Chapter 0833: A Humble Opinion

Zhao Fusheng was no fool, and neither was Liu Xiaoyao. If either of them had been less intelligent, they would never have achieved what they had.

In comparison, Zhao Fusheng, who had spent his previous life at the bottom of society and now relied on his foreknowledge to reach his current position, had honed his ability to read people through years of practice. So when he heard Liu Xiaoyao’s words, he understood that this man genuinely wanted to learn something from him.

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Fusheng took a deep breath, organized his words, and said, “Brother Liu, if you’ll forgive my bluntness, do you think the internet—specifically in terms of speech—is a good thing or a bad thing?”

Liu Xiaoyao was taken aback, somewhat surprised that Zhao Fusheng would ask such a question. After all, at his age, he had long understood that many things could not be judged simply as good or bad.

After a moment’s reflection, Liu Xiaoyao said, “Overall, I’d say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”

This was his judgment based on his own understanding.

Zhao Fusheng smiled bitterly. It seemed that, as he had suspected, many big shots, including Liu Xiaoyao, had no idea what kind of monsters the rise of the internet would create.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng said seriously to Liu Xiaoyao, “Brother Liu, have you ever considered—if, just if—one day there were a place like a forum where people could freely express their views on anything, say whatever they wanted without fear of being held accountable, what kind of situation would arise?”

“Well…” Liu Xiaoyao paused, then chuckled. “A hundred schools of thought contend, a hundred flowers bloom.”

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and then nodded. “Right and wrong. There would certainly be a hundred schools of thought, but don’t forget, that’s online, not in reality.”

“What do you mean?” Liu Xiaoyao sat up straight, staring into Zhao Fusheng’s eyes.

His intuition told him that Zhao Fusheng wouldn’t ask such a simple question without reason, and that his words carried a deeper meaning.

“Think about it,” Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked Liu Xiaoyao. “If, just if, one day your identity were exposed on a forum, what would those people say?”

Liu Xiaoyao was startled. He was about to say it didn’t matter, but on second thought, he frowned.

Having lived through a certain era, he had a deep impression of certain human vices, especially those of his countrymen. He could even imagine the kind of filth those people would spew.

A society that could produce a saying like “A hero’s son is a hero, a reactionary’s son is a bastard” hardly inspired confidence.

Seeing Liu Xiaoyao silent, Zhao Fusheng continued, “Everyone has the right to go online. Spend a few yuan to enter an internet café, register an account with a fake name and address—everything can be false. Yet you can sit in front of a computer and spew your opinions without restraint, even if those words cause irreparable harm to others, without bearing any responsibility. Brother Liu, don’t you think that scene resembles an era?”

Liu Xiaoyao was stunned, because he knew exactly what era Zhao Fusheng was referring to.

Some people thought the ten years of turmoil held indelible memories, but in Zhao Fusheng’s view, what was so beautiful about an era where order had vanished?

Some said people in the 1990s were simple and honest. Hah, really?

Those who said that probably hadn’t read materials from the 1960s and 1970s. The so-called simple and honest people of that time—what they had done might have long been buried in history.

Liu Xiaoyao knew this well, having lived through those days. He remembered how terrifying that time was. Now, as Zhao Fusheng spoke, although he felt something was off, he couldn’t find a flaw upon careful thought.

Seeing Liu Xiaoyao’s reaction, Zhao Fusheng knew he had convinced him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Eloquence was no simple skill. One had to first learn to read people’s hearts, find their weak points, and then strike a fatal blow. That was true eloquence; otherwise, it was just useless talk.

“Fusheng, isn’t the scene you described a bit alarmist?”

After a long silence, Liu Xiaoyao sighed and said to Zhao Fusheng.

After all, he was a man who had seen great things, a notable figure in the capital. Though momentarily shaken by Zhao Fusheng’s depiction, he still found it hard to believe after recovering.

After all, within his current field of vision, he simply couldn’t see the scene Zhao Fusheng described.

Zhao Fusheng wasn’t surprised. A big shot like him wouldn’t be easily fooled; that would be too unreliable.

“Brother Liu, I’m not being alarmist. I just think some things need to change,” Zhao Fusheng said to Liu Xiaoyao.

Liu Xiaoyao was taken aback. His intuition told him Zhao Fusheng was implying something.

But somehow, he felt that this young man was genuinely worried about something happening.

Zhao Fusheng’s expression was calm as he said, “Given current trends, the internet will gradually become a big platform, and the various software developed alongside it will become smaller platforms. For example, the main ways to communicate online now are MSN, BBS, and QQ chat software—oh, and blogs. Let’s set aside MSN and QQ; instant messaging software is mostly used for chatting and making friends. But BBS and blogs—these two things may seem ordinary now, but they are comprehensive platforms that use the internet as a carrier to easily and quickly publish personal insights, communicate with others effectively and conveniently, and offer rich, personalized displays. In other words, if someone uses blogs and BBS to gather a large following, do you think they could become opinion leaders?”

The phrase “opinion leaders” immediately put Liu Xiaoyao on alert. As someone from a propaganda family, he was keenly sensitive to such matters. In his view, everything Zhao Fusheng had said before could be ignored, but these last few words demanded his attention.

“You mean these people could spark ideological conflicts?” Liu Xiaoyao’s expression darkened.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then realized that this man, having experienced so much, was hypersensitive to ideological matters and had read too much into his words.

Clearing his throat, Zhao Fusheng knew he had to quickly dispel Liu Xiaoyao’s suspicions. If he actually did something that hindered the internet’s development, it would be Zhao Fusheng’s fault.

“Brother Liu, you misunderstand. What I mean is, what if these people use their many followers to do bad things? And what if they exploit the situation to make money?”

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and recounted, with some modifications, the things that big Weibo influencers had done in his memory. Finally, he said, “If these people band together, they could influence public opinion and turn white into black.”

After hearing Zhao Fusheng’s words, Liu Xiaoyao’s expression turned serious. If everything Zhao Fusheng described became reality, it would indeed be a difficult problem.

“What do you think should be done about this?” After a moment of silence, Liu Xiaoyao looked at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. “I don’t know either. To be honest, I welcome the development of the internet because I think it benefits our lives. But the drawbacks are also obvious. Because of the internet, many people can vent their real-life frustrations without restraint, and their behavior is completely uncontrollable. I think that’s the issue you need to worry about.”

With that, the conversation naturally came to an end. Zhao Fusheng wasn’t a god, and he didn’t have all the solutions. Liu Xiaoyao wasn’t the one truly in charge either; he was just curious.

As for whether these words would eventually reach certain ears, Zhao Fusheng didn’t know and didn’t want to know. He was merely expressing, in some way, the future he could see.