Empire of the Ring

Kazakhstan's closure of the border was big news.

Western countries criticized China over the Uyghur bloodshed, saying that economic sanctions could be considered if the anti-humanitarian persecution on Uyghurs continued.

In response, the Chinese government reacted angrily, saying that eradicating anti-government forces was a matter of internal affairs.

In any case, China, hit by Kazakhstan's ban on mineral resources and oil exports, sought to diversify its import lines, but it had not been easy to find a supplier as close and as convenient as Kazakhstan.

It had to be satisfied with Mongolia, which had been a close country to China.

When the supply of mineral resources was cut off, some factories began to cut operations, which could lead to the shutdown of factories and the damage to secondary and tertiary processing industries in a chain.

China's biggest blow was in the energy sector, including oil and gas, which used to be supplied stably through pipelines connected to Kazakhstan.

They could be brought from the Middle East, but there was no better supplier than Kazakhstan.

Oil was also produced in China, but it was not enough for 1.3 billion people to use.

November of the Arirang royal territory was the time to begin the break after winter preparation, but this year, people were more energetic than ever.

Despite the colder weather, the road was filled with noise from numerous container vehicles traveling to and from the light industrial complex.

Factories that used to operate only 8 hours a day to control the volume of daily necessities produced in the light industrial complex were running 24 hours a day now, so the vehicles were busy to transport the supplies.

This phenomenon was not limited to the royal territory, but to all industrial complexes across the country.

The reason why factories were operating 24 hours a day and logistics was increasing was because Chinese daily necessities were not allowed in Central Asia anymore.

Despite all the efforts to prevent the flood of Chinese products, Chinese daily necessities still dominated the market in Central Asia.

If there were no border closures, Central Asia could not have been freed from cheap Chinese products forever.

"Your Highness, thankfully, it seems that we have given us a little breathing space in the supply and demand of daily necessities. I think this is a great opportunity to lower the market share of Chinese goods."

Although the Minister of Industry, who was reporting on the market share of Chinese daily necessities, Kazakhstan was still relying heavily on Chinese imports for major products.

As the demand for high-end products was limited to the population, the more factories were operated, the more there were to lose.

It would be different if the population of Kazakh Federal Kingdom exceeded 100 million, but it was only 30 million, so the industry could not be maintained for domestic consumption alone.

"Minister, most of the writing tools we use in this very conference room are from China. Without alternative products, we have no choice but to use Chinese products. Please find ways to improve the quality of our products."

In order to drive out Chinese products that had penetrated into every corner of life, high-quality products of various items must be continuously produced, but Kazakhstan's industry-level had yet to reach that level.

"I'll take a closer look. Right now, we have no choice but to appeal to the public for the use of domestic products. We still lack advanced technicians…"

"Do you have any intention of releasing additional funding for technology improvement at the government level?"

"The moral hazard of the factory owners is the problem. It's hard to expand it anymore because many factory owners use it for other purposes in the belief that its blind money. Moreover, there are not enough public officials who have the ability to identify companies and factories that are expected to improve their technology."

"If they've diverted technology funding elsewhere, isn't it proof that those companies are small? We need to increase the size of the companies and factories with the potential to grow even with bold support, and if we turn free aid into paid aid, moral laxity will be eliminated."

"I'll go over it carefully and report it to you again."

Youngho did not intend to get involved in what the minister was in charge of, but he had to urge it because Kazakhstan would be eroded by Chinese products in the future if it did not prepare now.

"It's important to be determined to outpace Chinese goods. Someday, the Chinese border will be reopened. We have to be prepared for that."

"Your Highness. Are you thinking of improving relations with China?"

"Not right now, but one day we'll have to resume our exchanges. There's no eternal enemy or ally in the international community."

***

Early Kazakhstan's defense capabilities were based primarily on defense-oriented strategies which meant airpower was relatively weak compared to China.

However, after becoming a constitutional monarchy, it continued to invest funds in expanding its air power by assembling Gripen fighter jets from Saab, Sweden, in the country and introducing the U.S. F-35 fighter jets and Apache helicopters.

Recently, the government had introduced aerial tankers and early warning systems, which were considered equal to or superior to China in terms of airpower.

This assessment was a common diagnosis by global military critics.

The reason why Youngho was not afraid of China was based on this assessment on top of Kazakhstan's newly arranged weapons.

Kazakhstan had not only tactical nuclear weapons but also laser guns and unmanned attack drones.

Unmanned attack drones had been the result of exhausting research and development since the early days of the Kazakh Kingdom.

China, which was a drone powerhouse, had also developed unrivaled unmanned attack drones, but they were not up to what Kazakhstan had.

Chinese troops deployed along the Kazakh border were mostly engaged in reconnaissance activities or construction of camps.

It was proof that they felt a sense of crisis.

China had not necessarily strengthened its borders because of the confidence that it had a military advantage of a powerful force and the rugged Tian Shan Mountains replaced the border.

On the other hand, Kazakhstan prepared thoroughly for China's invasion, including the construction of steel-rebar concrete trenches in various parts of the Tian Shan Mountains to overcome the relative inferiority of its troops and the ease of troop movement by penetrating mountain roads.

Recently, laser gun units and unmanned attack drones were deployed in relatively flat areas aimed at neutralizing fighter jets and deterring mechanized troops from advancing.

The laser guns had a range of only 4 kilometers, but it was fired at the speed of light without a sound, so it was not detected by radar.

This meant that the only way to avoid laser guns was to fly high.

Although relatively low destructive power, direct attack of a laser gun would result in temporary loss of function and incapacitation of tanks or fighters as there were no modern weapons without electronic devices.

Chinese fighter jets going on a reconnaissance flight without knowing that such a secret weapon was hiding would be the first to be sacrificed to a laser gun.

When Chinese fighter jets approached the border, Kazakhstan's air force would also launch in response.

However, after the laser guns were deployed, no response was launched, which was a trick to induce the Chinese aircraft to invade Kazakh airspace.

It was a plan to fire a laser gun as soon as they crossed the Kazakh airspace.

On the afternoon of November 28th, when the temperature suddenly dropped sharply, a Chinese fighter jet deliberately entered the Kazakh airspace while on a reconnaissance flight as usual. It was going in and out of the Kazakh airspace over and over again.

Lieutenant Erhan, the chief of the laser gun units, was continuing to track down the Chinese fighter jet captured by the radar.

He was already fully prepared to launch a laser gun, so he pressed the launch button the moment it invaded the airspace for the third time.

The Chinese fighter jet, which was directly hit by the laser, seemed to be flying for a while but soon lost its direction and began to shake.

The pilot tried to control the fuselage but decided that he could not do anything, so he tried to separate the canopy and attempted an emergency escape only on the brink of a crash.

The fighter jet crashed into the mountainside and exploded, and the pilot was seized by Kazakh mountaineers.

It was the result of laser gun practice against drones.

In the process of capturing the pilot, there was a gun battle between soldiers of the two countries, but there was no further expansion because the area where the jet crashed and the pilot landed was Kazakhstan's territory, which meant the jet clearly invaded the Kazakh airspace.

Prime Minister Kasim called to report the shooting down of a fighter jet.

Youngho could not help but hide his smile when he heard the news that a fighter jet was neutralized by the laser gun.

This was because his efforts so far had not been in vain.

In the case of unmanned attack aircraft, they caught it because of its slow speed, but the fighter's speed was no comparison to that.

"What happened to the pilot and the fuselage?"

-The pilot only suffered a slight bruise when landing with a parachute. The fuselage exploded as soon as it touched the ground, and we are currently collecting its debris.

"What are you collecting that for? Only soldiers suffer in cold weather, so tell them to quit."

China's fighter jet was not a secret weapon nor was it high-tech, so there was nothing to collect carefully.

Only clashes with Chinese troops would occur during the search for the wreckage.

-We must find a black box with flight records. If we study it, we can figure out how the laser gun affected the fighter. We needed to accumulate data to further develop the laser gun in the future.

Kasim, a former soldier, was calculating all that.

"You think black box is still intact even though the missile on the fighter exploded?"

-The black box is strong enough to withstand minor shocks and explosions, and it is necessary to deal with China in the future. It's also the only evidence of invasion of our airspace and territory.

"China could argue that it was an accidental crossing."

-They can't cover up the fact that they've invaded our airspace. It's all recorded on our air defense radar and satellite.

"The Chinese military will make a fuss to figure out the cause. Was there any request for the return of the fuselage and the pilot from China?"

-We can't just return them just because they requested. We will check thoroughly and send them back after receiving a promise to prevent a recurrence.

"Are the laser gun units well camouflaged?"

-Don't worry, it's completely disguised so you can't find it even if you come near just around the corner.

Now, Chinese drones and fighter jets wandering near the border were likely to be hunted by sight.

Watching its own fighter jet crash for no reason, the Chinese military would be stunned.

However, it would be hard to find the laser that had no sound and no substance.