Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

But the problem was that, although the twelve guards were nominally under the command of Lord Qin, he could not rely on them to launch a coup. That's because among these guards, many were more obedient to the emperor.

During a coup, one could only depend on absolutely loyal private soldiers, which amounted to a mere eight hundred men.

As for the twelve guards, it was very possible that they couldn't be commanded on the day of the coup.

Moreover, it was difficult to bribe the members of the twelve guards, as they operated on rotational duties, and Lord Qin himself was not sure when the coup would begin. Bribing all of them would set too many targets and the leak of information could easily occur.

Therefore, Lord Qin aimed his efforts at the two guards he did not ostensibly control, namely the Left and Right Imperial Guards.

The Left Imperial Guards were responsible for entry, while the Right Imperial Guards were responsible for exit. Checking the gate passes during entry and exit, whether there was permission to enter or exit the imperial palace, and the purpose of entering the palace—all required meticulous verification; otherwise, no one could pass.

Particularly, the "Valiant Junior Officers" led by Chang He were always in charge of guarding the Xuanwu Gate.

Thus, bribing Chang He was the most critical element for the success of the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Lord Qin chose to launch the coup at the Xuanwu Gate because, except for some extremely significant festivals, the southern gate of the palace was closed. To enter the palace, one had to go through the Xuanwu Gate in the north.

With Chang He being so important, had the Crown Prince ever thought of bribing him?

Of course, he had considered it, and nominally, Chang He was a trusted confidant of the Crown Prince.

So, the Crown Prince thought he held the winning ticket—with Chang He at the Xuanwu Gate, should anything happen, he would surely alert him, allowing him to rest easy without a care.

But in reality, Chang He had been a high-level double agent for Lord Qin since the second year of Wude, leading the army at the Xuanwu Gate and bribing the royal guards since the seventh year of Wude.

As a result, Lord Qin had actually triumphed over the Crown Prince with Chang He and the royal guards, and the Crown Prince knew nothing about it.

This night, the Lord Qin Mansion was brightly lit.

Although preparations had been made in advance, gathering all his supporters in one night, devising a thorough and detailed plan, and ensuring that no one would leak any information was still an extremely difficult task.

The Crown Prince and Prince Qi had not been idle in the previous struggles either.

Their false accusations against Yuchi Jingde and the host of generals under Lord Qin hadn't succeeded, thanks to Lord Qin pulling them out of trouble, but they kept slandering, causing Emperor Gaozu of Liang to dismantle the support around the Lord Qin Mansion.

For instance, strategists like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had already been reassigned away from the Lord Qin Mansion by Emperor Gaozu of Liang.

Executing the Xuanwu Gate Incident required a complete and meticulous plan, considering all aspects and situations. This was a rebellion, not child's play; any problem in any link could lead to a fate where these people might face the destruction of their entire families.

Thus, Lord Qin had already sent Yuchi Jingde in advance to bring over Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui initially disagreed, saying, "The intentions of His Majesty's Imperial Decree prevent us from serving Lord Qin any longer. We cannot accept the prince's teachings, otherwise we will surely be punished with death."

Enraged, Lord Qin sent Yuchi Jingde, with his personal sword, to fetch them. Thus, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui entered the Lord Qin Mansion dressed as Taoists.

These individuals started to busily prepare for tomorrow's action within Lord Qin Mansion.

Meanwhile, the situation on the side of the Crown Prince and Prince Qi was entirely different.

The entire Crown Prince Mansion had actually been infiltrated by Lord Qin like a sieve; for example, Wang Zhi, the Eastern Palace's Watch Commander, had already been bribed by Lord Qin. The Crown Prince and Prince Qi's previous plan to assassinate Lord Qin at Kunming Lake had been foiled because he alerted Lord Qin, which made him cautious and hastened his plotting.

On the eve of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi still had no clue.

From their own trusted sources, they learned that Lord Qin would not bring troops into the city the next day, so they let down their guard considerably.

Even Zhang Jieyu hastily came to the Eastern Palace and summoned Prince Qi, informing the Crown Prince and Prince Qi that today Lord Qin had accused them before Emperor Gaozu of Liang and that they must feign illness tomorrow and not enter the palace, organizing their troops in case of emergency.

However, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi did not believe her.

In hindsight, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi missed a precious opportunity to change history, but given the circumstances at that time, their decision seemed reasonable.

For Zhang Jieyu merely speculated without convincing evidence.

Besides, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi had other sources of information, not just Zhang Jieyu.

The information they obtained from these sources made them believe that Lord Qin dared not take action within the palace, leading to their decision.

Clearly, this was not mere coincidence, but a substantial gap between the intelligence systems and popular support of both sides.

On one side were the countless twinkling points of light from Lord Qin Mansion, and on the other, the utter darkness of the Crown Prince Mansion—indeed, the outcome of the two sides had been determined at that very moment.