If you reach an older age and still haven't realized the existence of fate, it only shows that your perception is too poor.

From the moment each person starts modeling their life, everyone is playing their own role. From a local perspective, everyone is the protagonist. But from a broader perspective, there are only a handful of true protagonists; the vast majority of people are just NPCs in this life, assisting the main characters in driving the plot forward.

The biggest problem for ordinary people is that if their modeling is too poor and their starting point too low, the most golden decades of their lives will be wasted in aimless wandering. Even if they figure out the "game" later on, once they're past middle age, it's inevitably hard to make a comeback, no matter how much will they have.

Therefore, the correct approach is to play the script you’re given. It’s okay to add a little extra flair, but don’t steal the spotlight. If you’re not destined to be the protagonist but seize the protagonist's scenes, you’re likely to suffer a backlash from the system.

For example, why did Li Zicheng's army immediately fall apart and lose cohesion the moment he died?

Because everyone who rebelled with Li Zicheng firmly believed he was blessed with destiny, and thus thought they were following the will of heaven. After overthrowing the Ming dynasty, at the very least, they’d have the merit of following the new emperor. But when Li Zicheng was killed by a farmer's hoe, everyone suddenly became enlightened, realizing Li wasn’t a true son of heaven. So they either surrendered to the Ming or defected to the Qing.

So whether you’re the protagonist or not, others can see it much more clearly than you can. People are driven by profit and self-preservation. What you call "investment" is just others believing you’re still on the rise and wanting a share of your gains. But if they see you’re on the decline, it’s already rare for them not to kick you when you’re down.

In short, only take on as much as your abilities allow—your achievements are merely a reflection of your capabilities. Conversely, if your abilities don’t measure up but you create a huge scene, once people realize it’s all for show, you’ll be lucky if everyone just walks away; if they don’t step on you and take credit elsewhere, that’s already more than you could expect.