Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 426 - 249: The Best Candidate for "Peace Talks"_2

Chapter 426: Chapter 249: The Best Candidate for "Peace Talks"_2

After the incident at Jingping, within just two or three years, the Qi Dynasty had begun to produce a batch of outstanding generals and capable soldiers; the Jin soldiers’ offensive could no longer bulldoze through as before, instead, they frequently faced setbacks.

The Northern Land, which had been conquered by the Jin soldiers, had not been properly assimilated; uprisings occurred frequently, and they could only rely on supporting puppet regimes to achieve indirect rule.

Moreover, within the Jin Country, factions were plentiful, constantly undermining each other, fraught with contradictions...

All these made Wanyan Chang become a firm advocate for peace.

He grasped the hands of the Imperial Censor Minister, Li Hao, his tone filled with emotion, "Our two nations can no longer continue like this!

"Our continuous wars over the past two to three years, and possibly even over a decade more to come! Squandering national strength, countless lives lost to misery, when will such days end?

"Therefore, I hope to join hands with Mr. Li to foster a peace agreement between our two nations, to save our people from this ordeal!"

For a noble of the Jin Country to show such heartfelt trust and closeness to a Qi Dynasty official, who was actually a prisoner despite his rank, might seem to some as a deeply moving gesture.

Chu Ge also acted deeply moved, but calmly asked, "Then, may I ask what I can do in this matter?"

Wanyan Chang continued, "It’s quite simple; I hope Mr. Li can return to the Qi Dynasty and together we achieve this great task of negotiating the peace between our two countries."

Chu Ge still maintained a neutral tone, "Oh? When do you plan to release me to go back?"

Wanyan Chang gave a meaningful smile, "Of course, that will have to wait until Mr. Li truly understands."

Having said that, Wanyan Chang turned and left.

Although he spoke of letting Chu Ge return to the Qi Dynasty, there was absolutely no sign of action afterward.

It seemed as if everything had returned to square one.

...

...

Another day passed.

On the forums, players began to engage in heated discussions about the second stage of the storyline.

As for Chu Ge, he immediately went to consult historical records to clarify the details of this period of history.

In fact, he had already had some vague guesses before and now, after consulting the historical records, it felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted.

"Indeed, I am Qin Huizhi..."

Chu Ge was somewhat overwhelmed.

He seemed to understand why this role was considered the least difficult.

Isn’t the difficulty of being a traitor indeed the lowest?

Although he was still far from completing the instance, Chu Ge could already roughly guess the overall design intent of the instance through its arrangements.

In the first stage, although players could choose different identities, they all shared one common trait: very low status.

The infantry player is a mere soldier in the Peace Army; the assassin is just an ordinary bandit at Cen Bridge Inn; the Ranger is also a roaming bandit trying to save a small village; while the scholar, despite being a third-grade Imperial Censor, is in the capital where princes and chief ministers abound, the actual influence of a third-grade official is minimal.

Therefore, the goal for the players in the first stage of the "Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon" instance was to use these lowly identities to change the world as much as possible.

And in this process, they would inevitably feel the powerlessness of a small figure against the overwhelming tide of history.

For example, for the assassin players, no matter how skilled they are in assassination, it is almost impossible to find an opportunity to assassinate Wanyan Sheng in the ranks. At most, they could assassinate a few lower officers of the Jin soldiers, trying to lessen the havoc of the catastrophe slightly.

Of course, players could collaborate with each other or even plot to assassinate the emperor, but overall, the theme of the first stage was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

A small figure trying to slow the rolling historical wheel by all means.

In the second stage, players’ roles were elevated significantly, taking on some of the most critical identities within the instance.

The first type was naturally generals like Han Fuyue, who could truly train troops and fight, leading efforts to resist the Jin soldiers and recover lost territory. These individuals were supposed to be the ones who could actually stop the wheels of war and save the people from disaster.

Zhao Haiping was following this path.

This probability’s difficulty was medium among the three, because being able to fight and win under those conditions did indeed present a fair challenge, but if considering this aspect alone, the difficulty was still acceptable.

The second type was the prince, the path Fan Cun was trying.

The prince’s difficulty was the highest, because in this storyline, there was no General Han Fuyue, meaning the player couldn’t neglect their duties; when war comes, they must personally take the field.

Apart from having to fight personally, as he was not the Crown Prince, he also faced struggles with the Crown Prince, the Emperor, the civil officials, and other powers.

Therefore, Emperor Taizu of Sheng had told Fan Cun that conquering Xixia might appear to be a climax, but in reality, it was just the beginning.

No matter how strong the people of Xixia were, they were being painfully defeated by Liu Fa in the northwest; yet for the multitude of Qi officials who wanted Liu Fa dead, a single order from Tong Dao Fu was enough.

Thus, the difficulty of this prince’s path was even higher.

The third type was the scholar’s path that Chu Ge was following.

Or rather, the path of selling out for peace...