Cute Brother Badass Family Protector

Chapter 201: Taking Care of Other People's Businesses

So what if he's a student at Beijing University? Didn't he just finish his high school graduation exam last year? That means he's just a freshman!

Even if she majored in history, how could she compare to Ms. Shen, who is a PhD student?

The scriptwriter sneered in his head.

Tan Mo turned to look at Shen Jingyi and asked, “Are you sure the script is legitimate?”

Shen Jingyi leaped in shock and quickly averted the little girl's gaze. “Ya.”

“You know that this is a historical drama, right? One that specifically focuses on historical aspects and not about fixed thrones or battles between concubines. What Director Liu wants is a historically accurate one.”

Director Liu nodded in agreement.

“I know.” Shen Jingyi gritted her teeth.

“Then, why does the manuscript mention only the Seven Wise Men of the Bamboo Groove, the Respectful and Praise Feelings in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the openness of the dynasty, but not about the frequent political changes, the, a war that never ended, or even a poor country whose population lived at that time,” Tan Mo said.

“Isn't it better to tell everything than just the better? People will truly believe that life in that dynasty is happiness.”

“What the hell do you know?” Yuan Qishan roared as he started to get anxious.

“We are writing a script here, not a history textbook! If you really want to learn about history, you can read it! Why bother watching drama? The script is created based on historical content and tweaked so that there are plots and conflicts!”

At that time, Shen Jingyi had no choice but to side with Yuan Qishan, or else she would simply admit that she did a poor job as a consultant.

It was something he would never admit.

Ever since he told Yuan Qishan that the script was up to standard, he had already sided with the scriptwriter.

The PhD student from Beijing University couldn't help but condemn Tan Mo for taking care of other people's affairs. From his point of view, if the drama were to fail, it would be a matter of Director Liu and not his. Tan Mo did not need to interfere because it would not affect him.

It was as if Tan Mo had intentionally made Shen Jingyi look like a bad person there.

Yuan Qishan then continued, “You are not majoring in history, nor are you a scriptwriter. Stop telling us how to do our job!”

“If only plot and conflict you want, then there is more than enough throughout the history of our country for you to tell. You don't even need to change anything to be dramatic,” Tan Mo said as he took a step forward.

“In 184, during the late Han dynasty, there was the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The time between 220 and 280 was plagued with war between the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the population of the country was 50 million. At the end of the Three Kingdoms, only 8 million people remained.”

Tan Mo stopped and continued, “In 280, the Western Jin Empire defeated Eastern Wu and officially unified the three kingdoms into one. With Emperor Wu of Jin as Emperor, the population of the Jin Empire numbered about 16 million people, including slaves, while the Wei Empire had a total of about 10 million people. The Yongjia disaster occurred in the year 311 where the Xiongnu invaded the land and waged war. In just 31 years, only 3 million people are still alive. Those who did not manage to retreat south were all killed. Although the Western Jin Empire lasted for 51 years, only 20 of them were peaceful, which was from Year 280 to nine years before Jia Nanfeng ruled the empire behind the scenes."

Despite having a soft voice, everyone could feel the impact coming from Tan Mo as he recited the numbers.

“I'm sure you can see how cruel the war was during that time from the drastic changes in the regime and the sudden loss of population. When Cao Cao invades Xu Province five times enough conflict for a play, am I wrong? If you think it's lacking, then what if you give you the details of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Groove mentioned in the script? Seven wise men gained their fame during Years 240 to Years 290. The first sage, Ji Kang, was born in Year 223 and graduated in Year 262. She is married to Cao Cao's great-grandson and is a writer, philosopher, and alchemist. Ruan Ji was born in Year 210 to a prestigious family and graduated in year 256. He was an infantry commander. Shan Tao was born in 205 and graduated in 283. He was promoted to Grand Herald during the Western Jin Dynasty."

Tan Mo sipped water.

“Xiang Xiu, born in Year 227 and died in Year 272. He was the emperor's servant. Liu Ling was born in 221 and graduated in Year 300. He was a military staff officer to Wang Rong, the General Who Enforced Mightiness. And then, we have Wang Rong himself, who was born in 234 and died in 305. He was the Inspector of Jing Province, Inspector of Yu Province, General of the Establishing Power, Palace Servant, and Household Minister to Emperor Wu Jin and Grand Master of the Crown Prince, Prefect of the Writers of the Palace, and the Minister of Home Affairs, Household Advisor, Prefect Master of Writing, Minister of Mass, and more for Emperor Hui of Jin. Lastly, we have Ruan Xian, whose date of birth and death is unknown. He is the nephew of Ruan Ji. All of these people live in times of war, and instead of telling the real situation of society all along, you decide to focus on their poetry and songs. Have you ever thought that the fact that they were born into a prestigious family is the reason why they can enjoy such a privilege? The Nine-Rank System and the Occupation System by Emperor Wu of Jin was to protect such family gains. The biggest failure of the Nine-ranked System was to prevent ordinary citizens from reaching the spotlight and becoming officials. Unlike now, where anyone could become successful by getting high marks in high school graduation exams, people at that time did not have such privileges.”

Tan Mo won't stop there.

“At that time, most of the important positions were stockpiled by prestigious families. The people who determine whether or not someone is worthy of being an official also come from the family. These families just want to protect their own profits. This is your conflict, between prestigious families and ordinary citizens. Do you need more? Then what about this? Tao Kan was an important piece of the puzzle for the success of the Western Jin Empire. However, his great-grandson, the famous poet Tao Yuanming, was forced to live the life of a peasant after serving in the military. Then, we have the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Year 304, where the Murong tribe of the Xianbei people invaded the mainland and had thousands of young women. Worse, they would eat the flesh of these women until only eight thousand of them remained. Those who were not eaten were drowned alive in the Yi River. It is said that the bodies of these eight thousand young women eventually clog the river.”

Tan Mo now began to tell them the darkest story of that time.

“Similar to Murong tribe, we have Jie people. When they went to war, they never brought their own rations. Instead, they would kidnap young girls from cities they had conquered, meng*sa them in the morning and eat their meat at night. They even referred to these women as two-legged sheep. How's that for conflict? All of this happened during the period in which your plot occurred. In addition to battles between concubines or poems and songs, the kingdom was filled with war and conflict. You might call me a busy person, but the drama will only make people think that life during that period is relaxing, which many people already have the wrong impression of. Life during that time is hard, and people have to suffer. As some of the best directors out there, everyone will be looking forward to the drama he will be producing."