The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

Outside Chongwenmen.

Just after the 7th hour, Wang Ermaizi, the shopkeeper of the rice shop, took down the door and found that the number of people queuing to buy grain was half of that on normal days. He grabbed the woodcutter Lao Zhao who usually came to deliver firewood and asked, "What's going on? There are so few people today?"

Old Zhao lowered his voice and said, "A yellow notice was posted at the Xizhimen Caishikou, saying that the emperor...had passed away."

The clerk at the cloth shop next door interrupted, "My cousin is working in Shuntian Prefecture. He said that the Jinyiwei arrested seven mourners last night, saying that 'crying too much at the funeral is detrimental to the dignity of the state.'"

"what?!"

Wang Ermazi was stunned: "What is the crime?"

"Shh!"

The waiter pointed at the two yamen runners approaching from a distance and gestured for them to keep quiet.

For a moment, dry coughs were heard everywhere, and everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and turned around, busy with their own work.

At the tea stall outside the store.

Porter Zhang San rubbed his cracked hands and squeezed into the tea shed. The copper kettle on the stove was emitting white steam. He took out two copper coins and slapped them on the table: "Old Liu, a bowl of ginger tea with pepper!"

Silk merchant Li Si, wrapped in fox fur, approached the charcoal basin and said, "Have you heard? Yunyan Pavilion at Tongzhou Wharf hung a new opera sign yesterday - 'The Legend of Huashan Sword Master'!"

He deliberately lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "It is said that our new emperor defeated 800 bandits with his sword in Tongguan in his early years."

Zhang San gulped down the scalding hot ginger tea, his Adam's apple rolling up and down. "My second uncle is a groom at the Fuwei Escort Agency. He said he was delivering a caravan to Liaodong last month and encountered robbers on the way. The leader saw the word 'Yue' on the escort flag and knelt down and kowtowed three times."

Suddenly, there was the sound of iron chains dragging on the ground outside the tea stall. The city inspector passed by with a prisoner in shackles, and everyone fell silent immediately.

When the whipping sounds and shouting of the officers and soldiers faded away, the storyteller Wang Xiazi struck the gong with a piece of iron: "Today I will not talk about the generals of the Yang family, but only about the story of Master Yue who conquered a tiger at the age of seven..."

…………

Shuntian Prefecture Government Office.

At 3:45 am, the yamen runners broke down the doors of all the night watchmen in the south city. The head shop owner held up the prefect's handwritten order: "From now on, the streets will be cleared at 3:45 am at pm. Those who violate this will be shackled for three days."

The night watchman, Old Wu, took the new gong and found the word "ban" engraved on the back. He quietly asked the clerk, "How long do we have to follow this rule?"

The clerk dipped his ink into the household register and did not even look up: "Wait until the new emperor ascends the throne."

…………

Baoding Prefecture Post Station.

The postmaster stared at the express mail that had just arrived from 300 li away. There were three black feathers stuck on the envelope and three wax seals. He turned to the postman and said, "Feed the black whirlwind in the stable and deliver it to Taiyuan at midnight tonight."

The postman felt the thickness of the document and said, "Usually, urgent documents like this are two sheets of paper..."

"Eight this time."

The postmaster suddenly raised his voice: "If anyone asks on the road, just say that you are delivering military rations account books!"

…………

Tongzhou Wharf.

Li Tiezhu, a canal worker, was squatting at the bow, eating steamed bread, and the supervisor's whip had not yet fallen. He looked up and saw the tax collectors huddled together, mumbling, holding official documents with red seals in their hands.

At noon, when the shift changed, the captain suddenly announced: "We will stop operating today and tomorrow. All ships should check their life rafts."

The new helper muttered: "The life raft broke down last year..."

The captain kicked it and said, "This is a death order from above! Something big has happened in the capital!"

.........

The sixth day of the first lunar month, the hour of Mao.

In the study of Prince Zhou's mansion in Kaifeng, the flame of a tallow candle made the secret report on the desk flicker.

Zhu Suzhen's hand holding the teacup was throbbing with veins, and his eyes were fixed on the storyteller kneeling below him.

"Asshole! How dare you fabricate a story about the late emperor's dream?"

The teacup filled with scalding tea hit the storyteller's face, the porcelain shards cut his cheek, and blood mixed with tea flowed down his neck into his collar.

The storyteller wiped off the blood stains and put his forehead to the ground: "I was telling you the story of the Huashan Swordsman. Your Highness misunderstood."

Before he could finish his words, the captain of the guards at the side suddenly drew out his sword and hit him hard on the shoulder with the back of the sword.

Zhu Suzhen stood up and paced, his boots making noises as they rolled over broken porcelain pieces. "Yesterday, Shuntian Prefecture sent me an official document, saying that Nanjing wants to include the nursery rhyme of 'Huashan Swordsman' in elementary school. And you are singing the song of the late emperor's dream recognition in my palace?"

Suddenly he stopped and raised the storyteller's chin with the tip of his boot: "Who sent you?"

"Grass people don't dare!"

The storyteller coughed violently, bloody saliva oozing out of his throat: "I...I received the book from Yunyan Pavilion..."

"Yunyan Pavilion?"

Zhu Suzhen's eyes shone, and he returned to his seat and opened the secret document on his desk. The news from Tongzhou showed that Yunyan Pavilion had printed 100,000 books in a hurry in the past half month, half of which were shipped to Kaifeng. He grabbed the red pen on the desk and circled the four words "Huashan Swordsman".

The clerk of the palace hurried in and whispered something in Zhu Suzhen's ear. The prince's face suddenly changed, and he grabbed the secret report and tore it in half:

"Did the King of Lu's men arrive this morning? Prepare the horses. I am going to the City God Temple."

The chief guard looked at the storyteller lying on the ground and said, "Your Highness, this man..."

"Take it down."

Zhu Suzhen tied his cape on and said, "Find some people who are good at torture and ask him how many accomplices he has in Kaifeng."

He walked to the door and turned back: "Also, send someone to keep an eye on the Fuwei Escort Agency's convoy. They will enter the city on the eighth day of the first lunar month."

Outside the study, the cold wind swept through the corridors with broken porcelain pieces. Zhu Suzhen jumped on his horse and looked at the dawn in the east. In the distance, the night watchman's clappers sounded, startling a flock of jackdaws. He tightened his reins and galloped towards the City God Temple.

…………

Luoyang.

“Ding ding ding~ Ding ding ding…”

The bronze bell in Prince Fu's palace suddenly rang nine times in succession.

After hearing the news reported by his attendant, Zhu Changrun sat up suddenly from the bed, not even noticing that the fox fur coat had slipped off his shoulders. He rushed out of the bedroom barefoot, stepped on the cold blue bricks, and ran to the steps in two steps.

"The emperor has passed away?!"

Pulling the messenger who was kneeling on the ground, Zhu Changrun dug his nails deep into his shoulder: "Say it again! Who did you give the throne to?"

The messenger's face turned blue with pain, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "Your Highness, it's Zhu Huawei, the son of King Zheng..."

"fart!"

Zhu Changrun raised his foot and kicked hard, and the messenger staggered and fell to the ground. He turned and shouted to the chief guard: "Call up the three thousand palace soldiers and pull out the twenty tiger squat cannons in the warehouse!
I want to go to Beijing! ! "

Upon seeing this, Wang Lu, the clerk of the palace, knelt down hurriedly and said, "Your Highness, think twice! The Duke of Ying has blocked Tongguan. Anyone who enters the capital without being summoned will be considered a treasonous person!!... Besides, all the musketeers of the Shenji Battalion of the Beijing Camp have returned to defend..."

"Go away!"

Zhu Changrun pulled out the sword from the wall and put the tip of the sword against Wang Lu's throat. His breathing was rapid, and his chest rose and fell violently: "I am the nephew of the late emperor. How dare those sour scholars deny my identity?"

The chief guard hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Your Highness, Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack..."

"shut up!"

Zhu Changrun swung his sword fiercely, splitting the teacup on the table in half: "We must open a road to the capital within three days!"

…………

At noon on the same day, in the study of Prince Rui’s Palace in Hanzhong.

Zhu Changhao sat on the armchair, peeling a pear with a knife in his hand. The blade swiftly cut through the peel, leaving a long strip of peel hanging to the ground.

The staff member Yang Wenqing walked in quickly and handed over a secret report: "News came from the capital that Zhao Zhigao died last night."

"It's time for the old man to die."

Zhu Changhao peeled off the last piece of peel and threw it on the ground, with a smile on his face: "Let our people in the Tongzhengsi tell the censors about Zhu Huawei's life story."

As he said this, he suddenly used the tip of the knife to pick up the fruit pulp: "I heard that this new king learned martial arts in Huashan?"

Yang Wenqing understood: "I will contact Kongtong Sect right away. They have always been at odds with Huashan." Zhu Changhao put the pear into his mouth and chewed it slowly: "Tell them that after the matter is accomplished, they can take the Northwest Salt Road."

After saying that, he stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the mountains in the distance: "Send someone to keep an eye on the Sichuan-Shaanxi road, and report any movement immediately."

.........

The eighth day of the first lunar month, noon.

Xi'an, Qinwangfu Parade Ground.

Zhu Cunshu stood aside with his hands behind his back, watching the prince draw his bow and arrow. The bowstring made a buzzing sound, and the arrow flew out, brushing against the guard's helmet.

Just as he was about to make a few comments, he saw the butler hurried over with a secret letter and whispered something in Zhu Cunshu's ear. The prince stopped what he was doing and turned to look over here.

"Keep practicing."

After reading the secret report at a glance, Zhu Cunshu had a blank expression on his face and slowly tore the secret letter into pieces with his hands. The scraps of paper flew into the target with the wind. He frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "How did King Zheng die twenty years ago?"

Suddenly he raised his voice, looked at the prince, and scolded: "Remember, the bow must be fully drawn and your hand must be steady."

The chief guard asked in a low voice: "Should we send troops to Tongguan?"

Zhu Cunshu bent down to pick up the arrow that the prince dropped, and looked at it repeatedly in his hand: "Nail the gate of the palace shut, and say that the prince has a sudden illness and is closed to visitors."

He casually handed the arrow to the prince and said, "Starting tomorrow, practice two more hours every day."

As night fell, Zhu Cunshu sat alone in his study, deep in thought by the candlelight. On the table was a map of the capital. He drew a circle around Tongguan with a red pen and then erased it silently.

…………

At 3 p.m. on the same day, in the cellar of the Jin Wang Mansion in Taiyuan, Zhu Qiugui held the secret letter close to the candlelight, and the flames made his face red. "Have the King of Zhou and the King of Chu replied?"

"Your Highness, the King of Zhou said he wanted to wait for news from the King of Lu, and the King of Chu said there was a plague in his fiefdom."

The commander of the personal guards handed over the map: "This is the defense map of the capital drawn by our secret agent in Zhending Prefecture."

The King of Jin circled Juyongguan Pass with a red pen and said, "Let the old troops of Datong Guard take action on the fifth day of the first lunar month and say that they will suppress the bandits."

He paused, then looked at the commander of his personal guards: "Send someone to Mount Wutai and ask that monk to prepare the 'Rebirth Mantra'."

The commander of the personal guards looked embarrassed: "Your Highness, will this...?"

"Just do it!"

Zhu Qiugui slammed the table and said, "If any of this information leaks out, I'll bring you my head!"

He stood up and paced back and forth in the cellar: "Tell the military advisor to prepare twenty carriages filled with sulfur and saltpeter."

It was late at night, and Zhu Qiugui stood at the cellar door, looking at the crescent moon in the sky. The cold wind was howling, and he wrapped his cloak tightly and whispered, "Success or failure depends on this one move."

...............

The secret room on the third floor of Yunyan Pavilion in Tongzhou.

The twelve sandalwood windows were tightly closed, and the charcoal fire in the copper basin crackled, lighting up the room in flickering light.

Twelve scribes were writing furiously at their desks, their wolf-hair brushes rustling on the rice paper, while their desks were piled with secret reports and blank scripts sent in from various branches.

Chief Editor Zhao Wenli stood in front of the long desk, his red pen suspended in the air. He looked down at the three secret reports:

The records sent by the Xi'an branch showed that when disciples of the Huashan School were applying medicine in the plague area, someone found that the medicine residue was arranged in the shape of the Chinese character "伟" (Wei); the report from the Yangzhou branch mentioned that boat workers witnessed a knight in green riding on the waves and slaying a dragon on the canal, with a jade pendant on his waist engraved with the Chinese character "华" (Hua); the Quanzhou branch said that when sea merchants encountered a typhoon, they were guided by a sailboat embroidered with the Big Dipper.

“All these materials must be used.”

Zhao Wenli put the secret report on the case: "The plague in Xi'an was changed to a severe drought, the medicine residue was changed to well water with the word 'Yue' floating on it; the dragon in Yangzhou was replaced by a river bandit, and the details of the jade pendant were retained; the sailboat in Quanzhou... added a clue to the treasure in the sunken ship."

As he said this, he turned to look at the youngest scribe: "Xiao Li, find the official report on the Yellow River bursting its dikes in the 23rd year of the Wanli reign."

The scribes moved quickly. Some were looking through files, others were sharpening their pens, and the only sound in the secret room was the rustling of papers. A scribe suddenly looked up and said, "Mr. Zhao, the timeline of the Tongguan incident doesn't match."

"change."

Zhao Wenli thought without hesitation: "Change the eight hundred bandits to three thousand Japanese pirates, and add the detail of 'slashing the city gate with a sword to save women and children'. The leader of the Japanese pirates uses the real name of the Jizhou battle in the 15th year of Wanli to increase credibility."

He pointed to the Ming map on the wall and said, "In the storybook, the landing place of the Japanese pirates was marked, saying that the court was very secretive."

“Pay attention to the rhythm.”

Zhao Wenli walked behind a scribe and looked at the draft he had written. "First write about the sufferings of the people, then introduce the mysterious knight. Leave a hook at the end of each chapter, such as the jade pendant with the word 'Yue' looming around the knight's waist."

Then he picked up another piece of paper and said, "Add these nursery rhymes: 'The Big Dipper is bright, Huashan is green, and the big flag with the character Yue points to the dawn.'"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Zhao Wenli opened the secret compartment and took out a secret letter with the seal of the East Factory. After a quick glance, his pupils shrank slightly: "Luoyang Fuwang Mansion is preparing to raise an army, and the target is Tongguan. This news is compiled into the storybook, saying that the Huashan swordsman had already anticipated the rebellion of the princes."

The scribes looked solemn and quickened their writing speed.

An older clerk asked in a low voice, "Mr. Zhao, isn't this too obvious?"

"will not."

Zhao Wenli held the secret letter close to the candle and burned it: "The Nanjing Ministry of Rites has approved the inclusion of content related to the 'Huashan Swordsman' in elementary education. What we need to do is to make the people believe that this swordsman is the one destined by heaven."

After saying this, Zhao Wenli grabbed the cinnabar seal on the desk and pressed the seal of "Supervised by Yunyan Pavilion" heavily on each draft of the storybook.

Outside the secret room, the guys hurried past pushing wooden boxes filled with printing plates. In the printing workshop downstairs, twenty woodblock printing machines were running at the same time, and the smell of ink mixed with the smell of paper filled the entire courtyard.

The shopkeeper of Yunyan Pavilion was checking the shipping list: "The first batch of 50,000 volumes must be delivered to the Caoyun Wharf before midnight on the third day of the first lunar month and shipped to Yangzhou and Nanjing by official ships."

Late at night, Zhao Wenli stood at the window of the secret room, looking at the lights at Tongzhou Wharf.

Merchant ships loaded with novels sailed out of the port, and the mark of "Yunyan Pavilion" on the sails was faintly visible in the moonlight.

...............

Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture.

Before the morning mist cleared, the sound of reading could be heard from the Yuying Private School next to the Confucian Temple. Fifteen children were crowded in three blue brick and tile houses, and the ink in the stone inkstone was still covered with a thin layer of ice.

Teacher Chen Weihan was wearing a washed-out blue gown, pacing the hall with his hands behind his back. His temples were gray, and the middle finger of his right hand had thick calluses from years of holding a pen.

"Remember me."

Chen Weihan knocked on the mottled jujube wood table with a ruler: "The Big Dipper is bright, and Mount Hua is green..."

The children followed along in unison, their voices varying in pitch.

Twelve-year-old Zhou Xiaoshun peeked out the window and was seen by Chen Weihan. He slammed the ruler on the table: "Zhou Xiaoshun, get out of line!"

The young man stood up shivering, with ink stains from last night's calligraphy practice still on the patches of his cotton-padded jacket.

"Write it down."

Chen Weihan pushed the yellowed straw paper over and said, "If you write a wrong word, I'll hit your palm three times."

Zhou Xiaoshun clenched his red, frozen fists, and the brush trembled as it wrote crooked words on the paper. The other children watched with bated breath as the ice in the inkstone slowly melted.

Suddenly, the sound of leather boots stepping on snow came from outside the window. Two yamen runners were wrapped in black uniforms, and the iron bars on their waists made a light sound as they stepped. The leader, Wang Bantou, held two taels of silver and rubbed it in his palm again and again. Looking at the child shaking his head in the window, his Adam's apple moved, but he didn't push open the half-closed wooden door after all.

Inside the room, Zhou Xiaoshun finished writing the last stroke. Chen Weihan took the paper and checked it word by word: "The character '岳' is missing a horizontal stroke."

When the ruler was raised, the boy subconsciously shrank his neck, but the ruler only lightly touched the back of his hand.

At the end of the school day, the children, carrying their rough school bags, poured out of the private school. Class leader Wang watched them go away, and the silver coins were warmed by their body temperature.

"How about reporting it?"

The companion asked tentatively.

"What?"

Wang Bantou stuffed the silver back into his arms and said, "Yesterday the Provincial Administration Office just issued an official document saying that this is orthodox education."

At the same time, in the Jinan prefectural government office, the legal advisor was copying an official document: "The folk nursery rhymes are spreading in an orderly manner. It is recommended to reward Chen Weihan from Yuying Private School..."

After the prefect's approval, this document will be sent to the Ministry of Public Administration in the capital together with reports on the promotion of nursery rhymes from various places.

At the post station outside the city, horses that were on an 800-li express trip were changing horseshoes. On the briefcases on the waists of the postmen, the Big Dipper was printed with wax. In the rice shop next to Yuying Private School, the shopkeeper was assigning tasks to the shop assistants: "Starting tomorrow, anyone who can recite nursery rhymes will get five cents off the rice price."

The moonlight climbed up the green tiles of the private school. Before Chen Weihan blew out the oil lamp, he glanced at the bamboo basket in the corner. It contained newly printed children's song leaflets, the ink still wet. These papers with the scent of ink will spread throughout the streets and alleys of Jinan along with the morning smoke.

(End of this chapter)