Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

The Crown Prince was treating him with such honor that Liu Heita was overwhelmed with gratitude and willing to serve him loyally.

Following the original course of history, the Liang Dynasty's policies in the Hebei region had significant issues.

Dou Jiande was already beloved by the people of Hebei, and the region's strength was also formidable. After Lord Qin defeated Dou Jiande, Dou's army was merely scattered. Lord Qin couldn't possibly kill all these men, so he had to release them.

And Emperor Gaozu of Liang, with very little political sense, immediately executed Dou Jiande in the marketplace and ordered Dou's former generals to Chang'an. As a result, Dou's old subordinates in Hebei felt endangered, believing Emperor Gaozu would kill them, which led them to support Liu Heita's rebellion.

Li Hongyun, with a "God's eye" perspective, naturally knew how to handle the situation.

He first petitioned Emperor Gaozu of Liang, requesting discretionary authority over Hebei, which Emperor Gaozu granted.

Emperor Gaozu always had immense trust in his sons, even to the point of blind faith.

Before capturing Luoyang, Emperor Gaozu had already promised Lord Qin that he could make decisions about everything in Luoyang.

Although he later reneged, allowing the imperial concubine to choose treasures from the palace treasury, his overall style of handling matters could be somewhat predicted.

Moreover, Hebei was not like Luoyang.

Luoyang was flourishing and wealthy; the courtiers were all eyeing a share of the riches, but Hebei was relatively desolate and had little of value. Neither Emperor Gaozu, the Crown Prince, nor the consorts showed much interest in this area and didn't pay it much attention.

This was precisely why Liu Heita's rebellion succeeded so smoothly.

Li Hongyun pulled the rug out from under Dou Jiande's old subordinates by reaching out to Liu Heita first, bringing him over to his side. Then, using a mix of grace and power, he attracted the former generals of Dou Jiande, promising them high-ranking positions and rich rewards, and sowing division amongst them. For those like Fan Yuan who planned to lead a rebellion, he struck decisively, eliminating them completely.

Initially, Liu Heita had only a hundred or so men when he rebelled, but later on, their numbers snowballed into a massive army of tens of thousands.

Li Hongyun promptly eradicated the hidden danger and recruited as many of Dou Jiande's former subordinates as possible. Thus, the historical credit for the Crown Prince's pacification of Hebei was all attributed to him.

Not only that, Dou Jiande's old subordinates also realized that apart from aligning themselves with Prince Qi, they had no other options.

Their initial rebellion was out of desperation, spurred by the sight of Emperor Gaozu executing Dou Jiande and seeming intent on eradicating them all.

But now that Prince Qi had petitioned on their behalf, allowing them to remain under his command rather than reporting to Chang'an, and since Prince Qi was also generous with treasures and ranks in his earnest efforts to win them over, most of them stayed loyally by Prince Qi's side.

However, in the process of recruiting talent from Hebei, Li Hongyun missed out on some things.

Beginning in the fifth year of Wude, the Turkic people realized that the powers they supported were being annihilated by the Liang Dynasty, so they began to move south frequently.

In history, Prince Qi and Lord Qin should have joined forces against the Turkic people, especially during the battle at Wulong Slope in the seventh year of Wude. If Li Hongyun had been playing the role of Prince Qi, he would have had another chance to join Lord Qin in the charade.

But since he was still consolidating his power in Hebei, naturally, he couldn't appear on the battlefield against the Turkic.

It wasn't until the eighth year of Wude that Li Hongyun petitioned Emperor Gaozu of Liang to return to Chang'an from Hebei.

Emperor Gaozu gladly agreed.

Then the plot followed its predetermined course towards the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

The escalating conflict between the Crown Prince and Lord Qin was inevitable since both coveted the throne.

It was also inevitable that Emperor Gaozu would show favoritism towards the Crown Prince and begin to weaken Lord Qin's power.

The only difference now was that Prince Qi's power had increased significantly compared to before.

Whoever Prince Qi supported would have a high chance of winning.

At this time, Li Hongyun was actually in a dilemma because, deep down, he preferred to side with Lord Qin.

When Jinyang was besieged, Lord Qin, who had not eaten for two days and not shed his armor for three, rushed to his rescue to chase down Song Jingang; it was also Lord Qin who had joined him in scouting and shooting Dou Jiande's Cavalry at Hulaoguan Pass.

Throughout the campaigns, Lord Qin had been his steadfast comrade-in-arms. But what about the Crown Prince and Emperor Gaozu?

He was not close with them.

To Li Hongyun, it didn't really matter who became emperor, but if he helped the Crown Prince to eliminate Lord Qin now, then the Crown Prince would probably target him next.

Lord Qin's military achievements were outstanding, overshadowing the emperor himself. So now, didn't Prince Qi have any military accomplishments?

Having stood by Lord Qin's side and joined him in heated battles, how could the Crown Prince, having eliminated Lord Qin, possibly spare him?

But what if he sided with Lord Qin?

By initiating the Xuanwu Gate Incident and eliminating the Crown Prince and Emperor Gaozu, Lord Qin would ascend the throne, while he, Prince Qi, could rest easy.

Because Lord Qin was the most capable warrior, he would not fear anyone who commanded troops, regardless of who they were.

Therefore, Lord Qin wouldn't be suspicious of him.

Eventually, whether Li Hongyun wanted to indulge in luxury in his residence with his maids or hold a significant position in the court, it should all be trouble-free.

The Crown Prince and Lord Qin differed in ability and open-mindedness, so retrospectively, supporting Lord Qin was the only right choice and also what Li Hongyun himself most desired.

Regrettably, he was obliged to complete the mission at each stage, which was to eliminate Lord Qin during the Xuanwu Gate Incident.