Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 354 - 230 Regretless

Chapter 354: Chapter 230 Regretless

Soon, a recording of a hundred players transferred into the bodies of the Qi Dynasty emperor and officials was displayed before Wang Wenchuan.

At the start of the imperial court session, Meng Yuan, playing the emperor, Chu Ge, playing Wang Wenchuan, and other players portraying various ministers such as the Imperial Censor, launched a sudden attack on the conservative faction, catching them completely off guard.

Following that, reforms began with great fervor.

The details of the local officials enacting reforms were interspersed and displayed, among which were the observations of Wen Jun in the Western Capital, Henan Prefecture, which were notably presented.

Wang Wenchuan, along with the audience in front of the screen, watched intently, holding their breath.

The players who had personally participated in the ultimate trial were also watching very closely.

Although they had been involved, they only knew about the situation in their own states and counties, and had little understanding of the entire scope of the Qi Dynasty.

At this moment, the drama series had perfectly edited together the performances of officials from various places and narrated them in an orderly manner.

Thus, even for the players who had firsthand experience, their isolated understanding, like a blind man feeling an elephant, transformed into a comprehensive view of the entire picture.

In fact, putting aside technological aspects, the process of these hundred players traversing to implement new laws wasn’t particularly outstanding in detail.

They merely followed strict procedures to roll out new laws in specific areas.

For instance, with the Green Seed Law, what these officials needed to do was simply like what Wang Wenchuan had done during his pilot project as a county magistrate: personally visit the countryside to assess public sentiment, carefully select the targets for green seed loans, verify the repayment capabilities and the willingness of farmers, explain the policy of the Green Seed Law to both officials and farmers, and strictly enforce the law’s regulations, punishing those who forced or privately profited from the green seed loan without mercy.

If one were to look at the content alone, these measures might seem rather ordinary.

But when every state and county across the country could roughly achieve this kind of situation, the prospects for the new laws changed drastically!

Wang Wenchuan, watching these players meticulously implement the Green Seed Law, felt tears glimmering in his eyes for reasons unknown.

He saw his own past reflected in these players.

There was a time when he was just an ordinary county magistrate.

In office, he had conducted several pilot projects for new policies, and his early version of the green seed loan had been a tremendous success.

The farmers praised it unanimously, local governance was orderly, and Wang Wenchuan’s name became renowned throughout the land; calls for him to enter the imperial court became more pronounced by the day.

It could be said that Wang Wenchuan’s rise to a high office was the wish of the masses.

Many ambitious people believed that to save the Qi Dynasty, reform was the only option, and for reform to be successful, Wang Wenchuan must be the one to lead it.

But why, in the blink of an eye, did decades pass and he, still single-mindedly dedicated to the people, ended up facing a world of turmoil and vilification, almost lambasted as much as those corrupt and treacherous officials?

Perhaps Wang Wenchuan knew he had been hindered by petty individuals, but having always held himself to high standards, he inevitably placed the greatest responsibility for the failed reforms upon himself during countless sleepless nights.

Yet, the scene before his eyes now presented another possibility.

What if, from the emperor to the local officials, everyone was united in spirit with Wang Wenchuan, selflessly advancing the new laws?

In the imperial court, although Meng Yuan’s portrayal of the emperor seemed like an absentee landlord who knew and could do nothing, his unconditional trust in the new laws alone had already surpassed the actual historical emperor.

Wang Wenchuan couldn’t help but remark, "The Holy Emperor ruling by doing nothing might just be like this."

As long as one is skilled in employing talent, an average, pleasure-seeking monarch could elevate their country to a dominant position;

On the other hand, if a monarch is politically astute but only uses officials to amass wealth and maintain checks and balances, treating the world as private property and officials as household slaves, then such a clever emperor will become a disaster for the country;

As for those emperors who have great talent but no grand strategy, full of ambition but lacking in perseverance, wishing to employ people but riddled with suspicion...

One can only sigh.

Those local officials who wholeheartedly implement new laws are even rarer.

The officials these players embodied were mostly old acquaintances of Wang Wenchuan.

But their behaviors now seemed utterly foreign to him.

Those who used to excel at scheming were now earnestly toiling away, not concerned with promotion or falsifying achievements;

Those who were indecisive now firmly carried out new policies, battling with stubborn local forces;

Those who were talentless and mechanically followed orders from above were now adapting the new measures flexibly to the local and timely conditions.

Although Wang Wenchuan might not agree with how some of them handled things, overall, he felt that each of these officials was like himself.

This likeness did not refer to the specific methods of implementing new policies, but to that selfless heart for the state.

One Wang Wenchuan could manage a county well but not a country.

But what if every magistrate and governor in the land were like Wang Wenchuan?

Then Wang Wenchuan’s reforms might no longer be a failed attempt, and Wang Wenchuan himself would undoubtedly become an undisputed sage minister, ranked among those legendary ministers of antiquity.