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Chapter 139 0136 [Continuous Firepower] (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader toydemon)

After writer Lao Gui angrily criticized "Wolf Totem," Chen Guiliang immediately updated his blog.

This time, instead of writing a critical article, he reposted his poem "Journey to the Seas".

At that time, blogs did not have a follower function; the main indicator was the number of clicks on each article.

An article that gets over 10 clicks is considered a viral hit.

A click count of 5 to 8 can also be considered top-tier.

Last year, Chen Guiliang serialized "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty" simultaneously on "BlogChina" and "Blogbus". The former had more than 10,000 views per article, while the latter only had two or three thousand views per article.

Some time ago, Chen Guiliang published two articles criticizing the book "Wolf Totem". The first article has received over 8 views, and the second article has received over 5 views – specifically referring to views on BlogChina.

Now, Chen Guiliang begins by quoting Lao Gui's statement, angrily denouncing "Wolf Totem" for encouraging Chinese people to become traitors. He then posts the full text of his own "Journey to the Seas".

Just a few minutes later, a netizen replied.

"I finally understand why the blogger criticized 'Wolf Totem.' [It is within the confines of a small, untamed place that a spirit that supports the heavens and the earth resides!]"

"This damn book deserves to be cursed! I have an idiot classmate who read 'Wolf Totem' and talks nonsense all day long. I took a look and was disgusted. And there's a whole bunch of newspapers and celebrities praising it."

"I was worried that the blogger would be scared into submission after being besieged by the media a while ago. But it seems like everything's fine now, haha. Is the blogger posting their own poems as a battle manifesto?"

“【The fierce winds of the heavens tear at the wings, yet it clings to a lone branch and refuses to break】, 【Suddenly it plunges into a hundred-foot abyss of raging torrents, with black waves like mountains pressing down on its head】, 【Stars hang upside down in a cup of water, and the universe is turned upside down before its eyes】. Looking at the public opinion of the past few days and the present, these few lines of poetry are truly apt.

"Is this the blogger's own poem?"

"You upstairs don't know? This was written by the blogger when he participated in an essay competition in high school."

"So talented!"

"Some of the former educated youth have already dug up the background of the author of 'Wolf Totem' on Tianya Forum. This guy became a leader of the Young Pioneers at the age of 20, but he didn't do anything worthwhile on the grasslands."

"Chen Guiliang is a complete idiot. He saw that 'Wolf Totem' was selling well, so he came here to piggyback on it and grab attention. His own book is written like a primary school student's composition!"

"Haha, another dog has jumped out. Upstairs, you like wolves so much, are you perhaps a wolf that has been domesticated into a dog?"

"People say wolves can't be domesticated, so they're born dogs."

"The blogger expresses his aspirations through poetry; it's well written, and even better done."

"Keep it up, blogger! You be the Black Bird, and we netizens are like the fairy maiden of Gusha and the goddess of the Luo River in the poem, here to support and cheer you on online!"

"..."

This article containing poetry received over 5 views in just two days.

Currently, traditional media outlets are evenly split between supporters and opponents. On the internet, aside from portal websites which are relatively abstract, public opinion on other websites is almost unanimously in favor of the media.

Because in traditional media and online portals, the author and publisher of *Wolf Totem* can use their connections to create positive public opinion. But the vast majority of netizens won't listen to their whims!

In the realm of mass communication, the weak are inherently seen as righteous. People tend to project themselves onto the weaker party and subconsciously side with them.

Chen Guiliang was at a disadvantage; his age, experience, background, and resources were all inferior to his opponent's. In the eyes of many netizens, he was a fearless warrior charging towards a dragon.

Especially among the educated youth who had been sent to work in the grasslands, most of them were furious after reading the book, and they posted on forums to expose the truth.

There were 120 people who were sent to the countryside at the same time as the author, and the vast majority of them are still alive, and quite a few of them have become quite prominent.

Writer Jiang, who has always claimed that he "does not take photos, does not record audio, and does not accept interviews," completely disregarded Chen Guiliang, but the voices of the educated youth group broke his defenses.

Just a few days later, writer Jiang took the initiative to contact the media.

"This book is entirely based on my 11 years of experience living in pastoral areas; there is absolutely no fabrication involved. The recent media criticisms and attacks on my work are one-sided and untrue..."

"The herders don't hate wolves to the bone or despise them as their opponents claim. Wolves are a major force in ecological protection and an important animal for balancing various relationships on the grassland. It is the claims of some people that distort the facts!"

"I can say with certainty that all the materials are authentic, and all the details have a source. Some are from my own personal experience, and some are obtained through my own investigations..."

"The most authoritative judges of this book should not be the educated youth sent to the countryside, but the local herders. Those educated youth didn't understand the situation; they had ulterior motives and biases, and even had problems with their understanding..."

"On the grasslands, I was deeply inspired by the spirit of the wolf totem. For thousands of years, the wolf totem has remained the symbol of the nomadic peoples of the grasslands..."

These interviews with writer Jiang clearly show that he never took Chen Guiliang seriously. What is a young man? He's not worthy of a personal response from him.

Only those educated youth from back then made writer Jiang feel uneasy!

Because many of the educated youth had considerable influence in reality, and they knew his background.

Jiang chose to avoid addressing all the questions raised by Chen Guiliang and other scholars. He also deliberately avoided asking the reporter, since the reporter was one of his invited guests.

……

"Your book sales have skyrocketed these past few days! Especially on Dangdang, Amazon (Joyo.com), and 99bookstore, the total online sales in the last three days have reached nearly 40,000 copies. And that's online, selling over 10,000 copies a day!" Li Xunhuan said excitedly on the phone.

Chen Guiliang asked, "What about 'Wolf Totem'?"

Li Xunhuan said, "Online daily sales have declined sharply, but in reality it doesn't seem to have been affected much. But it's hard to say, offline sales can be faked."

Chen Guiliang asked, "What else do you need my cooperation with?"

“There’s no need for any further action,” Li Xunhuan said. “The marketing for ‘Wolf Totem’ was too aggressive last year, and the content angered a lot of people. It was bound to cause problems sooner or later. If you jump in and stir things up like this, others will naturally follow suit, and some of them are very powerful. ‘People’s Daily’ and ‘Guangming Daily’ are both silent now, only ‘Southern Metropolis Daily’ and Phoenix TV are still being stubborn. A bunch of big shots are fighting, we need to stay away.”

Chen Guiliang said, "I still need to finish my analysis of 'Wolf Totem' on my blog. I need to see it through to the end."

"Whatever you want," Li Xunhuan said, seizing the opportunity to urge Chen Guiliang to finish his manuscript. "You'd be better off writing more of the fourth volume of 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty.'" Just as Li Xunhuan said, Chen Guiliang had already lit the fire; there was no need for any further major actions.

Experts from all walks of life take turns to perform!

In the past two days, the most vehement critic of "Wolf Totem" has become Guo Xuebo, a writer from the grassland tribe, who directly claimed that "promoting the spirit of wolves is an anti-human fascist ideology."

Guo Xuebo has every reason to fire!
First, he is a genuine member of a nomadic people from the grasslands, so he can criticize them harshly without any repercussions.

Secondly, he believed in shamanism and Buddhism, and Wolf Totem insulted his beliefs.

Third, he studies grassland history, culture, and environmental literature, and "Wolf Totem" disrupts his academic field.

Fourth, he published a book called "The Desert Wolf Child" four years ago. At first glance, it seems similar to "Wolf Totem," but in terms of its ideas, vision, and scope, it far surpasses "Wolf Totem."

Ironically, after the explosive popularity of "Wolf Totem," pirates aggressively promoted "The Desert Wolf Child." Some claimed it was a sister work, others a sequel, and some even changed the author's name!

How could Guo Xuebo tolerate this?
Now, a legitimate bookseller has approached Guo Xuebo, intending to reprint "The Desert Wolf Child".

Whether it's to make money by selling books or to vent personal emotions, Guo Xuebo will relentlessly criticize "Wolf Totem"!
Old Gui said that "Wolf Totem" encourages Chinese people to become traitors.

Guo Xuebo said that "Wolf Totem" promotes fascism and is an anti-human book.

Chen Guiliang had just hung up the phone when Li Xunhuan called again: "The publishing house that collaborates with Guo Xuebo wants you to write a preface for the reprint of 'The Desert Wolf Child'."

This collaboration...

Chen Guiliang did not agree rashly, but said, "Let me take a look at that book first."

“Okay,” Li Xunhuan said. “Then I’ll give them your phone number, and the publisher will send the book in a couple of days.”

With his phone in his pocket, Chen Guiliang rode his bicycle to class.

School has already started.

Chen Guiliang failed 6 out of 14 courses in the last semester.

Chen Guiliang was quite pleased with this and thanked the teachers of the other eight subjects for their leniency.

He thought he was going to fail more than 10 subjects.

He rode his bicycle at breakneck speed all the way, and before he even entered the teaching building, students recognized him and shouted from the roadside, "Chen Guiliang, awesome!"

The reason people call him awesome is, of course, because of this war of words.

Writer Jiang's past has been exposed. Anyone who's been following this story knows which side to support. Well... except for certain humanoid beings.

This lesson is "History of Chinese Civilization," a foundational course exclusive to the Yuanpei Class.

When Chen Guiliang arrived at the large classroom, he was immediately given a warm welcome by the students of the Yuanpei Class. This treatment far exceeded what was expected when news of his starting a company spread.

Students admire things that are different from those of adults!
Professor Zhu clapped his hands on the podium: "Welcome back, hero!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Clap clap clap..."

The whole class laughed and clapped together.

Professor Zhu added, "It would be even more perfect if you removed the mercenary aspect of selling books by extortion during your critique of 'Wolf Totem'."

"Hahaha!"

The whole class burst into laughter again.

Chen Guiliang was both amused and exasperated.

Professor Zhu always speaks incisively and without holding back.

Professor Zhu is an art scholar, and he was responsible for the section on ancient Chinese art in his book "A History of Chinese Civilization".

This person's thoughts are somewhat contradictory.

He greatly admired ancient Chinese art and was committed to the modernization of Chinese art, believing that the modernization of art was not a Western monopoly.

At the same time, there is a certain lack of cultural confidence, and there is always an unintentional, subtle desire to gain Western recognition for Chinese art. There is an excessive concern for Westerners' opinions.

On the one hand, there is a desire to protect and develop traditional Chinese art, believing that better economic development is more conducive to such protection; on the other hand, there is a feeling that the protection and development of traditional art is too commercialized and is a destruction of traditional art.

He is arrogant yet insecure; he can see the problem but doesn't know how to solve it.

He shared the same impression of Chen Guiliang. He admired Chen Guiliang's courage in being the first to criticize "Wolf Totem," but despised Chen Guiliang's motives of deliberately trying to provoke a controversy.

Of course, Professor Zhu's lectures are still very impressive; even people who don't understand art can find them fascinating. And he always manages to pinpoint the crux of the problem in a single sentence.

Before the class was over, Chen Guiliang received a text message.

Milan, who had participated in the New Concept Writing Competition with him, sent Chen Guiliang a message: "Someone is doing promotions on the Fudan campus, going into each dormitory with gifts. As long as you register on 5Q Campus Network, you can get a small gift. Your Renren.com has a competitor now."

"Thank you for reminding me," Chen Guiliang replied.

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(Thanks to Dao Ye for the generous donation.)
(End of this chapter)