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

In a cubicle in the Southern Media Group building, reporter Wang leaned forward, his fingers hovering above the keyboard.

He quickly reviewed his years of knowledge, but found himself completely blank. Regarding the cultural differences between the Central Plains and Jiangnan during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, very few people in his professional journalism field, or even in general education, had analyzed it from this perspective.

Reporter Wang took his hands off the keyboard and gently rubbed his palms together.

"Professor Zhao," Reporter Wang smiled and shook his head, his tone filled with undisguised frankness, "I haven't really studied the angle you mentioned in depth, and I don't know why. Could you explain it to me, Professor Zhao?"

He picked up the recorder next to him and pushed it forward half an inch: "I will also compile this part and let readers across the country see it. It can also be considered as popularizing science for everyone. After all, I believe that most people do not know much about this seemingly chaotic period of history."

Zhao Shuyao did not answer immediately. He adjusted his posture, leaned slightly against the back of the chair, and placed his hands with his fingers interlaced in front of his abdomen.

"Reporter Wang, I really can't call this popular science." Zhao Shuyao waved his hand with a smile, his tone calm and casual. "I can only talk to you about the historical materials I know, since my main research area is the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties."

Zhao Shuyao looked straight at the camera: "Let's first establish a historical context. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Central Plains were in chaos. At that time, warriors were in power, and the social order collapsed. There was a very straightforward saying circulating in society at that time: 'Whoever has the strongest army can become the emperor.' Morality and social order were trampled to the extreme during those decades."

Reporter Wang nodded repeatedly, his pen flying across the notebook as he wrote down the four characters "Warriors in Power".

"But look at the Jiangnan region," Zhao Shuyao said, raising his right index finger. "The Wuyue Kingdom, which occupied Jiangzhe, had a highly prosperous economy after several generations of rulers, and accumulated enormous wealth through the trade in silk and porcelain."

"But why did the rulers of the Wuyue Kingdom throughout history, regardless of whether the Central Plains were under the Later Liang, Later Tang, or Later Zhou dynasties, willingly submit to the Central Plains and pay tribute, consistently recognizing the five states of the Central Plains?"

Reporter Wang put down his pen and looked up at the screen, which was also the most perplexing thing for him at that moment.

"In essence, it's about cultural identity," Zhao Shuyao answered, his voice clear and crisp. "The Central Plains is the birthplace of Han civilization. In the subconscious of the rulers, ministers, and people of the Wuyue Kingdom, it represents the orthodox system of rites and music, and the roots of Chinese civilization. To identify with the Central Plains is to identify with the origin of their own civilization."

Zhao Shuyao put down his fingers, placed his hands back on the table, and added, "Of course, objectively speaking, there are also some realistic geopolitical reasons for this. The Wu-Yue Kingdom occupied a wealthy land, surrounded by powerful neighbors. They needed the Central Plains, a nominally powerful ally, to be their backer."

"However, if we simply seek allies, we will never be able to fulfill the ancestral precept of 'serving the Central Plains well' left by the rulers of Wu and Yue throughout the ages, nor will we be able to choose to 'submit our territory to Song' without resorting to war when the Northern Song Dynasty finally unified the country."

Looking into reporter Wang's eyes, Zhao Shuyao concluded, "That's why I said that. This is cultural cohesion, this sense of cultural identity that is ingrained in our bones. It is much stronger than purely economic interests. This is the foundation of cultural confidence."

After listening to this detailed explanation, reporter Wang sat down and let out a long sigh of relief.

He glanced down at the densely packed text on his laptop, a completely closed-loop logic with no empty slogans, all based on the most fundamental historical facts.

"I understand." Reporter Wang nodded repeatedly, his eyes showing sincere admiration. "Through your explanation, Professor Zhao, I have learned a lot. I must say, you are truly very knowledgeable, far surpassing many academics who only know how to recite from textbooks."

Reporter Wang turned the pen upside down and tapped the table lightly with the cap: "I completely agree with your point of view. As long as we all possess the confidence that comes from this foundation of civilization, what is there that we cannot achieve?"

He then abruptly shifted his tone, posing a new question for confirmation: "So, based on this overarching logic, your view is that the Qing dynasty, through systematic means, made us lose confidence in this most fundamental aspect of our character, right?"

Zhao Shuyao nodded very firmly.

"That's exactly what I mean, and it's the point I've been trying to convey to the outside world." Zhao Shuyao's expression turned solemn. "No matter what a person is doing, even if it's a country or a nation, they must have absolute self-confidence. Only with self-confidence can you achieve twice the result with half the effort when facing external shocks, right?"

He spread his hands and gave examples from life: "This applies to everything, whether it's taking exams, pursuing academic knowledge, or any other aspect of our lives in society. Of course, we must strictly distinguish between 'confidence' and 'arrogance.' Confidence comes from knowing our glorious past, while arrogance is blind ignorance."

Reporter Wang responded with a smile: "Teacher Zhao, we can still make this distinction, and I believe that readers who have read the report will not be blindly arrogant."

Reporter Wang pushed up his glasses, his professional sensitivity as an in-depth reporter kicking in again. This discussion about cultural confidence and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was already profound enough, but he needed a novel and explosive topic that could resonate with the public and have a greater impact on reality.

"Teacher Zhao," Reporter Wang leaned forward, extending an invitation to the screen, "the views you just expressed are very novel and have truly broadened my horizons. However, concepts like literary inquisition and thought control are a bit too abstract for modern readers."

He paused for a second and then made a request: "Could you elaborate a bit more? Use some more specific examples that are closer to our common sense to tell us about the specific negative consequences of this castration, so that I can compile these examples and influence more ordinary people."

This is a high-level news exchange, in which reporter Wang attempts to extract deeper knowledge from Zhao Shuyao's mind, showcasing the professionalism and irreplaceability of his interview.

Upon hearing this request, Zhao Shuyao smiled with a relaxed expression.

"Of course, no problem." Zhao Shuyao leaned forward slightly and accepted the challenge directly.

He quickly recalled the physical archives that would cause later generations great distress.

"Actually, there's a very simple thing that you don't need to go to the archives. Anyone can just open a computer or mobile phone and search for it." Zhao Shuyao's eyes were sharp.

"That's the extraordinary book compiled by Song Yingxing, a scholar from the Ming Dynasty in our country—'Tiangong Kaiwu' (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature). Mr. Wang, do you know where the original manuscript of these versions published in China came from?"

Reporter Wang frowned slightly. He genuinely didn't know these details of publishing history.

"I can tell you," Zhao Shuyao said calmly, but with a hint of coldness, "During the Republic of China era, some scholars in the country wanted to reprint this book. They searched all over the country but couldn't find a complete original copy. In the end, it was our people who copied and retrieved it from the library in Xiao Rizi."

Reporter Wang gasped. The typing on the keyboard stopped abruptly.

"Tiangong Kaiwu is hailed as an encyclopedia of Chinese science and technology in the 17th century." Zhao Shuyao gestured the outline of a book in the air with his hands. "It records in great detail various world-leading technologies at the time, such as agriculture, water conservancy, textiles, and metallurgy. I won't go into the details here today; I believe everyone can find them online."

Zhao Shuyao stared directly into the camera, posing a soul-searching question: "But according to the normal laws of social development, why did such a practical and ingenious book on science and technology, which taught people how to farm, blacksmith, and weave, completely disappear from the local area during the more than two hundred years of Qing Dynasty rule?"

Without needing reporter Wang to answer, Zhao Shuyao directly gave his conclusion.

"Because the book contains the words 'Northern Barbarians,' and even more so because the Manchu rulers were extremely afraid that the Han people would master advanced metallurgical and firearms manufacturing technologies." Zhao Shuyao tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, making a dull sound. "In fact, the real reason was the extremely harsh cultural emasculation and physical destruction by the Manchus at that time."

"This is the technological gap they created, which directly cost us hundreds of years of technological development time." Zhao Shuyao's speech quickened, delivering a dense stream of information.

"Many people now think that Europe is developed and that they have been technologically advanced since ancient times. However, the true enlightenment of modern industrial development in Europe was actually built on the large amount of Chinese technology accumulated and taken away by missionaries and maritime trade from the Song to the Ming Dynasty."

"It wasn't until modern times that they experienced a qualitative leap. Otherwise, how could they have surpassed us in such a short time by completing industrialization? Many things were developed by bringing back the books of our ancestors and researching them on that basis."

This deduction about technology loss and the European scientific enlightenment directly shatters the technological myth narrative system that the West has built over the past century.

However, Zhao Shuyao's output did not end there. He also wanted to completely destroy the prosperous filter of the Manchu remnant in another dimension.

Zhao Shuyao picked up his water glass, drank the last drop of water, and pushed the empty glass aside.

"The backwardness in thinking and technology may not be immediately apparent to everyone." Zhao Shuyao looked at Reporter Wang, his eyes becoming incredibly profound. "Reporter Wang, let's talk about the most obvious difference."

"What's the difference?" Reporter Wang subconsciously followed along.

"Physiological differences in the physical dimension," Zhao Shuyao calmly uttered this term.

Reporter Wang looked bewildered. How did this bring up physiological differences again?

"You can look up the archaeological data from recent years." Zhao Shuyao leaned back in his chair, his tone slowing down. "The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum was made to a one-to-one scale based on real Qin soldiers."

"Look at the data, such as the adult male skeletons unearthed from ancient tombs in the Han Dynasty, and even the ceremonial records of the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard. During the Ming Dynasty and the pre-Qin period, the average height of adult men in the Central Plains was never low, generally over 170 centimeters, and even higher in some areas."

Zhao Shuyao's gaze pierced through the screen, as if he were seeing those black and white images from a hundred years ago.

"But what about the late Qing Dynasty?" Zhao Shuyao sighed. "You can look at those old photos from the late Qing Dynasty that have been preserved. Under long-term and harsh exploitation, ordinary people were starving and severely lacked protein."

"Throughout society, even in the middle class, the average height of adult men has degenerated to an extremely pitiful level, with large numbers of people being hunched over and emaciated."

Zhao Shuyao stretched out his right hand and gestured a height above his head.

"Reporter Wang, imagine that scene." Zhao Shuyao lowered his voice, "When Westerners knocked on the door of the country in modern times, those tall and strong foreigners eating beef stood on the street, and an ordinary citizen of the Qing Dynasty looked up and faced a foreigner who was a head taller or even more than himself."

Zhao Shuyao withdrew his hand and looked directly at the camera: "Under long-term malnutrition and extreme physical oppression, do you think they can still harbor that confidence to defy the world?"