Li Ye ultimately did not become "Master Shuo," smashing apart the shackles of the industry on the spot through his own strength and winning the groundbreaking precedent of print-run royalties for the vast ranks of writers.
But after several rounds of tug-of-war with Blue Sea Publishing House, he finally pried open a crack in the contract and added an extra clause that seemed impossible to fulfill.
Once the print run of this novel exceeded five hundred thousand copies, the author would be paid print-run royalties according to the relevant regulations, at a base royalty rate of 5% per ten thousand copies.
A print run of five hundred thousand copies was nothing much in the era decades later, but in the early 1980s, for a new writer, it was practically an astronomical figure.
Jin Gu Qi Chuan, founded in 1981, had sold more than 2.7 million copies over five years, ranking first among literary periodicals.
But it was a magazine. Calculated per issue, its circulation was still under one hundred thousand copies, and that high sales volume had only come after years of reputation steadily fermenting.
Back then, many novels had print runs of only several thousand copies per edition. Those reaching ten thousand were already in the minority.
As for phenomena like Fortress Besieged selling over a million copies in the ten years after its reprint, no one believed that had anything to do with Li Ye.
Who was the author of Fortress Besieged? And who were you, Li Ye?
Li Ye was merely a newcomer. No matter how good the content of "Infiltration" was, could it compare to a classic like Fortress Besieged? Wanting to break five hundred thousand copies in sales was no different from an idiot dreaming in broad daylight.
Of course, Blue Sea Publishing House had also done the math. A novel was priced at nearly two yuan.
Even if Li Ye somehow defied heaven and became a massive hit, breaking five hundred thousand copies in sales, their earnings would still reach six or seven hundred thousand yuan.
Then, even if other publishers accused Blue Sea of breaking the rules, Blue Sea would have an irrefutable response—if you want to criticize me, print five hundred thousand copies first.
Mm, that was exactly what Dong Yuejin told Geng Zhi of Dahe Publishing House.
Geng Zhi had followed the entire process of Dong Yuejin's tug-of-war with Li Ye, constantly trying to swoop in and steal the deal halfway through.
But unfortunately, he lacked Dong Yuejin's courage, and Dahe Publishing House behind him lacked Blue Sea Publishing House's boldness. In the end, not only did he fail to move Li Ye, he instead provoked Dong Yuejin into digging in his heels and signing an unprecedented contract in a "moment of impulse."
So when Li Ye went to the station to see Dong Yuejin off, the latter tightly gripped Li Ye's hand and said, "Student Li Ye, we're grasshoppers tied to the same string now. If you become famous, I'll definitely benefit from it. If you... sigh."
Li Ye felt a little embarrassed too. Honestly, Dong Yuejin was not a bad person. He was the sort worth befriending.
So Li Ye said, "If this one doesn't catch on, I'll write you another one. Friendship price."
"Write another one?"
Dong Yuejin was instantly interested. "Do you have an idea already? What genre?"
I've got plenty of ideas.
Li Ye thought for a moment, then asked Dong Yuejin, "What kind of novel do you want? Historical, romance, science fiction... I can do them all."
"..."
Dong Yuejin did not know how to respond. If he had not become familiar with Li Ye's "arrogance" these past few days, he would have spat in his face right there.
What did he mean, what kind of novel did they want? Historical, romance, science fiction? Did he think he was a chameleon? Shake his head around a little and he could change skins?
But Dong Yuejin ultimately said, "Wuxia is pretty popular right now. Can you write that?"
Li Ye pursed his lips and said with difficulty, "Wuxia... I'm really not good at it."
Dong Yuejin blinked rapidly, wearing an expression that said, "Serves you right for bragging. I've exposed you now, haven't I?"
Li Ye truly was not good at wuxia, because by the time he had swept through bestseller lists in preparation for writing web novels in his previous life, wuxia had already declined.
The times were advancing, and readers' tastes were advancing too.
It was fine if Yang Guo repeated the posturing Guo Jing had already done, but if Xiao Yan started using the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms too, would that level of martial power still be impressive? It had to be world-shattering!
The development of popular fiction was a drama of new waves crashing over old ones. No matter how classic the works of famous masters were, there would come a time when readers grew numb and weary of them.
"There's still some time before the train leaves. Let's talk about history!"
Dong Yuejin still gave Li Ye some face and changed the subject.
"I've read some wuxia stories from Hong Kong, and they all had some connection to history. The authors used historical settings to promote feelings for the country and its people.
"I once read a line: 'The greatest heroes serve their country and their people.' It really moved me."
Li Ye: This wasn't the right time to talk about A Step into the Past!
As he listened to Dong Yuejin speak eloquently, Li Ye considered suitable works and finally chose a rather meaningful novel—"Shuo Feng Fei Yang."
"As for history, I have an idea for the moment." Li Ye asked Dong Yuejin, "Editor Dong, do you know about the Battle of Talas?"
"The Battle of Talas?"
Dong Yuejin searched his memory carefully, then slowly shook his head.
Li Ye patiently explained, "The Battle of Talas was an encounter in the year 751, when the Tang Empire and the Arab Empire, both at the height of their power, clashed during their respective expansions. It was a large-scale collision between the two great empires of East and West at that time."
The story of "Shuo Feng Fei Yang" was not actually complicated. It was about the descendant of a loser in the Xuanwu Gate Incident being driven into exile west of the Pamirs, then taking part in the famous Battle of Talas.
If it merely depicted war, Li Ye did not particularly recommend the novel.
But after the Tang forces withdrew from the Western Regions, the male protagonist still led the remnants of the Tang army in fighting on, keeping the Tang banner flying for decades amid the encircled lands of the Western Regions.
The story of the lone Tang army in the Western Regions was a bitter elegy, but it was also an epic that the descendants of the Tang people deserved to remember forever.
Yet after hearing Li Ye's account, Dong Yuejin was not particularly moved.
He asked Li Ye, "If you wrote a novel along these lines... what would you be trying to express?"
Li Ye extended a finger and solemnly pointed at the ground beneath their feet.
"I want to do my part to let more people understand how powerful this land once was."
"..."
Dong Yuejin suddenly froze, as though something had flashed through his mind.
Li Ye asked, "Editor Dong, have you used imported goods? Are they good?"
Dong Yuejin nodded. "I have. They're good."
Li Ye asked again, "Editor Dong, do you know about the craze for going abroad?"
Dong Yuejin nodded again. "I do. Right now, a place to study abroad can make husband and wife turn against each other, make brothers become enemies."
Li Ye asked again, "Then, Editor Dong, do you think the West is better, or is our land better?"
"..."
Dong Yuejin said nothing.
Li Ye asked once more, "Then, Editor Dong, do you think that as our contact with the outside world increases, the people's confidence in this land of ours will rise or fall?"
"This..."
Dong Yuejin did not know how to answer.
Because of its status as a port city, the island city where he lived had far more contact with the outside world than the inland regions.
Now, almost everyone who had seen the West unanimously believed it was better, and judging by the trend, that belief would only grow stronger in the future.
Even Dong Yuejin himself believed that the West, at this moment, was superior to his own side in every respect.
For now, people still kept such thoughts hidden away, tucked under wraps, but it was foreseeable that before long, they would sweep openly and grandly across the land.
"Li Ye, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Li Ye lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Over the next period of time, we may suffer a fierce ideological impact.
"Many people will despise the land beneath our feet, scorn our ancestors and the glory they once possessed, and believe that this nation which has nourished us for thousands of years is backward and worthless in every way."
What Li Ye said was true.
In his previous life, the phenomenon of worshipping foreign things and fawning over foreigners had lasted for a long time.
But decades later, when the two strongest powers on this planet began to square off once again, Li Ye and the others suddenly realized that this Land of the Dragon was still so great, so powerful.
It could be said that his foresight and experiences gave Li Ye an entirely different perspective from the people of this era.
Li Ye raised his head to look at Dong Yuejin and said with a faint smile, "Actually, my original purpose in writing novels was to make money, but while making money, I still want to make a tiny meaningful contribution.
"Our nation has stood at the pinnacle of the world throughout thousands of years, with its strength reaching ten thousand li in every direction. Its current silence and decline are only temporary."
"I believe an outstanding author has the responsibility and obligation to promote our nation's history and culture, and let readers know how powerful we once were.
"To let readers feel proud and honored to be descendants of the dragon, instead of feeling... disgusted and pathetic."
These were Li Ye's heartfelt thoughts.
No matter how absurd or bizarre web novels of later generations might be, most of them held firm to one belief—we are powerful, we are damn amazing, and we have great hope.
Certainly, life had all kinds of hardships, but rather than clutching at those little hardships and wallowing in self-pity, why not race madly toward something better?
Everyone knew they were not Long Aotian, but no one wanted to live as Xu Fugui either.
Looking at the bewildered Dong Yuejin, Li Ye, who had once written novels totaling over a million words, suddenly felt that his vocabulary was so impoverished that he could not clearly convey the belief in his heart to the other man.
But Dong Yuejin felt Li Ye's emotions and found a clear resonance in his own thoughts.
Cultured people were easily moved by emotion.
He grabbed Li Ye's hand and dragged him toward the station exit.
"Hey, hey, Editor Dong, where are you going? The train's about to leave."
"I'm not leaving. I need to talk with you for three days and three nights."
"..."
Dong Yuejin really did talk with Li Ye for three days and three nights, to the point that Li Ye became a little afraid—I'm not going to create some kind of XX warrior, am I?
Before you continue