The literary era since 1979

Chapter 82 Let the bullets fly for a while
Since Shen Yanbing's review came out, the public opinion situation regarding "The Great Qin Splitting" has undergone a fundamental reversal.

It is no longer one-sided questioning, criticism and denial.

Readers across the country are paying close attention to Lu, Guo, Mao, Ba and Cao. It is already rare to have a literary giant take the initiative to comment on it, let alone give such positive support.

But I never expected that this was just the beginning.

Shen Yanbing's comments were like a charge. Editors-in-chief and deputy editors-in-chief of mainstream journals such as "Yenching Literature" and "October" such as Wang Meng and Su Yu all came out to support him, and the momentum was growing.

"Impossible, how could it be possible?"

He Xin stared at the Literary Gazette with his eyes wide open, unable to believe that everything on it was true.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fangyan carrying a basket of letters, leisurely returning to the office as if nothing had happened.

"Yanzi, congratulations. I never thought that Mr. Mao would personally review your novel and give it such a high evaluation."

"You are too kind, old man."

Fang Yan shook his head and laughed: "How can "The Splitting of the Great Qin" be compared with "History" or "Zizhi Tongjian"? "

"Is he an old man?"

He Xin was shocked, "Yanzi, do you know Mr. Mao?"

Fang Yan and Zhang Zhonge looked at each other, and Zhang Zhonge replied, "Teacher He, please stop guessing. Mr. Mao likes to support young people. It is normal for an excellent novel like Yan Zi, which combines reform literature and historical literature, to be commented on."

"makes sense."

He Xin's tense face slowly relaxed.

"That's right. I said, there's no need to worry about Yanzi's manuscript. Why worry? In the end, you'll only be worrying yourself."

Tian Zengxiang touched the newly purchased Hetian jade seed material.

"Yeah, I've been so anxious lately that I'm a little angry."

Seeing He Xin’s face darken, Fang Yan tried to smooth things over.

Then he changed the topic to jade and opened the envelope while chatting. The content was very different from the previous one which was almost entirely criticism.

There have been several letters of support here and there.

Also among this pile, I found letters of encouragement from Wang Anyi, Tie Ning, Jiang Zilong and others, especially Jiang Zilong.

I give a big thumbs up to the big fuss caused by dialects.

After all, when I was writing "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office", I was at most bombarded by Tianjin newspapers and periodicals, but the scale of "The Fission of the Great Qin" was much larger, leaping from the literary and art circles to the historical, legal, and theoretical circles, sweeping the entire country.

Even the entire newspaper industry was mobilized.

For example, the Tianjin Daily published full pages of comments every day, with the most taking up 18 pages at one time.

In the envelope, Jiang Zilong also thoughtfully enclosed a bunch of Tianjin newspapers, among which were his own comments cheering for him.

"The whole novel of The Great Qin Splitting is good. It is a fragrant flower no matter how you look at it. Even if you say it has flaws, it is still a fragrant flower with flaws."

Fangyan couldn't help but feel gratified, he is worthy of being my Purple Dragon!

"Why are there so many Tianjin newspapers?"

Tian Zengxiang blinked.

He Xin was very surprised by the explanation in dialect: "Yan Zini has such a good relationship with Jiang Zilong and the literary world of Tianjin?"

"Zilong and I are classmates and roommates."

"Really!"

"He was the main reason why I was able to write The Great Qin Splitting."

The dialect simply explains the whole story.

He Xin's heart skipped a beat when he heard Tian Zengxiang say, "Then hurry up. Taking advantage of the opportunity of "The Fission of the Great Qin" to set off a new high tide of reform literature, can we ask Jiang Zilong to write a novel about reform for our "October"?"

"I've already asked."

Fangyan shook his head and said that Jiang Zilong currently had no creative inspiration.

"I don't think we need to rush this matter. We can wait until Yanzi completes his commissioned work plan in northern Shaanxi."

He Xin let out a sigh of relief.

Fang Yan smiled but said nothing. Tian Zengxiang leaned over and whispered in his ear, "He was gloating a few days ago, thinking that you would lose the qualification to compete with him for the deputy team leader because of the controversy over "The Great Qin Fission". He didn't expect the situation to turn out like this." "Actually, I'm really not interested in this deputy team leader."

"No way, you are so young, don't you want to make progress?"

"Of course I want to improve, but I'm more interested in..."

Fangyan held a remittance slip with a smile.

It says 5873 yuan on it, the first payment of royalties has arrived!

………………

Throughout February, the comments on "The Great Qin Splitting" reached a fever pitch. The topics in various newspapers and magazines extended from the novel itself to reforms. Periodicals such as "Outlook" also joined the debate.

Thanks to this, the sales of People's Literature exceeded one million copies.

In the magazine, Zhang Guangnian was discussing with Liu Jianqing and others how to play the second part of "The Great Qin Splitting" well.

At this moment, the secretary suddenly came over to report that Minister Huang Baizhi from the Culture Department would be coming to Renwen Press with Hu Muqiao soon.

Zhang Guangnian couldn't help but be surprised and went out to greet him.

"Rare guests, rare guests, why are you all here?"

"Isn't it just to see your old friend? I heard that you are planning to step down and resign as the editor-in-chief of People's Literature?"

Hu Muqiao shook hands with him tightly.

Zhang Guangnian said bluntly that he was old and in poor health. The Writers Association already had a lot of things to do, and serving as the editor-in-chief of "People's Literature" was not a long-term solution, so he planned to step down.

"Do you have any recommendations?"

Hu Muqiao and Huang Baizhi looked at each other.

Zhang Guangnian mentioned two well-considered candidates.

"Liu Boyu" and "Wang Meng" are recommended as candidates.

"I'll take your message back."

Hu Muqiao nodded, "But before that, I'll have to trouble Brother Guangnian to take more care and effort."

Huang Baizhi laughed and said, "What a pity. Under the editorship of Comrade Guangnian, People's Literature has been thriving and its achievements are obvious to all. In particular, the recent publication of The Great Qin Splitting has caused a huge response across the country and even alarmed the senior leaders."

"Are you two here to get spanked today?"

Zhang Guangnian looked calm and even made a joke.

"The great man said that Qin Shi Huang was a good emperor. We should combine Ma Kesi with Qin Shi Huang. The same attitude should be adopted towards the Qin State Reform and Shang Yang's Reform."

Hu Muqiao lowered his voice and said that this was what that person said.

Zhang Guangnian was inevitably surprised: "Even that person knows about "The Great Qin Splitting"?"

"Yes, and he also said that he had proposed a 'horse theory' similar to the white horse and black horse, but it was not a horse, but a cat."

Huang Baizhi relayed the evaluation, and it can be summed up in one sentence: This little doll is well written! This novel is very well written!
Zhang Guangnian heaved a sigh of relief: "Haha, a good teacher produces good students. This dialect is actually a disciple of Mr. Mao."

"So you are Mr. Mao's disciple. No wonder you can write such good articles." Huang Baizhi secretly asked whether the second part of "The Great Qin Splitting" was already in the editorial department.

Zhang Guangnian instantly understood the purpose of their visit. It turned out that they were not here to criticize, but someone wanted to see the next part.

"Brother Guangnian, your judgment is too accurate. It's right before the reform is implemented. It keeps me awake at night!"

Hu Muqiao laughed and said, "After reading the first part, I wanted to read the second part right away, but I have to wait for more than a month."

"understood."

Zhang Guangnian agreed and immediately asked people to start printing.

"Comrade Guangnian, can you print a few more copies?"

Huang Baizhi said bluntly that many of his comrades and friends were trying every means to find out the news from below.

"Then you have to be honest with me. What is the attitude of the higher-ups towards "The Great Qin Splitting"?"

Zhang Guangnian looked serious.

Hu Muqiao smiled and said, "When this book hits the market, it may spark a discussion about reform just like the truth standard in the past few years. What we need to do now is to wait and see. But don't worry, it will not harm Fang Yan."

(End of this chapter)