Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 134 - 129: Inconsistent with Official Historical Records!

Chapter 134: Chapter 129: Inconsistent with Official Historical Records!

Bai Yuanteng furrowed his brows, "Is there such a thing? Is this record reliable?"

Clearly, he was also skeptical of Su Chengbai.

After all, Su Chengbai often liked to find records in unofficial histories to support his "shocking" arguments. If it was for making a program or generating buzz, Bai Yuanteng had no objections, but to use it to attack the game "Dark Sand"... that might be a bit suicidal.

What if it backfired and led to relentless pursuit of flaws?

He wanted the buzz, but he still had a basic survival instinct.

Su Chengbai immediately produced an official historical text, "Absolutely true!

"Look, it’s clearly recorded that Wang Zongchang was buried wrapped in a straw mat.

"Wang Zongchang himself was an honest official. Before the battle of Nanhe City, perhaps because he was prepared to die, he had already instructed his family and subordinates in his will that he should be buried simply in a straw mat without any lavish burial goods.

"And according to the official history, his family and subordinates did exactly that after his death.

"In fact, although Wang Zongchang himself was an honest official, his father and brothers were also well-known officials at the time, known as ’four scholars from one family.’ The people gifted them four umbrellas for all, which is why there is still a place called ’Four Umbrellas Lane’ commemorating them.

"That is to say, even though the father and sons were honest officials, with Wang Zongchang’s family conditions at the time, they could have afforded a lavish funeral. The fact that he was buried in a straw mat was purely Wang Zongchang’s own request.

"So, the memory shard in ’Dark Sand’ where the emperor gifts more than a dozen gold artifacts is completely inexplicable!

"Gifts from the emperor are not things one can dare to give away or sell; they are mostly buried with the deceased. But this clearly contradicts the historical record of being buried ’wrapped in a straw mat’!

"So, this is most likely fabricated by the game ’Dark Sand’!

"Even if it isn’t fabricated, it still cannot be proven!"

Bai Yuanteng looked at the content recorded in the official history, thoughtful.

It seemed... indeed so!

Wang Zongchang being buried wrapped in a straw mat is recorded in the official history, because that was indeed how he instructed it to be when he was alive, and from the reaction of the people at the time and various other verifications, it should all correspond to this fact.

However, the emperor’s gift mentioned in "Dark Sand" was not found in the official records and even somewhat contradicted the historical account of "burial wrapped in a straw mat."

Of course, one could force an explanation, such as these gifts arrived after Wang Zongchang was buried and later got lost with the decline of the Wang family, or that these gold artifacts were indeed buried with Wang Zongchang, just not recorded in historical materials.

But nonetheless, such forced explanations are obviously very weak compared to the established historical records.

This was indeed a good opportunity to attack "Dark Sand"!

If successful, it could immediately trigger a huge controversy and generate significant buzz!

Given there were historical records, Bai Yuanteng felt somewhat more confident.

"So... has Wang Zongchang’s tomb been discovered?" he asked again.

Su Chengbai shook his head, "No!

"How could it be discovered? Buried wrapped in a straw mat, what kind of grave is there to excavate? This is absolutely an indisputable dead end!"

Bai Yuanteng was still not quite reassured, "Isn’t there a one in a million chance?"

Su Chengbai looked somewhat speechless, obviously a bit impatient with Bai Yuanteng’s excessive caution, "Mr. Bai, think about it.

"Our archeology is so advanced, up to now, apart from those major tombs that have been protected, how many undiscovered, unexcavated tombs are there?

"Moreover, the Great Sheng Dynasty is a dynasty very close to us in time. If it were a more distant dynasty, like Yan or Chu, it might be possible for some tombs to remain unknown. The Great Sheng Dynasty? Impossible!"

Bai Yuanteng was somewhat persuaded.

A setting in "Dark Sand" that contradicts the official historical records? This indeed could be a good topic that sparks both heat and controversy.

If they could indeed use this opportunity to launch a fatal strike against "Dark Sand," their entire entertainment group could capitalize on this point to gain immense popularity and profit!

Of course, there were risks involved, such as being severely targeted by the authorities.

But since the incident involving Su Chengbai had long passed without any issues, it seemed as if there were no risks?

Perhaps the authorities themselves were questioning and observing the so-called "historical memories" of Dark Sand?

If that were the case, then there might be profits to be made.

After contemplating for a long time, Bai Yuanteng finally made a decision, "Alright, let’s do as you suggested, Mr. Su! Go ahead and post on Weibo. We’ll find a way to support you from our end!"

...

In the afternoon.

Du Gang was checking the discussions of players on the official Dark Sand forum while keeping an eye on online sentiments about Dark Sand.

"This is really intense!"

He sincerely exclaimed.

Every morning at 6 o’clock, the leaderboard for the instance "Ennoblement Against My Will" would refresh, and one could see several players who were originally in the lead suddenly drop by more than ten places, or many others who were initially behind surge forward.

Until the last moment, no one knew which few lucky individuals would be selected.

Du Gang, who couldn’t participate in this selection, could now face all this with a relatively relaxed and comfortable mindset.

He even felt somewhat relieved. If he hadn’t discovered the truth about Dark Sand, he might have already joined the frantic race to climb the rankings.

That would have surely been painful!

Although everyone’s gaming time was equal, using the time meant for sleeping, but during the day, some differences could still occur.

Some players would research information, read strategies, and plan during daytime hours; others had to work, which would invariably create some disparities.

Now, in this situation, Du Gang could better focus on his primary job.

After scanning online, he found that the sentiment around Dark Sand remained very stable.

Currently, the storyline "A Decision Still Awaits Until the Coffin is Closed" had created a buzz online. The plot of the movie itself, several distinctive historical characters, and the players’ impressive performances during the game had garnered significant attention from internet users.

The overall feedback was very positive.

Once the ultimate trial of "Ennoblement Against My Will" ended and the movie was released, it was expected to stir up another wave of excitement.

However, just then, Du Gang saw another discordant voice.

Su Chengbai! It was him again!

This time, Su Chengbai had posted another long Weibo post.

"Ironclad evidence! Exposing the scam of Dark Sand! This is not any real historical memory at all! The game content actually contradicts the official historical records!"

In this lengthy post, Su Chengbai uncharacteristically praised the character Wang Zongchang, calling him a rare honest official and a noteworthy minister. However, he immediately changed his tune, citing historical records that stated Wang Zongchang was "buried wrapped in a mat," so it was impossible for there to be an event in the memory fragments of Dark Sand showing him "being bestowed with over a dozen golden artifacts."

Hence, he asserted that the content in Dark Sand did not correspond with historical records, questioning how they dared to claim it as "true historical memory."

Du Gang was very annoyed.

Here we go again!

Is this ever going to stop?

If it hadn’t been for Beichen, the administrator of Dark Sand, specifically instructing him to hold back, Du Gang would have struck out at this guy long ago.

But there was no helping it; Beichen said he had plans, so Du Gang had to respect Beichen’s decision.

Du Gang clicked on the comments section of this Weibo post to see the reactions of the netizens.