Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

"If Li Hongyun were to play Jie Li Khan, he wouldn't have to do anything, he could just directly command the great army to charge forward, and that would be that."

"As long as he could be immune to Emperor Taizong of Liang's protagonist halo, then this battle, if it really took place, would have a great chance of victory for Jie Li Khan."

"Of course, Emperor Taizong was a military genius, with renowned generals under his command. Although there were only tens of thousands of soldiers in Chang'an, relying on the strong city for defense and gathering forces from all sides, the Turkic people might not necessarily win a complete victory."

"But no matter what, charging forward was the best solution for the Turkic people at that time."

"Because if they didn't charge forward, three years later, they would be captured by Li Jing and brought back to Chang'an to dance."

...

While Li Hongyun was still guessing what the criteria for passing this part of the game were, the line of text in front of him began to scroll down, revealing more years.

Not only that, these years appeared in the form of buttons, which meant they were all interactive options.

Among them, the "ninth year of Wude" option at the bottom had a special display effect, which should mean that it was the core section, the target for ultimate clearance.

Above it, there were the "third year of Wude," "fifth year of Wude," "sixth year of Wude," "seventh year of Wude," and "eighth year of Wude" – five options in total.

Among them, the option for the "third year of Wude" was already in a "completed" display state, and the "seventh year of Wude" was noticeably more prominent than the other options, second only to the "ninth year of Wude."

Li Hongyun was somewhat puzzled, "What do these years mean?"

After trying hard to recall in his mind, Li Hongyun roughly remembered that from the third to the fourth year of Wude was precisely the battle of Hulaoguan Pass, which resulted in the capture of two lords.

"Because I had already played as Dou Jiande and experienced the battle of Hulaoguan Pass, and successfully came up with a solution, is it judged as automatically completed at this stage?

"But what about the other years, were there any major events?"

Li Hongyun thought for a long time but couldn't think of any major battles between the fifth and eighth year of Wude.

Because after the victory at Hulaoguan Pass, Lord Qin was essentially put in a state of being shelved.

On one hand, after the battle of Hulaoguan Pass, the Central Plains had largely been pacified. Although there were still upheavals like Liu Heita's rebellion, Emperor Gaozu of Liang had no intention of allowing Lord Qin to earn any more military achievements.

Instead, he let the Crown Prince and Li Jing handle the pacification, only turning to Lord Qin to put out fires when absolutely necessary.

On the other hand, before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, tensions between the Crown Prince and Lord Qin were escalating, and their political struggle was extremely sharp.

During this process, Emperor Gaozu of Liang consistently took sides.

The reason was that the Xuanwu Gate Incident, rather than being targeted at the Crown Prince's party, was actually more about targeting the Emperor.

What Lord Qin wanted to seize was not the right to the throne but the throne itself.

At that time, Emperor Gaozu of Liang was still quite young. As the Emperor of a rising dynasty, he naturally hoped to rule continuously.

Compared to Lord Qin, the Crown Prince was clearly a more manageable candidate, and due to Lord Qin's unparalleled military achievements, he presented a difficult challenge for the Emperor.

Thus, Emperor Gaozu of Liang's ideals of imperial checks and balances were revived; he intended to support the Crown Prince to suppress Lord Qin. This did not mean he had a particular fondness for the Crown Prince; he was more concerned with the stability of his own throne.

During the time from the battle of Hulaoguan Pass to the Xuanwu Gate Incident, there were not too many noteworthy events, and Li Hongyun had even less of an impression of anything related to the Turkic people.

Of course, Li Hongyun didn't have a special understanding of the history of this period, otherwise, he at least would have thought of an important event regarding the Turkic people in the seventh year of Wude.

...

After some thought, Li Hongyun still clicked on the final option for the "ninth year of Wude" first.

Because he needed to know first who he would be playing as in this stage, and what the goal was.

The scenery around him changed rapidly.

In his field of vision, six riders charged out of Chang'an through the Xuanwu Gate, heading straight for the Wei River.

On the north bank of the Wei River, the cavalry of the Turkic people spread their banners as far as the eye could see, stretching on without end.

Among those six riders, the one leading the charge, if not Emperor Taizong of Liang, then who else could it be?

Li Hongyun's view quickly descended, attaching him onto the body of Emperor Taizong of Liang.

Instantly, a sense of power and confidence filled his entire body.

Li Hongyun could feel that this body was in its prime condition, each cell seeming to expand in jubilation, and the body's agility and control were at an incredible peak.

Li Hongyun's own riding skills were not exquisite, but after attaching to the body of Emperor Taizong of Liang, he could directly experience that pinnacle state of unity between horse and man, and a bold spirit naturally arose within him.

"Is this... the feeling of a human-shaped Gundam?"

Li Hongyun was astonished.

In "Dark Sand," players often attached themselves to some fierce generals. For instance, the assassin trial started with playing as the top swordsman, Nie Rang.

Since the physical abilities of those they attached to varied, players experienced differences in how they could maneuver.

And Emperor Taizong of Liang was clearly among the most top-tier of all historical figures that players had embodied. He was indeed first-rate.

Even with Li Hongyun's own average riding skills, relying solely on the residual muscle memory in Emperor Taizong of Liang's body, he could enhance his riding abilities to an unbelievably refined level.

"Since I'm playing as Emperor Taizong of Liang, doesn't that make me invincible!"

Previously, playing as Dou Jiande, he had come to understand the profundity of being overwhelmingly powerful.

And now, embodying the overwhelmingly powerful himself, with his own luck factored in, recreating the Alliance at the Wei River... seemed like a very simple task?