Section Twelve

"Very well, Your Majesty, tell me, why are you doing this?!" Rick’s face was flushed crimson, his hands waving wildly in the air, his expression one of extreme fury.

Lin Feng sat upright in his grand chair, watching him coldly without saying a word. A silence descended upon the hall.

"...General Rick Lasher of the Imperial Guard, pays his respects to His Majesty the King!" Rick felt a sudden wave of embarrassment, realizing his breach of protocol, and dropped to one knee, bowing his head.

"So, you still remember that you are a general of the Great Han Empire. I thought you had forgotten."

"Yes, I am a general of the Great Han!" Rick looked up, his voice persistent. "Then, can you tell me why we must launch an expedition against Europe?"

Lin Feng frowned. This plan was highly classified; he had long ago instructed Zhou Peigong and the others not to leak it. He wondered how Rick had found out. "Why can we not launch an expedition to Europe?"

"No... no, I am not saying we cannot go to war with Spain..." Rick quickly realized his poor phrasing and scrambled to correct himself. "I am asking you, Your Majesty—why have you ordered the army to slaughter civilians? Why have you issued such a base and despicable order?!"

"How do you know I issued such an order?!"

Rick was incensed. He sprang to his feet and shouted, "Oh, God, are you still going to deceive your own general?! Within the last two weeks, General Zhou Peigong has transferred a large number of elite soldiers and officers from my ranks. They are my loyal companions; did you think I wouldn't notice?!"

"So that’s it." Lin Feng understood. He looked up, gazing steadily at the furious Rick, and said calmly, "And is there something wrong with that?"

"Of course there is, Your Majesty!" Rick shouted. "We are soldiers, not beasts! Our weapons are meant for enemies, not innocent women and children, is that not so, Your Majesty?" His expression was complex—a mixture of anger, sorrow, and disappointment. He looked at Lin Feng, pleading, "Please answer me, Your Majesty—please tell me this is a shameless rumor. You are benevolent and courageous... you wouldn't do such a thing, would you?"

Lin Feng sighed, shook his head, and said, "You are wrong. That is exactly what I intend to do!"

"..." Rick’s eyes widened. "But... why must you do this?"

"I have an obligation to do it, and I must do it!" Lin Feng said coldly. "I am the King of the Great Han, and I must protect all Chinese people. The Spanish slaughtered thirty thousand Chinese expatriates on Luzon; the blood of Chinese women and children has stained the entire South China Sea. Don't you know this?! I do not believe you are unaware!"

"So you would go and slaughter Spanish civilians?!" Rick gritted his teeth. "This is wrong. I know the Spaniards on Luzon were shameless executioners—cruel, vicious, and capable of every evil—but what does that have to do with those Spanish civilians?!" He took a deep breath, placed a hand over his chest, and bowed. "I am willing to lead the army to eliminate those shameless criminals for you, but please, I beg you, rescind your order. Do not vent your rage upon innocent women and children!"

Lin Feng stared at Rick, then suddenly let out a dry laugh, looking at him with interest. "General, you mean to say—'you will eliminate them for me'?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, if you are willing."

"Very well, Mr. Rick. Tell me, where do you live now?"

Rick was taken aback. "Willow Alley in the east of the city..."

"Do your neighbors respect you?"

"Of course—I am a general of the Kingdom," Rick frowned. "According to the customs of the Great Han, they must kneel and greet me when they see me!"

"Very good. Have they ever discriminated against you, or spoken ill of you behind your back?"

Rick thought for a moment and said decisively, "No. Although I am a foreigner, the people of the Great Han respect me. I hear that in the teahouses of Beijing, there are many legends and stories; I am a hero there, brave and loyal!"

"And what of your subordinates? Do they ever defy you or disobey your orders?"

"No, that is impossible!" Rick said proudly. "All the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard are my comrades. They trust me, respect me, and we live together like brothers. No one dares to disobey my orders—just like that time we fought the Tatars in Shanxi. Even if I ordered them to die in the darkness, no one would hesitate!"

Lin Feng nodded. "I see. Then let me ask you this: if someone were to slaughter the people of the Great Han and insult your subordinates, what would you do?"

"They would be my enemies. I would defeat them, crush them, and send them all to hell!" Rick declared passionately. "Without a doubt, even if it meant dying on the battlefield, I would not hesitate!"

"Very well. Then I tell you now—thirty thousand of those people who respect you have been shamelessly murdered," Lin Feng said heavily. "They were kind; they broke no laws. But they were slaughtered by the Governor of the Spanish Kingdom and the Spanish regular army!"

"This..." Rick was caught off guard, stunned for a long moment. "I know this, which is why I am willing to march against those villains for you!..."

"Not for me!" Lin Feng cut him off, pointing at Rick’s nose. "For yourself! The people of the Great Han respect and love you; the soldiers of the Great Han trust and obey you. Do you not feel you have an obligation to protect them, sir?!"

"Yes!..." Rick stared at Lin Feng, nodding slowly. "Yes, I must protect the people of the Great Han!"

"And so must I!" Lin Feng said solemnly. "That is why I issued the order for the expedition!"

"But... but..." Rick suddenly realized, rushing to argue, "But your order is not to march against the Spanish soldiers who committed these atrocities, but against innocent civilians!!!"

"Innocent?!" Lin Feng looked at Rick with a strange expression. "Do you truly believe those civilians are innocent?"

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Rick said without hesitation. "There is no doubt about that. War is the business of soldiers!"

"Very well. Let me ask you: if a criminal uses his hands to kill many innocent people, and uses his lower body to rape many poor women, what punishment do you think we should inflict upon him?"

"Hang him!"

"Is that so?" Lin Feng laughed. "My dear General, how can you think that? He used his hands to kill and his lower body to rape, so I suppose the other parts of his body are innocent—his head, eyes, nose, thighs, feet, and so on. If you insist on hanging him, that is surely wrong, isn't it? To let the neck and head suffer for the crimes of the hands and the lower body—don't you think that is very cruel?"

Rick’s eyes widened, and for a moment, he did not know how to refute this.

"Do you know why I helped Mr. Ferdinand Verbiest establish a university?" Lin Feng asked. He immediately provided the answer: "I hope more enlightened people in Europe will wake up, send students to China to be nurtured by the glorious and great Chinese civilization, discard the evil and bloody habits of Europe, and come to the East to learn our advanced scholarship—including philosophy, humanities, social ethics, and advanced political systems. I hope those numb, unfeeling people can learn 'propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor' from the East, reform their barbaric and backward customs, and move closer to a civilized world."

"Oh... God!" Poor Rick slowly began to recover from the series of blows, nodding thoughtfully. "Your Majesty, what you say makes great sense. There are indeed many irrational things in Europe today, but we are not barbarians, there is no doubt about that!"

"Is that so?" Lin Feng looked at Rick with a faint smile. "Let me give you two examples: Is it not popular among European nobility to wear wigs—those disgusting things woven from the fur of beasts? And to smear their faces with thick layers of paint?"

"Yes..."

"Well then, have you ever seen people like the American Indians or tribes in the African jungles?" Lin Feng laughed loudly. "Do they not also wear heads of pigs or dogs and paint their faces with all sorts of patterns?"

Rick understood immediately, as if struck by a heavy blow. He trembled, "Yes... yes, they do..."

"And regarding dietary habits, is it not popular among European nobility to eat steak, and it must not be cooked through—it must be half-raw, dripping with blood to be considered delicious?..."

"Yes... in some places that is true..."

"So..." Lin Feng sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "My dear General, can all this not prove something? When have you ever seen our officials engage in such tedious, foolish nonsense?"

"..."

"Actually, our Chinese civilization has its own flaws, but compared to Europe, it is a paradise on earth!" Lin Feng smiled. "Here, even the lowliest, poorest farmer, if he is willing to work hard, study knowledge, and pass the imperial examinations, can become the Prime Minister of the country, the second-most powerful person after the Emperor. No one will ever discriminate against him just because he is poor, or because his father or grandfather was not a nobleman. You tell me—can Europe achieve this?"

"...Not yet... not yet, Your Majesty!" Rick said, feeling dejected, yet admitting the truth.

"All of this must change. The people need freedom and happiness. The current ethics, morals, and social order of Europe are sinful and must be Orientalized! Rick, for the sake of all the people of Europe, we must declare war on the evil forces of Europe!" Lin Feng said fiercely. "Just as you told me before: like a knight, fight for justice and the people!"

"Are... are you going to invade Europe?!..."

"Invade?!" Lin Feng chuckled, shaking his head. "No, why would I invade Europe? It is tens of thousands of kilometers away. Do you think I could effectively rule there? Everything I do is for the benefit of the European people and the glory of all mankind. I do not want an inch of European land, nor will I plunder even a scrap of Europe’s wealth."

He took a deep breath, looked intently at Rick, and said loudly, "I only hope that all Europeans can embrace peace and kindness as virtues, stop plundering and killing, yearn for an advanced civilized world, and that every European takes pride in speaking Chinese. I hope they can understand propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and trust; can recite the teachings passed down by the sages Confucius and Mencius; and respect noble sentiments such as tolerance, kindness, and compassion. Then, together, we shall work to shatter those shameless shackles, discard those habits that represent the parasitic nobility and clergy, stop eating bloody steaks, enjoy carefully cooked food, wear silk garments, live in warm, sturdy, beautiful Chinese-style houses, and join hands with us to live happily together on this earth!"

Rick was moved. "Your greatness and kindness are unparalleled, Your Majesty. I feel honored to fight under your leadership!"

Lin Feng nodded, his expression serious. "I am doing exactly that. Spain is just the beginning. To save all of Europe, blood and slaughter are unavoidable, just as the tolerant and merciful knight must also be equipped with a sharp sword. For the sake of Europe’s awakening, the Spanish people must also make sacrifices!"

Rick lowered his head. After hesitating for a long while, he looked up at Lin Feng and asked, "Your Majesty, if... if the evil nobles and kings of Europe cannot accept civilization, what do you intend to do?"

"What else can I do?" Lin Feng replied without hesitation. "Fight. We must fight. I believe that justice will eventually triumph over evil. We will defeat them, crush them—glory belongs to Europe, and may Confucius shine upon the world!"