Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

After defeating Xue Rengao, the Liang Army spent a considerable amount of time cleaning up the aftermath.

Considering the military strength at the time, Xue Ju and Xue Rengao's father-and-son duo were indeed more powerful than the Liang forces, and this battle also yielded a significant number of cavalry.

In later times, some people asked, if Lord Qin hadn't been there, how far could Emperor Gaozu of Liang have gone?

And the conclusion most people came to after serious analysis was: it's very likely no one would even remember the Liang as a regional power, because at the battle of Qianshui against Xue Rengao, they would have probably been annihilated already.

After all, in the first Battle of Qianshui, Lord Qin fell ill, and Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan, the two great founding contributors, nearly led all the elite of the Liang Army to their doom in one fell swoop.

Afterwards, when Lord Qin went into battle again, he was leading almost the entirety of the Liang Dynasty's troops ready to fight; had they lost again, the Liang Dynasty would have truly been extinguished.

And now, such a once in an age achievement had been successfully claimed by Li Hongyun.

Regarding how to deal with these captured generals, Li Hongyun was somewhat unsure, so he solicited Lord Qin's opinion.

Lord Qin's opinion was to accept all their surrenders, and to still leave these soldiers under the command of Xue Rengao's brothers and enemies like Zong Luohou.

Many advised against it, thinking it was very risky, but after contemplating, Li Hongyun decided to act according to Lord Qin's approach.

Because historically, Lord Qin had always treated the surrendered generals this way.

Be it the present Zong Luohou or the later Yuchi Jingde, or some of the Turkic generals who came after, he trusted them without suspicion, and truly believed in them, and these people indeed did not fail his trust, willing to serve unto death.

Thus, Li Hongyun copied Lord Qin's approach, likewise displaying an exceptionally broad-minded acceptance of these surrenders.

During the return to Chang'an, an unexpected incident occurred that surprised Lord Qin.

As the grand army passed through Binzhou State, someone sent by Emperor Gaozu of Liang arrived to greet them.

And that person was Li Mi.

At this time, Li Mi's great battle with Wang Shichong had already ended. Li Mi had won countless fights but, in the most crucial battle, he lost everything including the profits.

Hence, with no options left, Li Mi could only surrender to the Liang Dynasty.

However, Emperor Gaozu of Liang's magnanimity fell far short of Lord Qin's; whether with the later Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, or with the present Li Mi, overall, he seemed much more stingy.

Dou Jiande was directly executed in the marketplace, forcing Liu Heita of Hebei to rebel once more;

Wang Shichong, Lord Qin had initially promised not to kill him, but Emperor Gaozu of Liang superficially let him off, then hinted at his enemy to kill him and chastised it only lightly afterwards;

Li Mi came sincerely to serve, and historical records note "Emperor Gaozu of Liang was overjoyed," but in reality, he was only granted the position of Director of the Ministry of Rites.

What does the Director of the Ministry of Rites do? He oversees the palace entrances, tent equipment, and the meals served during the gatherings of officials.

It could also be seen as appointing him the General Manager of the royal kitchen.

Of course, Li Mi was not pleased, and thus he conspired to rebel, and was ultimately executed.

Although Li Mi's rebellion was a path he chose himself, being awarded the position of Director of the Ministry of Rites, given his status as a local hegemon, was somewhat an insult from Emperor Gaozu of Liang.

Of course, all that happened later, and at this time, Li Mi had just surrendered.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang immediately dispatched him to Binzhou State to welcome the victorious Lord Qin and Prince Qi on their return.

During this process, Emperor Gaozu of Liang evidently recalled the words that Prince Qi had said in Jinyang when he first raised his army.

"This Li Mi, although he has a mass following of bandits, has many internal conflicts and will ultimately fall; there's no need for concern."

How long had passed since then? It had already come true!

Back when they started raising troops in Jinyang, Li Mi was the most powerful, indeed looking like a formidable contender for unifying the land. And Wang Shichong was being beaten so badly by Li Mi that victory seemed out of sight.

Even when Li Mi wrote a letter to Emperor Gaozu of Liang, he could only reluctantly reply, trying not to show weakness.

Yet now, Li Mi had been defeated by Wang Shichong and came to seek refuge like a homeless dog.

This goes to show, Prince Qi was indeed prescient!

And with Prince Qi taking over for Lord Qin during his serious illness and achieving a great victory, completely eradicating the power of Xue Ju, Emperor Gaozu of Liang began to see his fourth son in a new light.

In an ordinary household, having one exceptional son would make the ancestors' graves sprout green smoke, and here with two exceptional sons, it was as if the ancestral graves were emitting flames!

With this, sweeping the world seemed trivial!

...

Riding a courier horse, Li Mi arrived at Binzhou State to find banners fluttering and the military atmosphere austere. Among the generals, two young commanders approached, surrounded by their peers as if they were the moon attended by stars.

They were the returning victorious Lord Qin and Prince Qi.

Riding side by side, the one on the right was Lord Qin, clad in Ming Guang Armor, majestic and imposing, the very epitome of a dragon or phoenix, an emblem of the sun and sky.

To the left was Prince Qi, dressed in a white robe and silver armor, looking to be only fifteen or sixteen years old with no apparent distinguishing features.

However, Lord Qin treated him with enormous respect, even showing a subtle deference to him.

Li Mi was utterly shocked.

In the original history, upon seeing Lord Qin, Li Mi was so awed he privately told Yin Kaishan, "Truly a sovereign of heroes! Without such a one, how could there be peace from chaos?"

But now, he was not only witnessing the awe-inspiring Lord Qin but also Prince Qi, to whom even Lord Qin showed great deference, and this shock was beyond words.

Although he didn't know what made this Prince Qi so remarkable, a youth who commanded such respect from Lord Qin couldn't possibly be ordinary.