Chapter 83

Wu Zhenqiu is a professor of history at Huaguo University. Compared to those so-called experts and scholars, he is the true authority in the field.

Originally, after watching Tang Feng's live stream last night, although Wu Zhenqiu was quite impressed with Tang Feng, he did not pay too much attention to him.

He also did not know what happened after last night until he returned home today and learned about it from his granddaughter, Wu Xi.

When he learned the whole story, Wu Zhenqiu was furious. He was truly angry at the unscrupulous behavior of those so-called experts and scholars.

However, after reading Tang Feng's "The Emperor's New Clothes," he laughed.

Aren't those people's actions just like the metaphor in "The Emperor's New Clothes"? Is there really no one among them who knows the history of the Three Kingdoms? Of course not, but they still spoke with a guilty conscience, criticizing for the sake of criticism, with no integrity at all.

They are just like the flattering ministers in "The Emperor's New Clothes," willing to distort right and wrong, and confuse black and white for their own fame and profit, as long as it benefits them.

Wu Zhenqiu pondered for a moment, then on WeChat, he posted the original texts and sources of all the historical references and citations mentioned by Tang Feng in his "Three Kingdoms Commentary." He then wrote, "Last night, my granddaughter dragged me to watch a young man named Tang Feng's live stream. At first, I was a bit skeptical. How could such a young man talk about history? How could he comment on the Three Kingdoms? But soon, my doubts disappeared."

"I can affirm to everyone, as a history professor, that everything Tang Feng said is based on historical evidence and conforms to historical laws and a certain degree of historical logic. Of course, some of it is Tang Feng's personal opinion, and I reserve my own views, but this is not a reason to deny him, nor an excuse to doubt him."

"Disagreements and debates are very normal. In academic research, disagreements and debates exist and are necessary. Even we old folks have our own views on many historical issues, and disagreements are normal. However, there are some things that do not have significant disagreements, such as the Empty City Stratagem and Borrowing the Eastern Wind. There are no historical records of these, and my analysis, along with almost all other historians, is the same as Tang Feng's: these two events do not exist. Even if they did, they could not be so exaggerated, nor could they have happened to Zhuge Liang. This is purely a literary and artistic embellishment."

"As Tang Feng said, novels are not history, and Zhuge Liang is not a military genius. At most, Zhuge Liang can be considered a military worker. His personal achievements are in politics, and he can be called a great statesman, but he is certainly not the military genius described in the novel."

"When my granddaughter told me about this today, I was very angry. However, when I saw Tang Feng's 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' I felt that this story is very fitting to describe some people."

"The events in 'The Emperor's New Clothes' may not have appeared in real life, but the negative social风气 it implies is everywhere. I don't believe that those who questioned Tang Feng really thought he was wrong. Knowing that he was right, they still acted like those hypocritical ministers, distorting right and wrong, and confusing black and white for their own fame and profit, for their own unknown purposes. But black is black, and white is white. Some things are not something you can make up just by saying it three times."

"In my view, Tang Feng used relatively common words to cleverly explain a segment of Three Kingdoms history. It is humorous and witty, yet retains literary value, with a grand style! This commentary on the Three Kingdoms is excellent and profound! I hope you will continue to produce such programs!..."

"Here, I want to advise some people: do not abuse the trust people have in your titles. As experts and professors, every word and action should be cautious. Do not destroy the trust people have in you. If it really comes to a point of no return, it will be a tragedy for the whole society. I have said my piece, and I hope you will take it to heart!"

After Wu Zhenqiu's blog post, many historians also published comments to support Tang Feng. The words of these true authoritative professors naturally gained more trust from the public than those of the so-called experts and scholars.

Moreover, what they said was well-reasoned and evidence-based, leaving no room for the online doubts about Tang Feng to survive.

Those so-called experts and scholars also fell silent. They knew their own situation. If they continued to question Tang Feng at this point, it would be like courting disaster, essentially asking for trouble.

"I didn't expect the Empty City Stratagem to actually not exist!"

"Turns out Tang Feng was telling the truth, and those so-called experts and scholars are just eating shit?"

"I was wrong... I accused the wrong person!"

"I knew it, how could what Young Master Feng said be nonsense?"

"Experts and scholars, go eat shit! What kind of people are you!"

The public opinion quickly shifted, and no one was questioning Tang Feng anymore. With the affirmation of many history professors and historians, who would still believe those few fake experts?

And the happiest people were naturally Tang Feng's fans.

"This is so satisfying!"

"Young Master Feng, you are so talented, I knew you wouldn't let us down!"

"I wasn't worried from the beginning, but I still have to say, Young Master Feng is awesome and dominant, waiting for Song Que to eat shit!"

"Right, don't let Song Que off the hook!"

Soon, many of Tang Feng's fans and some onlookers began to target Song Tiande's WeChat.

"Song Que, admit your loss and own up to your lack of virtue!"

"If you're willing to live-stream eating shit, I think Young Master Feng would accept it!"

"Right, if you don't admit your lack of virtue, then live-stream eating shit. After all, that's what you do every day!"

For a time, Song Tiande was universally condemned. Although his reputation has always been poor, it was because of his profession, his mouth, and his sharp tongue. He could completely ignore the insults.

But this time, it involved issues of morality and integrity.

Song Tiande was in a sorry state. He had agreed to the bet with Tang Feng, and now it was clear that he had lost.

If he refused to fulfill the bet, he would be seen as untrustworthy and would have no place to stand in the future. But if he fulfilled the bet, it would also be bad. Admitting his mistake was one thing, but admitting his lack of virtue would be like admitting his own moral and character flaws.

Although netizens often called him lacking in virtue, it was one thing for others to say it, but another for him to admit it. He could ignore the netizens calling him lacking in virtue, but if he admitted it himself, what would that make him? Someone who admits to being morally low... who would still respect him? What right would he have to criticize others?