Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

After returning to Chang'an City, Emperor Gaozu of Liang did not punish Lord Qin, after all, he had already made a promise to Lord Qin before.

Although he had written an Imperial Decree before, agreeing to divide the treasures from the mansion treasury among the concubines, this was only because he had been swayed by pillow talk and had momentarily lost his mind.

At that moment, Lord Qin had contradicted him somewhat, but it also cleared his mind, so the matter was suppressed.

"Hmm?"

Li Hongyun once again realized there seemed to be a discrepancy here.

Because it clearly did not match the historical records.

According to historical documents, Yinde concubine and Zhang Jieyu immediately complained upon returning to Chang'an City, and Emperor Gaozu of Liang, in great anger, questioned Lord Qin, "Is my Imperial Decree not as good as your teachings?"

As for the promises previously given to Lord Qin, Emperor Gaozu did not mention them, and naturally, Lord Qin dared not bring them up either, otherwise, wouldn't that be like slapping his own father's face?

He could only bow and apologize.

Yet Emperor Gaozu of Liang was still furious. After Lord Qin left, he said to Pei Ji, "This son of mine, having been in the army outside for a long time, has been corrupted by those scholars! He's not the obedient and sensible Erlang he used to be!"

The scene in front of him once again differed from the historical records, meaning Li Hongyun had to once again use his logical thinking skills to judge which scenario was more likely.

If judged by reason, the historical records seem even less credible.

After all, Emperor Gaozu of Liang was also the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty; look at the matters he's managed?

First promising Lord Qin that after he conquered Luoyang, all these treasures could be distributed to the soldiers, and then changing his mind and even personally writing an Imperial Decree for these two concubines to snatch the soldiers' treasures due to pillow talk.

That was one thing, but when confronted by Lord Qin, and upon hearing the complaints from the two concubines, Emperor Gaozu's first reaction was to fly into a rage and summon Lord Qin back to scold him.

Although it was indeed shameful for an emperor that his Imperial Decree was considered less important than Lord Qin's teachings, the problem was that he was originally in the wrong.

The battle for Luoyang was so fierce, and he had already told the soldiers beforehand that he would award them all the treasures inside once Luoyang was conquered.

If he couldn't fulfill that promise after the battle, what would the soldiers think?

Considering the Liang Dynasty rose from a time of chaos, the importance of the military was self-evident. Could it be that Emperor Gaozu of Liang wouldn't have considered this?

It just didn't seem reasonable.

So, was Emperor Gaozu of Liang a person unclear about rewards and punishments?

Li Hongyun thought carefully, and if viewed through various historical records, he indeed appeared to be…

To determine whether Emperor Gaozu's behavior matched his character, it had to be considered from two aspects.

The first was whether his behavior in other aspects demonstrated a trait of being unclear about rewards and punishments. The second was whether he looked down upon those generals and soldiers fighting abroad.

Unfortunately, the answers to both questions were affirmative.

The rewards and punishments of Emperor Gaozu of Liang were not so much just and lawful enforcement, but rather reckless and haphazard.

In the Seventh Year of Wude, Emperor Gaozu restored the nine-rank system, resurrecting this outdated system that should have been replaced by the Imperial Examination System, which selected officials based on lineage;

Emperor Gaozu also extensively titled his royal relatives, even children were made kings, with historical records noting, "Since the Chu era, there has never been as many as nowadays";

Further, Emperor Gaozu extensively granted official positions as wishes were made, with the most being even twenty-two hundred people granted titles in one day, making it a historical moment that seemingly fast-forwarded to the Qi Dynasty, allowing the citizens to experience the "joy" of having an excess of officials in advance.

These actions clearly serve as proof of his unclear rewards and penalties.

There is an undeniable fact, In the Xuanwu Gate Incident, almost all the founding heroes of the empire gathered under Lord Qin, while who was with the Emperor? A bunch of remnants from former dynasties and aristocrats.

And in the historical records, there are scarcely any mentions of Emperor Gaozu of Liang rewarding those who contributed to the foundation of the dynasty; few of those famous generals at the time were actually under Emperor Gaozu of Liang.

Usually, it was Lord Qin who fought the battles, then forwarded the victorious reports, and Emperor Gaozu of Liang would reward Lord Qin, with the soldiers underneath sharing in the spoils.

According to historical records, Emperor Gaozu of Liang, though nominally the founding sovereign of the Liang Dynasty, had basically never fought in any battles.

Since arriving in Chang'an, it had always been Lord Qin who continuously campaigned in the south and north to expand the territory.

Such a thing was absolutely unique among the founding emperors throughout the dynasties.

Much earlier dynasties like Chu are not even worth mentioning, where the founding emperors almost participated in all significant battles; the later Qi and Sheng dynasties too were founded by emperors who fought with their own weapons.

Both Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of Qi Dynasty, despite one having taken advantage of widows and orphans and the other's famous cart drifting antics, the former was a major general of the imperial guards and a martial arts expert, able to establish a dynasty in such chaotic times, his military abilities are beyond doubt; though the latter was known for his cart drifting, he indeed directly commanded battles that annihilated other states.

Looking at other powers from the same period as the Liang Dynasty, like Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, they too personally commanded battles.

Only Emperor Gaozu of Liang had absolutely no experience leading troops.

His riding and archery skills might have been decent, but clearly, he was likely not adept at warfare.

One might argue, as long as Lord Qin was there, why should the Emperor risk his own life?

Good question.

Then one might as well pose this question to the founding emperors of Chu, Qi, and Sheng dynasties.

These dynasties also had many famous generals during their founding; then why didn't they delegate the task of conquering states to their generals, while they safely enjoyed themselves staying in the capital?

The behavior of Emperor Gaozu of Liang boils down to two possibilities: either he was unwilling, or he was unable.

Unwilling means he didn't want to endure the hardships of sleeping rough on the battlefield; unable means he lacked the military talent and was well aware that he was not cut out for this.

However, regardless of which possibility it might have been, such behavior of being lazy and complacent at the rear, for a founding emperor, was extremely foolish.

Because power, by nature, is not top-down but bottom-up.

It is not that you become an emperor and naturally possess power, but rather, when everyone believes you should be the emperor, then you have power.

And in chaotic times, winning battles is the only rationale.

From this fact, it can be seen that Emperor Gaozu of Liang either lacked capability or was deficient in political acumen.

Had he truly been like Emperor Taizu of Sheng, personally going to the front lines, fighting alongside his officers and soldiers, and establishing prestige, then Lord Qin attempting to stage the Xuanwu Gate Incident would likely have been impossible.

Therefore, considering these two points, it is not surprising that Emperor Gaozu of Liang made such a decision.

Because he had almost never been on a battlefield and had never seen the horrors of war outside Luoyang City, he did not realize the effort and sacrifice made by those commanders and soldiers to seize the city, and so naturally he did not see taking many treasures from the state treasury to reward his concubines as significant.

Because his rewards and penalties were unclear, favoring those close to him, especially the elderly aristocrats from the previous dynasty, and excessively rewarding them without considering the heavy burden this caused the common people due to the "clutter of royal relatives and officials," it was natural that indulging two concubines in their demands for jewels, official positions, and lands was not surprising.

After considering for a while, Li Hongyun made a decision.

He manipulated Emperor Gaozu of Liang to act in accordance with the historical records, pushing the Liang Dynasty a critical step closer to the Xuanwu Gate Incident.