The Rise of Liu Shan, the Internet-Addicted Youth

Ai He Tian La JiangQidian2020

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Word count
1.9M words

Tags

Featured Fiction Alternate History HegemonyTime TravelZhuge LiangWeb NovelLight ComedyAncient-Modern ClashQin-Han-Three Kingdoms

Summary

In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, with the Battle of Hanzhong in full swing, the twelve-year-old Shu-Han crown prince Liu Shan, left to guard Chengdu, cannot sleep for worry over the war. He unexpectedly discovers a strange door in his bedroom wall leading to a modern internet cafe. From then on he shuttles between the Three Kingdoms and the modern world, addicted to cola, instant noodles, spicy strips, and online games, and from netizens in the cafe he glimpses his historical reputation as "the unraisable Adou." Armed with modern goods and information brought back, he is sent by Zhuge Liang to reinforce Jingzhou, and amid his subordinates' layered imaginings and misunderstandings, he wins repeated feats, step by step becoming mythologized as "Emperor Dou Liu Shan," forging a path that rewrites his fate amid the clash of past and present.

Editor's review

This book blends Three Kingdoms history with modern symbols like internet cafes, games, cola, and instant noodles, drawing laughs from subordinates' self-aggrandizing delusions. Liu Shan's growth from a chuunibyou youth to emperor is handled with some care, suiting readers who like light alternate history. The flaws are that early victories rely mostly on equipment and coincidences, the protagonist's own strategic growth is slow, and the title and first impression may put some off.

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Reading tips

  1. Read it as light comedy rather than serious historical fiction, and accept the delusional-comedy tone first
  2. Watch Liu Shan's psychological growth from youth to ruler, not just the battle outcomes
  3. When you hit game or anime references, use the surrounding context; they don't affect the main plot

About the publisher

Qidian

Qidian is a platform whose catalogue brings together online literature, with about 45,000 titles in the library spanning categories such as male-oriented fiction, Eastern fantasy, xianxia and wuxia, science fiction, selected fiction and quality web novels. Representative titles include Reincarnation Paradise, War Soldier Leon, The Fairy Is Fierce (also known as Tai Mang), The Expert Is Right Beside Me, Dragon Herder, You Should Cross the Mountains Like a Hero, The Adventures of a Clever Girl and Summoning Heroes of All Ages in Another World, with themes extending from fantasy and xianxia to science fiction and adventure. Representative authors available in the library include Na Yi Zhi Wen Zi, Chi Gua Zi Qun Zhong, Guan Guan Gong Zi, Chenxing LL, Luan, Chen Mo De Ai, Piao Yi Dao Zhang and Dong Tian Bu Leng. Their works mostly appear as serialized web fiction aimed at readers who prefer long genre fiction. Public information on its founding background and scale is limited, so no inferences are made here; the description is based solely on the library's titles and categories.

FAQ

Is the protagonist a time traveler? No. Liu Shan is a native youth of the Three Kingdoms who merely discovers a door to a modern internet cafe and shuttles between the two worlds.
Is this book completed? Yes, it is completed at 612 chapters, about 1.9 million words.
Can I understand it without having read the Three Kingdoms? Yes. The main characters and background are basically explained; knowing the Three Kingdoms will make it more enjoyable.

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About the author

Ai He Tian La Jiang Author

Ai He Tian La Jiang is a writer active on Chinese online literature platforms. Public information about the author is limited: their real name, nationality, and dates of birth and death have not been disclosed, and six works are currently known. Their writing spans categories such as male-oriented fiction, suspense and the supernatural, and alternate history. Representative works include Starting from Buying a Haunted House, Little Guan Gong, The Rise of the Internet-Addicted Liu Shan, Replacing Song, and The Great Schemer of the Three Kingdoms. Judging from the titles and categories, the author likes to build imaginative stories around historical settings such as the Three Kingdoms period and the Song dynasty, blending suspense and supernatural elements with historical narrative to create alternate tales with a playful, twist-filled flavor. The overall style favors a light, fast-paced web-fiction rhythm, and the wide range of subjects has drawn some attention from both history and supernatural fiction readers.