We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 129 [The Annals of China] Flood Control! Flood Control!!! (6.6k words, combined into one chapter)

Historical games are not particularly outstanding on Earth.

This is all because much of Earth's history was destroyed after that meteor shower. Even with continuous excavation, the complete history of each federation cannot be pieced together. In addition, we live in an age of entertainment to the death.

Few people are interested in history.

Below the comments section of the "Chinese History Series" awards ceremony mentioned by Zhao Ming, countless company executives and netizens watching the live stream frowned.

Has Polestar gotten too arrogant?
Why would they bother with something so obscure? Do they think everything they do will become a hit?

Everyone was frowning.

As Zhao Ming's voice faded, the lights in the awards ceremony gradually dimmed.

Only when the large screen behind slowly lit up did a picture of a cave come into view.

At the base of the drooping stalagmite tip, water droplets are slowly forming.

Tick!
Water droplets fell onto the water's surface, and the sound echoed through the cave.

A pictograph for "water" (in oracle bone script) slowly emerged, accompanied by a line of large characters below.

Water, the source of life, was also humanity's most formidable enemy in ancient times.

The scene suddenly zooms out to a great height.

The roar of the water suddenly resounded. From a high altitude perspective, the earth was swept away by the raging flood, mountains and rivers were submerged, and everything in sight was flooded. At this moment, the Earthlings watching the CG couldn't help but feel a tightness in their hearts.

The fear of nature in humans inexplicably surges into their hearts; it is an instinct etched into their bodies.

The camera zoomed out to an even higher position.

Blue Star players can clearly see that this world, which is almost submerged by floods, looks somewhat like Earth on the Polaris official website's 'real-time map,' although many places are flooded.

However, the general tectonic plates and shapes still allow us to vaguely identify regions such as Europe and Asia on 'Earth'.

The view suddenly shifts downwards.

Along the Nile

The overflowing river, carrying silt, flooded the banks. Ancient priests prostrated themselves before the altar, kneeling and praying devoutly to the statues of gods on it. Following the priests' actions, countless ancient humans below, dressed in tattered clothes, prayed for the blessings of the gods.

Faced with such a flood, it seemed that only God could save them.

The scene changes to another location.

[Euphrates Riverbank]

The roaring river, accompanied by thunderous howls, swept across the land. The gloomy sky poured down torrential rain, turning this life-giving river into a behemoth that devoured everything. The river flooded the land and forests, and countless human and animal corpses drifted along with the current.

In the raging river, a huge wooden boat appeared, carrying countless animals and a family of devout believers.

All the animals were imitating the devout believers, praying to the unknown, as if asking that unknown being to forgive humanity.

The scene changes to another location.

Ganges River Basin

The raging flood swallowed up village after village, and mud houses were reduced to rubble by the impact of the flood. Monks stood on the altar, chanting prayers and asking for divine protection before a statue of a god whose hair was like a tangle of snakes.

The floodwaters continued to rise and soon submerged the altar.

Everything vanished: the altar, the statues, and the praying monks.

at this time.

Everyone on Earth who witnessed this scene fell silent, unconsciously drawn in and immersing themselves in the environment, yet only felt a deep sense of despair; humanity seemed truly powerless in the face of the flood.

But is that really the case?
Just as the people of Earth were watching the scene and feeling despair.

The screen switched back and slowly appeared.

【Yellow River】

The world had become a vast ocean, with turbid river waters overflowing the mountains and land. The surviving humans hid on the mountaintops, their eyes filled with tears as they gazed at the corpses of their people floating in the raging river.

There were elderly people, babies, and people with their arms stiffly raised upwards.
The altar that was once enshrined there is now only half a stone pillar protruding above the water, left to be battered by the flood. Amidst the roar, even the remaining half of the stone pillar could not withstand the impact of the flood.

Countless people watched all this, unsure of what to do.

A sense of despair emanated from the screen, impacting the hearts of the viewers on Earth. What could be done? What could be done?
Sudden.

Above the mountains, a mud-covered man stood up, wiped away his tears, and bent down to pick up a tortoise shell that had been washed ashore by the raging Yellow River. The shell was engraved with the word "water".

Looking at the character for 'water', the mud-covered man picked up a stone tool and carved a building-like shape on the right side of the character.

'rule'

The man, having finished carving the inscription, held the tortoise shell in his hand and gazed at the world that had turned into a vast ocean, his eyes hardening with determination.

Several lines of large characters slowly appeared on the screen.

While other civilizations prayed to their gods, the ancestors of the Chinese carved the first character for "governance" on oracle bones.

[With water on the left and a platform on the right, the original meaning of '治' (zhì) was to build dikes to prevent floods.]

The flood was not a divine punishment, but rather an entrance exam for Chinese civilization.

This people's first act of resistance was a declaration of war against nature.

As this word was carved.

The ancestors of this tribe began to fight against the flood. They piled up stones to build dikes and dredged the river channels. The work was passed down from father to son and never stopped. But how could ancient humans, with their limited level of civilization, have managed to control the flood?

The tribal ancestors in the picture, although they have lived in peace and prosperity for generations, still suffer from floods that rage from time to time.

However, the ancestors of this tribe did not give up. Instead, they continued to expand and grow in the process of resisting the raging floods of the Yellow River, until a man appeared who, for the first time, clearly and concisely planned a flood control strategy.

Furthermore, by uniting with people from other tribes, they worked together to control the floods. From a few hundred to tens of thousands of people, all the tribes around the Yellow River formed a collective consciousness for the first time during the flood control process.

Divide the land into nine provinces and establish cooperation.

This also propelled the progress of this civilization, giving rise to the concept of 'all under heaven' for the first time.

The road to controlling the floods was arduous. Some died from exhaustion, some fell to their deaths, and some drowned in the river, but no one gave up. They continued to split mountains and persevered day and night.

at last.

Under that man's guidance, day in and day out for thirteen years.

The roaring Yellow River has lost its former ferocity and flowed eastward gently, calming the mountains that were once submerged. The farmland has been transformed into granaries, and the statues of gods in the temples have been taken down and replaced with clay sculptures of that man.

As the early Chinese people gradually became wealthier, they began to develop rapidly, and the constantly evolving buildings began to resemble palaces.

The screen slowly displayed several large characters.

The Records of the Grand Historian, "Annals of China," states: "Yu spent thirteen years controlling the floods. He passed by his own home without entering. He traveled by carriage on land, by boat on water, by sled on mud, and by raft on mountains. He used a plumb line on his left and a compass and square on his right to regulate the four seasons, thus opening up the nine provinces, connecting the nine waterways, draining the nine marshes, and traversing the nine mountains."

The scene then quickly shifts to the birth of a dynasty with the 'Xia' flag flying high.

The Xia dynasty cast nine tripods, thus unifying the world.

As time passed and the seasons changed, the once-powerful Xia Dynasty was engulfed in war. The perspective shifted, drifting eastward across the land of China, before landing. A strangely shaped black bird alighted on the banner bearing the character "Shang".

Suddenly, a black bird's cry rang out in the scene.

The Heavenly Mandate of the Black Bird descended and gave birth to the Shang Dynasty.

As time passed, even the mighty Shang dynasty came to an end, and dynasties changed. A dynasty called Zhou emerged, and the Duke of Zhou established rites and music, thus laying the foundation for Chinese civilization.

Soon the Zhou Dynasty also came to an end.

At this moment, a map of the 'Chinese land' appears on the screen, with densely packed vassal states, represented by colored blocks scattered across the Chinese land.

Then it became like big fish eating small fish. The netizens on Blue Star watched as the colors quickly devoured each other. Some had just finished devouring others when they were devoured by the ones next to them in the blink of an eye, watching the time flow above.

Three hundred years.

In the end, only seven different colored blocks remained.

Netizens on Earth were momentarily stunned. Three hundred years?
They've been fighting for three hundred years?!

Keep in mind that the meteor shower on Earth has only been around for three hundred years. Back then, Earth had already been fighting for three hundred years. How many people must have died?

An unprecedented shock impacted the minds of netizens on Blue Star.

I initially thought the European theater in Polaris's game *World War II: Rise of Empires* was already quite brutal, but compared to the war history on Chinese soil, it seems rather trivial.

They fought for a full three hundred years.
I can't even imagine how terrible it must have been.

The scene suddenly switched.

woo-

The sound of horns rang out, and the scene appeared on a high platform. The back of a man in a black and gold dragon robe appeared in the scene. He was on the platform, and below him were countless soldiers in full armor.

Large blood-red characters slowly emerged.

The Birth of a Vast Territorial Monarchy

Looking at the large characters displayed, netizens on Blue Star seemed to understand that the land of China had been unified, but they didn't know which of the seven colored blocks it was.

The scenes alternated as commands were given.

'Standardization of written language'

'Standardized track gauge'

'Standardization of weights and measures'

'Construction of the Lingqu Canal'

'Expanding the Great Wall'

The commands left netizens on Earth speechless, and the accompanying visuals stirred their emotions. After all, just one command like that—how amazing it would be to experience being an emperor!

however.

The scene suddenly switched.

Exorbitant taxes and levies, and heavy corvée labor.

Countless laborers died from exhaustion and were killed while building palaces, the Great Wall, and roads.

The scene shifts to a downpour.

Hundreds of soldiers, pale-faced in the torrential rain, stared at the central thatched hut. Beside the campfire inside, a corpse dressed in official robes lay, a man holding a bloodstained sword turning around, his chest heaving, surveying the hundreds of soldiers. His roar pierced the rain:
"You all missed the appointed time due to the rain; those who miss the appointed time shall be executed!"

Upon hearing this, the hundreds of soldiers turned even paler, all because of the strictness of the imperial laws.

Some people were already slumped to the ground, too afraid to even think about it.

The man holding the sword slowly spoke, scanning the crowd:

"A brave man either lives or dies, and if he dies, he will make a great name for himself!"

He then took a deep breath and roared like thunder:
"Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?!"

Click!

A bolt of lightning struck the sky, its deafening roar echoing in the ears of the hundreds of soldiers, whose expressions gradually hardened.

Several large characters slowly appeared on the screen.

The Demise of the Myth of Royal Power

The map then reappeared, and the single-colored territory shattered, turning into numerous fragmented blocks of different colors. However, this time, the red forces quickly swallowed them all up.

At this moment, the Blue Star people, watching this scene, felt as if it were a cycle of reincarnation.

Unity, division; unity, division.
next second.

In the north of the Han Chinese nation, a large area of ​​blackness also appeared.

The screen suddenly zoomed out.

[Xiongnu]

The two characters slowly emerged, and a new enemy appeared.

The Xiongnu cavalry swept in like a black cloud, dividing the battlefield. The soldiers in red armor on the opposite side were easily slaughtered, the city was breached, and the harvested grain and women were plundered. As far as the eye could see, there were only corpses.

Beneath the banner of the Xiongnu king, a burly man wielding a golden whip gazed at the plundered resources, pointed to the endless wheat fields in the distance, and laughed heartily:

"This land is bountiful; it should be my pasture!"

The scenes change rapidly, year after year, as the Xiongnu people continue to plunder Han territory.

Each time it was a bloodbath, but the resilient Chinese people returned to that trampled land every year, unwilling to waste its fertile soil.

For decades!
The Chinese nation has always been suppressed and attacked by the Xiongnu.

until
Inside the magnificent palace.

A man in a dragon robe sat upright on the throne, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials, his words domineering:
"I am fighting a battle of momentum."

"Our dynasty has suffered repeated defeats against the Xiongnu over the past seventy years, which has led to a decline in morale and national prestige."

"The purpose of my campaign is to clearly demonstrate to the world and to the Xiongnu people."

"From now on, offense and defense have changed!"

"The enemy can go! So can I!!!"

The scene shifts to a large number of cavalry gathering at the border.

A phantom map appears, representing the red forces of the Chinese nation, as they launch a surprise attack into the black forces of the Xiongnu.

Watching the red forces surge forward and cut through the black forces, a scene all too familiar to the players of Blue Star.

In Mo Xiaomo's live stream, Mo Xiaomo, who was already stunned, couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment:
"Isn't this a 'blitzkrieg'?!"

"This is ancient times! It's many years earlier than the Empire!!!!"

This scene is happening in various live streaming rooms. Since the release of "World War II: Rise of Empires", the Empire's blitzkrieg has really kept the players of Earth numb.

The myth of 'blitzkrieg' was only shattered a few days ago when the Battle of Moscow ended.

But unexpectedly, the Chinese had already developed blitzkrieg in ancient times.

The scene continues.

As the red forces attacked, the black forces retreated on a large scale.

The Xiongnu who had previously plundered the land no longer laughed wildly, declaring, "This land is rich; it should be our pasture." Only countless Xiongnu fled westward, occasionally turning back to gaze into the distance, weeping with tearful eyes.

"Losing my Qilian Mountains will cause my livestock to cease breeding!"

As the red forces attacked, the black forces on the virtual map were reduced to a small force, fleeing towards the European continent from the perspective of the blue planet players.

The scene then shifts to the people of this Chinese dynasty.

Upon hearing the news of the Hunnic defeat, everyone's face beamed with pride.

Netizens on Earth were momentarily stunned.

Seventy years.

On an individual level, it represents a generation.

But if we consider the number of generations of people who start families and build careers, spanning four or five generations, the resilience of this civilization and this nation is simply unimaginable.

The scene continues.

The territory of the red forces continues to expand, but as time goes by, it seems to have fallen into a cycle again.

[Late Eastern Han Dynasty]

This once-powerful empire has also come to an end. The sphere of influence it controls keeps changing, the scenes shift, labor service, miscellaneous taxes, the plunder of powerful families, and the wanton slaughter of civilians.

In a trance.

Netizens on Blue Star felt they had seen this scene somewhere before, as if it were from a previous dynasty building palaces and the Great Wall, a time of widespread suffering.

Could we then see a second "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

The thought inexplicably popped into the minds of netizens on Earth, who then watched the screen.

A place that could almost be called a dead city.

Lying or leaning on the ground, it was impossible to tell whether they were people or corpses. It seemed that there was an epidemic here. A man in a Taoist robe rushed into the street with a bowl of boiled medicinal soup.

They found a child and wanted to feed the medicine into the child's mouth.

But when he rushed to the child's side, he suddenly froze, and the bowl of medicine in his hand fell to the ground.

The sallow-faced, emaciated old man beside him showed no emotion, and spoke in a hoarse voice to the Taoist-robed man:
"Thank you, Taoist priest. It's such a pity about this bowl of medicinal soup. She wasn't fortunate enough to have it; it's all fate."

Done.

The sallow-faced, emaciated old man's lips moved slightly, but his head drooped down, and he was already dead.

The man in the Taoist robe raised his trembling hand and slowly closed the eyes of the grandfather and grandson.

They all starved to death.

The man in the Taoist robe stood up and looked at the people mingling with corpses all over the street. Tears streamed down his face.

Medicine can cure diseases, but it cannot stop hunger.
Medical skills cannot save these ordinary people. The Taoist-robed man's gaze became much firmer as he looked in a certain direction.

Wow!

Burning talismans flew up, obscuring the view.

Then the talisman paper drifted into the somewhat murky bowls.

stab-

The burning talisman was extinguished by water, and the ashes dissolved in the bowl.

You can vaguely see grains of millet lying at the bottom of the murky soup mixed with talisman paper ash.

Countless people picked up bowls, drank the 'talismanic water,' tied on yellow turbans, raised their banners, and rose up, shouting:
"Huang Tianyou, me!!!"

He then charged towards the 'enemy' without fear of death.

Screen switching.

On the high platform of Julu.

The Taoist-robed man raised his nine-section staff high, pointing it towards the gray sky, and looked down at the hundreds of thousands of believers wearing yellow turbans below the stage. His voice boomed like thunder:
"The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, the world will be blessed with good fortune!"

The words fell.

Tens of thousands of believers responded with a thunderous roar, and the Yellow Turbans surged like waves!

This dealt the most fatal blow to a dynasty that was nearing its end.

A virtual map appeared, showing the red-faction dynasty suddenly being occupied by large swathes of yellow forces, making it difficult to determine who was stronger.
The scene abruptly ended.

The online viewers and audience at the awards ceremony, who were immersed in the viewing experience, felt the event abruptly end.

I was just getting immersed in learning about this civilization and the history of this people.

But it was abruptly interrupted, and the feeling of being abruptly stopped almost drove me crazy.

Why is it gone? !
What comes next?!

[Emotional Value +122541]

[Emotional Value +135747]

[Emotional Value +121]

On the stage.

Zhao Ming's lips curled slightly as he felt the increase in his emotional points, and he coughed lightly:
"All right."

"This is due to the limited time available at the awards ceremony."

"So that's all for today's presentation on the history of this civilization and this nation."

"I'd like to know more details."

"You can visit the Polaris Games website. We will release CGs gradually before the game is launched, so please stay tuned."

The scene erupted in uproar, with many people feeling stifled.

The streamers and viewers in the Great Xia Federation's live stream also broke down in tears. Mo Xiaomo pointed at Zhao Ming's face and said:

"I???"

"This guy really is that old scoundrel Zhao, no doubt about it!"

"How could someone with such a handsome face do such a despicable thing?!"

"Finished?!?"

The viewers in the live stream were also furious.

[Ugh! I was just getting into it, and this happens?!]

Brothers, go and leave these bad reviews!!!

[Oh no, someone recommend a historical game to me right now, I'm dying to play it!]

Come on, what historical game could be made like this? Only Polaris, but they're not releasing one right now.

[To be honest, this old scoundrel Zhao's story is so brilliantly crafted, why doesn't he make a movie about it?]

[If this CG were made into a full version, it would easily be number one in the "Movies" category.]

Comments of agreement floated across the screen.

Fang Ming’s live broadcast room.

Seeing Zhao Ming smile and then announce that there was no further news, Fang Ming was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table a few times.
"rough!"

"Just as I expected! That's typical of him!"

"what--"

Fang Ming grabbed his hair, thinking, "This is just too much!!!"

at this time.

The host of the "Anti-War Competition" awards ceremony seemed to have received some news and quickly spoke to Zhao Ming:
"Mr. Zhao Ming, the organizing committee of our competition has granted you a special half hour."

"You can continue playing the complete CG here."

"If you didn't bring it, you can contact someone at the company to get it."

As soon as these words came out.

The barrage of insults that had just filled the various live stream rooms instantly stopped, and countless viewers on Earth watched Zhao Ming expectantly through the live streams.

However, Zhao Ming maintained a righteous expression, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"How about that?"

"How can you break the rules?"

"I can't take up everyone's time."

"If you want to see it, go to the Polaris official website. We will release CGs from time to time."

"Now I'll explain how to play this game."

As soon as these words came out.

The barrage of insults that had just stopped instantly surged again in various live stream rooms.

[It was intentional! Absolutely intentional!!!]

This is inhumanly realistic, damn it!

Boycott Polaris! Everyone stop playing it!

[Damn, anyone want to go to the East China Sea with me and stake out this guy?]

【Me! Me! Me! Now I know what he looks like, I have to ambush him! I'm going to get a sack!】

【Add me!!!】

Zhao Ming was naturally unaware of these words.

However, it was clear that below the awards ceremony venue, many influential figures were already walking towards Shen Qinghan, handing him their business cards.

Zhao Ming clicked on the virtual screen in front of him.

On the large screen behind him, a short CG clip popped up. It was from a first-person perspective. He was sitting in a magnificent palanquin carried by several people, with countless soldiers on both sides. As the palanquin passed by, the soldiers knelt down and shouted.

The players on Earth became interested; just watching this scene was quite impressive.

As a modern person, I should have no problem giving orders to people from ancient times.

Moreover, having learned so many tactics, I might be able to dominate the battlefield when the time comes.

While the netizens on Blue Star were pondering this, Zhao Ming explained:

"We have meticulously designed up to a thousand different identities for this future 'Chinese History' game series."

"Players will experience it from a first-person perspective, for example."

"king."

Zhao Ming pointed to the first-person perspective in the screen, which was clearly the identity of the monarch, and also the identity that players would experience.

As the magnificent palanquin descended, the first-person perspective slowly rose, picked up the sword beside him, and walked into a splendid tent. Inside the tent were five other people, and in the center of the tent was a huge sand table.

Zhao Ming explained:
"Players can experience the feeling of wielding power over the world while awake and enjoying the company of beautiful women while drunk."

"Moreover, one can sense the unparalleled ambition in his words to stir up the entire world's affairs and to casually destroy a country."

Like this

The first-person perspective in the video shows the player standing in front of a huge sand table with the other five people. Everyone has a smile on their face and then draws out their weapons. The Blue Star player was drawn into the scene by Zhao Ming's words.

Watching the first-person perspective as the sword is drawn and the other five place their weapons above the sand table, I unconsciously immerse myself in the scene.

Then, including the person in the first-person perspective, the six people looked at each other and laughed heartily, saying in unison:

"The lands of Qin were divided among the six states!!!"

For an instant.

Players on Earth are getting hooked on it; it seems kind of interesting!
Feeling the emotional value constantly popping up.

Zhao Ming's lips curled slightly, while the Blue Star players were completely unaware that they had been tricked into a huge trap. After all, the CG in the previous video mostly used colors to represent factions, without mentioning names.
Zhao Ming paused for a moment, then clicked on the virtual screen in front of him again and said:
For example...

"You can also experience exotic customs."

(End of this chapter)