You were asked to write a political intrigue drama, but you wrote "Da Ming 1566".

Chapter 29: Destroying the dike and flooding the fields? Are there real masters among the common people?!

"What's so special about this? How groundbreaking or unexpected can it be?" The representative took a deep breath, still sticking to his earlier assertion. "The Ming Dynasty won't have much to write about for long; the plot is bound to collapse!" Upon hearing this, Qin Lan remained unfazed, replying calmly, "We'll just have to wait and see." Though her face appeared composed, a barely perceptible worry lurked in her eyes.

She disliked the representative from this leading film company from the bottom of her heart, but from a professional standpoint, she really couldn't find a single fault in what the other party said. What other tricks could be added to the storyline of converting rice paddies into mulberry fields? What unexpected twists and turns could it cause?

If the subsequent plot is too bland and boring, the current popularity won't last long. She gently bit her lower lip, and an idea suddenly popped into her head.

"How about we have the screenwriters from our meeting film company brainstorm together and see if we can come up with a plot that's impactful enough, and then find an opportunity to submit it to Chen Yu?"

Meanwhile, Chen Yu had no idea that there was such a little episode on the set of the show, and he never expected that Qin Lan would have the idea of ​​asking the screenwriter from Xiangyu Pictures to come and help him.

If Chen Yu actually knew this, he would most likely just find it both laughable and pathetic. The plot of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields would progress blandly and ultimately collapse into a boring mess? This is probably the funniest joke Chen Yu has heard about "The Ming Dynasty" since the "patriotic and concerned Grand Secretary Yan." Want to know about the famous scene of destroying dikes and flooding fields?

When the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields encountered obstacles, Yan's faction did not follow the usual formula of political dramas and engage in any roundabout schemes or plots. Instead, they directly overturned the table and committed the ruthless act of destroying dikes and flooding fields.

Blowing up the river embankment and letting the floodwaters inundate the entire prefecture and county, forcing those devastated victims to sell their land at rock-bottom prices for food to survive! Isn't this plot shocking enough, subverting your understanding enough? When Chen Yu first watched "The Ming Dynasty," he was so shocked by this scene that he was speechless.

In a typical political drama, this would probably be the ultimate villain's conspiracy that the protagonist would have to do everything in their power to stop. But in "Ming Dynasty," this was actually accomplished in just the first three episodes.

This isn't considered exciting? That would be a complete joke!

At this moment, Chen Yu's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out the second half of this scene word by word. Just as Ma Ningyuan ordered his men to arrest Qi Dazhu and other leading civilians, and was about to continue ordering the trampling of the seedlings, Qi Jiguang led his soldiers and rushed to the scene of the trampling.

Immediately, Qi Jiguang raised his hand and lashed out with his whip, striking the faces of the soldiers who were trampling on the seedlings.

Ma Ningyuan's face turned pale instantly. Was he hitting those soldiers? This was clearly a public slap in the face for Ma Ningyuan in front of everyone!

Ma Ningyuan stood there expressionless, watching Qi Jiguang lash the soldiers with his whip until Qi Jiguang angrily questioned them. "You've cut off the people's water supply again, and trampled the seedlings in the fields! Soldiers eat rations, but whose rations are you eating?!" Clearly, Qi Jiguang had come specifically to stop this absurd scheme of cutting off water and trampling seedlings to forcibly convert rice paddies to mulberry fields. Ma Ningyuan immediately spoke up. "It's the imperial rations, of course!" Qi Jiguang turned to look at Ma Ningyuan. "And where do these imperial rations come from?" Ma Ningyuan sneered, bowing towards the palace. "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the emperor; the imperial rations naturally come from the emperor!" Qi Jiguang immediately chimed in, his reaction incredibly swift.

【Well said! Then what you've cut off is the Emperor's water! What you've trampled on is the Emperor's seedlings!】 When the audience saw this sharp exchange on the screen, they were instantly transported back to the scene in the Golden Palace where the various factions clashed back and forth, each word piercing the heart.

This caused everyone to gasp in surprise.

"No, when I first saw the characters in this episode, I thought it wouldn't be very interesting." "The previous episodes featured high-ranking officials from the Cabinet and eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs fighting like gods. Now it's down to the level of local prefectures and counties. How boring is that?"

"But now, a phrase just popped into my head: 'True masters are often found among ordinary people.'"

"Ma Ningyuan and Qi Jiguang, their reactions are fucking too fast, and their verbal skills are fucking amazing!" Only now did countless viewers belatedly realize this. "How could they not be amazing?"

"What kind of official is the Hangzhou Prefect? ​​If this were today, he would be the mayor and all the city officials at the same time. How could he not be powerful?" "We actually thought he wasn't high-ranking enough. We were really getting cocky, absolutely cocky. I've lived this long and I've never even seen a leader of this level."

"Let alone the mayor, I have to be very polite and humble when I go to the neighborhood office to ask the director for help." "Even the magistrate of Jiande County is a proper county head; I'd never have the chance to meet him in my life."

"Who do I think I am, daring to criticize others like this? I'm really getting too big for my britches."

"Those who can rise to this position are all shrewd and powerful!" "But looking at this part, Qi Jiguang is still the better one. He shut Ma Ningyuan down with just one sentence."

Immediately afterward, in the script, Qi Jiguang, under the pretext of fighting Japanese pirates along the coast, transferred all the officers and soldiers present away, coldly warning Ma Ningyuan before leaving: "I advise you to release these captured civilians immediately. Otherwise, once my troops leave, these civilians might just throw you into the river to feed the fish." Then, Qi Jiguang led his large army away without looking back.

Seeing this scene, viewers couldn't help but smile, as if they could already foresee the pathetic sight of Ma Ningyuan, the corrupt official who had just appeared and started arbitrarily labeling ordinary people, being thrown into the river.

In the script, the surrounding people indeed gathered around upon seeing this, and the magistrates of Jiande County and Chun'an County panicked and hurriedly advised Ma Ningyuan to release the person first.

But at that moment, Ma Ningyuan's next move completely stunned all the viewers watching on screen.

Everyone thought the plot would unfold with Ma Ningyuan, the "corrupt official," being punished by the people, but the outcome was completely different. [Ma Ningyuan's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he glared at Chang Boxi and Zhang Zhiliang.] [Afraid of death? If you're afraid of death, take off your official hats and stay here. You're all out of here.] [Immediately afterwards, Ma Ningyuan sternly stopped the panicked yamen runners, ordering them not to release the arrested people.] [The next second, he walked alone towards the crowd of people who had surrounded him, his single-handed presence overwhelming the hundreds of enraged citizens.]

The crowd that had gathered around suddenly stopped in their tracks.

[Ma Ningyuan shouted sternly, "I, the prefect, am standing here alone. Anyone who dares to rebel, come over here and throw me into this river!"]

[Then, in a deathly silence, Ma Ningyuan continued to speak.]

[Converting paddy fields into mulberry fields is a national policy established by the imperial court. You either convert them yourselves or sell the land to others for conversion. Even if a thousand or ten thousand people die, even if all the people of Zhejiang perish, this national policy must be implemented!]

So what if Qi Jiguang took his troops away? The imperial court still has a million soldiers! If you dare to gather and defy national policy, I, this prefect, will fight you to the bitter end!

【Take these traitors who colluded with the Japanese pirates back to Hangzhou!】【Ma Ningyuan turned around and walked forward unhurriedly.】

The people remained silent, following him at a distance as the group headed towards Hangzhou. [The Ming Dynasty, Act Seven, The End.]

As Chen Yu typed the last word of this scene, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Whether you call Ma Ningyuan ruthless and despicable, or foolishly loyal and laughable, this episode was undoubtedly the highlight of his entire series.

A person who can single-handedly quell a riot among the people cannot be called an incompetent mediocre individual. His methods also reveal him to be extremely tough and a truly pragmatic bureaucrat. He is willing to go to any lengths to complete orders from his superiors, demonstrating his competence. His shrewdness and methods clearly surpass those of the two county magistrates around him by a significant margin.

Unfortunately, when placed within the grand scheme of the Ming Dynasty and among the cunning foxes in the court, his abilities were simply insufficient. He reached his peak upon his debut, but his glory lasted less than an episode or two before he was outmaneuvered and killed, becoming a pawn in Yan's faction's plan to destroy dikes and flood fields, ultimately ending up as a scapegoat.

In less than two episodes, Ma Ningyuan will meet a tragic end, his head severed from his body. It's not that he's incompetent; it's just that the opponents he faces are ridiculously skilled.

But at this moment, the audience's impression of Ma Ningyuan after watching this seventh act has undergone a complete transformation. "Wow, I thought he wasn't very skilled or high-level after seeing Ma Ningyuan get thrashed by Qi Jiguang." "But now, his skill level is ridiculously high!"

"With that aura, he's definitely someone who can accomplish great things. Although his methods are a bit ruthless, which person who has achieved great things throughout history hasn't been ruthless?" "Brothers, I have a feeling that Ma Ningyuan might use this to climb step by step to the top of power. This conversion of rice paddies into mulberry fields might just be a springboard for Ma Ningyuan to rise to power!"

"Give Ma Ningyuan a chance and let him climb into the cabinet. He might not be any worse than famous ministers like Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng!" Admiring the strong and respecting ruthless people is human nature.

It can be said that Ma Ningyuan's tough approach after his appearance, despite his many flaws, still garnered a large following and praise from the audience.

Many viewers flooded the live chat with comments: "Come on, the Ma Ningyuan Fan Club is officially established!" "A true man should act decisively and forcefully. What's wrong with being ruthless to climb the ladder?" "Brothers still struggling in the low points, let's take Magistrate Ma as our role model and witness him rise step by step to the pinnacle of power!"

"I hope our careers—no, I hope our lives—can be like Magistrate Ma's, where we carve out a name for ourselves through sheer hard work! Let's encourage each other, brothers!"

Just as viewers were discussing Ma Ningyuan's performance, and even a support community like the Ma Ningyuan Bar was established.

The film company representative, who had previously looked ashen-faced, now appeared much more relaxed, even a slight smile playing on his lips, as if he had discovered a major flaw in the script of "The Ming Dynasty." On the judges' panel, Professor Shuping, whose brows had relaxed somewhat, suddenly furrowed again, his expression filled with deep worry.

Meanwhile, the other contestants were also distracted while writing their scripts today, their minds filled with the overwhelming barrage of comments in Chen Yu's live stream and the hundreds of thousands or even millions of fan donations.

Just thinking about it filled them with resentment. Damn it, they were both typing, so why was Chen Yu's popularity and rewards so much higher than theirs? Why?! Because of this, these contestants checked Chen Yu's livestream almost every few minutes. At this moment, they also saw the script that began with the conversion of rice paddies into mulberry fields and Ma Ningyuan's appearance. Initially, their expressions were solemn and their faces gloomy.

But soon, as if they had thought of something, they all showed relieved smiles.

Contestant number 3, also writing a period drama script, smirked smugly. "Chen Yu, oh Chen Yu, you're still too green. Don't you realize you've made a huge mistake?" "You've set the level of a character like Ma Ningyuan too high, and then there's Qi Jiguang, who's equally high-level. Doesn't that just lower the prestige of the previous cabinet members?"

"Previously, everyone thought cabinet members were the pinnacle of talent, but now Ma Ningyuan and Qi Jiguang have emerged, and they're about the same level. What happens to the prestige of those who came before?"

"Like some characters in comics or movies, they fight the protagonist on equal terms at the beginning, and they seem very powerful. But later you find that there are all sorts of characters with that kind of strength. Doesn't all that effort put into building up that image just crumble?"

"The character Ma Ningyuan is too sophisticated; this is precisely the beginning of the collapse of Chen Yu's 'Ming Dynasty'!"

Contestant number Andrew had a mocking look in his eyes, as if he had already pronounced the death sentence on "The Ming Dynasty".

He even stopped writing his own script and focused on watching Chen Yu's live stream, waiting for the moment when Chen Yu's "Ming Dynasty" would collapse.

"It feels like it won't be long before the plot of 'The Ming Dynasty' collapses, and it happens today!" At this moment, Chen Yu was completely oblivious to these people's thoughts, continuing with the rest of the script. [The Ming Dynasty, Act 8] [Location: Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau]

[Characters: Hu Zongxian, Yang Jinshui, Zheng Bichang, He Maocai, Ma Ningyuan...] This scene vividly portrays the extravagance and decadence of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom and upper class. While Ma Ningyuan confronts the people, these high-ranking officials from Zhejiang are showing wealthy merchants silks. The silk weaving bureau is truly magnificent, with ornate carvings and painted rafters, and even the opera troupe is the finest in the land. Yang Jinshui, the chief eunuch of the weaving bureau, showcases four different patterns of silk in this scene.