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

After the scene of Shooting the Condor Heroes, the crew took a three-day break.

The three-day break wasn't a rest period; it was a buffer that Luo Yifeng gave for this scene.

He rearranged the remaining seventeen scenes, changing the original order.

The scene originally scheduled to be filmed next was a dialogue between Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Di in the military camp, which was meant to pick up where the emotions left off from The Eagle Shooting Heroes. However, after watching the sample footage, Luo Yifeng moved that scene two episodes later.

His reason to the assistant director was just one sentence.

"The lingering effects don't need to be immediately absorbed; let them ferment in the audience's hearts for a few episodes."

The assistant director understood.

The film crew started shooting a new movie three days later.

The new play is about military discussions.

But this military council was different from the previous one.

The previous military council was a meeting between Zhu Di and the court officials, concerning the deployment of 500,000 troops, supply lines, stations, and the preparations of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue.

This military council was a meeting that Zhu Di held with a few trusted confidants.

It's about a night raid.

The scene is a side tent in a military camp.

The side tent was smaller than the main tent. There was no sand table, no sheepskin military map, and no complete set of ceremonial guards. There was only a low table, a few folding chairs, and a sheepskin lamp hanging from the top of the tent, casting a dim yellow light.

This scene was newly built by the art team.

Luo Yifeng defined this side tent with just two words: secret meeting.

The filming methods for secret discussion scenes and formal discussion scenes are different. Formal discussion scenes require filming the scene so that the audience can see the mobilization of 500,000 troops. Secret discussion scenes require filming people's faces so that the audience can see what's in the eyes of a few people speaking in hushed tones.

There were five people present at this scene.

Zhu Di.

Zhang Fu.

Zhu Yong.

Liu Sheng.

Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji was not on the outermost perimeter this time.

He was summoned into this side tent by Zhu Di.

He sat at the low table near the door, the lowest of the five, but it was a seat inside the side tent.

The fact that a grandson of the emperor can sit in this side tent already makes a difference.

Wang Xueqi arrived at the dressing room at 5:40 in the morning.

Chen Mo arrived at 5:50.

The two of them stood one in front of the other, facing each other through the makeup mirror.

Today, Wang Xueqi is wearing Zhu Di's casual military uniform, which is lighter than full armor but more formal than regular armor, with a short, unsheathed knife hanging at his waist.

Chen Mo was wearing Zhu Zhanji's childhood casual clothes today, which were moon white and not armor.

Today, Zhu Zhanji is not wearing armor; he is entering the side tent to discuss matters as the Crown Prince, not as a military general.

Chen Mo asked the makeup artist to do something this morning.

"Natural eyebrows today."

"OK."

"If we can patch up that layer of darkness right now, we should."

The makeup artist glanced at him.

Did you sleep well today?

"fine."

"Then I'll get you some more."

The makeup artist used a concealer pen to apply a thin layer of powder to the dark circles under Chen Mo's eyes, not completely covering them. It simply made the dark circles appear slightly lighter than they actually were.

"Will this work?"

Chen Mo looked in the mirror.

"OK."

"Today, Zhu Zhanji must be someone who moves from 'observation' to 'battle.' His complexion cannot be too good, but it also cannot be as pale as it was that day."

"It has to be the face of someone who has accepted those things and decided to move forward."

The makeup artist nodded.

She didn't understand everything, but she knew that this face today had an extra layer of meaning compared to the face on the day she shot the eagle.

At 7:00 AM sharp, the computer was turned on.

The lamps in the side tents were lit, and the light from the sheepskin lamps bathed everyone's faces in a warm yellow hue.

Wang Xueqi sat behind the low table.

Zhang Fu, Zhu Yong, and Liu Sheng sat on either side. These three characters were famous generals of the Yongle Dynasty and were all veteran actors. The assistant director had spoken to them the day before, and they were to cooperate with Zhu Zhanji in this scene.

Chen Mo sat on the folding chair by the door.

He placed his hands on his knees, his posture more stable than during the military council three scenes earlier.

The assistant director raised the clapperboard.

"A secret meeting in a side tent, for the first time."

"Action!"

Wang Xueqi was the first to speak.

"Where is the main force of the Oirat right now?"

Zhang Fu replied.

"Six hundred li to the north, in the Kerulen River area."

"How many soldiers?"

"Eighty thousand."

"Grain supply route".

"Three hundred li southwest of the northern camp, there is a grain route that leads to their mare's milk storage."

Wang Xueqi reached out and drew a dot on a piece of hemp paper on the table.

"Three hundred li."

"How many people could cut off this supply route?"

There is no specific answer to this question.

The three generals exchanged glances.

Zhu Yong spoke.

"Your Majesty, cutting off their supply lines is not a matter of how many people are needed, but whether we can get behind them and retreat within three days."

"Three days," Wang Xueqi read out the number.

He looked down at the sheet of hemp paper on the table.

After a few seconds, he looked up.

He looked at Chen Mo at the door.

When he spoke, his tone changed from its previous low hum.

"Zhanji".

Chen Mo looked up.

"Your subject is here."

"How many people do you think should be sent?"

Chen Mo knew this line.

But the timing of Wang Xueqi's question was different from what Chen Mo had expected.

Chen Mo was thinking that Wang Xueqi would first read out those few lines from the script, lay the groundwork for two or three rounds, and then ask him questions.

Wang Xueqi has now skipped two rounds of preparation.

This is Wang Xueqi's impromptu speech today.

Chen Mo had to accept.

He took a deep breath.

I didn't inhale too deeply, just a sip.

He didn't answer immediately.

He first glanced at the piece of hemp paper on the table.

When he looked at the hemp paper, his gaze didn't drift from Zhu Di to the hemp paper; it drifted from his own knees to the hemp paper first.

When a fifteen-year-old imperial grandson was asked a military question by his grandfather for the first time in such an occasion, his first reaction was not to look up at his grandfather.

His first reaction was to lower his head.

Bowing one's head is out of fear.

Bowing one's head to the hemp paper is a way of suppressing fear of what might happen later.

He looked up only after he had finished thinking.

"three hundred."

Chen Mo said.

There was a moment of silence inside the side tent.

Zhu Yong, Liu Sheng, and Zhang Fu exchanged glances.

There's something in that one glance: surprise, confusion, and a hint of amusement.

A fifteen-year-old imperial grandson, just open his mouth and give you such a specific number?

Wang Xueqi remained silent.

He looked at Chen Mo.

"Why three hundred?"

"Three hundred is the upper limit of the troops that can travel two hundred li in one night," Chen Mo said. "Three hundred men carry enough dry rations for three days, which is sixty shi. Sixty shi is divided among three hundred horses, which is twenty jin per horse. Including bows, swords, and men, each horse has to carry sixty jin. This is the limit of how far a good horse can travel two hundred li."

"If we add another hundred men, we won't have enough food; if we lose another hundred, they won't be able to make it back."

Chen Mo recited these lines very steadily.

However, when he recited those lines, his right hand was on his right knee.

The five fingers of his right hand twitched slightly.

It's not a full-motion animation.

Only the index and middle fingers are used.

He put his two fingers together and tapped his knee lightly.

Take it back after you're done.

That tap took less than a second.

It is almost invisible under the light.

But the camera directly in front of you is visible.

Luo Yifeng paused for a moment behind the monitor.

The assistant director took a soft breath beside him.

Having worked in the industry for twelve years, he knows why tapping his fingers twice would surprise the director.

An actor can use a subtle finger gesture, almost invisible to the audience, to reveal the character's inner thoughts at a crucial moment in reciting lines, then immediately withdraw the gesture and continue reciting without a single stumble.

This was the first time he had ever seen something like this, and the director must have felt that those two taps were the essence of the scene.

Wang Xueqi didn't see Chen Mo tapping his knee with his finger.

As agreed beforehand, he didn't watch his grandson's little antics.

He just kept reading his lines from the script.

"Did you calculate this yourself, or did someone teach you?"

Chen Mo looked up.

"I calculated it myself."

"grandfather."

When was it calculated?

"Before entering the tent."

Why?

"When Grandpa called me in, I knew he was going to ask me something."

"So I did the calculations before depositing the money."

The side tent fell silent for a moment.

This stillness is heavier than the last one.

Zhu Yong glanced at Wang Xueqi.

Zhu Yong is a fierce general of the Yongle era and a confidant of Zhu Di. The meaning behind his glance is very clear: this imperial grandson is quite shrewd.

Wang Xueqi caught Zhu Yong's glance.

Then he turned back and looked at Chen Mo.

He delivered the most important line in the scene.

"Zhanji".

"Your subject is here."

"You lead these three hundred men."

The moment those words came out.

Chen Mo tapped his knee again with the two fingers of his right hand.

It's heavier than last time.

But it was still retracted within a second.

Then Chen Mo read his lines for the day.

"I am willing to go."

The pronunciation of "愿往" this time is different from that of "愿往" in the last military council scene.

The last time the word "往" was pronounced with a slight upward spiciness at the end.

This time, the final sound of the word "往" is flat.

The last time was when a boy, afraid that his grandfather would look down on him, volunteered to do it.

This time, it was a boy who had already been nominated by his grandfather and knew he had to go, who gave his confirmation.

One is to ask for permission.

One is receiving orders.

Wang Xueqi looked at him.

Two seconds passed.

Wang Xueqi uttered a single word.

"go."

Luo Yifeng spoke softly from behind the monitor.

"Pass."

The lights in the side tents were taken down.

Wang Xueqi stood up from behind the low table.

As he walked out of the side tent, he passed by Chen Mo.

He did not stop.

He simply reached out his left hand and gently pressed on Chen Mo's right shoulder the instant he passed by.

Just this once.

He left after pressing the button.

Chen Mo remained seated.

He sat there for about ten seconds.

Then he looked down at his right hand.

His right hand was still on his right knee.

The spot where those two fingers tapped is now still.

Chen Mo looked at his right hand.

He said something to himself.

He said: Zhu Zhanji's two taps of his fingers were not due to nervousness.

It was the unspoken words that a fifteen-year-old boy wanted to say when his grandfather first sent him to the real battlefield.

That's what I wanted to say.

Grandpa, I'm scared.

But you can't say it out loud.

So I spoke twice using my hand instead of my mouth.

After making the gesture, say "I wish to go" with your mouth.

This is the first hidden storyline that Chen Mo brought to life in his portrayal of Zhu Zhanji.

Chen Mo hid this clue in a single finger.

Only the camera directly in front of the monitor can see it.

Only Luo Yifeng can see it.

Only one actor can see it.