Chapter 244: Chapter 244: The Awesome Professor Zhang Chapter 244: Chapter 244: The Awesome Professor Zhang Wang Hao and Meng Fei left Mr. Liu’s office together, and on the way, Meng Fei softly introduced himself, “Brother Hao, hello, my name is Meng Fei. Mr. Liu has arranged for me to host your show, and in the future, I’ll be asking for your guidance. I’ll try my best to coordinate with you in a while, and let’s try to make this program a bit better, okay?”
After all, he was in the presence of the person who provided his livelihood, so Meng Fei’s attitude toward Wang Hao was quite humble.
However, as soon as Wang Hao heard the name Meng Fei, he paused momentarily—didn’t that name sound awfully familiar?
“Sure, no problem,” smiled Wang Hao and nodded his head, then he took a good look at Meng Fei and commented, “We should head to the studio now. Oh, and by the way, I think according to your appearance, you’d look better bald!”
He took out his phone and looked, deciding to try out the bald effect with a photo editing app…
“Eh?! Brother Hao, you might be right!” Meng Fei’s eyes widened instantly: “Bald does look quite pleasing!”
On the way there, Meng Fei also explained to Wang Hao what exactly the Grand Talks on the Three Kingdoms program was about.
In simple terms, it was a program similar to a science popularization show, randomly selecting an anecdote from the Three Kingdoms, and the guests could pose various questions for the hosts on stage to answer.
The previous host, Professor Wei Chengtian, was also quite learned and talented, so the show that he hosted was passable, with a viewership rating of 0.8 percent, which was barely presentable among the current programs.
And then he fell ill…
“Brother Hao, please be extra careful later,” Meng Fei said quietly at the entrance to the hall. “We’re not aiming for merit, but for no mistakes. If we can get through this one hour, we will have successfully completed the task!”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” Wang Hao smiled and nodded, then pushed open the door and walked in.
The studio for Grand Talks on the Three Kingdoms was on the sixth floor of the TV station, in a room resembling a large lecture hall.
When Wang Hao and Meng Fei entered, the entire hall was already filled with people. Wang Hao estimated there must have been over five hundred people. In front of the audience seats were four guest spots, with a few name tags on them. Wang Hao glanced at them, not recognizing a single one.
“Hello, everyone,” since there were two hosts this time, Meng Fei started the introductions as he got on stage: “I’m the host, Meng Fei, and this gentleman is our new host for this episode, Mr. Wang Hao.”
Noticing that this time there were two completely unfamiliar people, a guest immediately asked, “Why the replacement? Where’s Professor Wei Chengtian?” The man who spoke wore round-frame glasses and had a face that was thin and pointy; the name tag in front of him read Zhang Xingzhe’s name, with a line beneath it—Professor of the History Department at Zhonghai University.
“That’s the thing,” Meng Fei quickly explained: “Professor Wei was hospitalized with appendicitis, so Mr. Liu temporarily transferred us over to host this episode.”
Hearing this, the guests promptly started discussing—
“Is this an emergency replacement? Can these two young guys handle it?”
“Exactly, look how young they are—clearly they lack the necessary knowledge. They’re definitely heading for tragedy later!”
“Let’s watch the fun—I reckon there’s bound to be some amusement soon!”
“That’s for sure, it’s a live broadcast after all—if they embarrass themselves, it would be a huge embarrassment, haha!”
The audience was abuzz with chatter, and the four guests were whispering among themselves as well.
Soon, the clock struck on the hour, and the program… officially began!
“Mr. Lei, please go ahead!” Zhang Xingzhe clearly intended to take advantage of the fact that it was their first time on the show, launching a challenge right from the start: “Just these past few days, I’ve been pondering over a particularly intriguing question, and despite much thought, I can’t seem to figure it out. So I’d like to ask for some guidance here.”
He knew that Meng Fei was the official host of the television station, having watched Meng Fei’s show before. Hence, he made the first move against him.
As for Wang Hao, in his eyes, he was clearly just a prop, hardly worth considering.
“Professor Zhang, good evening. Please, feel free to ask any question,” Meng Fei hastily sat up straight, with a very serious expression.
Seeing the two of them immediately lock horns upon their entrance made the surrounding TV station members nervous as well.
Who would prevail today, Meng Fei or Professor Zhang?!
“Alright!” Zhang Xingzhe adjusted his collar, took a sip of water, and said, “In the era of the Three Kingdoms, heroes were numerous, and there were many classic stories. Especially in the twenty-first chapter of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there’s the everlasting tale of the ‘Heroes Compared Over Plum Wine’! During the Three Kingdoms, there were two heroic figures; one who sang boldly and pointed out leaders with fearless spirit, while the other sheltered under others, constantly humble, feigning incompetence without any loss. They were Cao Cao and Liu Bei.”
Zhang Xingzhe paused there, then began to recite from the text—
“In the twenty-first chapter of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Cao Cao talks about heroes over wine, it is described thus: ‘They arrived at a small pavilion, where cups and dishes had already been arranged: plums were placed on dishes, and a jar of wine boiled. The two sat opposite each other and drank freely. When they were halfway into the wine, dark clouds began to gather, and rain seemed imminent. Someone pointed to a dragon-shaped kite in the distance, which Cao and Liu Bei watched from the railing.'”
After Zhang Xingzhe finished this passage, the crowd around him began to whisper—
“It’s no surprise he’s a history professor; he can even recite word for word from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. That’s truly impressive!”
“It seems like he’s memorized this entire passage!”
“Quick, take out your phones and check if the text is really !”
“Now this Meng Fei, I’m afraid he’s in trouble!”
Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Xingzhe recited this part, Meng Fei’s forehead was covered in sweat; he clearly felt that today’s situation was going to be tough!
Hearing the surrounding murmurs, Zhang Xingzhe’s pride grew. His voice was very slow, deep, and resonant. His historical knowledge and recitation skills were indeed commendable. He went on to say, “‘Cao said: Do you know about the dragon’s transformations? Liu Bei replied: I am not fully aware. Cao said: The dragon can be large or small, can rise or hide; when large, it stirs the clouds and produces fog, but when small, it conceals its form…’ Today, among all the heroes in the world, only your lordship and Cao are notable!’ Liu Bei, shocked by these words, accidentally dropped his chopsticks to the ground. At that moment, there was an impending rainstorm, and thunder boomed. Liu Bei calmly picked up his chopsticks and said: ‘A single peal of thunder can be this terrifying.’ Cao laughed: ‘Are you also afraid of thunder, my friend?’ Liu Bei replied: ‘When the sages encounter swift thunderstorms, they too would be startled; how can I be unafraid?'”
He had recited this exciting part of the ‘Heroes Compared Over Plum Wine’ from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in one breath, and the entire audience stood up, giving him a warm round of applause.
The crowd commented, “Brilliant! He actually memorized the original text!” “Yes, it’s normal to provide a general translation, but he went straight for the original text!” “My professor is amazing!”
Listening to the comments around him, Zhang Xingzhe felt extremely smug. This passage was something he had prepared carefully to stump Wei Chengtian, but unexpectedly, Wei Chengtian hadn’t shown up.
It seemed that Meng Fei would just have to deal with the misfortune.
“Professor Zhang, you recited the original text very well,” Meng Fei said gravely, as if facing a great enemy, “but I wonder what insight you might have for us?”
Hearing Meng Fei’s praise, Zhang Xingzhe’s pride swelled even more. He explained, “This story tells of after Cao Cao executed Lv Bu at Baimen Tower, he brought Liu Bei and his brothers back to Xuchang. Liu Bei claimed to be a descendant of Zhongshan Jing King and a great-grandson of Emperor Xiao Jing. The Emperor acknowledged Liu Bei as a relative, calling him ‘Imperial Uncle.’ Everyone knows ‘To command the lords by holding the Emperor hostage,’ and by then, the Emperor had become aware of Cao Cao’s disloyal heart, secretly entrusting Dong Cheng with a decree tied to his belt to eliminate Cao Cao. At this time, Cao Cao’s strategists also urged him to get rid of Liu Bei sooner rather than later, to prevent Liu Bei from gaining power in the future. Hence, there came this test from Cao Cao for Liu Bei, which led to the exciting scene aforementioned.”
Having said this, he looked at Meng Fei and asked slowly, “After recounting this entire incident, Mr. Lei, I will now pose several questions to you, so listen carefully!”
Meng Fei wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “Please speak, Professor Zhang.”
Zhang Xingzhe thought for a moment, waiting for complete silence in the room before asking, “Among the many heroic figures of the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Bei has always been a controversial character. At the beginning of his career, he had nothing to his name and was branded an untrustworthy scoundrel for seeking refuge with others. At the time, Liu Bei had neither his own territory nor his own army; he lived at the mercy of Cao Cao. So why did Cao Cao still call Liu Bei a hero? Does Liu Bei’s behavior truly qualify him for the title of a hero?”