Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Several months later.

Northeast of Luoyang City, Mang Mountain.

In Wang Shichong's main camp.

Wang Shichong burst into laughter as he entered the tent and grabbed Lu Heng's hand, "Master Wei Zhen is truly a great talent! Just as you said, we indeed crushed Li Mi!"

"After the world is subdued, I will appoint you as the Prime Minister; please do not decline!"

Lu Heng smiled slightly, still maintaining a mysterious demeanor of a transcendent sage, "Right now, we have only fulfilled the first strategy. Mr. Zheng aims to pacify the realm; don't be so impatient."

Wang Shichong then slightly reined in his smile, but his joy was still evident, "Yes, Master's guidance is correct!"

For him, this period was like a dream.

In fact, some unexpected issues arose during the execution of the strategy, but Wei Zhen, like the Divine Machine, was a step ahead and solved all these problems.

Firstly, the strategy of winning over Li Mi.

This strategy was initially very smooth. Other important court officials, like Yuan Wendum, Lu Chu, and others, all fully agreed with the proposal without any resistance.

This was normal since historically this strategy was indeed conceived by Yuan Wendum and others.

But what Wang Shichong did not expect was that these people actually wanted to take things seriously!

Yuan Wendum and others intended to appoint Li Mi as Grand Commandant and Minister.

Wang Shichong was very displeased because these positions were too high; if Li Mi really eliminated Yuwen Huaji effortlessly and then returned to Luoyang, his power could even be overshadowed by Li Mi.

He had fought against Li Mi numerous times, and his soldiers harbored deep-seated enmity. If Li Mi, leveraging his power, conspired with other important officials against him, would he not be left with nowhere to be buried?

According to Wang Shichong's original plan, winning over Li Mi was just a façade; any trivial official position would suffice to fool him, just enough to let him clash with Yuwen Huaji and allow himself to reap the benefits.

However, since Yuan Wendum and others wanted to take things seriously, this left him somewhat at a loss.

At this moment, it was Lu Heng, acting as Wei Zhen, who stepped forward to devise a plan for him.

First, Lu Heng told him that all of this was actually within the plan. Li Mi wasn't foolish; empty promises would definitely not sway him to attack Yuwen Huaji; tangible benefits were essential.

Positions like Grand Commandant and Minister were essential to offer.

So, what if Li Mi really defeated Yuwen Huaji and, with the support of many important officials in Luoyang City, returned to Luoyang?

The solution was simple: eliminate these officials before Li Mi could return.

Wang Shichong suddenly realized the brilliance of the plan.

In fact, historically, this was indeed what he did.

Historically, this strategy was proposed by Yuan Wendum and provided many rewards to Li Mi. Wang Shichong was unhappy about it because he did not want to serve in the same government as his enemy, so he told his subordinates that once Li Mi arrived in Luoyang and they became his subordinates, they would all be doomed!

This statement was meant to motivate his soldiers, but it also intensified the conflict between him and Yuan Wendum, Lu Chu, and others.

Therefore, Yuan Wendum, Lu Chu, and others prepared to ambush Wang Shichong while he was at court. Having learned of this, Wang Shichong led his troops to attack directly, eventually unifying Luoyang.

By the time Li Mi struggled to defeat Yuwen Huaji and returned to Luoyang, Wang Shichong had already consolidated his internal control, and a great battle then ensued.

Thus, this was a precious strategic window of opportunity for Wang Shichong.

Lu Heng, already aware of the script, directly advised Wang Shichong to seize this opportunity to eliminate Yuan Wendum and others and monopolize power!

What happened next essentially followed the historical script.

Wang Shichong eliminated the other important officials in Luoyang City and effectively monopolized government power.

Leveraging divine omens to boost morale, he faced Li Mi, who had just returned from vanquishing Yuwen Huaji.

In actual history, this battle was very winnable for Li Mi.

At that time, although Li Mi had suffered severe losses of elite inner guards and many horses in the battle with Yuwen Huaji, Wang Shichong also had a disadvantage: insufficient military provisions.

Li Mi originally planned to hold his position and wait until Wang Shichong ran out of provisions before deciding to battle. Pei Renji and Wei Zhen also agreed with this view.

If he could insist on not engaging in battle, then continuing to delay, Wang Shichong's chance of victory was slim.

But his generals, Chen Zhilue, Fan Wenchao, and Shan Xiongxin, argued: Wang Shichong's soldiers were already few and repeatedly defeated, terrified by us. We have more people; why not attack directly and seize the opportunity? Moreover, the newly allied soldiers from Jiang and Huai were also waiting for a chance to establish their careers, and it was the perfect moment to capitalize on our high morale and bravely crush the enemy!

This was very interesting.

Chen Zhilue and Fan Wenchao were generals who had defected from Yuwen Huaji's side, and their desire for battle was understandable. They had just allied and had not yet earned any military merits; they were eager for an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Otherwise, how would they establish a foothold in the army as defected generals?

But Shan Xiongxin's support for engaging in battle was somewhat intriguing.

Moreover, during the subsequent fighting,while Shan Xiongxin defended Yan Shi, he was initially unable to withstand Wang Shichong's assault. Later, during Li Mi's initial defeat, when Wang Shichong crossed the Wei River to attack Li Mi, Shan Xiongxin remained inactive, costing Li Mi his last chance for a turnaround.