Solongus - "Peking-to-Paris"
Solongus - "Peking-to-Paris"
  • By Hwang Kyu-ho (info@koreaittimes.com)
  • 승인 2014.07.25 18:32
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

The 34th story of a full-length business novel.

Presently, they have regrouped new landing forces, moral and material, and stowed huge masses of explosives and stockpiles of ammunition.

Then all the titled world powersruling powers G5 or G7, newly emerging pretenders to the throne G20, and unknown dark horses altogetherhave prepared for everything after much more meticulous review. Then they have loaded with monstrous chariots and offensive weapons such as sharp spikes and machine guns in their huge fleets. Seemingly the fleets look like commercial ships but not warships. Inside, however, they have been already posed to fight each other like wrestlers’ collar-and-elbow as if they had been unforgivable deadly foes each other.

Under the string-pulling and smoke-screen they have already sent storming parties in the forefront line all over the world. Then, they have begun maneuvering to snipe at each other. Skirmishes have started with military march across national borders. The great Seas - Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans are now filled with so many fleets. In addition, the political weather is full of tension, turbulent, and challenging. The landscape toward the Coronalis geographically tough, uneven and crooked. Thus, the road to the World Championship is all shell-pocked and filled with wiry and bamboo barriers. So the road looks like a risky and deadly dangerous one just like the sea that is full of snags, sandbanks, shoals under the waters. Nonetheless, the worldwide powers do not mind such a risk and great danger. As for them, power and popularity come first, risk and danger next.

In this relation, there were similar precedents before their class acts. Even in the early 20th century, some would-be world powers had made up a daring plan. It was called Peking-to-Paris Rally.

Before the start of the Rally, Le Martin, the Paris Newspaper, announced the Rally as the exciting headline news to the adventurers on January 1907 as below:

“What needs to be proved today is that ‘as long as a man has a car he should be able to do anything and go anywhere.’

Is there anyone who will undertake to travel the Eurasian continent from Peking to Paris

The Event will begin in this summer.”

(Below was the map of a drive route in 1907. Source: Wikipedia, image.newworldmap.png) 

At the coming Big Event a mass of most fearless charioteers answered yes by saying cheerfully that:

“I’ll join it. Of course, I can do it. It seems that it will be exciting. That’s the way I like to join and play it.”

One after another, they shouted out willingly, ‘It’s me. . . Me, too. . . me, too,’ and so on. Me-tooism prevailed. All the participants were exhilarating. They were forty in number. Then they were daringly about to adventure the Mongolian Steppe and the Siberian wilderness with their monstrous horseless chariots. It was a longest distance from Peking to Paris.

At the time, much of the world people scoffed at their ignorance of the reality that:

“They do not know the stern reality of the earthly world. Especially, the Rally has not any route with landmarks. In fact, the route is not existent. You know, the so-called Silk Road is not made as a well-built highway for the transportation of silk materials. Thus, it is not a substantial road but an imaginary route. Like the Silk Road, the rally has not any road for automobiles at all.”

Further, they misjudged them as presumptuous adventurers as below:

“Additionally, they do not know of themselves who they are. Admittedly, they cannot match the legendary Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan and his dogs of war, Subutai, Jebe, Guo Kan. At the time they were cavalry men with invincible chariots. Thus, they could cross the Ural Mountains, reach Moscow and invade Europe. But now the challengers are not such invincible soldiers, who did it ruthlessly as such. At this point, the Europeans must be out of mind, reckless and crazy. Presumably, they may overstep authority out of vain pride. Then they will meet misfortunes there and drift toward ruin.”

But, the European challengers did not mind.

Their thinking was quite different from the scoffs of the public. Indeed, they did not think pessimistically as such. Rather they thought the Rally positively that:

“The Rally may be literally my rallying point to build courage. I am told that ‘when courage fails, hope becomes forlorn’. By using this chance I’ll check my courage and show my potential; what I want to be, what I can be, and then what I will be in the future.”

But, they did not speak out their hidden ambition. Simply they replied to the people by quoting the Roman proverb in Latin that:

“Nulla tenaci invia est via.” (It means that ‘For the tenacious, no road is impassible.’)

Then, they began to drive their horseless chariots on tough and uneven roads without hesitation. On the way, most of them were left behind and gave up the competition. But some of them survived adversities that lay ahead. Then, survivors crossed over the Ural Mountains. Then they stopped by Moscow and met their Russian friends there. Then they arrived at the final destination, Paris.

The Race started on 10 June in 1907 and finished on 10 August that year. Correctly, it took three months. They achieved their colorful dream. Applauses followed from the people. Their bravery and self-confidence earned the garland. The very men were just four. And the four were no other than Itala of Italy (italy), De Dion Bouton (bouton) and Motori Contal (contal) from France and a Dutch Spyker (spyker). Indeed the last four survivors were harbingers in the first auto Rally. Of course, the harbingers stirred the current global stars to get much more reckless ambition. Yes, it was and is true. And, truly it will be.

The great powers, like the daring racers, have not any illusion that:

“Ya, they must have been harbingers in history of adventures. Me, too. Like them, I am not a passenger, neither. All the tricky weather, all obstacles, visible and invisible, and hazardous barriers are nothing to me just as those were nothing to the racers. Such things are trivial ones. They cannot stop my colorful dream. Ya, that’s right. That’s the way to play it. So, I like it. Like them, I can do it all, too. Then I’ll print my name in the world history.”

In this way, they have revealed their Caesarian mind. 

  Copyright. Korea IT Times. All Copyright Reserved. 


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