The literary era since 1979

Chapter 165 Am I afraid of strong wind and waves?

"Hello!"

Fangyan and Li Cunbao walked and chatted along the way.

When we met soldiers on the road, we greeted each other warmly.

Li Cunbao returned the salute, then looked at Teacher Fang, who was very popular among the soldiers, with envy.

"Let's continue. Where were we talking about?"

Fangyan looked sideways.

"On the difference between military literature in war and peace."

Li Cunbao continued the conversation.

"Military literature is different from war literature. War literature focuses on strategic battlefields with grand narratives, heroic epics that are worthy of praise, and wars with victories and defeats..."

The dialect says: "And in military literature, the surname 'jun' means 'bing'."

"Just like you said at the meeting that day, we should return the focus to ordinary soldiers and put aside stereotyped heroism. Even when writing about heroes, we should focus on the growth of heroes."

Li Cunbao humbly asked the explanation.

"Yes, for example, from new recruits to veterans."

"Be more romantic, from a bad soldier to a top soldier..."

"Even from being an unlearned man before joining the army, he became a prodigal soldier after being tempered in the military furnace."

Fangyan counted on his fingers and gave examples one by one.

Li Cunbao's eyes lit up, "It's also possible for a spoiled young soldier to become a combat hero after being baptized by artillery fire."

Congratulations, you will answer all the questions!

Fang Yan smiled and said, "You see, military literature focuses on human growth, so it is full of infinite possibilities."

“It’s better than reading for ten years.”

Li Cunbao said with emotion: "I always thought that this subject matter was narrow and there was not much room for development and breakthrough. After listening to your talk about the new concept of military literature, I realized that I was shallow. I didn't expect that the military subject matter was such a broad field."

"Yes, there is a vast world with a lot to offer!"

Fangyan stopped, looked up at the sky, and then asked him if he had any creative ideas and whether he wanted to be commissioned to write an article. Would he like to?

"Teacher Fang!"

Li Cunbao said that he now has three things on hand.

One is called "Moonlight on the Barracks", which is a military literature with a love theme. Another one has no name yet and is about the military career of a heroic general. It is a typical heroic war literature. Another one is a story about self-defense and counterattack.

Fangyan was overjoyed at first, but when he heard that two of their articles had been reserved by Liberation Army Literature and Art long before the symposium was held, he felt a little uneasy, wondering if they had been preempted.
"They didn't like the article about the self-defense counterattack."

Li Cunbao said with some regret.

"Not interested?"

Fangyan felt relieved.

"The editor said it was too sharp and violated taboos."

Li Cunbao said awkwardly: "They don't dare to send it."

"You wrote something incredible, but you don't dare to publish it?"

The dialect is very interesting, so let him talk about it.

Li Cunbao said with a serious face: "This is what the soldiers told me when I was collecting folk songs at the frontline. A company cadre who joined the army from the countryside had a very difficult family situation and owed a large amount of debt. Before he went to the battlefield, he wrote a letter to his wife, telling her that if he died in the battle, she should live on bravely and the family could use the pension to pay off the debt..."

When he said this, his eyes turned red and he choked up.

Fangyan let out a long sigh.

Li Cunbao said that he told the story to the editors, but was unwilling to publish it, so he only picked out the other two works. "I hope you don't mind. We have regulations for writers in the army..."

"Understand, understand."

Fangyan waved his hand.

Manuscripts from military writers should be given priority in being provided to military publishing houses.

"Thank you for your understanding."

Li Cunbao said embarrassedly: "This is all that's left, but the problem is that it touches on the dark side. Do you want it?"

"Yes! Why not!"

The dialect is decisive.

"Is this true?!"

"Of course it's true, we want it in October!"

"You have to think carefully. If you really publish this story, you and October may have to bear some risks."

“I’m afraid it’s not just the risks, it’s also the wind and waves.”

Fangyan asked back: "The key is, do you, as an author, dare to write it?"

"Dare! If you dare to publish it, I dare to write it!"

Li Cunbao said, "To be honest, this is what I wanted to write about the most. After listening to your talk about the new concept of military literature, I want to write this story into a novel and publish it."

"If you, the author, aren't afraid, why should I be afraid?"

"If you dare to write, I dare to publish!"

Fangyan disagrees. Am I afraid of strong winds and waves?

You have forgotten what our young general used to do!

Is the storm caused by "The Great Qin Splitting" big enough?

Is the controversy caused by “Bitter Love” big enough?

The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!

…………

Before signing the contract with Li Cunbao, Fang Yan told Zhang Shouren and Zhang Zhonge the whole story. After all, one was the deputy editor-in-chief and the other was the leader of the medium and long-length group. They were both his superiors and he had to listen to their opinions.

"What do you think?"

"Iwako, I don't think that's right."

Zhang Zhonge did not want to repeat the same mistake and let "October" go through the "Bitter Love" storm again, nor did he want to let Fangyan take this risk.

"I don't think it's that serious, at least not as serious as Bitter Love," Fang Yan said. "On the contrary, if it succeeds, it will definitely be the initiation of a new wave of military literature, and October will be at the forefront of this new wave."

"I also have this feeling."

Zhang Shouren's tone was filled with excitement. "Publish it, the benefits will be huge."

Fang Yan said: "If we don't publish it, the loss will be huge."

"But the risk is also huge. It's too risky."

Zhang Zhonge was once bitten by a snake and became afraid of ropes for ten years. He was worried that "October", which had just got on the right track, would suffer another Waterloo.

“I think this risk is worth taking.”

Zhang Shouren pondered for a moment and voiced his support.

"Shouren, why do you feel the same way?"

Zhang Zhonge reminded Li Cunbao that this story touched upon the dark side and if the scale was not properly controlled, it would easily lead to trouble.

"Zhonge, contradictions will always exist."

Zhang Shouren shook his head and said, "I support Yan Zi and Li Cunbao in writing this story, and they should write it boldly. If you can't write this or that, how can China's military literature develop! How can it prosper!"

"This……"

Zhang Zhonge opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

"Teacher Zhang, you don't have to worry too much."

Fang Yan said, "How about I go and ask Mr. Feng and the others for advice?"

"Ask Mr. Feng and the others?"

Zhang Shouren and Zhang Zhonge looked at each other.

Fangyan nodded. He and Li Cunbao both felt that the draft of the story was not vivid enough. It did not show the growth of the hero, nor did it highlight the new concept of military literature.

Therefore, Li Cunbao took the initiative to volunteer to go to southern Xinjiang again and conduct field research in the troops.

Such field investigation missions, especially those to military regions, must be approved by the relevant departments.

Compared with "October", whether it is the General Political Department's Cultural Department or the Writers Association that is the liaison, it is better than using the editorial department's name.

"Murabo huh?

After listening to Fang Yan's words, Feng Mu smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you could get his manuscript."

Fang Yan asked doubtfully, "Do you know Comrade Cun Bao?"

"How could I not recognize him?"

Liu Boyu joked that they were in a teacher-student relationship.

Fang Yan opened his mouth and it seemed that he was of the same generation as Li Cunbao, so he called him "Teacher Fang" all the time, which made him take advantage.

"Mr. Liu, Comrade Cun Bao's request to go to southern Xinjiang..."

"You are not the first to make such a request."

Liu Boyu said seriously: "Many comrades attending the meeting have taken the initiative to ask to visit the troops in southern Yunnan and western Guangxi."

Fangyan asked: "What do you mean?"

"I strongly agree with a point raised at the symposium: military literature writers must go to the grassroots."

Liu Boyu said he was planning to organize all the writers attending the conference and make unified arrangements.

Fangyan said: "That couldn't be better."

Liu Boyu smiled and said, "After talking about Li Cunbao, it's time to talk about you, Xiao Fang, do you have any plans for creation?"

"I?"

Fangyan was stunned.

"After you proposed the concept of a new era of military literature at the symposium, have you ever thought about writing something?"

Feng Mu and Liu Boyu looked at each other.

There are quite a lot of dialects that can be thought of.

But there is not much information about the counterattack against Annan.

Either war themes like "The Sky of History", "The Final Battle", "Band of Brothers", or military themes like "Soldier Assault", "I'm a Special Forces Soldier", "Breaking Out of the Amazon", or military science fiction themes like "Operation Red Sea" and "Lightning Operation"...

"Comrade Hu Muqiao is not here today, but we are all looking forward to what kind of military works you can write, including him."

Feng Mu cast a meaningful look at him, "After all, it was you who proposed this new concept of military literature."

Fangyan asked weakly, is this a mandatory task?

"Of course it's not a hard requirement. The key is whether you have the intention to write. Creation is never forced."

Liu Boyu smiled.

“But I still don’t know what to write?”

Fangyan shook his head and laughed.

"Literary and artistic creation cannot be separated from life practice and investigation and research. Good literary and artistic works cannot be produced by working in isolation or making up stories at random."

Feng Mu added.

"That's the reason."

Liu Boyu said: "Go to the troops, go to the battlefield, get in front of the soldiers, watch and listen to their stories and experiences, maybe you will think of what you want to write."

"Just like Comrade Wei Wei, if he had not gone to the Songgufeng front to interview, he would not have been able to write "Who is the Most Lovely Person"."

Feng Mu said: "How about it, do you want to go to the army? For example, stay in the 112th Division for a while and experience military life?"

Fang Yan said seriously: "If I have to go, I would actually prefer to go to the Western Guangxi Military Region or the Southern Yunnan Military Region with Comrade Hao Cunbao."

"It's quite common for editors to follow authors to conduct field research."

Feng Mu reminded, "But that's the front line of the border conflict, there may be personal safety issues."

Liu Boyu said that the General Political Department is planning to arrange for these writers who have volunteered to go to the Guangxi Western Military Region in the name of "cultural support for the army", which will not only allow them to comfort the troops but also facilitate investigations and visits.

"Kuixi?"

Fangyan muttered something on his lips.

"When the time comes, someone in the army will make arrangements for you."

After Liu Boyu finished speaking, Feng Mu added, "This may not be enough. It would be best if we could find a few people to take care of us locally."

"How about asking the comrades from the editorial department of Guixi Literature to take care of me and do their best to solve any problems I need? What do you think?" Liu Boyu stared at Fangyan.

Fangyan was lost in thought, and gradually thought of someone.

Guo Baochang of Guixi Film Studio.

(End of this chapter)