Traitor to His Country?
The next day, Lin Ye returned to his dormitory after finishing his class.
Today, Lin Ye wants to write about a very interesting person.
It's quite a coincidence that we ran into each other today.
Today I'll talk about someone I've wanted to talk about for a long time: He Caitou.
The name was largely uncontroversial within the Shrek Academy, but the situation was quite the opposite in the Sun Moon Empire.
If Huo Yuhao is considered the most hated enemy of the Sun Moon Empire, then He Caitou's position in their hearts is probably even more complicated than Huo Yuhao's.
Why? Because Huo Yuhao, no matter what, is from the Douluo Continent, and at most, he can be considered a member of an opposing force.
Unlike He Caitou, he had the blood of the Sun Moon Imperial Family flowing in his veins.
A person who should have stood on the side of the Sun Moon Empire instead sided with Shrek, helping outsiders fight against their own people.
In the official narrative of the Sun Moon Empire, He Caitou's name is always preceded by the word "traitor."
So here's the question: Is He Caitou a traitor? This question seems simple, but if you think about it more deeply, it involves too many things.
Blood ties, stances, justice, hatred, national righteousness, and personal choices—each dimension can pull people in different directions.
Let's first talk about He Caitou's identity.
There is no dispute that he was the former crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire.
His father was the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, and he grew up in the palace, receiving the education of a Imperial Family child.
According to the normal course of events, he should have inherited the throne and become the ruler of the Sun Moon Empire.
But fate had a completely different path in mind. His mother was persecuted to death by the Imperial Family, and he himself was driven to desperation, fleeing the Sun Moon Empire and arriving at the Shrek Academy.
This is crucial because it means that He Caitou's attitude towards the Sun Moon Empire was forced from the very beginning; it wasn't that he voluntarily chose to leave, but rather that the place drove him out.
Should a prince who has been expelled from his own country be required to remain loyal to his original country after fleeing to another?
There is no standard answer to this question throughout the entire history of the Douluo Continent.
According to the traditional idea of loyalty to the emperor, if you are a prince, you should be loyal to the country, no matter how the country treats you.
But according to another set of logic, if the country betrays you first, then your obligations to that country are also terminated.
The fact that He Caitou's mother died at the hands of the Imperial Family severed the most important bond between him and the Sun Moon Empire.
His hatred for the Sun Moon Imperial Family was destined from that moment on.
You can't realistically expect someone being hunted by the Imperial Family to go back and fight for the Imperial Family.
Shrek Academy, cafeteria.
Xiao Xiao was sipping a cup of soy milk slowly.
By this time, the cafeteria was mostly empty. She sat by the window, eating her breakfast while mentally reviewing Lin Ye's newly written diary.
When she saw He Caitou's name, her hand involuntarily paused for a moment.
The familiar name He Caitou stirred up an indescribable emotion within her.
She knew this man was her future husband, a man who wasn't very brave, but very strong.
Today, Ke Lin Ye isn't writing about his performance at Shrek, but rather about his inescapable identity: the former crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire.
"Traitor?"
Xiao Xiao chewed those words twice, her brows furrowing slightly.
She felt those three words were too heavy, as if someone had thrown a rock at He Caitou.
She put down her soy milk and continued reading.
Lin Ye's analysis today will obviously not stop at the level of "whether or not He Caitou should be blamed"; he must have something more in-depth to write about.
But at least so far, Lin Ye hasn't immediately labeled He Caitou, which has given her a slight sense of relief.
Let's talk about He Caitou's specific actions during the war.
After officially starting the war with the Sun Moon Empire, He Caitou chose to stand on the side of Shrek.
He not only participated in the battle, but also personally manufactured a large number of Soul Tool to deal with the Sun Moon Empire's army.
He even allowed Huo Yuhao to use these Soul Tool in some battles, causing widespread casualties to the Sun Moon Empire's army.
This is also what the Sun Moon Empire hates him for the most. This is not an ordinary betrayal; you are taking the enemy's weapons and technology and turning around to kill your own people.
According to the propaganda of the Sun Moon Empire, He Caitou is the biggest traitor, bar none.
From a purely national standpoint, these accusations are not entirely without merit.
A former prince, a high-level talent who had mastered the Soul Tool technology of the Sun Moon Empire, defected to the enemy camp during the war and used his professional knowledge to help the enemy enhance their combat power. The nature of this behavior is indeed very serious.
In any era or country, such a person would be nailed to the pillar of historical shame.
From this perspective, He Caitou can indeed be defined as "traitor."
[But if we zoom in a bit He Caitou actually did at Shrek, we'll find that things aren't as simple as the Sun Moon Empire portrays them.]
In other words, He Caitou neither chose to escape nor helped the Sun Moon Empire attack the place where he now lived.
He chose to use his abilities to protect those around him.
You can say he betrayed the Sun Moon Empire, but you can't deny that he protected Shrek.
If we only consider his stance, then He Caitou is indeed a traitor; but if we only consider his motives, then his motives were at least not entirely bad.
There is a fundamental difference between someone fighting to protect their friends, teachers, and homeland, and someone betraying their country for money and power.
Shrek Academy, Inner Court Office.
Zhang Lexuan fell silent. She couldn't comment on the matter, after all, she was on Shrek's side.
However, Lin Ye raised a more pointed question: from a purely national perspective, He Caitou's actions were indeed very serious.
Zhang Lexuan is not the kind of person who would let emotions cloud her judgment. She would not unconditionally excuse He Caitou just because he is a member of Shrek He Caitou.
A former crown prince using his own country's technology to fight for an enemy nation is a serious crime under the laws of any country.
If she were sitting in the court of the Sun Moon Empire, she would probably vote to declare him a traitor.
The problem is that He Caitou never left the Sun Moon Empire voluntarily.
His mother died at the hands of the Imperial Family, and his entire family was killed.
This is an obstacle we can never overcome.
Is it fair that the Sun Moon Empire first did something irreversible to him, and then demanded that he continue to be loyal to the Sun Moon Empire?
Even though he was a former Imperial Family, and the entire Sun Moon Empire belonged to his family, that's not the point. The point is that his entire family was killed, and only then did he help the enemy against his own people.