The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 379



Only Krnovel

379. Reach out your hand (4)

Salman’s anger has subsided a lot.

As expected, parents tend to think about their children.

Salman was curious about what plans I had for Muhammad’s future.

“Brotherly succession is a long-standing Saudi tradition. That is why I can become crown prince.”

“In the end, isn’t it up to the king?”

“No matter how much the king has absolute power, he cannot carry out policies that the entire royal family opposes.”

The will of the first Saudi king was to inherit the inheritance through brothers.

So, if the policy was suddenly changed to hereditary succession, it was natural that there would be an uproar in the royal family.

This was only possible if there was a strong enough justification to violate the Saudi King’s will.

“All you have to do is put forward the justification that it is for the future of Saudi Arabia.”

“Would people accept such grandiose and intangible words?”

“The oil war will provide a justification. It may be an intangible statement right now, but it will change if Saudi Arabia experiences a major crisis after the oil war.”

In peacetime, there was no desire for change.

However, in the face of a crisis, people want change that cuts to the flesh and bones, and the oil war had the power to push Saudi Arabia into the abyss of crisis.

“Hmm, it sounds like you are saying that Saudi Arabia’s policy of increasing oil production is causing a crisis for Saudi Arabia.”

“The policy of increasing oil production is an inevitable choice for Saudi Arabia, but it is by no means a choice that will produce good results. It is expected that Saudi Arabia will experience a crisis that it has never experienced before.”

Two oil wars have broken out so far.

Saudi Arabia achieved major victories both times.

Therefore, no one had any doubt that if another oil war broke out, Saudi Arabia would win.

But this oil war was different.

There were various variables lurking around, including the variable called shale gas.

The moment an oil war is waged without proper preparation, Saudi Arabia will suffer enormous damage.

“The Saudi royal family also expects great damage to occur due to the policy of increasing oil production.”

“The damage will be much greater than the royal family expected. What will happen if Saudi Arabia’s treasury becomes empty and it becomes necessary to issue government bonds?”

“Hehe, Saudi Arabia is issuing government bonds. You’re saying something that no one will believe.”

It was Saudi Arabia, which was rumored to be overflowing with money.

Even though Saudi Arabia could not handle the damage caused by the oil war, it even issued government bonds.

This was something that no one expected, and even Salman, who trusted me, could not believe it.

“I expect that to happen, so I believe the Saudis will accept the change.”

“If that happens, as you said, we will be able to break off the hereditary succession of brothers.”

“To do so, a bloody purge is essential.”

“Are you saying we should kill off the entire royal family to make Muhammad the crown prince? That’s too much.”

Reform inevitably involves blood.

In particular, reforms related to the power structure were only possible if a river was created with blood.

However, if Salman was the king, there was no need for that much blood.

“In this day and age, how can you carelessly end someone’s life? You just have to scold them enough to not have a desire for power.”

“What are you asking me to do?”

“If Saudi Arabia issues government bonds, it’s not because they don’t have money. It’s because the money is spread out in many places.”

“You’re talking about confiscating the royal family’s property.”

“It also means purifying dirty money stained by corruption with the power of the sacred royal family.”

War against corruption.

As in all countries, those in power had a lot of money.

Especially in places where the royal family exists, such as Saudi Arabia, one could put a blind sum of money into one’s pocket simply by being of royal blood.

“It’s a way to fill the national treasury by confiscating the royal family’s property. It would be great if it succeeds, but it’s a dangerous task that could lead even the king to be dragged down.”

“So we must be prepared. And the king should not lead the fight against corruption himself. The sword should be wielded by the man he trusts most.”

A good knife was needed for a successful purge.

The tip of the sword never points towards the king, and it is a good sword that you can trust.

“Is there such a person?”

“Muhammad must take on that role.”

“M-me?”

Bin Salman urgently waved his hand.

I continued speaking, pretending not to notice Bin Salman.

“In order for Bin Salman to firmly maintain his position as crown prince and succeed the governor as king, he must personally wield the sword.”

“Can Muhammad do well?”

“I have been wielding the sword since I was younger than Muhammad. I cut off all the contributors to founding the country, and my grandfather silently waited for me as president. I believe Muhammad can do the same.”

“Brother, how could I do that to the royal family?”

He raised his finger and pointed to his mouth.

It meant to be quiet, and when Muhammad closed his mouth, Salman nodded.

“Power must be achieved for oneself. If Muhammad personally wields the sword and punishes the corrupt royal family, no one will be displeased with him becoming the next king.”

“Unless the blood of Muhammad, the party involved, is on the hands, the chain of hereditary succession of brothers cannot be broken.”

“brother···.”

“It might be difficult right now. So we need to prepare now.”

Bin Salman calmed down with his gentle gaze.

Although he still couldn’t control his pupils, his father, Salman, had already made up his mind.

“How can I prepare?”

“Did you say that the Taewoo Group’s intelligence power is superior to the CIA? We will mobilize all of the Taewoo Group’s intelligence power to find out everything about the corrupt royal family.”

“Is this possible since Taewoo Group is not based in Saudi Arabia?”

“Money, after all, leaves a trace, so if Muhammad could tell us what was going on inside the royal family, we could pick up the trace.”

To obtain information inside Saudi Arabia, an insider was needed.

No insider had easier access to information than bin Salman.

“Hmm, the plan is to obtain information within the royal family through Muhammad, and obtain external information through the information power of the Taewoo Group.”

“It doesn’t end with simply obtaining information. Based on the information obtained, we will even plan a purge method.”

The Taewoo Group sets the table.

All Bin Salman had to do was pick up a spoon and eat.

“I’m not sure if I’ll become crown prince, let alone king, but it wouldn’t hurt to prepare in advance.”

“If things turn out differently than expected, we will cancel this plan. The very fact that we even made this plan can be completely erased from the world.”

“Don’t leave it up to you. Through this, Muhammad and you can become true brothers.”

True brothers?

They may be like brothers, but in the end, they were just acting according to each other’s needs.

I came forward because Saudi Arabia needed help during the oil war and the aftermath.

Complete trust from the Saudi royal family.

If I could get it, I would have gained the most reliable ally.

In democratic countries, regimes change every four to five years, but in Saudi Arabia, power lasts for decades, so this investment was not a bad idea.

* * *

After completing my trip to Saudi Arabia, I returned to Korea.

I went to Captain Kang’s office before the company, and key people were already gathered in the office waiting for me.

“Thank you for your hard work. Did you see where Saudi Arabia’s sandstorm is heading?”

“It was a situation where a sandstorm was about to turn into a storm. That’s why I also called Center Director Cheon.”

It was difficult to obtain qualifications to enter Captain Kang’s office.

Only the presidents of global groups such as Dimon and David, or top lobbyists, were authorized to enter Captain Kang’s office, and only two people within the group, President Han and Center Director Cheon, were the only ones.

It was Center Director Cheon who had been helping us since the election.

Therefore, no one had an issue with her being in Captain Kang’s office.

“What can I do?”

“There are people who will do a background check.”

“Wouldn’t Captain Kang be a more expert in that area than me?”

“If it were an investigation into a Korean conglomerate family, Captain Kang would be better, but this case is an investigation into the Saudi royal family.”

The sounds of gulping and swallowing were heard from various directions.

Everyone, including President Han, Captain Kang, and Center Director Cheon, waited for me to speak with their eyes wide and nervous.

“I think the Saudi succession structure will change. The current crown prince is in very poor health. Governor Salman will soon take over as crown prince.”

“Governor Salman is next in line, so isn’t it natural that he will ascend to the crown prince? But why do we need to investigate other royals? Are there any forces opposing Governor Salman’s elevation to crown prince?”

Whether you are a conglomerate or a royal family, succession battles are bound to occur.

So, it was understandable that CEO Han misunderstood what I said.

“There is no force opposing Governor Salman. Who would oppose the will of the first king?”

“Then for what reason?”

“It is to violate the will of the first king. If Governor Salman becomes king following the crown prince, he will break the hereditary succession of brothers and pass the crown prince position to his son, bin Salman.”

He explained the work of the Saudi royal family for over 30 minutes.

Hereditary succession of children, and even bloody purges.

After hearing the explanation, a president asked a question.

“Why is the Taewo Group trying to intervene so deeply in the affairs of the Saudi royal family? If anything goes wrong, the relationship between the Taewo Group and Saudi Arabia will be irreparably soured.”

“On the other hand, if things go according to our plan, Taewo Group could form a strong alliance with Saudi Arabia.”

“Are you planning for an oil war?”

“No. It’s a plan for what happens after the oil war. If it were just for the oil war, there would be no need to make such a dangerous plan.”

It was something only a national intelligence agency would do.

A CEO was very worried when he heard that Taewo Group was carrying out such work on its own.

“Taewoo Group can make huge profits just by doing well in the oil war. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s not enough. If the goal is simply survival, it’s enough, but it’s absolutely necessary to go beyond survival and take initiative.”

“I understand what you mean, Chairman. If I have to do anything, I will do it perfectly.”

“What should I do?”

Although it was a boss who needed some persuasion.

Captain Kang and Center Director Cheon were not people who particularly needed persuasion.

He just waited for my instructions and orders, and as soon as the conversation with President Han ended, Center Manager Cheon wondered what he should do.

“We need to check the Saudi royal family’s information from within Saudi Arabia. Bin Salman will help us and act as an insider. So we need to create a system so that he can easily extract information.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible to add an algorithm that automatically collects and analyzes information to the hacking program and encrypt it so that no one can see the contents?”

Center Director Cheon did not become the youngest center director for nothing.

She had better problem-solving skills than anyone I’ve ever seen, and was also the quickest to find answers.

“We need to find out everything from bank accounts to hidden assets.”

“Even if you bury money in the sand, a computer record will remain. Through an algorithm, traces spread out like dots can be connected into lines.”

“I’ll leave the program-related matters to Center Director Cheon. There’s no need to rush it, and it just needs to be completed within this year.”

“I will finish it within a month.”

Center Director Cheon stood up.

Since I had received instructions, there was no reason to sit anymore, so I went to the desk in the corner and already started creating the program.

“Captain Kang, please carefully analyze the information obtained by Center Director Cheon. This will be possible if we mobilize all of our lines.”

“When you say line, are you referring to the line between the National Tax Service and the legal profession?”

“The IRS line will be of great help in this matter.”

“We will do it through people who have come over to us completely.”

I also handed over the work to Captain Kang.

Now it was finally time to entrust the work to President Han.

“President Han, please work with David to gather information from the outside. Even just the stories coming out of the financial tower will be pretty good information.”

“There is a truckload of information coming from a high-end bar in Myeongdong. Just leave it to us!”

The die has not been cast yet.

I started working on making it so that a 6 would always come out before throwing the dice.

The odds had to be manipulated so that Bin Salman had no choice but to become crown prince.