Chapter 354.1
Better to betray than to be betrayed.
Why wait for revenge after being betrayed when one could eliminate the threat preemptively?
This might seem like an apocalyptic mindset devoid of trust, but the concept of ‘betray first to avoid betrayal’ was surprisingly traditional. Perhaps the most famous historical example was Cao Cao.
Trust, after all, was a relatively recent invention.
People tend to envision a contrast between innocent savages and cunning, faithless civilized people, but reality is the opposite. Trust and honor were inventions of civilization.
When people began to form agricultural societies, build cities, and recognize close-combat groups as nobles, concepts like ‘morality, honor, and trust’ emerged. These were social restraints to keep powerful military groups from throwing society into chaos.
Groups commonly known as ‘knights’ pursued the illusion of honor and wore this yoke willingly, which ultimately became the privilege of the nobility.
People admire the successful, and so, civilized people came to revere the values of ‘morality, honor, and trust’ once reserved for nobles. This became the foundation of social order, something barbarians never understood.
Not because they were necessarily practical-minded, but because they simply hadn’t needed it. That’s why they remained barbarians.