Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 845 It's all about money and people
end of February.

The press conference for "Zhu Lou" was officially held.

There were a lot of media present, but they were basically familiar faces.

The questions asked were very diverse, but most of them could be answered by Huang Xiaoming and others.

There are actually only two questions that Zhou Mo really needs to explain.

First, will "Zhu Lou" suffer from the problem of being a literary youth?

"Of course there is no such thing as a literary youth disease."

Zhou Mo first answered the question directly and then explained the reason.

"I understand the concerns of some audience friends, because I said in an interview that the play "Zhu Lou" will add some real helplessness.

But this is actually a misunderstanding.

In the drama "I Want to Be the Emperor", there is only one protagonist from beginning to end, and the perspective of the entire drama revolves around him, so he seems to be invincible and able to turn the tide, and the whole drama is very enjoyable.

The drama "Zhu Lou" has multiple protagonists and multiple perspectives. The relationships between different characters are complicated, and they scheme against each other and fight against each other. Naturally, there is no protagonist like Prince Fu who can kill everyone.

A character will be calculated and forced to compromise and give in, and this is true whether it is a minister, a prince, or an emperor.

This is what I mean by true helplessness. "

These words explained Zhou Mo's thinking very clearly.

The so-called "real helplessness" is nothing more than a necessary shift in creative thinking when the script changes from a single protagonist to multiple protagonists.

Without this kind of transition, the multi-protagonist plot would probably fall apart quickly.

The reporters quickly understood what Zhou Mo meant, and after a while, one of them asked the next question.

"Director Zhou, in your portrayal of the plot of "Red Mansion", in which two aspects does the real helplessness manifest itself?"

Zhou Mo picked up the microphone again, and after thinking for a while, he said:

"There are mainly two aspects, one is money and the other is people. These two aspects are actually the core of most historical political dramas.

Take the two historical dramas that are popular among netizens today, "The Yongzheng Dynasty" and "The Ming Dynasty", for example. The core issue and the development of all the plots are money and people.

At the beginning of "The Yongzheng Dynasty", the water level of the Yellow River surged, the river bank burst, and the people were displaced. This was a human problem. At the same time, the national treasury was seriously empty, and the fourth brother who was in charge of checking the money and grain of the Ministry of Revenue argued with the emperor and put forward his opinion that this was a matter of money.

The first episode of "The Ming Dynasty" is similar. The ministers are arguing in the palace. They are arguing about the fact that the palace is in a mess and lacks money, so they want to change from rice to mulberry. However, once rice is changed to mulberry, the land will be occupied and good farmland will be destroyed. The people will not have enough food, so they will rebel, so they have to find a way to suppress the people.

This is the case with "The Yongzheng Dynasty" and "The Ming Dynasty", and also with "The Red Tower".

The emperor needs money and people to reform, the emperor emeritus needs money and people to enjoy himself, and the princes need even more money and people to fight for the throne.

In addition, the operation of a country requires money and people, expanding territory requires money and people, and disaster relief and rescue also require money and people.

All struggles ultimately come down to a fight for money and people, which is the main theme of the entire play "Red Mansion."

Zhou Mo's words made Liu Heping, who was standing beside him, smile widely.

This is what he was thinking when he was writing the script.

Money and people are the basis of all the contradictions that occurred in the operation of the feudal dynasty, and are also the foundation of his creative ideas.

This is true for "Yongzheng", "Ming Dynasty", "All Quiet in Peking"...

Liu Heping silently gave Zhou Mo a thumbs up in his heart. He really deserves to be called Director Zhou as he could understand his creative ideas so clearly.

……

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Zhou Mo finished the dinner with the crew of "Zhu Lou" and drove back to his residence.

When I opened the door, the room was brightly lit and Liu Shishi was sitting on the sofa applying a facial mask.

Opposite her, the drama "Red Tower" was playing on TV.

At this moment, the TV series is just in the second episode of "Zhu Lou".

The first few episodes of "Zhulou", that is, the first major plot, are as follows:

Severe droughts hit the Central Plains and the two provinces of Qi and Lu. People were displaced and had to leave their homes. Famine and refugees were everywhere. The worst-hit areas even reached the point where people had to eat their own children.

When the news reached the court, the emperor immediately dispatched officials to the local area to provide disaster relief and rescue, providing money and food, and manpower, to ensure that the drought would not develop to the point of rebellion.

However, two months after the governor who was appointed to provide disaster relief went to the disaster-stricken areas, the disaster situation in the two places not only showed no signs of improvement, but became increasingly serious. Refugees were everywhere, and the disaster even began to spread to surrounding provinces.

Therefore, the emperor sent the prince (Huang Xiaoming) to the local area to carry out disaster relief and asked him to find out the reasons for the ineffective disaster relief.

As soon as this decision was made, it was immediately opposed by the court officials, and their reasons were very sufficient:
Throughout history, there have not been many cases of crown princes going on tours.

Prince Yiwen went on a tour and was killed when he came back.

After such a painful lesson, Emperor (played by Chen Baoguo), do you still dare to let the prince go?
Prince Yiwen was none other than Zhu Biao, the eldest son of Emperor Taizu.

Zhu Biao went on a tour in the 25th year of Hongwu. He fell ill when he returned and later died.

Since this concerns the foundation of the country, the court officials would certainly not support the emperor's "willfulness".

However, the opposition of the court officials did not succeed in stopping the emperor, and the prince also insisted on going to the disaster area, so the decision was still implemented.

However, what the court officials said did make sense, so the emperor gave the prince considerable power, allowing him to mobilize the Jinyiwei and the army.

When Liu Shishi saw this, she clicked the remote control to pause the TV series.

She turned her head to look at Zhou Mo, who had already changed his clothes and was sitting on the sofa with some snacks.

"In this plot, is it possible that the court officials are cooperating with the crown prince to expand the military power in his hands?"

Zhou Mo looked at Liu Shishi with a slightly different look.

"Great, Shishi. I can see the idea behind this plot design right away."

Liu Shishi rolled her eyes at Zhou Mo and said, "Do you have to sound so surprised? I've been filming costume dramas for so many years, isn't it normal to know these plots?"

Zhou Mo smacked his lips and turned his gaze away from Liu Shishi.

My dear, in the ancient costume drama you filmed in your previous life, the empress wanted to send the prince to marry...

Back to the TV series.

The pace of "Red Building" is very fast.

The prince set out for the disaster area the day after receiving the emperor's appointment, and at the same time sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate the current situation in the disaster area.

When he arrived at the disaster-stricken area, the Jinyiwei had already sent the results of the governor's investigation into the governor's unsuccessful disaster relief efforts.

To sum it up in one sentence:

He took advantage of all means to enrich himself.

It has been mentioned before that the prince's personality is very similar to that of Prince Qian. He is upright and even a little mean. He has high demands on officials and is always harsh with them.

So, after the prince had conducted numerous investigations and confirmed the fact that the governor and many officials were corrupt, his anger skyrocketed.

"What kind of governor is this who is here to provide relief to disaster victims? He is clearly the biggest rat in the world!"

"How can we provide disaster relief if we don't get rid of these people?"

After venting his emotions, the prince took out the military token without hesitation.

In "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan", He Shen said:

The word "official" has two mouths, upper and lower. If the mouth of the officials above is not fed, the mouths of the people below will not be fed.

When faced with disaster relief, Heshen chose to "save the officials before saving the people", allowing the officials to receive sufficient compensation before rescuing the people.

(Of course, in "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth", Heshen actually did not do much to provide disaster relief after feeding the officials. Instead, he cooperated with grain merchants and made a fortune from the national disaster.)
However, the prince in "Red Tower" chose the toughest approach.

As a governor, the imperial court has allocated so much money and grain to you for disaster relief. If you simply don't have the ability to handle this mess, the most you can do is to punish you for being unsuccessful in disaster relief. But since you choose to unite many people in the disaster-stricken areas, embezzle public funds for your own benefit, and fill your own pockets... then you must die!
The prince led his troops to capture the governor, announced his crimes in public, and ordered his head to be chopped off.

The second episode officially ended when the butcher's knife fell.

Countless viewers felt their blood boiling as they watched the prince on the screen decisively ordering the beheading.

For a moment, dense barrage of comments filled the screen.

"It's only the second episode and it's already so exciting. Won't the rest be even more exciting?"

"This prince is exactly what I like. With the knife in hand, I will kill him directly."

"One episode is only 40 minutes long, but it covers most of the disaster relief work. If it were in other TV series, it would take at least five to eight episodes. This is an incredible amount of plot."

"This prince is decisive and brave, and has strong abilities. In other dramas, he would definitely be the protagonist, but in this drama, he is just one of many protagonists. So how strong will the other protagonists of this drama be?"

Liu Shishi looked at the comments for a while, then glanced at the seven-digit number of simultaneous viewers, and said to Zhou Mo: "This plot of beheading the governor is really exciting for the audience."

Zhou Mo grinned: "It's fine as long as you enjoy watching it. If you enjoyed the first two episodes, don't complain about me and make them feel entangled when I come back."

When Liu Shishi heard this, she looked at Zhou Mo with some amusement.

She understood what Zhou Mo meant.

In the first two episodes of "Zhu Lou", the prince first pleads for the people, and then cuts the Gordian knot, from killing the governor to pacifying the local people in one go. His efficiency is even higher than that of Prince Fu in "I Want to Be the Emperor".

Even Prince Fu, a fearless guy, had to first send a team of "bandits" across the border and then send regular troops to "pacify the people" when he was dealing with local tyrants and "asking for food" from some big businessmen.

The prince in "Red Tower" just wielded a knife and chopped people down.

Cool is cool.

The consequences will certainly not be that easy.

And those difficult things will slowly unfold in the third episode.

At this moment, Liu Shishi saw a red bullet screen:

"Didn't they say that this drama would show some real helplessness? The prince is so cruel, there will probably be problems in the following episodes."

Liu Shishi's eyes lit up, she used the mouse to freeze the barrage, and turned to look at Zhou Mo.

"It seems that someone has already guessed your subsequent plot arrangements."

Zhou Mo saw the content of the barrage clearly and was in a very good mood.

This comment is undoubtedly an affirmation of him.

One of the things that creators fear most is that the content they design will not be recognized by the audience.

Now that some viewers have guessed the development of the subsequent plot, it means that his thinking is not "self-entertainment", but a normal development that the audience can understand.

However, just one barrage of comments did not make Zhou Mo completely relieved.

He opened his phone and looked through the comments section of the second episode for a while, and saw many comments speculating on the plot of the third episode.

"The prince seemed unstoppable in the second episode, but I felt that there were many details that hinted that the prince might be in trouble later."

"Yes, I have the same feeling. The officials in the disaster-stricken areas are dissatisfied with the prince's detention of the governor, and they will definitely report him. Some of the prince's subordinates disagree with the prince's mobilization of the army, and they will probably write a memorial when they return. The merchants whose grain was forcibly collected by the prince are all backed by powerful ministers, and they will definitely cause trouble later..."

“I’m actually thinking about the emperor. From the introduction in the first episode, we can see that the emperor is not yet in control of power, and the emperor emeritus still has a strong influence in the court.

In this case, if the court officials all attacked the prince, the emperor would most likely have to make the prince suffer in order to appease the court officials."

"Maybe the emperor is deliberately setting a trap for the prince, otherwise he wouldn't have given him so much power to easily mobilize the army. Aren't there always conflicts between the emperor and the prince?"

"What kind of TV series are you watching above? I'll punish you by making you watch the first episode again. The emperor is still here and doesn't want to give up power.

The crown prince and the emperor belong to the same camp. Only by supporting each other can the power of the emperor be driven out of the court."

"It's hard to say what the relationship between the emperor and the crown prince is. Because the empress is powerful and the emperor favors the imperial concubine, he once thought of making the imperial concubine's son the crown prince.

The emperor emeritus is a typical supporter of the eldest son.

Therefore, the conflict between the crown prince and the emperor is not necessarily less than the conflict between the emperor and the emperor emeritus. Whether the crown prince will cooperate with the emperor emeritus is another matter. "

Zhou Mo watched the debate among netizens, and the smile on his face became more and more obvious.

Netizens' speculations about the plot were more comprehensive and confident than he had imagined.

Thanks to the information currently released by the "Zhu Lou" crew, several promotional videos, and the content of the first two episodes, someone has actually made a relationship diagram that shows the interest relationships between several major characters in the entire drama.

This efficiency is even higher than when he was filming TV series.

Liu Shishi waited for Zhou Mo to read the comments until he put down his phone and raised his head again, then picked up the remote control.

"After reading the comments from netizens, how do you feel?"

"It's pretty good. The crew's previous promotional videos were very well made, providing the audience with a lot of information and giving them a basic understanding of the complicated relationships in the TV series, which is very helpful for the subsequent viewing experience."

"Then continue watching?"

"Ah."

Liu Shishi pressed the restore button, and the third episode officially began.

At the beginning of the third episode, the perspective still remains on the prince.

After beheading the governor, the prince immediately began to deal with the famine in an all-round way. He mobilized money and grain from all directions, and used the money and grain to hire local people to build facilities and equipment for water collection and living.

The above operations can be summed up in four words:

Work-for-relief.

Work-for-relief can be traced back to the Warring States Period and has been used by various dynasties for thousands of years to solve problems caused by natural disasters.

According to the setting, the prince is an all-rounder who is proficient in both civil and military affairs. Without the obstacle of the governor, he was able to push forward the work-for-relief policy very smoothly.

In just over a month, the situation in the Central Plains and Qi and Lu regions improved a lot.

At the same time, Beijing.

Memorials impeaching the prince from the Central Plains and Qi and Lu flew onto the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

At first, these memorials only criticized the prince for constantly ignoring the dissuasion of court officials and forcibly demanding food from merchants along the way. They said that the prince was "competing with the people for profit" and was not the right thing for a crown prince to do.

The emperor kept all these memorials and did not send them out, treating them as waste paper.

However, ever since the prince had the governor executed, the number and wording of memorials impeaching the prince had increased several levels in severity compared to before, with even words like "cruel and tyrannical, not like a monarch" being written into the memorials.

With such intense "public opinion", even the emperor could not ignore all the memorials and had to select some for review.

But overall, the emperor still used his own way to suppress his court officials.

The court officials' impeachment of the prince was actually "lifting the roof and opening the windows". On the surface, they were asking the emperor to punish the prince or even replace him, but in reality they were forcing the emperor to call the prince back quickly, even if he had to be tied up by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

The emperor kept dragging his feet on replying to the memorial, which was actually giving the prince more time to continue dealing with the disaster.

As a wise ruler, the emperor certainly knew the situation in the disaster-stricken areas.

Natural disasters and man-made disasters, natural disasters and man-made disasters, why is it that from ancient times to the present, when these two words are mentioned, they are always connected and cannot be separated.

Because that's what it is.

When natural disasters occur and cause turmoil, officials will certainly not be honest in providing disaster relief and saving lives. If they can be less greedy and leave more for the people, it would be considered as human behavior for these "beasts in human clothing".

Both the emperor and the princes understood this.

During the disaster relief process, although the prince executed the governor right away, he did not deal with too many officials below the governor. He still needed these people to help him execute orders and handle things, so he just talked to some people and asked them to make up for their crimes and do meritorious service. If they did a good job, he would even recommend them for credit.

On the other hand, after receiving the secret memorial from the prince, the emperor decisively sent a number of handwritten notes to the prince to help him calm the "fragile hearts" of the officials.

(End of this chapter)