Chapter 72

In fact, Fugita Miki and Liu Xin's operations were known to Shen Zhenghui. He was just exaggerating his surprise. Otherwise, why would "Puhai Fortress" be postponed in Japan, if not to capitalize on this treaty? Fugita Miki was already familiar with Shen Zhenghui's style. Shen Zhenghui was surprised that Fugita Miki and Liu Xin had accomplished everything on their own. In reality, Shen Zhenghui had overestimated Fugita Miki and Liu Xin. The animated series had quite a following.

As soon as the animation was completed, Ma Zhen, following Shen Zhenghui's instructions, sent a copy of the VCD version to Teacher Song. This version then circulated through the network and entered the Air Force, where it was duplicated countless times. The duplicated version eventually reached the desk of the core leadership. The core leadership watched the sci-fi war film disguised as a romance with great interest and was quite satisfied with the appearance of our military aircraft in the animation. They then instructed the propaganda department to consider the distribution and release of the film.

However, as the core leadership themselves said, the propaganda department is often very stupid. The fifth-generation core leadership had repeatedly criticized their stupidity. The review of this film made many people very nervous, and the propaganda department found many reasons to argue that it was an inappropriate film, not in line with the core socialist values. They pointed out that such an important city as Puhai had fallen, and our brave and fearless PLA had suffered a defeat, being completely overwhelmed by the aliens. In the end, it relied on friendly aliens from billions of light-years away to defeat the evil aliens, which was a ridiculous story. The most ridiculous part was that a college student who had just joined the military invented a way to save the Earth without the friendly aliens' attack also destroying the Earth, which was completely illogical.

The propaganda department's stubborn stupidity left the core leadership helpless. The military was also divided into two camps. One camp thought it was a ridiculous story, useful only for the new recruits' propaganda material. The other camp saw it as a promotional film with a sense of crisis, a breakthrough in strategic propaganda, beneficial to the PLA's image. However, because of this opinion, more and more opposition voices emerged, arguing that the film was not conducive to our peaceful development strategy. As a result, the original animators were sidelined, and no one asked about their original creative intentions.

If Shen Zhenghui knew that such a discussion had taken place at the highest levels of the state, he would probably go crazy. These debates were far beyond what he could have anticipated. Something that should have been insignificant triggered such an internal debate, which was truly dramatic. In the end, the Japanese broadcast the film before the Chinese, putting the Chinese in a difficult position. After all, the treaty had just been signed, and this animated series was considered part of China's cultural exports. Although "Puhai Fortress" was preceded by "Tokyo Fortress," at least nominally, "Puhai Fortress" was a product of a Chinese company. The destruction of Tokyo was a result of the Japanese self-torture spirit, and compared to the idea of sinking the entire Japanese archipelago, "Tokyo Fortress" was not impressive.

Thus, the core leadership educated everyone to be more confident, and "Puhai Fortress" passed the political review. However, airing on CCTV was out of the question; the propaganda department would never surrender easily. The Pudong TV station in Shanghai bought the broadcasting rights at a reasonable price, and only then did many people realize that the film was actually a domestic production, with both Chinese and Japanese versions.

Shen Zhenghui was always ready to suspect officials of the worst intentions, but compared to the officials' integrity, the so-called "system" issue was even more problematic. Power and responsibility were intertwined, and often everyone just grabbed power without wanting to shoulder responsibility. As a result, the ball was kicked back and forth, and problems were not resolved. Many issues in China ultimately required a high-level leadership decision, and if the high-level leadership was not competent, the orders often did not go beyond a certain sea.

Shen Zhenghui did not know that his work had triggered a storm within the system, so he did not treat the release of the animated film as a significant event. On the other hand, since the animated film could be released, why not the movie? The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television had no choice but to agree to the film's release, as it had already been distributed within the Air Force and in Japan.

"Can we try to make it bigger this time, with simultaneous releases in China and Japan?" Shen Zhenghui asked Fugita Miki.

"We need to communicate with China Film. But it shouldn't be a problem. We can finalize the release date for China, and the TV version can serve as a prelude." Fugita Miki said.

"I hope so!" Shen Zhenghui sighed.

Things were not calm. Not long after, Shen Zhenghui received a call from Wang Anping. "Your company is releasing another animated film?"

"You knew about it?" Shen Zhenghui asked in surprise.

"Is that strange?" Wang Anping asked impatiently. "Am I not still a shareholder in your company? I did help get this film released."

"Thank you for that!" Shen Zhenghui said with a wry smile.

"There has been pressure from within the country to prevent the film from being released. Now that it is being released, they have other ideas."

"Oh? What are they?"

Wang Anping ignored Shen Zhenghui's surprise and continued, "Look, do you need to protect your animation company in Pengcheng? In my opinion, sell it to them and take them down a notch." Wang Anping's tone was very calm. "Otherwise, they have strong connections in the propaganda department, and you will face difficulties in the future."

"If you take them down, won't they just give you more trouble in the future?"

"That's true. Either way, you'll face trouble, so you might as well take them down."

Shen Zhenghui pressed his temples. "Alright, I understand."

"You're always abroad, but you need to handle domestic affairs!" Wang Anping seemed very dissatisfied on the phone. "I warn you, they are watching you closely."

"Alright, I understand." Shen Zhenghui felt a headache and, after hanging up, thought for a long time before calling Liu Xin to come over.

...

"What do you mean? The original animation company is being acquired? Are you selling it?"

"Of course, it's not a must to sell, but we need to be prepared. We should try to move useful people to the company in Yuhang. The asset transfer is complicated, so you should go back and check it out." Shen Zhenghui said, pursing his lips. "After all, you are the major shareholder."

"Why me? Can't you handle it yourself?" Liu Xin was somewhat dissatisfied. "I don't understand these things."

"Go back and talk to your father and Wang Anping; they will help you." Shen Zhenghui continued.

"Can't we just not sell it?" Liu Xin hesitated. "Why do we have to compromise?"

"This isn't a compromise. Look, the people trained in Japan will return to Yuhang, and we will move our talent out, leaving an empty shell for them to buy."

"What if they don't buy it?"

"Someone will take it over, and we need money for development. It's not bad to cash out."

Liu Xin pouted. "The company still has the copyright to 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf'!"

"If you take that away, it would be obvious that we are trying to scam money." Shen Zhenghui smiled. "We need to leave them something. Besides, you don't like that animation, do you?"

"Who said that?" Liu Xin said angrily. "That was our company's first animated film."

"Alright, alright. By the way, go talk to Li Hong and Ah Heng. I know someone wants to buy their shares. If possible, I can offer better terms." Shen Zhenghui continued.

"What?" Liu Xin was now nervous. "There's such a thing?"

"You've been in Japan for too long." Shen Zhenghui sighed. "You need to pay more attention to domestic affairs."

"You're the same, yet you criticize me." Liu Xin pouted. "Why are you still in Japan?"

Shen Zhenghui took a deep breath. "After 'My Sister's Boyfriend' is broadcast, we will continue to expand in the entertainment industry. Do you remember the chairman from Taiwan?"

Liu Xin naturally remembered the strong woman from Taiwan.

"She is finally ready, and the TV series is about to start filming. Before that, she will come to Japan."

"What for?"

"For investment and the lead actress." Shen Zhenghui spread his hands. "And I mentioned that I want to be a director."

Liu Xin pouted.

"So in the future, you need to pay more attention to the animation industry. Otherwise, being a shareholder is too easy."

"I work hard too, you know. This time, I contributed a lot to 'Puhai Fortress'." Liu Xin said, trying to claim credit.

"Let's hope the box office isn't too bad." Shen Zhenghui pouted.

...

After negotiations, "Puhai Fortress" was scheduled to be released one week before National Day. This was an excellent time slot. Considering the grand celebration, people would generally be more interested in military topics around the time of the parade. Releasing the film then should create a buzz.

The Japanese side didn't care, but considering that the TV version would be nearing its end in October, releasing the film at this time would be a good move. Fugita Miki did not object, and the matter was settled. China and Japan tacitly agreed to present this as a demonstration of China's sincerity in joining the WTO. In exchange, "Battle Angel Sylph (Prequel)" would also be released in China. The release of two films of the same genre and topic, one Chinese and one Japanese, was deeply meaningful, perhaps a silent protest against Hollywood and its home country.

During the negotiations, the specifics of the revenue split were not disclosed. Both sides tacitly agreed to present the entire transaction as a model project after the treaty was signed, and whether it was profitable was not the main concern of the politicians.

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