The Ming Dynasty Behind the Mask

This is a very well-written book, far superior to works like "The Little Grand Secretary." In my personal opinion, besides "The Founding of the Song Dynasty," this is currently the best historical novel available. Many books cover the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, but very few offer such comprehensive interpretations of the figures as this author. I don't understand why its performance wasn't ideal.

The most underrated author—from his previous book to this one, his writing has consistently maintained a very high standard. That football novel can be considered one of the best novels in recent years, but whether he becomes a big star still depends on luck; perhaps the timing isn't right yet.

Seeing the Shaolin Temple scene tells you the author never reads official history. They learn history from movies and novels. When someone like that writes a novel, their distorted history will only deceive more people.

Having read up to chapter 98, the book was quite well-written before encountering the Japanese pirates, but after that, it became incredibly tedious. How can a 17-year-old, a transmigrator who goes from scheming against a provincial governor to getting involved with the pirates, constantly risking his life in battles, make the protagonist seem powerful?

Seeing my author's post about the book's release and then being banned from commenting—the protagonist's early character development was so inconsistent, and I can't even comment on it? Honestly, I can't even say anything! Wow, that's impressive! One chapter is full of passionate action, the next it's suddenly about women. There were several abrupt and inconsistent character developments.

This is at least on par with Master Sanjie's top-tier writing; I really like it. I'm supporting the author by downloading a pirated copy, and I'll never leave!

Traditional Chinese literati were an even more vile group, rigid in their thinking, arrogant, hypocritical, unreformable, and incorrigible; they could only be physically eliminated. Did scholars possess integrity during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties? Did any scholars switch professions and learn mathematics and physics during the late Qing and Republican eras?

I really can't figure out why this book isn't popular. Having been a reader of Qidian for over 20 years, I guess I'm considered quite experienced. I've always enjoyed historical fiction, so I think I have some authority to speak on this. Having read so many books over the years, I often find myself reading them chapter by chapter these days.

I've seen many people criticizing Confucianism. Have you ever studied or even been exposed to Confucianism? You spent a few years in university, learned some professional knowledge, and then thought you were scientifically savvy. You listened to some people—teachers, celebrities, or professors—saying how bad Confucianism is, and then you believed them.

Throughout history, Confucian scholars have been fond of colluding with bandits and fawning over barbarians. A comparison of tax revenue in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty makes this clear.