Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"Lord Qin had the frontier generals falsely accuse the Crown Prince of rebellion," said General. "At first, Emperor Gaozu of Liang was furious, but after the Crown Prince personally pleaded for his guilt, carrying a thorn bush on his back, Emperor Gaozu came to his senses and began to suspect Lord Qin increasingly."

"Lord Qin fostered enemies to strengthen himself, frequently bribing the Turkic with treasures to make them withdraw their troops, thus his power grew daily. Yet the soldiers of Lord Qin Mansion, moved by the Crown Prince's benevolence, defected in droves. Compelled by desperation, Lord Qin initiated the Xuanwu Gate Incident."

The text that follows was easier to discern; Emperor Gaozu, in fact, had no intention of dethroning the Crown Prince. The whisperings of Zhang Jieyu and the Yinde concubine in the royal bedchamber only inclined him more towards the Crown Prince.

As for Lord Qin allowing the frontier generals to falsely accuse the Crown Prince of rebellion, it barely seems realistic, as the Crown Prince indeed conspired with these frontier generals at that time—not a simple case of a wrongful accusation. It could be considered a setup, but suggesting that these frontier generals who supported the Crown Prince risked their lives to help Lord Qin stage this plot is quite an exaggeration.

No matter what, it's unlikely that Lord Qin could have a brainwashing ability that terrifying.

As for afterward, statements like Lord Qin bribing the Turkic to retreat or that the commanders of Lord Qin Mansion, remembering the Crown Prince's benevolence, defected in droves are hardly worth refuting.

When Lord Qin initiated the Xuanwu Gate Incident in a critical moment, it was not because the commanders from Lord Qin Mansion were disloyal or disheartened, but because the Crown Prince and the Emperor had been scheming to clip his wings. The commanders from Lord Qin Mansion didn't defect to the Crown Prince voluntarily; they were forcibly disbanded by higher powers.

Li Hongyun, once again based on his own interpretation, adjusted the contents of this historical record.

After finishing the adjustments, the points of light across the whole of Chang'an city started to flow again.

Li Hongyun noticed a vast network centered around the imperial palace, spreading towards the core area of Chang'an city.

The points of light moved back and forth between Lord Qin Mansion, Prince Qi Mansion, and Crown Prince Mansion, reaching many of the mansions of merit officials and nobles throughout the city.

Some points of light also flowed towards the imperial harem.

Clearly, as the previous conflicts intensified, the opposition between the two factions was increasingly overt.

Both sides were scheming to recruit each other's supporters to strengthen their own forces.

In Prince Qi Mansion, a distinctly conspicuous point of light arrived at Yuchi Jingde's house.

"General, you have battled alongside Prince Qi both to the south and to the north. Now that the realm is pacified, but with the Turkic still threatening the north, your service to the nation is still needed. These gold and silver treasures are gifted to you, along with a personal letter from the Crown Prince, who hopes to forge a friendship of equals with you."

The messenger, clearly a confidant of the Crown Prince, presented Yuchi Jingde with the secret letter from the Crown Prince along with a cart full of gold and silver treasures.

The Crown Prince's willingness to establish a friendship with a general as an equal was an exceedingly humble gesture.

Yet Yuchi Jingde personally penned a reply to the Crown Prince and returned the cartload of gold and silver just as it was given.

"Lord Qin saved my life," he wrote, "I vow to follow Lord Qin to the death in this life!"

At this moment, several of Yuchi Jingde's memories also appeared in Li Hongyun's mind.

In the second year of Wude, while under Song Jingang's command, Yuchi Jingde defeated the Liang Army in Xia County, capturing Prince Yong'an, the Minister of Industry Dugu Huai'en, Tang Jian, and several commanders.

However, at Meiliang State, Yuchi Jingde encountered Lord Qin and was defeated.

While both encounters were with the Liang Army, the former crumbled effortlessly, whereas the latter descended like a deity, leaving a profound impression on Yuchi Jingde.

In the third year of Wude, Yuchi Jingde surrendered to Lord Qin. In July, when Lord Qin campaigned against Wang Shichong, many surrendered commanders fled. The commanders of Liang Dynasty, thinking Yuchi Jingde too fierce to control, assumed he would also desert and detained him among their ranks.

However, Lord Qin immediately released him, kept him by his side, and even rewarded him with gold, silver, and jewels.

During the battle at Hulaoguan Pass, Yuchi Jingde charged into battle alongside Lord Qin, witnessing the young man's heroic declaration, ablaze with valor: "With my bow and arrows, and you with your spear by my side, what can a million enemies do to me!"

Clearly, Yuchi Jingde's trust in Lord Qin was not only a matter of life-and-death loyalty but also deep-seated admiration.

To think that using gold, silver, and jewels to turn such a man would be wishful thinking.

Afterwards, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi continued to attempt to turn Lord Qin's numerous generals using the same tactics employed on Yuchi Jingde, simply using large amounts of treasures, wealth, and a humble attitude to win them over sincerely.

However, this kind of solicitation was almost entirely ineffective.

From the perspective of these generals, they had almost no reason to switch allegiances.

In terms of personal feelings, they had followed Lord Qin through life and death battles to conquer the world, and after establishing military achievements, Lord Qin had always been generous with rewards; even most of the generals had been saved by Lord Qin on the battlefield.

In several major battles, Lord Qin himself had turned the tide by rushing into the enemy's lines to rescue his own generals or simply covered the rear himself.

Who were the Crown Prince and Prince Qi?

The Crown Prince had long been cloistered deep within the palace and had never been on the battlefield; Prince Qi had been on the battlefield but had clearly just been going through the motions.

In the eyes of these military commanders, strength was respected, and such individuals were clearly not enough to earn their sincere allegiance.

In terms of righteousness, they were people of Lord Qin, and betraying Lord Qin was to be disloyal and unjust.

In terms of prevailing circumstances, Lord Qin was surrounded by talented individuals; although he was not yet the Crown Prince, he was clearly at an advantage in all respects, and persisting could still possibly make them dragons among men.

Betray Lord Qin for a caravan of treasures?

These warriors were straightforward, but they were not foolish. Who among the fierce survivors of blood-drenched, life-or-death battles was foolish?

With Lord Qin, once he conquered the empire, what kind of treasures and wealth wouldn't they have?

On the other hand, if they sided with the Crown Prince and even if they succeeded in overthrowing Lord Qin and ascending, they would forever bear the label of turncoats. Now, at the time of recruitment, the Crown Prince naturally displayed a posture of valuing the wise, but whatif he ousted Lord Qing and solidified his rule?

By then, there would be many more people closer to the Crown Prince, already at his side, and he'd have to win over the remnants from the previous dynasty left by Emperor Gaozu of Liang—how many benefits and interests would be left for these turncoats?

On the other hand, it was much easier for Lord Qing to turn the Crown Prince's men.

Lord Qin was not just naively idealistic; he was a highly skilled politician, and no movement or whisper could escape his notice.

In the "Old Liang Book," it is said that Lord Qin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident out of desperation; on this point, Li Hongyun rather disagreed.

Because if this "out of desperation" thing were true, it would have insultingly underestimated Lord Qin's political maneuvering.

In such a tense political situation, while the Crown Prince kept trying to undermine Lord Qin Mansion, Lord Qin naturally would not just sit idly.

He also used large amounts of treasures and wealth to try to sway the people under the Crown Prince, and his progress was evidently much smoother than the Crown Prince's.

Apart from a few like Wei Zheng who had remained staunchly loyal to the Crown Prince during this phase, many played both sides.

Clearly, these individuals saw that Lord Qin had high military honors and towering prestige; not even Emperor Gaozu of Liang could contain him, let alone the Crown Prince.

Although he was not yet the Crown Prince and could not openly defect, he was certainly a promising contender for the position and could not be offended.

They supported the Crown Prince, but not as resolutely as the Warriors supported Lord Qin. Because there was no unbreakable bond of interest with the Crown Prince, nor had they shared the bond formed by facing blades together on the battlefield.

Thus, Li Hongyun watched countless specks of light moving to and fro in Chang'an city while the forces supporting Lord Qin continued to grow steadily.