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

"But you Qingliu faction are single-mindedly hoping for chaos in the southeast, hoping for deaths there, so you can achieve your own goals." "In terms of malice, the Qingliu faction is even worse than the Yan faction!"

"Yan's faction is greedy for money, and the upright officials are greedy for fame. The greedy ones are after money, and the fame-seeking ones are paving the way for countless lives!" "And Xu Jie, I had a slightly better opinion of him before, but now it seems he's still that most cunning old fox of the Ming Dynasty, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back. These kinds of people are the most disgusting!"

The live stream was filled with angry criticism of Xu Jie and the Qingliu faction. However, most viewers hadn't said anything about Zhao Zhenji. Although he was known for being stubborn, he had at least told Hu Zongxian the truth. His reluctance to get involved was understandable. But then, a conversation Chen Yu typed out sent a chill down the viewers' spines. After telling Hu Zongxian the situation, Zhao Zhenji earnestly said...

【Since you're here, make the best of it.】【You came to Yingtian to borrow grain; the higher-ups know, and so do those in Zhejiang. You didn't get the grain, but your intention was there, and that's enough.】

[You're sick now, aren't you? I'll submit a memorial on your behalf, pleading illness so you can stay in Suzhou.] It must be said, Zhao Zhenji was truly adept at self-preservation and shifting blame.

The method he proposed was a good way for anyone to extricate themselves from the chaos. "I've done all I could; nothing else matters. I'll feign illness and get through this." But Hu Zongxian couldn't do that. He countered with a question.

What about Zhejiang? Should we just let it remain in chaos?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhenji broke down...

As a bureaucratic machine, as he had said before, officialdom had always been about advancement and retreat. Therefore, his only concern was advancement and retreat; whether Zhejiang was in chaos or not was simply not within his consideration. He also couldn't understand why Hu Zongxian would ignore such a good method he had proposed and instead insist on worrying about whether Zhejiang was in chaos.

Can't Hu Zongxian learn the importance of thinking things through before acting as an official?

After breaking down, Zhao Zhenji hurriedly uttered some shocking words.

The situation is now crystal clear.

"This matter will not be over until someone dies in Zhejiang." "Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, treating the people like straw dogs." He paused, then continued coldly.

【The death of 10,000 is a number, the death of 100,000 or 1 million is also a number.】【Neither you nor I can stop it!】 As soon as these words were spoken, the audience felt a chill that had not been felt for a long time.

The words, spoken by flesh and blood, sounded like a judgment from the apex predator of the food chain upon its prey: "This matter will not be over until someone dies in Zhejiang."

"So in Zhao Zhenji's view, death is just a way to get things over with, and it's not a big deal." "Then can we infer from this that in the future, in order to get things over with, will Zhao Zhenji also do something like this to make people die?"

"You must understand, Zhao Zhenji is no ordinary man. He's not only the Governor of Yingtian, but also the most trusted disciple of Xu Jie, the Second Grand Secretary." "If he's like this, you can imagine how few high-ranking officials in the government truly care about the people." "The master-disciple relationship is passed down from generation to generation; indifference to the lives of ordinary people is inherited!" Many viewers were deeply disturbed by Zhao Zhenji's numerical pronouncements, feeling their values ​​shaken. "In the eyes of such high-ranking officials, the number of dead people—ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million—is not seen as vibrant lives, but merely as numbers."

"If you can't stop it, then don't try. Just stay out of it and don't let trouble get to you." Is this how high-ranking officials view the people? Numbers, just numbers.

This completely explained to the audience why those high-ranking officials maintained this attitude towards the common people from beginning to end. Because Zhao Zhenji's viewpoint wasn't something he formed independently; it was a consensus!

In other words, throughout the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, the higher the rank of an official, the less likely they were to be like Wang Yongji, who would feel the suffering and hunger of the people and care about their lives. Instead, they were more like Zhao Zhenji, who treated the lives of the people as mere numbers.

The cold, hard numbers on the household registration book.

The deaths of ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or one million are nothing more than a few strokes on a statistic! If all the officials in the court are like this, what kind of good life can the common people possibly have? Dream on! They're lucky if they aren't just used as numbers! Some viewers even felt a sudden jolt. In the Ming Dynasty, those high-ranking officials who had long since detached themselves from the people treated them merely as numbers.

But isn't that the case in reality?

Let alone high-ranking officials within the system, even senior executives of a company, would they really care about the lives of ordinary employees?

To them, employees are nothing more than a string of HR statistics. This suggests that, in the eyes of those in power, those far removed from them are merely numbers. Hoping for genuine compassion from superiors is, in essence, an absurd and impossible fantasy. Who would show compassion to a string of numbers?

The more viewers pondered Zhao Zhenji's words, the more chills ran down their spines, as if their very values ​​had been shaken. Countless comments sparked debate, and the popularity of Chen Yu's live stream continued to rise. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, executives and screenwriters at top-tier film and television companies were also deeply moved by Zhao Zhenji's lines.

"In officialdom, it has always been nothing more than advancing and retreating."

"The death of 10,000 people is a number, the death of 100,000 or 1 million people is also a number..." After a moment, recovering from the shock, the screenwriters remembered their earlier solemn promises, their expressions turning pale as they explained to the executives.

"Listen to our excuses, oh no, listen to our explanations!" "We are genuinely from a professional background, no fake degrees!" "It's Chen Yu, it's that monster Chen Yu, he can't be judged by ordinary standards!" The executives just scoffed, "Professional background and this is the level? I don't believe you!"

Some executives have already taken out their phones and messaged the HR manager, wanting to find out where these screenwriters got their fake diplomas.

That looks pretty realistic!

But just then, the ranking of "Da Ming Dynasty" on the best-selling drama list changed again, interrupting their actions. And when the ranking changes gradually subsided and the drama came into view, the executives and screenwriters of these film and television companies were all shocked, their pupils contracting sharply. "Holy crap..." "This is huge!" "This is too amazing?!"

Under the astonished gaze of the film and television company executives and screenwriters behind the scenes, "Da Ming Dynasty" jumped from its original 95th place to 87th place on the list of top-rated dramas.

It's worth noting that this list includes some of the most outstanding films and television dramas from the past twenty years in China, and the rise of "Da Ming Dynasty" in the rankings is truly remarkable.

Even top-tier film and television companies like these may not have produced a series of this caliber on every occasion. This is just an unfinished script; one can only imagine the sheer impact it would have if this part of "The Ming Dynasty" were actually filmed!

Even their level of fear was increasing.

"Chen Yu previously boasted that he aimed for the top spot on the best drama list, which might not be possible, but a top ten spot is actually quite possible." "If it comes to that..."

Without prior arrangement, the executives of these top-tier film and television companies all had extremely gloomy expressions, and they all made phone calls to each other. "We've already come this far, we can't let 'Ming Dynasty' continue like this." "The current methods can't suppress 'Ming Dynasty,' we have to use other methods, some underhanded tactics." At this moment, the executives of Huaying Group dropped a bombshell.

That is, Ma Yingkui of Xiangyu Pictures has softened his stance and seems to be willing to consider betraying Xiangyu Pictures, as long as the price they pay is enough.

This news caught everyone's attention, and they secretly thought that Huaying truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier film and television company. Previously, it had acted so aloof, seemingly disdainful of such struggles. Now, realizing that the Ming Dynasty posed a significant threat to Huaying's affairs, it acted swiftly and decisively, targeting Ma Yingkui, a key screenwriter at Xiangyu Film Industry.

The more the executives at these top-tier film and television companies thought about this move, the more they couldn't help but admire it. This move, cutting off the enemy's supply lines at the root, was truly brilliantly executed!

These people in the industry all knew some inside information. Xiangyu Pictures had recently landed a big project, commissioned by the Zhejiang Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau to create a film or television series set against the backdrop of modern officialdom and themed around anti-corruption. Because Xiangyu Pictures' headquarters were in Zhejiang Province, this task was given priority to them, even though other top-tier or even super-top-tier film and television companies weren't considered by the Zhejiang authorities.

At the time, this news made many industry peers quite envious, exclaiming that Xiangyu Pictures was incredibly lucky. This extremely important anti-corruption script was created by Ma Yingkui and his team.

Huaying has now managed to get Ma Yingkui involved. If Ma Yingkui can sabotage this deal and prevent Xiangyu Pictures from submitting the script on the agreed date, the consequences will be severe.

Encounter Pictures will henceforth be perceived as unreliable by the authorities, and the resources allocated for this project will be wasted.

By then, Qin Lan's position will be shaken, and if these top-tier film and television companies launch a major offensive against Xiangyu Pictures, it will inevitably make Xiangyu Pictures' board of directors consider the pros and cons.

To weather the crisis, it's not impossible that Encounter Pictures might relinquish the rights to "Ming Dynasty" or choose to co-develop it. In that case, wouldn't the crisis brought about by "Ming Dynasty" actually become an opportunity?

Thinking of this, the eyes of many top executives of leading film and television companies lit up, revealing a greedy look, as if they had already seen a gluttonous feast.

However, at this point, someone in the writing team cautiously raised a point.

"But Ma Yingkui at most just messed up the script. He couldn't possibly have deleted all the meeting materials and other documents that were preserved during the process, could he?"

"Other screenwriters at Encounter Pictures could probably revise the script based on this." This question caused the company's executives, who were in a good mood, to frown. However, their frowns quickly relaxed.

"Encounter Pictures has had this project for some time now. Based on our usual practice, we estimate that it shouldn't be long before we submit the script to our superiors for review."

"At this critical juncture, if the script goes wrong, even a top screenwriter would have a hard time salvaging it in a short time. After all, Zhejiang Province wants a long-form film or television series, which is not easy to write."

"Moreover, Xiangyu Pictures doesn't have a regular top-tier screenwriter. Even if they want to find a top-tier screenwriter in the industry to revise the script, no one will take the job even if we put pressure on them."

The screenwriter who had raised the question earlier cautiously asked again, "But Xiangyu Pictures signed Chen Yu." "Chen Yu can write over twenty scenes in just a few days, and it even made it onto the list of top-rated dramas. What if Chen Yu steps in and salvages that anti-corruption script?"

Before he could finish speaking, one of the higher-ups present glared at the screenwriter with a murderous look. "What the hell are you spouting?"

"Chen Yu, Chen Yu, what the hell? Have you been scared out of your wits by Chen Yu?" "No matter how talented or freakish Chen Yu is, his current work, 'The Ming Dynasty,' is a historical drama about political intrigue, but the script that Xiangyu Pictures is submitting to Zhejiang Province is a modern anti-corruption drama set in the bureaucracy. Besides both being about officialdom, what other similarities do these two genres have?"

"The script of modern officialdom is so complex that you have to study the various units and positions carefully to understand it, not to mention that the language styles are completely different."

"If Chen Yu is proficient in writing historical political intrigue scripts and also excels at writing modern anti-corruption drama scripts, then he's practically a god!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" This analysis from the higher-up calmed the previously panicked screenwriting team members, who all breathed a sigh of relief. They had to admit that Chen Yu's repeated performances had thoroughly slapped them in the face, making them truly paranoid. What the higher-up said was common knowledge within the industry. Who could be proficient in so many different areas of scriptwriting? Even veteran screenwriters couldn't, let alone a newcomer like Chen Yu. To write a historical political intrigue script like this was already quite remarkable; to expect him to be proficient in modern anti-corruption dramas? What made a web novelist think he could be some kind of superhuman genius?! At this moment, they fawned over the higher-up.

"Mr. Liu is so calm, unlike us, we panic when things happen." "As expected of a leader, you're really capable!" Mr. Liu sneered, an arrogant look on his face, and said leisurely.

"Besides the benefits I analyzed earlier, this operation actually has another advantage." A glint of light appeared in his eyes.

"Although Ma Yingkui is not a recognized top screenwriter in the industry, judging from this time, Chen Yu's 'Ming Dynasty' must have had Ma Yingkui's help behind the scenes."

"This is enough to show that this person is very talented. The reason he didn't win the gold medal for screenwriting is simply that Xiangyu Pictures couldn't provide him with enough resources. It's a problem with the platform."

"In addition, it is probably because the industry is occupied by a group of parasites who claim to be from a professional background but are incompetent and useless, which makes it difficult for truly talented people to get recognition."

"If we can recruit Ma Yingkui this time, it will definitely bring new opportunities to our company. Maybe he can even write a few scripts that are no less impressive than 'Ming Dynasty'."

When Mr. Liu said this, his team of screenwriters, out of flattery, nodded repeatedly in praise. But then they suddenly stopped. "Mr. Liu, what did you just say...?"

"Is it because Ma Yingkui didn't receive the title of 'Golden Screenwriter' because the industry is dominated by a group of self-proclaimed formally trained but incompetent parasites?"

"Uh, who are they talking about?" "..." President Liu gave them a deep look.

"I don't want to say anything too hurtful, just keep it to yourselves."