Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

The city of Chang'an was once again bustling with activity, and new historical records started to emerge in Li Hongyun's purview.

"After the Sixth Year of Wude, Gaozu harbored thoughts of deposing and appointing successors. Lord Qin was not tolerated by his brothers, and he feared that his great achievements would remain unrewarded.

"The Crown Prince was generous and benevolent, repeatedly pleading with Gaozu to pardon the wrongdoings of Lord Qin. Only Prince Qi was single-mindedly protective of the Crown Prince's position, urging the Crown Prince to strike first and kill Lord Qin, but the Crown Prince refused.

"Despite Gaozu's intentions of deposing and appointing successors, Zhang Jieyu and Yinde concubine frequently praised the Crown Prince's benevolence in the inner palace, leaving Gaozu wavering.

"Lord Qin then had his frontier generals falsely accuse the Crown Prince of treason. Gaozu was initially furious, but after the Crown Prince shouldered brambles to atone, Gaozu came to his senses, which led to him growing increasingly suspicious of Lord Qin.

"Lord Qin, seeking to strengthen himself by nurturing his own faction, used wealth to bribe the Turkic people into retreating, and his power swelled by the day. However, many of Lord Qin Mansion's soldiers and officers, touched by the Crown Prince's benevolence, defected to him, prompting Lord Qin to take a desperate gamble and launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident."

Again, the historical records were a mix of truth and falsehood that needed the players to carefully discern.

With his previous experience, Li Hongyun knew that each choice could affect the progress of the game later, so he began to consider every word and sentence.

"After the Sixth Year of Wude, Gaozu harbored thoughts of deposing and appointing successors, and Lord Qin was not tolerated by his brothers, fearing that his great achievements would remain unrewarded."

At first glance, there seemed to be no major issue with this statement, which was a direct quote from the historical records.

However, the problem was that these words were written from Lord Qin's point of view in the "Essential Governance of Zhen Guan."

The timeline "after the Sixth Year of Wude" was not problematic, nor was "Lord Qin was not tolerated by his brothers, fearing his great achievements would remain unrewarded."

By this time, Lord Qin had already captured both Prince Qi and Prince Yi in one battle and could be conferred no further, while the Turkic repeatedly infringed upon the borders, with virtually all of these offenses quelled by Lord Qin's hand.

His military achievements had indeed reached their peak, to the point where even Emperor Gaozu of Liang could no longer keep him in check.

However, the phrase "Gaozu harbored thoughts of deposing and appointing successors" was problematic.

If one considers normative thinking, it would be quite normal for Emperor Gaozu of Liang to harbor such thoughts at that time.

After all, in the process of pacifying the realm, Lord Qin's contributions were enormously significant. In comparison, the Crown Prince was merely stationed in the rear, and even his merit in securing the logistics had to be shared with Emperor Taizu of Liang.

The capabilities demonstrated by the two amidst the chaos of the times were simply not on the same level.

If the world were at peace and political situation stable, a feudal dynasty would, without doubt, establish the eldest legitimate son over a more able candidate.

During prosperous times, it is hard for princes to demonstrate their abilities.

But the world was in turmoil, and though the Liang Dynasty had largely pacified the Central Plains, there were still various formidable enemies lurking outside.

Turkic, Korea, Tuguhun, Tibet—all were colossal entities sprawling across the vast borders of the Liang Dynasty, and none was an easy adversary.

Could the Crown Prince handle these forces if he took the throne?

It was highly unlikely.

Therefore, from the perspective of Emperor Gaozu of Liang, in times of chaos, to appoint a wise and capable son as Crown Prince could well be a better choice.

This statement also seemed unproblematic.

But after Li Hongyun gained a more thorough understanding of the characters of these key figures, he deemed the credibility of this statement quite low.

It might just be flattery from Lord Qin's point of view.

Even if Emperor Gaozu of Liang occasionally showed thoughts of deposing and appointing successors, and might even have hinted at it to Lord Qin at crucial moments without explicitly stating so, he had never truly considered deposing the Crown Prince.

Bluntly speaking, Emperor Gaozu of Liang still saw Lord Qin as a useful tool.

Whenever a rebellion arose, he sent Lord Qin to quell it; when the Turkic people invaded, he sent Lord Qin to defend the borders.

But the idea of granting the position of Crown Prince to Lord Qin was absolutely impossible.

Li Hongyun speculated that Emperor Gaozu of Liang was considering this for three main reasons.

First, in ancient feudal societies, the legitimate eldest son was traditionally established as the Crown Prince, which made sense. Previous dynasties that deposed the eldest to appoint a younger son quickly fell into collapse within just over a decade, a significant lesson from history.

Second, the Crown Prince had not committed any great faults to justify his deposition. Moreover, Emperor Gaozu of Liang clearly favored the Crown Prince; emotionally, he was far more fond of the Crown Prince than Lord Qin.

Just as he had previously rebuked Lord Qin for being "corrupted by scholars, no longer the Erlang of old," it was because the Crown Prince stayed in the capital and didn't go to the frontlines, while Lord Qin was constantly engaged in warfare, leading to significant differences in their views on war, rewards, and other issues.

Compared to that, the obedient and sensible Crown Prince was more likable.

Third, Emperor Gaozu of Liang wasn't old; his body was still robust, and he didn't intend to abdicate so soon.

If Lord Qin became Crown Prince, his power would be too strong, which wouldn't bode well for the emperor.

Therefore, Emperor Gaozu of Liang might have hinted at the possibility of making Lord Qin the Crown Prince while using him as a tool, but he had never truly considered it.

This historical record was either written by Lord Qin or his followers to add some legitimacy to his ascension to the throne.

Following that, this sentence: "The Crown Prince was generous and benevolent, repeatedly pleading with Gaozu to pardon Lord Qin's wrongdoings. Only Prince Qi was single-mindedly protective of the Crown Prince's position, urging the Crown Prince to strike first and kill Lord Qin, but the Crown Prince did not consent."

This entry was clearly problematic.

The obvious issue was that it portrayed the Crown Prince as generous and benevolent, who sought Emperor Gaozu of Liang's mercy to pardon Lord Qin.