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

Zhao Shuyao dragged the mouse, clicked the red X in the upper right corner of the screen, and closed the webpage. All the relevant articles about the deregistration process of the Horgos film and television shell company had been archived in a hidden folder on the computer's hard drive.

Leaning back in his chair, his eyes felt dry from staring at the monitor for so long. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, then picked up his phone from the table and skillfully swiped up to unlock the screen.

Open the Toutiao app.

The page refreshed, and the system algorithm accurately captured his recent search and interaction patterns. A video popped up as the first recommendation on the homepage, with a very eye-catching title: "Breaking cognitive biases, the potential for India's rise that you don't know."

The video cover features a very familiar figure—the short, stout man waving a folding fan.

Zhao Shuyao's lips twitched slightly upwards; what a small world.

Tap the screen to start playing the video.

In the picture, the fat man is still sitting in his signature Chinese armchair, playing with a folding fan in his hand, leaning back, with his face bearing that unchanging, elite demeanor that seems to have seen through the truth of the world.

"Everyone, today we're going to talk about our neighbor to the south, the one we often joke about." Fatty Gao's voice carried a distinctive Beijing accent, and he spoke slowly and with intonation. "Many people think they're poor and backward, which is an extremely narrow-minded prejudice."

In the video, the tall, fat man closes his folding fan and gently taps his palm.

"Why don't you broaden your horizons and look at Silicon Valley across the ocean? The top executives at Microsoft, Google, and other top global tech companies are all of Indian descent. Why? Because their talent has adapted to the most advanced business logic."

Zhao Shuyao held his phone in one hand, watching the performance on the screen with a blank expression.

"Let's talk about the system." Fatty Gao unfolded his folding fan again. "They are an extremely civilized country. They have fully accepted the world's mainstream rules and regulations, have a strong sense of contract, and have a very deep foundation of the rule of law. This foundation determines that their future development potential is immeasurable."

The fat man leaned forward, looked directly at the camera, and delivered his final conclusion: "More importantly, they have a strong sense of humanistic care for ordinary people and have implemented free healthcare for all. Just for this reason, many people who ridicule them should calm down and reflect on their actions."

The progress bar has reached the end.

Zhao Shuyao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

If one hadn't personally witnessed the real news stories from their past life about corpses floating in the Ganges, the use of cow dung for healing, and the frequent misguidance of multinational corporations by Indian executives, it would be very difficult for an ordinary person not to be fooled by such eloquent rhetoric.

It must be admitted that this tall, fat man is extremely persuasive in his oratory. He is very good at selecting those overseas information blind spots that are difficult for the general public to access, packaging them with seemingly objective and rational grand vocabulary, and creating a sense of superiority based on information asymmetry.

Zhao Shuyao swiped his finger upwards to access the comments section below the video.

The comments with the most likes were neatly arranged at the top.

The first comment, from user "岁月如歌" (Years Like Songs): "Professor Gao is absolutely right. They're all researching cutting-edge software and working as executives in Silicon Valley, while we're still doing assembly line work here. The gap between us can't be bridged by just a few skyscrapers." Likes: 8500.

The second comment, from user "Lone Traveler," reads: "The point about universal free healthcare really hit me hard. Whether a country is developed or not isn't determined by how rich its rich are, but by how good the welfare is for the lower classes. In this respect, they are truly worthy of our admiration." (6300 likes)

The third comment, from user "Rational Voice," reads: "I went to Mumbai on a business trip once. Although the streets were chaotic, people's mental state was very free. The country has preserved a complete international rules system, and there are no obstacles to doing business with foreigners. We are always arrogant and ignorant." Likes: 5200.

The fourth comment, from user "Reading Ten Thousand Volumes," reads: "For a country that is integrated into the world's civilization system, it's only a matter of time before it explodes. Their elite education philosophy is something that our domestic basic education system really needs to learn from." Likes: 4100.

The fifth comment, from user "Truth Seeker": "Thanks to Teacher Gao for spreading the truth, if I had only read domestic reports every day, I would have really thought that they couldn't afford to eat. It turns out that they have already surpassed us in many core areas." Likes: 3800.

Zhao Shuyao's smile deepened as he looked at the comments that were at the top of the list. This was no longer a joke; it was absurd.

They boast about providing a few cheap amoxicillin pills and run-down clinics with almost no equipment, calling it free healthcare for all; they exaggerate the abilities of those who squeeze into the middle management of large companies through language advantages and xenophobic cliques, calling them tech elites.

At this point in 2016, this sense of cultural inferiority still had an extremely large market online.

Zhao Shuyao hovered his finger above the screen, his thumb gently rubbing the edge of the phone.

He felt that going head-to-head with such a person would lower his academic standards. This kind of lie, built on the deliberate concealment of facts, is like a paper castle; any scrutiny with a little common sense can make it collapse.

If we don't expose this person, they will continue to dominate the online traffic, using these seemingly profound pseudo-knowledges to annoy people and mislead the values ​​of countless young people.

That's dirty.

Just as Zhao Shuyao was thinking about a starting point, a private message notification popped up at the top of his phone screen.

From the official verified operator of Toutiao's account: "Event Invitation".

Zhao Shuyao left the comments section and opened the private messages in the background.

"Hello Mr. Zhao Shuyao, I am Lin Hao, the official operations manager of the Toutiao History Channel. In view of the high-quality history popular science content you have recently published on the platform and the wide positive social response it has generated, the platform is very honored to invite you to participate in the 'Toutiao History and Culture Creators Salon' to be held in Suzhou at the end of this month. Would you be interested in attending?"

Zhao Shuyao's gaze lingered on the two characters "Gusu" at the end of the month.

He didn't agree immediately. For offline salons on internet platforms like this, if he didn't know the level of the attendees, he might just be going through the motions, sitting in the audience as a background figure to liven up the atmosphere. What he needed now was to meet people, not to take photos with them.

Fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, typing rapidly: "Hello Editor-in-Chief Lin, thank you for the invitation. I happen to have some free time at the end of this month, but I'd like to find out in advance which fields of experts and scholars will be invited to this event in Suzhou? I'd like to see if there's an opportunity to consult with industry veterans."

send.

Just thirty seconds later, the other party replied immediately, demonstrating their extremely high work efficiency while constantly monitoring their computer.

"Professor Zhao, you are too modest. This event was by invitation only, and the attendees are all highly influential experts in the fields of history and culture in China."

"For example, you should be very familiar with Professor Meng from Minzu University of China. She has appeared on 'Lecture Room' many times. In addition, Professor Zhou Siyuan from Beijing Language and Culture University will also be present."

"Of course, there are also several directors of well-known museums. We look forward to you representing the new generation of historians and exchanging ideas with them."

Upon seeing the names "Teacher Meng" and "Zhou Siyuan," Zhao Shuyao's grip on his phone tightened slightly.

A sudden, undisguised gleam appeared in his calm eyes.

This is the real academic circle.

They don't need to fan themselves to appear profound, nor do they need to use fake data to fool netizens. They are truly top scholars who have thoroughly mastered vast historical materials and made their mark on the world through solid scholarship on the three-foot-wide lecture platform.

Back when I was an undergraduate, I did a lot of practice questions and stayed up late into the night. My biggest goal was to get into Professor Zhou Siyuan's graduate program, but the competition was too fierce, and I unfortunately failed. That's how I ended up being transferred to the History Department at Southeast University.

And that Ms. Meng is an interesting person in particular. Her interpretation of historical figures combines rigor with a delicate female perspective. Most importantly, she also endlessly praises the Qing Dynasty.

Being able to share the stage with such a person is not only an affirmation of his current online popularity, but also the most direct endorsement of his academic ability.

Zhao Shuyao sat up straight, and his typing speed increased significantly, with his fingertips making a soft tapping sound on the screen.

"Editor-in-Chief Lin, I am very honored to participate in this event. Please send me a formal invitation letter with the specific time and itinerary. I will arrive in Suzhou on time."

Lin Hao immediately replied: "That's great, Teacher Zhao. The official invitation will be sent to your school soon. The platform will take care of all the arrangements for this event, including round-trip airfare, accommodation in a star-rated hotel in Suzhou, and local transportation. You only need to prepare some sharing content on the topic of history popularization. If you have any special needs, please feel free to contact me."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Editor-in-Chief Lin."

Exiting the chat interface, Zhao Shuyao placed his phone on the table.

He let out a long breath. The absurdity and displeasure he had felt from seeing the fat man's video had been completely swept away by a sense of anticipation.

The real stage is set.

Zhao Shuyao leaned back in his chair, his gaze returning to the calendar.

In March, the real show has only just begun.