I am a director in Ark. If I am not banned, I will be considered successful.

Another month later, Chen Qi finally sent someone to deliver the content of the third episode of "The Great Yan Dynasty" to the palace, and the Great Yan Emperor responded quickly. He chose a day off and summoned all officials to watch the latest two episodes together.

"We have previously convened all officials to discuss how to balance the mission and the people in a situation like Hu Zongxian's. It seems that this time, Director Chen Qi has given us the answer."

The Emperor of Dayan was still very happy in his heart. Although the drama "Dayan Dynasty" was about a declining Dayan, they could glimpse many problems from it.

The king of Da Yan established a country that wanted to rebel against the gods and create "people". After several generations of accumulation and development, he finally made the gods bow their heads and drive them out of this land. After these generations of wise kings, Da Yan was too peaceful, as if it had always been the prosperous Da Yan, but could Da Yan continue to be so glorious?

The Great Yan Emperor knew that this was unrealistic. Although their status as immortals gave them enough time to train the next generation and minimize the possibility that the next generation of kings would be incompetent, he did not forget that there was a time bomb under the imperial city. Now that the old man was causing trouble, it could explode at any time. He had to be prepared to die suddenly at any time - especially since he had no prince yet.

If he could not pass the throne to his brother this time, then it would most likely be as it was said in the Great Yan Dynasty, that Wei Yanwu would still sit on the throne, and in the future it would be Wei Yanwu's descendants as well. So, he had to leave something for his descendants.

Even if we really go to war with Sui and cannot leave behind a prosperous Great Yan, at least we can leave some advice and some references for dealing with troublesome things, right?

With this idea in mind, before Chen Qi sent the third episode, he collected all the memorials from the officials and read their reports on how to take both sides into consideration if they were Hu Zongxian. Everyone had different ideas, but each had their own opinions, which made the Emperor of Dayan very satisfied.

Even though there were a few people who could not think of taking care of both ends at the same time, they all chose to take care of the people. Some even wrote, "National policies can be discussed again, trade can be suspended, but it is difficult to regain the hearts of the people. We should avoid the important and focus on the trivial, and put the people first," fully demonstrating the awareness of a wise minister in a prosperous era.

Unfortunately, both the Emperor of Great Yan and the officials subconsciously forgot one thing - that is, to analyze the specific situation. Their approach may be a good method in the prosperous Great Yan. But in the play, they are facing Emperor Jiajing, and their imagined superior is the Yan Party. Neither side will let them get what they want.

As a result, when the Great Yan Emperor and his officials were watching the third episode with great interest, as the plot developed, everyone became more and more frightened. Slowly, the development of the matter was completely beyond their imagination...

"Destroy the dike and flood the fields?! This is something that a minister of my Great Yan can't - No! Who else but a beast can come up with such an idea?!"

“Isn’t this pushing the people to their death?”

"If this continues, the people will rebel! Our Great Yan Dynasty was not destroyed by the 'year', but by the people's uprising!"

When Lin Yuxia in the play made up her mind to buy back the people's land by destroying dikes and flooding fields, and Zheng Michang, He Maocai, and even Yang Jinshui of the Imperial Household Department supported this plan, they were all indignant and denounced the Yan Party, as if they wanted to get into the screen and skin them alive.

But the Great Yan Emperor paid attention to the key point of the matter and thought in his heart:

"Jiajing did not read Hu Zongxian's memorial at first...If he really had the Yan Party under his control, he should have known the Yan Party's tactics."

"So that means... he acquiesced to it? As long as the production of 500,000 pieces of silk can be completed and the national treasury can be enriched, then no matter what the Yan Party does, he will not stop it. Is this also the reason why Yang Jinshui did not stop it?"

Obviously, the most terrible idea in the heart of Emperor Da Yan was verified. Da Yan in the play is already sick... The root of the disease is not in the Yan Party, nor in the Qingliu, but in the king of Da Yan, Emperor Jiajing.

If it weren't for his acquiescence, with his ability, it would have been impossible for the Yan Party to become so powerful. He allowed the Yan Party to exist so that they could make more money for Dayan to enrich the national treasury, and the blame could also be put on the Yan Party. He, Jiajing, would not be held responsible at all. He only wanted the results.

At that time, whether the matter was accomplished or failed, Jiajing would not be held responsible. The world's abuse would only be directed at the Yan Party, and Jiajing was clearly aware of all this, but his well-known "20 years of absence from court" gave him every reason to say that he was "unaware".

"Jiajing... Great, great, you are indeed worthy of being the emperor of Great Yan with the strongest mind. All of your mind is used for this."

The Emperor of Great Yan laughed in anger. After seeing through Jiajing's true colors, he felt deep contempt for this so-called emperor with the strongest mind. The reason was that he was obviously very talented and could govern everything in Great Yan, but he didn't put his mind on it, but used it for his so-called "great achievements" of "becoming a giant beast".

The Emperor of Dayan didn't know whether Jiajing could become a giant beast in the end, but in order to achieve this goal, he spent so much that even Yan Shifan in the play complained about it. In addition, he had not attended court for more than 20 years. This situation had lasted for so long that it was likely that the giant beast would not be achieved and Dayan would be ruined.

For this reason, he indulged the Yan Party, because the Yan Party could get him the money he needed to become a giant beast. In the eyes of the Great Yan Emperor, Jiajing had no "human" in his eyes before he became a "god".

If such an emperor really becomes a "god" one day in the future, can he expect such an emperor to take the people seriously in the future? Then, is Da Yan ruled by people or another "god"?

The Emperor of Dayan was sad, and as the plot developed, Ma Ningyuan really hid it from Hu Zongxian and blew up all nine dams. At the moment the flood was surging, everyone in the hall fell silent.

Thanks to Xi's painting skills, the filming of this section looks countless times more thrilling than the original drama. When the officials and the emperor saw that the soldiers of the Great Yan built walls with their flesh and blood, but were drowned in the raging flood, forcing Hu Zongxian to divert the flood to submerge two innocent counties to minimize the losses, the whole hall was filled with a weird atmosphere.

The scene, which lasted less than ten minutes, showed the most touching scenes. In a short moment, some people in the hall were angry, some were crying, and some were sighing... But without exception, they did not expect that the descendants of Dayan would become such beasts.

A moment later, with a change of camera, Hu Zongxian, who had solved all the problems, was sitting in the lobby, while Ma Ningyuan had taken off his official uniform. He thought that he had rescued Hu Zongxian, who was overwhelmed by the orders from his superiors. As the bad guy, he would inevitably die, but before he died, he still hoped that Hu Zongxian, who had promoted him, could understand his intentions.

"I feel sorry for Bu-dou...but my heart is still loyal to Bu-dou."

"I was born a juren, and I have been a gongren for several years, but if I hadn't been appreciated by the ministry, I would be at most a county magistrate now."

"Also, my family never dreamed that I would be the prefect of Zhejiang City today."

"Ever since I followed you to build the seawall that year, I have made up my mind that in this life, I will be your man when I live and your ghost when I die."

"Now... I finally have a chance to repay Bu Tang. This future was given to me by Bu Tang, and now I am returning it to him."

"I will bear all the blame... I just hope that the minister can pass the test with the cabinet elders, the junior cabinet elders, and Prince Yu."

Ma Ningyuan expressed in this way how he wanted to repay Hu Zongxian for his kindness in the past, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes unconsciously. Many officials who had been resentful of Ma Ningyuan because of his wrong decision couldn't help but soften their hearts when they saw Ma Ningyuan's gratitude to his mentor.

Ma Ningyuan did not leave a good impression on all officials and the Emperor of Dayan. At the beginning, he led the Heavenly Master to cover up the Qingmiao and spoke rudely to the people of Zhejiang City, not acting like a parent official.

But the loyalty he expressed to Hu Zongxian now successfully made this minor character of his more full-bodied. But unfortunately, everyone standing in the perspective of God knows that Ma Ningyuan did a bad thing with good intentions this time, and his behavior completely destroyed his mentor.

"You have small righteousness but no great loyalty. You are such a fool." The Great Yan Emperor also looked down upon him and coldly judged him: "Can you bear the blame? With such a great disaster, how can your parents, wife and children not be implicated? If your entire clan is exterminated, can your mentor really escape the disaster?"

"Snapped!"

As expected, when Hu Zongxian, played by Zuo Xuanliao, walked up to Ma Ningyuan, he slapped him mercilessly, expressing all his disappointment, anger and sadness in this slap.

"-- Too smart for your own good." Zuo Xuanliao managed to squeeze out those few words from between his teeth after a long while, expressing his endless bitterness. He was even more sad that this confidant whom he had promoted did not understand what was right and wrong in the end.

"What is this, the Lord of the Court, what is this ...

Zuo Xuanliao gently stroked Ma Ningyuan's official uniform, his eyes and tone full of helplessness and bitterness, and he said lightly: "You actually colluded with them to do such a big thing, hiding it from me! And you still say that your heart is loyal to me..."

"…I don't want to hide it from Bu-dou, and I won't collude with anyone. I'm sorry, Bu-dou."

However, Ma Ningyuan still seemed to have not grasped the essence of Zuo Xuanliao's words just now. He knew that his mentor would be disappointed with his decision, but he still did not regret being the bad guy for his mentor.

Finally, with a sigh, Ma Ningyuan murmured to himself: "There are many things in the world that are... done even though we know they are impossible."

Ma Ningyuan's last words seemed to express his own bitterness, as well as the bitterness of many officials who were walking on thin ice in the court, fearing that one day they would be dragged out to take the blame and "repay a favor."

The Great Yan Emperor did not want to say more. He sighed for a long time, closed his eyes, and said slowly with great exhaustion:

"Knowing it is impossible to do something, but still doing it...Officials protect each other, treating the symptoms but not the root cause...In the end, who cares about the people?"

"He knows small righteousness but no great loyalty... He is stupid, stupid... There is such a stupid person in the court of Great Yan, and he is a fourth-rank prefect. There is really no one left to use."

The Emperor of Great Yan was tired. When he thought of such a Great Yan, he felt that no matter how diligent he was, he would be powerless to save the situation. He felt an unprecedented tiredness, which was even more uncomfortable than the real body of "Sui" under his feet.

If Dayan is really going to be like this in the future... then they shouldn't go to war with "Sui". This kind of Dayan is more terrifying than "Sui", and every official is more indifferent to human life than "God".

Chapter 287: Oppressing the people, all died; when it comes to me, the country boy

"Your Majesty, how about the third episode of The Great Yan Dynasty?"

A few days later, Chen Qi and a few others successfully rushed back to the palace from Gou Wu. This time, Chen Qi and his team went to Gou Wu to shoot the real scene, and they will go there repeatedly in the future, but of course they will not spend such a long time on the road again.

Xi also left a painting in the court of Gou Wu Caijing. This painting can be used as a portal, allowing Chen Qi and others to travel freely between the palace and Gou Wu. This saves a lot of time and allows Chen Qi and others to shoot between the two places more conveniently.

This time when Chen Qi came back, he deliberately stayed on the road for a few days to give the Emperor of Dayan and all the officials time to digest the contents of the third episode. When he felt that it was almost enough, he returned to the palace and asked the Emperor of Dayan alone.

Now, the Great Yan Emperor, who looked like he hadn't slept for a few days and looked a little worse, was asked such a question by Chen Qi. After a long time, he sighed again and asked lightly:

"...Director Chen Qi, in the future you see, will Dayan really look like this?"

The Great Yan Emperor could see that the Great Yan in 1566 as described by Chen Qi was very different from the Great Yan of today. Although everyone could understand what "cabinet", "prime minister" and a series of official positions meant, the Great Yan Emperor understood that in the Great Yan of the setting, after the death of the two brothers, the power of the Great Yan officialdom had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Especially the power of civil servants has been greatly expanded... But this is understandable. After all, after solving the huge threat of "Sui", Dayan's national defense has been weakened. But after solving a major threat and recuperating, it is understandable that the civil servants have a heavy weight.

But whether it is the harassment of Ursus in the play, or the threat of the Deep Sea Church and Haisi to the southeast in the East Country, in the eyes of the emperor, none of them are more terrible than these internal hidden dangers... He has already seen the signs of the demise of Da Yan.

"Some people say that the emperor is the roof of a country. When a great crisis strikes, the emperor should be the first to stand up."

"However, I have a different understanding... The people of Dayan are too kind, and Dayan has been prosperous for too long, so many of them have forgotten their suffering. I believe that the emperor should be the foundation of the country. His abilities and actions are to protect the country."

"If the emperor is stable, the foundation will be stable, and this house can be built upwards. At that time, as long as there are enough pillars, the building can be built as high as possible - but if the foundation is not stable, no matter how high the building looks, it is still a dangerous building. If you kick it hard, it will collapse."

The Emperor of Great Yan spoke so slowly. The contents of the third episode of the Great Yan Dynasty were still vivid in his mind. When he thought of Yan Shifan's destruction of dikes and flooding of fields, the officials of Great Yan protecting each other, and the people and soldiers who were killed in this man-made natural disaster... he felt heartbroken.

"...Director Chen Qi, you are the one who wrote this script. I don't know if you have seen the future, but I just want to ask one thing...Does the Da Yan you wrote still have a future?"

The Great Yan Emperor knew that with an emperor like Jiajing on the throne, Great Yan would have no hope and would slowly go to ruin. What the Great Yan Emperor wanted to know was whether Jiajing would eventually become a behemoth.

If Jiajing really becomes a giant beast, then disaster for Dayan will really come... A "god" with infinite lifespan, whom Dayan will no longer have the power to resist, will become a new shadow hanging over Dayan, satisfying his selfish desires with the flesh and blood of Dayan's millions of people. Such an emperor is far more terrifying than "Sui".

As long as Jiajing is alive, Dayan has no future! The Emperor of Dayan firmly believed this. Instead of expecting Jiajing to change his character, he should place his hopes on the next generation.

However, although the Emperor of Great Yan played the role of Prince Yu, he did not expect the character of Prince Yu to rebel against his father. During the performance, he clearly felt the trembling of Prince Yu's soul towards Jiajing, and he knew that this boy was weak and unworthy of great use. It was good enough that he was not scared to death by his father, and he did not expect him to become a talent.

Facing this question from the Great Yan Emperor, Chen Qi, who naturally understood the future development, saw how worried he was and said:

"Although it's not written in the script, I did consider the subsequent plot. If Your Majesty wants to hear it, I can tell you."

"Jiajing ultimately failed to become a giant. After Prince Yu came to power, he changed the reign title to 'Longqing'. During his reign, he made use of officials from the Qingliu faction, which allowed the Great Yan to recuperate for a period of time after Jiajing's death, and finally showed signs of a revival."

"Phew... Fortunately it didn't work."

And at this moment, Chen Qi's words were obviously taken seriously by the Emperor of Dayan. When he heard that Jiajing failed to become a behemoth, he was greatly relieved and felt much more relaxed, so much so that he did not immediately notice the implicit meaning of Chen Qi's unfinished words.

Naturally, Chen Qi had no intention of telling him that in the play, Prince Yu died six years after ascending the throne, and that his child in the play brought Dayan into the real abyss... If he told this, he was afraid that the Emperor of Dayan would not be able to bear the shock and would faint on the spot.

Chen Qi did not linger on this topic and immediately said to the Emperor of Dayan:

"Your Majesty, we still need your help in the filming of the fourth episode. There is still some time before you go on stage. Would you like to take a look first?"

"...Alright, I'll just see how that idiot Ma Ningyuan ends up."

The upset Emperor of Dayan did not refuse and returned to his seat. In his bedroom, there was a "screen" that Xi had specially drawn in reality. Through this, the Emperor of Dayan could see what Gou Wu was filming at the moment even though he was thousands of miles away in the palace.

After Ma Ningyuan made a big mistake and said the words "knowing it is impossible but doing it anyway", Hu Zongxian, played by Zuo Xuanliao, was so angry that he almost laughed out loud. Seeing that his student was still not enlightened, he finally began to educate him.

"I usually ask you to read Zuo Zhuan and Tongjian, but you don't take it seriously."

"I asked you to read the books of the philosophers of Dayan, but you didn't agree."

"What else are you talking about? Have you ever watched Yes, Prime Minister? Can half of a Uyghur drama rule the world?"

"Now let me ask you, what does the sage mean when he says 'knowing it is impossible but still doing it'?"

At the beginning of the fourth episode, in the scene where Hu Zongxian teaches Ma Ningyuan, Chen Qi also made a little joke about his previous works, and by the way, he also made fun of those Terra people who said "half of the Uyghur dramas can rule the world". Now, as Chen Qi's fame grows, many of his film and television works have been raised to a height that does not belong to him.

For this reason, Chen Qi has posted a "disclaimer" for his work here. Even if the drama I filmed is a masterpiece, you should never really believe it when you praise it.

Being an official, how can you understand it through just one drama? Look at Ma Ningyuan in the drama and see what happened to him.

Facing Ma Ningyuan's silence, Zuo Xuanliao also spoke up in time: "The saints tell the world: when doing something, don't ask if it is possible. Instead, ask, should you do it?"

"Destroying dikes and flooding fields is against the will of heaven and earth. It harms the country and the people! Is this also called 'knowing it is impossible but still doing it'?"

Zuo Xuanliao's voice was not loud, and he did not scold Ma Ningyuan too much, but these well-reasoned teachings made Ma Ningyuan understand his mistakes better than any rebuke or complaint. But at this moment, he had no way back, so he could only lower his head and answer sullenly:

"...I only understand that I should share the worries of the Ministry."

"Nine counties, millions of people! The dam burst and flooded the fields. I have searched through the history books and have never seen such a thing before! And you still say that you are helping me with my worries?" Seeing that Ma Ningyuan was still stubborn, Zuo Xuanliao couldn't help but speak more harshly. He said:

"Even if your entire clan is killed, it won't be enough to make up for this crime!"

"Everyone says that I, Hu, know how to appoint the right people to the right positions. Why did I appoint someone like you to be the governor of Zhejiang City and the general manager of the river?"

And, I don't know if it was the words "kill all nine clans" from Hu Zongxian, played by Zuo Xuanliao, that made Ma Ningyuan react belatedly. He planned to take the blame for his mentor, and asked Yang Jinshui and others to treat him well after he took the blame. But could he really afford this crime?

Thinking of this, Ma Ningyuan finally began to panic, and immediately knelt down in the direction of Zuo Xuanliao, and said with a trembling voice:

"I shouldn't have been an official - but my mother, my wife, and my son. You all know that they are all honest country folk!"

"I hope the Minister... can protect them!"

After saying that, Ma Ningyuan bowed deeply to Zuo Xuanliao. However, everyone watching this scene knew that it was too late for Ma Ningyuan to do this now.

"Country bumpkin...when the dikes were destroyed and the fields were flooded, hiding the young crops, why didn't you remember that you were a country kid?" At the scene of Gou Wu, Wei Yanwu was also dismissive. He didn't have a single sympathy for this kind of person who was seeking death and pushing himself to a desperate situation.

The Great Yan Emperor also thought the same, muttering to himself with great disdain:

"If he were a country bumpkin, then the people of Dayan would be extremely unlucky to allow such a beast who forgot where he came from to become an official."

The brothers' words at this moment were not heard at the scene. Hu Zongxian, played by Zuo Xuanliao, saw that the situation could not be resolved, and tried to find out through Ma Ningyuan who made the decision to destroy the dikes and flood the fields, so as to delay the national policy of changing rice to mulberry.

However, how could Ma Ningyuan say anything about this? Ma Ningyuan knew very well that all this was the decision of Yan Song and Yan Shifan, but if they were implicated, his mentor would really have no way out.

"The dam was not destroyed. It was my subordinates who failed to repair it last year that caused this disaster." Ma Ningyuan insisted that it was all his responsibility. After saying that, he had a righteous look on his face and said word by word:

"I hope that after the fields are flooded, the imperial court's policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees can be implemented, and you, the minister, won't have to be caught in the middle."

"My head...is worth it even if I lose it!"

Ma Ningyuan's words fell, and at this moment, both Zuo Xuanliao in the play and the people outside the play felt an inexplicable chill. Facing such a "righteous" Ma Ningyuan, Chen Huijie, Lin Yuxia and others did not think that his behavior was noble at all, but they could not tell what was wrong.

However, Wei Yanwu and other senior politicians understood the meaning of Ma Ningyuan's words. Fortunately, Zuo Xuanliao in the play also spoke slowly and expressed what they thought:

"You are in me, I am in you... This is where all the bad things in the world go wrong."

"They traded your life for silver, and used the wealth of so many people in Zhejiang City for money - and you still have to protect them wholeheartedly? And you still say, is it for the court? For national policy?"

"For the court? What national policy? What about replacing rice with mulberry? How much money can be put into the treasury after earning money?"

In the end, Hu Zongxian, played by Zuo Xuanliao, was also disheartened and had to let Ma Ningyuan hide in the back. He knew that Ma Ningyuan would never be able to figure it out unless he understood it all.

"Hear with your own ears what kind of hearts and lungs these people you are protecting really have. Even if you die, you can't be a fool!"

Zuo Xuanliao's words had made them very clear. At this moment, the Emperor of Dayan could not help but sit up straight - the teachings left by the ancestors said that forming a clique for personal gain was a great crime. He only knew that it was a great crime, but the officials of Dayan were not so blatantly divided into several factions like the Dayan in the TV series.