Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 176 The powerful fall, the black flag eats
Civil and military officials raised the price one after another, and in just a few breaths, the price of the officer's head had risen to eight hundred taels of silver, and even continued to rise.

Yang Zhenwu thought to himself that you guys are really spending a lot of money for your future, and you are blocking the way out for those who are financially poor right from the start.

What Yang Zhenwu didn't notice was that the few civil and military officials in the auction account were actually players in disguise.

From time to time, they would raise the price, deliberately raising the price of something that originally cost three or four hundred taels of silver to one thousand taels of silver, or even more.

Even if the player "mistakenly" bids up and wins a head or treasure, he doesn't have to pay a penny -

All you need to do is arrange for someone to secretly "escort" the goods to other military tents with numbers B, C, and D for further auction, and make sure to squeeze more money out of the civil and military officials in the surrounding areas.

If officials could get a 10% discount on silver notes paid to "big merchants", the Black Flag Camp would aim to reduce the burden of silver transportation.

Yang Zhenwu, who was unaware that he was being "cheated", was still anxiously bidding for the price. He learned from other officials that this was the fifth leader-level head and the officials who were bidding for the price had never retreated.

Although Yang Zhenwu was not short of money, the fact that a head cost nearly a thousand taels of silver was beyond his imagination.

If he fought hard and took the heads of two or four officers, he would not be able to collect more ordinary heads, nor would he have the spare money to use his connections. His reinstatement to the rank of deputy general would be even more difficult.

The bad thing is that there are not many officers' heads left on the table.

Yang Zhenwu hesitated for a moment and decisively gave up bidding, hoping that the officer's head would drain his competitor's wallet so that he could take the opportunity to "pick up" a batch of treasures from the palace.

Beheading someone to earn merit is a way to get promoted, and giving your superiors rare gifts is also a shortcut.

Giving gold and silver directly seems too vulgar and easy to be caught, but giving an exquisite treasure is both elegant and decent.

But who knew that the starting price of treasures such as precious utensils would be more expensive.

The lowest-priced treasure also had a starting price of six hundred taels, especially a "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" made of "crystal", which started at one thousand taels. Even so, a group of officials were desperately "fighting" for it, with saliva flying all over the sky.

By the time he picked up the goblet to drink, the price had already been raised to three thousand taels!

Yang Zhenwu was a little unhappy.

He spent five taels of silver to enter the market but couldn't buy a single item. Isn't that inappropriate?

"Mr. Yang, please be patient. If you find these goods unattractive, we can provide you with a high-end lottery service—"

The player with high emotional intelligence did not express directly that the man surnamed Yang had no money, but instead subtly raised Yang Shoubei's standards and gave the other party a way out.

"Please come with me."

The player led Yang Zhenwu into the A-level account, and the latter suddenly felt like he had opened up a "new world".

Dozens of people were having a great time here, with excited roars and wails of those who failed to win the lottery coming one after another.

There are many games in the tent: darts, pitching pots, roulette, pinball... there is always one that suits Yang Zhenwu.

The player led him to the roulette wheel for the draw and gestured for him to put the lottery ball into the roulette wheel.

Of course, in order to appease the distinguished guests, the players announced that Yang Zhenwu’s first draw would be free, and the price of each ten-draw series thereafter would be ten taels of silver.

After listening to a series of game rules, the latter probably thought that if he was lucky, he might be able to draw out a "high-end treasure" worth a thousand taels and make a small profit with a big investment.

Yang Zhenwu stared at the gifts marked in each area of ​​the roulette wheel, even including a limited edition bandit's head.

It’s a free draw anyway, why not try it?
He immediately used his free time and actually drew a bag of ten "crystal beads".

As his fingers moved the marbles in the cloth bag, Yang Zhenwu thought that the feel and color of the marbles could be sold for at least a few taels of silver each.

"Good good!"

Not only did I make back my entrance fee, but I also made a lot of money. An urge to keep going came over me, as if I was a lucky person blessed by God, and my reinstatement was just around the corner!

Yang Zhenwu immediately waved his hand and said, "Give me ten times, or a hundred times!"

He took out a silver note worth one hundred taels and stuffed it into the "waiter's" hand without hesitation. Then he picked up the ball one by one, placed it at the starting point and let go.

But this time his luck was gone. He drew dozens of prizes in a row, but all he got were "Thank you for your patronage" or "rotten fish and shrimp" such as straw hats, straw sandals, mace, multi-grain steamed bread, and tiger-masked shields.

Not to mention winning the jackpot, even the costs can’t be recovered.

After ninety-nine draws, the result was still a pile of junk. Yang Zhenwu was so angry that he was about to explode. He suppressed his anger and drew the last round, but he didn't expect that it actually worked.

Although it is the helmet of the Red Turban bandit general, it does not come with a head. Who would know that it is a bandit's item?
Yang Zhenwu felt very complicated, and a feeling of being deceived came over him spontaneously. But since he had even drawn the bandit's helmet, how could the flag and head be far behind?

Am I just going to return to Dengzhou with this pile of junk in my arms and work as a low-ranking garrison officer for a few more years?

No way! Yang Zhenwu thought, since I'm here, I must give myself an explanation!
So he continued to take out the second hundred taels, the third, the fourth...

He fell into depravity and indulged in the temptation of a small guaranteed draw of thirty, a large guaranteed draw of one hundred, and even free draws, and continued to give away his own money.

The "waiter" on the side gradually revealed a devilish smile.

This method of paying gold in mobile games is still effective. It is the "curse" that makes countless otakus willingly donate money for some paper figures and paper figure clothes.

This "waiter" was once the otaku who had donated 100,000 yuan to the game. The krypton gold otaku eventually became a dragon, and now he has become the "dog planner" he once hated so much, using false probabilities and tricks to lure others into eagerly taking out their money.

The waiter sighed inwardly, "What a sin, what a sin!"

But when he thought about the fact that the funds of these fallen people would be added to the Black Flag Camp's treasury, making the leader's direct forces stronger and enabling them to raise the flag against the Ming Dynasty sooner, his legs were shaking with anticipation.

Then just move your fingers and give Yang Zhenwu a few "surprises".

As for these civil and military bureaucrats who empty their wallets and further exploit the people and soldiers under their rule, they are courting their own destruction.

According to the historical process, Zhu Youjian's collection of three taxes forced the people into a dead end, and everyone cursed Chongzhen for "heavy taxation", which led to the revival of the peasant army that was almost on the verge of collapse, and even became so fierce that it was eventually out of control.

Rebellion. When the Shandong military and civilians are forced to rebel, the Red Turban Army can make another comeback. That time, it will not be as simple as capturing one or two prefectures and counties.

Besides, the players who successfully contracted the "tax-free" grain cabinets in Lunan are basically the lurking group, the trade group, the farmer players, and even the super-powerful knights like the Zodiac Team. If the corrupt officials push too hard, they will also take action in time.

Countless civil and military officials shed sweat and money in various camps, fighting hard.

In a corner that they ignored, a large amount of silver and banknotes were being loaded into boxes. The "waiter" opened the curtain and carried the heavy wooden boxes onto the flatbed truck.

The soldiers of the Black Flag Camp took over and pushed the carts to the barracks outside the city not far away.

When the cart team entered the barracks, the magnificent scene inside the camp came into view. Hundreds of mule and horse carts were parked in every open space in the barracks, and soldiers were constantly carrying wooden boxes and stuffing them into the carts.

At this time, several players holding account books walked through the carts, ignored the players who were organizing their armaments, passed through layers of guards, and went straight into the center of the camp.

A man sat behind a square table, looking through some documents. To either side were other players calculating with abacus or charcoal pencils on paper. He was Li Mu, the commander of the Black Flag Battalion.

The players who entered the tent were beaming with joy. "This conference was a great success. The goods and heads sold at the auction have already fetched 560,000 taels of silver, half of which was in silver notes."

"Well done..." Li Mu raised his wine glass on the table and gestured respectfully towards the players, "Everyone has made great contributions this time, I will definitely reward you generously--"

The Red Turban Rebellion incident not only helped Li Mu get promoted half a level, but also brought him great wealth.

The Duke's and Prince Lu's palaces held a total of 87,537 taels of gold, 3,195,200 taels of silver, 9,000 taels of various pearls, 52,300 bolts of silk and satin, thousands of war horses, and tens of thousands of pack horses, mules, oxen, and donkeys...

After auctioning off part of the assets of the two powerful people, excluding the "cake" portion taken by others, Li Mu had already obtained 460,000 taels of silver and 390,000 taels of silver notes, and the amount was still increasing...

Such lucrative profits made Li Mu's ambition even greater.

According to the conventional mode of using old soldiers to lead new soldiers, Li Mu planned to expand the 4,000 infantry and cavalry into 12,000.

Forcefully train 20,000 militiamen as auxiliary troops, plus an artillery battalion, a supply battalion, an engineering battalion, and a special forces company...

Professional intelligence departments for both internal and external affairs should also be established, and the team of internal affairs cadres should be expanded.

In terms of military expenditure alone, the total consumption of food, wages, training and ammunition in one year was close to one million taels.

If the consumption during the war doubles, it will probably soar to one or two million taels.

This "unexpected" astonishing wealth was enough for him to live on for four to five years, and he even had enough to expand the scale of the "Five Elements Business", resettle refugees and reclaim wasteland, helping him build a stronger "blood-making ability".

Of course, Li Mu could just lie in bed in southern Henan until the autumn harvest under the pretext of being injured. During this half year, he could just stay in his old nest and farm peacefully, making plans for the future.

In addition, the total number of players participating in the Northern Expedition increased to 3,300 with each battle.

These two groups of 600 new players joined the Qihuo Army, Beiwei Army, and Huguang Guerrilla Army according to their personal wishes...

Thanks to the "warp" function of resurrection after death, a large number of Red Turban Army soldiers who died in battle returned to the main base long ago and took river boats to the area occupied by the Beggar Army. The total number of the "First Legion - Beggar Army" increased to 2700.
The number of Beiwei troops volunteering to go to Dengzhou has risen to 2100.

The Beiwei Army, with more than 2,000 people, officially established the Second Legion, obtained corresponding war zone bonuses, and unlocked a series of permissions for following the legion.

Every player who participates in the Northern Expedition will receive generous rewards, including the Battle of Julu, the Battle of Jinan, the Battle of Jishui, and even the Battle of Qufu and Yanzhou. The rewards will be increased by one level every time you participate in a battle.

Players can choose pure merit points, pure silver coins, or a combination of both.

The highest merit point reward is 300, the highest silver reward is 150 taels of silver, and several high-end commodities will be distributed.

And several limited edition filters, such as Warhammer 40k filter, zombie filter, girly pink filter...

Of course, only a few can get the highest reward, and the rewards issued by the direct infantry and cavalry are not much. The total reward issued by Li Mu is only 200,000 to 300,000 taels of silver.

……

In the spring of the 12th year of Chongzhen's reign, the aftermath of the Red Turban Bandits' "rebellion" in southern Shandong was eliminated, and the Black Flag Camp, which had made great military achievements, "split" in Yanzhou.

The army was led by Li Mu himself, and was accompanied by countless mule and horse carts and canal ships. If there were more soldiers and their clothes and armor were brighter and cooler, it would be like the emperor's travel to the south of the Yangtze River.

Another force, the "Beiwei Army," commanded 1,500 surrendered soldiers from the former Liu and Ni armies, and nominally monitored several hundred surrendered Red Turban rebels. The entire army of 3,700 men rushed to Dengzhou.

Li Mu lay in the carriage, lifted the curtain of the window and looked out. Winter was over, spring was coming, and countless humble farmers began to work in the fields with their backs hunched.

"Spring is here, it's time to go home."

(End of this chapter)