there are laws of Baku too."

"Hahaha…"

Sevan and Nikolay—who were sitting across Youngho and Andrey—stopped their conversation upon hearing Andrey's laughter. The two were chatting as if they had been friends for years. Since they became familiar in less than a day's time, Youngho would not have to worry about buying the site anymore.

"Mr. Lee, I've never felt this good in my life. He's a very cool guy."

"He's funny. He's moderately greedy and power-oriented. Still, he's clean for a high-ranking official in Baku. He's in a position where he couldn't commit any irregularity."

"Sponsors are a must for a government official who's suffering from low salary. I'll be happy to play that role."

"That's a good idea. I'll just say that he's a man who would repay a favor."

It seemed okay for Nikolay and Sevan to maintain a proper relationship. Like all countries in Eastern Europe, Azerbaijan was also a place where corruption in officialdom was at its highest level due to the remnants of the former Soviet Union. The only decent people that Youngho knew of were Kamal and Sevan.

In that way, Youngho was also extremely lucky. Since Sevan was now a high-ranking government official, he had to have a couple of sponsors. Politicians in advanced countries also had a support group and were legally receiving political funds, and it was perhaps natural for police chiefs in developing countries like Azerbaijan to have that background.

Youngho was the natural link between Nikolay and Sevan today.

"How long are you going to surprise me?"

"Hahaha… most of the officials in Baku are close friends. I'll introduce them to you if you want. I made connections with them by bribing in the early days."

"Do you still bribe them now?"

"Now, we've developed a friendship that doesn't require bribing. They would refuse my money even if I wanted to give them some."

"They must be just trying to impress you now that you're too big. Aren't civil servants the ones who bow before power?"

"That could be part of the reason why. Are you ready to invest in Baku now?"

"I'd like to invest at least the cash I have right now. Is there anything you'd recommend?"

"I've got the right building just in time. I checked and found that the rental income would be pretty good too. It's about 100 million dollars. You could negotiate the price with the seller directly."

"If Mr. Lee recommends it, there's nothing to argue about it."

"However, please check the building condition and the surrounding market. I didn't have time to look at it thoroughly."

"Can I see it tomorrow?"

About 100 million dollars was nothing for Nikolay

The rush could be based on the calculation of making evidence that he had invested in Baku.

***

"No, how many days has it been since I told you about my building? You already found a buyer? I was thinking of bartering if for a new ship."

"Oh, it is undesirable to use all of the money from the building sale for a new ship. Buy some land on the outskirts of Baku with some of it."

Yilmaz was happy since the building he bought a dozen years ago served him good. Youngho recommended a grape farm to him.

"You want me to buy some land?"

"You could probably buy enough land for a grape farm with a little bit of money from what you're making."

"What would I do with a grape farm?"

You can supply your products to Zeynep Wine Company. I'm afraid I can't sell my wine because we don't have enough supply."

"Is it a profitable business?"

"Of course."

"I'll try that if you'd continue to buy all of the grapes from me."

Developing abandoned land would increase its value in itself, and a grape farm would also produce stable profits. It was also attractive that there was a wine company that would accept the grapes produced without a word of mouth.

This led to the birth of another grape farmer.

Youngho could buy land and planted grape seedlings, but in the long run, it was more beneficial to Youngho to find a good business for his acquaintances. The increase in grape production would naturally increase wine production, and that would be the basis for Zeynep Wine to become a world-class company.

Yilmaz placed an order for an icebreaker to be used for the Arctic route at the Danish shipyard company.

He wanted a 20,000-ton freighter. Even though he knew that a ship of that size could not enter the Caspian Sea, he chose a large vessel. In a way, it was an excellent choice. Since he had long experience running a shipping company, he had considered the case where Russian canal would be blocked for political reasons. If the Russian canal was blocked due to political circumstances, a ship would have to pass through the Atlantic Ocean and to withstand the strong waves of the Atlantic Ocean, a ship that was at least 10,000-ton heavy was required.

If any cargo was carried only to the Black Sea, there were plenty of bulk carriers that would go up and down the Caspian Sea, so Yilmaz thought that there was no reason to insist on traveling only through the canal.

"Hyung, I'm going to be a director of the Danish electric motor company."

It was Szechenyi on the phone.

"I guess the crowned prince has made up his mind. You must get it together step by step, without stirring too much from the beginning because it could get noisy."

"Don't worry about that. Also, I received some of the shipyard company's stock holdings as a commission to order the icebreaker."

As Szechenyi would be in the management team of the electric motor company, it would start to be normalized gradually. It was no longer likely that the royal family would be subject to public criticism for not handling royal funds right. Szechenyi's entry did not mean that the company's performance would improve suddenly, but it would not be as lax as it used to be because the brother of the crowned princess would have check force now. He would be nervous in front of Szechenyi since he was not only a prince of the Archduke family but also the future royal princess' husband.

"How's the price of the stock of the Danish shipyard these days?"

"There's not much movement. Everyone seems to think of it as a temporary phenomenon."

"That's great, keep buying the stock that's on the market."

"How much do you intend to keep?"

"We'll have to have at least take control of 15% of the management and keep in touch with institutional investors, too."

***

On the way back to the autonomous state, Youngho's mind was filled with the Danish shipyard.

The state's shipyard was forced to produce only small vessels of less than 5,000 tons, which was the standard for passing through the canal. Large ships would also be needed in order to go to other seas. In case the canal was not available, an extra-large dock that could produce large-size ships was also necessary. That was why he was thinking of taking control of the Danish shipyard.

He still had enough stocks to interfere in the company's management but to secure control of the management, his shares, and friends shares should be combined to exceed 30 percent at least. So, Youngho had been kept pushing Szechenyi to buy out institutional investors' holdings.

If the world economy was on a full recovery track, and the Arctic route was soon to open, it was only a matter of time before the Danish shipyard grew since it specialized in making special ships.

The Arirang Autonomous State's own productive forces would be enough to feed itself, but the road to a strong county was far off. The future of the state was guaranteed only when it had a few solid companies to play a role like a widow's cruse.

That led to the idea of acquiring and merging foreign companies and pointed to the Danish shipyard as the first target.

The autonomous state had to have a foundation to stand on its own feet, and at least have a corporation that earned hundreds of millions of dollars a year to promote the development of the state. Of course, there was Youngho's gold mine and hotel and wine business, but that was not enough.

To begin with, mining and bentonite businesses did not make much money. Also, wheat farming, cattle ranchers, food factories, bearing manufacturing, drone plants, carpet production, and medical businesses were expected to make only enough profits to maintain the status quo in the county.

To make progress in development, there must be a great industrial base, and Youngho had to find it from the outside. He had a vague expectation that if he took over the shipyard based on Denmark, he would be able to see other things too.

He planned to make full use of his status of the Archduke family that was also related to the Danish royal family. Starting with Szechenyi's wedding, Youngho also planned to enter the European high society. If he did so, he would naturally interact with wealthy and influential people.

Thanks to a large number of media companies that attended the coronation ceremony, the Archduke family of the old Serbian Kingdom was in the center of the European high society's attention. The inheritance of the Archduke family was said to be enormous, but the wealth of the current prince consort, Youngho, was also said to be enormous.

It would be very helpful if only Youngho could make connections to a few of them for business partners. It was not only economic power that made a county powerful, but also the power of the inner circle that supported the state could not be ignored.

As Youngho was sharing his plans to Park Jong-il and Cha In-soo, Jong-il interrupted.

"The high society? Of course, I'm a socialite. Do you know how to dance?"

"You think you're having a ball in the world these days? They chat in a fancy bar with leading business people these days."

"Jeez, it is pathetic for us to have to support such a human being as the grand duke. When you go to a meeting that's meant for couples, you're supposed to dance naturally. Don't you have to know the basic steps?"

"I'm not going anywhere if I have to dance."

"Oh, don't say anymore. Just get a dance teacher and learn some dance moves right now."