THE HUMAN EMPEROR

1291-1310

‘In the history of humanity, countries rose up like trees, the countless countries forming an enormous jungle, and the jungle has its laws. When the lakes and rivers have dried up, fish can moisten each other with their slime, and mother birds will feel the need to feed their young birds. Meanwhile, hunting dogs will chase rabbits, wolves will chase hunting dogs, and tigers will chase wolves… the weaker creatures will become food for the stronger. This is the principle of the strong eating the weak, the survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle. Only the strongest can survive in this ‘jungle’.

‘A single mountain has a limited amount of prey, a limited amount of resources. Over a long period of time, these resources can raise a single tiger, but if another tiger comes, there will not be enough food, making conflict inevitable. If the two tigers coexisted, then they would both be in danger of starving. Thus, a mountain cannot hold two tigers!

‘This is the way it is with creatures, and so it is with countries. In the end, victory in a struggle is decided by body, physique, and martial force. The weak can only be driven away or die. This is the law of survival. So it has been since ancient times, through dynasty after dynasty. All the states warred against Qin, but Qin was strong while the other states were weak, so Qin obtained the entire realm. At the end of the Han, the other kingdoms warred against the powerful Wei, but in the end, Wei survived while the other kingdoms were vanquished!

‘The Great Qin drove away the Xiongnu of the north through military force, not benevolence and righteousness. If the violent Qin had not been strong, the Hu would have invaded and wreaked havoc on the Central Plains. Han of Wu battled with Hu to the north and the barbarians to the south, and victory came because the armies of Han were strong, not because of the Confucianism proposed by Zhongshu. The Great Tang has been able to reach its current level of power and prosperity, the obedience of all the other countries, because they know that the Great Tang is strong, not that it is benevolent or righteous.

‘The strong survive while the weak are exterminated. This is a law of heaven, a fixed constant! Like the sun and moon rising from the east and setting in the west, it cannot be changed!

‘Since ancient times, no one has ever said that the weak survive while the strong are exterminated. Qin was replaced with Han because Qin was weak at the end while Han at the beginning was strong. Imagine if, at the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu was defeated while the powerful Qin survived. In this present era, the environment has remained the same while only the people have changed.

‘Wolves eat meat and deer eat grass. This is the nature of these animals! In this present age, the surrounding foreign countries are like wolves or tigers, openly reducing their armies while secretly training soldiers in defiance and biding their time. Meanwhile, the Great Tang, in the name of benevolence and righteousness, is reducing its armies, cutting off its arms and feet. This is a tiger removing its claws, hoping that by weakening itself, it can buy peace for all sides and an eternal end to war. Such conduct is like using one’s own body to feed a tiger, carrying firewood to put out a fire, only fueling an endless flame. Once the Great Tang has weakened, the surrounding powers are certain to rise together to divide it. At that time, the Divine Land will be occupied, the Great Tang partitioned, calamity will visit itself on the people, and perhaps not even one in one hundred will survive. On the day, it will be too late to regret!

‘Since ancient times, those who use war to seek peace will create peace, but those who seek peace through compromise will bring about peace’s end!

‘If the Great Tang seeks peace for one hundred generations, for all invasions to cease forevermore, it must strengthen itself, help itself, and one who helps themselves is helped by the heavens!”

……

Wang Chong’s brush flew across the paper, writing one page, two pages… and with each page he wrote, he poured all his resentment, worry, and the thoughts accumulated over his several lives into his brush. Rumble! Lightning crisscrossed outside his window, shining brighter and brighter. Meanwhile, the sky itself had gone completely dark.