Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

At this time, Luoyang City had just been captured, and the process of conquering Luoyang could be described as extremely perilous.

Li Hongyun had already experienced this in the previous battle at Hulaoguan Pass: the city walls of Luoyang were tall and sturdy, and after the Liang Army attacked for several months, they still had not made any accomplishments. In this process, the battle was inevitably very bloody.

Afterward, Dou Jiande came to assist, and Lord Qin even took a great risk by leading only 3,500 soldiers of the Black Armor Army to block the pass at Hulaoguan, successfully capturing both kings in one battle.

From the perspective of the results of the battle, it did seem like a crushing victory, but if one were to delve into the details, they would understand that the entire battle of Luoyang was filled with extreme danger. Even Lord Qin's warhorses had died in several instances, let alone the other soldiers.

Luoyang City was the Eastern Capital, a place as bustling and wealthy as Chang'an, and the treasures and goods within were countless.

Therefore, how to distribute these goods was a major issue that lay in front of the decision-makers.

Lord Qin faced two choices: either to give them to the two concubines or to the soldiers.

The commander who had refused the two concubines in front of the treasury certainly had a significant reputation. If it had been any ordinary commander, like Yuchi Jingde for instance, they probably would not have been able to speak so assertively.

The reason that this commander dared to refuse Emperor Gaozu of Liang's Imperial Decree directly with Lord Qin's "instruction" was clearly for two reasons.

The first was that at the time, the command system of the Liang Dynasty was somewhat disordered. The Emperor's Decree, the Crown Prince's orders, and Lord Qin's instructions could all be seen as having equal force—whichever arrived first would be followed.

Lord Qin had personally conquered Luoyang, so his instructions, in the eyes of many soldiers, were obviously as authoritative as the Emperor's Decree.

As to what to do if the Emperor gets angry after his Decree was refused, that was something for Lord Qin to consider, not something these ordinary soldiers needed to worry about.

The second reason was that this commander was the Prince Huai'an. In terms of familial relations, he was Emperor Gaozu of Liang's first cousin.

Although he was a royal commander, he had also made contributions in the battle for Luoyang, which was why Lord Qin had awarded him several dozen hectares of land.

Such a person clearly didn't care much for these two noble concubines.

Li Hongyun could even try to see things from his perspective: in terms of closeness of relationship, I am the current Emperor's first cousin. I raised troops in response back when the rebellion started in Jinyang. You are merely concubines whom His Majesty later took in; in terms of contributions, I and my fellow soldiers have undergone hardships outside Luoyang City, fighting bloodied battles, while you two concubines enjoyed your days in luxury in Chang'an.

Now you want to take away my land with just an Imperial Decree?

Of course, the Prince Huai'an also knew that these two concubines were currently favored and not easy to provoke, so while he was assertive, he kicked the ball back to Lord Qin.

So, what would Lord Qin do?

Actually, in Li Hongyun's view, if Lord Qin really allocated the treasures from the treasury to these two noble concubines, his situation might have been better in the future.

After all, one of the important reasons why Lord Qin was repeatedly reprimanded by Emperor Gaozu of Liang was that the Crown Prince and these two concubines frequently slandered him.

If Lord Qin really used these treasures to win favor with these two concubines generously, although the power represented by the two concubines might not immediately side with him, at least they would become fence-sitters between him and the Crown Prince, constantly swaying to obtain the greatest benefits.

These treasures were originally conquered by Lord Qin himself; whether to distribute them to the soldiers or to bribe the concubines was all up to him.

But the problem was, these two concubines were clearly the type who would take a mile when given an inch.

Allowing them to enter the treasury to select treasures... how much would be left in the treasury?

Zhang Jieyu demanded the Prince Huai'an's dozens of hectares of land with one word, which showed her complete obliviousness to the stakes.

If it were just a symbolic gesture, it would not satisfy their appetite at all, and they would still harbor resentment; if he were to give generously, a huge gap would inevitably appear in the rewards, and how would he plug that gap later?

Lord Qin's prestige in the soldiers' hearts was built up over time through a clear process of reward and punishment.

Such prestige is hard to establish but very easy to destroy.

Therefore, no matter how he weighed the situation, Lord Qin's character would almost certainly lead him to reject them sternly.

Thinking about this, Li Hongyun began attempting to correct Lord Qin's actions.

Lord Qin sternly refused the demands of the two concubines. He replied to them: "All valuables have been reported and registered, titles should be granted to those with meritorious service and skills."

This meant that the treasures in the treasury had already been allocated in reward for merit to the soldiers, recorded, and reported. As for official titles, they should also be conferred on people with skills and meritorious contributions, not to the relatives of these two noble concubines.

As a result, naturally, the two concubines bore a grudge against Lord Qin in their hearts.

After all this was done, fragments of Lord Qin's memory flashed through Li Hongyun's mind.

The memory fragments contained two pieces of information: the first was that Emperor Gaozu of Liang had ordered that Lord Qin had jurisdiction over all affairs within his domain and could make decisions on his own.

Among Lord Qin's titles was "Minister of the Shandong Path Grand Administration." Luoyang was clearly within his jurisdiction.

The second piece was that before setting off on the campaign, Emperor Gaozu of Liang had promised him that after the conquest of Luoyang, the treasures would be bestowed upon the soldiers.

It was clear that Lord Qin was aware of the force behind Emperor Gaozu of Liang's Imperial Decrees, but since Emperor Gaozu had made these two promises, Lord Qin believed that even if he were to confront the Emperor later, he would have a justification.

Reality proved to be just as he had anticipated.