In the Reign of the Emperor Gwangmu of the Great Han Empire, since becoming integrated into the world of NS, it was decided to begin exploring the successes and failures of the modern regimes. It was further decided to call upon military experts from around the Empire to analyze these successes and failures, to be able to account for the Empire its own future successes and failures, and the means to procure victory in war.
In private consultation, the Emperor called for General Ma Yeong [馬英 (마영)], attested to be the best marshal in foreign military analysis and review. The Gwangmu Emperor invited General Ma to the Summer Palace in Gwangju, where they conversed in the following discussions:
(馬 - Ma)
(皇 - Emperor)
皇: I have heard from the Imperial Cabinet that you are the best person to ask for advice in making the best ways for war. Is this true?
馬: It is impossible for me to say. For all things are destined, but it is the strong men who make their will upon the world. The weak will follow the strong wherever they may lead, but when the strong confront each other, here we have conflict, because the will of the two cannot be with each other and naturally inverts to opposition. From this natural opposition, it is then that countries form alliances to counter each other. The country that haughtily seeks allies first then enemies neither seeks to lead nor to follow, hence they are the most dangerous, for they bring the world to folly by their actions. It is important to be cautious of any state that seeks allies first, for you cannot calculate their enemies and determine if they are worth their value, especially if they are the weak of their kind.
皇: It is strange that you should answer my question with an answer to another question, but not mine.
馬: My liege, I hope that my answer does answer your question, for I cannot judge myself to be the best. However, I have demonstrated a part of my knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of international relations, and it is therefore knowledge that you seek. If you decide that this is the best knowledge you can receive, then I am certainly the best. But this is instruction for His Imperial Majesty - never trust the word of another man unless you can determine it to be true. States may come from far and wide to seek your humble potency, but until you realize their intentions, they can never be trusted. In the same manner, even your advisers cannot judge for you, as you - the Supreme of all Commanders - must make your own judgments, or else let them run the affairs of the state. If this is not wise instruction, then Your Majesty may dismiss me as I am not able to render the best instructions to His Majesty.
His Imperial Majesty nodded and was pleased by the honesty of General Ma, and thereupon promoted him to Field Marshal. Marshal Ma was called into the Imperial Household on a separate occasion to address the nature of war:
馬: His Imperial Majesty seeks to know the nature of war. But I must copy instruction given by the Master Sun, centuries ago - that war is the greatest affair of any state, and its ways lead to life or to death. The nature of war is as managing the state; to leave it in disarray inevitably leads to disaster for the state. The best states are those that manage their affairs of war best, for they command their armies and their populations with effective control and the virtuous commanders receive the respect of their people. The virtuous commander demonstrates excellence in the qualities of authority, intelligence, and humanity. The virtuous state employs the virtuous commander and is enhanced by his competence.
皇: You seek of ancient things, but we seek to make them useful to us now. Show us how these things make sense to us today, for we are all versed the in Classics (
SMC).
馬: Very well. It is essential to recognize their current practice to bring the country great power. In all things, consider the affairs of the state to be equivalent to the affairs of war. If one manages the finances of the state as a war against corruption one can certainly manage the army against other states. But as always, the war is not limited to simply to the army, but the whole state. A state that does not contribute wholly, from the Emperor to its lowliest citizen, victory is not for certain. Only when the state is committed completely can victory be assured. War does not render its fruits and its pains to parts of the state, but rather the whole, so it is pointless only to exhaust a portion of the state's power to achieve victory.
Master Sun notes five criteria for determining victory: method, season, terrain, disposition, and law. Often ill-spoken, the method of war is deception, not only deception but more importantly control of the information. When your enemy knows what you want him to know, the way is secured for victory for you, for the enemy is only able to act upon what he knows. At times, truth is the most useful deception. When Master Sun speaks of Season, he speaks of the right and the wrong - the virtuous commander is able to seize the right and use it against the enemy. When Master Sun speaks of Terrain, he means to speak of the capabilities of the state - to wage war from the highest to the lowest person, from the nearest to the farthest, from the infrastructure of the state, the support of the people and the nobility, the production of the land. The state cannot wage war if its capabilities are unable to supply the demand. Disposition demands the state to employ the virtuous commanders - whether its decisions are led by wisdom, courage, discipline, and integrity. A state that has a sound mind may go far. And as Master Sun speaks of Law, he speaks of hierarchy of command, of ability, and of competence. Each person must know their place, as the leader must guide the follower to the precise movements.
Before His Imperial Majesty feels that these instructions are too simple, I must state two things - the first, never underestimate the nature of simple instructions because sometimes instruction is as simple as it seems. Second, His Majesty must recognize that these instructions are made for the general circumstances. They are good instructions because they can apply to the commander of a submarine - in the management of his crew, of his weapons stock, of his communications - as they can apply to the commander of a business - in the management of his personnel, of his enterprises, of his information. To ask me to explain them in modern terms is a nonsense, because the Master Sun would explain them in the same manner as when inn the Warring State and when in the present. There are characteristics of war that makes its principles universally applicable to all states, and ideally, that makes all states equivalent in their capacities to achieve victory and suffer defeat. These principles are made known in the Classics (SMC) and to such detail Master Sun's analects that it becomes obvious what distinguishes states' abilities.
Therefore, there are five states to achieve when waging war, for any era: to be the master, to be the right, to be the superior, to be the virtuous, and to be the competent. Any state that is unable to achieve any of these is incapable of victory and is wise to stay away from war or managing the state. Alas, the state whose master abides by none of these is always in war and always losing. The state suffers for him, and it is the ignoble leader that is unable to manage this simple affair. The virtuous leader is able to distinguish what leads to mastery of knowledge; to the righteous cause; to the superiority of wealth, technology, and production; to the virtuosity of skill, character, and excellence; and to the authority of the law. But surely His Majesty is capable of these, for He has chosen capable ministers. The Empire prospers and His wisdom is a token for this greatness. The state is well, because his people are smart and satisfied; this adds to the virtuosity of Your Prestige and contributes greatly to our efforts in war.
But we must not conclude that one must simply settle for things as they are. The world is dynamic, and even as the rules are universal, the conditions to which they apply change, and we must challenge ourselves to strive always for better. There are two ways to do this - to wait idly and let the world degenerate or to create the conditions. Of these two, it is better to strive for the challenge, because we do not wait for excellence - we snatch and secure it with our own grasp. If we wait for the world to become worse, we will only seek to make conditions worse for ourselves, and while patience may be a worthwhile adventure, to wait for the world is a grave offense and will surely bring failure to any state. Waiting for the world to die is as to command insects to perish by the season's end - the pests will surely die, but the food will be spoiled and the harvest worse still. Instead, we must actively protect our crops by making them better and working against the insects before they strike and thus in war making our enemies nullified by our excellence. Otherwise, we will suffer worse.
皇: You have spoken much good wealth of information. I can only presume that we are surely blessed to have a commander as you, for the Master Kong had said an Emperor with stupid advisers shall surely bring shame to his Empire - so shall it be with us.
馬: His Imperial Majesty ought not ask of what the Nature of war is, for the Masters before have already analyzed it and its concepts are known to us. It is best for you to ask us to consider what the effects of the modern war imply for the Han, and how best to cope with them for asking ancient questions will not progress us forward beyond what we already know.
皇: Then tell me - if we are to consider going to war, what are the best things to consider?
馬: The Master Sun said to know the Enemy as yourself, and rightfully, there is nothing not to consider. Every missed detail will surely suffer some consequence. When considering the enemy, look to his numbers. The Month and Date of the State's Ascension to the NS community indicate the age of the population. The older the state, the more people it can employ into war, and the greater potential for the state.
皇: It is good judgment to say that all states that have come to the world after us are weak and those before us are strong?
馬: Absolutely not. This is greatest fallacy, after assuming that all states have equal capabilities. The first true statement of the potency of states is that states are inherently unequal in their distribution; hence it is to each state to maximize their potential and cause the greatest advantage to be borne to each one. But simply to say that states that possess more years are more powerful is not necessarily true. The most important matter is the management of this potential The state that manifests its potential poorly is unable to project itself - its power is diminished and they can be vanquished. The state that is able to exhaust all of its potential is in contrast able to project itself - its power is greatly increased. Each the smallest state can become the greatest if it manages its resources and its potential wisely and supremely, and likewise, even the greatest of states can fall at the twist of a bug's wing.
皇: This is great wisdom to consider. But these things may not appear to be obvious - how do we determine the nature of the state?
馬: There are many indications to the organization of the state. There are the five criteria - those are the most obvious. There are also the less noticeable manners. The state that is not organized often demonstrates three clear characteristics - harsh diplomacy, numerous allies, and incoherent policies. The first indicates the reckless behavior; the conduct of the state before the sovereigns of other states must always be esteemed, and the discourse must be proper. The state whose agencies are unable to confer this simple luxury are unable to coordinate language - how can they manage their armies? The second is borne from unacknowledged securities; a state cannot have many allies and follow them or lead them aimlessly. While friends are great and beneficial, to possess so many with no positive bond to unite together, allies become burdensome and the state is unable to mount an effective campaign against their enemies. It is true that their strength in numbers is great, but against whom? They do not know their enemies and often confuse their interests with others that do not matter and ought not matter to states of certain dispositions. The third is the worst and the one requiring most attention. The state that is unable to coordinate its policies is unable to manage it armies; therefore, it is a ruined state. An unfortunate characteristic of the ruined state is an inability to recognize its own weaknesses and may threaten their neighbors without adequately recognizing the conditions for their conflict. They bring harm unnecessarily because they reckless lash their armies upon the civilized and virtuous world. It is the third that will require our attention, and duly, a war against them must be analyzed thoroughly to ensure its success and furthermore its objectives - to conquer or to punish.
皇: Let us suppose we have a reckless state that displays its armies vigorously, and among many things, they make insults to the civilized world. Their population is weaker, and we are certain that they are involved in many endeavors. Is it safe to conclude that they are of the third sort and therefore subject to our right? Or should we also consider other things?
馬: I do not wish to deceive His Imperial Majesty. However, I must state that we must wary of everything we perceive. As the art of war is that of deception, it is equally possible that our enemies seek to entangle us and bring us to ruin. They may feign weakness to entice us to attack; in these instances, they are the most dangerous adversary. Therefore, it is imperative of all circumstances to pursue the five objectives - the mastery, the right, the superior, the virtuous, and the competence. We do not benefit in punishing the weaker state unless we know their intentions and they do not know ours; we cannot be right if they seek to be the victim; we cannot benefit if we strike them, for we extend ourselves against them, but rather to let them strike against us; we cannot be virtuous if we seek to punish for slight insults; and we cannot command authority if we follow the whims of the lesser state. We must dictate our own terms, nor theirs. In this way, we avoid the wars with the competent and the incompetent make due with their wars upon us.
皇: To declare war is a folly?
馬: It is a folly if we do not possess the five criteria; without these, we are lost. I stress this immensely, because otherwise, we cannot judge anything else. Sometimes, it is prudent to declare war, but only if we can determine that it benefits us.
皇: Then to wage war, one must control information, control the right, control the advantages, control the dispositions, and control the authority. It is simple, yet dynamically complex. We must contemplate our ideas, but already, I can grasp the attention of war required to run the state. It seems that any situation can be judged by the five critrea.
After the Emperor and the Marshal had discussed this, they departed for the evening. These conversations were recorded by the Imperial Historian.
SUMMARY
- Read up on military doctrine before trying to start up a war.
- Trust no one with your own security.
- Size matters (so check the date); but it's not everything.
- Be wary of large alliances that have no clear security objective.
- Run up intelligence on your enemy before you start up the war.
- Each state is not equal in power; but they have an equal capacity to maximize their power and therefore become the biggest and baddest.
- Don't automatically aim to start a war with anyone and everyone, because that's just stupid.