Chapter 1122
Is this a case of choosing between physical confrontation and intellectual debate?
Si Ming felt that this Demon Emperor was different from the Demon Race he had encountered before. The Demon Race he had met before all gave him the impression of being "foreign races". Although they possessed intelligence, understood writing and could communicate, there were fundamental differences between them, and he would subconsciously classify them as "barbarians".
What are barbarians? They are beasts.
Even the Mohist School, who advocated universal love, also spoke of the "distinction between Chinese and barbarians." This distinction differed from nationalism; it was not based on blood ties or region, but on culture. The saying was, "If China is a barbarian, then they are a barbarian; if a barbarian is China, then they are China." In other words, if the Huaxia learned the civilization of the barbarians, they became barbarians; if the barbarians learned the civilization of the Huaxia, they were still Huaxia. This was an extremely enlightened and confident understanding.
Guan Zhong said, "The Rong and Di tribes are like jackals and wolves, and cannot be satisfied with them; the various Xia peoples are like close relatives and cannot be abandoned."
Kongzi said, "It is better for the Chinese peoples to be without a ruler than for barbarians to have one."
Mencius said, "I have heard of those who used Chinese methods to transform the barbarians, but I have never heard of anyone being transformed by the barbarians."
The * Discourses of the States * (Discourses of the States) states in the Discourses of Zhou: "The former kings established a system where the inner state was governed by the dian (dín) and the outer state by the hou (hóu) and the wei (wèi) and the bin (wén) and the manyi (yìn) and the rong and di (róng) and the huang (huáng) and the huang (huáng) and the huang (huáng) and the di (huáng) and the *huang...
The attitude of Huaxia civilization towards barbarians can be clearly seen from these contents, which is incompatible with the so-called "universal values" of later generations. Some people confuse the Mohist School concept of universal love and equality with the later "white leftist" ideology, which is simply a joke.
However, the Demon Emperor before him gave Si Ming a sense that they could communicate in a civilized manner, and that he was not a barbarian. So he dispersed the golden light and withdrew from the state of Solar Prominence Eruption.
"When Mozi passed down his teachings, the Demon Race numbered only two or three in the mountains and fields, not even a significant force. How could they have considered so much? His saying, 'Today, there are no large or small kingdoms under heaven, all are cities of heaven; people, regardless of age or social status, are all subjects of heaven,' was only limited to the Human Race."
The Mohist School love originated from this, which means "not distinguishing between rich and poor, noble and lowly, near and far, close and distant," and "loving one's neighbor's relatives as one's own."
Even among Human Race, the Mohist School's concept of universal love did not extend to barbarians, let alone non-humans.
The Demon Emperor exclaimed, "The saying 'All are subjects of Heaven' is well said. All living beings in the world are subjects of Heaven. How can you exclude my Demon Race alone?"
Si Ming, "Leaving aside whether the Mohist School's universal love includes the Demon Race, even if it were extended to all living beings, how could our Mohist School assist invaders? You must know that 'punishing injustice' is the cornerstone of our Mohist School and the bottom line of all our principles."
The Demon Emperor said, "Our Demon Race is trapped at the bottom of the vast ocean, in the Ruins of Return, constantly corroded by death energy, only able to resist with a barrier. But now the gaps in the barrier are widening day by day. If we do not seek a place to stand elsewhere, our entire race will perish sooner or later. According to the principles of your Mohist School, does my race deserve to be exterminated?"
Si Ming frowned. If the other party wasn't lying, then the Demon Race wasn't sealed in the seabed. Or rather, the "seal" was actually a form of protection for them. Originally, people thought the demon tide was because the seal had cracked, allowing the Demon Beast to break free of their cages and attack people outside. In reality, it was because the protective barrier had cracked, allowing death energy to invade. If they didn't leave, they could only wait to die.
The Demon Race did not come ashore to kill people, but rather left the seabed to escape death.
After a moment's thought, Si Ming, "I don't know the exact situation of your Demon Race, or whether it's as dire as you describe, but let's assume you're telling the truth. Under that premise, in my personal opinion, it's not impossible to provide you with a place to stay."
As someone who transmigrated from the internet age, Si Ming has been influenced by various fantasy literature works, including Western elves, orcs, dwarves, and other settings, Eastern legends of fairies, gods, ghosts, and Gensokyo, as well as kemonomimi girls in various cute works. Therefore, Si Ming's attitude towards "other races" is very tolerant. For example, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who is loved by almost all Chinese people, is a stone monkey, not a human.
Furthermore, the fox demon that followed Master Xiao Xuan has proven that as long as the appearance is similar and the style isn't too bizarre, people can actually accept people of different races.
The Demon Emperor sighed, "To utter such words, you are indeed extraordinary. If everyone in the world were like you, why would I need to resort to extreme measures? The Demon Race is not a bloodthirsty bunch."
Si Ming hurriedly added, "But there is one premise that must be made clear: the so-called 'all spirits' refers to intelligent beings. Animals such as pigs, dogs, sheep, and cattle, no matter how much the Mohist School practice universal love, will not extend that love to them or regard them as human beings."
The Demon Emperor understood the implication and nodded, saying, "That's natural. We Demon Race also regard Demon Beast as animals, just as humans regard monkeys. How could we consider monkeys as our own kind?"
"If that's the case, then it's simple. Although the Su State dominates the Eastern Continent, it hasn't occupied all the land. There are still scattered small countries and various Barbarian Race around it. If the Demon Emperor has a desire for peace, he might as well choose..."
"Your Majesty must not believe such naive words!"
Suddenly, a voice interrupted Si Ming's suggestion. Turning around, he saw that the one who had spoken was none other than the Military God, Huang Yan.
"Ahem... Have you not heard the saying, 'How can one tolerate another's snoring beside one's bed?' The Su State allows Barbarian Race tribes to live because those Barbarian Race are weak and pose no threat to the Su State's safety. That's why they can display the demeanor of the strong. But with the power of the Demon Race, how can they sit idly by?"
The Demon Emperor fell silent, trying to put himself in the other person's shoes. If he were the ruler of the Su State, he would also find it difficult to accept a powerful neighboring country. As for the lives of the neighboring country's people, what did they have to do with him?
Si Ming glanced at Huang Yan and said, "Other countries may not be able to accept it, but the Su State is a possibility. Don't judge a gentleman by your own petty standards. The Mohist School have both such benevolence and such confidence."
Huang Yan said, "Perhaps you really think that way, but that doesn't mean everyone else thinks that way. Selfishness is human nature. You're not the Grandmaster of the Mohist School, so what you say is meaningless and can't offer any guarantees."
Si Ming sneered, "Although I am not the Grandmaster of Mohist School, I am still a member of the Heaven's Will Palace, so my words carry some weight. Besides, you may have misunderstood one thing: are the Demon Race really that powerful?"
Out of his deep hatred for traitors, he didn't give this "traitor" a friendly look. He had initially thought that the man might have some kind of difficulty, but Huang Yan would rather let the Demon Race invade the motherland than agree to a peaceful solution, so his stance was obvious.
"You've witnessed the power of His Majesty the Demon Emperor. There are no more than five powerful beings in the world who can rival him. He also has four Demon Kings and hundreds of Demon General under his command. His overall strength far surpasses that of the United States, Russia, the Soviet Union, and Switzerland. Do you think that's not strong?"
"As far as a sect or organization is concerned, it is indeed powerful, but as far as a country is concerned, it is nothing. Population is the most important factor in measuring national strength."
"Millions of Demon Beast far outnumber those small, sparsely populated countries and Barbarian Race tribes."
"Demon Beast are beasts, how can they be considered part of the human population? Who would consider cattle and sheep as part of the Barbarian Race population? Just considering the number of Demon Race, in the last human-demon war, there were nearly two million Demon Beast, but less than ten thousand Demon Race. Even if there are three times that number this time, what does it matter? Less than fifty thousand people don't even meet the standards for a town."
"How could the power of Demon Beast be compared to that of cattle and sheep?"
"On this point, I believe the Demon Emperor has a way to control it."
The Demon Emperor nodded slightly and said, "Most of the Demon Beast are still herbivores. The reason they cause such destruction every time they set foot on land is partly due to the lack of control and command from the Demon Race, and partly due to the lingering effects of death energy, which drives them into madness. As long as we can get through this period of madness, we can still make them obedient."
By referring to the food chain in nature, we can see that the number of herbivores is definitely far greater than that of carnivores; otherwise, the natural cycle would have collapsed long ago.
Moreover, in the Demon Emperor's view, if he could truly obtain a place to stay and let the Demon Beast kill each other to gain the trust of neighboring countries, it wouldn't be unacceptable. After all, in the eyes of the Demon Race, demon Demon Beast are just food reserves. He might feel sorry for them, but he wouldn't feel the same kind of sorrow for their kind.
Seeing the Demon Emperor's interested expression, Huang Yan quickly said, "Unfortunately, this method appeared too late; it's no longer possible to implement it."
Si Ming asked, "What's the reason?"
Huang Yan said, "The Demon Beast army has breached Nation of Valor's border defenses and invaded the interior. If nothing unexpected happens, many villages and towns should have been slaughtered by now. If the people of Su State hear this news, can they still accept them living next to them?"
Si Ming fell silent. Slaughtering a city was the Mohist School's bottom line. No matter if it was Demon Beast or Huaxia person, they would still punish the unjust, and would never let the enemy off lightly, even if the enemy was a noble or an emperor.
Moreover, Demon Beast are already infamous, and this incident easily reminds people of their relatives and friends who perished in the demon tide. Once the desire for revenge arises, everyone will likely shout "acting on behalf of heaven" and "exterminating them all," and no one will be able to accept the other party living next to them.
The Confucian School does not advocate repaying evil with good, nor does the Mohist School Daoist School, nor does the Mohist school. The Mohist School attitude is to punish evil and punish crimes without regard to social status.
The Demon Emperor sighed and said, "I was naive. Our hands are stained with each other's blood; it's already a fight to the death. How could we forgive each other just because the other has some excuse? To think that if everyone could understand each other, the world would be at peace is nothing but an idealist's fairy tale. At this point, we can only fight and scramble, using violence and intimidation to find a place to live."
Upon hearing this, Si Ming also sighed. He realized that he had indeed oversimplified the problem. The hatred accumulated over hundreds of years of demon tides was not so easily resolved. This was no longer a matter of sincerity, but a deep-seated hatred that could never be let go unless one side fell.