The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Mr. Zhang, you flatter me. I am hardly worthy of your praise," Gu Ning said modestly.

"Ha ha."

Zhang Chaoyang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "When I was your age, I was still in school."

Although he has heard countless compliments over the years, he still never tires of them.

His later depression stemmed from the sense of loss he felt after being surpassed by his juniors.

After all, he was once the number one internet person in China.

Don't have too much of a filter on these big shots; they are often more down-to-earth than ordinary people.

After achieving success and fame, they became increasingly high-profile.

"Sit down and talk."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Old Zhang invited Gu Ning to sit down.

"Xiao Gu, your short film was great. After it went online, it significantly increased the number of visits to Sohu Video."

Zhang Chaoyang laughed and said, "I've heard about your conflict with that Lu Chuan, and it's exactly what I'm looking for."

Gu Ning didn't know how to respond to that, so she could only smile.

No matter who asks, he would never admit that he made the short film to get revenge on Lu Chuan.

"Mr. Zhang, you two chat, I'll go ask the waiter to bring the food," Mr. Wang said, standing up.

"Okay, have the driver bring me that bottle of wine from my car," Zhang Chaoyang said.

After Mr. Wang left, Zhang Chaoyang chatted with Gu Ning about the development of the Internet.

Big shots all have a desire to express themselves. Many people think that big shots have unique insights but are unwilling to share them with others, but this is a misconception.

The domestic internet industry is all copying others' work.

Others are doing what they are doing, but they are the ultimate winners in the competition.

In many rebirth novels, the protagonist gets ahead of Jack Ma in starting online shopping, but they overlook the fact that Jack Ma initially did B2B before moving to C2C.

Moreover, Lao Ma wasn't the first to start an online shopping e-commerce business.

So if you want to follow in the footsteps of those successful people, the important thing is not the path itself, but how they broke through the competition.

Essentially, the early internet giants were hardly forward-thinking.

Zhang Chaoyang naturally wouldn't boast about these things to Gu Ning; he was talking about the future development of the Internet.

Since it's about the future, there are many uncertainties, so there's no fear of people knowing.

Zhang Chaoyang's purpose in talking about these things was largely to boast.

This boasting isn't bragging, but rather a way of expressing oneself.

It's like how a scholar would seem uncultured if he didn't quote a few lines of poetry when he spoke.

He is the richest man in China and a pioneer in the internet industry.

Talking about money is too vulgar; talking about the development of the Internet is the most appropriate.

It's mainly out of habit. In the past two years, he has been talking about this in various conferences and speeches, and it has become an instinctive reaction.

Once the conversation started, it turned to the development of the Internet over the next ten or twenty years.

But to his surprise, Gu Ning was able to respond, and many of her views were quite novel and aligned with some of his own ideas.

This made him look at Gu Ning in a different light.

When two people from different fields chat about their respective areas, the other person will feel a sense of awe, even if they don't understand the conversation.

Because it's an area I'm not good at, it's hard to detect if what the other person is saying is false.

Gu Ning was indeed talking about the development of the Internet, and he boasted that no one could compare to him in this regard.

However, some of the points Gu Ning raised not only aligned with his own ideas, but also included some that he hadn't considered.

Upon careful reading, it becomes clear that it is very logical and well-founded.

What is talent? This is it!

"Xiao Gu, you're a bit wasted on being a director. Why don't you come work for my company?" Zhang Chaoyang said.

"Well…"

Gu Ning then realized that he had gone too far with his words.

There was no other way; given the difference in status, if you didn't want the other party to look down on you, you had to demonstrate exceptional abilities.

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Zhang, but those were just theoretical discussions, nothing more than casual remarks."

Gu Ning shook his head and said, "If you really put me in charge of any project, I wouldn't be able to do it well at all. Besides, I like making movies, and I think that after solving the problem of basic needs, work should have higher aspirations."

"Talking about war on paper is not a derogatory term."

Zhang Chaoyang said, "Lian Po adopted a defensive strategy, but King Zhao believed the rumors and changed commanders on the eve of battle. After Zhao Kuo replaced Lian Po, he had to take the initiative and could not choose to defend."

However, at that time, Qin's military strength was superior to Zhao's, and its logistical support was also far superior to Zhao's.

Unaware that Qin had changed its commander, Zhao Kuo fell into the enemy's trap and suffered a major defeat.

Despite suffering a major defeat, they were still able to hold the city until their food supplies ran out more than forty days before they had no choice but to break out.

If he were truly an incompetent fool, how could he have held out for so long after such a crushing defeat?

Was the Battle of Changping really that complicated?

Gu Ning didn't know much about the history of that time; he only remembered learning about the story of "talking about war on paper" when he was in elementary or junior high school.

The story is simple: after Zhao Kuo was appointed commander, he quickly lost the battle, and in the end, Bai Qi massacred 400,000 Zhao soldiers.

He was unaware that the Qin state had secretly replaced its commander, and he still believed that it was Bai Qi from beginning to end.

Although he didn't understand military strategy, if we follow Zhang Chaoyang's account, Zhao Kuo held out for several dozen days after suffering a major defeat, only to be defeated and killed when his supplies ran out and he tried to break out, then Zhao Kuo was indeed not a fool.

Putting aside the impact of the crushing defeat on morale, the fact that the army was able to maintain its stability despite not receiving any supplies or reinforcements from the rear is already quite remarkable.

But isn't Lao Zhang a physics major? How come he knows so much about history?

"Moreover, in the internet industry, sometimes ideas trump everything," Zhang Chaoyang said.

That's true. Old Zhang, who studied physics, became the number one person in the Chinese Internet industry and was once the richest man in China.

Even someone as computer illiterate as Lao Ma, who could only send and receive emails, started his business through the internet.

If Gu Ning were to do it himself, even if he knew what the future trends would be, without the business acumen, he would most likely end up doing all the work for someone else.

Most internet tycoons were not the first to try something new.

Those who acted first almost always cultivated the market for those who came later, and in the end, very few even knew their names.

But if you ask Gu Ning for advice or to act as an advisor, he's definitely capable of doing it.

Gu Ning didn't have that idea. Most of these big shots were dictators, not people who were willing to accept advice.

He also didn't want to work for others, so he politely declined.

When Lao Zhang saw that he refused, although he was a little disappointed, he did not insist. Instead, he changed the subject to the development of video platforms.

"As the country continues to progress and develop, all industries will become more and more standardized."

Zhang Chaoyang said, "With the increasing number of Internet users, the standardization of Internet copyright is inevitable."

At that time, video sharing and playback platforms will inevitably have to spend money to purchase copyrights in order to survive.

The prices of film and television copyrights that were previously worthless will gradually increase.

"Mr. Zhang has a keen eye. Could it be that Sohu has already begun to plan in this area?" Gu Ning asked, feigning surprise.

He wasn't surprised at all that Zhang Chaoyang could see this.

The government officially promoted the legalization of online content 12 years ago, and the crackdown on Kuaibo was just the biggest chicken in the chicken's back.

The decision to implement a policy is naturally not made in a short period of time.

Ordinary people have little access to this kind of information, but given Sohu's position, they would certainly be able to learn about it in advance.