Chapter 51: Three Rivers Commentary — Subscription Launch Next Wednesday

I was halfway through typing when I suddenly felt like saying something, so I’ll just give this preview commentary early.

One: About the author.

To cut to the chase: I’m not some big-name pseudonym; this is my second novel, my first being a brain-dead, trend-chasing xianxia story.

I wrote four hundred thousand words; though the performance was decent, I was forced to abandon it due to health issues, and by the time I looked back, my loyal readers had all vanished, so I indefinitely halted updates.

After that, I began plotting this historical novel.

I’ve been reading web novels for a long time—I forget which year I started, but the first one was called Tian Chen; I was stunned when it opened a harem and collected concubines.

Then came Doupo Cangqiong; back then, I trembled all over, feeling for the first time the charm of web novels.

Afterward, I read nearly every blockbuster novel, and historical fiction became my favorite for a while—from Xin Song, Zai Zhi Tian Xia, Lin Deng, and so on.

So much so that during university, I seriously considered writing a novel myself.

Unfortunately, I was busy preparing for the transfer exam, then later chasing GPA points, and never actually started writing.

It wasn’t until these past two years, after gaining more work experience and undergoing changes, that I became much more idle—besides attending meetings, I had little else to do.

I’m also someone with a strong urge to express myself, and when I happened to mention my disdain for brain-dead novels, I wrote a beginning that night and submitted it internally to Qidian.

It was impulsive, but it opened a door.

When I halted my last novel, I was still in the hospital, and I resolved that my next book would be something I truly loved—even if it had no gimmicks, it didn’t matter.

When my previous book went on hiatus, I was still in the hospital, and I thought that for my next book, I’d write something I truly enjoyed, even if it had no gimmicks at all.

I’m delighted so many readers have come to like it.

Two: About performance and gratitude.

I never imagined this book would achieve its current success.

After all, my internal submissions kept getting rejected—criticized as lacking gimmicks.

Anyone who read my first single chapter knows: back then, during trial submissions to the library, two recommendations only gained me a hundred favorites; over four rounds of recommendations, each round attracted only half the average traffic.

Fortunately, later came intelligent recommendation, which began precisely pushing my novel to readers who liked this genre, and the data slowly improved.

During the fourth round of recommendations, my editor said there was a chance for a strong push, so I kept delaying the subscription launch.

Then came this week—finally, I made it to Sanjiang.

This is thanks to all readers who followed from the beginning.

Even the seedlings followed—poor you all (laughs).

Three: About the plot.

First, regarding character designs: many still don’t accept or even question them.

Let me clarify: once I’ve set the historical figures’ personalities, there’s no room for debate—I won’t change them midway.

If you dislike it, don’t force yourself to keep reading.

Then, questions like: Was Gao Gong really that powerful? Was Zhang Juzheng truly so selfless?

I have a crucial creative philosophy:

From the perspective of communication theory, characters with strong willpower earn genuine, heartfelt recognition.

Even if their outward behavior appears stubborn.

Thus, you’ll see Gao Gong is more formidable than in history, Zhang Juzheng more perfect, and the protagonist still acting superior at age ten.

All of this stems from that principle.

Key characters must have their own beliefs, ideas, motivations, and above all, unshakable will.

Whether these figures truly behaved this way in history? I don’t care—I’m writing fiction, and my first priority is crafting an engaging story.

Moreover, I want them to be these kinds of people, not puppets bowing obediently.

The upcoming characters—Hai Rui, Xu Jie, Li Zhi—will be the same.

Whether good or bad, even Xu Jie will have reasons supporting his actions.

These may not be the historical figures themselves, but at least they’re the historical figures in my heart.

This volume depicts the protagonist’s entry into politics; the next volume will largely cover his role in the Grand Secretariat, where he drives incremental reforms.

The process will be slow, the actions small, so the timeline will accordingly stretch longer.

After all, Hai Rui’s last memorial alone spanned the entire duration of this volume.

Four: About updates.

Honestly, I regret not splitting chapters.

Though I post one chapter daily, four thousand words counts as one chapter, six thousand words also counts as one.

Meanwhile, others write two thousand words per chapter, posting two per day.

Among new books released at the same time that haven't been subscribed to yet, nearly all use two thousand words per chapter—regular readers should be aware of this.

So I feel quite wronged.

I could split each chapter into two thousand words; then these past few chapters could be split into three each, and I could claim a burst update.

Unfortunately, there’s no turning back: from the start, to preserve narrative integrity, I wrote each chapter to complete one plot point before publishing.

Whether four thousand or six thousand words.

But I’ve learned my lesson—my next book will use two thousand words per chapter.

As for after subscription launch:

I write this book slowly; my last brain-dead novel, after subscription, I posted over ten thousand words daily with no pressure.

For this one, I revise each chapter three times: write it once, show it to those who understand history, show it to those who don’t, then revise again before posting.

And I still need to work during the day.

Though my office rarely has visitors, the environment isn’t ideal for creation.

My typing time is also relatively limited.

As for post-subscription update volume:

In the early phase, I’ll post more, since I have some backup drafts.

But later, it’s hard to say—either two three-thousand-word chapters, or one six-thousand-word mega-chapter.

After all, this is about earning money; I’d love to be a writing machine like an eagle posting twenty thousand words daily, but I simply can’t, hands up.

If I forced word count, I could post fourteen thousand words daily like my last brain-dead novel, but quality would inevitably drop.

I fully understand why this book made it to Sanjiang and earned readers’ favor.

I fully understand why my book made it onto the Three Rivers list and why readers like it.

I won’t sacrifice quality to rush word count—that’s suicide.

No matter how much you criticize me for being slow, it can’t be helped—human effort has limits; respect objective reality.

I beg you all to be merciful in your words.

Five: About the reader group.

Recently, new readers have asked again about the reader group.

Let me apologize once more: due to unavoidable circumstances, it’s very difficult for me to establish a group, so I must temporarily put it on hold.

I apologize again—due to force majeure, it’s very difficult for the author to set up a group, so it must be temporarily put on hold.

For this Q&A section, I’ll sneak in replies during my upcoming meeting.

For this round of Q&A, the author will sneak in a reply during the upcoming meeting.

(End of chapter)