Salman's anger had greatly subsided.
After all, parents naturally think of their children.
Salman was curious about what plans I had for Muhammad's future.
"Brotherly succession is a long-standing tradition in Saudi Arabia. That's why I could become Crown Prince."
"In the end, isn't it up to the King?"
"No matter how absolute the King's power is, the entire royal family won't allow policies that they oppose."
The first King of Saudi Arabia left a will endorsing brotherly succession.
So, if there was suddenly a policy change to passing succession from father to son, it was natural for the royal family to be in uproar.
It would only be possible if there was a strong justification powerful enough to override the King's will.
"You just have to put forward the justification that it's for Saudi Arabia's future."
"Will people accept such lofty yet intangible words?"
"The oil war will provide the justification. It may seem intangible now, but if Saudi faces a great crisis after the oil war, things will change."
In times of peace, people tend not to want change.
But when facing crisis, they want transformative, even painful change—and the oil war had the power to push Saudi into the jaws of such a crisis.
"Hmm, it sounds like you're saying that Saudi will bring the crisis onto itself through its oil production policies."
"Increasing oil production is an unavoidable choice for Saudi Arabia right now, but it is by no means a choice that leads to good outcomes. It is expected to face unprecedented crises."
So far, two oil wars had broken out.
Saudi had scored major victories in both.
Because of that, no one doubted that Saudi would win again if another oil war erupted.
But this oil war was different.
Factors like shale gas and various other variables were in play.
If Saudi waged an oil war without proper preparation, it would suffer immense damage.
"The royal family itself expects huge damage from the increased oil production policy."
"The damage will be far greater than the royal family anticipates. What if Saudi's coffers become so empty that it has to issue government bonds?"
"Ha ha, Saudi issuing government bonds? That's something no one would believe."
Saudi Arabia was known for its overflowing wealth.
Yet, despite that, the damage caused by the oil war became so severe that Saudi ended up issuing government bonds.
No one expected this to happen now, not even Salman, who trusted me, could believe such a thing.
"I anticipate that it will happen. That's why I believe Saudi will accept change."
"If that happens, as you say, the brotherly succession can finally be broken."
"To do that, a bloody purge is inevitable."
"You mean to say we must execute the entire royal family to make Muhammad Crown Prince? That's too extreme."
Reforms often require blood to be spilled.
Especially when it comes to changes in the power structure, rivers of blood must be shed to make it possible.
But if Salman holds the king's throne, that much bloodshed isn't necessarily required.
"In this day and age, how can we indiscriminately take lives? Simply enough to discourage excessive power grabs will suffice."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If Saudi issues government bonds, it won't be because the country lacks money. It's because the money is scattered across many places."
"So you're saying to confiscate the royal family's wealth."
"It's also about purifying the dirty money stained by corruption with the sacred power of the royal household."
A war against corruption.
As with all countries, those in power hold vast amounts of money.
Especially in a place like Saudi Arabia, where just being blood royal means blind money can flow directly into one's pocket.
"Confiscating the royal family's wealth to fill the treasury. It would be good if it succeeds, but it's risky enough to bring the king down as well."
"That's why preparation is needed. And the king himself must not personally lead the war against corruption. The king's most trusted person must wield the sword."
A good sword was needed for a successful purge.
A sword whose blade would never be turned against the absolute king, and one that could be trusted and relied upon.
"Is there such a person?"
"Muhammad must take on that role."
"M-me?"
Bin Salman waved his hands frantically in refusal.
Ignoring Bin Salman's protests, I continued.
"For Bin Salman to firmly hold the position of Crown Prince and succeed the governor as King, he must wield the sword himself."
"Do you think Muhammad can do well?"
"I wielded the sword since I was younger than Muhammad. I cut down all the founding loyalists, and my grandfather silently waited for me from the chairman's seat. I believe Muhammad can do the same."
"Brother, how can I do that to members of the royal family?"
He raised a finger to cover his mouth—signaling for silence. When Muhammad closed his mouth, Salman nodded.
"Power must be seized by oneself. If Muhammad personally wields the sword to purge corrupt royals, no one will begrudge him becoming the next King."
"If Muhammad doesn't get his hands bloody, the cycle of brotherly succession cannot be broken."
"Brother..."
"It will be difficult now. So we must start preparing from now."
With gentle eyes, I calmed Bin Salman.
Though still unable to steady his pupils, Salman, his father, had already made up his mind.
"How should we prepare?"
"You mentioned Taewoo Group's intelligence is better than the CIA's, right? We'll mobilize all intelligence resources of Taewoo Group to uncover everything about the corrupt royals."
"But Taewoo Group isn't even based in Saudi Arabia. Is that possible?"
"Money always leaves traces. If Muhammad even just relays information from inside the royal family, we can catch those traces."
To obtain information from inside Saudi, an insider was needed.
There was no insider with easier access to information than Bin Salman.
"Hm, so you intend to get internal royal family information through Muhammad, and external intelligence through Taewoo Group's capabilities."
"It doesn't end with simply gathering information. Based on what we acquire, I will also plan out the purge methods for you."
Taewoo Group would set the table.
Bin Salman only needed to lift his spoon and eat.
"I can't be sure I'll become Crown Prince, let alone King, but there's no harm in preparing early."
"If the situation unfolds differently from expectations, we'll scrap this plan entirely. We can erase from the world the very fact that we formulated such a plan."
"I'm entrusting this to you. Through this, you and Muhammad can become true brothers."
True brothers?
That was just a nice way to put it—it was really just two people acting according to their mutual needs.
I was taking the lead because Saudi's help was necessary amidst the oil war and the subsequent developments.
If I could gain the perfect trust of the Saudi royal family, I would gain the most reliable alliance.
In democracies, power changes every four or five years, but in Saudi, power lasts decades, so this kind of investment wasn't a bad idea.
Having finished the Saudi schedule, I returned to Korea.
Before going to the company, I went to Captain Kang's office, where key figures were already gathered waiting for me.
"You've worked hard. Did you get a good read on where the Saudi sandstorm is headed?"
"It's a situation just before the sandstorm turns into a full-blown storm. That's why you called Chun Min-jung."
Access to Captain Kang's office was hard to come by.
Only chairmen of global groups like Dimon, David, or top lobbyists were qualified to enter.
Inside the group, only two people—the chairman Han and Chun Min-jung—could enter Captain Kang's office.
Chun Min-jung had been helping us since the election.
So no one objected to her presence in Captain Kang's office.
"What do you want me to do?"
"There are people who do background checks."
"Aren't you, Captain Kang, more of an expert at that than me?"
"If it's background checks on Korean conglomerate families, Captain Kang is better, but this time it's background checks on the Saudi royal family."
Sounds of swallowing echoed from several directions.
Chairman Han, Captain Kang, and Chun Min-jung all looked tense, eyes wide as they waited for my words.
"The Saudi succession structure is about to change. The current Crown Prince's health is very poor. Soon, Governor Salman will ascend to the Crown Prince position."
"Governor Salman is next in line to become Crown Prince, isn't that obvious? Then why do we need background checks on other royals? Is there a faction opposing Governor Salman's ascension?"
Whether in chaebols or royal families, succession disputes are inevitable.
So I understood why Chairman Han misunderstood my words.
"There is no faction opposing Governor Salman. Who would defy the first King's will?"
"Then what's the reason?"
"To break the first King's will. If Governor Salman becomes King after ascending Crown Prince, he will break the brotherly succession tradition and pass the Crown Prince title to his son, Bin Salman."
For more than 30 minutes, I explained the situation within the Saudi royal family.
The hereditary succession, and even the bloody purge.
After the explanation, Chairman Han asked,
"Why is Taewoo Group involving itself so deeply in Saudi royal affairs? If things go wrong, the relationship between Taewoo Group and Saudi could be irreparably damaged."
"Conversely, if our plan goes as expected, Taewoo Group could form a strong alliance with Saudi."
"A plan prepared for the oil war?"
"No. It's a plan for after the oil war. If it were only about the oil war, there would be no need to create such risky plans."
This was something usually done by national intelligence agencies.
Chairman Han was worried that Taewoo Group was undertaking such a task independently.
"Taewoo Group can generate enormous profits just by doing well in the oil war. Isn't that enough?"
"It's not enough. If survival alone were the goal, that would suffice. But to seize leadership beyond mere survival, this is essential."
"I understand the Chairman's intentions. Since it must be done, we will do it perfectly."
"What should I do?"
Chairman Han needed persuasion, but Captain Kang and Chun Min-jung did not.
They were simply waiting for my instructions and orders, and as soon as the conversation with Chairman Han ended, Chun Min-jung was eager to know what to do.
"We need to verify the information about the Saudi royal family from inside Saudi Arabia. Bin Salman will help us by acting as an insider. So, we need to create a system that enables him to extract information easily."
"Wouldn't it be enough to add an algorithm to the hacking program that automatically collects and analyzes information, and at the same time encrypt the data so no one else can understand it?"
Chun Min-jung wasn't the youngest center director for no reason.
She had better problem-solving skills than anyone I had ever seen and was the quickest person to find solutions.
"We need to uncover everything, from bank accounts to hidden assets."
"Even if money is buried under the sand, digital records remain. Using an algorithm, we can connect traces scattered like points into lines."
"I'll leave the program-related work to Chun Min-jung. There's no need to rush; just complete it within this year."
"I'll finish it within a month."
Chun Min-jung stood up.
Having received orders, she had no reason to stay seated and headed to a corner desk where she immediately began developing the program.
"Captain Kang, please analyze the information Chun Min-jung acquires in detail. It should be possible if we fully mobilize our network."
"When you say network, are you referring to contacts within the National Tax Service and legal sectors?"
"This task will benefit greatly from our National Tax Service contacts."
"I'll proceed using people who have completely switched to our side."
I delegated the task to Captain Kang as well.
Finally, it was time to assign work to Chairman Han.
"Chairman Han, please gather external information together with David. Even the rumors coming out of the Financial Tower will be quite useful."
"The information from the upscale bars in Myeong-dong alone could fill a truck. Leave it to me!"
The dice hadn't yet been cast.
Before throwing the dice, the work to ensure a six is rolled began.
The odds had to be manipulated so Bin Salman would inevitably become Crown Prince.