Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 229 New Play
After Ni Heng's first visit to the General's Mansion, he immediately went to report to the Ministry of Rites. Although Kong Rong felt a little strange, as he always felt that Ni Heng's attitude towards Bai Gong seemed strangely submissive, he had no reason to make things difficult for him and directly arranged Ni Heng as his deputy.
Ni Heng's reputation was still very high, and Kong Rong's arbitrary promotion did not attract any criticism...
Because Sun Ce was anxious to pay homage to his deceased father, after receiving the tribute donated by Bai Tu to express his grief, he set out again for Wujun.
However, as the "first meritorious" one among the three armies to achieve important results, it must also be celebrated in Nanjing.
The reason why Ling Tong was brought back was not only to commend him for his achievement of being the first to reach the summit, but also to make him the representative of the central army!
The news that Huang Zu of Jiangxia surrendered and the people were overjoyed and welcoming the royal army had spread throughout the city of Jinling.
Although in the world of Chengji, only the "generals" in the army are real humans, and the other Ji-made soldiers are trained by "manpower", but... war still means more taxes and corvee labor.
At this time, "always fighting" and "always winning" gave the people completely different feelings.
Even Cao Pi and others had learned the news - after all, Bai Tu had no intention of concealing it, and instead did his best to publicize it to stabilize the rear.
"Boda, the war has only been going on for less than a month, my father and Yuan Shao don't know how the battle is going, but Huang Zu has already been defeated... What should we do?" Cao Pi asked anxiously.
Cao Pi had been hoping that, while Bai Tu's main force was still trapped in Jingzhou, his father would have defeated Yuan Shao and unified the north.
In this way, he could just ask for them back - by then Bai Tu would be at a disadvantage and would most likely accept Cao Cao's conditions.
This was also the best development Cao Pi could think of before coming here...
However, it seems now that the guys in Jingzhou are really unreliable. They actually lost an important town to the General's Mansion so quickly. Can we still count on them?
"Whether the lord can defeat Yuan Shao is not something we can predict or help from thousands of miles away. What we can do now is to learn more about the General's Mansion... Please cheer up, you have to attend the celebration party at the General's Mansion later." Sima Lang said.
Sima Lang was very talented, but he was not the type like Xun Yu and Lu Su who could plan the overall situation.
Whether it is his status, talent or experience, it determines that he only needs to take care of the things at hand.
To a certain extent, Sima Lang's excellence is also due to his ability to accurately recognize this point, understand the goals he should focus on, and not be distracted by other people's affairs.
In contrast, Yang Xiu, who was similar to him or even smarter, did not have this kind of self-awareness...
"Celebration party... Well, I'll try my best." Cao Pi wanted to act as happy as possible. Even though other people wouldn't believe it, he couldn't have a sad face.
"In fact, you can learn from Master Bang and try to relax. Those who seek personal gain in the 'enemy country' should avoid being too eager for quick success." Sima Lang said.
When Sima Lang first found out that there was a "relative" in the team, he felt very uncomfortable - what kind of situation is this, and there is still a "relative"?
But the more I thought about it, the more wrong it seemed...
This is the first time I've seen someone go to an "enemy country" as a hostage and try to get in through a backdoor. How desperate is that?
Fortunately, Cao Bang usually had little presence and did not give random orders, so Sima Lang just pretended not to see him.
But recently Sima Lang discovered that Cao Bang was in a very relaxed state, and even often went to the theater in Jinling to watch plays, as if nothing had happened!
Although it didn't have any effect, Sima Lang felt that Proton should be like this on the surface. As for things that require some tricks, they should either be kept in secret or handed over to other people... such as him.
A look like Cao Pi's that is concerned about his "homeland" can easily bring additional risks.
"Learn from her? Be heartless? Watch TV series all day long?" Cao Pi curled his lips when he heard that.
There is no consensus on when opera first appeared... But if we are talking about singing and dancing, there was "Nuo opera" in the Shang Dynasty - a "drama" in which people danced and sang during sacrifices.
However, this did not have any performance nature, its main function was for sacrifice. In the pre-Qin period, the "Songs" in the Book of Songs could be sung for entertainment.
However, feature films were still rare, and it was only during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty that dramas with plot structures began to emerge in large numbers and become popular...
Although Bai Tu himself cannot sing, he has consulted a lot of relevant information . He has gathered actors and quickly formed a group of opera troupes in a short period of time. The performance form is mainly to tell stories. Currently, they are performing in various places in Yangzhou, and the repertoires are all produced by the General's Mansion!
Yan Xiang was not used to Bai Tu's behavior at first, but later he gradually realized that this was not just entertainment, but also a high wall of barricades to consolidate his "reputation" and promote "orthodoxy" among the people.
If other places did not allow it, Bai Tu would even want to do it outside Yangzhou!
At least in Yangzhou, the performances were not only performed in the city, but also in villages and towns - firstly, they were subsidized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and secondly...whenever they went to perform, prominent families from all over the country would also express their appreciation. Even if they felt uncomfortable watching some of the plays, they would grit their teeth and endure it for the sake of the General's Mansion's signboard.
However, new plays are usually launched in Jinling theaters. There are even many people who have moved to Jinling specifically for the theaters.
"This gentleman is honest and kind, he answers questions without asking them and keeps his head down. Qing'er will explain it in detail. Please visit Cao's temple when you have time..."
Speaking of Cao Bang, Cao Bang is here, Cao Bang came back accompanied by the sound of humming a little tune.
"What are you singing? Who do you want to invite to your home? You don't have to go to the ancestral hall as a guest!" Cao Pi asked unhappily.
"What do you mean by going to the ancestral hall? Cao Temple is a metaphor for the underworld! It's not your...our family's ancestral hall." Cao Bang explained as a matter of course.
The concept of the underworld had already begun to emerge in the Han Dynasty. Although it was not widespread, Cao Pi understood it.
only……
Are you immoral? The underworld directly said that the name is not good, and it is also called "Cao Temple"... What did I do to provoke you? This bunch of unruly people!
"He is a gentleman, why are you asking him to go to the underworld?" Cao Pi said angrily.
"It's not the real underworld, it's a metaphor... We, the audience, know that the dead used to live there, but the scholar didn't know that..." Cao Bang explained.
"Scholar? There are such stupid scholars?"
"This is called a form of expression! You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Cao Bang looked disdainful.
Well, I promised Cao Pi that I would listen to him after I came to Jinling, but...promising doesn't mean Cao Bang has to keep his word.
Just as Cao Pi was about to explode, Sima Lang asked, "Is this a new play? I haven't heard it before. What is it about?"
How could Sima Lang not know the purpose behind this opera?
For Sima Lang, in a situation where he was cut off from the outside world, by analyzing the new plays coming out of Jinling, he could also see some of the directions and arrangements of the General's Mansion!
"It was a Shanyue girl named Xiaobai who was kidnapped as a child. Fortunately, a Han boy saved her... Ten years later, the Shanyue girl came out of the mountains to find the boy to repay her gratitude. The two fell in love and got married. The Shanyue girl also learned medical skills in a medical school and saved many people."
Cao Bang was halfway through his speech when Cao Pi interrupted him in confusion, "Does this mean that we are encouraging intermarriage with people of other races? People who are not of our race must have different hearts... What is the General's Mansion planning?"
"Humph! Yes, at the end of today, a few bad guys said the same thing, and also said that Xiaobai was a spy of Shanyue, and was very bad!" Cao Bang said, and glanced at Cao Pi.
"And then?" Sima Lang stopped Cao Pi and continued asking.
"I don't know. It will be updated on the 15th." Cao Bang said helplessly.
Sima Lang nodded thoughtfully, and Cao Pi saw it, and couldn't help asking, "What did Boda find out?"
"If nothing unexpected happens... Chen Gong, who is in charge of pacifying the Shanyue people in the south, has probably made some progress!" Although Sima Lang was just guessing, his tone was very certain.
That’s right. At the beginning of the year, the General’s Mansion actually prepared two new plays. One is about a female hero who joined the army in place of her father during an invasion by foreign races, defending her country and fighting against the cruel and tyrannical foreign races. She was recognized by the General’s Mansion, who not only did not pursue her hidden identity, but also praised her official military exploits and military rank, and finally returned with glory.
The other is about a grateful foreign woman who falls in love and marries a Han youth who helped her in her childhood. However, she is blamed by the supporters of the defense against barbarians and is framed and imprisoned. It rains heavily... More than ten years later, their child succeeds in the examination for selecting talented people, and eventually, with the help of justice administered by the general's mansion, his mother is rescued and the family is reunited.
Which of the two dramas will be released depends on the situation of the southern army. If everything goes well, it will be the second act. If Chen Gong messes up and the numerous Wuling barbarians and Shanyue people retaliate, it will be the first act.
The recent news sent back by Chen Gong made Bai Tu determined to take part in the second play. Among them, Bai Tu gave the role of the etiquette master to those great scholars who criticized the play "The Peacock Flies Southeast" as being immoral.
However, the specific news about the Southern Army has not been spread among the people - Chen Gong has only gained the support of some of the ancient Yue tribes and has not achieved any results, so it is naturally not a good time to celebrate now.
Sima Lang understood that these opera troupes, especially those in Jinling, were all backed by the General's Mansion, so he was very sensitive to this new opera!
"Appease the Shanyue? What progress will there be?" Cao Pi still didn't understand.
"Since we are talking about intermarriage among the people, there must be a large number of Shanyue... possibly the ancient Yue tribe, who are willing to move closer to the General's Mansion and even agree to move out of the mountains." Sima Lang's understanding was very accurate.
"Boda! What about Xiaobai? Will she be happy in the future?" Cao Bang asked hurriedly.
Cao Bang had already discovered before that Sima Lang... obviously didn't listen to opera much, and didn't look like someone who could make up a story, but he guessed the plot very accurately.
"There will probably be great hardships, but... in the end, those great scholars will definitely be the ones who suffer. After all the hardships, the General's Mansion will let the story end perfectly. If Master Bang is afraid of being uncomfortable, you can wait until all the plays are out before watching them together." Sima Lang said.
"Huh? How do you know the General's Mansion will appear? The General's Mansion hasn't appeared in the drama yet!" Cao Bang asked puzzledly.
"Haha, just a guess." Sima Lang curled the corners of his mouth.
Nonsense! Which drama doesn’t have the General’s Mansion? It’s in every drama, okay?
The previous film produced by the Ministry of Justice tells the story of a young widow who was tortured into confessing and was eventually beheaded in public. The injustice caused heaven to send down strange omens, which was heartbreaking to watch... But in the next scene, the young widow's father returned from training in the Ministry of Justice and was awarded an official position in the Ministry. He went back to his hometown to investigate the case and set things right.
Sima Lang now also admires Bai Tu very much - the general's mansion always blatantly flatters itself and smears shit on the faces of old officials!
It's so straightforward, but ordinary people just buy into it...
