Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"Calm down, calm down...

"As a professional player, never panic under any circumstances...

"Damn it! How can I not panic? That's Lord Qin, the Gundam personified over there!"

Li Hongyun tried hard to convince himself to stay calm, but he quickly failed again.

Honestly, after learning about the actions of Lord Qin, who was to become Emperor Taizong of Liang, during this phase, anyone who time-traveled into the shoes of his opponent would only have one thought.

That would be to surrender and switch sides, keeping a noble title without losing honor...

There's no way to fight! Really, no way!

After all, humans simply can't beat a cheater.

Not just Li Hongyun himself, even if you brought many of history's famous heroes to face Emperor Taizong, they would still end up conceding.

Maybe Emperor Taizu of Sheng in his prime could have an arm-wrestle?

But Lord Qin's Gundam-like attributes would still give him a huge advantage on the battlefield.

Perhaps it would end up as a standoff where both sides drag out their lifespans trying to outlast each other...

But no matter what, Emperor Taizong is the most skilled warring emperor in history, unquestionably suppressing all famous contemporary generals.

Li Hongyun now understood why he was given three golden talents to choose from.

This... Even with golden talents, it's likely still going to be a losing battle!

But after some painful reflection, Li Hongyun had no choice but to temporarily forget the fact that his opponent was the invincible Lord Qin and start considering the winning conditions of this historical segment.

Looking at the current situation, both Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong were not entirely without the possibility of victory.

But a big victory was out of the question, the best outcome would be to lift the siege of Luoyang and make Lord Qin retreat; a mediocre outcome would involve a prolonged standoff, with Luoyang eventually being breached and Dou Jiande safely retreating; the worst outcome would be 'a battle to capture both kings,' ending up wiped out in one fell swoop.

So, perhaps as long as I can perform better than they did historically, I might be able to clear the level?

Hmm... If I think about it that way, it doesn't seem so frightening. After all, being captured in one battle is already the worst-case scenario, and no matter how terribly I mess up, it's hard to end up worse than that.

Anyway, the upcoming battle has 100,000 troops on my side against just 3,500. I've got the upper hand!"

Before the battle officially began, Li Hongyun first reviewed the relevant historical knowledge about this great war.

Speaking of Dou Jiande, many people in later generations considered him the second most powerful separatist force after Liang, also a likely candidate to unify the land.

The fame of 'a battle to capture both kings' that made Lord Qin particularly proud was because these two kings, Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong, just like Liang, also represented the legitimacy of the previous dynasty and were the two largest separatist forces after Liang at the time.

With these two subdued, the Liang Dynasty had virtually swept the land, with no contenders left.

Compared to Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande clearly had more of a heroic air.

Wang Shichong's military talents were average, and his political strategies seemed somewhat petty, so although his territory was large, many heroes and strongmen did not really take him seriously.

The Liang Army first attacked Wang Shichong and quickly reduced him to nothing more than Luoyang as a solitary stronghold.

And to protect himself, Wang Shichong sought reinforcement from Dou Jiande, using the typical logic of mutual dependence and vulnerability.

After all, once Wang Shichong was destroyed, Dou Jiande alone couldn't possibly hold off the Liang Army.

So, after much deliberation, Dou Jiande decided that he must fight and led his army of 100,000 boldly towards Hulaoguan Pass.

On the Liang side, having besieged Luoyang for a long time without success as it was indeed a strong city, the continuous combat left the soldiers fatigued, prompting many to consider retreating.

But Lord Qin, against the majority opinion, believed that relinquishing such an advantageous position would lead to unmanageable chaos, so he continued to lay siege to Luoyang with the main army, while he himself led only 3,500 elite Black Armor troops to Hulaoguan Pass to confront Dou Jiande's massive army.

Looking at the outcome, Dou Jiande's army of 100,000 was utterly routed by Lord Qin's mere 3,500, leading to his capture, which by any standard seemed quite pathetic.

But if we consider it from Dou Jiande's perspective, putting aside the battle at Hulaoguan Pass, he could also be seen as a hero of chaotic times.

Unlike Lord Qin who hailed from a noble family, Dou Jiande came from modest beginnings. His family wasn't poor, but they didn't have much clout.

From his youth, he was known for being generous and valuing loyalty. Seeing neighbors unable to afford funerals because they were poor, he slaughtered his own oxen to sell for funds to help them. Also, he once fought off several thieves who came to plunder his home, killing four or five single-handedly and sending the rest running.

In such circumstances, Dou Jiande's reputation gradually spread far and wide in the neighboring villages, to the extent that bandits during the troubled times deliberately avoided him, neither daring nor willing to raid his home.

As it happened, this only brought disaster upon Dou Jiande.

The local officials, noticing that bandits never targeted Dou Jiande, suspected he was the mastermind behind these marauders and killed his whole family. With no choice left, Dou Jiande became an outlaw and gradually solidified his position.

As his power grew, Dou Jiande exhibited characteristics that also revealed his grand ambitions and strategies.