owlsbooks Chapter 2282
Chapter 2282
Chapter 2282
Despite the spectacle of Vandall and Vostagg's fight, it was really just a routine exercise.
This also illustrates the Asgardians' relaxed attitude... yes, relaxed. They initially thought it was an enemy invasion, but it turned out to be... a petty romantic entanglement. Although making such a big fuss was a bit excessive, considering the identities of the two individuals and Thor's actions, everyone could understand.
You know, if this happened in an ordinary family, the two families would have already had a bloody conflict, and people would have died.
For Asgardians, the consequences of breaking an oath have always been extremely severe. If one party openly breaks their marriage vow, it's equivalent to having their ancestral graves desecrated. The disgrace isn't just felt by the individuals involved, but by their entire family. For example, Sif was born into an immigrant family; it consisted only of Heimdall and Sif. Their other relatives were either long dead or far away in Vanaheim.
Moreover, after so many years of immigration, their family has long been estranged from their original family... This is inevitable, otherwise Heimdall would not be in his current position.
That's why a major conflict didn't develop.
If this had happened to any major family in Asgard, the royal family would have already gone to war with that family. It has nothing to do with loyalty anymore.
Instead, I pledged my loyalty, yet the king desecrated my ancestral graves… Even now, how the rest of Asgard will view the king after such an event is something that needs careful consideration. After all, no one wants to be the next family to have their ancestral graves desecrated.
Although Asgard has a history of over 10,000 years, they are not like the feudal empires and dynasties of ancient China.
Their political system is authoritarian, and the king's power depends entirely on his own abilities. There is no concept of a subject having no choice but to die when the king commands him.
They are somewhat similar to the characteristics of early regimes in ancient Europe.
In the West, feudalism is generally viewed as a system of state governance where a sovereign or central dynasty grants fiefdoms, primarily to members of the royal family, royalty, and meritorious officials. In China, however, feudalism is understood as "granting land and establishing feudal lords." Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty described it in his essay "On Feudalism": "When the Zhou Dynasty possessed the world, it divided the land among itself like melons." This indicates that Liu Zongyuan considered the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties as stages of feudalism. This difference in classification from the West leads to different interpretations of the term "feudal society." The Qin Dynasty's establishment of the prefecture-county system broke with the traditional enfeoffment system, with the emperor directly appointing central and local officials, managing each prefecture, county, family, and even individual level by level. This centralized system undoubtedly differed from Western feudalism.
Europeans hold two diametrically opposed views on this matter: Montesquieu, a great figure of the 18th-century Enlightenment, believed that it was a system unique to medieval Western Europe. However, another Enlightenment luminary, Voltaire, disagreed, saying that feudalism, in three-quarters of our hemisphere, takes many forms.
In the West, feudalism gradually evolved from a specific concept to a broader one. In a narrow sense, feudalism, simply put, refers to the fiefdom system practiced in certain regions and at certain times during medieval Western Europe, and the related issues it brought. This primarily involved the contractual relationship established between lords of different ranks through the granting of titles and fiefdoms. This doesn't even include the relationships between lords and serfs. Later, the scope of feudalism broadened to encompass the political and economic system used throughout Western European society, and then further evolved into a generally accepted system and social model, thus giving rise to the broad concept of feudalism. Feudalism wasn't limited to Western Europe; it actually spread to many parts of the world. Therefore, we often hear terms like "Persian feudalism," "Indian feudalism," "China's feudal era," and "Japanese feudalism."
In short, most historians in Europe and America study feudal systems around the world from the perspective of the concept of feudalism, such as granting fiefs to vassals, lords having large manors, serfdom, and the decentralization of power. This includes China's feudal system.
Western historians, particularly those from Europe, America, and Japan, generally believe that when it comes to "feudalism" and "decentralized power," the feudal system of the Yin and Zhou dynasties in China, as well as the aristocratic system of the Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties, are somewhat similar to the feudal system of medieval Western Europe in terms of their structural similarities.
Land, people, and power were divided into hierarchical levels; nobles who owned their homeland and fiefdoms for generations were accountable to the king above, helping him in wars and paying taxes. They were vassals under their lords, but they also wielded some power and could make their own decisions. Within their fiefdoms, the vassals and commoners were subject to the hereditary nobles. These nobles were the bosses in politics and economics, and they had the final say. These characteristics are present in both Eastern and Western feudal systems, but their internal structures and primary purposes differed significantly.
In short, feudalism in Europe can be summarized in one sentence: "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal."
The unified China was defined as follows: "Under the vast heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king."
Asgard, on the other hand, is more primitive.
Even now, Asgard's political system appears incredibly crude to Earthlings.
But this actually has little impact.
Every social system adapts to the development needs and expectations of its country or region to a certain extent, and therefore has its own rationality and value.
Just because a system is advanced doesn't mean everything will be alright.
The most typical example is the so-called American-style democracy, which many people consider to be the most advanced and perfect system in the world, as if there is no problem that this system cannot solve.
But is that really the case?
In fact, the so-called American democratic system is only okay in the United States, but once it spreads, it will cause a complete mess.
Anyone who has watched the "Odd Small Countries" series knows about Liberia, the "Little America of Africa".
Liberia is a small country in West Africa, bordering Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire. It covers approximately 11.14 square kilometers and has a population of around 430 million. The country's name means "freedom" and "liberation," and its flag bears a striking resemblance to the American flag, making it arguably a nation created by the United States. After the Age of Exploration, this region was known as the "Grain Coast" by European merchants. Europeans came here for the slave trade, selling large numbers of Black people to the Americas as laborers, approximately 60 of whom were enslaved on Southern plantations. After the American Revolutionary War, the abolitionist movement took place in the North, freeing approximately 20 Black people. Although free, the Black population in the North often lived worse than their enslaved counterparts. This led to escalating tensions between Black and white communities in the North. Under these circumstances, some proposed sending Black people back to Africa. They believed this would ensure the stability of white society without bloodshed, while simultaneously promoting American expansion in Africa and spreading American ideals and Christian civilization. Consequently, the British sent a portion of the Black population back to Africa, establishing Sierra Leone. This successful case led to the establishment of the "American Colonization Society," which received congressional funding, marking the beginning of a nation-wide experiment.
Their national emblem reveals the history of their nation-building. In 1821, American officers, members of the Colonial Society, and 33 free Black people landed. Armed with guns, they bought land from a tribal chief for only $300, which became the capital, Monrovia. More and more Black people were subsequently brought in, establishing multiple colonies. The Colonial Society collectively named these colonies Liberia, and the nation was established in 1847. Liberia directly copied the US Constitution, initially adopting democratic elections and a two-party system: the Republican Party and the True Whig Party. The Republican Party primarily represented mixed-race individuals, while the True Whig Party primarily represented African Americans. Initially, the two parties were evenly matched. However, in African society, the white population was already small, and with intermarriage, the white population naturally dwindled. Inevitably, the True Whig Party gained complete control of the government. The process of learning is about discarding the dross and retaining the essence, and Liberia learned the worst aspects of the American system. The US at that time did not treat Native Americans and Black people as human beings, and in Liberia, which inherited the American spirit, only the 5% African American population had the right to vote. These African Americans spoke English, practiced Christianity, controlled access to the sea, wielded economic power, received higher education, and dominated foreign relations. While the US practiced racial discrimination domestically, they followed suit in Liberia, even enslaving the local population. They became the vanguard of reactionary racial oppression, failing to rise up because of the humiliations suffered by their ancestors, instead continuing down the path of oppression and enslavement. Later, they only distributed some power to tribal chiefs, allowing them to directly manage the local inhabitants, constantly exploiting them with various exorbitant taxes and plundering resources. The US used Liberia as a model for the American model, so stability was paramount; prosperity was a secondary concern. The US helped train their military, with African American officers even becoming generals in Liberia, controlling borders and suppressing internal unrest. With the US as their backer, other countries, and even Liberia itself, dared not oppose them, making Liberia the only country in Africa that had not been colonized by Europe. By the 1960s, many African nations had gained independence, and with population growth, African Americans, comprising only 3.4% of the population, held absolute control over the nation's interests. President Duberman implemented political reforms, granting equal rights to all Liberians and alleviating social tensions. However, these were merely temporary solutions, failing to address the root cause of the True Whig Party's dictatorship. Even after the assassination of President William Tobert, the new military government under Doe failed to establish an equal nation and overthrow African American leaders. Instead, it supported its own tribes, allowing one group to dominate another, ultimately plunging the country into civil war. Doe was even brutally murdered by anti-government forces. The new rulers who came to power were merely military figures on one side of the civil war, quickly collapsing – a farcical drama of one regime rising and falling, its end uncertain. The United States, which viewed Liberia as a model for civil war, did nothing more than evacuate its citizens. Deeply mired in civil war, Liberia is now a chaotic, impoverished, and utterly failed nation.
Therefore, all racial conflicts are merely disguised as class conflicts and conflicts of interest; they are not really a matter of skin color. It is always the ordinary people who live in dire straits.
So when it comes to systems, the best approach is simply to find one that suits your needs.
The Asgardians simply couldn't adapt to that so-called democratic and free system; they felt that the current system was perfectly fine.
Of course, this is something that others really can't learn.
After all, the kings of Asgard have been wise rulers for generations... such a thing is actually a low-probability event.
In short, everyone felt it was normal for Sif and Thor to fight, so no one was in a hurry.
That's why Vandall and Vostagg had time to fight.
Only Hall sensed that something was wrong.
"Enough! Something's wrong!"
After observing for a while, Hall realized that things were a bit unexpected.
So he quickly called his two friends to stop.
"Hey! Why did you stop? I'm about to win!"
Van Dahl shouted, his face bruised and swollen.
In reality, this guy was being constantly beaten by Vostagg.
Volstagg had grown overweight, and his agility and strength were not what they used to be. There was no way around it; even Asgardians couldn't resist the magic of time. Volstagg had once been a berserker warrior, known for his ferocity and fearlessness on the battlefield. But now, he had finally grown old.
But this doesn't mean that Vostagg has become weaker.
On the contrary, the long years have given him unparalleled experience.
He may not be able to fight for days and nights with the same energy he had when he was young, but experience can make him even more lethal!
He can always kill with the least amount of movement.
Although Fandral is known as the greatest swordsman in the Nine Realms, to be honest, he is still too inexperienced compared to his teacher.
"Weakling!" Vostagg commented sharply.
But they didn't pursue the matter relentlessly.
After all, Vostagg trusted Hall's judgment more than his unreliable disciple, Fandral.
“Sif… she’s not throwing a tantrum, she’s serious!”
Hall said seriously.
Then Volstagg looked intently at the two fighting in the air.
Sif has the upper hand.
On the one hand, Thor didn't want to hurt his friend, since he was in the wrong.
On the other hand, there's something wrong with Sif.
At some point, a familiar aura emanated from Sif, a scent that Thor found strangely familiar.
Divine power!
"What am I seeing? Sif...she's becoming a god!"
Volstagg was more experienced than anyone else, and he saw almost immediately what had happened to Sif.
That's right, Sif has undergone a transformation!
As Sif wholeheartedly threw herself into the battle... and fought for herself, her entire demeanor underwent a tremendous transformation!
Sif, who used to appear tough, was actually just a follower and had no thoughts of her own!