Chapter 285: A freshman speech that will go down in history

Zhou Ming walked up to the podium, and the school principal, Lawrence, took the initiative to shake Zhou Ming's hand and say, 'Zhou Ming, this is a rare opportunity. I hope you will do well.'

Lawrence finished and walked off the podium. Although his face still had that dead-mother expression, if you paid attention, you could still find a hint of mischief and smugness in the corner of his eyes. Zhou Ming didn't say much about this, just nodded silently to thank him, and then stood on the podium. Zhou Ming could see that Lawrence was questioned by the Harvard Board members as soon as he stepped down from the stage, and it was obvious that the Harvard Board members were also very dissatisfied with his arrangement.

No wonder, after all, this opening ceremony is considered a face-saving project for Harvard, so how can Lawrence be so emotional about it?

In fact, all the board members had strong opinions about Zhou Ming's 26 Chinese people entering Harvard, but opinions are opinions, and they could not joke about this opening ceremony. Even if the opening ceremony was not open to the public, there were still many media outlets sending reporters to the scene to cover the event. If the Chinese people made a fool of themselves at the opening ceremony, it would not be the Chinese people who would lose face, it would be the people of Harvard University.

Because no matter what, these Chinese people are registered as Harvard students, and their words and deeds represent Harvard University, especially since he was personally named by Harvard President Lawrence as a student representative.

Lawrence, you have been the president for nearly 30 years. Are you senile? How could you have made such a capricious decision?

This is what every trustee wants to ask Lawrence, and in fact, Zhou Ming also had his doubts about this. However, what Lawrence was thinking was not something that Zhou Ming cared about, because for him right now, the most important thing was how to get past this hurdle.

Zhou Ming stood on the podium, took a deep breath, and looked at the more than a thousand faces of different skin colours below. Zhou Ming was very clear that his speech today would largely determine the future treatment of himself and the 25 students in the finance class, and possibly even other Chinese students, on the Harvard campus.

These thoughts undoubtedly made Ming feel a great deal of pressure, but he did not flinch. Instead, he picked up the microphone on the podium and said, 'Hello, distinguished Harvard trustees and fellow students. I am Ming Zhou, an international student from China. I am very happy to speak here as the representative of the new students, wishing each other well and looking forward to our future together.'

As soon as Ming Zhou finished speaking, there was a burst of booing from the audience. Many people gave Ming Zhou the thumbs-down, while others shouted at him, 'Get out of Harvard, you scheming Chinese! We don't want to show the future with despicable Chinese people. Get out of here, there's no place for you here. Harvard doesn't welcome you!'

Zhou Ming was not deterred by the boos, or perhaps they were exactly what he expected. He continued, 'Whether you welcome me or not, I am here today, and as you can see, I am a Chinese person.'

As soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, the fat man who had come with Wang Jian immediately exclaimed, 'This Chinese guy is crazy. Doesn't he know that everyone is against him because of this? He finally got the chance to speak, but he said such nonsense. It would have been better if he had just kept quiet and slunk away! Then everyone would have just laughed at them for a while, but now he's provoked public anger.'

After the fat man finished speaking, he turned to Wang Jian and continued, 'Wang, it seems that Chinese people born in Red China are all astonishingly stupid pigs. Fortunately, you were born in the great Federation, at least you are smart.'

Wang Jian didn't think that the fat man was praising him when he said this, but Wang Jian didn't say much either. He just looked at Zhou Ming. He could feel that Zhou Ming's aura seemed to have just begun.

'Speaking of my country, it has actually been plagued by many disasters. 150 years ago, in 1840, on a warship called the Kanghua Li, we Chinese were forced to sign the first unequal Treaty of Nanjing, not only having to pay a large amount of money in compensation, but also ceding the port city, which has not been recovered even today, 150 years later. After the Treaty of Nanjing, a series of extremely unequal treaties such as the Treaty of Wangxia and the Treaty of Xinchou followed, plunging China into poverty for a long time.'

'Three hundred and fifty years ago, when Harvard University was established with the generous donation of the Harvard pastor, my country was at war. When Harvard University has produced American presidents, my country and my compatriots were starving. When Harvard University has become the world's top university, my country has just been established, or is being invaded by you!'

Zhou Ming's powerful words flew around the theatre, and all the students below were dumbfounded.

In fact, when Zhou Ming walked onto the stage, all these students below were wondering in their own minds what Zhou Ming would actually say, but they never imagined that Zhou Ming would start off by talking about China from more than a hundred years ago to the present day, talking about a bunch of wars and unequal treaties. No one understood what Zhou Ming was getting at.

'Poverty and backwardness, these are the synonyms for my country, from more than a hundred years ago to the present day,'

Zhou Ming emphasised, 'I just heard a lot of booing, from everyone, at me or at all of us Chinese. As for the reason, I think it's simply because I and the other 25 Chinese students have been given the opportunity to attend Harvard.'

'Being looked down upon because of poverty and backwardness is why there is special treatment. In fact, there is nothing wrong with this in itself. After all, the advanced races should occupy the best social resources, whether it be education, healthcare, or other aspects. Only in this way can the dominant position of the races be ensured, and the elite education of a first-class university.'

Zhou Ming suddenly changed the subject when he got to this point, and then continued, 'But is this South Africa? Or Rwanda? As far as I know, this place is called Harvard, a university founded three hundred years ago by a Harvard pastor, a man of God. It is a school that preaches freedom and democracy.'

'I once longed for Harvard. In my imagination, it should be a place of freedom, peace and vitality. After all, those who can study here are the elites of the United States and even the world, so they should all be polite gentlemen. But now, you all under the stage have given me a big slap in the face, educating me with facts that my thoughts are indeed just meaningless and ignorant fantasies.'

Zhou Ming shouted, becoming more and more agitated, and finally roared, 'I don't understand why this place is filled with decadent and disgusting Nazism. Just because I'm Chinese, I'm rejected and opposed by you. Even when I went up to give a speech, I only received endless boos. Is this the freedom, democracy, openness and tolerance you boast about? I just want to say that you are a disgusting group of bugs in the guise of sunshine!'

Zhou Ming's speech was like a bombshell that exploded throughout the theatre. Everyone felt a strong blow to their chest, and what Zhou Ming said was like a weight that left them breathless.

'I know what you're thinking, and I admit that we didn't come to Harvard through the most formal channels, but so what? I'm already here, and that's an irreversible fact. And it's also important to note that we all passed Harvard's entrance exam, and we are qualified to attend Harvard. Do you want to artificially erect a barrier for us and carry out Nazism to the end?'

Zhou Ming's questioning struck home to everyone's hearts, causing everyone to lower their heads in shame.

'My god, is this for real? This Chinese guy's speech has actually won everyone over, this is unbelievable!'

Someone exclaimed subconsciously. He was standing next to the school principal, Lawrence, as a school director, he had much more life experience than the students below him, so he was not simply conquered by Zhou Ming's speech, but even so, when he looked at all the new students below him bowing their heads, it still made him feel an unprecedented shock.

The school director turned to Lawrence and said, 'My dear fellow, it seems you have miscalculated. These Chinese people are not to be trifled with. Just like what they did at Changjin Lake and Shanghaling, they are very tenacious and can always find their own way out of a desperate situation.'

Lawrence also glanced at him, but did not say anything. Lawrence knew very well what was going on today. Although those standing below were only freshmen who would be entering school this year, they were all elites among the elites who had fought their way through countless students. Judging from the boos just now, they were all very proud. People like this would probably still argue defiantly even if the President of the United States came over.

However, right now, these people, after listening to Zhou Ming's speech, were all standing there dejected like defeated turkeys, their heads hung low.

Lawrence looked up at Zhou Ming, who was still standing on the stage. Zhou Ming's back was still straight as a javelin, as if nothing could bend him. Lawrence just looked at him, his face expressionless, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

On the other side, the skinny guy Wang Jian and his partner, the fat guy, were also stunned by Zhou Ming's speech.

'My god, I can't believe my eyes, how could there be such an amazing speech, he actually convinced all the freshmen with just his mouth, this is unbelievable, it's practically a speech for freshmen that will go down in history, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it, is that guy really a freshman this year? It looks to me like he's the emperor of red China come to pose as a student,'

The fat guy was talking non-stop, while Wang Jian remained silent, his eyes fixed on Zhou Ming on the podium, as if he wanted to devour him.

Wang Jian thought to himself: Zhou Ming, he really is the same Zhou Ming as before, and no wonder the teacher thinks so highly of him, one speech and he has conquered all the new students at Harvard. But to survive at Harvard, it's not just about having a big mouth!