Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 77 Come, give the friendly forces a whole life
While the Ming court was in chaos due to the invasion of Qing troops, Xi County, under the control of the Qihuo Army, was undergoing construction in full swing.

Tens of thousands of people from nearby states and counties brought their own bamboo baskets and hoes and followed the veterans of the Beggar Army to dig earth and build forts.

After dozens of days of hard work, the "fortress system" transformed from the county town has begun to take shape. Four small fortresses have been built at the corners of the main city wall, like a big "器" character located on the north bank of the Huai River.

The walls of the entire county were thickened by three times to withstand the impact of large-caliber shells. A group of bricklayers were also organized in the city to be ready to repair any damaged walls.

The earth outside the base of the wall was hollowed out, leaving a twenty-foot-wide trench filled with sharp stakes and bamboo thorns. The drawbridge at the city gate was connected to the flat land outside the trench.

Various hastily made small cannons and crossbows were placed on the top of the wall, baskets of gravel and logs were hung behind the parapets, and large pots were placed at the bottom of the wall, ready to boil water or "golden juice" at any time.

The tens of thousands of people in Xi County were told by the beggars that if the government troops attacked in large numbers, Xi County would be under siege for a long time, and if the city ran out of food, it would fall into cannibalism.

The Qihuo Army repeatedly assured the citizens that they would protect their private property in the city and sent soldiers to escort the people out of the city to the relatively safe rear. Only then did the people take their valuables and flee to the surrounding areas.

After the Beggar Army's promises and threats, the town's population of tens of thousands was suddenly reduced to less than 10,000. Even these people were all laborers and craftsmen who volunteered to assist the Beggar Army in the battle.

"Brothers, come on! The Qing army has invaded the interior of China, the brave soldiers of the government army are marching north to defend the king, and the new governor of Henan will soon lead his troops to attack us. We don't have much time!" "Lu Xiaobu" shouted while holding a simple loudspeaker to his mouth.

While shouting, he cheered on the busy players from the wall and even wanted to stick the loudspeaker in people's faces.

"You're still being lazy here, come and help! There are still a lot of city defense props that haven't been moved up the wall!" Huang Zilong leaned forward angrily to bite someone, but Lu Xiaobu flexed his muscles nimbly and he didn't bite anything.

"What do you know? I'm a battlefield nurse. Even though I don't fight, I boost the morale of my brothers. Look, Liu Changsheng and the others, as well as those NPCs who are ramming the fortress, all like my slogans."

Lu Xiaobu pointed forward, and dozens of players and farmers were looking over, smiling at him, and some even waved.

"You're talking nonsense." Huang Zilong put down a wooden box filled with artillery shells. "He was just being polite. He thought you were joking with him. Hurry up. If you don't get busy now, who will give you credit after the war?"

"I know that Mr. Huang has been tired. Please drink some water to cool down." Lu Xiaobu handed over the bamboo tube attentively, then took out a folding fan and unfolded it, fanning the master of the house like a lackey to cool him down.

"Zhang Xianzhong and the others have made great contributions, such as the prince offering his head and Jing Ke assassinating Qin Shi Huang. How come I can't think of such a plan?" Huang Zilong couldn't help but slap his head, with a lamenting tone of regret.

"How can we compare to those high-level players? In their chat groups, there might be some bigwigs in military, politics, and strategy who can give us guidance.

Our chat group is always asking for pornographic pictures when we're playing keyboard games, or playing keyboard games when we're playing pornographic games, or Paradox players going crazy, kicking this one today, punching that one tomorrow, and wanting to land on the moon the day after tomorrow..."

"And that middle school guy from Warhammer who's obsessed with blood sacrifice to the Blood God, have you forgotten?" Huang Zilong wiped the sweat off his face with a rag he carried with him.

"Yes, yes, yes, I was negligent. Warhammer guy wanted Horus to turn into a filial son all day long, so he shot the guide..."

"Then they can't get what they want. The official game plot is set in stone. The guide is the only male protagonist in the game plot. If the protagonist dies, the game plot and gameplay centered around the guide will have to be redone. The game planners don't have the time to make another one—"

In my opinion, He Lusi should pretend to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, wait until he sees through the hypocrisy and hopelessness of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, then stand up and shout, "Let the Ming Dynasty burn!" and then start a rebellion. This will not only avoid harming the people, but also satisfy Hammer's role-playing habit. Look, the world where the Ming Dynasty is hurt and Hammer is happy is achieved.

"Oh oh oh! Who said Commander Huang is stupid? This is quite an idea! I bet if you tell this plan to Hammer, they will definitely assign you a position as a legion commander."

"Then let's hope their undercover agent becomes the boss soon. Speaking of which, it seems someone recently bought a new weapon developed by the Equipment Department. What is it?"

"I don't know either. No one told me. But the guide has made a lot of money recently by collecting taxes. If calculated in silver, it's a full 50,000 taels..."

"Fifty thousand taels for just one autumn harvest? Isn't it true that a broken county town only earns forty to fifty thousand taels in the whole summer and autumn?" Huang Zilong opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Originally, it wasn't possible, but the leaders sent one or two hundred players from top to bottom as cadres, and with the tax and service registers as reference, the wealthy could no longer evade taxes. Merchants and shops also started paying taxes. With the wealthy paying more, the tax amount went up. Or maybe it's that there should have been so much tax here, but it was just taken up by the powerful and the clerks in the past."

"That's true. The Ming Dynasty's official account books have been kept for over two hundred years, and the recorded population hasn't changed much. The total amount of farmland has even decreased. No one would believe such data if you told them."

"Only the 'base registers' compiled by the clerks themselves are useful. Those rich people who were taxed were furious, saying they drove away the beggars and thieves, only to have a small-time thief come along."

"Hahaha, what do ordinary people think?" "Ordinary people usually pay their taxes on time. Now that they're free from corruption and bribery, the pressure is actually less. Many people are grateful to Mr. Li for bringing them sunny days."

"Alas, others are making great progress, but I'm standing still. If I don't win the ranking award in this battle, I think I'll have to lead a group north to fight the Tartars." Huang Zilong sat down on a random empty spot and took a sip of water from his bamboo tube. "I heard that the Tartars are very strong right now. I want to experience the intensity and train myself."

"Huh?" Lu Xiaobu was surprised. "The Qing troops just broke in. It will probably take several months for them to seize Shandong. Are you going to march forward step by step with the anti-Qing forces?"

"Are you stupid? Have you seen the map? The Yellow River and the Huai River have numerous tributaries. We can just eat cakes and sing songs and take a boat for a few days to reach the destination. Besides, this is just a plan. We have formed a volunteer group for the Northern Expedition and have gathered 300 people."

"Then count me in."

"No, you're just slacking off here, Old Six. Wouldn't it be a hindrance if I bring you along?" Huang Zilong stood up and prepared to continue working.

"No! I was just taking a short rest before work. Now I feel full of energy!" Lu Xiaobu snatched Huang Zilong's work and started working on it. From time to time, he would hold the bamboo basket and box and grin at Huang Zilong, as if to say, don't underestimate me, I can also work hard.

"Not bad, not bad." Huang Zilong took the folding fan and fanned Lu Xiaobu. The two of them seemed to be exchanging positions with the master and servant. Huang Zilong shouted vigorously, "Come on, come on, Master Lu is really good. He is miles ahead of me."

The laughter of many players on the wall reached the city gate, and Li Guo, who was personally escorting food and ammunition, happened to hear it.

The veterans of the Beggar Army were still so open-minded and easy-going, and could find joy in hardship even when doing tiring work, but he could never do that.

Li Guo heard about the heroic deeds of "the Marshal assassinating the Governor", which bought enough time for the Qihuo Army to recruit soldiers and build forts.

However, assassinating the governor would also anger civil and military officials, and attract more soldiers to encircle and suppress. If 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers march south, can a small county town really stop them?
Li Guo really wanted to know what made the Qihuo Army so calm and open-minded in the face of powerful enemies?

Why do they never show fear, as if they were born to die on the battlefield?

Even the 300-man volunteer army that joined a few days ago exuded a fearless temperament like the veterans of the Qihuo Army, as if the Qihuo Army had some kind of secret technique that could enable their direct and trusted followers who had completely surrendered to them to gain supreme courage, allowing them to face thousands of people alone without fear.

Li Guo thought to himself, why didn't the Beggars Army use the "secret technique" on him as well? Was it just because he was a peripheral volunteer army and had not completely sold himself out to them?
He changed his mind and realized that if his uncle was gone, he could indeed follow the Qihuo Army and fight until the world was settled. However, he recently discovered a secret communication code left by King Chuang in Xinyang City - calling on friendly forces to meet at the designated location.

He was very conflicted and confused.

On one side is his own uncle, and on the other side is the beggar army whom he sincerely admires. Who to choose has been causing him endless pain these days.

All he could do was give up thinking about the future and focus on driving away the government troops.

Entering the county town with mixed emotions, Li Guo suddenly noticed that the streets inside the city had more road signs and notice boards than the last time he escorted grain. One section of the wall in particular had a refreshing painting on it.

Two young men and women with long hair stand side by side, with vast farmlands and water conservancy projects behind them and the rising sun above their heads emitting vibrant colors.

The two of them looked radiant and energetic, looking straight to the right as if they were looking at poetry and the distance.

There is also a line of bold, vernacular Chinese characters above the oil painting: The poor are our backers!
Although there was no extra description in the picture, Li Guo could still see the open-minded attitude unique to the Beggar Army through the simple picture and a few words.

He walked forward a few dozen steps and saw a banner hanging between the two inns with a few bold words written on it: The Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are both cowards!
Simple slogans like these, or posters with both pictures and text, can be found almost every few meters: "Vigorously develop productivity," "Unite the poor and the common people, severely punish local tyrants and evil gentry," "We must use our own hands to turn wasteland into fertile fields"...

These novel propaganda posters and slogans were either painted on the walls of houses or erected as wooden signs at the intersections of streets and alleys. The lively and vivid pictures made Li Guo's eyes light up.

As a man of rough family, although Li Guo could only recognize a few words, he also knew that this kind of picture-based propaganda was very effective, and even illiterate people could feel the spirit.

Just as he was secretly praising the beggar army for showing him another unique skill, he suddenly heard the civilians working not far away pointing to the sky and shouting.

Li Guo followed the people's gaze and saw a scene that would be unforgettable in his life.

(End of this chapter)