The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 375



Only Krnovel

375. Caprice (5)

Olympics held in Sochi, Russia.

A grand opening ceremony was held on February 7th.

There were many twists and turns, but the closing ceremony was held on February 23rd anyway.

And two days later, on the 25th.

A sudden rally was held in a square located on the Crimean Peninsula, with Russian flags waving.

“Russia has finally started to move. It is moving two months earlier than we expected. Even though the official Olympics are over, we did not expect that they would move already with the Paralympic Games remaining.”

“They probably judged that the Paralympic Games had less international interest than the Olympics.”

Only when the Paralympics were over could the Olympics be considered over in the true sense.

However, Russia was impatient and moved first, and it was the moment when international attention shifted from the Olympics to the Crimean Peninsula.

“It is said that Rep. Aksyonov, a member of the United Russia Party in the Republic of Crimea, led troops armed with firearms and rocket launchers and occupied the parliament.”

“It’s the easiest way to become prime minister.”

He was a person who could never become prime minister through elections.

His approval rating did not exceed 4%, and he was not a person who received public support.

But is there a need to receive public support?

All you need is a gun and a rocket launcher, and you can easily make the council your own.

“It is predicted that Rep. Aksyonov will himself become prime minister and request a merger with Russia.”

“They will probably move that way. In Russia, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Crimea has requested annexation first, so there is justification.”

“The previous Prime Minister of the Crimean Peninsula also ascended to the position of Prime Minister in a similar manner to a coup, so the justification has been further strengthened.”

“It is only a minimal justification. It is also an unchanged fact that Russia is robbing the Crimean Peninsula by force.”

From Russia’s point of view, this could have been sufficient justification.

However, it was not a sufficient justification for countries other than Russia, and the Crimean Peninsula incident was a sufficient justification for sanctions against Russia.

“How is America reacting?”

“I heard from David that we are still watching.”

“The moment Russia launches a direct military invasion, the United States will also take action.”

“But it seems difficult to prevent this incident through the UN.”

“Russia is also a permanent member, so the UN will not be able to stop Russia no matter how much Western powers, including the United States, oppose it.”

The UN was adopting a unanimous system.

So, if Russia, a permanent member, objected, there was ultimately nothing the UN could do.

Even if the UN moved, it could only make recommendations and could do nothing legally.

“Since the UN cannot move, the United States and Europe will act on their own. Sanctions will be announced within March at the latest.”

“So we are going to move now. We are going to implement a plan against the ruble and an operation against Russian companies.”

“It’s perfect timing. The ruble will collapse and Russia will fall into an economic crisis.”

“We will try to collect as much money as possible from Russia!”

As a result of Crimea, Russia suffers more than 100 billion euros in damage.

Even if we received only half of that, it would have been 50 billion euros, or over 70 trillion won.

This was the minimum amount set, and if the plan was implemented properly, profits amounting to 100 trillion won could be shared among financial tower financial companies.

“President Han is directly leading this operation, right?”

“As this is an operation that involves moving the entire financial tower, I decided to lead it first and have CEO George take care of any shortcomings.”

“Check for financial companies that behave unexpectedly during this operation. You can exclude them from the next operation or place them in the areas with the lowest returns.”

“I will do as you are told, but I am not sure if such a financial company exists. Rather than baring their teeth, they are busy wagging their tails.”

The Russian operation has begun.

It was a war that signaled the beginning of the oil war.

It was also the beginning of a plan to expand Taewo Group’s influence beyond Korea and throughout the world.

* * *

March has come.

A lot has happened in less than a month.

Representative Aksyonov eventually usurped the position of Prime Minister of the Crimean Republic by force.

They immediately requested annexation with Russia, and unidentified armed soldiers were occupying the Crimean Peninsula.

Of course they were Russian soldiers.

Although it is said that all identification marks were removed, it was not possible to completely disguise one’s affiliation.

It’s like covering your eyes and saying something.

However, Russia was no longer involved in such formalities.

“Russian troops have moved. They have taken over the main airport in Crimea.”

“Has Russia made an official announcement?”

“Although they are turning away, they are clearly Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian government has issued a statement criticizing Russia, and in the meantime, more than 6,000 soldiers from Russia are crossing into Crimea.”

A full-scale occupation war was beginning.

That also meant that it was the moment when the Western world, including the United States, imposed sanctions on Russia.

“The United States and Europe are starting to move.”

“I just received a call from David. He says President Obama is holding a press conference regarding the Crimea incident.”

As soon as I finished speaking, breaking news came pouring in.

It was about what President Obama said at the press conference.

[I am very concerned about Russia’s military moves. Any military intervention by Russia will come at a cost.]

It takes a toll.

It was a remark that conveyed the intention not to just sit back and watch.

That’s why President Han seriously reflected on Obama’s remarks.

“President Obama’s remarks make me think that the United States may send troops to Ukraine.”

“If President Bush or the Republican Party had become president, we cannot rule out the possibility. However, looking at President Obama’s tendencies, it is unlikely that it will lead to a military conflict.”

The United States was already exhausted from many wars.

Sending troops directly like in the past rarely happens.

“If the United States does not intervene militarily, a large-scale war will not occur.”

“Ukraine will lose the Crimea to Russia without even being able to properly resist. So, set the possibility of war to 0% and execute the operation.”

“We will proceed like that.”

Financial companies in the financial tower began to move at the same time.

The amount of money moving through Taewoo Securities alone reached $30 billion.

If you include all the money from financial tower financial companies, the amount easily exceeds $100 billion.

A huge amount of money was bet on Russia’s economic crisis.

If there was even a slight deviation from the plan, huge losses could be incurred.

Therefore, every day was a time of drying blood, and there was a sense of nervousness in the financial tower.

* * *

About 15 days after March started.

Finally, the news we wanted has come out.

“The United States has finally begun imposing economic sanctions on Russia! And the EU has also announced that it will soon impose strong sanctions on Russia.”

“Things are going as we expected.”

“Now all we have to do is get ready to start pouring money. Stock prices of Russian companies are falling significantly, and oil prices are rising.”

When war clouds are in the air, oil prices rise.

Oil prices tend to move more sensitively when the atmosphere of war is sensed than when a war actually occurs, and now was that time.

“Oil prices will fall again soon, so dispose of them as quickly as possible.”

“We have already disposed of all the oil held by Taewoo Securities. However, some financial companies are protesting rather than rebelling.”

“What kind of rebellion?”

“We are protesting that oil prices will not rise for at least a year.”

It wasn’t wrong.

Looking only at the Crimean Peninsula situation, it is predicted that oil prices will continue to rise.

But if you broaden your horizons, you will see Saudi Arabia, OPEC, and even shale gas.

There were many more factors that could cause oil prices to fall.

“There is a financial company with a narrow perspective. Let them do what they can. But make sure to get a promise not to hold us responsible.”

“Do you mind if I let you do your own thing?”

“We need to remind people that they will suffer losses if they don’t listen to us. If oil prices fall significantly, won’t they become obedient again?”

“We will allow individual action only for oil prices.”

Russia was the world’s third largest oil producer.

Since there was a problem in Russia, it was natural to predict that the price of crude oil would rise.

So, you might want to move differently from the financial tower.

It was a great opportunity to experience for ourselves what happens if we disobey our instructions.

* * *

15 days after the EU started imposing economic sanctions on Russia.

I walked around the financial tower with a CEO.

Every financial company employee I met had a smile on their face.

Voices were heard everywhere bragging about how much they earned this week.

“The atmosphere is very nice.”

“The stock prices of Russian companies have fallen by at least 20%. And the ruble has been completely destroyed, so money is literally pouring in.”

“I spoke to Captain Kang and he said that the high-end bars near the financial tower were full.”

“Several bars catering to financial towers are opening up every day.”

Financial companies were generous with bonuses.

Especially in the case of Wall Street, it was common to give a portion of profits as incentives.

Since two large profits were made in a row, how much money did the employees of the financial tower receive?

Once the money came in, you eventually needed a place to spend it.

That’s why high-end bars have sprung up around the financial tower.

To be exact, a high-end bar street was created at my request.

Opening a high-end bar requires a lot of money, but where would such money suddenly appear?

The source of the money was Myeongdong.

The owner of Myeongdong opened a number of high-end bars near the financial tower for me.

He was happy to make money, and I was able to learn sensitive information intimately through him.

“We need to make sure they can keep toasting as long as they remain in the financial tower.”

“Most people are already convinced of that. Some financial companies have closed their branches in Hong Kong and Singapore and are only operating branches in Korea.”

It was still not enough.

Its status as a financial hub was still limited compared to Hong Kong and Singapore.

However, once the oil war ended, the Asian financial hub would be completely transferred to Korea.

“What is the situation inside Russia?”

“From what I heard from David, it’s not all that crazy. There’s no big response from the Kremlin, but companies are rushing to escape. Many foreign companies are already packing up and leaving.”

It was a natural reaction.

Since Russia’s economy is in crisis, purchasing power is bound to decline.

There was no reason to remain in Russia with a deficit, and the deficit could be reduced by leaving Russia as soon as possible.

“The Russian economy will return to where it was 20 years ago.”

“The majority of Japanese companies and several Korean companies are also showing signs of withdrawal. Does Taewoo Group really intend to remain in the Russian market?”

“I have something to gain, so I can’t leave just yet.”

Many of Taewo Group’s business units had entered into Russia.

In the case of automobiles and electronics, large-scale factories were located in Russia.

In some places, the entire city was run by Taewoo Group factories.

“Do you plan to negotiate with Russia? If you negotiate with Russia at a time when the United States and Europe are imposing sanctions, you may be at a disadvantage.”

“So, it has to be done in secret. And if Taewo Group doesn’t support Russia, nothing much will happen.”