Chapter 10.
“In the forgotten pages of history, one glimpses the decay that took over the glorious Mingjing Dynasty. Its rulers, absorbed in their own pleasures and internal struggles, seemed to have forgotten their duty to the people. Corruption and complacency seized the court, leaving the nation vulnerable to the claws of anarchy.”
“It was in this dark time that the ‘barbarians’, the men from the east, burst with fury into the land of the Dragon. Savages, some called them, yet history would witness that they were the forgers of a new destiny. The Yamato Dynasty emerged as a beacon of hope amidst the storm. Conquerors, yes, but also bearers of an order that had been lost in the chaos of decay.”
“Catay and Eiyu”
Atlas of the Known World
Great Scholar, Ahmed Aljinn
That morning, Professor Soda was waiting for everyone when they entered the room; his face was as stern as ever, if not more so. He waited, rhythmically tapping his foot on the ground until the bell rang to indicate the start of his class.
With a lazy wave of his hand, he released some reiki, and the door softly closed behind them, the lesson beginning.
“Listen well,” the professor began, “today we will delve into a vital chapter in the history of Catay: the invasion of Hideyoshi and the collapse of the ruling dynasty.”
Ritsu had always been captivated by military strategy, but history often seemed like a slow river dragging away his mind’s attention. Meanwhile, Shinji, at his side, appeared to be in a kind of trance, absorbed by every word of the professor.
“Hideyoshi was a titan, both in the art of war and in the intricate political dance,” the professor continued with evident passion. “He perceived the fracture in the mantle of the Mingjing dynasty, whose celestial mandate had faded. The Catayans were ruled by a tyrannical, corrupt, and incompetent regime that enslaved and abused them mercilessly. Hideyoshi glimpsed the opportunity to liberate them, to bring the light of our civilization to them.”
Professor Soda projected an image on the wall with his reiki. It was a map of the continent, showing the routes of the troops that had invaded the country. At that time, the Forbidden City was occupied by Catay. It must have been a very old map. Since the capital had been captured, at least ten emperors of Eiyu had ascended to the throne, already on the throne of the Forbidden City.
“In the year 3200, Hideyoshi launched his first campaign against Catay,” the professor continued. “His armies were superior in number, discipline, and weaponry. They had warships and reikan battalions. The Catayans only had swords, spears, and arrows. The difference was abysmal.”
The professor pointed with his fan to areas on the map where the major battles had taken place.
“They ravaged everything in their path,” he said. “They took the most important cities, like Xinyuan, Nanling, and Yunding. They defeated the Catayan armies again and again, even when they counted on the support of the hanmin. They reached the gates of Tianxiá and the Forbidden City, the imperial capital.”
Professor Soda paused and looked at them.
“And do you know what the Catayans did?” he asked. “Did they surrender? Did they thank Hideyoshi for his mercy? Did they recognize his superiority? No,” he exclaimed with scorn. “They resisted. They rebelled. They allied with the barbarians from the north. They chose the embrace of beasts over recognizing our victory.”
The professor’s hands danced in the air, and from them rose a tangle of smoke that came to life, weaving a macabre scene: corpses lying on the ground, homes devoured by flames, the pitiful cries of children echoing in the wind. The ethereal silhouettes embodying the Catayans did not cease in their commitment to atrocities.
“This is what they did,” he growled in a cold voice. “Hideyoshi was a hero, a savior who tried to liberate those poor wretches from their own decadence. He offered them the chance to be part of something great, something glorious. But they rejected it, they betrayed him. They preferred to keep living in their filth, in their rot.”
Then, he began to gesticulate vehemently as if haranguing an invisible army.
“Catay is a stain on the map of the world! A disgrace to humanity! A cancer that must be cut out! And we, we are the surgeons who must do it!”
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Ritsu, restless, narrowed his eyes and struggled to hide any trace of disinterest in his teacher’s words. Catay, in his opinion, no longer represented a threat; years had passed since they ceased to be a hostile force, and peace had spread its wings over the continent.
“The peace of our time,” that’s what his era was known as.
Professor Soda closed his fan with a dry snap.
“This is the truth, this is the lesson you must learn,” he pointed out. “There is no mercy for the enemies. There is no compassion for the animals.”
The professor lowered the fan and took a deep breath.
“That’s how it is. And you must accept it and act accordingly. You must be loyal to Eiyu and the emperor. You must be willing to fight and die for your homeland.”
The emperor… on occasion, Ritsu wondered what the life of the Son of Heaven would be like. After all, he too was a child like him. Would he have friends in the golden halls of the palace? Or would the loneliness of the throne be his only company?
“Do you understand?” he asked.
Professor Soda scanned the room with his gaze, looking for someone who dared to answer his question. His eyes stopped on him, who was sitting in the last row, next to Shinji. “Damn it.”
“Ritsu, stand up,” he ordered with a tone that froze the air.
Ritsu stood up, feeling the pressure of the professor’s gaze.
“Tell me,” continued Professor Soda with a mocking smile, “what do you think of the invasion of Hideyoshi and the collapse of the ruling dynasty in Catay?”
“Well...,” he stammered.
“Come on, don’t be shy,” the professor prompted with venomous glee. “Tell us what you think. Surely you have a very interesting opinion, being a beggar from the Outer Walls who has come to this academy for scoring perfect on the imperial exam. It’s clear that you know a lot about history. Surely you know more than everyone here, even more than me, who am an expert on Catay.”
Soda’s tone oozed condescension, hinting that, due to his humble origin, he lacked the intellectual capacity to tackle such complex matters. The thin layer of veiled irony in his words was a subtle way to undermine his wit.
Yet he was no fool.
While he couldn’t physically challenge the bullies that stalked him, he could certainly respond to that question.
Ritsu mustered his courage.
“I believe that the Mingjing dynasty was corrupt and decadent, and that we saved this land,” he proclaimed. “Hideyoshi was a great leader and a great warrior, who wanted to bring civilization and justice to Catay. But I also believe that Catay is no longer a threat, that peace has come to stay.”
He hoped his response would be enough to placate the professor, but he was wrong. Soda’s face twisted into a scowl and he scrutinized him with throbbing disdain.
“What are you saying, boy?” he questioned in a harsh voice. “What peace? Don’t you see that Catay is still our enemy? Don’t you see that they still hate us and conspire against us? Don’t you see that we must be alert and ready for war?”
Ritsu felt his throat close up and, for a moment, he feared his words would be trapped inside him like frightened birds.
But he took a deep breath, loosening the knot that threatened to strangle him.
“Professor,” he began, modulating his voice to sound calm and confident, “I believe that now that Catay has retreated to the inhospitable mountains of the west, we have a unique opportunity for peace. We could offer them to become a tributary state. Thus, they would maintain their sovereignty and their culture intact, but they would recognize our preeminence.”
Professor Soda, in response, appeared more as an unleashed tempest than a teacher. His fingers closed around the neck of Ritsu’s tunic, like an implacable claw that threatened to stifle his voice.
“Naive and dreamer,” he bellowed with a fury that reverberated in the classroom. “You don’t understand a speck of what you’re talking about.”
Shinji, at his side, seemed about to rise in his defense, but before he could intervene, an unexpected figure spoke up.
It was the same girl from Professor Norio’s class.
“Professor Soda, allow me to say something,” she requested in a firm voice.
The girl stood out as one of the most notable students in the class and enjoyed Soda’s own favoritism.
Why was she intervening at that moment? Was she looking to help him?
“Go ahead, Shiori,” he granted, letting go of Ritsu and looking at the girl with interest.
“I think Ritsu is right,” the girl said, looking at Ritsu with a smile. “I think the invasion of Hideyoshi was an act of nobility and glory, and that the ruling dynasty in Catay was a plague that needed to be exterminated. Hideyoshi was a hero, an enlightened one, a heaven-sent to finish them off. Catay was and still is a country of barbarism and ignorance, deserving of our scorn and hostility.”
Ritsu understood instantly that Shiori’s words were nothing but poisoned honey.
She was saying the same thing he was, but in a more cunning way that flattered Soda.
“Given the current weakening of Catay in the face of our overwhelming superiority, we should consider subjecting them to a vassal state condition,” she continued. “In this way, we could establish a relationship of dominance and exploitation over them, without resorting to violence. Thus, we would avoid further useless resistance and rebellion.”
Soda approached her, agreeing with Shiori with a pat on the shoulder.
“You spoke very well, Shiori,” he said. “You have demonstrated great analytical and expressive capacity. I congratulate you.”
Then he turned towards Ritsu and looked at him with disdain, as if he considered him less than an annoying insect.
“On the other hand, you, uncultured peasant, have only babbled nonsensical nonsense. You’re a perfect idiot who obviously doesn’t have the slightest notion of history,” he told him in a tone that dripped with venom. “You should strive to imitate this young lady and her manners. She knows how to defend her arguments with intelligence and eloquence. You can’t even stammer three words in a row, you underdeveloped animal!”
He felt the relentless blush burn on his cheeks, but more than embarrassment, it was the anger that clouded his senses.
He had been stripped of his voice, his arguments trampled, and his own intelligence undermined.
But they had said the same thing! He felt humiliated.
The words of reply fought to escape his throat, like caged beasts, but prudence and experience held him back.
He knew that if he raised his voice, he would only garner more shame, becoming the laughingstock of all.
Therefore, he bowed his head, trying to hide his face behind his strands of copper hair, while biting his lip hard, as if his silence were a shield, the last and only weapon he had left.