History is an inexhaustible treasure.

In the thousands of years of ancient Earth civilization history, countless stories worth remaking have emerged.

The ambitions of emperors and generals, the eternal thoughts of sages and great men, as well as the tit-for-tat and lofty ambitions of heroes who took turns to appear on the stage during the succession of dynasties...all are recorded in the annals of history and will be passed down through the ages. Although these cannot escape the official history used as the family tree of emperors and generals, they can never cover up their brilliance.

but--

Are only great men and heroes qualified to leave their names in history and be remembered forever?

Those little people who flashed by in the galaxy of time, bravely charged against the tide of fate, but were quickly swept under the waves and crushed to pieces by the rushing flood, aren’t they worthy of being commemorated?

Although the brilliance of a small person before his death is small, it is enough to illuminate the long night of human civilization for thousands of years. It is precisely because of the thousands of small people who have fought bravely and returned home that the wheel of history has been pushed forward and human civilization has continued to this day.

What Le Jing wants to shoot is the stories of ordinary people.

He will use short plays of about ten minutes each to show the joys and sorrows of small people against the backdrop of great history.

The little people are very small, and some of them have not even left their names in history, but their clarity and courage in going against the tide of history, and the human brilliance that bursts out between life and death, are enough to be remembered by the world.

It’s just that you need to carefully consider which minor characters to choose.

Combining Shi Jing's memories with the information found on the Internet, Le Jing gained a preliminary understanding of the current general background and worldview.

The destruction of the Earth occurred in the year 3123 of the Lunar Calendar. At that time, scientists detected that a giant asteroid meteorite shower would hit the Earth. In addition, the Earth's overall energy resources were close to exhaustion, so the United Nations government decided to abandon the Earth and look for a new home. This was known as the Ark Project.

In the interstellar age, after generations of intermarriage and interbreeding, human beings have almost lost their racial distinctions. The hundreds of countries of all sizes in the ancient Earth period have now merged into more than a dozen countries of all sizes, distributed across six planets. These countries have formed a close Earth Alliance, joined the Cosmic Trade Association as a community of shared destiny for mankind, and conducted business with aliens from various galaxies.

Shi Jing is a Chinese. The entire Peace Star belongs to China, which is the most powerful country in the Earth Alliance. During these six thousand years, a brilliant and colorful civilization was also born there.

Le Jing skipped over these and started focusing on looking up historical data on the ancient Earth that had been passed down to the present day. Facts proved that the situation was not optimistic.

The history of ancient Egypt and Babylon and other ancient civilizations of mankind have been completely lost; only one tenth of the history of European countries such as Britain and France before the Industrial Revolution remains; the history and culture of North American civilization are almost lost; the history of China is relatively complete only in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and there is a large gap in history before the Song Dynasty...

It would be a pity if these excellent and brilliant histories and civilizations disappeared! Future generations should know the glory of their predecessors!

Now Le Jing became more determined to film them.

Out of his own selfish desire as a Chinese, Le Jing wanted to start with Chinese history and film the little people in Chinese history first.

He thought for a long time and recalled a story from Zuo Zhuan.

The story of a powerful minister who murdered the king and a group of stubborn historians.

China is a country that values history, so since ancient times, it has set up special historians to record history and remember the glory, experience and lessons of the predecessors. However, compared with the historical events that have been passed down through the ages under their pen, the faces of the historians are blurred, and many of them are nameless and transparent people.

The group of historians that Le Jing wanted to film only left this short sentence in Zuo Zhuan:

"The Great Historian wrote: 'Cui Zhu murdered his lord.' Cui Zi killed him. His younger brother wrote next and two people died. His younger brother wrote again, so he let it go. When the Southern Historian heard that all the Great Historians were dead, he took the tablets and went there. When he heard that the writing was done, he returned."

In just a few words, the lives of three historians were at stake.

This story is recorded in historical books such as "Zuo Zhuan", "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Records of the Warring States Period". It tells the story that took place in Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period.

The Cui Zhu in "Cui Zhu murdered his lord" is a senior official of Qi State, and the lord refers to Duke Zhuang of Qi. So why did Cui Zhu, a senior official of Qi State, murder his lord?

In modern terms, Duke Zhuang of Qi had been harassing Cui Zhu's wife Tang Jiang because he had cheated on her. Not only did he give Cui Zhu's hat to someone else, but he also sang love songs to her while holding a pillar in front of Cui Zhu, which could be considered blatant sexual harassment.

Faced with the king's rogue behavior, Cui Zhu became so angry that he decided to kill Duke Zhuang and then made Duke Jing, Duke Zhuang's younger brother, the new king of Qi.

However, no matter how big a mistake the monarch made, regicide is ultimately treason, so Cui Zhu said to the historian of Qi: "Just record that Duke Zhuang died of malaria." The historian of Qi did not listen, and carved on the bamboo slips: "On the 19th day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his monarch Guang." Cui Zhu was furious and immediately drew his sword and killed the historian. Then, according to the rules, the historian's younger brother inherited the position of the historian.

Tai Shi of Qi had three younger brothers, but none of the four brothers' names were recorded in history books.

The eldest brother succeeded him as historian and wrote on a bamboo slip: "On the 19th day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his lord Guang." Cui Zhu killed him.

The second younger brother succeeded to the position of historian and wrote on the bamboo slips: "On the 19th day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his lord Guang." Cui Zhu killed him again.

Finally, the youngest brother inherited the position of historian. He wrote on the bamboo slips: "On the 1st day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu murdered his lord Guang."

Cui Zhu was furious: "Your three brothers are all dead, and you alone don't care about your life? If you change your words, I will spare you."

The younger brother replied: "It is the duty of a historian to write truthfully according to the facts. If one fails in his duty, he is worse off dead than alive!"

Cui Zhu was really helpless against these fearless fools, so he could only sigh and console himself: "I have to do this for the sake of the country. Even if you write it down truthfully, the world will certainly understand me."

When the younger brother came out, he happened to meet the Southern Shi family (a general term for historians from the vassal states south of Qi), and he asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Nan Shi replied, "I heard that you brothers were killed by Cui Zhu, and I was worried that the history would be tampered with, so I came here with the bamboo slips."

In this story of just a few words, all the historians are unknown, and only Cui Zhu, who killed three historians, has become famous through the ages.

However, their courage to face death with indifference and their incorruptible character were engraved on the rough bamboo slips, immortal for thousands of years, and established the great reputation and unyielding character of Chinese historians.

They are the true swansong of historians!

Le Jing believes that such character and persistence can still move many people no matter how many years have passed. Moreover, in this interstellar era of ancient civilization fault, the adherence to history embodied by these five historians will surely resonate with the audience.

…

When opening the video production software, Le Jing felt a little sad. Although the current AI movies have greatly simplified the film production process and significantly reduced the cost of movies, for many poor people like the original owner, movies are still a money-burning industry.

The original owner was an orphan, and although he was poor, he still enjoyed the national minimum living allowance, and could get at least 3,000 star coins every month. After deducting the 800 star coins for rent, it was not difficult for an ordinary person to have enough food and clothing. At the very least, he would not be so poor that he couldn't even get enough food to eat.

But, is the original owner an ordinary person?

Not to mention that he owed a large amount of student loans just for attending film school, the video production software he used was not cheap, costing a full 100,000 star coins. In order to buy this software, the original owner could only choose to pay in installments.

As of now, the original owner owes 200,000 star coins. Every month, he has to pay 1,800 star coins for the loan. According to this trend, it will take about 10 years to pay off all the loans. Even so, the original owner should thank the country for providing interest-free loans to poor students. Otherwise, with the interest compounded, he might not be able to pay off the debt in his lifetime.

With such a heavy debt, it’s no wonder that the original owner committed suicide.

With the foundation of the original owner, Le Jing quickly used video production software to produce a ten-minute short film.

Here we have to talk about the high-tech software of the future.

The movie-making software used by the original owner can directly produce corresponding movie images based on brain waves. The voice library contains hundreds of timbre materials of different ages and genders, which can meet all the dubbing needs of a regular movie.

He used a flashing method to start the film, flashing 238 pictures of ancient civilizations in just 100 seconds, including landmark buildings such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, and the Pyramids, as well as inventions such as steam engines, computers, and smart phones. As for the opening and ending songs, he chose two magnificent instruments from a free commercial website, which was quite appropriate.

Everything is ready, except for the title.

Le Jing thought for a long time and wrote a few artistic words in the opening: Little People in the History of Ancient Earth Civilization (The First Episode of the Chinese Chapter)

He breathed a sigh of relief and uploaded the video to the Qijiang Video website.

Qijiang Video is the largest video sharing and browsing website in China. Video producers can freely set the price of videos for sale. Moreover, major film and television companies have dedicated copyright editors who keep an eye on Qijiang. There are many newcomers in the amateur director circle who just posted a video and were spotted by well-known film and television companies and signed a sky-high copyright, becoming an inspirational story of new directors gaining both fame and fortune.

Therefore, some actors, screenwriters and directors who want to enter the entertainment industry but have no way to do so will try their luck by submitting their works to Qijiang.

The original owner had often submitted his works to Qijiang before, but because the style was too literary, there were few responses and he could not sell them for any price.

So Shi Jing has been contributing to Qijiang for two years, but he is just a small vacuum with only more than a hundred fans.

So after thinking for a few seconds, Le Jing decided to set the price at 2 star coins - which is the price of a bottle of water.

After more than 6,000 years of development, China has long achieved common prosperity. You won't suffer a loss or be cheated at such a low price of two star coins.

In order to attract viewers, many video producers will attach a video introduction of 100 to 200 words. Le Jing referred to the popular video introduction format on the website, copied it, and then posted it.

Finally finished, Le Jing turned off the computer and rubbed his sore eyes.

It is already eight o'clock the next morning, and without realizing it, he has been busy all night!

Now that he had come to his senses, he realized that he was so tired that he could not even stand up straight. He had digested the bowl of chicken soup completely, and now his stomach was starting to sing the empty city plan again.

Le Jing sighed, and according to the original owner's memory, he took out the last strawberry-flavored nutritional supplement from the freezer and swallowed it whole. The smell of cheap saccharin immediately filled his mouth, which was nauseating, but his stomach was soon full.

Although this thing doesn’t taste good, it’s cheap and filling.

There is only one week left before the government is due to transfer money to him next month. If the sales of his videos cannot cover his food expenses for a week, he may have to go back to his old job and write historical novels to make money.

He now hopes that when he wakes up, he can earn 20 star coins from his video, which will allow him to stock up on enough nutritional supplements for a week.

As for natural ingredients such as chicken, duck, fish and meat, he could only indulge in them when he had money.

He touched his chin, feeling quite unhappy.

He has traveled to the interstellar age, but is still struggling to make ends meet. It's so miserable.

Le Jing yawned and felt that his most urgent task was to get some sleep first and rest up before doing anything else.

He lay down on the bed and almost fainted as soon as he closed his eyes. He slept very soundly, not knowing at all how violent a storm the short video he shot had caused in a small area.

…

Luo Bao is a senior in high school this year, and is a glorious and arduous college entrance examination candidate. However, he is not a bookworm, and he will watch videos on his laptop from time to time to relax after studying.

That day, he opened Qijiang Video as usual, and the system notified him that the author he followed, Jiushi Fengjing, had submitted a new video.

He started paying attention to Old Scenery a year ago. At that time, he only had dozens of fans. Now, after a year, the number of his fans is only over a hundred.

The reason why Luo Bao was interested in the old scenery was because the comment he left under a video was very much to his liking. When he clicked on his homepage, he found that he was also a video creator and had uploaded more than a dozen videos in his personal space.

Out of curiosity, Luo Bao clicked on a video, and then he understood why "Old Scenery" had only dozens of fans - the obscure plot arrangement, the strange behavioral logic of the characters, the plot that was completely contrary to public order and good morals and destroyed the three views, and finally the tragic ending where the characters were almost completely destroyed. It would be strange if such a video was popular!

Why did he pay attention to the old scenery in the end? Luo Bao couldn't explain it clearly. It was probably because of sympathy, and of course part of the reason was that he wanted to see how weird the videos shot by this person could be.

So when he saw that Jiushi Fengjing had released a new work, Luo Bao clicked on it with a smile. He remembered that the last video this guy submitted was about the forbidden love between a grandmother and a grandson, and there were a lot of naked shots of the elderly, which really made him sick. I wonder what exciting and thrilling plot he has filmed this time?

He clicked on the video casually, and the next moment, a brilliant and exciting epic soundtrack sounded. Luo Bao raised his eyebrows in surprise. This guy finally acted normal for once.

Then Luo Bao no longer had the chance to let his imagination run wild.

He held his breath, dazzled by the rapidly flashing images.

What...what is this?!

Luo Bao's scalp tingled, and he subconsciously paused and carefully studied every picture that flashed on the screen:

Strange sculptures, huge and magnificent buildings that have never been seen before, strange figures with different postures, ancient and backward machines...

For some reason, even though it was only the first time they met, he felt a sense of familiarity as if they had met again after a long separation. His eyes were filled with warmth and he felt an indescribable feeling of being moved.

This is so weird!

Those familiar yet unfamiliar photos were soon finished, and a line of artistic words appeared in the sky above the suddenly black screen: Little People in the History of Ancient Earth Civilization (The First Episode of the Chinese Chapter)

Although Luo Bao is not very knowledgeable about history, he knows the so-called history of ancient Earth civilization, which roughly refers to the history from 4000 BC to 3000 AD when humans still lived on Earth.

Later, during the thousand-year interstellar migration, humans were colonized and ruled by alien civilizations for three hundred years. Those were also the darkest three hundred years in the history of human interstellar civilization.

It was during those three hundred years that human civilization suffered severe destruction, and most of the information about ancient Earth civilization was destroyed by aliens during those three hundred years.

Later, even though the remnants of humanity overthrew the alien colonial rule under the leadership of the rebels, and multiplied and grew stronger in their new home, humanity was ultimately unable to find its lost history.

Over the past thousands of years, the academic community has made reasonable deductions about the missing history of ancient Earth civilization based on the research of the few remaining historical texts. Related film and television works have emerged in an endless stream. "The East is Red" that Luo Bao watched some time ago is a representative work of this type.

"The East is Red" is pretty good, I don't know how this one is filmed. But based on his understanding of the old scenery, he remained pessimistic about it. In his opinion, it was good enough that this guy could tell a story in a complete way.

[The great river flows on, and many famous people were born in obscurity and died in obscurity. Today, let me tell you about them one by one. 】

[A long, long time ago, there was a dynasty called Zhou in China. The king of Zhou was called the Son of Heaven and ruled over more than a hundred small countries. This story is about the history of a country called Qi.] As the powerful bass voice of the narrator sounded, the fog was cleared, revealing an ancient and majestic stone building. Then the scene turned again, and a middle-aged man wearing a strange red robe and a three-pointed mustache appeared in the camera.

[His name is Cui Zhu, and he is a minister of Duke Zhuang of Qi. The story we are telling today is, in the final analysis, a murder caused by a green hat.]

Luo Bao had now completely thrown away his pessimistic thoughts and stared at the computer screen intently, his interest was completely aroused. Of course, he knew about the Zhou Dynasty. It was written in the chronology of history class. He knew that it was one of the earliest dynasties in China. But what kind of country was Zhou? What kind of history and civilization did it create? Even historians don't know these.

He didn't expect that the old scenery would be so boldly based on the Zhou Dynasty, and he didn't know what kind of story would be filmed, but he hoped it would be interesting enough.

It turns out that this strange old scenery is finally reliable this time!

Luo Bao was furious about Duke Zhuang of Qi's sexual harassment of an official's wife. If it were in China, Duke Zhuang of Qi would have been arrested long ago!

So when he knew that Cui Zhu was going to kill Duke Zhuang of Qi, he applauded. In his opinion, this was a real man of iron and blood! But he didn't know how Cui Zhu was going to kill Duke Zhuang of Qi? And Duke Zhuang of Qi was the king after all. Would Cui Zhu be sentenced if he killed him?

Just when he was full of doubts, the video suddenly stopped, and a line of friendly reminder appeared on the black screen: "The free viewing time of this video has ended. If you want to continue watching, please pay 2 star coins."

Luo Bao was so angry that he vomited blood. Isn't it just 2 star coins? Buy, buy, buy! Damn, this old scenery has improved a lot, it really keeps people on edge!

Luo Bao paid readily, feeling that this was the first time he had purchased a work of old landscape so happily.

He continued to read attentively:

Cui Zhu lured Duke Zhuang of Qi to his home and sent assassins to kill him. Luo Bao couldn't help but shout out in pleasure, for it seemed to him that Cui Zhu was a real man with blood!

If the story ended like this, it would just be an ordinary story of justice defeating evil, a bit bloody but still refreshing.

But the subsequent development of the story was beyond Luo Bao's expectations.

[……

The old historian walked into the hall, bowed to Cui Zhu and said, "Your humble servant greets the Prime Minister."

Cui Zhu nonchalantly ordered: "I killed the king, so you should write that he died of malaria."

The historian was silent for a few seconds, then he sat cross-legged and carved a line of words on the bamboo slips: "On the 1st day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu murdered his lord Guang."

Cui Zhu was furious, "Are you really going against me?" He drew his sword and stabbed it towards the historian's heart. The white knife went in and the red knife came out. After a few breaths, the historian was no longer breathing.

Cui Zhu said to his men: "The historian is dead. Send his body to his home and ask his brother to come and record the history!"

The three younger brothers of the deceased historian wept bitterly over their eldest brother’s body at home. After the eldest brother was buried, the second younger brother wiped away his tears, put on his eldest brother’s official robe, and calmly came to visit Cui Zhu. Then, under Cui Zhu’s angry gaze, he carved the same words on the bamboo slips: “On the 1st day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his lord Guang.”

Cui Zhu was furious and immediately killed the new historian.

Then, the third brother buried his second brother's body properly, and went to visit Cui Zhu without looking back, under the sad eyes of his youngest brother. Then, under Cui Zhu's flaming gaze, he calmly carved on the bamboo slips: "On the 1st day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his lord Guang."

Cui Zhu tried to kill him again, but this time, his sword was hesitant and weak, and his face showed more fear and confusion than anger.

The youngest brother calmly welcomed the body of his last brother at home. He did not cry, but put on his official robe, picked up the bamboo slips, followed the messenger who came to summon him, and went to visit Cui Zhu without hesitation.

Under Cui Zhu's threatening gaze, the historian did not look away and firmly carved on the bamboo slips: "On the 1st day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed his lord Guang."

Luo Bao took a deep breath and pressed the pause button with shaking hands. He couldn't bear to watch any more.

He had already thought of the fate of this historian - he would definitely be killed by Cui Zhu!

He rubbed his hot and wet eyes, and deep down in his heart he almost hated Cui Zhu - you know, he liked Cui Zhu very much just now!

What a bunch of historians! They are all fools! Idiots! Stubborn! Blockheads! Anyway, the king’s cause of death is dishonorable, so just listen to Cui Zhu and write that the king died of illness! That way at least you can all survive!

The king is dead anyway, does it matter how he died?

He just felt a sense of depression in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He wiped away his tears, paused for a few minutes, and finally clicked play - he wanted to know why they were so stubborn! He also wanted to know what the final outcome would be.

Cui Zhu had the same question as him. He asked, "I killed your three brothers because they were disobedient. Don't you value your life? If you listen to me, I will spare your life."

Luo Bao shouted desperately in his heart: "Promise him! Promise him quickly! Otherwise you are dead! Three people in your family have died, that's enough, even if you listen to him, no one will blame you!"

[The youngest historian was silent for a while, then raised his head and stared at Cui Zhu's eyes seriously, his eyes were bright as if on fire, "It is our duty as historians to record the history books truthfully. I would rather die than violate my duty and live in disgrace. And even if I don't write it, there will definitely be others in the world who will write about it. Even if you forbid me to write it, your scandal will spread and cause more ridicule, so I will not care about my life. I hope the Prime Minister will consider it carefully."

Obviously the young historian was powerless, but Cui Zhu did not dare to meet his eyes. He avoided his sight and fell into silence for a long time. For the first time, deep fatigue and weakness appeared in his tiger eyes which were majestic without anger. After a while, he sighed, "It was also for the sake of Qi that I had to get rid of the tyrant. Even if people in the world know about this in the future, they will understand my difficulties." He waved his hand and let the young historian go.

The young historian walked out holding the bamboo slips, with his chest held high and his head held high. He happened to meet a middle-aged scholar, who asked in surprise, "Aren't you the historian who records the history of other vassal states south of Qi? Why are you here?"

Nan Shi replied, "I heard that Cui Zhu killed four of you brothers, and I was worried that history would be tampered with, so I hurried here." He lowered his eyes to look at the bamboo slips in the young historian's hand, and asked anxiously, "History has not been tampered with, right?"

The young historian nodded and unfolded the bamboo slips for him to read. Nan Shi looked at it carefully for a while and read softly: "On the yi-hai day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu murdered his lord Guang." He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, and then left with satisfaction. 】

The picture freezes, blurs and darkens, and the narration sounds again: [How many stories of little people will be drowned by the coming tide of the times? However, it is the brilliance of these little people in the choice between life and death that illuminates the long dark night of mankind and pushes human civilization forward with difficulty. They are the spears of the times, destined to be enemies of fate. ]

It is hard to imagine how shocked Luo Bao was at this moment.

It was also hard for him to imagine that there would be people who would bravely fight and die without fear of death, and remain calm even when faced with swords and knives, just to preserve the true history and the bottom line of being a historian.

"So stupid!" He choked and muttered to himself, "How could there be such people? Really..." He wanted to call these people stupid, dumb, and wood-headed, but after facing their bravery and perseverance, he couldn't say a bad word.

In the end, he had to admit that they were truly amazing, dazzling and brilliant in a way that his poor language could not describe!

Although this short play is short, it tells a wonderful story with ups and downs!

There are no pure good guys or bad guys in this story. Everyone sticks to his own position and everyone has his own beliefs. That is why when they collide with each other, the bright sparks that burst out are particularly shocking!

He couldn't help but start to imagine, during the three hundred years of alien colonization, were there many people like the historian in "Little People" who used their lives to protect the true history? Although they had no names, they used their bodies to build a bridge, allowing human history to pass through the blood mist and haze of three hundred years and be passed on to future generations.

Just thinking about it, Luo Bao couldn't control his tears, which burst out, and his eyes were sore and painful from crying.

Luo Bao thought, how long has it been since he last read such an excellent story? He had previously thought that this was another crudely made story that took advantage of the blank history of ancient times, but he didn't expect the content to be so exciting!

He dared to say that this short play of just over ten minutes was ten blocks ahead of 99% of the historical dramas on the market! Those historical dramas were fabricated and ridiculous, and each episode was long and boring. They were not as short and sharp as "Little People", but they were full of twists and turns. He was still not satisfied after watching it, and wished he could watch another ten or eight episodes.

Wait! He remembered that the previous title said the first episode, which means this will be a series! The old scenery will continue to be updated!

So when is the next update?

He opened the message area and found that there were already four or five more comments, all of which praised the wonderful plot and asked when the second episode of Old Scenery would be updated.

Luo Bao took a deep breath and pondered the message, saying: "Mr. Fengjing, 'Little Man' is so good to watch. Don't worry if you laugh at me, I cried several times while watching it! Excuse me, when will the next episode be updated? I can't wait! P.S. Two star coins are too cheap! Your work is worth 1,000 star coins!" After sending the message, Luo Bao readily rewarded Old Fengjing with 1,000 star coins to encourage his creation.

After paying the money, Luo Bao felt an unbearable emptiness. After watching such an excellent story, previous TV dramas and movies became even less appealing to him.

He sighed, thinking that he couldn't be so empty alone. So he happily sent the link of the video to the class group, Penguin Space, Moments and Xingbo, and attached enthusiastic and exaggerated rainbow farts.

After doing all this, he let out a sigh of relief and happily decided to watch "Little Man" again.

Alas, while waiting for the second episode, he could only rewatch the first episode over and over again.