I Am A Prodigy

281 An Impromptu Poem!

“Why? Because Sima Yi was the then governor of Jingzhou. He was stationed in Wancheng instead of on the battlefield at Yangping, so how could the Empty Fort Strategy involving Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi come about?”

[F*ck, is there really such a thing?]

[Could the Empty Fort Strategy really be fake?]

[If you put it that way…it does seem genuine. Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were not in the same place at all.]

Those who had read the Three Kingdoms would have understood it to some extent.

Ye Lingchen knew that he was not persuasive enough, thereby continuing, “Besides, it’s impossible to make sense of this from a logical perspective!

“Let’s talk about the Empty Fort Strategy first. The general understanding was that Sima Yi led his troops to attack. At that time, Zhuge Liang had no soldiers, so he opened all four gates and instructed veteran soldiers to sweep the roads there. Zhu Geliang grabbed a Guqin, lighted a joss stick, and brought two young children along with him for a karaoke session in his tower. Sima Yi’s army came over, saw that, and had no idea what was going on. Sima Yi himself rode up on his horse and was shocked. He said to himself, ‘What’s the hell is that old bull doing?’ The city gates were opened as though there was some kind of party going on, leaving him bewildered. He felt that Zhuge Liang had set a trap, so he withdrew his troops.”

[That’s right, that’s the Empty Fort Strategy.]

[666, throwing a party, singing karaoke? Why are you so showy, host? This so flowery and flamboyant!]

[What’s wrong with the logic above? Dear host, please continue explaining.]

Ye Lingchen smiled slightly. “Firstly, Sima Yi was reputed to have an army of a hundred thousand. He was merely afraid of an ambush in the city, right? Wouldn’t it be possible for him to send reconnaissance to head in and take a look and see if it was true? He couldn’t have been afraid of some landmines buried underground.”

That…

Everyone was stunned. It was like they were suddenly enlightened and everything made sense!

Their notions of the story were constrained in the past and their thoughts unconsciously accepted the story as is, leaving them oblivious to the possible loophole. When Ye Lingchen challenged their understanding, everything suddenly became crystal clear to them.

[There is nothing wrong with this kind of analysis. All I can say is, the host is 666…]

[Now I find the Three Kingdoms interesting. Y-God, you’re really talented and you’ve greatly changed my understanding of history.]

[Landmines? Hahaha, are you going to make me laugh myself to death with your theatrics?]

[Damn! Will, I still fail my history if the host was my history teacher?!]

However, they heard Ye Lingchen continue, “Secondly, Sima Yi personally went to the gate and saw the calm Zhuge Liang playing the Guqin without any wrong notes in the tower above. This indicates that the distance was very near, so why not just send in a master archer to shoot him down? ”

F*ck!

Everyone was stunned again.

That was some loophole there…and it could not be denied that it was a very big one. Nothing was shielding Zhuge Liang at all, and a single arrow would have settled it once and for all!

“Thirdly…”

There was a third point?

Everyone could only admire the evidence presented by Ye Lingchen.

“In the Empty Fort Strategy, Sima Yi brought more than a hundred thousand people but did not dare to attack. Why not just encircle the entire city for three days? Is it logical if he were to do that without making an attack?”

Three questions in a row left everyone speechless and dumfounded.

“The others, like Battle of Bowang, Battle of Xinye, To Borrow Arrows with Straw Boats, were all fabricated. There are no official records in standard history books and were widely circulated only because they were too deeply ingrained into the masses. The most ridiculous is the bag of tricks. Zhuge Liang was written to the point where he was almost a wizard or a sorcerer who could make magic and was a genius. Other military generals were reduced to dim-witted puppets who bring their army to fight wars. Then, when they finally reach the place, the general will take out a bag from their pocket and go, ‘The military counselor gave me a couple of clever tricks. Let’s open it and take a look. OH! So, THIS is how it should be done!'”

[F*ck. The way the hosts put it makes Zhuge Liang seem like a demon.]

[Motherf*cker, I always suspected that it’s all fake, like a fantasy novel.]

[I was caught off guard, and my worldview has been subverted by the host.]

[Hahaha, under the host’s tutelage, I’m no longer a fool for history.]

“It’s almost time. I’ll leave the Three Kingdoms at that. Those who are interested may click like and keep tabs on this. Next time, I’ll bring you Old Man Guan and unscrupulous careerist Cao Cao!”

[It’s over? Isn’t there a one-hour extension today?]

[Nooooo. Why must time pass so quickly whenever I listen to the host’s live stream?]

[Don’t, I admire Guan Yu a lot. I’m begging the host, is it okay if you continue to talk about it?]

Faced with the slew of urging, Ye Lingchen’s mouth twitched in a smile. The impact of talking about the Three Kingdoms was very much apparent.

After thinking for a moment, he continued to say, “Of course, most of the so-called ancient and modern happenings are simply stories told by contemporary individuals. Who could say for sure what exactly happened at that time? Recently, I’ve realized that traditional poetry is quite popular, judging from a recent post. I am pen pals with Novel Y and he’s already written a few poems. Inspiration has struck me, so I shall show my imperfect skills.”

F*CK!

Y-God was going to create an impromptu poem?

Many people understood the main point at once. They scrolled the screen in a frenzy, like cats who picked up on a fishy scent.

[F*ck! Y-God and Novel Y are pen pals?!]

[Both of them are equally talented. They know each other and are both cultured people.]

[Superman Y and Actor Y know each other too, while Novel Y knows Y-God. Why do I feel that this group of people organized and pre-planned this mysteriously?]

[Waiting for the poem. Looking forward to it…]

Ye Lingchen gathered all the emotions in his mind and said, “The gushing waters of the Yangtze River pour and disappear into the East, washing away past heroes. Their triumphs and failures, all vanish into nothingness in an instant. Yet, the green hills still stood as before, along with the perpetual rosy sunset.”[1]

His voice was not heavy, but its energy was magnificent. Those words reached everyone’s ears like a thunderstorm, as if carrying them down the Yangtze River, flowing eastward with endless waves washing away those heroic characters!

The first sentence displayed the heroic spirit of the Three Kingdoms period to its fullest. In an age where such heroes appear, many people developed a yearning feeling as a result.

Later on, ‘triumphs and failures vanished in an instant, yet the green hills still stood as before, along with the perpetual rosy sunset’.[2]

The turning point came without warning, sending everyone’s heart into coldness. They were jolted awake from that glorious ambiance as it turned into depression and sadness.

In the end, success or failure were all the same and those heroes faded away. The only constant factor that withstood the test of time were the green hills.

“A gray-haired man fishes and splits firewood in a small island, accustomed to observing the autumn moons and feeling the spring winds. A good old friend drops by happily with a bottle of crude wine; all tales, old and new, shall then be told and shared together in laughter.” [2]

Boom!

The last sentence sent everyone into an impassioned state. Emotions that were vastly different from the norm surged into their brain, leaving it blank and vacuous.

Many people are mesmerized!

‘A good old friend drops by happily with a bottle of crude wine; all tales, old and new, shall then be told and shared together in laughter.’

That was just perfect. Despite the numerous heroic deeds done, were they not all just for kicks and giggles?

In front of the computer, some who were originally sitting down stood up without realizing it. There were tears in their eyes and they were completely immersed in those verses…

[1] This is the from a poem titled The Immortals by The River (临江仙), written by Yang Shen (杨慎), a poet in the Chinese Ming dynasty. It will later be used by Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中) as the introductory poem to his Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the exact same story that Ye Lingchen was lecturing about.

[2] A continuation of the aforementioned poem.