finalized

"Moreover, there was rice in his talisman water!"

"He had rice and beans, so the people were willing to follow him, not because they really believed he was a god, but because, by following him, they could at least survive."

Liu Guonan was now truly convinced: "This perspective is indeed more profound than simply discussing rebellion and suppression battles."

"Then, there's the Dong Zhuo line," He Yi'an continued. "Dong Zhuo was from Longxi, born into a low-ranking military family. He liked to befriend the Qiang people from a young age and was known for his bravery."

"What I wanted to capture in this film was the decay of the upper echelons."

"Eunuchs held power in the court, relatives of the empress interfered in politics, scholars engaged in empty talk that led to the downfall of the country, local warlords carved up their own territories, and the people suffered greatly. The entire empire, from the inside out, was rotten to the core."

"Dong Zhuo was not a good person, but he wasn't born evil either. He was pushed to the top by the times."

"I plan to start filming from Dong Zhuo's childhood," He Yi'an explained his creative approach.

"Young Dong Zhuo had the world in his heart, was exceptionally brave and skilled in archery, could shoot with both hands, befriended the Qiang people in Liangzhou and was highly respected among them, ate and slept with the soldiers in the local area, and was determined to serve the country. These scenes can be presented through fast editing."

"But after he joined the army, he fought in Liangzhou for more than ten years and made great contributions. He thought that as long as he was willing to risk his life for the country, the country would give him the reward he deserved."

"But reality slapped him in the face."

"He struggled for half his life to finally become the minor official he had always dreamed of, but that position was the first official post that Yuan Shao, a scion of a powerful family who had just entered officialdom in his teens through the recommendation system, could easily obtain." "Who was Yuan Shao? His family had held high office for four generations, and his protégés and former officials were all over the country. He didn't have to do anything to become an official. Dong Zhuo fought for more than ten years, risking his life, just to be on the same starting line as him."

"This is the gap between reality and expectations."

Those present, especially the editors, were all capable of appreciating a script.

Adapting a typical Three Kingdoms story is indeed a difficult task, as there are too many things to consider. However, if we focus on a single individual, then extracting the key points is not a problem.

Although what He Yi'an said may be familiar to people in later generations, not many people can think like this at this point in time.

It might even cause considerable public outcry.

Even after more than two months of "Hero" being released, there were still a lot of people criticizing Zhang Yimou, saying that he was whitewashing Qin Shi Huang and singing praises to a tyrant.

When we look at Qin Shi Huang today, especially after witnessing the series of problems caused by the division of various small states, we are very fortunate that there was such a person in history who continuously elevated Qin Shi Huang's status.

But in the thousands of years before the new century, only a very few people spoke the truth about Qin Shi Huang.

In modern times, only one leader commented on Qin Shi Huang when a group of people were publicly criticizing him: "I advise you to criticize Qin Shi Huang less; the burning of books and burying of scholars alive should be discussed. The First Emperor's spirit is dead, but his legacy remains; Confucianism, though renowned, is but chaff. For a hundred generations, Qin's laws and policies have been followed; ten criticisms are not good articles. Thoroughly study the Tang dynasty's theories on feudalism; do not follow Liu Zongyuan back to King Wen."

This shows how important this idea is.

If Zhang Yimou had to go through this, He Yi'an didn't think he could avoid it. After all, what those public intellectuals and bigwigs had been advocating was the opposite of these ideas, not to mention that He Yi'an had to stand from the perspective of the grassroots.

However, after the Venice Best Director award, he no longer cares.

Go ahead and criticize me all you want; if you can make me back down, then you've won.

……

Liu Guonan exchanged ideas with several editors, and then said, "Director He, your approach and the comparison you've made are indeed very impactful."

"Moreover, it is somewhat different from our conventional understanding of the Three Kingdoms."

"Since it's an adaptation, we definitely need to create something different. If we just copy everything exactly, then the 93 version of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' would have been enough. We can't possibly make a new 'Three Kingdoms,' can we?"

After all, as a listener to the criticisms of the three new scholars, He Yi'an didn't want to compete with director Gao Xixi for the filming rights to this work.

The kind of brain-to-brain interaction he achieved, clinking glasses and drinking together at the dinner table, completing a masterpiece under the starry night, is something that ordinary people cannot do.

He Yi'an wasn't in such a good mental state that he would write abstract words or perform abstract operations just to reduce plagiarism detection.

Perhaps it's because He Yi'an isn't aware enough that he hasn't realized: "Liquor is like an old hero, the more you drink, the more courageous you become."

Anyway, He Yi'an felt that as long as he could cut off Wu Baige's path and at the same time improve his company's filming capabilities, that would be fine. Gao Xixi's "New Three Kingdoms" was a gem in the world of吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for satirical commentary), so he should let him finish it himself.

"Of course, we must also clearly recognize that adaptation is not random rewriting. We must adapt the characters' behavior logic in a reasonable way while adhering to historical facts."

"Dong Zhuo wasn't always the tyrant who wreaked havoc in the capital. He was a hybrid of a respectable young man and a bandit convict caught in the turmoil of the Han Dynasty."

"He was once a young man with patriotic ideals. He risked his life for the Han Dynasty, thinking he could be given an important position. However, the Han Dynasty's path to advancement was controlled by powerful clans, and he was always an outsider. He fought for more than ten years, but the court treated him as a tool, just a pawn to be manipulated at will by the sons of the powerful."

"That's why he became so unscrupulous after he went to the capital. This is a classic story of the dragon slayer becoming the dragon."

"The character arc is now clear." Zhang Jing also understood what He Yi'an wanted to express: "From a loyal minister to a tyrant, it's not a sudden transformation, but a gradual alienation."

"right."

"Director He, how do you think the storylines of Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo will intersect?" Ma Ming asked, as this is the most important aspect of the dual male lead storyline.

He Yi'an drew a line on the whiteboard, connecting the two people together.

"Of course it's the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

"Zhang Jiao launched a rebellion, plunging the world into chaos. The imperial court summoned troops from all directions to quell the rebellion, and Dong Zhuo was among them."

"During the suppression of the rebellion, Dong Zhuo witnessed firsthand the madness and despair of the Yellow Turban army, and was defeated several times. He saw those peasants, armed with hoes and wooden sticks, charging towards the swords and spears of the government troops, one after another, dying without regret." "He asked a prisoner: 'Why did you rebel?'"

The prisoner said, "Because we can't survive."

Dong Zhuo then asked, "What did Zhang Jiao give you?"

"The prisoner said, 'He gave us hope.'"

"Dong Zhuo's emotions, which had been building up in his heart for decades, caused him to completely change at this moment."

"This scene could be set as a pivotal moment in Dong Zhuo's inner transformation. He begins to ponder, 'Why are these people rebelling? What exactly has the court done wrong? Can the court continue to exist?'"

"But he didn't have the answer, or rather, he didn't dare to think about the answer, but he had already begun to prepare for the great changes to come."

"Then comes the war scene, where Zhang Jiao leads the common people, carrying their ideals and fighting alongside the Han Dynasty against Dong Zhuo's forces. Unfortunately, he eventually dies of illness, leaving the Yellow Turban Army leaderless. The imperial army takes advantage of the situation to attack, and the Yellow Turban Army is defeated."

"During a major battle, Dong Zhuo was surrounded, and the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei rescued him."

"When Liu Bei introduced himself, Dong Zhuo glanced at him and said, 'Liu Bei? Never heard of him.'"

Then he turned around and left.

"It is from this point that the camera shifts from the ending of the two male protagonists to Liu Bei and Cao Cao. They are also in the ranks of those suppressing the rebellion, young, spirited, and full of vigor. At the same time, they also witness the cruelty of this war and the decay of the Han Dynasty." "Cao Cao said to himself, 'This world needs a change.' And Liu Bei said to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, 'This Han Dynasty needs to be saved!'"

"Then comes the ending design. A few years after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, the Ten Eunuchs Rebellion ended, and Dong Zhuo entered the capital. He rode a tall horse through the streets of Luoyang. On both sides were kneeling commoners and officials."

"He looked at the bustling city, recalled the years he had spent fighting in Liangzhou and Bingzhou, and thought of those lost ideals. Finally, he smiled, a smile that sent chills down one's spine."

"Then, the camera zooms out. The entire city of Luoyang is at his feet. In the distance, there is endless yellow sand and withered bones."

"The Great Han Empire, now exists in name only."

After He Yi'an briefly explained his general plot framework and structure for the film, the meeting room remained quiet for a long time.

Liu Guonan, Ma Ming, Zhang Jing and the others looked at him and said, "Director He, your ending not only brings up the theme but also serves as the prologue to a multi-part series. I'm already eager to see how the filming turns out."

He Yi'an ignored such praise: "These are just some of my ideas and thoughts, not the complete script. Everything still depends on the final script and the final effect."

"But that weakens the conflict surrounding Zhang Jiao's death," Zhang Jing asked. "As a story with two male protagonists, it doesn't seem impactful enough."

He Yi'an thought about it and Zhang Jing's suggestion was very correct: "In that case, we need to film Zhang Jiao's death with a sense of tragedy, and we also need to use dialogue and visuals to present it in other scenes."

"He lay in bed, looking at the sky outside the window. His two younger brothers stayed by his bedside." "The bold words, 'The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world,' echoed in his ears. His gaze seemed to see through the flames of war his younger self who had received the inheritance of the *Taiping Yaoshu*, and he smiled happily."

Zhang Bao asked, "Brother, did we fail?"

Zhang Jiao smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, the flame of the Way of Peace has already been ignited. One day, someone will take it up."

He paused, then said, “I use my own body as medicine to cure the ailments of the world. Greatness is supreme, virtue is purest, goodness is the best, and a teacher is the foremost in the world. The people are not foolish, so they call me the Great and Virtuous Teacher.”

"The last words Zhang Jiao spoke to his two younger brothers before his death were: 'To unite the people of the nine provinces and shake the royal court of one family. My life has been worthwhile.'"

After sharing all his thoughts, He Yi'an looked at them expectantly, hoping they could come up with some more feasible solutions.

Unfortunately, these people were so confused by his ideas that they couldn't come up with a better solution for the time being.

In the end, He Yi'an had no choice but to temporarily decide to have the editors organize and enrich the content of what he had just said, and then produce a script.

This is not too difficult for screenwriters who already have a complete outline.

Thus, Langyuan's "Three Kingdoms" project was put on the agenda.

This film series was a script he left for the company to train Liu Guoquan, Ma Ming, and the others. The only help he could offer was funding.

——————ps: Author's note~