Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 179: Forty Years Passed in the Blink of an Eye
You quietly experienced a trolley problem...

Should we allow the world to collapse in the near future, and the entire world to perish together, or should we sacrifice the lives of tens or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in exchange for another forty years of world peace?

[Back before you overthrew the God-Emperor, you faced a similar dilemma. Back then, you were full of ambition and determination, determined to defeat the God-Emperor, the ultimate boss... So when the God-Emperor offered you a choice, you, full of ambition, chose neither, but instead chose to fight the ultimate boss to the death!]

“There is no such thing as sacrificing one person to save another, because all lives are inherently equal!”

You still remember your passionate response at that time, and every time you think about it, the heroic spirit in your heart can still surge again!

[Back then, you were a passionate young man who dared to break the rules, so you never succumbed to such a rigid and ridiculous choice.]

[But now, you have unknowingly betrayed your former bold words and become the person you despise the most.]

[You truly made a pathetic choice, gritting your teeth and choosing to sacrifice a few in exchange for the continuation of life for more people...]

[You who dare to break the rules, eventually succumb to the rules. ]

[Why? Have you become corrupt? Have you become a second God-Emperor?]

[If you ask yourself, the answer is: No.]

You recognize that you are not corrupt, nor do you put your own interests above the public interest. The reason you did something inconsistent with your words and deeds back then is because you are more considerate than before...

Just like when Li Zicheng started the uprising, he didn't need to worry about whether his attack on the Ming Dynasty would lead to the defeat of the Ming-Qing War, because the Ming Dynasty had already threatened everyone's life and property!

[Under the swords and guns of the officials and soldiers who are collecting grain and arresting people, no matter how the Jiannu army leads the bestiality and cannibalism, that will be a matter for the future. If we don't rebel and fight the Ming Dynasty now, then everyone, their wives, children and the elderly will die in the ditch right now...]

It was precisely in this desperate situation that Li Zicheng's uprising was able to gain the support of the majority. Even the people of the Central Plains rushed to help Li Zicheng fill ditches and attack cities, even if it meant death... The literati were horrified and scolded the Central Plains people for being unpatriotic! Why didn't they just starve to death at home with their entire families, instead of causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty?!

[I would rather be a hungry corpse than a praying mantis…]

[Similarly, when you're a revolutionary, you don't need to worry about the consequences of breaking the rules. Revolution is paramount. As long as you can achieve your goal of overthrowing the God-Emperor, then you're doing nothing wrong. So, you can challenge the God-Emperor with righteous ambition every day!]

[But... once you truly overthrow the Divine Emperor and personally take his place, your concern will no longer be defeating any enemies, but rather how to safeguard the interests of the majority of the world's people.]

If you still cling to the old belief that "all men are created equal, and no one should be sacrificed to save another," then the world will be destroyed in an instant...

[From the perspective of the lives of the majority, you can only make this decision to sacrifice others... You can't have your cake and eat it too, so you have to make the choice that maximizes your benefits.]

No matter how short forty years is, it is still forty years. During these extra forty years, most people can still enjoy peace and live a colorful life, instead of ascending directly to the Western Paradise to pursue eternal happiness in a paradise flowing with milk and honey...

Others may not know that the Western Paradise is fake, but as the head of the missionary movement, don't you know this? There has never been such a thing as the Western Paradise. When you die, you're dead. When you die, there's nothing left!

So unless you are crazy, you will never shout "Everyone's life is equally precious, and the minority should not be sacrificed for the majority!"

[The only thing you can do is to let the world enjoy these last forty years of peace...]

[If you can continue a little, then continue a little...]

【…】

[Thus, the Divine Emperor once again gained divine power and began His reign!]

However, due to your existence, He no longer dares to commit acts that defy Heaven and oppress the people. Furthermore, the prisoner rehabilitation program over the past century has been highly effective, allowing Him to regain His heart as a sage ruler. Therefore, His restoration did not lead to a return to darkness in the world.

He continues the policies you left behind. Aside from occasionally stirring up minor conflicts and artificially creating "rebels" to maintain divine power, the state of the country is essentially the same as it was during your time.

【And this is enough...】

[However, you still can't let go of the depression in your heart, so although you appear to be "ascending to bliss", in the unknown corner, you are still doing things within your ability.]

[For example, stabilizing the climate, bringing abundant rain, and dispelling heavy rain and snowstorms...]

You used your divine power to suppress natural disasters, maintaining a "paradise on earth" as best you could: here, no natural disasters would reduce food production, no extreme weather would take people's lives, and everyone had no worries about food, clothing, or wine!

[Corrupt officials and landlords had no chance of success. Even if they did, the Divine Emperor, thirsting for divine power, would conveniently label them "traitors" and hang them from the old crooked tree in a matter of minutes...]

[There is no "Western Paradise" in the world, but the human world has become "Heaven"! ]

You and the Divine Emperor work together, one visible hand, one invisible hand. Together, you grasp and strengthen this world, which only has forty years left, and govern it like paradise!

[They will live a dreamlike and perfect life in the cradle of unprecedented peace, until the moment of awakening...]

【…】

[In the 276th year of Chongzhen, the Divine Emperor was restored and the Heavenly Lord retired from the world!]

In the 277th year of Chongzhen's reign, the Divine Emperor vigorously cracked down on corruption. Although there weren't many truly corrupt officials under your long reign, the story still spread like wildfire, and people at the time praised you: "Your Majesty has inherited the legacy of our Taizu!"

[In the same year, you, the hidden Heavenly Lord, also began to suppress natural disasters silently, and the weather became favorable...]

[In the 280th year of Chongzhen's reign, the world was at peace!]

[In the 290th year of Chongzhen's reign, the world was at peace!]

[The Chongzhen Emperor has enjoyed peace and prosperity for three hundred years!] [……]

[In the 325th year of Chongzhen's reign, the world was at peace!]

"Forty-nine years have passed, and the world-destroying disaster the Divine Emperor foretold has yet to arrive, to the point where you're beginning to wonder if He's lying to you..."

[But just as you were becoming suspicious, something strange happened! ]

[That year, the Academy of Sciences reported again: The laws of heaven and earth were once again abnormal, but the abnormalities were completely different from those previously recorded!]

This time, both iron balls took off simultaneously! The air in the two copper halves was pumped out until it turned into water! The carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the experimental chamber delighted the mice to death...

[It is said that the mouse was still alive when it died, and passed on valuable experimental genes to a female mouse...]

[This is so scary! So weird!]

[Researchers can't help but feel uneasy! ]

[And when this strange and terrible news reached you through the Divine Emperor, even though you still mourned for the victims, you couldn't help but fall into a state of bewilderment...]

[What's going on? It wasn't like this last time?]

[You were just about to ask the Divine Emperor about your doubts, but the Divine Emperor has already come to you!]

“Time is running out…”

He sighed, "I know what you want to ask, but this time is different from last time... Last time, the collapse occurred due to a lack of divine power support... This time, the disintegration is caused by the conflict between the two divine powers."

"So neither the phenomenon of the last experiment will occur, nor will anyone from outside come in. The demise of heaven and earth will no longer be a slow process of gradual collapse, but rather a..."

[“Sudden explosion!”]

You were stunned. Although you still didn't quite understand what was said, you at least understood the news of impending destruction...

You shake your head and say, "There's no difference... Gradual collapse is death, sudden disintegration is also death..."

"Even the latter will die without pain or fear... This is a good thing."

Good news?

The Divine Emperor paused for a moment after hearing this, and finally sighed, "You're right. At least it won't cause unnecessary panic... The people have enjoyed a peaceful and carefree life, and they deserve to die without panic and pain."

"This is what we've been pursuing for forty years...isn't it?"

[You nodded silently, with only a look of loneliness in your eyes...]

[Suddenly, you began to speak, as if mumbling to yourself, but also as if asking Him.]

"You're saying... my choice is meaningless?"

[“Even though we sacrificed ourselves, we couldn’t save the people. Everyone will die in the end…”]

[“We just let one group of people die in despair first, and then let another group of people die in peace…”]

[The Divine Emperor shook his head.]

[“Don’t ask me, the choice is yours, I know nothing…”]

You ignored His classic attempt to shift the blame. After a moment's silence, you said, "Tell me, rather than letting a bunch of people die in pain and despair, shouldn't I let everyone die peacefully and easily?"

"Living forty more years is meaningless. It's better to die together for the equality and peace..."

The Divine Emperor finally couldn't help himself and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think so? A good death is worse than a miserable life. They can live forty more years. How can this be meaningless?"

“Just like you told me back then, although we all live in an illusory world, we all really exist. They are alive just like us… We cannot regard them as false, because we live in the same world as them, so we are all real. And because we are all real, we should try to make most of them live longer…”

The Divine Emperor spoke eloquently, even seeming a bit smug: "How is it? This is the result of my years of study!"

[I'm sure you, Zhou, will also look at me with a new eye, right? I've already prepared the classic response: "A scholar should be treated with new eyes after three days of absence. Why are you so late in seeing things?"...]

【However, the script did not proceed as he imagined.】

Because after listening to His high-flown speeches, not only did you not regain your passion, but you actually became possessed, mumbling to yourself with your head down.

[“True…false, because I am real, they are real too, but…”]

“I’m fake…”

……

(End of this chapter)