June 28, 2010

  As the last week of June brought sweltering summer heat, students donned light summer uniforms, some wearing green military T-shirts issued by the army. Gamamusa tsked at the soldier-students. “Tch… military men, and you’re this weak? How’ll you manage?” He began writing on the blackboard: Strong Nation vs. Strong Nation, Strong Nation vs. Weak Nation. The students puzzled over the words. Pointing, Gamamusa asked, “…Which is fiercer: a strong nation fighting another strong nation, or a strong nation fighting a weak one?”

  Jung Sun-beom raised his hand. “…Strong vs. strong, obviously. Like you said, even if a strong nation scales down to fight a weak one, it’s less intense than two powers clashing.” Gamamusa nodded, erasing the board. “You’re right. As I’ve said, human expansion drives strong nations to dominate weak ones, but human restriction stops weak nations from challenging strong ones. So, nations target weaker ones to absorb into their sphere. Weak nations submit to strong ones for peace, while strong nations, being evenly matched, keep fighting.” Jung Sun-beom tilted his head, skeptical. “…But, Professor, doesn’t the Law of Enemy Preservation mean weak nations fight strong ones too? That sounds contradictory.” Gamamusa nodded, writing Law of Enemy Preservation. “You’re right. Strong nations want to conquer weak ones, and weak ones avoid fighting. But the Law of Enemy Preservation says weak nations sometimes must fight. Let me compare two cases.”

  He wrote two examples: Iran vs. Greece, and Mongolia vs. China. “You know Persia and Greece fought. Greece defeated Persia’s invasion and later conquered it. With Mongolia, the Xiongnu from the Mongolian Plateau threatened China, and later, the Mongols conquered it. These follow the Law of Enemy Preservation. Greece, being small, expanded its military, while Persia, vast, grew complacent, failing to control local tribes and fracturing. China’s case was more humiliating. During the Han Dynasty, they paid tribute to the Xiongnu instead of fighting, weakening their military. The Song Dynasty slashed its forces and was wiped out by the Mongols.”

  He pinned a world map to the board. “…For a weak nation to fight a strong one equally, the strong nation must have no other opponent. In the past, the Persian Empire spanned the Middle East. In the Mediterranean, only small states like the Greek alliance opposed them. To avoid internal division, Persia kept Greece alive, weakening its military, while Greece united to defeat Persia. After Greece conquered Persia, Persia fragmented. China, confined to Northeast Asia, faced only weaker powers like Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam. They bribed nomadic Mongols to prevent division, but this led to their conquest.”

  (China is confined to Northeast Asia)

  He pointed to the map. “…Things have changed. Global connectivity made China stronger to face an equal foe, the U.S. Iran grew stronger against the U.S. Greece joined NATO, weakening its military, while Mongolia became China’s friend, like the U.S. and Canada.” He shifted to the U.S. “After independence, the U.S. fought regional enemies: first Mexico, an equal, then the Confederacy. Back then, Canada, a weaker nation, avoided fighting because Mexico and the Confederacy were equal foes. After dominating North America, the U.S. ignored weaker Mexico and Canada, turning outward to fight Spain in the Spanish-American war and Germany in World War I.”

  He circled Eurasia and North America. “Mexico and Canada don’t fight the U.S.—weak nations join the strong for peace. China absorbed weaker Russia, North Korea, and Iran into its sphere. But as China grows stronger, it clashes more with the U.S., an equal rival. That’s why they’re enemies.” Jung Sun-beom raised his hand. “…Then why is Russia at odds with the West? It’s weaker than NATO.” Gamamusa nodded. “Russia fights NATO because it’s allied with China and anti-Western blocs. The strength of alliances equals the strength of enemies.” Seeing confusion, he shrugged. “…Simply put, if a bully joins my side, the other side gets a bully too. We have friends and enemies.”

  https://novel.naver.com/challenge/detail?novelId=1180586&volumeNo=75