Chapter 328

The plot of "The New Three Kingdoms" begins with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but it's brief—merely a backdrop to introduce Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Cao Cao.

Then, using Cao Cao as the main thread, it introduces Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital, the failed assassination of Dong Zhuo, and the alliance of warlords against him.

When originally crafting the script for "The New Three Kingdoms," Seeing Yan Li and the screenwriters were highly pragmatic: they drew from the original novel but did not follow it faithfully, especially in the later stages.

After the Battle of Yiling, Wu gradually faded into the background; the plot centered mostly on Zhuge Liang's six expeditions against Qishan, interspersed with conflicts between Sima Yi and the Cao Wei court.

After Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi exited the story, the plot became condensed and streamlined, featuring just a few iconic scenes before directly concluding with the unification under Jin.

Though titled "The New Three Kingdoms," Wu was essentially a supporting player—appearing only sparingly, limited to key moments like the Battle of Chibi, the Battle of Hefei, Guan Yu's retreat at Mai Cheng, and the Battle of Yiling.

The reason for omitting Wu's storyline was simple: no one cared.

Power struggles and conspiracies were covered by Cao Wei; harmony and romance were handled by Shu Han—who wanted to watch Sun Quan and the Jiangdong aristocrats scheme against each other?

Aside from a few exceptions, most Wu ministers' names and deeds were unknown to viewers; their recognition and appeal were far too low.

Pouring effort into filming them yielded no audience interest; their only function was to pad runtime—and made the plot feel sluggish.

The production team calculated costs and returns, found it too mediocre, and ultimately chose to skip it entirely, replacing it with a few scenes or narration.

This resulted in "The New Three Kingdoms" having a noticeably top-heavy structure.

The early warlord rivalries were lavishly detailed, but after the Three Kingdoms were established, most of the plot relied entirely on Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi—and once they died, the story wrapped up in just a few episodes.

From the perspective of the original novel and history, this adaptation was biased—but from a commercial and popular standpoint, the benefits vastly outweighed the drawbacks.

Throughout "The New Three Kingdoms," Seeing Yan Li's portrayal of Lu Bu had less screen time than the core creators but was still substantial.

During the warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu was one of the central characters.

Though he exited early among the various warlords, he had significant interactions with both Cao Cao and Liu Bei during the early plotlines.

He ambushed Cao Cao's Yan Province, fled Xu Province to seek refuge with Liu Bei, seized Liu Bei's Xu Province, and was ultimately defeated and executed by Cao and Liu at Xiapi.

In a sense, Lu Bu served as the early super elite boss of "The New Three Kingdoms."

Because the scene of eighteen warlords was too large-scale and required extensive preparation, and Diaochan had not yet joined, after Seeing Yan Li arrived on set, they first filmed the scenes of the ambush on Yan Province.

During the ambush on Yan Province, Lu Bu's most frequent scene partners were his subordinates.

Chen Gong, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, Hou Cheng, and Wei Xu.

The actor portraying Chen Gong was Li Naiwen, Xin Baiqing's classmate, who joined the cast through Xin's recommendation.

Originally, he was cast as Guo Tu from Yuan Shao's faction, but since he showed strong chemistry with Yu Hewei, they changed his role to Chen Gong, whose bond with Cao Cao was deeper.

The actor playing Gao Shun was Dong Yong, also known as Jiang Han from "Major Case Unit 6."

This character was not originally in the script—or was meant to be merged with Zhang Liao—but Seeing Yan Li added personal preference and kept him.

After all, Chen Gong had a bond with Cao Cao, Zhang Liao eventually defected, and the rest were all traitors—Lu Bu was still a great hero; at least give him one loyal, unwavering follower.

Thus, the character of Gao Shun was created, with an excellent persona: skilled in leading and training troops, his Zhen Army made Cao's and Liu's forces cry out in agony, stern and upright, utterly loyal.

In comparison, Zhang Liao was overshadowed—though he later had his moment in the Battle of Hefei.

Zhang Liao was portrayed by Ren Tianye, also an old acquaintance of Seeing Yan Li's—he played the male lead in Dong Xuan's "Snow Goddess Dragon."

This guy struggled in ancient romance Wu Xia, but his appearance and aura were heroic and rugged—perfect for portraying Zhang Liao, a general of both wisdom and valor.

The remaining roles of Wei Xu and Hou Cheng were played by two of Seeing Yan Li's classmates, neither famous.

"The New Three Kingdoms" had many named characters, most with little screen time or background roles; using established actors was low-cost efficiency, so they preferred lesser-known but professional actors.

Since this opportunity existed, why not use anyone willing? Seeing Yan Li had Lin Jiachuan contact a circle of people—anyone willing to join got assigned.

Roughly speaking, excluding Lin Jiachuan, Zhou Yi, and the other two, Seeing Yan Li had seven or eight classmates appearing in "The New Three Kingdoms," scattered across Cao, Shu, Wu, and various warlord factions.

Wei Xu and Hou Cheng were traitors who betrayed Lu Bu; though unlikable, they had substantial screen time—Seeing Yan Li gave a nod, and his classmates got the roles.

After Lu Bu's downfall, Chen Gong and Gao Shun both met their ends; Zhang Liao had the most subsequent plotline.

Wei and Hou also had later appearances—they were killed by Yan Liang during the battle against him, setting up Guan Yu.

To be fair, Yan Liang was an ancestor of Yan's family; killing these two traitors was, in a way, avenging Seeing Yan Li.

Besides these five, Lu Bu had several other generals, but too many would make it cluttered, so they were either hidden or used as background.

Only Cao Xing appeared by name and close-up—he shot an arrow at Xiahou Dun, then was immediately beheaded by him.

In the ambush on Yan Province, all these characters appeared, and Chen Gong, Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao each had standout moments.

The plot was roughly this: Chen Gong parted ways with Cao Cao, then later emerged to join Lu Bu after he killed Dong Zhuo.

He held strong resentment toward Cao Cao, viewing him as a treacherous tyrant who would eventually bring ruin to the people; so while Cao Cao attacked Xu Province, he incited Lu Bu to strike at Cao's Yan Province.

Yan Province was lightly defended; Lu Bu advanced smoothly, and though Xun Yu and Xiahou Dun held a few key positions, he still achieved a decisive victory.

Later, Cao's forces returned and clashed fiercely with Lu Bu, suffering another defeat at Puyang—Cao Cao nearly died.

Only after regrouping his troops did he drive back the unstable Lu Bu, forcing him to retreat to Xu Province.

When Seeing Yan Li first arrived, they filmed the dialogue scenes first.

From the initial planning of the attack, through its execution, to the triumph and finally the reluctant retreat, he filmed all the camp-based scenes in one continuous stretch.

In the final edited TV version, the scenes flowed logically—but during filming, Seeing Yan Li acted like a madman.

One moment joyful, the next furious; first confident and ambitious, then overflowing with heroism, finally enraged and desperate.

"Ha! With Gongtai's strategy, I shall seize Yan Province and turn that Cao Mengde into a homeless dog!"

"Gongfu (Gao Shun's courtesy name), you did well—the Zhen Army, working with Wenyuan, shattered Xiahou Dun's forces. This victory is yours."

"Gongtai, don't worry—back at Hulao Pass, eighteen warlords couldn't touch me. That Cao Mengde? Just a former defeated foe. Today, I'll fight him personally and crush his army."

"Thrilling! Today was truly thrilling—that brute (Dian Wei) and that fat man (Xu Chu) had some skill, and that short one (Le Jin) was also a valiant general."

"Damn it! In the dark night and blazing fire, I didn't recognize him—I let Cao Cao escape!"

"... As Gongtai suggests, we'll break camp and head to Xu Province... Cao the bandit, I'll kill you one day!"

"..."

After finishing the dialogue scenes, the action scenes weren't ready yet—Cao's camp was busy planning the campaign against Yuan Shu, so Lu Bu's side could only film some dialogue scenes involving Liu Bei.

In this segment, Seeing Yan Li became even more like a madman.

Sometimes he called Liu Bei "Lord Xuede," sometimes "Worthy Brother Xuede," sometimes "Liu Bei" or "brat Liu Bei," sometimes "Big Ears Thief"—vividly reflecting the love-hate relationship between Lu Bu and Liu Bei.

After two days of filming Lu Bu's internal scenes, they finally got to meet Liu, Guan, and Zhang.

The plot had Lu Bu and Chen Gong arriving to beg Liu Bei, who had just taken control of Xu Province, to take them in.

Liu Bei, portrayed by Xin Baiqing, was gentle and approachable; Hu Jun played Guan Yu with a red face and long beard, speaking coldly and sparingly; Yue Qi portrayed Zhang Fei with a leopard's head, ringed eyes, and unmistakable murderous aura.

Seeing Yan Li's Lu Bu was arrogant and reckless; outwardly he feigned modesty under pressure, but in truth he held Liu, Guan, and Zhang in utter contempt.

Guan and Zhang's aura could frighten others, but not this fierce tiger from Jiuyuan.

Guan Yu was proud; Lu Bu was even more unbridled. Zhang Fei was fierce; Lu Bu was eager to test his mettle.

Normally, Liu Bei held back his two brothers because he feared they'd kill someone; now, holding them back against Lu Bu, his motives were far less clear.

"The New Three Kingdoms" did not conceal Lu Bu's betrayal, lack of strategy, or indecisiveness, but in martial prowess, his prestige was unmatched—he was undeniably the number one warrior of the Three Kingdoms.

Even after their meeting, the film emphasized this through dialogue between Chen Gong and Lu Bu.

"Lord, your words and conduct just now were too reckless. Liu Xuede has a broad heart, but his two sworn brothers are not easygoing. If we wish to stay in Xu Province, trouble is inevitable."

Lu Bu dismissed it: "Gongtai, don't worry. Even if we break things off, I can still protect you and fight our way out of the city."

Chen Gong: "..."

Do you think I'm afraid of THAT?!

He was brainless, yes—but also truly fierce. He dared to boast he could kill his way out of a city guarded by Guan and Zhang. And if not for Chen Gong, Lu Bu might have considered assassinating Liu Bei outright.

…

Originally, Seeing Yan Li felt neither aversion nor particular fondness for the role of Lu Bu.

But as he acted, he began to grow fond of the character—controversial, yet with brilliant qualities.

Seeing Yan Li began digging deeper into Lu Bu, not whitewashing his actions or plot, but incorporating online discussions about Lu Bu to craft a coherent personal logic for him.

Making his villainy slightly more likable.

Lu Bu came from a military background and was famed for his martial strength; his mindset and character leaned toward Hu customs—he understood no rites or laws, cared nothing for faith or morality; if it felt good to him, he'd do it.

So Lu Bu was evil—but evil with righteous conviction, open and unashamed.

Most audiences hated hypocrites and villains who bullied the weak and slaughtered the innocent; true villains, actually, were less despised.

Besides shaping the character, he also had to bond with his steed, Chi Tu.

No matter how busy he was, Seeing Yan Li fed the horse at least once daily, interacted with it, or rode it for a lap—this was his method, ensuring rapid and stable growth in their affection.

Besides feeding it himself, he also had Hu Jun come by occasionally, since after Lu Bu's death, the horse would go to Guan Yu.

In terms of overall filming and screen time, Hu Jun spent far more time with the horse than Seeing Yan Li did.

During filming in Hengdian, media occasionally came for interviews, but Seeing Yan Li declined them all, shutting his door and focusing solely on filming.

It wasn't until late October that Seeing Yan Li made his first public appearance, attending the promotional event for "Painted Skin."

"Painted Skin" was originally scheduled for late September, the National Day slot, but due to special effects technical issues and Seeing Yan Li and the two Bings being busy, it was delayed by a month to late October.

Earlier rumors of Seeing Yan Li's bankruptcy were strongly supported by this delay.

Otherwise, why would he deliberately avoid a pre-set National Day slot? It couldn't just be a technical glitch—it must be that Seeing Yan Li had serious problems, leaving him unable to handle the film, forcing the delay.

This logic made sense; many accepted it. A technical glitch sounded too fake—why not say the writer forgot the plot…?

Besides Seeing Yan Li's own bankruptcy scandal, the one-month delay of "Painted Skin" meant losing the popular National Day slot, significantly affecting the film—internal expectations at Yi'an were lowered.

Seeing Yan Li, however, thought it wasn't so bad; delays had downsides, but not zero benefits.

More preparation time, better groundwork, stronger performance on Weibo, ground promotions, and anti-piracy efforts.

Meanwhile, during this period, Li Bingbing had just won the Hundred Flowers Best Actress award, Fan Xiaopang's "Crimson Rouge" was currently airing, and his own traffic was substantial—all brought positive momentum to the film.

A small slot doesn't mean you can't produce a massive hit.

If pushed to the New Year slot, before the holidays there'd be "Mei Lanfang," "Ip Man," "If You Are the One," and "Peach Blossom Luck"; after, "Red Cliff: Part II" and "Crazy Racer"—intense competition, and even self-cannibalization.

At the first promotional event for "Painted Skin," Seeing Yan Li's attention surpassed that of the two Bings combined.

Every reporter wanted to know: had this 80s business star really gone bankrupt?

Seeing Yan Li sat on the sofa and, facing reporters' questions, shook his head: "If I really owed that much money, why wouldn't I run away? Why come out publicly for an event?"

"My Weibo and Yi'an are running smoothly. The former is about to surpass 60 million users; the latter invested in several new productions in the past two months. I don't know where these rumors come from or what evidence they're based on."

Everyone loves to deify, then eagerly destroys that god.