Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Though at this time, seeing the aftermath of a great battle, the young brother seemed to have a trend of turning over a new leaf, and Lord Qin was naturally pleased.

After pacifying Liu Wuzhou, Emperor Gaozu of Liang was overjoyed and rewarded both brothers generously.

Just as Li Hongyun had expected, he didn't actually need to tackle tough battles like Lord Qin.

The real Prince Qi was either the best sixth man or just a slacker, yet he could still receive continuous rewards and his authority expanded incessantly, let alone now when he showed the caliber expected of a true leader.

Thus, Li Hongyun communicated with Lord Qin and then petitioned Emperor Gaozu of Liang, expressing his desire to join the army in its campaign, and soon received permission.

Clearly after this battle, Emperor Gaozu of Liang also surprisingly discovered that the young Prince Qi appeared to be a military prodigy as well.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang always wholeheartedly supported the royal family and showed no concept of "clear reward and punishment" towards his own son.

Mistakes were hardly ever punished, and merits were rewarded without bounds.

Clearly, Emperor Gaozu of Liang also hoped that Prince Qi and Lord Qin would each lead a troop and establish military achievements separately.

Splitting the military achievements between two people would thereafter make it easier for him and the Crown Prince to balance the power within the court, preventing Lord Qin from becoming too powerful alone.

According to Emperor Gaozu of Liang's schemes, he certainly tended to let Prince Qi gradually lead troops independently, but the tense situation ultimately didn't grant him that opportunity.

Because merely five months later, the Liang Army was to mobilize the nation's forces to fight Wang Shichong.

This battle, from July in the third year of Wude until June in the fourth year of Wude, and after Wang Shichong, unable to resist any longer, was forced to seek help from Dou Jiande, resulted in the battle at Hulaoguan Pass, well known to Li Hongyun.

...

Soon after, Li Hongyun once again came before Hulaoguan Pass.

However, returning to Hulaoguan Pass this time, he had many reflections.

The last time he pretended to be Dou Jiande here, where he defeated Lord Qin and repelled the Liang Army, successfully advancing into Hulaoguan Pass.

Certainly, he relied on the stratagem of setting a wagon fort in his own camp, knowing the future.

And now, he was pretending to be Prince Qi, set to fight side by side with Lord Qin.

In the campaign against Wang Shichong, the Prince Qi that Li Hongyun portrayed had already established numerous military achievements, marking a strong presence.

Adhering to the principle that "wherever Lord Qin is, I am too," Li Hongyun followed Lord Qin in surveying the enemy's situation, also experiencing many fierce battles.

Lord Qin, leading light cavalry to scout, was surrounded by Wang Shichong's cavalry. Lord Qin asked his men to return to camp first and stayed back alone.

When Shan Xiongxin led a few hundred cavalry in pursuit, Lord Qin shot arrows left and right, knocking down every enemy.

And Li Hongyun, following Lord Qin, doubled the fallen enemies with his bow and arrows.

When Dou Jiande came to rescue Wang Shichong, Li Hongyun and Lord Qin jointly made the decision, against all objections, to defend Hulaoguan Pass from Dou Jiande.

This time, Lord Qin didn't leave him to besiege Luoyang but brought him along.

Previously, leaving Prince Qi to besiege Luoyang was mainly because Prince Qi wasn't very useful, seemingly a liability if kept close.

Wang Shichong was already scared witless, not daring to leave the city, and the Liang Army actually couldn't take down Luoyang. Hence, Prince Qi being there was akin to a mere mascot.

But this time, Lord Qin had realized that Prince Qi was his valuable assistant, his right-hand man, thus he kept him by his side.

The battle at Hulaoguan Pass, once again enacted.

Lord Qin again led the elite cavalry to scout personally, as usual placing the few cavalrymen at various points along the way.

When they reached Dou Jiande's camp, only Lord Qin, Prince Qi, Yuchi Jingde, and a few others remained.

Dou Jiande's soldiers saw only a few scattered Liang soldiers and assumed they were just reconnaissance cavalry, so they didn't pay much attention.

But Lord Qin shouted loudly, "I am Lord Qin after all!"

He launched a taunting skill at the entire enemy camp.

And Li Hongyun, very timely, also shouted loudly, "I am Prince Qi too!"

The taunting effect doubled.

As expected, Dou Jiande's cavalry came out to pursue, and naturally, they were kited by Lord Qin and Prince Qi with Yuchi Jingde firmly grabbing the aggression, leading Dou Jiande's cavalry into the ambush and inflicting a great defeat on them.

Unable to help himself, Lord Qin laughed heartily, telling Yuchi Jingde, "With my brother and I wielding bows and arrows, and you with your spear, what can a million strong do against us!"

Li Hongyun excitedly expressed: Lord Qin was right!

After a twenty-day standoff, Lord Qin once again followed the original historical trajectory to attack, breaking through Dou Jiande's central camp in one battle and capturing him.

The battle at Hulaoguan Pass, once again capturing both kings in one battle, Lord Qin and Prince Qi both received great rewards for their military achievements.

Yet, Li Hongyun did not content himself with this; he petitioned Emperor Gaozu of Liang to be granted the command to defend Hebei.

This request was exactly what Emperor Gaozu of Liang wanted.

The Crown Prince was in Chang'an and couldn't be moved; after capturing both kings in one battle, Lord Qin had already become the Grand Marshal, with no more titles to bestow, and Emperor Gaozu of Liang inclined more towards keeping him in Chang'an.

On one hand, to prevent him from achieving more military merits and to let the Crown Prince and others pick the fruits by splitting the concluding military merits, and on the other hand, to ensure that any rebellion anywhere could be immediately quelled by deploying the all-curing Lord Qin.

And since Prince Qi had similarly performed excellently in the previous wars, it was only logical for him to take command of the Qi Territory and Hebei.

Once in Hebei, Li Hongyun first approached Liu Heita, who had returned to farming, showing utmost respect and courtesy, promising him high office, lavish rewards, and a freshly drawn promising future plan, firmly securing this important support.

When Dou Jiande lost, Liu Heita was still relatively unknown, hence he did not expect the Liang Army to discover and utilize him, which led him back to farming.