Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 268 - 207: People of Two Eras_3

Chapter 268: Chapter 207: People of Two Eras_3

Li Hongyun’s brows furrowed instantly, and then he quickly shook his head.

"Eh? Could it be...

"No, it doesn’t add up, the timing is off."

Li Hongyun’s thoughts raced, and he formulated another speculation.

"Could it be that this is another manifestation of demons distorting slices of history? Since important historical figures have vanished outright, isn’t it possible that individuals from different eras have been amalgamated?

"After all, besides him, I can’t think of a second person named Zhang Renxia..."

Li Hongyun’s previously acquired historical knowledge suddenly connected, outlining a possibility he had never considered before.

In the instance’s initial scene, the character’s card bore a poem: A longsword and a cup of wine, the heart of a man within an inch.

This poem wasn’t written by someone from the Qi Dynasty, but by a great poet from the Liang Dynasty.

No matter how much the instance twisted reality, it was impossible for someone from the Liang to come to the Qi.

Thus, this poem was a referencing device, either to portray this person’s character or to hint at some of his traits.

Li Hongyun initially didn’t understand, but now he realized.

This characteristic was all about the word "hero"!

A longsword and a cup of wine, the heart of a man within an inch. The poem described a knight-errant, and Zhang Renxia’s very name contained the word "hero".

And judging by his historical deeds, regardless of how others viewed him, in his own heart, he likely believed himself to have consistently followed the way of the "hero".

Of course, Zhang Renxia was also a poet, albeit without any universally lauded works to his name, but he did pen some respectable verses.

As for why his own poems weren’t used in the game, instead opting for one by a great poet of the Liang Dynasty, it might be because Zhang Renxia didn’t craft any particularly good poems about "heroes".

At this juncture, Li Hongyun tentatively inquired, "Brother Tan Fu, might there be something troubling you?"

Li Hongyun’s question was actually a probe to confirm identity.

He wasn’t under much pressure; if he had asked incorrectly and caused some unpredictable consequences, he could start over.

What he didn’t expect was that Zhang Renxia’s response would contain an astounding amount of information.

"Brother Tan Fu, why ask when you already know? Isn’t it all because of the new laws introduced by Jing Gong?"

Zhang Renxia’s answer was casual, but for Li Hongyun, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Firstly, Zhang Renxia accepted the way Li Hongyun addressed him. "Tan Fu" was indeed the same Zhang Renxia that Li Hongyun had in mind.

Secondly, Zhang Renxia’s words mentioned "Jing Gong" and "new laws"—keywords that perfectly matched the Zhang Renxia Li Hongyun was aware of.

In history, the Qi Dynasty indeed underwent a large-scale reform known as the "Wang Wenchuan New Policies," with Wang Wenchuan himself also referred to as "Jing Gong."

Zhang Renxia, originally a junior of Wang Wenchuan, was held in high regard by him and was repeatedly sought to assist in the reform. However, Zhang Renxia eventually ended up opposing the reform, even becoming a pivotal figure in its failure.

Historically, Wang Wenchuan had been maligned until modern times.

To be maligned meant he was regarded almost on par with Qin Huizhi, a top-level villain from ancient to modern times responsible for the death of General Han Fuyue.

For instance, later generations said Wang Wenchuan "led a group of villains and poisoned the lands"; or that "the unification of the state, its split and never to be restored, was the fault of Wang Wenchuan, and Qin Huizhi was blamed for it never being put back together."

Another summary stated: Qin Huizhi "overtly presented flattering words to please a dull monarch," while Wang Wenchuan "connived through cunning plans to bewilder a wise ruler."

In short, Qin Huizhi was an openly deceitful villain who openly misled a foolish ruler to do bad deeds; Wang Wenchuan, masquerading as loyal, appeared capable on the surface but in reality, he misled a wise monarch with terrible strategies to do bad deeds.

Even the fall of the Qi Dynasty was attributed to these two men, seen as the fundamental reason for the dynasty’s demise in succession.

Of course, in modern times, as people’s understanding grew regarding political, economic, and social development, Wang Wenchuan’s reputation began to see a reversal.

For Li Hongyun, this was basic historical knowledge. He was well-aware of it and should have found nothing shocking.

But the problem was the discrepancy in eras!

Over a decade after Wang Wenchuan’s death, General Han Fuyue was born; and when General Han Fuyue died, Yu Jiaxuan was only two years old.

This meant that Yu Jiaxuan, Zhang Renxia, and Wang Wenchuan were not from the same era—there was at least a hundred years between them.

Yet, in the "Yushuohuanxiu" instance, these two had become contemporaries.

If Zhang Renxia was the reference point, then both Yu Jiaxuan and Zhang Renxia should be in their early twenties at this time, while Wang Wenchuan would be in his forties, already at the heart of Qi’s power structure, just beginning his reforms.

With this, Li Hongyun’s entire assessment of the instance changed.

Originally, he had thought it was very likely a personal instance for Yu Jiaxuan, but now it seemed certain that it was not.

It made sense, too, for, according to "Dark Sand" officials, only figures like Emperor Taizu of Sheng, who had significant impact on an entire historical period, would have their own expansive, dedicated instances.

Other large instances were mostly constructed by a group of important historical characters.

Only, until now, it had always been figures from the same era, whereas this time, the situation within the instance had substantially deviated from historical truth.

Combining what he had witnessed after entering this instance, Li Hongyun couldn’t help but entertain various new speculations.

"The instance began with the battle of Niuzhu, and the standard for clearing the instance was to win the battle of Niuzhu despite the disappearance of key figure Zhao Binfu.

"Then, the task must most likely fall to Yu Jiaxuan.

"But considering the Jin Army’s epic enhancement in the battle of Niuzhu, it’s impossible to succeed with just Yu Jiaxuan alone.

"There needs to be a competent army and sufficient provisions.

"Since Zhang Renxia is among the initial characters, given the historical significance of Wang Wenchuan’s reforms, that must undoubtedly be an extremely important clue.

"There are clearly two parallel tracks: civil and military.

"In other words, the success in the battle of Niuzhu depends on not only personal martial prowess and strategy when playing as Yu Jiaxuan but also on the outcomes of Wang Wenchuan’s reforms?"

After this analysis, Li Hongyun realized the instance was only just now revealing its full picture.

It was totally different from his original expectations!

But he didn’t have time to think further, as fog quickly filled his vision, and he felt himself awakening in reality.

Today’s game time had ended.

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