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

The lecture hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhao Shuyao looked at Yan Chongnian, whose face had turned from ashen to purplish-red a few steps away, and did not wait for him to answer the heavy question about "spiritual castration" because he could tell that Yan Chongnian simply could not answer it.

Zhao Shuyao withdrew his left hand, took a half step back while holding the microphone, slumped his shoulders slightly, and instantly switched from the tense and murderous state he had just been in to the appearance of an extremely eager and obedient student.

"Professor Yan, that cultural topic you just discussed was too heavy and too academic." Zhao Shuyao's lips curled into an extremely harmless smile.

"I see that everyone is feeling a bit depressed. How about this: when I'm researching the history of the Qing Dynasty, I'll explore a slightly more relaxed and specific question."

Yan Chongnian's eye twitched violently as he stared intently at the young man in front of him, whose expression changed faster than turning the pages of a book. His mind raced, trying to predict what historical trap Zhao Shuyao would throw out next.

He remained silent, deciding to play it safe. He figured that as long as the other party produced concrete historical materials, he could always find vague words in the documents to use as a pretext for his argument.

"I've read through the entire Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, but I'm particularly puzzled by a section of history from the early years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign." Zhao Shuyao raised the microphone, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting casually in a teahouse. "It's the scene that everyone sees most often in various TV dramas—the clever capture of Ao Bai."

In the lecture hall, the attention of hundreds of students was instantly refocused on this extremely popular topic.

"As everyone knows, Ao Bai was the number one warrior in Manchuria, with numerous military achievements." Zhao Shuyao raised a finger and gently shook it in mid-air, his tone full of inquisitiveness. "He followed Huang Taiji in conquering the world and was extremely loyal to Emperor Shunzhi. In order to protect Shunzhi's throne, he dared to draw his sword against Dorgon back then."

Zhao Shuyao took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over the history students in the front row: "Before his death, Emperor Shunzhi appointed him as one of the four regents. Everyone should pay attention to Aobai's status. Under the Manchu Eight Banners system at that time, he was essentially a high-ranking 'household slave' to the Aisin Gioro family."

"But," Zhao Shuyao changed the subject, his face full of disbelief, "how come this staunch loyalist who would rather die than abandon Shunzhi suddenly changed his personality during the Kangxi era, becoming an arrogant and domineering minister who was determined to rebel?"

"What's even more bizarre is the process itself." Zhao Shuyao spread his hands, making no attempt to hide the absurdity in his tone. "Ao Bai held considerable military power, and his protégés and former officials were all over the court. If he really wanted to rebel, how come Emperor Kangxi, a mere teenager, found a few wrestling buk boys and captured this battle-hardened Manchu's number one warrior alive in his study?"

A few muffled laughs came from the back row. Usually, people just enjoy watching TV dramas, but now that Zhao Shuyao has broken it down like this, the plot is simply illogical.

Upon hearing this, Yan Chongnian's tense nerves relaxed slightly. He reached out and grasped the microphone in front of him, preparing to speak. "Ao Bai was arrogant and rebellious, and Kangxi was wise and powerful. This is the academic consensus. He has countless official historical materials to suppress such a low-level common sense question."

Before Yan Chongnian could even bring the microphone to his mouth, Zhao Shuyao turned up the volume, silencing him.

"There's something I still can't understand: why didn't Sony and Ebilun, these seasoned foxes who've weathered many storms, step forward to help Kangxi or Aobai? Why did they collectively choose to remain bystanders in such a strange way?"

Zhao Shuyao fired off three questions in quick succession, giving the other party no chance to breathe. He suddenly stopped, and the confusion on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an extremely wicked smile.

Looking at Yan Chongnian, he said in a tone as if he had finally discovered a shocking secret: "These questions have troubled me for many years. No matter how I look through the official history, I feel that the logic of power operation here is completely inexplicable."

"Until a few days ago, I saw a very imaginative analysis of unofficial history on an online history forum, and I suddenly felt enlightened."

Zhao Shuyao switched the microphone to his left hand and stroked his chin with his right hand: "The post online said that the real Emperor Kangxi actually died during a serious illness he had when he was a child, when he contracted smallpox."

The moment those words were uttered, it was as if all the air in the room had been sucked out.

Even the student council member standing in the aisle stared wide-eyed at Zhao Shuyao as if he were an alien.

Zhao Shuyao completely ignored the shock of those around him and continued to share his "learning experience" with great relish: "The person who posted the post analyzed it in a very logical way. He said that the world was unstable at the time, and in order to preserve the imperial power and avoid causing turmoil, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang found a substitute of similar age and staged a 'substitution of the crown prince'."

"And this substitute was none other than the illegitimate son of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Hong Chengchou, a Han official at the time."

Quiet.

A deathly silence fell over the lecture hall. This practice of dismantling official history and throwing it down the drain, then dumping a basin of shockingly absurd unofficial history on top of it, completely exceeded the cognitive limits of everyone present who had received orthodox academic training.

"Professor Yan, think about it," Zhao Shuyao said, his eyes shining as he looked at the podium like a fanatical believer who had found the truth. "If we apply this line of thinking from the internet, wouldn't all the previous anomalies become perfectly logically consistent?"

Zhao Shuyao became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly as he began to argue: "Because Kangxi wasn't Shunzhi's biological son, he was a fake. So, Aobai, as Shunzhi's staunch supporter, discovered this secret. Of course, he was dissatisfied, and of course, he wanted to be domineering. This wasn't a rebellion; he was trying to set things right!"

"This also perfectly explains why Sony and the others didn't get involved. These old foxes must have sensed something fishy, ​​but faced with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's power, they dared not speak up and could only pretend to be dead and watch Ao Bai and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang fight."

Zhao Shuyao stood there, spread his hands, and gave Yan Chongnian an extremely bright and smug grin: "Professor Yan, I think this conspiracy theory has almost unlimited possibilities."

"I'm just a student, after all, and my perspective is limited. I don't know if this reasoning is correct. You're a leading authority on the Qing Dynasty, so please explain it to me quickly. Isn't this logic very rigorous?"

Yan Chongnian gripped the edge of the solid wood podium tightly with both hands, his knuckles losing color from excessive force, his chest heaving violently, and his breathing becoming heavy and rapid.

He had lived for over eighty years and attended countless high-level academic conferences. He had seen people citing classical texts and those who argued illogically, but he had never seen a history graduate student from a top-tier 985 university so seriously throw such low-grade conspiracy theories, the kind of cheap, sensationalist literature, right in his face in a public lecture hall with only a few hundred people!

What is this? This is not an academic discussion at all. This is the purest, most vicious, and most blatant personal attack. Moreover, it is a comprehensive insult to the dynasty that he has always regarded as a god!

"You...you..." Yan Chongnian raised his right hand, pointing at Zhao Shuyao with trembling hands. His lips trembled for a long time, but he found that his knowledge, which he was so proud of, was completely useless at this moment.

Debating with such unofficial historical accounts is risky. As long as the person continues down this line, no matter what they say, the vulgar rumors about Empress Xiaozhuang and Hong Chengchou will forever be associated with their names.

This young man had no intention of getting an answer; he just wanted to disgust himself to death with this basin of dirty water!

Yan Chongnian gasped for breath, his vision blurring. The immense humiliation instantly transformed into cold rationality. He knew perfectly well that he absolutely could not wallow in this quagmire now.

Since the dignity of academia has been completely shattered by the other side, the only option left is to resort to politically motivated tactics.

We must use the heaviest hat to crush this arrogant student to death on the spot.

Yan Chongnian took a deep breath, forcibly steadied his trembling body, and suddenly grabbed the microphone on the table. His voice no longer had the previous tolerant pretense, but instead revealed a fierce and ruthless tone.

"Zhao Shuyao!" Yan Chongnian's voice boomed through the lecture hall's speakers, carrying the pronouncement of a superior.

Instead of refuting that anecdote, he directly escalated the nature of the incident: "You are also a historian, a highly educated intellectual! I've been trying to have a proper academic discussion with you today, showing the tolerance of an elder, but I never expected you to utter such baseless and vulgar language!"

Yan Chongnian's stern gaze swept across the entire room, ensuring that every student felt the gravity of the situation: "What you just said is not merely a desecration of history, but an insult to the entire Qing Dynasty and a baseless smear against a wise and benevolent emperor!"

He stared at Zhao Shuyao, escalating his argument step by step until he definitively concluded: "A person like you, with such a dark mind, is completely unfit to study history! If everyone were like you, spouting vulgar ideas fabricated online in such serious settings, what truth would there be left in history?"

At this point, Yan Chongnian paused, keenly observing the reactions of the students below the stage. Seeing the fear in the eyes of some students, he knew the time was right.

"I really don't understand." Yan Chongnian slowed his speech, each word seemingly chilled by ice, precisely tightening the final noose around Zhao Shuyao's neck. "As a soon-to-be-graduated college student, in such a public lecture hall, you repeatedly throw out such highly offensive and absurd remarks. Are you trying to attract attention, or are you pursuing some ulterior motive?"

Yan Chongnian leaned forward and unleashed his tried-and-tested ultimate weapon, capable of ruining the career of anyone in the industry: "Are you trying to deliberately incite ethnic conflict by maliciously distorting the facts like this?!"

The moment the words "ethnic antagonism" were uttered, the atmosphere in the entire lecture hall instantly plummeted to freezing point.

This was an absolute red line that anyone who crossed would die. Several boys who had initially found Zhao Shuyao quite interesting immediately shrank back as if avoiding a plague.

His roommate Yang Wei was ashen-faced. He knew it was over; Zhao Shuyao's life was completely over.

Yan Chongnian leaned back in his chair, looking at Zhao Shuyao who was now isolated. A hint of triumphant satisfaction flashed in his eyes. Young man, what are your little tricks compared to absolute rules and power?

Faced with this heavy burden that could crush any future, Zhao Shuyao showed no sign of panic.

They completely ignored Yan Chongnian's logical loop and were not foolish enough to explain that they had not disrupted unity. Once they started to prove themselves, they fell into the trap set by the other party.

Zhao Shuyao brought the microphone closer, his mischievous expression completely disappearing. Meeting Yan Chongnian's gaze, which was like looking at a dead man, he not only did not back down, but instead laughed out with extreme disdain.

"Professor Yan, please don't put such a big label on me." Zhao Shuyao waved his hand, his gesture as casual as if he were shooing away a fly. "From beginning to end, I was just expressing my own different views on that period of history."

Zhao Shuyao took a step forward, directly confronting the podium: "On what grounds do you accuse me of inciting conflict right from the start? Doesn't the Ming Dynasty belong to the Chinese nation? Didn't Emperor Chongzhen belong to the Chinese nation?"

"How come when you were on stage vehemently belittling the Ming Dynasty and insulting its emperors, you called it academic research, but when I say something negative about the Qing Dynasty emperors, you don't even provide any evidence and immediately label me as someone who undermines unity?"

Zhao Shuyao's gaze was piercing, and his voice resonated throughout the classroom like a booming bell: "Just because you're old, just because your ancestors were Manchu nobles, does that mean you have to set the rules of this academic circle all by yourself? Are we all just supposed to listen to what you say, without even the right to express our normal questions?!"

Yan Chongnian's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected that the other party would not only not be afraid, but would also tear through his last layer of pretense.

"If your so-called historical research is just about silencing people and labeling them," Zhao Shuyao said, no longer looking at him but surveying the room, "then you are truly disappointing."

Zhao Shuyao's speech quickened, each word precisely striking at the most sensitive social issues: "You've let down the countless titles the country has given you, and the high-level treatment the school has provided. You give lectures, publish books, and appear on shows everywhere, all using taxpayers' money that ordinary people like us have worked so hard to pay!"

"They take taxpayers' money, occupy the best resources, yet they don't do anything practical or educational. Instead, they spend their days applying double standards and going to great lengths to distort and glorify a feudal remnant that has long been thrown into the dustbin of history!"

Zhao Shuyao looked directly into Yan Chongnian's eyes, his tone resolute and forceful, "For someone like you to control the academic podium is the greatest insult to the word 'taxpayer'!"

The students in the audience held their breath. The word "taxpayer" has an extremely strong ability to evoke empathy in modern society. Zhao Shuyao directly elevated an academic debate into a crusade against a cancer in academia.

Zhao Shuyao ignored the old man on the podium who was so angry he was almost fainting.

He suddenly turned around, his back to Yan Chongnian, and his gaze swept over the hundreds of young faces below the stage, filled with astonishment and shock.

Zhao Shuyao took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, held the microphone in his right hand, and put his left hand behind his back.

"I have a few words to say to this esteemed sage today." Zhao Shuyao's voice was steady and solemn, carrying a profound weight that seemed to transcend the years. "Although I suspect that what follows may be plagiarized from Zhuge Liang's rebuke of Wang Lang during the Three Kingdoms period."

He paused for half a second, a cold glint in his eyes: "But I feel that at this moment, it is particularly appropriate to give this to the person on the podium."

Zhao Shuyao's gaze sharpened as he looked at the crowd before him. He suddenly raised his voice and shouted:

"Gentlemen, listen to me!"