Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

As the battle raged on, a military unit suddenly mutinied. The situation, once so favorable for the Liang Army, turned dire as they were ambushed, and Li Hongyun himself fell in the chaos.

The Liang Army thus completely collapsed.

Upon revisiting the battle, Li Hongyun realized that this collapse was actually due to a trivial matter.

He had not made rewards and punishments clear.

During the previous major battles against Xue Ju and Liu Heita under Song Jingang, although he fought bravely and led by example, establishing a certain level of authority and firmly grasping military power, he had neglected to pay much attention to the distribution of rewards after the battles.

After accepting Emperor Gaozu of Liang's rewards, he merely glanced at the list of rewards submitted by his subordinates, found no major issues, and carried out its distribution.

But what he didn't realize was that there were many unreasonable aspects on that list.

Many lower-ranking officers who fought hard battles received insufficient rewards, while some with connections seemed to make significant contributions but actually had exaggerated their achievements and received greater rewards.

And sometimes, when there were hard-fought battles without many victories and the court didn't have many rewards to offer, Li Hongyun chose not to make up the difference from his own resources, instead just distributing what the court had given.

When he first started leading troops, this problem hadn't surfaced.

Because the soldiers still held hope for the future, as they were continuously winning battles and believed there would be more opportunities for rewards.

But after the consecutive battles against Xue Ju and Liu Heita, the issue of rewards persisted, and the soldiers' resentment grew deeper.

Moreover, Li Hongyun hadn't broken up the established units and still allowed many surrendered officers to lead their old troops, which exacerbated the risk.

This time around, Li Hongyun corrected these issues with clear rewards and punishments.

Not only did he pay close attention to the specific tasks and performance of each mid-level and lower-ranking officer during the battles, but he also strictly oversaw the distribution of rewards afterward.

Those who had merits received heavy rewards, and those who erred faced severe punishments—rewards and punishments were clear, and he exercised both kindness and severity.

For those who had ulterior motives when submitting their military merits, he applied minor punishments, strictly disciplining them.

If the soldiers achieved notable success but the spoils of war and the court's rewards were insufficient, he would dip into his own pockets to reward his soldiers.

Only this way could he ensure that the troops would obey orders and vie for bravery to the death.

Otherwise, during critical moments, a sudden mutiny in one of the units could jeopardize an entire battle.

...

Time and again, Li Hongyun found new weaknesses with each attempt.

He continually filled these gaps by changing his inherent skills and leveraging his extensive knowledge of history, combined with the advantage of being able to retry endlessly.

Eventually, he made the Prince Qi of this world into a versatile polygonal warrior by utilizing a variety of skills and his continuous learning.

He could devise splendid strategies, predicting every move of the enemy, and sketch perfect battle plans;

He could lead fierce generals like Yuchi Jingde into battle, his archery divine and unerring;

He could build a strong intelligence network, even turning enemy generals;

Rewards and punishments were clearly defined, and his troops admired him deeply.

Using his absolute prowess, Li Hongyun finally won the battle of Hulaoguan Pass, capturing both enemy kings in one fight, achieving resounding military honors.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang was overjoyed, appointing him as the Chief Commander of the Heavenly Strategy Mansion.

However, when Liu Heita rebelled, Emperor Gaozu of Liang did not let Prince Qi lead the troops again, instead ordering Lord Qin to quell the uprising.

Thus, in the court, there emerged a three-way contest for power between the Crown Prince, Lord Qin, and Prince Qi.

The Crown Prince's status was unquestionable; Emperor Gaozu of Liang would elevate him to the highest position, even if it meant exerting himself.

Though Lord Qin did not earn as many great achievements as he did in the actual history, he participated in several major battles. Unlike Prince Qi who merely made an appearance in the historical records, he played a significant role and was dearly loved by the army.

Under Emperor Gaozu of Liang's deliberate balancing act, Lord Qin defeated Liu Heita and pacified Hebei. Although his military accomplishments were slightly less than those of Prince Qi, he still held considerable power.

As for Li Hongyun's Prince Qi, his merits were undeniable—capturing both kings in one battle, with immense strategical skills and clear rewards and punishments, his civil and military officials were powerful enough to rival Lord Qin's.

Later, when the Turkic people began their invasions,

Lord Qin and Prince Qi each led an army to confront them, and the Turkic fled at the sight.

During the battle at Wulong Slope, Lord Qin and Prince Qi rode side by side across the streams, leaving Jie Li Khan so frightened that he fled in the night. All of Li Hongyun's meticulously prepared stratagems went unused.

But the internal strife only intensified.

While most of Lord Qin's achievements were pre-empted by Li Hongyun, Lord Qin's ability and prestige remained.

He still had warriors like Qin Shubao and was assisted by many renowned statesmen. Although different from the historical grandeur of the Heavenly Strategy Mansion, his strength was still formidable.

Moreover, with the Heavenly Strategy Mansion's radiance diminished, Emperor Gaozu of Liang no longer focused on suppressing them.

Instead, it was Li Hongyun's Prince Qi who suffered more constraints.

Clearly, after unifying the realm, Emperor Gaozu of Liang became even more wary of Prince Qi than of Lord Qin.

Because Emperor Gaozu of Liang had suddenly realized: this son was just too terrifying!

As early as fifteen, he had accurately foreseen the turmoil of the era, and afterward, his military command was like a deity's touch, stabilizing the realm.