Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"Lord Qin knew that by killing his brother and seizing the throne, he would be stigmatized for eternity, so he gathered scholars to rewrite history. He also promoted and rewarded the ministers who had contributed to his seizure of power, attributing to them non-existent military achievements and called them the 'Twenty-Four Meritorious Officials of Lingyan Pavilion.'

"With the concerted efforts of the historians, the achievements of the 'Wude Governance' were all credited to Lord Qin and altered to 'Zhenguan Governance,' unknown to later generations."

Li Hongyun was astonished as he read this "historical record."

Can this be true?

It must be said that nearly every sentence of this lengthy content is full of points to be criticized. After reading it all, one doesn't even know where to begin.

A closer look would reveal that this is likely the epitome of historical conspiracy theories. Although filled with loopholes, it does score strongly in terms of sensationalism and subversion.

Among these points, even those who are not well-versed in history can spot obvious issues.

All it takes is a bit of basic logical thinking.

For instance, the claim that Lord Qin was uneducated and idle, indulging in debauchery and hunting, amusing himself by hunting civilians within Chang'an City.

This is clearly impossible.

For someone so incapable and unpopular, let alone his well-documented military exploits in historical records, even the act of seizing power would have been absolutely unachievable.

Because 'men willing to die for a cause' are not something you can cultivate whenever you wish.

Will these men reveal your secrets? Can they be discovered? If someone can be bribed by you, why wouldn't they betray you for more money?

Rebellion is a complex endeavor that requires a high level of organization. If you lack capabilities and your subordinates are infiltrated and persuaded to betray, with leaks all around the Lord Qin Mansion, rebellion would be futile.

Take, for example, the rewriting of history.

If these records were true, Lord Qin's reputation among the people would never be that of a Saint King.

If he could alter the memory of the populace as well, then he isn't just rewriting history; it's as if he possessed divine powers capable of erasing the memories of everyone in the world.

With such abilities, why bother being a Khan? Why not just create an 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' instead?

These are elements that are "easily falsifiable," and can be readily distinguished.

Clearly, this page of history serves as an appetizer.

It contains easily identifiable errors. As long as players are familiar with the relevant history and have managed to get through previous challenges like the Battle of Hulaoguan Pass and the Alliance of the Wei River on their own strength, and possess a bit of a critical spirit, they are not likely to be fooled.

But can we say this section has absolutely no difficulty?

Not necessarily.

Precisely because it contains many outlandish errors, it obscures some that are not so outlandish.

For example, the Crown Prince assisting Emperor Gaozu of Liang in governing and reforming the administration, transporting supplies, and winning decisive battles from afar.

Or, the exact details of how the Alliance of the Wei River was formed.

To this day, many believe that the Crown Prince was just as wise and capable as Lord Qin, and that he could have created a golden age for the Liang Dynasty if he had ascended the throne. Others believe the Alliance of the Wei River could only have been achieved by emptying the treasury and compensating with a great deal of wealth, possibly even by plundering the people's assets...

It is evident that these hidden points are also misleading.

Especially when combined, they become even more deceptive.

For instance, many still believe the Crown Prince was a wise and virtuous successor, in no way inferior to Lord Qin, and that after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, in order to consolidate his rule, Lord Qin had to blacken the Crown Prince's name in the historical records and enhance the legitimacy of his own reign.

In this way, the image of the Crown Prince forms a robust defense.

When someone argues that the Crown Prince had no military achievements, the response is that he had the responsibility of overseeing the state and could not lead troops into battle.

Yet when it is suggested that the Crown Prince had achievements in domestic governance and ensuring supplies, two new problems arise: First, if these achievements all belong to the Crown Prince, what about Emperor Gaozu of Liang? Second, there are no particularly outstanding historic records of the Crown Prince's accomplishments in this area, but rather, there are many negative ones.

Then, someone will say that this is because the records have been altered and the Crown Prince's achievements have been obscured.

Thus, the third question arises: If the Crown Prince truly was so benevolent and widely revered, why did it seem that after his death, the entire Liang Dynasty quickly accepted this fact?

No officials in the court resigned in remembrance of the Crown Prince or died in protest, and no provincial officials raised an army in the name of "supporting the rightful ruler" out of remembrance for the Crown Prince.

The Xuanwu Gate Incident was only a small-scale coup, and such small-scale coups often escalate into great chaos if the new ruler lacks prestige.

There are plenty of such examples throughout history.

Yet, nothing seemed to happen after the Xuanwu Gate Incident; no one took a stand for the Crown Prince or Prince Qi, no one took a stand for Emperor Gaozu of Liang. It appeared as if everyone, from the capital to the provinces, naturally and deservedly accepted Lord Qin as the new emperor.

And they seemed quite happy about it.

This also proves from another angle that the so-called achievements of the Crown Prince were insignificant compared to those of Lord Qin.

...

After sorting things out, Li Hongyun started clicking on the options to edit them.

Due to the abundance of errors that could be spotted at a glance, Li Hongyun clicked through almost word by word.