Chapter 56: Internet Celebrity

Chai Xiao noticed the confusion in everyone's eyes and smiled.

"This concept of 'traffic' originally refers to the volume of a water current!"

"When the Ministry of Works needs to build a river, dig a canal, or when farmers till the land and cut small ditches to irrigate their crops, they must accurately calculate the water's traffic!"

"Extending this meaning further, it denotes reach and influence."

"Let me give you the simplest of examples."

"Suppose we were to return to the Great Tang Dynasty right now, and hold such a martial arts tournament. The one hosting the bride-selection contest would be Princess Yuzhen."

"And the two individuals currently fighting in the arena would be none other than Li Bai and Gao Shi."

At these words, everyone was startled.

Princess Yuzhen?

The biological sister of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji?

Li Bai?

The foremost poet immortal of all under heaven?

To say the least, wild historical anecdotes of the streets actually did pass down tales of Princess Yuzhen and Li Bai.

There were even poems as proof.

Li Bai had once specifically composed "Lyrics for the Immortal Yuzhen".

*The immortal Yuzhen frequently visits Mount Taihua.*
*At dawn she beats the heavenly drum, soaring swiftly on twin dragons.*
*She plays with lightning without resting her hands, walking clouds leave truly no trace.*
*When will she enter Mount Shaoshi, the Queen Mother of the West is bound to meet her.*

Later on, rumors of their romantic affair spread far and wide. In her later years, Princess Yuzhen practiced Taoism and cultivated herself on Mount Jingting in Anhui, where she would secretly meet with Li Bai.

Li Bai specifically wrote "Sitting Alone on Mount Jingting", and moreover, both of them were ultimately buried there.

*All the birds have flown high away, a single cloud drifts off alone and idle.*
*We look at each other and never grow tired, only Mount Jingting remains.*

The reason why "we look at each other and never grow tired" was precisely because Princess Yuzhen was right here—"only Mount Jingting".

However, wasn't it rumored that Li Bai's "rival in love" was the "poet Buddha" Wang Wei?

The latter had also previously written poems for Princess Yuzhen.

*Beyond the green falling winds and mists, the path to the jade terrace is distant.*
*How is it connected to the imperial gardens, possessing a fairy realm of its own.*
*Arriving here to turn the imperial carriage, following the stream to shift the kingfisher banners.*
*Suns and moons open within the grotto, clouds and rosy mists emerge from the windows.*

Legend has it that after Wang Wei recited and sang this poem for Princess Yuzhen at the Prince of Qi's mansion, he captured the top position in the imperial examinations in a single stroke the very next year.

Needless to say, he must have caught Princess Yuzhen's eye, which was why she vigorously recommended him before her older brother.

After his wife passed away, he never remarried, and that too was because of Princess Yuzhen.

Therefore, although the "Poet Immortal" and the "Poet Buddha" held lofty statuses, they rarely interacted simply because Princess Yuzhen stood between them.

If a martial arts duel were to take place, it should be between those two, rather than the taciturn Gao Shi.

However, if they truly fought, Li Bai possessed supreme swordsmanship, and Wang Wei certainly would not be his match.

As for this Gao Shi, one of the four great poets of the frontier, he had indeed written poetry for Princess Yuzhen, though that was likely due to the general trend of the times.

What he took the greatest pride in was traveling together through Songcheng in his youth with Li Bai, the poet immortal, and Du Fu, the poet saint.

Just how close were they?

*Drunk and sleeping together under the autumn quilt, walking hand in hand on the same day.*

To what extent was he proud of it?

He composed the poem "Climbing the Qin Terrace with Various Lords in Autumn" on the spot, and kept it in his thoughts forever.

*How suddenly the four seasons pass, the autumn cicadas sing in the sixth month.*
*All creation returns to the White Emperor, a flat plain spans across the red firmament.*

Later on, when he encountered the An Lushan Rebellion, Gao Shi had no choice but to lay down his brush and join the military, where he met the legendary general Geshu Han and became his second-in-command.

He protected the fleeing Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, fighting his way up through hardships to become the Military Commissioner of Huainan, governing the most prosperous region of the Great Tang.

"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the only successful poet has been Gao Shi alone."

Following that, Gao Shi led an army to suppress the rebellious Prince of Yong, Li Lin. To his surprise, it was here that he encountered Li Bai, who had sought refuge under the Prince of Yong due to the chaos of war.

History always loves to play tricks.

The idol he had once worshiped with utmost reverence, the good friend with whom he had shared a cover, had unexpectedly turned into an enemy to be attacked, and was now reduced to a prisoner.

Could the battle between Li Bai and Gao Shi mentioned by the young master be an allusion to this very episode?

If that were truly the case, it would be as hot as freshly forged red iron—blazing!

Because even if Gao Shi's renown among the common people was not high, with Li Bai in the mix, it would absolutely be a presence looked up to by tens of thousands!

"Young master! If Princess Yuzhen were holding a bride-selection contest, and Li Bai and Gao Shi fought in the arena, the streets would surely be emptied!"

"I estimate that every single person in the Great Xu Royal City would run out to watch!"

Jianlei and the others gave a resolute reply.

"Is that so?"

Chai Xiao felt a slight surge of surprise.

"I thought you might not be very familiar with Gao Shi, but it seems you all understand history quite well!"

Jianlei cupped her hands and spoke frankly.

"Young master! If this hypothesis holds true, just having Li Bai enter the competition alone would be enough to shake the entire Great Qi!"

Chai Xiao nodded, as if he had already seen through their thoughts.

"What if, instead of Li Bai and Gao Shi, we replaced them with Li Bai and Wang Wei?"

"Those two are both romantic paramours in Princess Yuzhen's history!"

Jianlei was taken aback and replied.

"If it were those two, I believe even more people would come. Not just from the Royal City, but people from neighboring prefectures and commanderies would rush over upon hearing the news!"

Chai Xiao asked again.

"Then what if we replaced them with Li Bai and Du Fu?"

Jianlei's eyes widened wide, as if she had just laid eyes on a visitor from another world.

"If it were them, then let alone the entire Great Qi Dynasty, people from all under heaven would swarm here like a flood!"

Jianni, Jianhong, and the others also nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed!"

"Exactly!"

Chai Xiao tapped the tabletop with a leaf.

"Let me ask you this another way. What if, instead of Princess Yuzhen's bride-selection contest, it were Lady Sun, the younger sister of Sun Quan from the Three Kingdoms era, holding a martial arts bride-selection?"

"And the two parties fighting in the arena were Liu Bei and Cao Cao?"

"Or, focusing purely on martial prowess, if we replaced them with Guan Yu and Zhang Fig, or Lü Bu and Zhao Yun, which match do you think would draw more spectators?"

Jianlei, Jianni, and Jianhong were stunned for a moment, and then began to argue.

"It definitely has to be Guan Yu and Zhang Fei! They have greater fame, and their fighting looks much more spectacular!"

"If I had to choose, I'd pick Liu Bei and Cao Cao! They usually didn't fight each other, so a duel between them would surely be interesting!"

"If it's not just two people fighting, but a free-for-all recreating 'Three Heroes Battle Lü Bu', people would love to watch it even more!"

Chai Xiao smiled.

"If we don't limit ourselves to the current dynasty or era, and pick generals at random—for example, Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong, or Li Yuanba fighting Xiang Yu!"

"This..."

Jianlei and the others dropped their jaws.

"Young master! We've truly never thought of it that way. If they were really to fight, the crowd wanting to watch would be no less than that for Li Bai and Du Fu!"

At this moment, Chai Xiao paused and handed the fourth large tree leaf to Jianlei.

"In truth, your hearts have already awakened to it!"

"As the Buddhists say, a heavy hammer is needed for a loud drum, and sudden enlightenment relies on a sudden shout."

"However, since you have already attained this realization, there is no need for heavy hammers and sudden shouts!"

"If we compare the level of human prestige and influence to the volume of a water current, that is traffic."

"In other words, everyone acknowledges that if the Poet Immortal Li Bai were alive today, he would rank number one in traffic."

"The Poet Saint Du Fu would be second, and the Poet Buddha Wang Wei would be third."

"Princess Yuzhen would be fourth. Or rather, her very existence would comprehensively amplify the traffic of Li Bai and the others."

"The same goes for military generals. Although Lü Bu possesses the greatest martial arts under heaven, when it comes to traffic, Guan Yu might have even more."

"Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Liu Bei, and Cao Cao are all super-sized traffic generators."

"If these figures are gathered together, they will instantly erupt with a total sum far surpassing the addition of their individual traffics."

"Concentrate your forces against the enemy's weak point, and slay enemy generals a thousand miles away."

"Therefore, the fourth and final key principle of intelligence gathering is: create traffic, ride the momentum of the situation, and bend it to our use."

"What you are capable of doing is actually very simple, and that is to manufacture Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, or Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Lü Bu!"

"The easiest way to capture people's hearts is to give nicknames to these registered martial artists!"

"In the beginning, you can summarize them by their physical appearance!"

"One who is rough-hewn, with a face like charcoal and a stubbly beard, can be called 'Fierce Zhang Fei'!"

"One who is fair and clean, dressed in light clothes, and skilled with a spear can be called 'Jade-Faced Zilong'!"

"Later on, you can have martial arts masters analyze the technical traits of potential experts, such as 'Three-Step Spear God' or 'Five-Poisons Club King'!"

"Those who possess formidable martial arts yet are particularly fond of showing off, specifically knocking opponents out of the ring or down three times, can be called 'One-Kick Ring' or 'Cloth-Touch Fall'!"

"Use nicknames to gradually build up the traffic bit by bit! Because real names are hard to remember!"

"Once they become popular, you must guide them step by step—do not let them ruin themselves out of excessive arrogance, nor self-harming due to overwhelming pressure!"

"Make them serve our purposes!"

"If we compare this martial arts bride-selection contest to a web, selecting and nurturing 'super popular' martial artists is what we call 'web celebrities'!"

"After the tournament concludes, if none of you fancy any of them, or if someone even stronger than you actually wins the contest,"

"Who knows, perhaps in the future they will become commanding generals just like you, won't they?"

Jianlei and the others first nodded continuously, but as they listened to the latter part, they were completely dumbfounded.

His Lordship not only wants to leverage the "traffic" of the bride-selection tournament to make money, but also wants to select "web celebrity" martial artists to serve as generals?

And moreover, he intends to cultivate us female guards into commanding generals as well?

Why does it feel like this is a gigantic game of chess being played?