Chapter 79

Upon hearing this, many netizens split into several camps. Some found Tang Feng's explanation very reasonable, while others, though still somewhat skeptical about whether Tang Feng was right, could not deny that what he said was quite interesting. Still, others, like Song Tiande, sneered at Tang Feng, believing he did not understand history and was merely trying to win the crowd.

Especially Song Tiande, the more he listened, the happier he became. The more mistakes Tang Feng made, the more room he would have to criticize.

"In fact, historically, Zhou Yu had a very broad-minded personality. Chen Shou once said that Zhou Yu was of a generous and open nature, and his contemporaries also highly praised him. Liu Bei said he had a large capacity, and Jiang Gan said he had a noble and elegant character. Therefore, portraying Zhou Yu as a petty and narrow-minded person is absolutely unjust."

Netizens remained half-convinced and half-doubtful. Song Tiande, however, was delighted. To him, Tang Feng was completely talking nonsense, but he secretly hoped Tang Feng would continue to talk nonsense, making grand and high-sounding claims that were nothing but a bunch of lies.

On the other side, Wu Zhenqiu nodded. As a history professor, he naturally knew whether Tang Feng was right.

"I think at this point, many people will not agree. I understand this because, compared to historical records like Chen Shou's 'Records of the Three Kingdoms,' the novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' is more widely known and has a larger audience. However, I can confidently say that the novel is not history. Why does the image of Zhou Yu differ so much from our impression?"

"Because many people take 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' as history, but it is not. History, especially the history of the Three Kingdoms, has three images. One is the historical image, mainly recorded in official histories, which historians advocate. This image we call the 'historical image.' Of course, history does not necessarily equal historical truth, as historical records may not be reliable. The second is the literary image, such as the narrow-minded Zhou Yu described in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' The third is the folk image, which I call the 'popular image.' For example, everyone has their own mental image of Zhou Yu, and when we watch TV shows or movies, we often feel: 'Hmm, this Zhou Yu doesn't seem right...'

"So, Mr. Feng, I want to ask, you say this Zhou Yu doesn't seem right, but have you ever seen the real Zhou Yu? You haven't? Then how do you know he doesn't seem right? This is the popular image, because he only exists in your mind."

Upon hearing this, many viewers began to believe, though some were still skeptical. After all, Tang Feng was young, and if a history expert had said it, others would have believed it long ago.

Of course, there were still people like Song Tiande, who were prejudiced from the start and believed Tang Feng could not be right. No matter what Tang Feng said, they would not believe him.

However, the real history professor, Wu Zhenqiu, became increasingly interested in Tang Feng. He turned to his granddaughter, Wu Xi, and asked, "Who is this young man? He speaks very well! He's a good seed. Even among my students, few understand the history of the Three Kingdoms as well as he does."

"He is Tang Feng, Mr. Feng. Hehe, Grandpa, you don't know, Mr. Feng is also a musical genius, and you might not believe it, but his educational level is only high school." Wu Xi said, proud of Tang Feng's praise.

"Truly impressive!" Wu Zhenqiu exclaimed.

At this point, Tang Feng continued, "Speaking of Zhuge Liang, when people mention him, they often use the phrase 'wise to the point of being almost supernatural.' When it comes to this, everyone would first think of the Empty City Stratagem. However, the Empty City Stratagem was not made up by the author of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' Luo Guanzhong, but was first mentioned by a person named Guo Chong in the Jin Dynasty. Guo Chong was probably a die-hard fan of Zhuge Liang."

When Tang Feng said this, many people laughed. How could he talk about history and then mention a die-hard fan? Even Wu Zhenqiu was taken aback and then shook his head with a bitter smile.

Tang Feng continued, "Why do I say Guo Chong was a die-hard fan of Zhuge Liang? Because he wrote a book called 'Five Unknown Deeds of Zhuge Liang,' which revealed five unknown deeds of Zhuge Liang, and the Empty City Stratagem was the third one. However, this story is clearly unreliable. I can confidently tell everyone that historically, Zhuge Liang was an outstanding statesman, even a great statesman, but his military talents were far from the god-like portrayal in the novel. The Empty City Stratagem was simply fabricated by Guo Chong, a die-hard fan of Zhuge Liang, and it never actually happened."

What? The Empty City Stratagem never existed? It was fabricated? Song Tiande was first stunned, then overjoyed. To him, Tang Feng was talking nonsense. The Empty City Stratagem had always been a popular story, and now Tang Feng was saying it was fake and fabricated. Song Tiande could already imagine how many people would criticize Tang Feng after the live stream, without even needing to say a word himself.

On the other side, Wu Xi was also stunned. It wasn't that she didn't believe Tang Feng, but the Empty City Stratagem was so deeply ingrained in people's minds that she couldn't help but look to her grandfather for confirmation.

"He is right; the Empty City Stratagem never existed!" Wu Zhenqiu, seeing his granddaughter's confusion, replied.

"As for why it is not true, I believe Tang Feng will provide an explanation." Wu Zhenqiu said with a smile.

Wu Xi turned her gaze back and listened attentively to Tang Feng's explanation.

"Many people doubt this point, which is the popular image I mentioned earlier. However, I must reiterate that the novel is not history. Guo Chong said that Sima Yi led troops to attack Pingyang, and at that time, Zhuge Liang had no troops, so he used the Empty City Stratagem, and Sima Yi retreated. However, the famous historian Pei Songzhi of the Southern Song Dynasty refuted this in his commentary on 'Records of the Three Kingdoms.' His reason was that, according to historical records, at that time, Sima Yi was the governor of Jingzhou and was stationed in Wan Cheng. Sima Yi was not even in the Pingyang battlefield, so how could this event have happened?"

"Another point is that the story of the Empty City Stratagem describes Sima Yi's large army approaching, and Zhuge Liang, with no troops, cleverly opened the city gates and had a few old soldiers sweep the ground at the entrance. He himself sat on the city wall with two boys and sang karaoke..." When Tang Feng said this, many netizens who were drinking water spit it out.

Even Wu Zhenqiu, the history professor, almost fell off his chair, looking at the video of Tang Feng with a mix of amusement and exasperation. The mention of karaoke was truly... and Wu Xi, standing behind him, was holding her stomach, almost laughing herself to tears.

At this point, Tang Feng continued, "How did he sing? 'I am on the city wall watching the mountain scenery, I hear the noise outside the city, the flags fluttering in the air, it turns out that Sima Yi's troops are here.' Then he sings, 'Look, Ma Su is not up to the task, the generals and commanders are not in harmony, Jieting is lost, you, Sima Yi, have gained many places by chance, but you are still greedy and come to attack me. If you want to attack, just attack. I am already prepared. The streets are already clean, ready for your troops to camp. I have already slaughtered sheep and cooked wine, ready to reward your three armies. Since you are here, just come into the city. Why are you hesitating? Let me tell you, there are only two boys and a lute in my house. There are no ambushes or troops here. Don't hesitate and be indecisive. Come, come, come, come up to the city and listen to me play the lute.'"

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