Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Li Hongyun zoomed in the camera, focusing intently on the situation inside Lord Qin Mansion.

At that time, all of Lord Qin's strategists and military generals were gathered together, deliberating on how to jointly undertake a significant endeavor the next day.

This list of names was truly dazzling for the era: Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Cheng Zhijie, Qin Shubao…

Each of them was the top talent of the era, now willing to risk the danger of clan extermination to jointly support Lord Qin as emperor and change the fate of the Liang Dynasty.

Of course, Lord Qin was not a reckless man. Although rebelling was likely a decisive, one-off action, he still left himself a way out.

While launching the coup, he also made proper arrangements for Empress Zhangsun and the families of himself and other generals. Should things go awry, he could withdraw from Chang'an and head to Luoyang.

Although Chang'an was the Liang Dynasty's center of power, in this city, the Emperor Gaozu of Liang and the Crown Prince had even greater influence. Luoyang, the city that Lord Qin had personally secured and where other factions had not deeply interfered, was more suitable as Lord Qin's base.

In fact, due to the intensifying conflict between the Crown Prince and Lord Qin, Emperor Gaozu had long considered making Lord Qin the Prince of Luoyang with a separate set of regalia.

However, this idea was firmly opposed by both the Crown Prince and Lord Qin and eventually discarded.

The Crown Prince opposed it because he felt Chang'an was his home ground; once Lord Qin went to Luoyang, it would be harder to eliminate him later. Meanwhile, Lord Qin felt that being far from the center of power in Luoyang would solidify the Crown Prince's position, and thus, he could not leave.

Should the coup fail, Luoyang naturally became Lord Qin's best retreat.

But fleeing to Luoyang didn't mean safety; it marked the real beginning of taking up arms in rebellion. Although with Lord Qin's military prowess and his wise and brave generals, conquering the whole realm again wouldn't be too difficult, it would still inflict terrible and irreparable damage on the entire nation.

The Central Plains could no longer endure another sweeping flame of war across the land.

Moreover, directly taking up arms to usurp the throne was morally questionable, so it was certainly a possibility Lord Qin did not wish to face.

At this moment, Lord Qin was fervently boosting the morale of his capable ministers and generals.

"Gentlemen, you have followed me through campaigns from north to south. Today's matter, our sincere trust as sovereign and ministers, needs no further words from me.

"This world under the Liang Dynasty, more than half was conquered by us, sovereign and ministers. What merits has the Crown Prince? Yet, he occupies a high position. Not only ungrateful but also repeatedly trying to sow discord among us, wishing to eliminate me with delight!

"Today, we rise in rebellion to purge the court of vile officials and to settle the realm in one battle!

"Listen to my arrangements. Tomorrow morning, Yuchi Jingde will accompany me first to the Xuanwu Gate…"

After boosting morale, Lord Qin began assigning tasks to these men.

During this process, Yuchi Jingde, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and others also proposed their ideas, continuously optimizing the overall plan.

However, viewing this, Li Hongyun couldn't help but frown slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

From the overall development of the story, this scene wasn't abrupt.

The contradiction between the Crown Prince and Lord Qin was publicly known and had intensified to an irreconcilable level. Although they were brothers, it was normal for Lord Qin to loathe the Crown Prince deeply.

And at the brink of action, with Lord Qin's decisive and relentless nature, he must have already made up his mind.

Thus, in the shortest time, he made decisions, organized his troops, arranged roles for his subordinates, and executed the Xuanwu Gate Incident, which was quite a reasonable unfolding of events.

To someone unfamiliar with corresponding historical materials, there might be nothing amiss with this content.

But Li Hongyun had seen the historical materials.

Records indicate that before the Xuanwu Gate Incident truly happened, there was a scene where "all officials earnestly dissuaded Lord Qin."

The usually decisive and resolute Lord Qin hesitated and prevaricated at such a crucial moment, showing none of his usual courageous and audacious demeanor, while his subordinates were anxious, desperately persuading him, even wishing they could lay their hearts bare before Lord Qin.

After much turmoil, Lord Qin finally resolved himself.

So here comes the question: which possibility was more likely to be historically accurate?

Li Hongyun's goal was to reproduce history as accurately as possible. Although this segment seemed not to affect the outcome greatly, it could impact the completeness of the event and lead to failure in achieving thorough historical reenactment.

Therefore, even a seemingly minor detail required careful consideration from Li Hongyun.

After much thought, Li Hongyun let time rewind slightly to still enact the "earnest dissuasion of Lord Qin" scene.

His actions were not merely copying historical records but involved a thorough analysis based on the situation at that time.

Many people interpret this stretch of historical records in two ways.

The first view is that there's something amiss with the records. If Lord Qin had seemed too eager at the time, it clearly did not fit his persona of a benevolent ruler who deeply valued brotherly love and faced immense internal conflict before reluctantly initiating the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Thus, later historians might have deliberately crafted such a narrative.

The second view considers that although Lord Qin decided to carry out the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he indeed still harbored brotherly feelings for the Crown Prince. He was decisive and relentless on the battlefield against enemies, but at this moment, his targets were his brother and father, making his hesitation quite human.