Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

There is a library at the base.

It's located at the very back of the third floor of the administration building.

A piece of white paper was pasted on the door with the words "Reference Room" written on it. The words were written with a marker and the edges had begun to fade.

This house was built by Luo Yifeng three years ago.

For each serious drama he filmed, he would have the crew's data clerk bring over a batch of books from libraries and bookstores, categorizing them by dynasty, theme, and author. After filming a series, the books would remain there.

The book "Mountains and Rivers Under the Bright Moon" that was moved this time took up two bookshelves.

From the History of Ming to the Veritable Records of Ming, from the 15th year of the Wanli reign to the stories of the Ming Dynasty, from the facsimile of the Yongle Encyclopedia to the Cambridge History of China, Volume 10, The Ming Dynasty.

There was also a stack of photocopied materials piled on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf.

It was an excerpt from "The Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming" that Luo Yifeng had borrowed from the National Library. It had red binding lines and the paper was a little yellowed.

Chen Mo first entered this room on the morning of his second day on set.

The person in charge of the files was a girl wearing glasses. When she saw him come in, she looked up at him twice.

"Teacher Chen."

"Um."

"What are you looking for?"

"Zhu Zhanji's."

The girl paused for a moment.

She stayed in this production crew for eight months. The people who came to this room the most were the screenwriter and Luo Yifeng. Other actors rarely came, and when they did, they would just casually flip through a couple of books.

This was the first time she had ever heard the question "of Zhu Zhanji" posed like this.

She thought about it.

"all?"

"all."

Chen Mo sat in the library all day that day.

I didn't go out for lunch.

When the girl returned from lunch, she found him still in the same spot, with seven books spread out in front of him.

She glanced at the desktop.

An excerpt from "The Annals of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming" and "The Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming", "The History of Ming" (Biography VI) and "Zhang Juzheng in the 15th Year of Wanli" contain a note, a notebook contains "The Record of Imperial Edicts of the Ming Dynasty", a copy of Volume 181 of "The Great Ming Code", and "A Grand View of Ming Dynasty Notes and Novels".

Chen Mo had already filled three pages in the notebook beside him.

The characters are very small and very dense.

The girl didn't bother him; she poured him a glass of water and placed it on the corner of the table.

Chen Mo looked up at her.

"Thanks."

The girl returned to her seat.

After she sat down, she couldn't help but glance at the young man who was writing with his head down.

A thought popped into her mind.

This person doesn't seem to be here to act.

This person looks like they're here to write a thesis.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Xueqi pushed open the door and came in.

Wang Xueqi doesn't usually come to the library; his assistant prepares his materials in advance and delivers them to his hotel room.

Today, as he passed through the corridor, he saw that the door to the archives room was ajar and that there was a light inside.

He glanced at it casually.

Then he came in.

The girl hurriedly stood up.

"Teacher Wang."

Wang Xueqi waved to her, indicating that she didn't need to greet him.

He walked to Chen Mo's table but didn't sit down.

He stood there, looking down at the few open books on the table.

Chen Mo looked up.

"Teacher Wang."

"Um."

Wang Xueqi's gaze lingered on Chen Mo's notebook.

The notebook was opened to the third page, on which a line of text was written.

"In the eighth year of the Yongle reign, the first northern expedition took place."

"In the twelfth year of the Yongle reign, the second northern expedition took place."

"There was a four-year gap in between."

"Four years."

"Because of food."

Wang Xueqi looked at these lines of text.

I watched it for about ten seconds.

Then he spoke.

Do you know how many northern expeditions the Yongle Emperor launched during his reign?

"Five times," Chen Mo said.

"How many people do you bring each time?"

"The first time it's 50,000, the second time it's 500,000, and the third time it's reduced to 300,000."

Why reduce it?

"We can't hold on," Chen Mo said. "In the twelfth year of Yongle's reign, we spent 500,000 shi of grain. After we returned, the Ministry of Revenue only had 3 million shi of grain left. The annual grain tax of the Ming Dynasty was 27 million shi. One northern expedition consumed one-sixth of that."

Wang Xueqi nodded.

He was neither right nor wrong.

He simply pulled out a chair opposite Chen Mo's table and sat down.

After sitting down, he looked at Chen Mo.

Why are you looking into this?

"Zhu Zhanji went on the second northern expedition when he was fifteen," Chen Mo said. "I need to know what was behind the 500,000-strong army that his grandfather led him to."

"What is it?"

"It's half of the Ming Dynasty."

Wang Xueqi looked at him.

After a few seconds, he smiled.

This was the first time Wang Xueqi had smiled in front of Chen Mo.

It was light, fast, and fleeting.

But Chen Mo saw it.

"Do you know why Zhu Di brought this grandson along?" Wang Xueqi asked.

"like."

"Just this one reason?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"There's one more."

"explain."

"Let him see."

"What are you looking at?"

"Look at how the money was spent," Chen Mo said. "When an army of 500,000 marches for a day, how much grain, arrows, and horse feed does it consume? Zhu Di wants his grandson to see this with his own eyes. When this kid becomes emperor, he will know why his grandfather spent money like this, and he will also know why future emperors cannot spend money like this."

"This is education."

"Um."

"What kind of education?"

"How to be an emperor."

Wang Xueqi stared at Chen Mo for a long time.

He stood up from his chair, walked around to Chen Mo's side, and looked down at the notebook.

Flip to the earlier pages in the notebook.

The first page had a few lines of text.

Zhu Zhanji was born in the first year of the Jianwen reign.

"That year, Zhu Di had not yet raised an army."

"When this kid was born, his grandfather wasn't the emperor yet."

"His grandfather's ability to become emperor began with a dream he had the night he was born."

Wang Xueqi paused when he read this line.

He looked at the line of text.

"Zhu Di dreamed that his father bestowed upon him a jade tablet, saying, 'May it be passed down to your descendants, and may it prosper for generations to come.'" Chen Mo whispered beside him. "After he woke up, his grandson Zhu Zhanji was born. He went into the delivery room, glanced at his grandson, and said to those around him, 'This is my grandson, a blessing to the Ming Dynasty.'"

"He raised an army three years later."

He ascended the throne four years later.

"This grandson is his source of confidence."

Wang Xueqi remained silent.

Chen Mo closed his notebook.

"Teacher Wang."

"Um."

"I originally thought that the core of Zhu Zhanji's character was 'killing people with a smile'," Chen Mo said. "But after checking the historical records, I found that the core was not that."

"What is it?"

"It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty."

"From the day he was born, his grandfather regarded him as a blessing to the Ming Dynasty," Chen Mo said. "He carried this blessing for thirty-six years, until his death. He carried this blessing for Uncle Kao, he carried this blessing for the deposed empress, and he carried this blessing for cricket fighting."

"One person carried the blessings of the Ming Dynasty for thirty-six years."

"He'll go crazy."

"He can't be crazy."

"That's why he laughed."

Wang Xueqi stood there.

Silent for a long time.

He looked at the stack of books on the table.

Then he spoke, his voice lower than before.

"How many days have you been preparing?"

"I read for five days before joining the crew," Chen Mo said. "I've been reading ever since I joined the crew."

"Did you understand it?"

"I've read half of it."

Wang Xueqi nodded.

He pulled a small notebook out of his pocket; it had a black cover, was about the size of a palm, and the cover was worn white.

He opened the notebook and tore off a page.

There were a few lines of text on that page. He folded the paper and placed it in front of Chen Mo.

"These are my notes from when I played Zhu Di."

"Take a look."

"Give it back to me after you're done reading."

After saying that, he turned and left the archives.

As the door closed, Chen Mo picked up the paper and unfolded it.

There were three lines of text written on the paper.

"Zhu Di couldn't project an aura of authority."

"Zhu Di is supposed to portray a son who has been afraid of his father for forty years, finally becoming emperor."

"What he fears is his very nature as emperor."

Chen Mo looked at these three lines of text.

Looked for a long time.

He suddenly realized something.

Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Di are the same.

Zhu Di feared his father Zhu Yuanzhang, while Zhu Zhanji carried the great fortune of the Ming Dynasty bestowed upon him by his grandfather Zhu Di.

Neither of them lived for themselves.

Chen Mo closed the paper and tucked it under the notebook.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, in the direction of the film set, rows of sets depicting the late Qin and early Han dynasties and the Ming Dynasty were mixed together, with gray tiles and yellow earth. In the distance, several workers were repairing a section of a replica city wall.

The sunlight slanted in and fell on Chen Mo's face.

He stood there, motionless, for about three minutes.

Then he turned and went back to the table.

He opened a new book.

History of Ming, Volume 118, Biographies, Part 6.

First page, first line.

"Zhu Gaoxu, the second son of Emperor Chengzu."

Chen Mo picked up his pen.

He wrote a word in the blank space of the book page.

"Uncle."

He paused for a moment.

Then three more words were added next to it.

"Where's the bronze vat?"

He closed the book.

Just then, the girl from the archives brought in a cup of hot water from outside. She saw Chen Mo close his book, seemed to want to say something, but then didn't.

Chen Mo smiled at her.

I'll come again tomorrow.