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

As soon as Zhao Shuyao's hands left the keyboard, the private message he sent to Lin Jing from **News showed as "delivered".

The phone screen on the right side of the computer desk lit up instantly, accompanied by a steady vibration, and a landline number with "Beijing" as its location appeared in the center of the screen.

Zhao Shuyao stared at the string of numbers, his eye muscles twitched slightly, and his heart rate increased noticeably. The fact that the call came less than two minutes after the private message was sent meant that the other party had given this interview a very high priority.

Take a deep breath, adjust your breathing rhythm, place your finger on the edge of the screen, and swipe to answer the call.

"Hello, is this Zhao Shuyao?" A capable female voice came from the receiver, her tone steady and her pronunciation clear.

"I am Zhao Shuyao. Are you reporter Lin?" Zhao Shuyao leaned back in his chair, his tone calm and unhurried, suppressing his inner turmoil.

"Yes, this is Lin Jing." The other party's tone was more amused. "I just saw your private message reply. The timeframe is quite tight, so I decided to call you directly. The youthful spirit you showed in yesterday's live broadcast is very much in line with our recent core reporting direction."

"Editor-in-Chief Lin, you flatter me." Zhao Shuyao picked up his water glass and took a sip of warm water. "Speaking the truth is the bottom line for studying history, and I'm fortunate that some media outlets are willing to provide a platform for the truth to be heard."

The two sides exchanged brief pleasantries.

"Our team is flying to Fengtian tomorrow morning," Lin Jing got to the point. "Would you be available for a video interview at 2 PM the day after tomorrow?"

"Time is not a problem," Zhao Shuyao replied definitively.

"Considering the high level of public attention on the Dongda campus right now, it might affect the integrity of the interview," Lin Jing suggested. "The location is the business suite at the Jianguo Hotel in the city center outside the campus. I will send a car to pick you up at the south gate of Dongda at 1:30 pm the day after tomorrow. You don't need to bring any scripts, just be yourself."

"When in Rome, do as the host says. See you the day after tomorrow."

The call ended, and the screen went dark.

Zhao Shuyao placed his phone on the table, and a wide smile finally appeared on his lips. This shield of official media protection had officially landed.

With this endorsement, all those interest groups hiding in the shadows, attempting to suppress him through underhanded means, will be reduced to dust when this national spotlight shines upon them.

Having established a firm foothold, the next step is to solidify the material foundation.

Zhao Shuyao gripped the mouse and opened the earnings settlement page in the Toutiao backend. After a night of fermentation and millions of video views, a considerable number appeared in the total assets column.

He clicked the withdrawal button. He linked his bank card, entered the verification code, received a text message notification, and the funds were safely in his pocket. He didn't feel there was anything shameful about talking about money.

Only with money can one truly stand tall and not bow down to any academic clique.

After exiting the background, Zhao Shuyao opened the homepage recommendation feed on the web version.

Articles on Ming and Qing history dominated every section. After a quick glance, Zhao Shuyao found the content of these articles extremely familiar. Many posts were direct copies of long posts from Tianya Forum from many years ago, with even the punctuation marks unchanged.

A large number of self-media operators keenly grasped the traffic storm he stirred up and became copycats of historical content.

Zhao Shuyao did not report them. These people were making money by copying content, but they were also unintentionally popularizing the truth about the Ming and Qing dynasties. Using information asymmetry to achieve financial freedom is the current trend, and everyone is getting what they want.

The mouse wheel scrolls downwards at a constant speed.

Zhao Shuyao's gaze lingered on a video cover.

The cover features a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses, holding a folding fan, sitting in a retro-style studio.

The title, written in highly provocative large characters, reads: "Teacher A: The Ming Dynasty is the most bizarre dynasty in Chinese history with no history, no resources, and no achievements."

Zhao Shuyao clicked on the video to watch.

The progress bar began loading, and Teacher A's voice, tinged with a Beijing accent, came through.

"Looking at the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Ming dynasty is definitely the most speechless one." Teacher A waved his folding fan, raised his chin slightly, "I would summarize it as the Three-No Dynasty. What are the three no's? No wise ruler, no famous ministers, and no famous generals."

"Emperors could choose carpenters, immortal cultivators, and all sorts of people. As for capable generals and civil officials who could govern the country, it was practically impossible to find many decent ones throughout the entire history of the Ming Dynasty. In contrast, look at the Qing Dynasty..."

Zhao Shuyao clicked pause.

Looking at Teacher A's face frozen on the screen due to the pause.

Scroll down the page and scan the comments section below; the front row is filled with comments from a large number of blindly following fans.

"Professor Gao put it very clearly: the Ming Dynasty was the darkest era."

"I've learned a lot from Teacher Gao. I didn't know the Ming Dynasty was so terrible."

Zhao Shuyao closed the comment section, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest.

This type of program had an extremely large audience in 2016. Teacher A used this rhetoric of "deconstructing history and creating contrast" to package himself as an all-knowing intellectual, but behind this deconstruction was a bottomless historical nihilism.

Zhao Shuyao analyzed the other party's chain of interests. GXS had been involved in the entertainment and cultural circles for many years. The compound circle he belonged to had intricate connections with the capital groups that were keen on filming period dramas and glorifying the Qing Dynasty.

They have to trample the Ming Dynasty into the mud to highlight how authentic their "Qing Dynasty universe" is.

"No wise ruler, no famous generals, no famous ministers," Zhao Shuyao repeated these nine words.

He stood up, walked to the bookshelf, took out a copy of "History of Ming" and a copy of "Ten Days in Yangzhou", took them in his hands, walked back to the computer, and placed them on the desktop.

Zhao Shuyao opened the camera driver software, adjusted the aperture and brightness, sat up straight, and placed his ten fingers on the table. The original peaceful scholarly air in his eyes completely disappeared, replaced by a sharp and oppressive look.

Click to record; the red countdown has ended.

"Friends, I am Zhao Shuyao."

Zhao Shuyao looked at the camera, his tone relaxed: "I just watched a video clip called 'Da Shuo,' in which a famous public intellectual, Teacher A, talked at length about how the Ming Dynasty was 'three-nothing': no ​​wise ruler, no famous generals, and no famous ministers, and used this to repeatedly elevate the status of the Qing Dynasty."

A chilling smile appeared on Zhao Shuyao's lips.

"Mr. A, I am just a student who has not yet graduated. Logically speaking, I should not be giving advice to a social celebrity like you. After some thought, I can completely understand your relentless efforts to promote the Qing Dynasty and smear the Ming Dynasty."

"After all, if you examine the network of resources and your family history, your ancestors were beneficiaries in this area. Everyone needs to eat."

"You're using the show to whitewash your master and, incidentally, maintain the core support of your cultural circle. This kind of loyal protection is perfectly normal."

Zhao Shuyao stopped smiling and leaned forward slightly.

"Since you've mentioned the 'three lacks' of the Ming Dynasty, let's talk about some common sense that you least want to hear."

"You say the Ming Dynasty was no good and the Qing Dynasty was good. Then let me ask you, why was the development of industry and commerce and the basic living conditions of the people in Jiangnan during the late Ming Dynasty, even amidst the natural disasters and chaos of the Little Ice Age, far better than the 'Kangxi and Qianlong Prosperity' that your masters were so proud of after entering the pass?"

"Your masters forcibly interrupted the nascent productive forces on this land, leaving the common people starving for centuries. Even books like 'Tiangong Kaiwu' were banned. Is this the dynasty you call a hundred times better than the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhao Shuyao raised his right index finger.

"Now let's talk about the 'unknown general' you mentioned."

"Wasn't the Hongwu Emperor, who expelled the Manchus and restored China, a famous general? Wasn't Xu Da, who swept away foreign commanders from south to north, a famous general?"

Zhao Shuyao paused, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Li Wenzhong wasn't a famous general? Oh, I suddenly understand."

"Mr. Gao. These two generals were fighting against your masters back then, right? Especially Li Wenzhong, who chased the remnants of the Northern Yuan all the way to the northern desert."

"No wonder you people have held a grudge for so many years, to the point that you deliberately ignore them in your stand-up comedy. Your sense of identification with them is truly profound."

He withdrew his index finger and tapped the table.

"If you think that the founding generals don't represent everyone, then let me ask you this: what about Qi Jiguang, who swept across the southeast coast and created the Mandarin Duck Formation? What about Lu Xiangshan, who commanded the Tianxiong Army and died in battle at Julu?"

"Or is it that in the minds of you high-class people, only those who wear the money-tail hairstyle, have helped your masters slaughter civilians, and have engaged in land grabbing and marriage exchanges can be certified as famous generals?"

Zhao Shuyao spread his hands out flat.

"Go on with your story of the 'unknown minister'."

"Does the Three Yangs, who served three emperors and ushered in the prosperous reign of Emperors Ren and Xuan, count? Does Zhang Juzheng, who implemented the Single Whip Tax System and single-handedly extended the Ming Dynasty's finances for half a century, count?"

Zhao Shuyao pulled out the book "Ten Days in Yangzhou" from his right side and pointed to the title with his finger.

"Does Shi Kefa count? Minister Shi was indeed rather incompetent in battle, as clearly stated in the history books. But when faced with the pardon and riches offered by your master, he refused them and chose to die for his cause. He was truly loyal."

Zhao Shuyao looked directly at the camera, his gaze fixed on the screen.

"Mr. Gao, isn't loyalty a bit too conspicuous in your circle, which is used to praising the Qing Dynasty and worshipping money and traffic? So much so that you don't even dare to look at it?"

Zhao Shuyao leaned back in his chair.

"at last."

"Since you, Gao Xiaosong, have praised the Qing Dynasty to the skies, I would like to ask you for advice. I really can't think of any famous emperors, generals, or ministers of your Qing Dynasty who can be judged without being filtered and can withstand scrutiny from real historical records."

"If Mr. Gao can list them, please send a video so we can have a public debate. This will allow me, a history student from the University of Tokyo, to learn from you, this renowned high achiever, what a correct view of historical materialism is."

Zhao Shuyao clicked the mouse to stop recording.

Drag the video into the publishing backend of Toutiao.

Type the following in the title bar: "Dongguan University Students Clash with GXS: Do You Dare to Debate Your Wise Rulers and Famous Ministers?"

Enter @gsx in the first line of the text.

Clicking the send button redirects the page, and the progress bar is full.