Chapter 184: The Monkey Must Die!
When something unusual happens, there must be a reason. After A Man and A Qing were stunned for a moment, A Man cautiously asked, “Who… do you want to kill?”
“Hiyoshi Maru.”
A Man breathed a sigh of relief. She thought Yuan Ye had a sudden whim and was planning to assassinate Oda Nobunaga, which would have been a high-difficulty task. But she quickly became puzzled, and with a suspicious look, she asked, “That groom leader? Why on earth would you kill him? What did he do to offend you?”
She felt that Hiyoshi Maru was fine, a normal groom who was very respectful to Yuan Ye, and Yuan Ye had even expressed his admiration for him. Why had Yuan Ye suddenly changed, and to the point of wanting to kill someone?
Yuan Ye didn’t speak. He had wanted to get rid of the Monkey for a long time, ever since he was at Takeuchi Manor.
This wasn’t a sudden whim. He had fallen into this era for some incomprehensible reason, and he always felt he should do something, at least try to prevent some of the tragedies in history from happening again, and not just stand by foolishly.
That was the first time he had harbored murderous intent towards the Monkey, but at that time, his thoughts were vague, and his killing intent was not firm. Moreover, he couldn’t find the Monkey’s whereabouts and his strength was limited. So, he had only dug up Nene and dug a small pit for the Monkey before letting it go.
But as he spent more and more time in the Japanese Medieval Period, and after reading a large number of ancient Japanese historical documents and the notes and travelogues of samurai and temple families, he slowly found the root of the problem—it wasn’t just about killing the Monkey; Japan itself had a problem, it was the greatest scourge.
Japan has what is called “Divine Nation Ideology.” According to Yuan Ye’s research, it was first recorded in the 《 Nihon Shoki 》, but at that time, Japan did not yet have the consciousness of “We alone are the Divine Nation.” It wasn’t until the 《 Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku 》 of the Heian period that Japan began to use and recognize the term “Divine Nation” to refer to its country. By the early Kamakura period, the idea that “Japan is a Divine Nation, therefore it is not attacked by other countries, and the Imperial lineage continues unbroken” was further refined and strengthened—until this point, Japan was still basically normal.
Then came the Mongol invasions, which were repelled by typhoons, a devastating defeat for Japan. This became a critical turning point in the evolution of Japan’s “Divine Nation Ideology,” giving rise to the highly influential “Divine Wind Theory.” The Japanese Imperial Family, shrines, and temple families began to use it to strengthen their rule, and the “Divine Nation Ideology” subsequently intensified.
After that, it was the Muromachi period, when the “Root, Leaf, Flower, and Fruit Theory” emerged, placing the “Divine Nation Ideology” in a fundamental and primary position. Theories like “Divine Power Created the Nation” and “Imperial Lineage Divinely Bestowed” were formalized, and Japan’s superiority and uniqueness began to be emphasized, asserting that Japan was the most noble and special country in the world, and should rule the entire world.
In the process of these “theories” emerging, Japan was also constantly implementing them, continuously raiding and plundering the Korean Peninsula, committing many heinous crimes. Many samurai notes proudly boasted of these atrocities, praising them endlessly—this wasn’t because Japan had any issues with the Korean Peninsula’s government or any hatred towards Koreans; it was simply because Japan’s seafaring technology at the time was terrible, and often they could only reach there.
By this time, Japan as a whole had begun to twist and change, hurtling down the path of disaster with no turning back.
The Monkey was also influenced by this ideology and was an extreme supporter of it. During Oda Nobunaga’s era, he repeatedly advised invading the Korean Peninsula. After he came to power, he put this into practice, demanding to take Korea in three months, China in one year, and India in three years, directly launching the war of aggression against Korea.
Of course, he didn’t succeed, but it still caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and indirectly contributed to the rise of the Later Jin.
Finally, it reached the Meiji era, and this “Divine Nation Ideology” that permeated the samurai class evolved into “militarism,” where all other countries were “inferior races” that should be ruled by the divinely chosen people.
At this time, with the development of science and technology, Japan could travel to more distant places. The scope of its harm expanded, and Korea and China subsequently suffered. Hundreds of millions of people died tragically.
It was only because China resisted after paying a heavy price. If it hadn’t resisted, Japan would have continued to cause harm further afield, and who knows how many more people would have died.
Now that Yuan Ye had fallen into this era, after repeated consideration, he felt that as long as he had the ability, he should do two things:
First, he needed to eliminate the “Divine Nation Ideology,” an evil thought that should not exist in the world and has brought suffering to countless people. To this end, he constantly browses through various notes, travelogues, and historical texts, tracing its origins, and aims to eradicate people and groups who have been contaminated by this ideology as much as possible, so that they do not lead the Japanese people to kill innocent people in the future.
This is difficult, but for the sake of hundreds of millions of lives, he felt he should try.
Second, he needs to divide Japan as much as possible, preferably into several pieces and several countries.
This is a precautionary measure. The reason Japan caused harm to half of Asia and led to hundreds of millions of deaths involves many other factors, such as domestic political struggles, international condoning, the rise of capitalist forces, and so on. To ensure it has no capacity for evil, it is better to divide it into several parts.
Analyzing these points is very troublesome, and even requires studying how the Japanese national character evolved into what it is, what causes it to lack “guilt,” yet have “shame” that easily explodes, and frequently fall into collective frenzies to do crazy or extremely selfish things, then bow and assume it’s all okay, and dare to do it again next time…
Yuan Ye hasn’t fully figured these things out himself yet, and cannot explain them in words for the time being, or rather, the explanation would be endless. But he is very sure that dividing Japan, depriving it of its capacity for evil, and preventing it from being a ticking time bomb is good and beneficial for the vast majority of people.
It is beneficial for most people in ancient times, and it is also beneficial for most people in modern times.
Of course, it’s possible he’s doing the wrong thing, for example, not considering the feelings of the Japanese people, that murder is wrong, that dividing other countries is immoral, and so on. He might be called an extreme nationalist, a despicable person, but he doesn’t care. He’s just an ordinary person who accidentally fell into this unfortunate era. He struggles just to survive, and it’s impossible for him to do everything perfectly.
Therefore, he will do his best, without guaranteeing anything, seeking only a clear conscience, and he doesn’t need others to understand.
As for not being able to unify the world and become king or conqueror after arriving in ancient times, or going back to the Great Ming to start a revolution…
He’s not very interested in becoming king or conqueror. With the capital he possesses now, he could live a very luxurious life, eating delicacies every day, throwing away abalone without batting an eye. Even if he had confidence in his own kidneys, he could have a harem of three thousand people, but he doesn’t think that should be his main goal. What’s the point of unifying Japan?
Can he take Japan to the underworld to continue enjoying himself after he dies? Or will he wait for history to return to its course, and after his death, the descendants of Japanese samurai and temple families will continue to propagate the “Divine Nation Ideology,” bringing disaster to the world in the future?
Even worse, with his involvement, Japan’s strength might increase, leading to the deaths of more innocent people in the future?
Forget it. It’s better to do something more meaningful. There’s no need to cling to a bit of empty fame. He is a modern person who has fallen into ancient times. He should change history and move everything in a better direction, not the other way around, to integrate into this era for a bit of personal fame and become an ancient person with a modern skin.
As for going back to the Great Ming to start a revolution…
Let alone in reality, even in webnovels, no one can guarantee that a rebellion in the Jiajing Era would succeed. This matter severely lacks social and productive forces. Just thinking about it is a pile of trouble. Moreover, he still wants to guard Mount Ise and see if he can take his foolish son back to modern times.
Therefore, after careful consideration, he plans to do these two things—eliminate the “Japanese Divine Nation Ideology” at this critical juncture in time to prevent its further fermentation, and see if Japan can be divided into several countries, completely stripping it of its capacity for evil.
Therefore, Hiyoshi Maru, the Monkey, must die. He is a critical node. If he dies, more people can live, and live better.
If this were a trolley problem, Yuan Ye would probably be the kind of person who would hesitate and then pull the lever, diverting the trolley to run over one person…
At least at this moment, this is his choice. However, he cannot explain these things to A Man and A Qing. He can only hide them in his heart, pondering them like a dark and despicable person in secret, unable to speak them aloud.
He was silent for a long time, looking at A Man and A Qing, and sighed, “Actually, you’ve both noticed that I’ve been acting strange for a while now, but you’ve pretended not to see it. So, let’s do the same this time… There’s no reason, just consider it me being willful.”
A Man and A Qing exchanged glances, still feeling bewildered. But A Qing reached out and gently held Yuan Ye’s hand, showing her trust in him. A Man also stopped asking questions and began to consider his command, crossing her arms and pondering, “Killing him alone is not difficult. Judging by his gait and posture, his martial arts are mediocre. A Qing could kill him in two or three breaths if she acted suddenly. However, this guy lives in Oda Nobunaga’s residence and is one of Oda Nobunaga’s men. It’s best if his death is not linked to us, otherwise, it’s hard to predict Oda Nobunaga’s reaction, which could easily affect Xin Wanjin.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. This was his concern—he didn’t want to affect the execution of his grand plan by killing the Monkey. He also pondered, “That’s right. I don’t care how he dies, as long as he dies. And there’s no time limit, as long as the action is secure and not discovered by anyone.”
“No time limit…” A Man was relieved. Seeing Yuan Ye’s expression earlier, she thought he wanted to act immediately. But with ample preparation time, this task would be extremely simple.
Her mind raced for a moment, and she immediately said with full confidence, “Leave this matter to me. I guarantee he’ll die thoroughly.”
