Chapter 553

14-year-old Yang Haoyu, already known to many audiences for his role as Gong Shu in *Dragon Gate Inn*, his image is also somewhat comedic.

But in this version of *The Great Wall*, he seems somewhat slick at first glance, yet at critical moments he throws himself into the fray, enabling the court to obtain a monster corpse for the first time, instantly overturning the audience's impression.

In the guest section, Yang Haoyu, dressed in a suit, held his head slightly high, sat ramrod straight, with an expression of astonished delight.

During filming, he felt his role was quite impressive, but he never expected it to turn out this well.

On the big screen, the shot of Lao Huang brandishing his sword and leaping into the monster's mouth made him feel incredibly cool and extremely excited!

Pretty handsome!

Yang Haoyu couldn't help muttering a sentence, while the audience inside burst into praise.

Unexpectedly, the artsy, always-twisted-narrative director Zhang Yimou could still shoot such a stirring shot. It's nothing like Director Zhang's usual style, more like Xu Lao Guai's approach! On the big screen, the film continues: first an aerial shot of Xianyang City, then a huge cart pulled by five horses, carrying the monster's corpse, being hauled toward the palace.

In the hall, Zang Jinsheng's portrayal of the First Emperor wore a stern expression, rejecting the officials' pleas, insisting on seeing the so-called monster with his own eyes, then leading the officials to the plaza inside the palace.

When he saw the monster corpse, like a mountain of flesh, his expression was both surprised and delighted.

"I never imagined there could be such a monster in the world; it's truly miraculous!"

Having said that, he was about to step forward, but Huang Xuan's portrayal of the Crown Prince Fusu hurriedly advised, thinking the monster corpse might be poisonous, so it's better to stay a bit farther away.

The First Emperor didn't think so; the soldiers had escorted it this long without incident, so it would naturally be fine for him to go see it.

But he still didn't dare get too close, and felt the monster lying on the cart made it hard to see its full appearance.

At this point, Zhang Shi's portrayal of Zhao Gao suddenly proposed: on the open ground outside Afang Palace, erect a huge wooden frame, hoist the monster's corpse with ropes, and then we'll know what it looked like when standing alive.

The First Emperor was very pleased upon hearing this, ordered Zhao Gao to handle it, and rewarded both the fallen Qin soldiers and the meritorious Lao Huang.

Afterward, they held a court assembly.

Chancellor Li Si had people compile the desertion cases reported by the northern frontier military over the past six months; the total number added up to over ten thousand.

And the investigation results of these desertion cases mostly showed records of soldiers being devoured by ferocious beasts.

Now it appears not the work of tigers or wolf packs, but that peculiarly shaped, gigantic monster! Some officials showed fear, considering it a heavenly warning.

The Crown Prince Fusu, however, said the monster was just a bit bigger-headed and a bit more formidable.

Rumor has it there are even larger fish in the sea and even larger-headed birds in the sky, but ultimately they are all mortal flesh.

However, in just half a year, it caused casualties of over ten thousand Qin troops; such a monster is already formidable, and its numbers are not few.

After discussion, General Wang Jian's grandson Wang Li volunteered to lead an army of 100,000 northward to exterminate the monsters, vowing to wipe them out completely.

Then the film's first major scene appeared.

Wang Li's 100,000-strong army, marching north, was unexpectedly ambushed by a monster horde, suffering a crushing defeat; after subtracting those who scattered and were eaten, only over a thousand made it back to Xianyang.

The whole nation was shocked!

The First Emperor was stunned—defeating the six states had never been this disastrous! Worse still, more and more monsters appeared in the northern frontier, capturing civilians for food, and the news had already reached Xianyang.

Furious and enraged, the First Emperor ordered General Meng Tian to lead 400,000 troops north and conscript over a million laborers to transport supplies; even if it meant exhausting everyone, the monsters must be wiped out.

For a time, the whole nation mourned, the atmosphere heavy yet fervent.

In the venue, some audience members recalled the segment where the monster horde ambushed Wang Li's army.

They wondered: "How do these monsters even know tactics?" "It's not really tactics; they're just like wolf packs, better at hunting. The film showed early on how cunning they are."

"Well, they clearly have the strength to overwhelm, yet they wait for people to completely let down their guard!"

"The Great Wall" is a pure commercial blockbuster whose selling point is visual effects; moreover, Zhang Yimou isn't very good at telling stories, so the plot isn't particularly outstanding—it's just average.

But the visual effects are truly good, especially the colors and composition, with many aspects that leave audiences stunned.

Especially the scene of General Meng Tian leading his army in a bloody battle against the monster horde; the visuals rival those of The Hobbit, leaving many viewers exhilarated.

Naturally, the Qin side won this battle in the film, but it was a pyrrhic victory with enormous casualties.

Fusu, heading north, after seeing all the devastation, went back and urged the First Emperor to rebuild the original walls that Yan, Zhao, etc. had built against the Xiongnu, constructing the Great Wall atop the mountain ranges.

Then the Qin troops could rely on the walls to hold fast and resist the monster horde.

Otherwise, after fighting two more such wars, Qin's veteran soldiers would be exhausted.

The First Emperor also agreed with this reasoning, ordering Fusu to go north to oversee everything, taking full responsibility for building the Great Wall.

For a time, the imperial machine ran swiftly; various supplies and countless laborers flocked north to build the Great Wall.

At a glance, there is no mistaken version!

And once the Great Wall was completed, it indeed could block large numbers of monsters.

The few monsters that slipped over the Wall could also be easily captured and killed, so the empire's northern frontier finally settled down.

Then trouble arose in the court.

A Daoist mystic, under the pretense of seeking the elixir of immortality, urged the First Emperor to go on a tour.

He also felt that there were monsters on land over two zhang tall, fish in the sea larger than boats, and that the world ought to have an elixir of immortality.

Thus he embarked on a tour of the realm, ultimately dying on the road.

Afterward, Zhao Gao and Li Si forged an edict and sent the decree to Fusu.

The envoy delivering the decree was none other than Jiang Heng in a cameo role.

Zhang Ruozhi's portrayal of the Princess of Qin also secretly hid in the envoy's entourage, arriving together in the northern frontier.

Fusu naturally could see the decree was fake, especially with Zhang Ruozhi's Princess stepping forward to blow the whistle.

But just at this moment, the monster horde attacked again, with numbers far surpassing before.

If Fusu were to abandon the Great Wall defense, the millions of people living in the northern frontier would likely become fodder for the monsters.

Even his own army could be pursued and annihilated.

After a painful deliberation, Fusu ultimately chose to stay and fight to the death against the monster horde.

Zhang Ruozhi's cameo princess and Jiang Heng's portrayal of the court envoy also joined the battle, both perishing.

At the moment they saw Jiang Heng's envoy character die, the audience felt somewhat regretful.

Someone said: "Director Jiang's appearance was too brief; he should have acted longer!"

Just a cameo!

"Who's playing that princess? She looks pretty good!" (End of chapter)