Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 207 - 186: Meeting on a Narrow Path

Chapter 207: Chapter 186: Meeting on a Narrow Path

[The Great Sheng Dynasty’s reign is being recalculated based on the judgment of all cases.]

[The Great Sheng Dynasty’s reign: Two hundred and sixty-five years.]

[Emperor identity successfully cleared!]

[Clearance Evaluation: To take the nation’s filth is to be the Master of the Altar of the Earth; to bear the nation’s ill omen is to be the King under Heaven.]

Seeing this final outcome, Chu Ge finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had finally cleared the trial!

The last comprehensive calculation of the reign still surprised Chu Ge a bit because it was much lower than he had anticipated.

He had been taking every step as seriously as possible, and he even improved upon Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s standard answer in his handling of the three major cases. Yet, he still hadn’t managed to surpass Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s achievements.

Logically, after executing Sima Yan, there shouldn’t have been any new major cases to deal with among those towering piles of memorials.

If there had been any major cases left, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to clear the trial.

The reign lost must be mostly due to some minor details.

That is to say, Chu Ge’s measures in dealing with other, less important memorials must surely have differed from Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s.

Some of the methods he used might be fine in theory, but would encounter various problems in practice, ultimately shortening the reign of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

Indeed, the perspective of modern people is higher than that of ancients, but their understanding of that era is inevitably less. Combined, players still aren’t likely to achieve feats that completely surpass those of the ancients.

Hence, the clearing condition for the identity of "Emperor" was a reign of more than two hundred thirty years.

Seeing the clearance evaluation for the "Emperor" identity, Lu Heng was somewhat stunned.

"Eh, this evaluation is very different from that of the beggar identity."

Chu Ge glanced at him: "You’re stating the obvious. The identities of an emperor and a beggar are far apart anyway; it would be a problem if their evaluations were similar, right?"

Lu Heng shook his head: "No, that’s not what I mean.

"I’m saying that when evaluating the trial of the beggar identity, this game’s assessment is quite verbose and says a lot. But for the emperor, it’s summed up in one sentence."

He recalled briefly and simply restated the clearance evaluation he received when clearing the beggar identity.

It was evident that the evaluation for the beggar identity was more specific, while the evaluation for the emperor identity was broader and more abstract.

Chu Ge fell silent for a long while, then spoke, "That’s why this clearance evaluation is quite apt.

"Because Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s four identities, each with different clearance requirements, signify different meanings.

"The role of playing a beggar primarily allows players to experience the suffering of the lower class, underscoring the critical importance and chance nature of heroic figures in historical transformation. It’s not to deny the role of ordinary people; rather, it’s to acknowledge that the appearance of heroes is not inevitable.

"The meaning here is quite clear, which is why a more specific clearance evaluation was used.

"On the other hand, the role of the emperor is more about letting players experience the hardships of governing a nation and appreciate the innumerable compromises in the process.

"Perhaps each player will have some unique ideas during the experience, so the clearance evaluation given at the end is more general, a divergent one that lets players find an answer that fits them."

Lu Heng nodded, "Hmm, that makes sense. So, what’s your answer? How do you interpret these two sentences?"

At this moment, Chu Ge’s perspective gradually rose to a high point above the entire palace.

As he looked down upon the whole palace, contemplating the heart of the Great Sheng Dynasty, his thoughts inevitably branched out to the vast territories of the Great Sheng Dynasty, and to those heroic deeds that had taken place on this land over thousands of years.

Chu Ge reviewed his experiences while playing the role of "Emperor," recalling each memorial and case, and finally shared his interpretation.

"To take the nation’s filth is to be the Master of the Altar of the Earth; to bear the nation’s ill omen is to be the King under Heaven.

"This sentence comes from a passage in the ’Tao Te Ching.’ This classic is all-encompassing, and perhaps every person can offer their own interpretation.

"But if placed in the context of the emperor’s role, this is how I see it.

"A single person doing a task is simple; they make the decision and bear the consequences themselves. No matter the outcome, no matter if they regret it, in the end, it’s their own affair.

"But when a group does something, it immediately becomes complicated because everyone has different ideas, and after the task is done, some will profit while others will suffer; an outcome that satisfies and benefits everyone is impossible.

"So, whenever a group sets out to do something, there will inevitably be complaints; this is what’s meant by ’filth’ and ’ill omen.’

"Imagine now that a grand nation is like a speeding train, but there’s a malfunction; the connections between carriages show signs of loosening, the fuel for burning is running low, or there’s a break in the rails ahead...

"All the people on the train must decide to do something, perhaps to reinforce the carriages or find more fuel...

"In the process of acting, people will constantly say, ’You should do this, not that,’ or ’Ah, you should have listened to me earlier,’ or they might not speak out, but inwardly grumble while figuring out a chance to escape by jumping off the train.

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