Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 393 389. Comments on "Late Ming Dynasty"

Today's book was specifically mentioned by Liu Anhua Youming during an exclusive interview a few days ago.

I think I mentioned this before when I was promoting a mixed book.

Let’s take a closer look today to see what wonderful places there are.

"Late Ming Dynasty", Ke Shanmeng, level 4 author.

Category: History - Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

【Introduction】

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, smoke of war swirled across the north, and corpses piled high. Meanwhile, south of the Yangtze River, bridges flowed like water, and peace and prosperity flourished. Amidst internal and external troubles at the end of the dynasty, a sinister office director rose to prominence, sounding the final clarion call for China. A true hero, he changed destiny.

The cruel and brutal ancient wars, the real Ming Dynasty markets, and the history created by small people unfold a magnificent yet gentle and lingering picture of the late Ming Dynasty.

【Golden Ten Chapters】

Chapter One: The Robbers Who Stole Clothes. Liu Minyou and Chen Xin were college classmates who now work at the same company. They hiked together when they were transported to the seventh year of the Apocalypse by a pyramid-shaped flying object. They descended the mountain, robbed a herbal farmer of his clothes, and then stole more clothes in the village. Now, in troubled times, survival became their top priority.

Chapter 2, Beggars. A wealthy young man sat in a teahouse on the side of the official road, enjoying the cool breeze. Nearby, a dozen beggars sat down. Bored, the young man bought five cakes, leaving the beggars to scramble for them. The strongest beggar helped his companions secure three cakes, but when he tried to grab the fourth, a weaker beggar knocked him to the ground. Seeing the situation was dire, everyone prepared to flee.

Chapter 3: The Kuaishou (Quick Hand) Dresses Like This. Chen Xin appears, pretending to be a government official on an incognito tour. Through a combination of fabricated lies and intimidation, he swindles a wealthy young master out of his money, then lets him flee. He also secures the remaining beggars and tea shop owner. They take the young beggar who assaulted them away, believing he'll be of much use in the future.

Chapter 4, Starry Sky. The two men, along with four young beggars, hurried to Jizhou. The city gates were already closed, so they had no choice but to stay at an inn outside the city. They bathed, ate a hearty meal, and retired to sleep. Chen Xin, however, and Liu Minyou agreed to take turns guarding the night to prevent the theft of their belongings. The nights of the Ming Dynasty were particularly melancholy.

Chapter 5, Jizhou. After entering the city, the group filled their stomachs and headed straight for a clothing store, where they encountered the commander's family shopping for clothes. After being scolded by one of Chen Xin's beggars, he decided to extort more money from the family. After buying clothes, they followed the commander's family and, targeting the young master under the care of the housekeeper, used a trick to steal the pearl from the child's head.

Chapter 6: Canal Boatmen. After days of travel, the group finally arrives in Tianjin, but unfortunately, they can't find the property they purchased in later life. At the ferry, there's an argument over boat pulling. The two protagonists observe the excitement from the crowd, only to discover that the two groups of canal boatmen are engaged in a serious fight. One side is led by a master, skilled in wielding a Japanese sword, and the outcome seems imminent.

Chapter 7, Canal Boatmen 2. The young man with the sword was about to succeed when a large man with an iron club suddenly burst through the crowd, breaking his sword and leaving him injured. The two groups brawled, eventually attracting the elderly man in charge of the canal transport. After a battle, both sides combined their strength to force the weaker party to leave.

Chapter 8, Shack 1. The Yanggu trackers had been driven away from the ferry, several of them injured and sick, and were worried about finding a doctor. Chen Xin and his companions walked in and struck up a conversation. After some bluster and boasting, Chen Xin and the trackers became close friends.

Chapter 9, Shack 2. Chen Xin took a liking to these boatmen and generously spent ten taels of silver to have them see a doctor, earning them immense gratitude and a desire to join him. After leaving, Chen Xin and Liu Minyou boasted a few more times and shared some of their plans.

Chapter 10: Interview and Housing Prices. Chen Xin changed his mind and decided to live permanently in Tianjin. He even applied for a bookkeeping position at a foreign trade store and even became a disciple. While drinking and discussing business at the other party's restaurant, he and Liu Minyou learned that housing prices were surprisingly low, practically free compared to later generations.

【Brief Comment】

Ke Shanmeng, a level 4 author, only has this book to his name.

本书2012年8月4日发布，2014年3月27日完结，227万字。完结时收藏数35119.
This book was released on December 15, 2012. The first order has not been counted yet, and the average order is about 5240. Currently, it has 100,000 collections on Qidian, 22,200 collections on the bookstore, 150,000 fans, 11 alliance leaders, and 1 silver alliance member.

Judging from the performance alone, it is not a particularly impressive historical novel.

Judging from the previews, the subject matter is indeed, as the author himself stated, a niche within a niche. This is because the book has two protagonists: Chen Xin and Liu Minyou, both of whom are transported across time by a pyramid-shaped flying object, and neither possesses cheat codes or system abilities.

When they first arrived in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, they didn't even have clothes on their bodies. Among the many time-traveling protagonists, they must be the two most miserable ones.

Therefore, they had no choice but to resort to fraud and deception, robbing the clothes of herbal farmers, cheating the money of rich young masters, tricking little beggars into following them in the world, making friends with canal boatmen, and currying favor with shop owners.

What they do are all extremely small, but they are related to the laws of survival.

Living in troubled times, and not being reborn as a king, prince, or general, one can only start with these trivial matters, gradually strengthening one's own strength and cultivating one's own team.

At the end of the story, the two old friends completed the so-called kingship and hegemony. Without becoming a man, they rewrote history and left a wonderful and brilliant picture for future generations.

Their identity as refugees not only did not become a stain on their lives, but instead enriched their life experiences.

This book portrays many fascinating minor characters, with meticulously detailed descriptions. The characters' experiences and journeys through life are incredibly complex and yet resonate with a certain authenticity. The style leans towards traditional historical fiction, resembling Ming and Qing dynasty novels. Although a new author, the writing is truly sophisticated.

It can be said that this is indeed a very excellent historical novel.

From today's perspective, the highlights are a bit lacking, especially without the cheat code, which feels like something is missing. The format and paragraphs are also very different from the current style.

However, the fact that this book is loved by people like Lao Liu shows that it still has outstanding features in character portrayal and story setting.

In addition, I don’t know whether the author has stopped writing or for some other reason, but he has stopped writing books.

With his writing ability, if he continued to write, he might have become a legend in the history category.

【to sum up】

Writing is not easy, so cherish every moment!

I’m Cang Yiwei, and I’m here to promote “Cang’s Ramblings”!
Welcome to the paradise of book reviews.

【Cang's Ramblings】

There are very few works of this style in current historical classifications.

Similarly, the new July anime series "Qin Li" and "Han Que" actually give people the same impression.

In fact, historical classification is really difficult to write, and it especially tests the author's skills.

The readers are all big shots and argumentative people, and their historical knowledge is more impressive than theirs.

Many authors are directly criticized by readers to the point of becoming autistic!
Therefore, I admire authors who write historical texts.

They are doing a completely thankless task, but it is simply because they love this subject!
(End of this chapter)