《Empire of the Ring》Chapter 607: The Era of Ocean (2)
Advertisement
After checking out the Aegis destroyers at the Abu Dhabi Ports that flew to Copenhagen accompanying Kim Il-kwon and Suh Min-seok only.
It had been a while since he visited Denmark. It was because he did not have to come since Szechenyi was looking after all royal businesses in Denmark. Also, he was not fond of all the formalities of meeting the Queen and the Danish royal family if he visited. Nevertheless, he had to come to Copenhagen this time.
It was because there was a launching ceremony of an icebreaker at the Danish Shipyard.
With this ice breaker on the lead, it soon would be followed by the completion of Yaniv's three 20,000-ton-class icebreakers and Nikolay's two icebreakers. Since the two icebreakers would be operated by Arirang Shipping and the revenue would be shared with Yaniv and Nikolay, it was like Youngho was the owner of the vessels.
With Princess Isabella's breaking of a champagne bottle, the icebreaker moved its way into the water for the first time.
Youngho watched the ceremony with an amazed look on his face. The era of the North Sea was finally opening.
"Hyung, how do you like it?"
"What have I done? It's nothing compared to what you and Fatima are doing at home."
"Now that the shipyard is in position, please take it easy. Your health is the most important. By the way, what's she doing instead of attending this ceremony? Didn't you tell her that Isabella has to take it easy now?"
Youngho was talking about Zeynep. She was supposed to take the role of breaking the champagne bottle at the launching ceremony today instead of Princess Isabella, but somehow she stayed in Frankfurt saying that she had an important business.
Isabella was now pregnant with another child, so she was supposed to refrain from outside activities.
"She said that she had an appointment with the doctors who will work for the hospital ship. The ship design is finished just now but she's making a big fuss already."
"Make her a small hospital ship first. I'm afraid she'll take it out on me."
"There are no empty docks at the moment. We are not able to digest other orders now. There's no way we can start with a big hospital ship."
Youngho could already see what must have happened in his head. Zeynep must have been grilling Szechenyi about the hospital ship.
Advertisement
"Then we'll have to build a small hospital ship at the royal territory."
"If you'll do that, we will be able to take a breath at the Danish Shipyard."
Even a small hospital ship is 1,000 tons, so it takes quite a long time to dry.
Youngho was also looking forward to this project because it was a project that JIFA was pushing for as a focal point and it can enhance the image of the royal family.
"Other than that, I need to extend the dock further."
"Did you get a new order?"
"I got an order for five 3,000-ton frigates from the Arab Emirates. The weapons system is going to be Saab's products, so send a shipyard official to Sweden and the United Arab Emirates to exchange a memorandum of understanding."
"Five 3,000-ton frigates?"
"Yeah, after seeing our naval ships, Prince Al-Sarki was so smitten that he ordered it right away."
"You get 30 percent of the Danish Shipyard's ship orders."
"Are you surprised at that? We'll need to secure more ship engineers because we're going to have more orders in the future."
"We can have more technicians anytime if our shipyard can grow."
***
As it was an official visit, Youngho had to visit the Danish royal family.
Queen Margrethe was looking forward to Youngho's visit.
Her hospitality for him was rather burdensome, as it was too much.
Not only had Denmark's chronic resource supply issue had been solved due to the Kazakh royal family, but also Denmark's economic situation was getting better, so the Queen was grateful for Youngho.
"Your Highness. Does the food suit your taste?"
"Your salmon dish is excellent. I think I'll keep thinking about it even when I go back home."
"Hohoho... My family has criticized me for my poor cooking, but you are a gentleman."
"No. I really enjoyed it. If I have time, I would like to visit your palace every day and eat your salmon."
"Hohoho... A meal with the gentleman is always welcome."
The name of the salmon dish, which was one of the representative foods of Denmark, was Gravlax. It was a favorite food of the Danish people, and since Youngho loved fish, he loved the dish.
"Your Highness, may I ask you a difficult favor?"
"If it's your request, I'll do anything. Don't feel bad to ask."
Advertisement
"Usually, the royal family does not get involved in government affairs, but I had to step up since I couldn't just watch it."
"..."
"The world is in a very unstable situation as the world is in a trade war, and there are difficulties in managing foreign exchange. So the prime minister and the central bank governor requested me to ask you for help."
Although she said that it was foreign exchange management, it seemed to mean an intention increase in gold holdings.
When he met the queen in the past, he secretly boasted that the Kazakh royal family had tons of gold bars in store from the legacy of the Serbian Kingdom. It seemed she remembered that.
"Do you mean gold?"
"That's right. They said each country is bent over to increase their gold holdings but it's not easy to find even with money."
Denmark, despite having a much larger economy than Kazakhstan's, did not have much gold in its holding. Its neighbor, the Netherlands, had 612 tons, but Denmark had only about 67 tons, ranking 40th in terms of the world's gold holdings.
Since it was smaller than 600 tons held by the Kazakh royal family, it was comparatively quite little.
"Tell me how much gold you need. Our royal gold mine produces about 60 tons a year. I think we can split some of it for you if we need to. If I had known, I wouldn't have signed a gold deal with Germany."
"Oh, I see. May I ask how much gold you contracted to give to Germany?"
"We'll be supplying 400 tons within the next 10 years."
The Queen was silent to hear such amount. Then she soon found peace and expressed her gratitude with respect.
"Your Highness. Thank you very much for doing this favor. This saved our royal face before the Prime Minister and the Central Bank governor."
"I should, of course, help my in-laws. I'm glad to see Your Majesty this happy."
The next day, Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark and the head of the central bank sat in front of Youngho to discuss the price of gold.
"Your kindness has saved Denmark's economy."
"No problem. By the way, I have a question for you, Mr. Prime Minister, may I ask?"
"What do you want to know?"
"I just don't understand how Denmark had not gathered much gold with its economic power."
"It was a mistake of our government to have been sticking to a policy that values cash reserves for a long time. Denmark is not a resource-rich country, and it's dependent on trade, so that was why we chose that way."
"Very well. Up to how much gold do you plan to increase?"
"We plan to increase it to about 200 tons. We're continuing to increase it, but it's been so slow that we've asked the Queen for help."
"Our royal family is also increasing gold holdings, so we don't have much to spare, but I think we can spare about 20 tons a year."
"That's enough to make us breathe. May I pay for the gold in euros or dollars?"
"I have a lot of cash. Do you have any other means of payment?"
"We have no alternative because we are in a position to reduce our cash reserves."
"Can you pay with a share of the state-owned company, Dong Energy?"
"We'll do that. We should give in something as you're giving in something for us as well."
"We'll start supplying gold this year. Please don't forget it's a secret transaction."
Dong Energy which Youngho said he would receive in stocks as the proceeds from gold trading, was the main force in the power industry and also produced crude oil and gas in the North Sea, making Denmark an oil exporter.
The reason he wanted Dong Energy's stocks was because it developed oil fields in the North Sea, which was known for its harsh weather. Having the company's shares would be helpful in the future as he develops businesses in the Arctic Ocean.
"Prime Minister, you know that three Aegis destroyers and a very large multi-purpose landing ship will be built at the Danish Shipyard, soon."
"I'm well aware that, Her Majesty has been very proud about that. So we already have a dock for the Kazakh Royal Navy in Copenhagen."
"Those ships could be deployed in Copenhagen, depending on the situation. It's a deterrent to conflict in the development of the Arctic Ocean."
"We'd welcome that if that's true. That means they'd be in charge of a lot of our armed forces, too."
"I want stocks to jump into the Arctic Ocean business with the Danish government."
With no connection to the development of the Arctic Ocean, Dong Energy was absolutely necessary.
"Oh! That's why you wanted the stocks. Then what do we need to do to help?"
Prime Minister Rasmussen understood Youngho's intention at once.
"Please help us anchor our navy ships in Greenland. Then, I'll take care of Denmark's back."
Advertisement
- In Serial8 Chapters
Hetalia: The Lost World
Hetalia: The Lost World is a series the follows after three decades of where England used a curse to kill the infamous country of North Korea. However, England discovers that the curse failed and now is in fear believing that North Korea will have his revenge..... or so he thought All characters belong to Himaruya Hidekaz. I only own the plot and my character North Korea. This story was written in 2015 and was later published in June 2018
8 169 - In Serial11 Chapters
World Of Heroes
"I might be a hero, but I'm not a pacifist. I am not someone who uses the power of peace and friendship to defeat evil. I became a monster to fight monsters, and you just awakened the one inside me."- Kurayama IshigamiAfter being kidnapped and sent to the most godforsaken places on earth "Laboratory 5" and experiencing its unspeakable horrors for years, Kurayama Ishigami finally escapes and tries to relive his life as an average human. Only for that to fail.Faced against a world filled with superpowers, dangerous criminals, hypocritical heroes, and the unknown, with only a handful of people he could trust. Kurayama has no choice but to face this world head-on with the help of his few allies.Follow Kurayama Ishigami as he tries his best to survive in this overly dangerous and hypocritical "World Of Heroes".
8 149 - In Serial652 Chapters
On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor
What would you do if one day you were told you were one of the chosen who would have to battle to save the world? Akio was an average guy, having moved to the big city from his humble town in the mountains. Sure, his IT freelancing job wasn't making him big money, and he wasn't exactly a hit with the ladies, but life wasn't all that bad... until one day a mysterious angel-like being visited him to tell him the Earth was in danger. Many would be chosen to fight this fate, but would any succeed? Of course, if one could have the usual cheat skills everything would work out, wouldn't it? So why was his skill like a garbage pay-to-win mobile game? Akio would have to not only hone his skills and build his Astral Empire, but he would need to raise money, secure land and become a player on Earth too! Facing this challenging task alone would surely be impossible, so Akio needs to make strong and beautiful allies to take on all those who would oppose him. Who would that be, you ask? The old myths of Earth are returning, alien invaders are waiting outside on the Astral Tides, Cultivators are looking for their next faces to slap, Demons are whispering poison into the ears of anyone who would listen, and whoever was trying to save Earth by granting various people powers were making some really awful choices... Join Akio as he starts at the bottom of the ladder, clawing his way to the top and discovering one can change their destiny, so long as they work hard (and have a boat-load of money!). [Note this story is Harem, and since many don't like that, be warned! It's more Sevens than Isekai Smartphone though. There will be some R-15/18 scenes for the Harem (though I have toned down the one posted here from the original drafts more to the R15 side.] The story is pretty much evenly split between progression fantasy and real-world character building and events, hopefully blending together to make a compelling narrative about how someone could change themselves and the people around them for the better if given the chance by some miraculous intervention, while also hopefully saving the world (and maybe other worlds too.] Update schedule revised: Minimum 3/week - Tues/Wed/Thurs but will aim to hit 5/week where possible If you have any questions re: future plot turns/types of things that might happen and want to know so you know whether you'd find it worth your time reading, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll let you know. No story is for everyone, so no worries!
8 1138 - In Serial17 Chapters
SI Field Trip
Peter's life had finally been looking up. After being adopted and made Peter Stark two years prior and with a boyfriend of two years, Peter couldn't have asked for more.Of course, the infamous Parker Luckᴛᴍ strikes again, and a field trip to his home is sprung upon the young boy. With Flash to worry about and the one secret he has so far kept from his new family potentially being revealed, Peter is struggling to keep happy.What will this bring for the young Spiderling? Will his family discover his secret? Will his class discover his other secret? Will the web of secrets he's spun catch up to him? What will happen when all is revealed, and will Flash make it out the other side?Yes this is probably overdone but I wanted to do one that isn't just loads of one shots and is kinda fluffy and hopefully not overly cliché(?) Idk guys let me know what you think.Just so everyone's aware there will be some Parley, Loki friendship, IronDad and a trans!peter. Read on if you want :)No. 1 in #HarleyKeenerNo. 1 in #fieldtripNo. 1 in #tripNo. 1 in #parkner{Completed}
8 173 - In Serial69 Chapters
Malec one shot
My boys malec and my crazy mind
8 238 - In Serial24 Chapters
Heartbeats In Shadow - Kaz Brekker
DISCONTINUEDViktoriya Kirigan is the daughter of the Darkling. She has had the life of a princess and grew up in the little castle with the power of her father and a heartrender. If she had all of that, why would she be desperate to be free of her father? Why would she flee to Ketterdam? When she meets Kaz Brekker, she is recruited as the new heartrender for the dregs. When they hear rumors of a Sun Summoner in Ravka with a huge sum on her head, what will Viktoriya do? Will she come face to face with her father once more or will she stay in Ketterdam? Read Heartbeats In Shadow to find out.Best Rankings - #1 in six of crows on 5/12/2021#1 in kaz on 5/25/2021
8 152

