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

Seeing that the script's development was not quite what they had expected, the screenwriters from these top-tier film and television companies behind the scenes were all a little uneasy.

Was Chen Yu up to something again? An ominous premonition spread through their minds. But they quickly shook their heads and took a deep breath.

"No way, this plot outline was written by those big shots from Huaying Film Studio. It's incredibly reasonable. Chen Yu's plot arrangement could never exceed this outline."

"It must be because Chen Yu is too incompetent, unlike the big shots at Huaying who arrange the plot so reasonably, which is why there was a slight deviation. But in the end, the plot will eventually get back on track."

"Gao Hanwen, a key figure in the resistance, can't possibly be caught off guard and forced to retreat now. Hai Rui will definitely go to Gao Hanwen's rescue." "Soon, definitely soon!"

But Chen Yu continued to rhythmically tap on the keyboard, driving the plot forward. However, the plot's development was completely different from what those behind the scenes had firmly believed.

Gao Hanwen, who had fallen into Shen Yishi's trap, did initially sense something was amiss. However, Shen Yishi was not only the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan, but also a master of music, possessing extremely high musical literacy. He was even able to discuss music with Gao Hanwen, the newly appointed third-ranked scholar.

As a result, Gao Hanwen's doubts were gradually dispelled, and he agreed to teach Yunniang for half an hour, pointing out the mistakes in her playing of "Guangling San".

Shen Yishi then excused himself, saying that "Guangling San" could only be played and listened to by one person, and that having more people would create more noise, and left, leaving Gao Hanwen and Yunniang alone in the room.

Seeing this, the audience was on tenterhooks, their hatred for Shen Yishi seething through their teeth. "This Shen Yishi is really something else, he just knows how to pander to everyone!"

"From the moment he first met Gao Hanwen, he was deceiving him. He pretended to be a manager working for the weaving bureau, read some rather secret and shocking account books to Gao Hanwen, and even said that Yunniang was his niece. Step by step, he gained Gao Hanwen's trust and made Gao Hanwen lower his guard."

"This kind of person will stop at nothing to achieve their goals; they're incredibly insidious!"

"Could Gao Hanwen really be going to fall here? If the newly appointed prefect of Hangzhou falls, how will the two county magistrates, Hai Rui and Wang Yongji, resist the provincial policies...?"

"Hai Rui, come quick! Save Gao Hanwen!" Not only were the audience anxious, but even the screenwriters behind the scenes were worried. "The plot has already reached this point, it's a matter of life and death, shouldn't Hai Rui step in?" "Hurry up, draw your sword!" "Chen Yu, quickly get the plot back on track!"

But what happened next was completely unexpected. Hai Rui and Wang Yongji failed to appear and save Gao Hanwen at the most critical moment.

Because anyone with a brain would know that the Zhejiang governor and the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan were plotting against Gao Hanwen, and it even involved the Imperial Textile Bureau. Could two county magistrates possibly thwart such a meticulously planned scheme?

They probably wouldn't even have real information about where Gao Hanwen is. Even if they did know where Gao Hanwen is, they wouldn't be able to get through the gates of the Textile Bureau.

If Hai Rui and Wang Yongji actually managed to save Gao Hanwen, that would be utter nonsense, practically fantasy! Gao Hanwen truly met his end here, almost beyond redemption.

Of course, nothing happened between him and Yunniang; he only played the zither from beginning to end. But after the piece ended, the eunuch from the textile bureau, having received money from Shen Yishi, came to catch them in the act and revealed Yunniang's true identity.

Yunniang was actually the lover of Yang Jinshui, the chief eunuch of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau. Gao Hanwen was in the same room as Yunniang, and they could not let Gao Hanwen leave.

Gao Hanwen was alone here, and his status as the prefect of Hangzhou was of no use to the eunuchs of the textile bureau. One can imagine what his fate would be, and he could only leave behind a note.

This scene left the audience, and even the screenwriter watching from behind the scenes, wide-eyed. "Gao Hanwen, really done for?" "And he left a note?"

"Oh? Then Gao Hanwen is finished. He's hooking up with the mistress of the chief eunuch of the textile bureau. This will definitely make him, a scion of a scholarly family, lose all face and have his spine ripped out."

"With such leverage in someone else's hands, how can Gao Hanwen still fight back?" "How can he fight back like this?" As expected, what happened next was exactly what the audience had feared.

When they discussed the revised disaster relief strategy again the following day, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai appeared completely at ease. The strategy they presented was exactly the same as the first one, not a single word changed!

Gao Hanwen was initially quite assertive.

[Not a single word changed, is there any need to look at it?]

Immediately afterward, He Maocai let out a cold laugh, his words carrying a pointed meaning. "Lord Gao, being a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, should know that writing should be subtle yet elegant, conveying elegance without using a single word." He emphasized the phrase "conveying elegance," then added, "I'll now change those eight characters to 'Not changing a single word, the dilemma is resolved.'" The smugness and threat hidden in his words were utterly obvious!

Before Gao Hanwen could speak, Zheng Bichang made the decision for him again. "The disaster is raging; if we continue to deliberate without a decision, we will fail the court above and mislead the people below!" "Prefect Gao understands the situation and agrees to our proposal. Now that there are no objections, everyone should sign the proposal."

As Gao Hanwen tried to make a final stand, Zheng Bichang had tea served. The last bowl of tea was brought to Gao Hanwen, and beneath it lay the very note he had been forced to leave behind! Gao Hanwen's resolve to resist had finally crumbled under these repeated blows. His trembling hand slowly picked up the pen and moved it towards the signature line for the reform and relief strategy. At this point, the audience was stunned; their last glimmer of hope had vanished. This was completely unpredictable! From the beginning of the meeting until now, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai had held absolute power, and Gao Hanwen clearly had no chance of turning the tide.

Is this really the case that they've already signed it?

Meanwhile, the top screenwriters at leading film and television companies behind the scenes, after their initial bewilderment, grinned. They were now certain that Chen Yu had completely lost his composure due to the previous script outline.

"It's a mess, a complete mess, utter chaos!" "With the script at this point, let's see how he's going to write anything next!" "I thought Chen Yu would grit his teeth and accept it, continuing with the original plot, at least that would prolong its life a little longer. But it seems he's going to drastically rewrite the story?"

"Chen Yu is courting death!" At this moment, a smile appeared on Chen Yu's lips. He guessed what the people behind the scenes were thinking and how they felt. But... Gu... is he courting death?

Chen Yu didn't think so. True character is revealed in times of crisis! Wang Yongji, who had previously kept a low profile, was a friend recognized by Hai Rui and was sent by the Qingliu faction to Jiande to fight against the Yan Party.

Today, its brilliance has been revealed!

In the script, just as Gao Hanwen was about to finish writing, Wang Yongji stood up. "Prefect Gao, I have a few words to ask for your instructions." As he spoke, a gleam shone in Wang Yongji's eyes. The most powerful and moving words of the Ming Dynasty were about to be uttered!

In the script, when Wang Yongji stands up to speak...

Neither the audience nor the screenwriters watching behind the scenes seemed to care much. In their eyes, Wang Yongji was just a nobody, a minor character. His greatest role was probably to create a tragic atmosphere through his exit, inspiring Gao Hanwen and Hai Rui's fighting spirit against everything.

Now that Gao Hanwen is on the verge of utter ruin, and Hai Rui hasn't even spoken yet, what use is it for Wang Yongji to speak? However, they forgot about this.

Like Hai Rui, Wang Yongji was also selected and sent to Zhejiang by Prince Yu and the Qingliu faction. If he were incompetent, why would he be sent here to contend with these wolves? Moreover, Wang Yongji had previously served as the magistrate of Jiande County before being transferred to Kunshan County. It should be noted that Jiande County was extremely poor, and it wasn't a desirable post.

Kunshan County, on the other hand, is a place with a highly developed economy and culture, making it a highly desirable post. Many people would kill to be transferred to Kunshan County.

Wang Yongji's transfer from Jiande to Kunshan must have meant he achieved something remarkable. How could he possibly be an incompetent person?!

The next moment, Chen Yu took a deep breath, and the scene he had witnessed in his previous life—Wang Yongji passionately expounding the truth about Jiande County in the hall—flooded his mind. His emotions surged, and he furiously typed on the keyboard, as if trying to convey his fervent feelings. At the same time, lines of dialogue appeared on the screen.

Wang Yongji first questioned the resolution, saying that the same proposal could not be implemented the day before yesterday, but Gao Hanwen decided to sign it today. What was the reason for this?

After He Maocai impatiently interrupted, Wang Yongji did not back down, but instead looked intently at everyone present. "I was transferred from Kunshan this time. Before going to Kunshan, I served as the magistrate of Jiande, and I know the situation there. Jiande County has 270,000 registered residents and 440,000 mu of registered land. Of this, 150,000 mu are mulberry fields owned by large silk merchants, and 290,000 mu are rice paddies owned by farmers. Each mu can produce 2.5 shi of grain per season in a good year, and less than 2 shi in a poor year."

The rice produced, when divided among each person, yields less than 300 catties per year. After threshing, each person produces less than 250 catties of white rice. Divided among the people, each person receives less than 7 liang of rice per day. This is barely enough to satisfy the hunger of the elderly and children, but far from sufficient for able-bodied men.

Fortunately, the area is near mountains and water. We can grow tea, mulberry, and hemp, produce tung oil and lacquer, and catch fish and shrimp in the river. Selling these allows us to pay taxes, and any surplus can be exchanged for oil, salt, and coarse grains to barely survive. The hardships of the people are already unbearable.

As Wang Yongji uttered these words, the audience, not watching the script, stared in stunned silence. An image involuntarily surfaced in their minds: a person of refined features, with gentle eyes, just like the name "Runlian" (润莲, meaning "Runlian" in Chinese).

He spoke eloquently in the hall, reciting figures on the livelihoods of the people in Jiande County as if he had memorized them countless times.

This is the result of countless days and nights of hard work reviewing case files.

How many times must he have traveled through the mountains and rivers of Jiande, and how much must he have known about the people, to come to this knowledge? As the magistrate of a county, Wang Yongji wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of anyone else's hardship. Moreover, Wang Yongji's family were small landowners with several hundred acres of land, and they wore silk. While not extremely wealthy, they were at least comfortably well-off.

Yet he could rattle off details about how much harvest each person in Jiande had each year, how much rice they could eat each day, and whether they had enough to eat!

Countless viewers felt their scalps tingle and goosebumps rise.

They stared blankly at the name Wang Yongji, as if they were shocked by this character they considered "nobody" or "minor character," and their eyes gradually filled with shock and respect.

Within the script, He Maocai was clearly flustered by the ironclad figures Wang Yongji presented and wanted to interrupt him.

[The provincial administration offices you mentioned all have figures.] But Wang Yongji, who had previously behaved quite well and was not as confrontational with his superiors as Hai Rui, stood tall and straight at this moment, not even glancing at He Maocai, and continued to state his case with great confidence.

This year, during the flood diversion in Jiande, about half of the farmers' fields, approximately 140,000 mu (about 9,333 hectares), were submerged. If these farmers sell their land, they will have to rent land to cultivate next year. If they still have paddy fields, and pay rent at a 50/50 rate, each person will only receive 150 jin (about 75 kg) of rice per year. After threshing, each person will only receive 3.5 liang (about 175 grams) of white rice per day.

If the land were converted into mulberry fields, the landowners wouldn't necessarily split the rent 50/50. The silk that the people received could be exchanged for grain, and they might not even earn three and a half taels a day.

His sorrowful gaze fell upon Gao Hanwen.

"Sir, is three and a half ounces of rice enough for you for a day?"

Gao Hanwen remained silent for a long time, his eyes filled with pain and struggle. [Of course not.] Wang Yongji stepped forward, his eyes glistening with tears, his voice choked with emotion. [Mencius said: Yu thought of those drowning in the world as if he himself were drowning; Ji thought of those starving in the world as if he himself were starving.] [My lord, the pen in your hand holds the lives of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims.]

[If I am drowning or starving, please, sir, be careful!]

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yongji bowed deeply to Gao Hanwen. He sighed deeply and wiped away his tears, lamenting the hardships of the people's lives! No flowery language was needed; the stark reality of the situation revealed the dire straits of the common people and what kind of lives they would lead after this strategy of combining relief and reform was implemented.

Wang Yongji's words, filled with profound sorrow, left many of the absurd, pleasure-seeking Zhejiang officials present speechless, their eyes lowered in disbelief!

Outside of the script, the moment Wang Yongji finished speaking and bowed, all the viewers in the live broadcast room and in front of the screen erupted in cheers!

"If I'm drowning, I'm hungry; if I'm drowning, I'm hungry! I didn't understand why Chen Yu named this twentieth scene like this, but now I understand. Who else could possibly be more fitting for this scene's title?!"

"Wang Yongji, this is the true virtue of a local official!"

"I'm at a loss for words. If the scenes from the Ming Dynasty showed us how dark the officialdom was, then this scene tells us that even in the darkness, someone is still lighting a candle to illuminate the area!" "Instead of learning political maneuvering, learn from Wang Yongji's words: what does it mean to be truly dedicated to one's duties? What does it mean to care for the people? That's what it means to be truly dedicated to one's duties, that's what it means to care for the people, not just empty words!"

On the judging panel of the "Creator Competition," Professor Shuping, his face solemn, stood up, his fists clenched, unable to contain his emotions. "If I'm drowning, I'm starving..."

"Screenwriters who don't know how to express shock, greatness, or passion should all study this dialogue carefully!"

"Wang Yongji's lines are destined to be remembered for eternity! Screenwriting textbooks must dedicate a chapter to them!"