The Japanese are even more enthusiastic about Chinese history than the Chinese themselves...
Whether in the original timeline Li Chencan came from or the current one, this strange phenomenon exists...
In that timeline, sometimes the Chinese history written by the Japanese is even better than that written by the Chinese.
Apart from Japan, most of the citizens in other East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Central Asian countries can speak Chinese, and they also love Chinese history and the popular things from China, which tend to become popular in their countries as well.
As a result, when "Those Ming Dynasty Years" became a huge hit and bestseller in the empire, it immediately sparked a wave of attention in neighboring countries, as they all wanted to see it for themselves. However, "Those Ming Dynasty Years" was only released domestically for the past few months and had not been released abroad.
When "Those Ming Dynasty Years 3: The Monstrous Palace" was released in the empire, the first three volumes of "Those Ming Dynasty Years" would also be released simultaneously in East Asian, Southeast Asian, and even South Asian and Central Asian countries.
Moreover, these countries also broadcast "China's Good Music." When they learned that Li Chencan, who had made a big splash on "China's Good Music," had also written "Those Ming Dynasty Years," everyone became very interested in Li Chencan... Therefore, it was necessary to have a new book launch to let people see Li Chencan's face...
As for the effect of this new book launch in suppressing the few copycat new books, that goes without saying.
That's why Shi Chuanfeng made such a request.
"More vivid than textbooks, more serious than a certain book!"
The Rongcheng Literature and Art Publishing House began to publicly promote their new book "The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire" and shouted this slogan.
Everyone knew that the "certain book" they referred to was "Those Ming Dynasty Years."
Additionally, the release date of "The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire: The Founding of the Song Dynasty" was only three days earlier than "Those Ming Dynasty Years 3: The Monstrous Palace."
Therefore, everyone knew the target of "The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire"...
As a result, many different voices emerged.
First, Li Chencan's fans were quite agitated—
"The Literature and Art Publishing House is clearly just following the trend, releasing 'The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire' and claiming it's more serious than 'Those Ming Dynasty Years'? In fact, I think, as a copycat work, it was published so quickly that it will definitely be neither funny, serious, nor interesting..."
"Agreed, strongly agreed! After all, it's just a copycat! If they had published it more discreetly, people might have read it out of curiosity after finishing 'Those Ming Dynasty Years: The World Comes to Pay Homage,' but now that they claim it's more serious than 'Those Ming Dynasty Years,' I immediately lost interest."
"The publicity is over the top, but the quality will probably be poor... Is the Literature and Art Publishing House getting restless?"
"How could Sanchuan Kaiyang write such a copycat work?"
"Probably to earn some money for baby formula..." Li Chencan's fans maliciously speculated about Sanchuan Kaiyang.
Sanchuan Kaiyang was also a historical fiction writer with some standing in the industry. He had once written a trilogy called "Di Qing," which sold 140,000 copies, giving him a bit of a reputation. However, this time, writing the copycat "The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire" naturally did not win him the favor of Li Chencan's fans.
However, not everyone was opposed...
In fact, many people were looking forward to it—
"Since 'Those Ming Dynasty Years 3' hasn't come out yet, it's better to read 'The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire' now."
"Right, right, right, let's give it a try; it probably won't be that bad..."
"Let's be inclusive!" These people were the neutral ones.
As for Li Chencan's opponents, they had already started jumping up and down because this book gave them hope of a comeback—
"The Chronicles of the Great Song Empire? Just the name sounds weighty! It must carry a heavy history..."
"Such a name is much more stable than 'Those Ming Dynasty Years.'"
"Such a book is worth looking forward to; we need more serious history. Although people may not like history that's too serious, sometimes history needs to be this way."
"The monopoly of 'Those Ming Dynasty Years' will soon be a thing of the past."
... The three factions were all expressing their views. Li Chencan's fans and opponents engaged in one debate after another. By this time, September had already arrived.
In September, Li Chencan easily advanced from the top six to the top five, becoming one of the five finalists in "China's Good Music." Li Chencan continued to win round after round, and the number of songs he performed grew, with his songs becoming widely sung across the country.
At the same time, the results of the ancient poetry and prose competition in the tenth year of Chongding were announced. Li Chencan's "Waves Washing Sand: Beidaihe" ultimately won second place, and a large sum of prize money was credited to his account. Moreover, Li Chencan now held the position of a third-level researcher in the Imperial Ancient Poetry and Prose Research Association, giving him a place in this vast association and a foothold in the orthodox literary world of the empire—although the massive sales of "Those Ming Dynasty Years" had made him famous among the people, his reputation had not yet reached the level of being considered orthodox.
This position as a third-level researcher in the Ancient Poetry and Prose Research Association immediately gave Li Chencan a recognized, orthodox identity.
The other side did not require Li Chencan to personally collect the award but sent the prize money and prizes by mail.
From a certain perspective, second place in the ancient poetry and prose competition was a solid and unshakable future, an unignorable part of his resume.
Li Chencan's fame continued to grow.
Next, the competition would be the semi-finals, and "China's Good Music," after a long and drawn-out battle, was getting closer to the final showdown...
Li Chencan, of course, was one of the five finalists...
This year's five finalists in "China's Good Music" were Li Chencan, Yue Fengju, Shen Chengyun, Su Xue, and Lu Lanqin—three men and two women. This mix also demonstrated that women still had a place in "China's Good Music." After so many competitions, although they were competitors, the five contestants had become familiar with each other and had developed a certain bond.
Reaching the top five, moving forward would only get better. Being in the top five guaranteed a place in the music industry... But after all, having come this far, everyone aspired to the final championship.