Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 319 - 223: Ultimate Trial Selection Completed! (8000 words, requesting monthly tickets!)_2

Chapter 319: Chapter 223: Ultimate Trial Selection Completed! (8000 words, requesting monthly tickets!)_2

"Wang Wenchuan’s reform is well-known in history. Unfortunately, throughout the long ancient times, he has always been made a scapegoat. Some blamed him for the downfall of the Qi Dynasty, others for the Northern Barbarians taking over the Central Plains, and there were even those who blamed him for the collapse of the entire feudal monarchy..."

"His New Faction, one by one, was labeled as traitors of all times, simply because his personal integrity remained intact, without any blemish in his writing or his character. Otherwise, he too would doubtlessly have been condemned as a treacherous minister of all times.

"His political enemies, on the other hand, were all hailed as pillars of the state, seen as role models of literati and officials who saved the people from disaster and fire.

"In reality, at that time, the Qi Dynasty was merely choosing between two paths: to reform and fight for a glimmer of hope, or to simply muddle along and die a slow death. Wang Wenchuan chose the former with fearless courage, while his political opponents unanimously chose the latter.

"One attitude was ’If risk must be taken, then let me do it personally, even if I have to bear the infamy for all eternity,’ and the other was ’After my death, why should I care if floods rage?’

"In terms of the outcome, perhaps neither type of person could save the Qi Dynasty, but in spirit, Wang Wenchuan indeed qualifies as a hero who knew the impossibility but still pursued."

"Fortunately, in modern society, people have finally recognized the spirit of Wang Wenchuan and have reevaluated his reforms.

"It can be imagined that Wang Wenchuan’s ultimate feeling was not just the despair of reform failure, but also the confusion from seeing through history.

"Just as his poem says, ’I would that I were the frivolous lad of Five Tombs, born in the days of true peace and Great Harmony. Cockfighting and dog-racing fill one’s life, unaware of the world’s peril or safety.’ From the era of Zhenguan to the era of Kaiyuan, there’s a span of about three generations, meaning that if a person were born in the Zhenguan era and died by the Kaiyuan era, only then could he live the most prosperous and carefree life.

"Born a few years earlier, one would experience the chaos of various warlords contending for power; born a few years later, it would be a time of terrible turbulence where the people could not sustain a living.

"In ancient times, it was extremely unlikely to pass one’s life simply cockfighting and dog-racing; a peaceful age is hard to last a lifetime, while destitute times with widespread famine, where capable people are not utilized, is the norm.

"Looking back on his life, even if Wang Wenchuan was exceptionally learned and full of wisdom, perhaps he could only sigh."

"Well said, isn’t Yu Jiaxuan the same?

"Although the two lived in different periods of the Qi Dynasty, separated by over a hundred years, they share some similarities.

"Yu Jiaxuan had talent and military genius—his fifty-cavalry raid already proved his extraordinary valor. His subsequent expertise in suppressing bandits, governance, and training troops all showed him to be an outstanding all-rounder.

"His military theories turned out to be prophetic, foreshadowing the fate of the Qi Dynasty’s demise.

"But for all his life, he had always been a firefighter. From the emperor to the officials, they all saw Yu Jiaxuan as a tool, distrusting him as a ’converted barbarian,’ and ostracizing him. They used him to quell rebellions, to fight bandits and peasant uprisings, but they were unwilling to see him truly accomplish great feats—once he made some progress, they found ways to suppress him.

"Even though he once wrote ’To the death a man’s heart must be iron. Let’s see who tries, to mend the sky that’s torn.’ in the end, his fate was nothing more than ’wanting to speak but resting the case.’

’Wanting to speak but resting the case, yet saying the cool weather makes a fine autumn.’ This simple line expresses so much sorrow and bitterness.

"In this regard, he was even more tragic than Wang Wenchuan. The era had buried such a talent who might have become an unparalleled general, and instead, he was polished into a lyric poet.

"Some say, had Yu Jiaxuan truly become a great general, perhaps those famous poems would never have survived the ages. But conversely, if Yu Jiaxuan could have led the Flying Tiger Army he personally formed to sweep the Jin soldiers and recover the Northern Land, what grand and magnificent poetry might he have written?

"In the end, what we’re left with may not just be a sigh."

"So, is this instance called ’Wanting to Speak but Resting the Case’ because the two main missions within this instance share the fate of ’wanting to speak but resting the case’?"

"Yes, they once were full of wisdom and ambition, but in the end, due to various reasons, they could only bury that wisdom deep within, wanting to say something but unable to speak."

"I’d like to talk about the third character in this instance, Zhang Renxia. I feel his life is different from Yu Jiaxuan’s and Wang Wenchuan’s.

"The previous two’s ’wanting to speak but resting the case’ is primarily a subjective wish to speak but rest the case. Zhang Renxia, however, represents an audience’s perspective of ’wanting to speak but resting the case’.

"His character, just like his name, is imbued with the spirit of a ’knight-errant’ throughout.

"Being a knight-errant is ’A longsword and a cup of wine, a man’s heart as his measure.’ Although Zhang Renxia neither carried a sword nor knew martial arts, he always believed he was living by the knight-errant’s spirit.

"From initially supporting Wang Wenchuan to later witnessing the suffering brought by the new laws and starting to oppose him, even leading to Wenchuan being dismissed as chancellor because of the Refugee Map—every step truly stemmed from the drive of his heart’s code of chivalry.

"After Wenchuan was dismissed, when treacherous new faction officials sought to slander him, it was Zhang Renxia who stood up for what was right and nearly suffered for his outspokenness.

"This proves that his falling out with Wang Wenchuan was not for personal gain, but sincerely an enactment of the knight-errant spirit within his heart."