The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 570 How could there be no hidden agenda?

To say that the sudden deaths of the Northern Song Dynasty were partly due to the influence of the Shenxiao sect of Taoists, Zhao Huan's reliance on the Six Ding and Six Jia was not unrelated to his favoritism towards Taoists. But without Lin Lingsu's instigation... well, even without Lin Lingsu, there would have been Li Lingsu.

In short, the Shenxiao School was the most favored by Emperor Huizong of Song in history, so they had to bear the consequences. As a result, the prestige of the Shenxiao School plummeted after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, and during the Yuan Dynasty, it was merged into the Zhengyi School, ultimately leading to the extinction of its lineage.

So when the senior brother pointed out that Shi Xingyu was his fellow disciple and also named the Taoist priest traveling with him as a member of the Shenxiao Sect, it was essentially telling everyone that both of them had problems.

To help the audience understand the issues surrounding the Shenxiao Sect, an artistic interpretation was made, portraying Guo Jing and his six Ding and six Jia as members of the Shenxiao Sect.

In a typical storyline, when this happens, conflicts are bound to arise between the good guys and the bad guys. Moreover, the Taoist priest is played by Chung Fat. Although Master Qianhe is a good person, there are also many villainous characters.

However, "Man Jiang Hong" takes a different approach. After the righteous side escapes again, when the matter is brought up, the Taoist priest only says that it is because his sect caused a great disaster that he must try to make amends. He had previously thought of rescuing Marshal Yue, but failed for various reasons. Now, he cannot let Marshal Yue not even be able to be laid to rest.

So everyone believed it.

Of course, some viewers will definitely think that the screenwriter must be brain-dead for the good guys to be so easily trusting of the other side.

It's normal to have this kind of thinking; it would be strange if there weren't any trolls. So Xu Jiuyang anticipated their predictions and specifically told the crew to design some details here to show that although others said they believed him, they secretly made backup plans.

However, as the operation continued, and with the successive sacrifices of the monks and Taoists, these methods were never used.
"Although I wasn't the producer and didn't follow through to the end, I still put a lot of effort into this film," Xu Jiuyang, sitting below, remarked with emotion.

This isn't just empty talk; at least three very important plot points in the film were made according to his vision, and as for the presentation...

"The Zhang family lady from the north of the city, her husband's family followed Marshal Yue's northern expedition. The rewards alone were enough to support a family of five. They even have a memorial tablet for the marshal in their home!"

"Li, a scholar from the south of the city, fled from the north. Destitute and helpless, he relied on writing letters to register his household. Upon hearing that the marshal had recovered the lost territory, he was overjoyed and wept uncontrollably. He told everyone he met about the marshal's great kindness and that he had hope of returning to the capital!"

"And then there's He Zhu, who was determined to get the Marshal to confess to treason, but later he risked his life to declare the Marshal innocent!"

"Though I am a petty person, I would never do anything disloyal or unjust!"

This was Kui Shun's resounding answer to Qin's henchmen, who were feigning concern and trying to trick him into revealing the location of Yue Fei's body, after he was temporarily captured.

In fact, in reality, Kui Shun would not have said such things. He was, after all, just a minor jailer. He might know a few words, but it would have been almost impossible for him to speak like a scholar-official.

However, as I said before, the film needs it, the art needs it, and we must explain to the audience why such an insignificant person would be willing to take such a risk.

Although Wei Shun in history was also taking risks, he was not hunted down by martial arts masters. The reason why people dared not collect Yue Fei's body was mainly because they did not know the attitude of Qin Hui and Wanyan Gou and were afraid of being held accountable afterward.

The movie version is different; it's much more dangerous. Kui Shun's reasons must be compelling enough, so the plot goes like this: because he saw that everyone from ordinary people to high-ranking officials praised and admired him, he was willing to take the risk of carrying Marshal Yue's body out of the city.

Therefore, his words naturally need to be righteous and awe-inspiring, and... need to have a bit of literary flair.

The good news is that Baoqiang's acting skills are excellent enough. Although he was tied up in this scene, he was able to portray the characteristics of an ordinary person in the city with his rich expressions.

Coupled with the somewhat literary dialogue, it gives the feeling of a nobody trying to pretend to be a scholar, which is both comical and tragic.

"Thank goodness, we didn't let him play the role of Hu Jun..." Xu Jiuyang nodded in satisfaction as he watched this scene from his seat. As mentioned before, two roles had been prepared for Wang Baoqiang: the male lead, Wei Shun, and Hu Jun, the character with the strongest fighting power who ultimately perished together with the villain, Zhou Zhaolong.

If the roles were reversed, Hu Jun might not be able to achieve the same effect. So, as long as "Man Jiang Hong" does well at the box office, it would be better to release "Kung Fu Jungle," starring Feng Yuxiu.

This is the first instance where Xu Jiuyang demonstrates his will.

The second instance is near the end, when Kui Shun, who had been hunted down and was now all alone, buried Yue Fei's body next to the Jiuqu Congci Temple and marked the spot. Holding a white lantern, he walked back while calling out, "O soul, come back!"

As a result, when he entered the city at the crack of dawn, he was still caught up by the remaining pursuers. Just when they thought they were about to surround him, after circling around the alleys a few times, he discovered that all the residents of the city had hung white lanterns outside overnight.

It turned out that news of Yue Fei's death had only just spread, and the people of the city spontaneously began to commemorate him, resulting in this magnificent scene of the city in mourning. This allowed Wei Shun to escape.

The third location was closely connected to the second. The henchmen failed to capture anyone, and the person in charge, Zou Zhaolong, was already dead. They could only go back to report. Upon hearing this, Qin Hui was surprisingly not angry. He just sneered and said: Let them be for now.

The adopted son, Qin Xi, was extremely puzzled and wanted to offer some advice, suggesting that they should go all the way since public opinion could be a powerful force.

Qin Hui, however, didn't care at all. He sent someone to find Wan Qixie, and then casually explained to Qin Xi.

"I'll arrange for you to go to the history museum tomorrow, where all the historical materials about Yue Pengju will be added to or deleted."

"There's no need to mystify or exaggerate; just muddy the waters."

"Among the many people in the world, there are always a few who like to be different and unique. Given enough time, someone will always defend me."

“We work for the government, so it is only natural that the government should do us a favor.”

If the first two instances were merely for cinematic effect, to make the story more engaging, then this last one is full of personal touches.

In fact, when the script was being written, some junior screenwriters who helped with finishing touches raised questions, but Xu Jiuyang ignored them. How could a work of art be without personal touches? It was just a matter of whether the way the touches were added was appropriate.

Some people like to preach and force their audience to accept their views, while others prefer to subtly influence them by embedding their opinions within the story, allowing the audience to understand them on their own.

It goes without saying whose method is more suitable for dissemination.

So, specifically in this plot, why did Qin Hui want to completely destroy Yue Fei's bones and ashes? Naturally, it was to prove that his actions were not only without fault, but also full of righteousness.

Now that Yue Fei's body has been taken away, it might be brought out again someday due to an overturned verdict. In order to protect their reputation, the Qin family will have to find a way to prove this again, and destroying documents and rewriting history books is the best way to do so.

Historically, after Qin Hui died, Qin Xi did indeed destroy and falsify many historical materials, and this was indeed done with the tacit approval of Wanyan Gou.

Once this line of reasoning is clarified, there will always be those who like to highlight themselves who will try to exonerate Qin Hui or even slander Yue Fei. This argument is very convincing and particularly glaring.

(End of this chapter)