Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 355 - 230 No Regrets_2

Chapter 355: Chapter 230 No Regrets_2

Finally, in the face of the great effects of the new law, Wen Jun was skeptical about life on the screen.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand why the new law could be implemented.

Outside the screen, Wang Wenchuan also fell silent.

Tears faintly shimmered in his eyes, and his face showed relief, for through these incredibly real scenes, he saw the possibility of the new law’s success.

He saw the green seed loan and the Exemption Law truly alleviated the burden on the lower-class farmers, as old farmers in the fields praised these policies;

He saw the new law enriching the nation and strengthening the military;

He saw the atmosphere within the court clearing up, with ministers no longer engaging in factional disputes, working together to strengthen the Qi Dynasty, to resist foreign insults, and to ensure the people of the Northern Land no longer lived in fear, no longer worried about foreign tribes moving south, causing destruction and despair;

He saw the debate between the old and new laws finally drawing to a close, with the success of the new law leaving the old party officials speechless...

These were, of course, aspects worth rejoicing over.

But at this moment, Wang Wenchuan clearly had other emotions as well.

He clearly realized that his new law was perhaps doomed to fail from the start.

"Perhaps, Zhang Renxia was right."

"He once said that if the Emperor is wise and merciful, if the officials are incorruptible, and the court is transparent, then I could become an unparalleled wise minister, creating a golden age for the Qi Dynasty; but if the officials are dull and the populace ignorant, then I could only become a disaster to the state, reviled by all."

"It seems he was right."

"Later generations successfully simulated the new law under ideal conditions, but this success had too many prerequisites."

"If these conditions indeed existed, the old law could also create a glorious age, so why should I have bothered to change the law?"

Players who role-played emperors and officials actually adopted a strategy simulation game’s ideal state.

In strategy games, players can issue commands that are implemented without fail.

All data they saw were real without many confusing options, no need to worry about misleading key intelligence.

Such was also the case for players simulating the new law under ideal conditions.

From lower-level officials up to the top decision-makers, they shared a highly consistent common objective, possessed similar levels of knowledge and talent, and this state of bound interests wasn’t affected by any other factors.

But this is ultimately an ideal state, never achievable in reality.

Reality is not a strategy game.

In reality, every directive from the top designer could be misinterpreted at any level by anyone or might be overcorrected or subverted, making the original design unrecognizable;

And the top designer could also receive various feedback riddled with false information, inflated numbers, concealments, or outright fabrications.

And since every level of officialdom harbors its own agendas, some out of ambition, some for land and profit, and others merely to preserve their positions, reluctant to take action...

Truly like Wang Wenchuan, who could fully disregard personal interests and dedicate himself wholeheartedly to public service, are extremely rare.

At this point, Wen Jun’s statement may be considered a profound truth.

"Implementation requires people."

Even the best policies need people for implementation, and if the layer of officials is in such a state, how can your new law be successfully implemented?

After a long silence, Wang Wenchuan sighed, "It is not unjust that the new law failed."

Meng Yuan had shown him three different possibilities, ostensibly as a comfort, showing him the wonders of when the new law worked.

But in fact, it also served as a reminder.

These three possibilities were essentially reasons explaining Wang Wenchuan’s failure to reform.

The path of influence was not something he could accept, and it carried endless future issues;

Controlling the economy with state means wasn’t absolutely unfeasible, but it required a certain social foundation and level of technology which would only mature almost a thousand years later, impossible in the Qi Dynasty then;

Or perhaps, the new law needed a completely selfless, unified bureaucratic system, which was clearly an extreme ideal state, unreachable by any means.

Thus, Wang Wenchuan fully understood that the failure of the new law was not unjust.

No matter how many times he tried, the new law was most likely still doomed to fail with almost no chance of success.

This conclusion, though disheartening, offered Wang Wenchuan some solace.

After all, knowing that what he was attempting was bound to fail was not entirely due to his own incompetence but also involved factors of timing, location, and harmony.

Next, the battle at Niu Zhu Pier came.

Meng Yuan introduced, "Noble lord, next, I would like to introduce two individuals to you.

"These two are heroic figures who appeared about a hundred years after your time, Zhao Binfu and Yu Jiaxuan.

"Both of them are heroes who turned the tide amidst a collapsing empire, and both were top talents of the Qi Dynasty."

With Meng Yuan’s introduction, the series finally came to its last two episodes.

In the first episode, it showed Zhao Binfu winning the battle of Niu Zhu Pier.

Although the victory owed much to several objective factors, such as the Jin leader Wanyan Hailing being tyrannical and internal strife among the Jin soldiers, and the Qi Army holding many advantages in the naval forces...

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