novelraw Chapter 111: Liu Bang Enters Xianyang City
Chapter 111: Liu Bang Enters Xianyang City
At ten o'clock the next morning, at the Beijing suburban film studio.
The "Xianyang Palace" outdoor set.
The Props Team had worked through the night, transforming the entire palace complex into the desolate appearance of a fallen Qin palace awaiting its new master.
Tattered banners hung from the corridor pillars, abandoned weapons and objects scattered across the ground.
Qin Feng and Liu Hanyu had long since changed into their costumes, standing quietly under the eaves of a side hall.
They formed their own little world, completely out of sync with the bustling activity around them.
Liu Hanyu, playing Zhang Liang, wore simple grey cloth robes, his hair bun meticulously neat, exuding the calm composure of a master strategist.
As for Qin Feng, he was a completely different person.
He wore a crude, roughly-sewn general's robe, stained with dust and dirt, a sword casually hanging at his waist.
He simply stood there with a slight hunch to his back, and the Film Emperor Qin Feng vanished.In his place stood Liu Ji, the nearly fifty-year-old village head from Pei County, who had just led a bunch of his mud-legged brothers into the world's most magnificent palace.
A figure silently appeared at the periphery of the film set.
Jiang Ci, dressed in ordinary casual clothes, blended in with the equipment-carrying stagehands, completely inconspicuous.
He had no scenes to film today.
But he had come anyway.
He found an unobtrusive corner, his gaze passing over the sea of bobbing heads, precisely locking onto the Monitor.
Wei Song was explaining something to the Cinematographer, his peripheral vision catching sight of him.
The Director's movements paused for a moment.
Then, understanding dawned.
He didn't speak, only giving an almost imperceptible nod in Jiang Ci's direction before diving back into his work.
Wei Song understood.
Jiang Ci was here to secretly learn.
More importantly, he was here to observe how his greatest opponent in this film actually performed.
At 10:30 AM, everything was ready.
Wei Song sat back behind the monitor and picked up his Walkie-Talkie.
"All departments, attention! *The Legend of Han and Chu*, Scene Eleven, Shot One, Take One!"
"Action!"
The clapperboard snapped shut.
Qin Feng moved.
The Liu Bang he portrayed, leading a group of equally travel-worn generals, stepped across the high threshold of Xianyang Palace.
His footsteps lacked the triumphant, high-spirited air of a victor.
Instead, they were hesitant, faltering.
He was like a farmer entering the city for the first time, awestruck by the dazzling golden splendor before him.
His mouth slightly agape, he looked up at the impossibly high ceiling, his Adam's apple subconsciously bobbing.
It was the most instinctive awe and yearning for power and luxury, bone-deep in a man from the lowest rungs of society.
He reached out, gently touching the cold, thick pillar beside him.
The texture under his fingertips was smooth yet hard.
He felt the intricate carvings upon it, felt the majesty unique to the dwelling of the Son of Heaven.
Just then, the generals behind him lost control.
"Haha! We're rich!"
"Over there! The treasury is over there!"
Several supporting actors, following the script, rushed toward the depths of the palace with eyes shining, their performance brimming with the most blatant greed for gold, silver, and treasures.
Behind the monitor, Wei Song's brow furrowed into a tight knot.
Wrong.
The feel was completely off!
Qin Feng had used an incredibly nuanced opening to build a profound sense of history intersecting with reality.
But these supporting actors' performances were too stereotypical.
They only acted out "greed," but failed to portray the fierce courage and bloody-mindedness of men who had crawled out of piles of corpses alongside Liu Bang.
Their performances shattered the aura Qin Feng had painstakingly established.
"CUT!"
Wei Song called a stop impatiently.
"You few! Over here!"
He called the young supporting actors over, suppressing his anger.
"Are you bandits? Robbers?"
"You are meritorious officials! Brothers who fought alongside Liu Bang all the way here! Your greed should carry confidence! Carry the righteous conviction of 'this is what I deserve'! Not the look of thieves breaking into a house! Understand?"
The young actors were scolded until their faces flushed red, nodding repeatedly.
"One more take!"
"Action!"
The second time, they held back too much, appearing timid and hesitant.
"CUT!"
The third time, they overdid it again.
"CUT! CUT! CUT!"
Wei Song's temper flared, the atmosphere on set growing oppressive.
After several repetitions, those young actors were on the verge of breaking down.
In the corner, Jiang Ci saw it clearly: those few were only acting out the label "greed," not portraying "people."
Just then, Qin Feng, who had been silent all along, beckoned to them.
"Come here."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a convincing power.
The young actors, as if finding their anchor, quickly gathered around him.
Qin Feng didn't lecture, didn't preach grand principles.
Using Liu Bang's identity, he looked around at his "subordinates" and asked a question in a casual, conversational tone.
"Did you follow me, Liu Ji, just for this bit of gold and silver?"
One sentence.
A simple, straightforward sentence.
The young actors were stunned, rooted to the spot.
Looking into Qin Feng's turbid yet perceptive eyes, their minds seemed to explode with a "boom."
Right, if it was just for wealth, why risk their necks, tying their heads to their belts, following this unremarkable middle-aged man to fight against the mighty Qin?
What they sought wasn't just wealth.
It was being enfeoffed as marquises and generals, it was rising above the common lot, it was changing their way of life!
Qin Feng's one sentence had awakened them.
Behind the monitor, Wei Song let out a heavy sigh and spoke into his walkie-talkie.
"Five-minute break, prepare for the next take."
Five minutes later, they started again.
This time, the feeling was completely right.
Liu Bang still entered the grand hall with that farmer-like awe and curiosity.
The generals behind him also erupted with greed in their eyes.
But beneath this greed, there was now an added layer.
They would subconsciously glance at Liu Bang's reaction.
Their greed was no longer an uncontrolled desire, but had transformed into an anticipation for their own future fame, fortune, and rank.
Amid this subtle atmosphere, a group of gorgeously dressed palace maids were driven out from the rear hall by soldiers, panic-stricken.
A fragrant breeze wafted, accompanied by the tinkling of jade pendants.
Qin Feng's movements halted.
He turned his head, looking at those trembling beauties.
The monitor zoomed in for a close-up of his face.
In that moment, the King of Han with the world in his heart was gone.
He had reverted to Liu Ji, the village head of Pei County who loved wine and women.
His Adam's apple bobbed again, his eyes filled with naked desire.
He subconsciously lifted his foot, about to walk over.
However, a split second before he moved.
Beside him, Liu Hanyu's Zhang Liang coughed, ever so lightly.
Liu Bang's raised foot slowly lowered back down.
When he lifted his head again, all traces of desire had vanished from his face.
He no longer looked at the women's faces or figures.
His gaze swept over their splendid attire, the exquisite hairpins atop their heads.
He was appraising them.
Estimating their value as "spoils of war," as "tools" that could win over hearts and be bestowed upon meritorious officials.
From a lustful ruffian to a restrained politician.
This switch took less than a second.
The base nature of the rogue and scoundrel in Liu Bang's character was perfectly stitched together with his grand ambition to hold the world in his heart.
He came alive.
Afterwards, Qin Feng stood calmly in the center of the palace.
Using a voice so rich and resonant it could be clearly heard by everyone present, he announced to all.
"Here, I shall establish three laws."
"Those who kill shall die; those who wound or steal shall be punished accordingly."
"All other harsh Qin laws shall be abolished."
As his words fell, the great hall shifted from clamor to dead silence.
All the officers and soldiers stopped their actions, looking toward their lord with eyes full of confusion.
"Cut!"
Wei Song shot up from his chair!
"Perfect!"
In the corner.
Jiang Ci remained motionless.
He stared fixedly at Qin Feng on the monitor, but his heart was pounding wildly.
Qin Feng's performance just now, seemingly effortless, was filled with lethal moves at every turn.
He not only brought his own character to life, but also, using his own aura, forcibly pulled those supporting actors who had nearly ruined the scene back onto the right track.
This was the "momentum" on the stage of acting!