Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 455 451. Comments on "The Three Kingdoms"

Today I would like to recommend to you a historical novel of 621 million words.

"Strange Three Kingdoms", Year of the Monkey in the Month of Horse, Level 5 author.

Category: History - Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms.

【Introduction】

No system, no grandfather, no bulldozer, no stamp collector, only a small clerk, without money, power, or influence, but step by step, you will fight your way through the various powerful people of the Three Kingdoms! A hero or a hero, a beauty or a kingdom, a conspiracy or an open scheme, the kingly way or the tyrannical way? As you slowly journey through the Three Kingdoms, you will discover that Cao Cao didn't offer his sword, Liu Bei was more than just a crybaby, and Sun Quan had a knives for balancing things. Come and experience the martial arts of Lü Bu and Guan Yu, and take in the cuteness of the Qiao sisters...

【Golden Ten Chapters】

Chapter 1: The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty can be summed up in one word. The protagonist travels back in time and becomes Fei Qian, a potential imperial concubine, thus avoiding the turmoil in the Luoyang Palace. However, He Jin makes a foolish move, inviting Dong Zhuo to the capital. This leads to the rebellion of the Western Liang Dynasty and nationwide chaos. Dejected and heartbroken, he doesn't know where to turn to in order to survive in this chaotic world.

Chapter 2: The ancients were not simple people. Cui Hou, a relative of Cui Lie, comes to visit. He is no longer an official and runs a pawnshop. He comes to see the protagonist not to read books or anything like that, but to ask for some glass beads that the protagonist had pawned. These are the glass beads that the protagonist made himself using traditional methods, which can be regarded as a golden finger for his time travel.

Chapter Three: Each with his own agenda. Cui Hou tells his father the contents of a book he stumbled upon in the protagonist's home, revealing it to be written by Hu Feizi. Suspecting a hidden treasure, his father orders a secret investigation. Yuan Shao receives another harsh reprimand from his uncle for following Cao Cao's ill-advised advice. Yuan Shu, however, enjoys his uncle's favor, as he is the legitimate son. Yuan Shao, a clever man, deliberately conceals the truth for Cao Cao. But now, he can only rage internally, determined to make the world remember him as Yuan Benchu.

Chapter 4: Which path to take? Unlike Yuan Shao, the protagonist's life is currently quite comfortable. However, he also faces a life choice. Among the thirteen prefectures of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he finally chooses Yangzhou, home to the young overlord Sun Jian. In Dong Zhuo's tent, two great counselors, Li Ru and Jia Xu, are drinking. After three hundred and thirty-seven years since being exiled to Xiliang, they can finally return to Luoyang. Let's stir up trouble.

Chapter 5: Eating is conditional. In this era, choosing what to eat is both a major and a difficult matter. The protagonist thought his later life experience would allow him to enter the culinary world. However, reality struck him hard. He lacked cooking utensils, ingredients, or skills. Cui Hou's invitation to beef could easily have been a Hongmen Banquet. But he decided to go anyway. Otherwise, he might have lost his life.

Chapter 6: The Side Branch and the Main Family. The protagonist, a member of the Fei family's side branch, wishes to leave Heluo and head south. He must report this to the head of the family, lest he be condemned as arrogant. The head of the family, Fei Min, then serving as the Imperial Counselor, in charge of public opinion, learns of the protagonist's desire to leave and, upon requesting his family's collection of books for temporary storage, demands them. Because knowledge is wealth, the protagonist, living under someone else's roof, accepts this offer in exchange for 500 gold coins, but loses his most valuable copy, the Qi Lun, a treasured edition of the Analects.

Chapter 7: The General's Gate is a Place of Trouble. The protagonist, having left his master's house, is naturally in a bad mood. He brings Uncle Fu to the General's Gate and observes from afar, noting the presence of numerous eunuchs kneeling at the entrance. He hears that the eunuchs are also there, kneeling and confessing their guilt, though they've been absent for several days. The protagonist's mind races, suspecting the eunuchs are plotting to murder the General. Unable to remedy the situation, the protagonist can only meet with the Cui family ahead of time, hoping to arrive just in time for the chaos at the palace and the escape of the two emperors.

Chapter 8: The General's Decision. General He Jin was in a state of panic. His previous plot to eliminate the eunuchs had been exposed, and the Ten Attendants, under the guise of the Empress Dowager, had summoned him to an audience. He had a wealth of talented personnel under his command, but Chen Lin, one of the Seven Sages of the Jian'an Period, remained silent, answering his master's letters without explanation. Yuan Shao, unable to bear this, offered to explain things to He Jin. Cao Cao, however, offered another poor idea. He Jin finally decided to enter the palace, but his guard position was snatched away by Yuan Shu.

Chapter 9: Chess player or pawn? Yuan Shu receives three secret orders from his uncle, demanding the removal of He Jin. Cao Cao, shrewd enough to understand the conflict between legitimate and illegitimate sons of the aristocratic families, knows that Yuan Shu's actions must be opposed. So, he woos Yuan Shao into the palace to protect He Jin. Zhang Rang, one of the Ten Eunuchs, is bewildered. Dealing with He Jin is fine, but beheading him immediately isn't what he wants. He flees, along with all the eunuchs, and He Jin's head is snatched away by someone with ulterior motives.

Chapter 10: The Laws of the Aristocracy. The protagonist is invited to a banquet at the Cui family's residence. Originally, the Cui family's head was to attend, but having received a letter from the Fei family's head, he hesitated to directly threaten the protagonist with the glass-making recipe. Instead, Cui Hou hosted the banquet, a formality reserved for casual eating and drinking, meaning no business was discussed. However, the protagonist, under the guise of drunkenness, handed over the folk recipe. He did so as a token of friendship before leaving Luoyang. And Beimang Mountain was the place where emperors died.

【Brief Comment】

Born in the Year of the Monkey in the Month of Horse, a Level 5 author, this is the only work to his name.

This book was released on March 10, 2017, and achieved premium status on June 27, 2019. The first order hasn't been counted, which is strange and shouldn't be the case. Currently, it has 140,000 favorites on Qidian, 22,400 on the bookstore, 310,000 followers, and 6 alliance leaders, including 1 Silver Alliance leader. This book doesn't seem to be very well-known.

But in my opinion, this is an underrated historical novel.

The author is very familiar with the history of the Three Kingdoms. The various historical materials may come from the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and various film and television dramas, but the details, timeline, and character plots are all very particular.

It looks like a vernacular novel about the Three Kingdoms, but even the smallest details have a strong sense of historical authenticity and are very logical.

And as mentioned in the introduction of this book, there is no system, no grandfather, no bulldozer, no stamp collecting, only a small clerk with no money, power or influence, who cuts through the obstacles step by step among the great men of the Three Kingdoms.

Aside from being able to make glass beads, I don't see any other remarkable qualities about the protagonist. He's not well-educated, lacks in resourcefulness, wisdom, or martial arts.

He relied solely on his familiarity with the endings of these historical figures and the direction of history, nothing more.

I originally thought that this kind of historical novel would lack interesting and exciting points, but on the contrary, the sense of substitution is very strong. It is as if you are the protagonist, you can do it, you can also turn the tide.

This is the author's strength, allowing you to read the ability and charm of the seemingly ordinary protagonist to stir up the situation of the Three Kingdoms.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves the history of the Three Kingdoms. It's very insightful!
【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】

I read a few more chapters without realizing it.

The author's modern text notes are quite useful.

If you use too many words, it will seem like you are adding too much water and looking down on your readers.

This can be called a flaw.

(End of this chapter)