025 : two soldiers
Bubbly.
I followed the secretary into the building.
‘Is this the Blue House Guest House in the 1960s that we’ve only heard about?’
It was an impressive building with white marble floors.
I saw the president and a big white man in the distance.
Both looked like soldiers, but the feeling was distinctly different.
It’s like a black and skinny GOP soldier and a HQ soldier wearing a PX in the rear.
“dismissal.”
“Yes, go.”
It was simple and clear.
The secretary even spared the word that he had brought me.
I was familiar with the president because I had seen it in many documentaries, but Van Flint had a different impression than I expected.
He was obviously a military veteran and a big-time politician, but he had a warm feeling.
‘What else are you thinking? Wake.’
This is a tiger’s den.
The person in front of me is the president, and he holds the right to my life and death.
You must never think of anything else in the tiger’s den.
“It is an honor to meet you. It is called Woo Chan-soo, a popular unemployment.”
“I know, comfortably moisten your neck first.”
It was Van Fleet who called me, but the President took precedence. This is Korea and he is the king.
The president tapped me on the shoulder.
It was as if he had met a friend’s son by chance on the street.
Looking closer, his face was pale.
The modifier of omnipotent power seemed colorless.
“By the way, Imja. Shouldn’t it be called the mainstream group, not the mainstream unemployment? They said they built a new factory in Ulsan called Daesae Chemical.”
Did you figure out my identity in that short time?
“It doesn’t make sense to be a group. In order to contribute even a little to the national economy, I am thinking of repairing and using the abandoned factory.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a guy who doesn’t flinch in front of me.”
“If you have committed any disrespect, please be forgiving.”
“Disrespect, if you are an industry leader, you should give such a bold answer. Right, General Flint?”
“Haha, yes. If you are an expert who has linked the Vietnam War to US inflation, that would be basic.”
Van Flint chuckled.
Starting with the relationship between the Vietnam War and American inflation, the man David told me to introduce was Van Flint.
After that, he heard my name from the Galpsa branch manager, so he must have even left his phone number, right?
“This is the first formal introduction. My name is Van Flint.”
“It is called Woo Chan-soo, a popular unemployment. It is an honor to meet you.”
We exchanged business cards with each other.
「James A. Van Flint」
「Chairperson of the Korea Society, Policy Advisor to the US Department of Commerce, Outside Director of Law Firm Scatten, Outside Director of Brown & Root…」
All kinds of positions were written on the business card.
I expected the US Department of Commerce policy adviser, but I was surprised by the item called Brown & Root outside director.
‘what? Was Van Flint a non-executive director of Brown & Root?’
Brown & Root, also known as BR, was the most successful defense company during the Vietnam War.
In addition to being in charge of procurement of military supplies for the US military, it monopolized most of the construction work related to the Vietnam War.
It was a company that had a powerful influence on the US political world and was favored as such.
It is a representative of the military conglomerate that established the concept of so-called ‘commercialization of security’.
There were even rumors that the agreement, in which the ROK was guaranteed the right to participate in the US military’s procurement of military supplies in return for dispatching troops to Vietnam, was called the ‘Brown Memorandum’ from BR Company.
Of course, it was known externally that it was named after Brown, who was the US foreign secretary.
‘Could it be that I was present at the scene of the negotiations over the terms of the Brown Memorandum?’
If so, this was not an ordinary case.
Based on the Brown memorandum, Hyunsan Construction and Hanshin Trading, which participated as subcontractors of BR, grew into chaebol groups at once.
This was a natural result, as both companies generated more than $100 million in sales from subcontracting alone.
In the 21st century, it was about 10 trillion won in sales.
“Nice to meet you too. I saw your name on several reports. From the US inflation warning report to the Korean petrochemical investment review.”
“…you saw those reports.”
Did you read the report yourself?
Perhaps because he was a commander, he was a meticulous nobleman.
that is great. He was a nobleman who did not dislike documents.
“In particular, the idea of monopolizing naphtha from Galfsa was very fresh. As if they had predicted that naphtha demand would explode.”
In other words, Van Flint also said that he expects naphtha demand to explode sooner or later.
“It was so natural that it was not even expected. Isn’t that why the general is also seated here?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Demand for petroleum products will explode when the Vietnam War becomes a protracted war.”
“Long term? It’s a war between the US and Vietnam. Do you think it will be a long game?”
I laughed, but it was a laugh that tested me.
“of course. Didn’t General Van Flint fly to Korea because he expected a long-term battle? I was worried that the U.S. Army alone would not have enough combat troops.”
If you recall the legendary story told by the OBs, they said that at the end of the Korean War, the amount of bombs dropped by the US Army was equivalent to the amount of bombs used in World War II.
In other words, if General Van Flint was the commander-in-chief at the end of the Korean War, this man prefers a strategy of crushing the enemy with quantity.
If a person with such an inclination saw the Vietnam War, he would have judged that the U.S. Army alone was not a combat force.
It is highly likely that a top commander who experienced not only World War I and World War II, but also the Greek Civil War and the Korean War, would have caught the dangers of jungle and guerrilla warfare in Vietnam in advance.
“My thoughts are very similar to President Woo’s. Vietnam’s jungle will be difficult for the U.S. military as well as our South Korean troops, who are Asians, to adapt. It has to be a long game.”
President Park added words when appropriate.
It was a soldier’s opinion.
“Yes, Your Excellency. However, it seems that General Flint has other concerns as well.”
“A different situation?”
“Mr. Wu, am I concerned about other circumstances?”
Van Flint looked at me with a meaningful expression. It was a necessary conversation to prove my worth, but the opportunity came sooner than I thought.
“Isn’t the general concerned about an invisible enemy?”
“An invisible enemy?”
“I am talking about the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front, which cannot distinguish whether it is an enemy or a civilian. There are definitely enemies, but they can’t be wiped out, so you don’t know when this war will end. 99.99% of it has to be a long game.”
“her…”
“Chief Wu, hey… How could you…”
Both admired my words.
It can be said that I picked up something that I felt uncomfortable about, but couldn’t say anything about.
The reasons for the defeat of the US Army in Vietnam are complex, but at the core of them is the inability to distinguish between friend and foe.
Obviously, the main enemy of the U.S. forces was the Viet Minh, officially called North Vietnam, but the organization that actually fought against the U.S. forces was the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front, which was mainly composed of South Vietnamese residents.
These are the people commonly referred to as the Viet Cong.
Because the U.S. military put human rights protection as its top priority against communism, it could not recklessly eradicate civilians suspected of being Viet Cong.
The Viet Cong persisted in holding on to it.
“Even if the Vietnamese (South Vietnamese) government is not clean, it should have the ability, but since it is so incompetent, it will be a headache for the United States.”
At that time, what the United States needed was a capable government in Vietnam, but even that was impossible.
It was because the Indochina peninsula, which had been subjected to many foreign invasions, had collapsed the national view that the people should have.
In the meantime, the Communist Party, which had the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet Union behind it, had an organizational power close to the national view, so it would eventually unify Vietnam.
Looking at it, it would be safe to say that Korea’s nationality and potential are the world’s No. 1.
Even though traitors became dominant and the leadership was incompetent, in the end, they drove out foreign powers and established the country right.
There are pro-Japanese things that denigrate that the help of the United States was absolute and that it was because they followed national luck, but the world responded to the independence of Korea because our nation resisted and made efforts to the end.
In any case, there was no need to inform the results of the Vietnam War here.
We had to be wary of the butterfly effect.
For me as well as for Korea, the special Vietnam War is an opportunity that comes only once in a hundred years.
“Sounds like there is a way. A quick way to end the war.”
can’t finish it sooner
“War is not the best war for quantity? Instead of running water down, you have to pour it like a waterfall and clear the wires in one fell swoop.”
“It’s a stock war.”
Van Flint’s eyes twinkled.
It was clear that he also liked stock wars.
No matter how talented a commander is, if he says something nice to hear, he will be attracted to it.
All the more so if that sounds objectively valid.
Since the First and Second World Wars, the fact that the outcome of a war depends on who is better at procurement of munitions has been no different from the truth.
In modern warfare, not only weapons and ammunition, but also large and expensive munitions such as tanks, ships, aircraft, and missiles, military uniforms, combat rations, first-aid medicines, toothpaste, and socks are not just one or two things.
The defeat of the U.S. forces in Vietnam was also caused by guerrilla warfare, but the fact that all kinds of weapons and supplies supplied to Vietnam flowed to the Viet Cong through the back hole could not be ignored.
How can the United States win even if it is a war while supplying supplies to both the enemy and the ally?
We know for sure how the procurement of munitions will go, but let’s pretend we don’t know.
“For the war of goods, we need to build a highway in Southeast Asia around Vietnam, build a port to transport US military supplies, and even build a large-scale heavy oil storage facility.”
“…from highways to heavy fuel depots…”
The Van Flint line seemed to have thought of the port, but the highway and the heavy oil storage seemed unexpected.
But I soon found out that I was right.
In Southeast Asia, let alone highways, general roads are lousy. Besides, it is a dense forest.
Even if munitions are loaded into a port by boat, there must be a road for cars to deliver munitions to the front post.
If you have no choice but to tie munitions to parachutes and drop them by plane like in the movie, the war is already lost.
Besides, shouldn’t the ship carrying munitions have to refuel in order to return?
Then we have to build a heavy oil storage facility.
“Yes, it is possible to transfer goods only when there is a proper transportation infrastructure as much as a logistic base.”
“General Flint, we must procure munitions from Korea. That is the key condition for dispatching combat troops.”
The president hung up and came in.
Mr. President, the infrastructure construction project is just as lucrative as munitions. You shouldn’t miss it.
“Korean companies should also participate in the construction of that infrastructure. Of course, as a prerequisite for dispatching combat troops.”
“Haha, this won… I don’t miss anything.”
With me between them, it felt like the story was moving quickly.
Shouldn’t it be said that specific items are set one by one in exchange for the dispatch of combat troops?
If South Korea signs an agreement to participate in procurement of military supplies, construction of logistical bases and transportation infrastructure, South Korea will make a big hit. The Vietnam War never ends easily, and the money the United States poured into it was beyond imagination.
“It’s just a natural inference as a merchant.”
“If that is a natural inference, can you also infer where the highway should be built and where the port should be built?”
“Of course.”
“Where are you?”
“Your Excellency, can I tell you my opinion?”
I skipped Van Flint’s question and gave the credit to President Park.
“Hahaha, you should quench your throat before speaking.”
The president poured me champagne.
I meant don’t be quick to tell me.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
I heard that entrepreneurs were discouraged by only offering cheap makgeolli, but am I not the first person to receive champagne?
“President, I will pay for Mr. Wu’s consulting. How much is the loan amount you want?”
As I sipped my champagne and avoided answering, Van Flint made a deal with President Park.
“Our government…”
It was the intention to accept the amount of loan offered by the president in exchange for information.
no.
The amount of the loan is already set at 150 million dollars.
My information was not cheap information to pass on at that price.
Where should we build the US military supply base? I mean the information.
Brilliant.
“Your Excellency does not consider the amount of the loan very important.”
I interrupted President Park by gently clinking my glasses.
It may be unimaginable to people of this era, but I am a 21st century person.
And this is already the tiger’s den.
If you don’t raise the ransom properly in the tiger’s den, the opportunity will never come again.
If it’s delicious, it’s eaten whole, or if it’s not tasty, it’s just forgotten.
I have to make myself a reason to survive.
‘How dare you cut me off?’
Look at the anger in the president’s eyes and this guy? Emotions were formed at the same time.
It’s not that I didn’t expect that, but I had no choice but to take the risk.
At this point, you should not negotiate to win a loan.
“The loan minister is not important? You’re kidding too much.”
“Your Excellency is the head of the country. The amount of the loan should be discussed among working-level workers.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You want an agreement between the Korean and American governments. Sending combat troops is risking the lives of many young people. At that level, it would be fair to receive a memorandum stating that the ROK-US alliance is externally specified, the US supports the modernization of the Korean military, and South Korea participates in the US military procurement project.”
“right! After all, young people these days are different. You can read my mind clearly.”
The president tapped me on the shoulder like the first time we met. The touch of the hand was quite different.
“Can South Korea afford the U.S. military’s munitions procurement business?”
“There is nothing impossible for Koreans.”
At my words, Van Flint’s face turned strange.
Was it successful?
At least you seem to have succeeded in attracting attention?
“Good. It’s been a while since I met a decent negotiator, so I’m happy too. How about starting a puzzle with me?”
“As much as you like.”
Van Flint slammed out.
You want to play with a 21st century human who knows the future?
accept it anyway
