He fiercely criticized the Manchu scholar clique and the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

The red plastic canopy of Old Wang's fried noodle stall rattled in the wind.

Zhao Shuyao picked up a mouthful of noodles with shredded meat covered in chili oil and slowly put it into his mouth. The range hood above his head made a dull hum, but the small space in front of him was unusually quiet.

The Huawei Mate 4, with its slightly chipped paint, lay flat on the wooden table with a missing corner, its screen lit up.

Toutiao's recommendation algorithm had already shown its potential in 2016, with the number of views for the video of someone being secretly filmed in a lecture hall jumping at a visible rate.

Half an hour ago it was 100,000, now refresh the page and it has jumped to over 300,000.

Zhao Shuyao pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, then swiped his index finger down the screen to bring up the comments section.

This is the battlefield he is most familiar with in both his past and present lives.

The first top comment has already garnered over a thousand likes. A user with the ID "岁月如歌" typed a long string of exclamation marks: "I know this old man, Professor Yan, the one who lectured on Qing Dynasty history on 'Lecture Room of the Hundred Schools of Thought.' He used to be so eloquent on TV, quoting classics one after another. What happened to him today? He didn't even have a chance to retort. He was really stumped by someone's questions?"

Zhao Shuyao looked at the comment, typed on the keyboard, and casually replied: "It's not that I was stumped, it's that I didn't follow his routine. Once you take off that academic yellow coat, we're all just ordinary people."

The finger continued to slide down.

The user "Northeast Erha" replied below: "That's why it's so interesting to watch intellectuals argue. Just listen to their vocabulary. Not a single dirty word was used in the entire text. They used terms like 'marriage exchange,' 'large-scale construction,' and 'ideological castration,' literally stripping people bare."

"Did you guys see the last paragraph? That young man's insults were so vicious, it was a complete replay of Zhuge Liang verbally abusing Wang Situ to death! Are college students this fierce now? I need all the information about this guy!"

In the information age, there are no secrets. In less than ten minutes, a tall building had been erected below, and insiders began to enter.

"Don't bother asking, upstairs. This guy is Zhao Shuyao, a third-year graduate student in the History Department at Southeast University." A netizen with a Southeast University logo as their profile picture chimed in, "He's really something, but this has blown up too much. He's about to graduate, and he's pointing his finger at an industry leader like that. If he gets blacklisted by academia, how will he ever find a job?"

Another comment quickly followed, with obvious regret: "That's right. As far as I know, Senior Zhao originally had a very good chance of getting a teaching position at the university. But after what happened today, let alone staying at the university, it's uncertain whether he can even get his degree certificate smoothly. Actually, I really hope he can stay. There are too few people who dare to question authority to his face. Maybe he can teach us something real in the future."

Zhao Shuyao picked up a few bean sprouts and chewed them. Stay at the university? He wouldn't even want that kind of place where seniority determines everything and you have to be mindful of the department head's feelings just to get a lecturer spot.

However, public opinion is never one-sided. Just when everyone was overwhelmingly condemning the academic clique and praising the protagonist's courage, another voice emerged.

A user with the ID "Objective and Rational View of History" posted a long comment: "Don't get too excited yet. Zhao Shuyao's words do sound satisfying and cater to everyone's anti-authoritarian mentality, but haven't you noticed that he hasn't presented any substantial evidence at all? A large part of those views are just his own logical deductions. Even if the Qing emperors were incompetent, Kangxi's recapture of Taiwan and suppression of the Three Feudatories were real achievements, not as bad as he claims. Especially that last joke about Kangxi's bloodline theory, it's pure cheap fiction. Using this kind of thing to attack people in an academic lecture is too low-class."

This comment was quickly pushed to the top of the list.

The person who objected immediately rushed forward: "Weren't you listening? They clearly stated that the calculations were based on county records and local financial deficit ledgers! Where's the evidence?"

"Objective and Rational View of History" replied instantly: "He says a county gazetteer is a county gazetteer? I could say I've read the Jade Emperor's daily records! How many of you here have actually touched a Qing Dynasty county gazetteer in an archive? How can you prove he's right if you've never seen it before? He's just fabricating historical materials to grab attention and stir up trouble!"

This reply was highly provocative and instantly hit a blind spot in the knowledge of ordinary netizens.

That's how the internet works; you throw out an opinion, and someone will immediately use the information gap to create new barriers.

Zhao Shuyao stared at the screen, swallowing the last bite of noodles. Someone below argued in his defense: "If you have doubts, then provide evidence! Why should the other person have to come out and prove themselves just because you have doubts? Isn't that a vicious cycle?!"

Zhao Shuyao gave a thumbs up to the netizen who spoke up for him, then locked his phone screen and put it back in his pocket.

He knew perfectly well that arguing with such people in the comments section was pointless. Once he fell into the self-proving trap, the other party would use countless tricky angles to lower his IQ.

There is only one primitive and violent way to deal with this kind of questioning.

"Boss, check please."

Zhao Shuyao stood up, scanned the QR code to pay thirteen yuan, and turned to walk out of the noodle stall.

The evening breeze, carrying the chill of early March, brushed against my face, which was very refreshing.

As this short video goes viral, he will soon experience a surge in online traffic. Today's lecture was just the first step. He has countless copies of core historical materials deciphered in his previous life and top-secret files from local archives in his mind. As long as he returns to his dormitory, he will organize these materials into long videos, add text and images as evidence, and then upload them to screens across the entire internet.

As I walked to the east gate of the school, groups of students were walking home from evening self-study under the plane trees on both sides.

As soon as Zhao Shuyao stepped into the school gate, he heard the voices of three boys in front of him drifting over on the wind.

"They really took him away? Damn, when the ambulance came, I thought someone had a heart attack." The tall guy on the left gestured with both hands, his tone exaggerated.

The boy in the middle, wearing glasses, nodded repeatedly: "I saw it clearly at the time. You didn't see the scene. When Senior Zhao threw out the last sentence, 'You old scoundrel with a white beard,' the old man's face turned ashen. He pointed at the man with his right hand but couldn't say a word. He rolled his eyes and slid off the chair."

"The people accompanying him were frantic. The doctor from the school hospital rushed over and measured his blood pressure, which was 220. Apparently, his blood vessels almost burst," the shorter guy on the right chimed in.

"The entire history department is buzzing with excitement right now. Just as Zhuge Liang famously verbally defeated Wang Lang on the battlefield, our senior from Southeast University, Zhao, has stunned a renowned scholar on the podium with his witty remarks! This fighting spirit is simply inhuman!"

"But as good as it is, Senior Zhao is probably in trouble now. I heard that several vice deans in the department are furious."

The three walked towards the dormitory area while discussing, completely unaware that the subject of their conversation was less than five meters behind them.

Zhao Shuyao listened to their discussion without stopping, his expression remaining calm.

A meeting in the department? That's perfectly normal. If someone of Yan Chongnian's stature gets so angry on the Southeast University campus that he needs emergency medical attention, the university's higher-ups will definitely have to give an explanation to the academic community and the higher-ups.

In this system, the best way to solve a problem is always to solve the problem of the person who raised it.

Zhao Shuyao turned a corner along the tree-lined path and had just reached the foot of the graduate student dormitory building when his cell phone in his pocket emitted a piercing vibration.

When I took it out, three words were flashing on the screen: Zhang Jianguo.

His real mentor was the deputy director of the History Department at Northeastern University, an old-fashioned scholar who was adept at navigating academic circles and always advocated "harmony brings wealth."

Zhao Shuyao stood under the streetlight, looking at the flashing name, but did not answer immediately.

He looked at the boys' dormitory building not far away, where a few flying insects were swarming around in the yellowish glow of the streetlights. He knew exactly what he would face after answering this call.

The vibration lasted for a full ten seconds, as if he wouldn't hang up until he answered.

Zhao Shuyao swiped his thumb lightly to press the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Director Zhang, good evening." Zhao Shuyao's voice was steady.

"Zhao Shuyao, at least you know how to answer the phone!"

Zhang Jianguo's furious roar exploded through the receiver, accompanied by a few breaths of exasperation, clearly indicating that he had been suppressing his anger for a long time.

"You! Right now! Get your ass to the administrative office in the second teaching building!" Zhang Jianguo's voice sounded particularly sharp in the night wind. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused today?"

"Mr. Yan is still in the emergency room of the First Municipal Hospital, undergoing emergency treatment! The hospital's Party Secretary and Dean are all waiting for news; your opportunity to stay at the university has been completely cancelled!"

Zhang Jianguo slammed his hand on the table.

"You've got some nerve! Who gave you the right to launch such a vicious personal attack in public? Are you prepared to explain this to the university and the historical community?!"

Zhao Shuyao held his phone, listening to the thunderous fury coming from it, and slightly raised his head to look at the deep night sky above.