Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"The ninth year of Wude..."

Li Hongyun savored this critical timing.

For a student of history, the ninth year of Wude was a highly sensitive time.

Because it was in that year that the Lord Qin carried out the Xuanwu Gate Incident, successfully eliminating everyone who posed a threat to his throne.

Therefore, the ninth year of Wude was also the last year Emperor Gaozu of Liang reigned.

After the Lord Qin ascended to the throne, the reign title was changed to "Zhenguan," which for thousands of years has been known as the zenith of both civil and military governance, a model for emperors and ministers in later generations.

But there was another very important event in the ninth year of Wude, the Alliance of the Wei River.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Turkic people got word that this was the Liang dynasty's most vulnerable moment.

Thus, the army of Jie Li Khan neared the walls of Chang'an.

As to how many troops Jie Li Khan brought, historical records are vague, some saying four hundred thousand, some two hundred thousand, but regardless of the exact number, Jie Li Khan must have brought almost the entire nation's forces.

Aside from Jie Li Khan's own core loyal troops, he must have brought a large number of cavalry conscripted from various tribes.

Historical records state that the Turkic forces arranged their formation across the Wei River, with flags fluttering over a stretch of dozens of miles.

However, this time there was no great battle that would decide the fate of the two nations. The Lord Qin, now Emperor Taizong of Liang, employed a ruse, personally riding with six cavalry to the edge of the Wei River, and across the waters, he conversed with Jie Li Khan, accusing him of breaking their pact.

Subsequently, the Liang army arrived, displaying their banners in grandeur behind Emperor Taizong.

Upon seeing the impressive formation of the Liang army, Jie Li Khan dared not engage in direct combat. The two sides signed a treaty on the Weiyi Bridge to the west of Chang'an, sacrificing white horses to seal the pact.

Afterward, Jie Li Khan led the Turkic cavalry back, and the looming battle subsided.

In this process, the Liang dynasty offered Jie Li Khan a tribute of gold and silk, and although Jie Li Khan initially promised to present three thousand horses and ten thousand sheep, Emperor Taizong did not accept it. Instead, he had the Turkic return the people they had captured during their invasion.

Thus, the two sides entered a three-year period of peace, until three years later, when the Turkic were extinguished by the Liang dynasty.

And looking at the specific events of this time, it seems to be right after the Xuanwu Gate Incident and during the large-scale invasion of the Turkic.

"Could it be that this time, the character to be played is amongst the Turkic people?

"It shouldn't be, after all, 'Dark Sand' has never had players assume the roles of different ethnic groups."

Li Hongyun subconsciously hought that he would still be playing an enemy of Emperor Taizong of Liang this time, but then again, it seemed unlikely.

Not having played as a different ethnic group in 'Dark Sand' was one reason. But a more important reason was that playing as Jie Li Khan would be too simple a victory.

The series of military actions carried out by the Turkic before the Alliance of the Wei River could be considered the pinnacle of Jie Li Khan's life.

To put it bluntly, if Emperor Taizong were to be removed from history, the great Liang dynasty would cease to exist. Moreover, the whole of Huaxia might have entered the profound darkness of the Qi dynasty's era where different ethnic groups trampled and ruled over it ahead of its time.

Under the grand circumstances of that time, the struggle between the Liang dynasty and the Turkic would directly determine the world situation and the future historical course of Huaxia.

The Eastern Turks were the backing of the various warlord forces from the early years of the Liang dynasty and the source of domestic turmoil.

This hidden force continued to fuel the conflict and weaken the Central Plains.

After the forces backed by the Eastern Turks had been eradicated and the Central Plains unified by the Lord Qin, the Eastern Turks could no longer sit idly by. Moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, they invaded frequently, continuing to disrupt the stability and development of the nascent Central Plains government.

Of course, from the perspective of the Turkic people, it was a fight to the death, with no fault in taking a hard line against a mortal enemy.

There was no chance for peace between the two sides; it was either you would destroy me or I would destroy you.

Peace was merely a temporary truce.

Interestingly, both parties had experienced their most vulnerable periods.

At the time of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the entire Liang dynasty was at its weakest. The upper echelons had just been chaotically fighting for political power, and the whole country was in recovery from continuous conflict among warlords, with a great reduction in population.

And considering the continuous natural disasters recorded during the Zhenguan period, the condition during the Wude years likely wasn't much better.

On the other side, the Eastern Turks were also transitioning from a loose conglomerate of nomadic tribes into a more advanced political entity.

The yurt of the Eastern Turks had already pressed southward to Dingxiang, attracting a large number of people from the Central Plains, while local forces in the Central Plains received titles from the Eastern Turks, and the political structure of the Turks was becoming standardized.

Jie Li Khan was diligently trying to establish his own centralized rule, sparking backlash from the Turkic nobility.

And with the addition of natural disasters, there was a feeling that the Eastern Turks were plagued by internal troubles and foreign threats.

In reality, if Jie Li Khan could survive this most dangerous phase and successfully integrate internally, the next comeback would be a far more terrifying entity than the Jin Country faced by the Qi dynasty.

In such a situation, Jie Li Khan arrived outside the gates of Chang'an, the very month Emperor Taizong was enthroned, appearing at the most vulnerable and critical region of the entire Liang dynasty at its weakest moment.

Had the Liang dynasty been defeated in this battle, then the entirety of Chang'an would have been ruined.

And the disgrace of the "Jingping Incident" that occurred centuries later might have been pre-empted.