The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Worth a Try

On the day of the screening, the place was packed.

Everyone in the village, men and women, young and old, had turned out. Those who arrived late couldn’t find a spot and had to stand on their tiptoes at the very back to watch. People were perched everywhere—in trees, on top of firewood stacks.

The screening location itself was quite informal.

Usually, they would just pick an open space, tie the movie "screen"—a sheet of cloth—between two trees or hang it on a wall. As soon as it got dark, they’d turn on the light, and just like that, the show would begin.

No matter how rowdy the crowd was, the moment the movie started, it would fall completely silent.

Every member of the audience held their breath, craning their necks as they stared, hungry for the bizarre and fantastic world they had never seen before.

Later, as the standard of living in the countryside improved, every household got a television and broadband internet, and open-air movies became a thing of the past.

Ji Huan had only ever seen one as a small child. She couldn’t remember what the movie was, but she never forgot the lively atmosphere.

This era was even more materially deprived than her childhood. People had no entertainment, and spiritual nourishment was even scarcer.

If there was a way to present them with the excitement they craved, it could very well cause a sensation, drawing everyone out of their homes.

Of course, Ji Huan wasn’t planning on running a mobile cinema; she wasn’t that fanciful.

Putting aside things like a screen, a projector, and speakers, they didn’t even have the most basic necessity: electricity. She certainly didn’t have the ability to generate her own power.

Putting up notices was necessary, but relying on notices alone probably wouldn’t be as effective as they hoped.

For one, most of the villagers were illiterate. Even if someone read the notices to them, in this freezing weather, they would still have to be willing to leave their homes.

Unless they could persuade the village chief to intervene and make it mandatory, it was highly likely to be met with a cold reception if it wasn’t appealing enough.

So she was thinking: what could substitute for a movie but still achieve the same promotional effect?

Ji Huan avoided words like "mobile cinema" and just explained the general idea. Everyone in the room fell into deep thought.

"What about hiring a theater troupe...?"

Someone suggested tentatively, but the idea was immediately shot down.

"There aren’t any theater troupes in our town. We’d have to go to the county seat to hire one, and we can’t afford the cost..."

"Besides, with the wind blowing like it is, who would be willing to suffer a trip to the countryside...?"

In truth, a theater troupe was the closest form of propaganda to a movie.

But the plays of this era were mostly about scholars and beauties, which didn’t suit their theme. Unless they wrote a new script from scratch—which would take a lot of time just to stage—there was still the roadblock of money.

Most of the people present had never seen the world outside the Northern Pass. In their eyes, a theater troupe was already the most captivating thing imaginable.

With even that option off the table, they were at a loss.

Song Jing mused, "Perhaps we could try storytelling."

"What kind of storytelling?"

"What stories would we tell?"

In an instant, everyone’s gaze fell upon him.

But Song Jing looked at Ji Huan.

Ji Huan was a little embarrassed. ’Don’t tell me he’s going to suggest *Robinson Crusoe*...’ she thought.

Song Jing seemed to read her mind and shook his head with a light chuckle.

"I have an idea," Li Guanchun suddenly said. "We could tell stories about the battles General Kou has fought over the years!"

This was exactly what Song Jing had been thinking.

"The reason the common people are so anxious is simply that they don’t know much about the current military commander. As long as we let them know that the one defending the Northern Pass is Kou Changqing, a man who has fought a hundred battles and never known defeat, we can give them the confidence that we will win this war. Then they won’t be so easily swayed by a few words."

Kou Changqing had only been transferred to the Northern Pass for a little over half a year. The moment he arrived, he struck with unstoppable momentum, pushing back the rampant Beiliang Army again and again.

Just as the people were excitedly looking forward to more victories, he suddenly went quiet.

Communication was poor in ancient times. Kou Changqing, a household name in Liaodong, lost his halo of fame when he came to the Northern Pass.

Although some legends about him had trickled over, their expectations had turned to disappointment, and gradually, no one was willing to believe them anymore.

The students present only knew about him through their teacher’s lectures in class. However, what they heard weren’t empty legends, but solid, tangible military achievements.

Lu Yu grew excited. "Mr. Wei respects General Kou the most. He tells everyone he meets about all of his campaigns, big or small. He’s repeated them so many times my ears are about to fall off, but now it seems I really have to thank Mr. Wei!"

The proposal received unanimous agreement.

Song Jing looked at Ji Huan, asking for her opinion. "What do you think?"

Ji Huan, naturally, had no objections.

Her maternal grandfather had loved listening to storytelling, things like *Chu and Han Struggle for Dominance*, *Ming Heroes*, *Sui and Tang Dynasties*, and *Yue Fei’s Biography*. He was absolutely mesmerized, carrying his small radio everywhere he went. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d forget to eat or sleep, and her grandmother often scolded him for it.

It was proof that these kinds of heroic legends were deeply loved by the common people and always had a market.

Moreover, just like how a few commercials are often shown before a movie, they could use the breaks in the storytelling to instill the "hard facts" they wanted to convey to the villagers. In fact, the stories themselves could achieve a subtle, pervasive propaganda effect.

Perhaps it could not only put the people at ease but also inspire their sense of patriotism?

Even if they couldn’t immediately grasp the principle that "if the skin is gone, what can the hair attach to," they should at least have the courage to defend their homes and resist foreign invaders when a real crisis hit.

This might sound a bit exaggerated, but for uneducated common folk, the educational power and influence of "stories" should not be underestimated.

Most importantly, it was highly feasible. Everyone present could participate personally.

"I think it’s worth a try. But are you all planning to just go for it, or...?"

Lu Yu cut in, "Don’t worry, I can tell these stories with my eyes closed!"

"That’s not what I’m worried about. I was thinking... it would be better if you screened the stories beforehand and prepared a proper script."

If you want to captivate people, you need to have dramatic highs and lows, twists and turns. It would be best if it had both a strong narrative and an entertaining quality. And since time is limited, you’ll need to control the level of detail.

Li Guanchun was the first to agree. "I’m not good at this. I’ll leave it to you, Brother Song."

Song Jing didn’t refuse. After paper and a brush were brought to him, he pondered for a moment before his brush began to fly across the page.

Ji Huan stood to the side grinding the ink, her gaze following the tip of his brush.

"...At the start of his command, he led fifty thousand men in the Fajie campaign against an enemy force of ninety thousand. He later broke through the enemy city’s defenses and captured over thirty thousand prisoners..."

"In the Battle of Huye, with a force of fewer than seventy thousand, he faced the King of Dongyue’s army of one hundred fifty thousand. The King of Dongyue suffered a crushing defeat, with nearly one hundred thousand casualties..."

"During the Southern Chu crisis, the Emperor dispatched him as reinforcement. While all the other armies cowered behind their ramparts, Kou Changqing alone led a fierce assault, shattering the main force of the Chu Army in a single blow and turning the tide of the entire war..."

"...In the Battle of Yin Hill, the total forces deployed by both sides reached a million, yet Kou Changqing achieved final victory with only three hundred and seventy thousand men. The battle lasted for forty-eight days. Its duration, scale, number of troops involved, and the intensity of the fighting were all unprecedented... It was this victory that completely cemented Kou Changqing’s position in Liaodong..."

In addition, there were the Battle of Jinchuan, the Battle of the Ying River, the Battle of Pengyang, the Battle of Yishan, and so on.

The more Ji Huan read, the more shocked and amazed she became.

Could a mere mortal of flesh and blood really accomplish all this?

And to make the stories more persuasive, Song Jing had only selected battles where Kou Changqing had won against overwhelming odds, and he wasn’t even finished picking them...

With such a record, it was no wonder he was so revered by the world.

Even she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity. After all, she had never seen a living hero in her entire life.

’If I had known, I would have snuck a peek when I went to the military camp to sell hand cream.’

’I wonder if Zhen Jili, facing such a great and righteous figure all day, ever feels so inadequate that he can’t even breathe...’

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