Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

If the player-character were the Crown Prince, Li Hongyun would still have a chance to struggle.

He could take the initiative to ask for military command from the start, acquiring several talents that enhance military prowess and tactics to snatch those military achievements for himself.

But as Prince Qi, a simple matter of age would be enough to give Li Hongyun a headache.

However, Li Hongyun didn't give up because of this, after careful research he found a breakthrough opportunity.

This breakthrough was the Battle of Qianshui Plain.

Lord Qin was the emperor best at waging war throughout history, undefeated from the time he took up arms at eighteen until his later years, when he personally campaigned against Korea.

Many people claim that the Battle of Qianshui Plain was the only defeat in Lord Qin's life.

This statement isn't correct, but it concealed an opportunity for Li Hongyun.

The historical records of the Battle of Qianshui Plain are quite clear, and it consisted of two main battles.

During the first, Xue Ju attacked, and Lord Qin faced him with his forces, deepening trenches and raising ramparts, avoiding direct confrontation with Xue Ju. But at this time, Lord Qin had fallen ill with malaria, so he entrusted the military command to Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan, repeatedly instructing them: Xue Ju's forces are isolated deep in enemy territory with limited supplies and exhausted soldiers, so they will inevitably seek a quick victory. You just need to hold the defenses, and we can defeat him once I recover.

As a result, Yin Kaishan persuaded Liu Wenjing to engage in battle, believing that the enemy would underestimate the Liang Army upon hearing of Lord Qin's illness – an ideal time to strike a blow and intimidate them.

The result was disastrous; they were ambushed from behind by Xue Ju, five to six out of every ten soldiers died, and several generals were captured. The heads of the fallen soldiers were even built into a grim display – it was a crushing defeat.

However, shortly after, Emperor Gaozu of Liang provided more reinforcements to Lord Qin, who had recovered from his illness. Leading his troops again, they maintained their position without engaging, steadily besieging the enemy for over sixty days until their supplies ran out, and then launched a fierce attack, ultimately pacifying Longxi.

Many forcibly pinned this defeat on Lord Qin, repeating the tired argument: Lord Qin's illness was just an excuse, a result of historical revision; he simply lost and had Liu Wenjing take the fall.

But this kind of claim is baseless.

First of all, Liu Wenjing was no small figure who could be easily blamed; he was one of the four masterminds in Jinyang's uprising, endowed with the "privilege of two pardons," and was the most important Prime Minister of the Liang Dynasty at the time.

Moreover, he had demonstrated certain military capabilities, and it was reasonable for him to take over the command from Lord Qin.

After being defeated by Xue Ju, Liu Wenjing was dismissed from his position and imprisoned, while Lord Qin was able to lead troops again against Xue Ju and his son, Xue Rengao, proving that Liu Wenjing was not a scapegoat; he was the main person responsible for the defeat.

Secondly, Xue Ju wasn't renowned as an especially formidable general. His combat strength was indeed not weak, but except for his first victory at Qianshui Plain, he had no other notable records of divine military tactics.

Finally, the failure at Qianshui Plain was rooted in the Liang Army's rash attack, which was completely out of character with Lord Qin's consistent style of warfare.

Lord Qin's basic pattern in every battle was the same: hold his position, harass the enemy's supply lines, blunt their spearhead, and pursue them fiercely.

Before and after Qianshui Plain, Lord Qin always did this, except for the first rash engagement at Qianshui, which made no sense at all.

So, the historical records had no issue; Lord Qin had indeed temporarily handed over military command because he had contracted malaria, but the mess caused by Yin Kaishan and Liu Wenjing led to the disaster.

So why was the Battle of Qianshui Plain the only breakthrough for Li Hongyun as Prince Qi?

Because before this point, the Prince Qi he played was too young to partake in warfare; after this, Lord Qin became indisputably the most capable military leader in the Liang Dynasty, making it nearly impossible to shake his position.

Only during the Battle of Qianshui Plain, by taking advantage of Lord Qin's illness to achieve a victory that would shock Emperor Gaozu of Liang, might he hope to lead troops independently of Lord Qin and even replace him.

The question then was: How could he, from his position in Jinyang, make it to Qianshui Plain?

Simply abandoning Jinyang and running there? That was out of the question.

That would be desertion, and even if he made it to Jinyang, it would be impossible to wrest military command from Liu Wenjing; no matter how much Emperor Gaozu of Liang doted on him, he wouldn't entrust such a young, inexperienced son with matters of national defense.

Therefore, to seize this opportunity and win the battle while Lord Qin was ill, one needed to establish some merit in advance, ensuring that everyone believed Prince Qi was qualified to replace Lord Qin.

Then, he would have to push this timeline even further back, playing a pivotal role in the "Jinyang Uprising" and the "Pacification of Song Laoseng."

For a young teenager of only fourteen or fifteen, this was, admittedly, quite nonsensical.

But Li Hongyun had not given up, for this was the only solution he could think of.

No sooner said than done.

Li Hongyun began the Trial Illusion once again, and upon seeing Prince Qi for the first time, the idea of shifting the timeline forward flashed through his mind.

As expected, the entire Trial Illusion began to change, truly reversing, returning to the state of Emperor Gaozu of Liang initiating the uprising in Jinyang.

And naturally, the age of Prince Qi regressed as well, turning into a teenager of only fourteen or fifteen.

At such a young age, many tasks would prove troublesome.

Leading troops in battle was hardly possible. His physical conditioning was far too poor, entering the fray meant certain death, and no one would listen to his commands.

The only way out was to give advice and strategies.

But offering advice and strategies could easily be overlooked as well, dismissed as child's play, or they might not even listen to it at all.

The method that Li Hongyun thought of was simple, crude, and efficient: to copy!

He decided to copy the methods of Emperor Gaozu of Liang and Lord Qin from historical records, proposing various suggestions before they did.

Thus, Emperor Gaozu of Liang and Lord Qin would discover that this fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth had exceptional insight and, most importantly, seemed to always arrive at the same conclusions as they did.

Afterwards, with Li Hongyun flattering them just a bit, in time, his opinions would be taken seriously, laying a solid foundation for a series of actions he would take later on.

Regarding the Jinyang Uprising, there were contradictions in the historical records.

Some records credited the main instigator of the uprising to Emperor Gaozu of Liang, believing that he had long harbored ideas of rebellion and implemented them methodically; while other parts suggested that it was Lord Qin, depicting Emperor Gaozu of Liang as indecisive, with Lord Qin persuading him tirelessly until he finally made up his mind.

The specifics were hard to clarify, but for Li Hongyun, this wasn't much of an issue.

These two accounts were probably not contradictory.

Firstly, it was certain that Emperor Gaozu of Liang himself must have had the idea of rebellion. The previous dynasty was already in turmoil and chaos, and he wasn't foolish, with no need to cling to the loyalty of the past dynasty and die for it.

Was it not preferable to lead his own uprising and become emperor?

But as the highest leader at the time, such a significant matter as starting a rebellion definitely required weighing all aspects before a decision could be made, with prudence being of utmost importance.

So to outsiders, it might appear as if he were hesitant.

Lord Qin, being a vigorous young man of just eighteen, naturally had high ambitions and undoubtedly sought to make influential connections and build his strength. His urgent persuasions to Emperor Gaozu of Liang to rise up were also quite expected.

Thus, Li Hongyun believed that the incident was still predominantly led by Emperor Gaozu of Liang and ultimately decided by him. But since he was not too sure of his own appeal and strength, uncertain about the future prospects, and able to see more drawbacks given his high position, he appeared hesitant and uncertain during the process.

However, Lord Qin played a significant role in the process of the Jinyang Uprising. This was undoubted.

After much contemplation, Li Hongyun decided to make his initial breakthrough with Lord Qin.

The first step was to offer crucial advice during the process of Lord Qin convincing Emperor Gaozu of Liang to initiate the uprising.