Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

After much deliberation, Jie Li Khan finally said, "You and Ashina Simo, go and negotiate peace with Lord Qin, and request a marriage alliance with the Liang Dynasty."

...

The result of the peace negotiations was that Lord Qin agreed to the Turkic people's request for a marriage alliance, and also bestowed some gold and silk as gifts, while the Turkic people in turn presented some cattle and sheep as return gifts.

Thus, both parties obtained a result that they could accept.

After such a big runaround and being publicly scolded by Lord Qin, Jie Li Khan needed a way to step down gracefully.

Even though Lord Qin had adopted a very tough stance, he also knew that it would not be wise to go to war with the Turkic people at this time, so he handed over some gold and silk, making a proper concession.

After completing the challenge of the seventh year of Wude, what remained was only the alliance of Wude's ninth year at the Wei River.

And through this series of events, Li Hongyun profoundly recognized one issue: the alliance at the Wei River was not an isolated, abrupt event; it was the culmination of the conflicts between the Liang Dynasty and the Turkic people.

In fact, even before the Liang Dynasty had started to conquer the world, the Turkic people had already been coveting the Central Plains.

And in the beginning, Emperor Gaozu of Liang was merely one faction supported by the Turkic people.

After the unification of the Liang Dynasty, the Turkic people began to frequently invade the south.

These invasions are recorded in history, but when later generations think of the relationship between the Liang Dynasty and the Turkic people, they often only remember that it wasn't many years before the Liang Dynasty annihilated the Turkic, so one may think that the Turkic were never a serious threat.

However, after experiencing it firsthand, Li Hongyun found that each southern invasion by the Turkic was fraught with crisis.

A single misstep could have easily triggered the Jingping Rebellion sooner than it occurred.

If the capital was moved to Taiyuan according to the thoughts of Emperor Gaozu of Liang and the Crown Prince, what would happen?

The Turkic people would undoubtedly head south even more recklessly, driving straight into Chang'an, River East, and even Hebei.

At that time, these three regions would all fall into immense crisis.

In the case of Chang'an and the Guanzhong region, since the plan was to relocate, burning the city and moving the population would be inevitable. However, many of the people in the Guanzhong region owned their land and would find it hard to leave their native soil.

So, no matter how people were relocated, the prosperous Guanzhong region would still retain much wealth, and the ravages of the Turkic people would turn it into a fattened lamb awaiting slaughter, suffering great hardship.

River East was where the Liang Dynasty had first raised its army, but it was also directly facing the threat of the Turkic people.

When the capital was in Chang'an, power could easily extend to River East. Once relocated to the south, River East would seem out of reach. The Turkic people could easily make excursions near Taiyuan every now and then, placing the many fortresses of River East under their watch.

As for the situation in Hebei, it was even worse.

Because Hebei was where the influence of the Turkic people was most deeply infiltrated, after Dou Jiande died, and Liu Heita was first defeated by Lord Qin, he went south borrowing cavalry from the Turkic.

Control over Hebei from Taiyuan would be even weaker, and the entire Hebei region rebelling anew was not out of the question.

Each year when the Turkic people invaded the south, they brought armies of over a hundred thousand, and each time not handled properly could turn into a disaster.

It was also fortunate that with Lord Qin present, they repeatedly turned dangers into safety, completely quashing the foolish idea of Emperor Gaozu of Liang wanting to relocate the capital.

Li Hongyun composed himself and once again selected the ninth year of Wude to begin the challenge.

After the previous rehearsals, he was now full of confidence in this challenge.

...

The surrounding scene quickly shifted, and once again six riders charged out from the Xuanwu Gate, heading straight for the Wei River.

On the north bank of the Wei River, the cavalry banners of the Turkic people clouded the sky, stretching endlessly.

Coming back to this familiar scene, Li Hongyun felt a change.

This wasn't to say that the character of Emperor Taizong of Liang he was playing had received any kind of enhancement; in "Dark Sand," there was no such setting where characters would noticeably strengthen after completing certain tasks.

It was Li Hongyun himself whose mindset had changed.

The first time he played the role, Li Hongyun hadn't thought too much about it; he simply recreated the actions and words of Emperor Taizong of Liang from back then.

But as a result, the Turkic people ignored him completely and just attacked straight away.

Now, through the several engagements with the Turkic beforehand, Li Hongyun had not only established great prestige in their hearts but was also better able to understand and embody Emperor Taizong of Liang.

Just like two years ago at Wulong Slope, what Emperor Taizong said and did were all carefully planned, not mere empty posturing.

Amid the thundering of warhorses, they had already arrived at the makeshift bridge on the edge of the Wei River.

"Jie Li Khan!

"Two years ago at Wulong Slope, you and I swore an alliance and agreed to a marriage alliance, why then do you bring troops to violate my border today? Such treachery and inconsistency, how do you have the face to be the leader of the Turkic?"

These words were full of gusto and commanding authority.

The last time, Li Hongyun had used nearly the same argument, but the Turkic people were completely unmoved.

This time, however, the reaction from the Turkic people was clearly different.

Their army even showed some disturbances!

Especially those in the front lines of the Turkic people, their faces were clearly filled with surprise and disbelief.

At this moment, Jie Li Khan, Tulikhan, and various Turkic chieftains were gathered together, looking across the Wei River toward the city of Chang'an.

Clearly, they had not yet made up their minds to start the battle immediately, harboring some intent to show off their power.

Gathering together, they could observe the reactions of the Liang Dynasty and discuss strategies timely, and if they truly decided to fight, they would then disperse back into their respective armies to carry out different military plans.