Chapter 790: Chen Qiyu's Promotion
While the Ming Dynasty's "A Minor Soldier from the Daling River Border Army" was receiving positive feedback...
Meanwhile, in the modern world!
On a popular short-form drama platform, "The Daling River God of War," an "epic historical hardcore martial arts drama" edited into episodes just over a minute long, was also beginning its promotional campaign.
The original title, "A Minor Soldier from the Daling River Border Army," was unceremoniously discarded by Queen of a Thousand Faces M and changed to "God of War."
After all, modern netizens loved such bold, attention-grabbing titles.
This time, the martial arts choreography and special effects were incomparably superior to the previous production, "Mu Guiying."
From bargain-basement special effects, it had dramatically elevated to a top-tier, lavish production.
What's more, emboldened by the previous success, Queen of a Thousand Faces M had even more confidence in martial arts dramas like this one, and was willing to spend even more on its promotion.
With substantial promotional funds invested, the promotional shorts for "The Daling River God of War" began spreading across the short-form drama platform like a virus.
These days, if your production was genuinely well-made, and you were willing to spend on promotion, you could instantly create a phenomenal sensation.
“Holy cow, this show is amazing!”
“What the hell, this production is huge!”
“It's my first time seeing movie-level production on a short-form drama platform.”
“How many extras did they hire for this?”
“Which film studio built this city? It looks so damn real!”
“Oh, wait, it's asking me to pay to subscribe...”
“A dollar an episode.”
“Who are they looking down on? I can afford a dollar!”
A dollar an episode – that's not expensive at all!
For individual users, it was incredibly cheap, but the sheer number of subscribers was overwhelming, and in the blink of an eye, "The Daling River God of War's" box office revenue began to soar.
In just one day, the box office revenue surpassed ten million dollars.
Eight days later, it broke a hundred million dollars!
Of course, box office revenue didn't equate to net income.
As the film became a massive hit, Queen of a Thousand Faces M invested more and more into its promotion. Behind over a hundred million in box office revenue, lay tens of millions in promotional expenses supporting it.
Ultimately, the net profit was only twenty million dollars.
Li Daoxuan took eighty percent, while Queen of a Thousand Faces M took twenty percent. Thus, Li Daoxuan's final share amounted to sixteen million dollars—
Yan'an Prefecture...
Shi Jian, leading his troops, escorting five thousand surrendered rebels, entered Yan'an Prefecture, covered in dust from their journey.
A few days prior, he had fought another battle in the northern Shaanxi region, eliminating the bandit leaders Jia Zongguan, Bi Shangtian, Si Tianwang, and Du Weilang, and capturing five thousand surrendered rebels. He sent these surrendered rebels back to Huanglong Mountain, and took the opportunity to rest in Yan'an Prefecture, allowing the militia soldiers to catch their breath and resupply.
As soon as Shi Jian's troops arrived, the logistics supply teams from Huanglong Mountain began continuously passing through the Huangqiu Terrace Tunnel, delivering a steady stream of supplies to him.
Concurrently, accompanying the logistics teams, were two thousand raw recruits. Shi Jian was to lead them on bandit suppression campaigns, both to train them, and to push them towards becoming seasoned veterans.
Seeing the fresh, young faces before him, Shi Jian couldn't help but shake his head. “Hey, how long have you been in the militia?” he asked.
“Five months for me!”
“Just over four months!”
“I've been here for half a year.”
Shi Jian chuckled, playfully chiding them, “How's your training coming along?”
“Reporting, General Shi, my marksmanship is ranked first in the battalion.”
“My obstacle course time is faster than anyone else's.”
“My grenade throwing skills earned the fourth-highest score on record.”
Shi Jian smiled, “Very good, very good. But that's not what I asked. I asked how well you've learned the Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention?”
The new recruits straightened up, invigorated. “We are the people's soldiers, their children,” they chorused.
“We take not a single needle or thread from the masses.”
“Excellent,” Shi Jian declared. “For the Gao Family Village Militia, while combat strength is certainly important, character is paramount. The Heavenly Lord once taught me that a powerful army can be a sword that kills, but also a sword that saves!”
The close guards chorused, “We will be the sword that saves!”
“Good!”
A shout of approval echoed from a distance.
Shi Jian turned his head, and saw Chen Qiyu, the Governor of Yansui, approaching. His face was beaming with health and delight, grinning mischievously.
“Well, Governor,” Shi Jian greeted.
Chen Qiyu chuckled, “Thanks to your good fortune, General Shi, I'm no longer just a Governor.”
“Oh?” Shi Jian prompted.
Chen Qiyu chuckled again, “General Shi's military achievements are formidable. He has systematically wiped out the bandits in northern Yan'an, and these bandits were within my jurisdiction, dealt with on my watch. General Shi, moreover, never takes all the credit for himself or hoards achievements, always sharing the glory with this humble official, which has greatly enhanced my reputation at court as well.”
Shi Jian understood. “So, Minister Chen has been promoted,” he said.
Chen Qiyu straightened his expression, “Indeed, I have been promoted.”
“Not long ago, Zuo Liangyu was bombarded, and dragged his feet outside Yunyang City, giving the bandits a chance to regroup. Large contingents of bandits moved south, into the Jingxiang region, advancing into Huguang.”
“The imperial court deliberated that the authority of the various regional commanders was disjointed, and a single grand minister should be appointed to oversee them all. Most recommended Hong Chengchou. However, as Hong Chengchou was currently overseeing military affairs in the Three Borders and could not be reassigned, the court then promoted me to Vice Minister of War and concurrently Censor-in-Chief of the Right, Grand Coordinator of Military Affairs for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan.”
As he spoke, the delight in Chen Qiyu's brows was irrepressible. “Thanks to General Shi's good fortune, this humble official has leaped from being a provincial governor to a Grand Coordinator of Five Provinces!”
“Oh my, congratulations, congratulations!” Shi Jian exclaimed with a smile.
Chen Qiyu, “But these merits were originally all yours, General Shi. This Grand Coordinator will also do his utmost to memorialize the emperor, requesting another promotion for you, General Shi.”
Shi Jian chuckled, “No need for that, thank you. In recent years, this humble officer has risen from a mere commander to a general officer. Such rapid promotion means an unstable foundation, and it's easy to overextend oneself. It would be better to remain in this general officer position for a while longer.”
Chen Qiyu, “Ah, General Shi truly knows when to advance and when to retreat; how admirable! This Grand Coordinator is now preparing to take up post in Junzhou, Hubei, where I will command the encirclement and suppression of the Huguang bandits. I will be departing Yan'an very soon. The bandits in northern Shaanxi have not yet been fully dealt with, so I must rely on General Shi to persevere and redouble his efforts!”
“Rest assured, I'll handle it,” Shi Jian replied.
Chen Qiyu, “When this Grand Coordinator goes to Hubei, I fear that corrupt officials may try to impede General Shi. Therefore, I have prepared a personal letter, stating that all decisions regarding bandit affairs in northern Shaanxi are to be made by General Shi himself. If anyone dares to disobey, let them come and discuss it with this Grand Coordinator.”
“That is truly a great help,” Shi Jian expressed his gratitude.
Chen Qiyu grasped Shi Jian's forearm. “Don't let those armchair strategists hold you back; fight without reservation. This Grand Coordinator has faith in General Shi's abilities.”
Shi Jian cupped his hands in a respectful salute.
Chen Qiyu, now thoroughly pleased, immediately set off for Hubei.
No sooner had he left, than the Heavenly Lord, a small cotton thread figure on Shi Jian's chest, spoke. “With this move, his official's hat will surely be lost,” it declared.
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