"The only value of peace lies in preparing for war."
The Emperor said this while enjoying his afternoon tea.
If these words came from someone other than the Emperor, such a seemingly flippant remark would easily be dismissed as either the ravings of a war-monger or the irresponsible musings of a fool.
But because they were spoken by the Emperor, the weight of his words carried an undeniable truth.
History has proven time and again that no one regards man-made rules as sacred and inviolable. Unfortunately, the so-called peace that we know is mostly upheld by crafted rules, treaties, and agreements—at least on the surface. Everyone knows that the sole purpose of any agreement between nations is to one day tear it apart. In this sense, from a macro-historical perspective, the statement "The only value of peace lies in preparing for war" is indeed irrefutable.
Applying it to the present moment is no different.
