Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

For instance, Li Keyong's son, Li Cunxu, initially had great success in both the southern and northern battles, unbeatable in all assaults, and seemed to be on an unstoppable rise. However, once he harbored the idea of consolidating military power and manipulating his generals, the favorable situation immediately collapsed.

And it was not until the Qi Dynasty was established that Qi Taizu finally managed to suppress these militaristic factions.

As for the severe issues caused by the Qi Dynasty's civil dominance over the military... well, that's another topic altogether.

In any case, Zhao Haiping asked himself, and even with his capabilities, it seemed very difficult to make any substantial changes in this chaotic era.

However, the ultimate goal of this instance was probably not to save the dire situation at the end of the Liang Dynasty, which currently seemed somewhat unsolvable.

Unless there emerged ultimate powerhouses like Emperor Taizong of Liang or Emperor Taizu of Sheng to decisively cut through the chaos, the turmoil would simply continue indefinitely.

The objective for this phase was presumably just to defeat Huang Xianzhi.

With this in mind, Zhao Haiping continued on his journey to find other members of the Divine Strategy Army.

...

While Zhao Haiping led the remaining troops to search for other Divine Strategy Army members in Guanzhong, Chu Ge was still making attempts under the identity of Zheng Tian.

He had already tried many methods.

For example, trying to have his trusted generals directly kill Wang Hui, the envoy from Huang Xianzhi who had come to negotiate surrender, or more persuasively and emotionally, using arguments more fitting to the era to try to convince these generals.

But without exception, all these attempts had failed.

And the crux of the matter boiled down to one thing.

That was human hearts!

Killing Huang Xianzhi's envoy could indeed forcibly cut off the retreat path for the Fengxiang defenders, but after Huang Xianzhi's army pressured them, Chu Ge found that the generals still could not unite in heart and purpose.

So, when they did fight, there was still no chance of victory.

As for all the talk of rallying hearts...

No matter how eloquently Chu Ge spoke, weaving beautiful and intricate arguments, before practical interests, the generals still only seemed moved on the surface but were not truly unified in spirit.

This puzzled Chu Ge deeply.

What was missing exactly?

According to historical records, Zheng Tian had persuaded the generals and then readied the troops for war, ultimately defeating Huang Xianzhi.

But now, even with the gifted abilities of the Transferrer, he still could not achieve what Zheng Tian had done in the past.

Chu Ge was certain that he was missing some crucial information.

Thus, he temporarily exited the game to consult more historical materials.

The first piece he found still concerned this event.

The Lord Governor, Peng Jingrou, and his officers lined up to declare their stance, drafting a statement in Zheng Tian's name to thank Huang Xianzhi. The Lord Governor and the envoy feasted together, and during the meal, all officers wept. Surprised by this, the envoy's retainer, Sun Chu, said, "They weep only because our lord is unable to come due to his physical condition."

The key here was, "during the meal, all officers wept."

Why exactly did they weep?

And during this research, Chu Ge found another sentence that followed.

"Upon hearing this, none in the public did not weep."

Meaning, during this banquet, not only did all the generals weep, but even ordinary people who heard about it wept too.

And it was from this that Zheng Tian believed the people still had not forsaken the Liang Dynasty.

At this time, these people not weeping indicated that a crucial element was still missing.

And this element was most likely related to something during the banquet...

Still clueless, Chu Ge decided to continue his search in historical records.

Not until he stumbled upon two other historical entries did a bold idea finally begin to take shape in his mind!

The first set of records was from another version of the historical record.

Compared to the previous record, it was virtually identical, with only two characters different.

The Lord Governor feasted with the envoy, music played, and all officers wept below.

The previous historical record did not mention the phrase "musical performance", it merely stated that during the meal, all the generals and soldiers wept, which led Chu Ge to feel baffled, believing it to be an inevitable occurrence.

But now it seems, if this second record is true...

Then this "musical performance" could very well be a key factor causing all the officers and soldiers to weep!

So the question arises, what kind of music was it?

Chu Ge found the answer from another historical record.

This record came from the early years of the Liang Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Liang.

"In the third year, seventh month, the Emperor at Jiucheng Palace's Xianheng Hall held a banquet..."

The record stated that Emperor Gaozong hosted a banquet at Xianheng Hall, and when the music played, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites reported that "Breaking the Formation Dance" was a piece proclaiming the fierceness of our ancestors, stopped being played since the late Emperor Taizong passed away fearing it would sadden Your Majesty upon reminiscence. As I serve in the Department of Music, I think that it is appropriate to play "Breaking the Formation Dance" to express filial sentiments and share joy with all under heaven.

Thus, Emperor Gaozong found it reasonable and ordered the "Breaking the Formation Dance" to be played. After the performance, "The Emperor was choked with emotion, tears streaming down his face, and the ministers wept uncontrollably, unable to look up."

Finally, the mystery that had been obscured unfolded before Chu Ge.

He realized, "It was... Lord Qin's Breaking the Array Music!"

The historical record does not specify which exact piece was performed at that time.

Yet, from the numerous details in the record, one can roughly infer.

During the banquet for Huang Xianzhi's envoy, music was played, and the officers and soldiers all shed tears.

Since the history mentioned music being played, the music obviously had a direct causal relationship with the soldiers' weeping. Furthermore, ordinary melodious and soothing court music, or that self-contentedly languid sound, could obviously not possess such strong evocative power.

Additionally, it was mentioned, "When the common people heard it, they all wept," suggesting that just the soldiers weeping wouldn't have been enough to cause the common people who heard it to weep as well.

It must have been this piece itself, along with the fact that the officers and soldiers wept, that led the common people who heard it to weep as well!

So, this piece of music was military music with significant influence among the common people...

The answer was almost beckoning.

It was indeed "Lord Qin's Breaking the Array Music!"

According to the record, "Breaking the Array Music", created by Emperor Taizong while he was Lord Qin, was employed during his military campaigns. A hundred and twenty men in armor armed with spears, adorned with silver, showcased vigorous and heroic rhythms. Played during feasts, even the Emperor would give up his seat, and everyone at the banquet would rise... From "Breaking the Formation Dance" on, it included loud drums mixed with Qiuci music, the sound echoing for miles, shaking valleys.

That is to say, "Lord Qin's Breaking the Array Music" was a stirring military tune with a powerful evocative force.

And Emperor Gaozong weeping in the court after hearing "Lord Qin's Breaking the Array Music" alongside his ministers further verified this point.

...

Chu Ge was speechlessly moved.

"So it was... indeed so!"

In fact, after his first failed attempt to persuade the generals as Zheng Tian, Chu Ge had a vague sense that something was missing.

And indeed, it was something beyond human effort.

He had tried every possible way to persuade the generals, but to no avail; each of them had their own thoughts and considerations.

And Chu Ge had not anticipated that what truly turned everything around was a piece of music composed by Emperor Taizong of Liang over two hundred years ago!

This outcome astonished Chu Ge, but upon reflection, it also seemed quite reasonable.

Why had nothing Zheng Tian said previously genuinely united these commanders?

Because in the Liang Dynasty, he was merely a former Prime Minister and a Military Governor.

No matter how much he did, he could never awaken people's nostalgia, attachment, and aspiration for the Liang Dynasty.

But Emperor Taizong of Liang truly reshaped the spirit of the entire nation, allowing the powerful Liang Dynasty to intimidate the Barbarians for over two hundred years, and also embedded an ambitious and thriving spirit into everyone's thoughts.

And at the moment when the Liang Dynasty was about to fall and they heard "Lord Qin's Breaking the Array Music", these commanders were awakened to the pride deep within their hearts.

At that instant, they were still willing to acknowledge themselves as subjects of the Liang Dynasty.

They were still willing to take up arms and fight for the Liang Dynasty!

The problem that Chu Ge, acting as a Military Governor, racked his brains to solve was simply resolved by a piece of music from Emperor Taizong of Liang from over two hundred years prior!