: The Twilight of the Empires of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 93, "The Twilight of the Three Kingdoms Empire" (involves original adapted plot)

The Three Kingdoms period has many characters and complex stories, so writing a good script for it is not easy.

This statement is correct, and it is also the difficulty in adapting the Three Kingdoms into a film.

After all, in a narrow sense, the history of the Three Kingdoms begins with Cao Pi's usurpation of the throne and Liu Bei's ascension to the throne. Sun Quan, on the other hand, waited seven years before he truly became emperor.

In other words, the Three Kingdoms in the narrow sense refer to the fact that Cao Rui, Liu Shan, Zhuge Liang, and Sun Quan were the three factions.

The Three Kingdoms period, in a broader sense, began much earlier.

The seventh year of the Guanghe era of the Han Dynasty, which is also the first year of the Zhongping era of the Han Dynasty.

原计划的公元184年3月5日（农曆三月初五）开始的黄巾起义，因计划泄露，最终提前于公元184年2月正式爆发。

Then, in the sixth year of Zhongping (the first year of Guangxi, the first year of Zhaoning, and the first year of Yonghan), Dong Zhuo entered the capital.

From this moment on, the Three Kingdoms period, in a broader sense, began.

The people present were not some kind of clueless idiots; at least in the current entertainment industry, anyone who isn't an actor isn't that ignorant.

Everyone understood what Liu Guonan was saying.

The script is indeed a problem they need to address.

Upon hearing this, the four editors, who had been silent and confused about why they had been called to the meeting, finally understood why He Yi'an had summoned them and had a reason to demonstrate their presence.

"Yes, Mr. He, if we were to film 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' from which aspect should we adapt it?"

Yes!

Where should we adapt it from?

This statement essentially brought up all the questions that everyone in the meeting room had asked.

Although Wu Baige's film "Red Cliff" was poorly made, it chose the Battle of Red Cliff as its starting point.

Regardless of how explosive the content he filmed was, regardless of why the female lead was Xiao Qiao, and regardless of why Xiao Qiao had to cross the river to find Cao Cao.

Let's brew tea and discuss philosophy!

But the Battle of Red Cliffs is indeed a very good entry point.

But He Yi'an didn't want to simply film it like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Since I've already decided to make this film, I definitely need to have some of my own demands and expressions.

Just like what a reader said in a previous review, when they were expressing their emotions continuously, it's best for an author not to reveal their political leanings, as that would offend the other side.

So, returning to the topic of altering the narrative of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," He Yi'an also has his own thoughts.

The so-called Twenty-Four Histories are not actually twenty-four histories of imperial families.

It contains too many kings and generals, too many talented men and beautiful women, but it lacks the real people from the bottom of society.

Such problems are not unique to the historical record "Records of the Three Kingdoms"; they exist in all historical records.

Coincidentally, the Three Kingdoms period began with a failed uprising by the common people.

During the Three Kingdoms period, who could better represent this voice of resistance from the lower classes than the Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao?

"I don't plan to do a panoramic analysis of the Three Kingdoms period; that would be better left to the audience to read 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' or 'Records of the Three Kingdoms' themselves," He Yi'an said, gazing into the eyes of the crowd. "I plan to explain the history of the Three Kingdoms from the perspective of one or more characters."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be those positive figures standing in the spotlight; it can also be the negative figures in history. And if the first part, which starts in this style, is successful, then the sequels can follow this pattern and unfold in the form of a series."

"Not a panoramic Three Kingdoms story? Villains? Multiple parts?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of He Yi'an's specific thoughts.

"I only have a vague idea right now. For our first film, I want to start from the beginning of the chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion. If that's successful, then our second film will be about the warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo. The third film and the sequels will then be about the major battles that divided the country into three kingdoms."

Liu Guonan and the others discussed for a while, then remained silent for a moment before looking up at He Yi'an.

"Director He, your idea is very bold."

"How can it be called a blockbuster if it's not daring?" He Yi'an laughed.

"So how do you plan to film the first one? Are you going to film the Yellow Turban Rebellion?" Liu Guonan asked.

He Yi'an stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew a circle.

"For the first one, I plan to make it a film with two male leads."

"Two male leads?"

"Yes. If we're choosing between two male leads, let's go with Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo."

Liu Guonan was taken aback: "Zhang Jiao? That Heavenly General of the Yellow Turban Army?"

"Yes, that's him."

He Yi'an wrote the two characters "Zhang Jiao" on the whiteboard: "The chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty began with the Yellow Turban Rebellion. (No further information provided)"

Without the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there would have been no subsequent campaign against Dong Zhuo, nor the struggle for supremacy. Therefore, the first part will begin with the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

"I think the movie could begin with a conversation between a man and a child in the dark."

"Master, what should we do when someone gets sick?"

"To heal the sick and save lives!"

"Master, what if a country is sick?"

The man remained silent for a long time before uttering the same four words: "Treat the illness! Save lives!"

All of them were filmmakers, and they understood what He Yi'an was trying to convey in those few words.

This establishes Zhang Jiao's character right from the start.

The design of this opening and visual language excited Ma Ming, who is also a director: "What about Dong Zhuo? How should Dong Zhuo be designed?"

He Yi'an then wrote the two characters "Dong Zhuo" next to Zhang Jiao.

"Dong Zhuo is on another storyline."

As the brainstorming session began and ideas were shared, He Yi'an's thinking gradually became smoother and more coherent: "Zhang Jiao, as a poor peasant, saw and represented the despair and resistance of the lower classes of the Han Dynasty, while Dong Zhuo experienced and felt the struggles, ambitions, and greed of the upper and middle classes of the Han Dynasty —"

"Dong Zhuo grew up on the border between Han and Qiang. From a young age, he was a chivalrous and righteous man. Later, he joined the army and fought bravely. He was always at the forefront of battle and was very famous in the Liangzhou area. However, because he came from a low-ranking official family, he was a commoner landlord/a poor military man and did not belong to the mainstream high-ranking aristocratic families of the Eastern Han Dynasty."

"So he spent half his life killing people, and finally got the same rank as Yuan Shao when he first entered officialdom in his teens —"

"Zhang Jiao came from an even lower social class, but he gained great fame among the powerful clans and nobles through his own abilities, and founded the Way of Peace. He could have enjoyed wealth and honor and received preferential treatment in all aspects, but when he acted as a wandering sorcerer and physician, he witnessed too much suffering at the bottom of society and the problems of the Han Dynasty."

Zhang Jiao believed that when people are sick, they should be treated and saved; similarly, when a nation is sick, it should also be treated and saved!

"—Their two parallel storylines will only converge at the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion—The final outcome must also conform to historical records: Zhang Jiao dies of illness at a crucial moment in the Yellow Turban Rebellion—the Yellow Turban Army is destroyed; while Dong Zhuo, after being repeatedly defeated by the Yellow Turban Army, barely manages to quell the Yellow Turban Army with the strength of the Han Dynasty and the efforts of Huangfu Song, and after the Ten Eunuchs Rebellion at the end of the film, Dong Zhuo leads his army into the capital."

He paused, looking at the people present.

"This is the twilight of the Han Empire. What I want to show is that the Han Dynasty was rotten to the core, from top to bottom, inside and out, and Zhang Jiao's classic saying is the most fitting cry of the times."

After He Yi'an finished speaking, the conference room became completely silent.

The screenwriters were filled with shock. Although Ma Ming didn't know much about this period of history, he also sensed something from He Yi'an's description.

Zhang Jing also opened her mouth, put down her pen, looked at He Yi'an, and her eyes were filled with a complicated expression.

"Director He, your idea is too big and too bold."

The so-called boldness is the perspective that He Yi'an chose.

Domestic education, from the very beginning, established a definitive conclusion about the Yellow Turban Rebellion: it was caused by the intensification of land annexation at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Large-scale peasant uprisings that broke out against the backdrop of political corruption were just actions by the peasant class against the oppression of feudal landlords.

It shook the foundations of the Eastern Han Dynasty's rule, accelerated the demise of the Eastern Han regime, propelled the course of history, and affirmed the role of peasant uprisings in promoting social development.

Once you know this, there won't be any major problems.

As for the extreme views of a small group of people, they are completely unimportant.

Even in 2026, there will still be women who go abroad and post on international social media that they used to be big landowners, and what would have happened if they hadn't—and they will be ridiculed by people in all languages ​​around the world.

Therefore, He Yi'an doesn't need to worry about this issue at all. The people's view of history is the historical view we have always adhered to. Only those who have vested interests will follow the elite view of history and the historical view of the ruling class.

"How can it be called a blockbuster if it's not big?"

"So, what about the specific plot?" Liu Guonan asked. "How do you plan to write it? Can we expand upon the framework we just discussed?"

He Yi'an walked back to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and began to redraw the character relationship diagram.

"First, there's the Zhang Jiao line."

"Zhang Jiao was a native of Julu. He was originally the son of a poor peasant family. While collecting herbs in the mountains, he obtained the Taiping Yaoshu and began to preach and heal diseases."

"This storyline needs to depict the suffering of the lower classes." He Yi'an pointed to Zhang Jiao's name. "Natural disasters, plagues, famine, corruption—the common people couldn't survive. Zhang Jiao gave them hope."

Even if this hope is false, it's better than despair.

"Therefore, Zhang Jiao cannot be portrayed as a simple hero or villain. He is a man with ideals, his ideal being peace, where everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear. But while this is a just cause, it must also be pointed out that his methods were too radical and extreme, ultimately leading to a greater disaster."

Liu Guonan nodded: "This angle is good."

"I have a specific idea for the opening scene," He Yi'an said. "In addition to the sentence I just mentioned, the opening scene of the film should also focus on a specific setting. This setting is not a grand war scene, but a small village."

He drew a few strokes on the whiteboard.

"There are hardly any people left in the village. Only the old, weak, sick, and disabled remain. The children are skin and bones from hunger. The adults have empty eyes. There are no birds in the sky and no crops on the ground. There is only yellow sand and withered bones everywhere."

A little child asked his grandfather, "Grandpa, what is the sky?"

His grandfather looked at the sky and said: "The sky is God, and God is blind, so we can't survive."

The child asked again: "What about Huangtian?"

His grandfather didn't answer, he just shook his head.

He Yi paused for a moment, then looked at the people present.

"Then, the scene cuts to Zhang Jiao. He goes up the mountain to collect herbs, cure the sick and save lives, and at the same time promotes his book, 'The Essential Techniques of Peace,' to give people a glimmer of hope. He also recalls what the old man told him when he first received the book: 'All living beings under heaven are suffering. If you have the will, use this book to save the world.'"

"Zhang Jiao, through his life experiences, proclaimed: 'The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world.'"

What does this sentence mean?

"What it conveys is precisely this: the world is afflicted by a disease that cannot be cured by medicine. Only by changing the world can we save humanity."

Liu Guonan and the others were so engrossed in He Yi'an's story that they couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

"Then, Zhang Jiao began to preach. He traveled all over the world with his two younger brothers, healing people and spreading the Way of Great Peace. He cured countless patients and gained countless believers."

"Regarding the so-called Zhang Jiao scattering beans to create soldiers, I'm reminded of a very interesting plot point."

"How do you present such a fantastical story as turning beans into soldiers? You can illustrate it through a conversation between an old farmer and his neighbor: They said there was a deity who could turn beans into soldiers, and at first I didn't believe it. But then, that deity scattered beans into my bowl, and then—I became his soldier."

The group paused for a moment, then laughed: "That line is great, both absurd and real."

"Zhang Jiao's miracle" wasn't actually some supernatural power, but rather giving hope to those in despair. A bowl of beans might not mean much in ordinary times, but in times of famine, it was life itself.

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