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

Chapter 186 [The Zhili-Anhui War] Fang Ming: I Became Sworn Brothers with a Warlord (5k words, two chapters combined)

The students inside the prison were still unclear about what had happened.

Sunlight streamed in as the young guard led the students to the prison gate and pushed open the dark iron door.

As you cross that threshold.

The students, who had been detained for several days, saw the streets outside the prison crowded with workers.

Their rough hands held aloft signs stained with ink.

Some of the slogans were made by the students before, but were damaged by the black-skinned military police in the chaos. Now, the workers have tied red ribbons to them and are waving them around.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the students came out.

The surrounding students left the prison amidst a crowd.

Feng Lei was also in the group, looking at the crowd around him, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Because at this moment, the eyes of these people seemed to have a light in them, completely different from their previous lifeless state.

By evening, Feng Lei finally had some free time.

He finally returned to his long-missed home and started chatting with the viewers in the live stream.

I spent most of the day interacting with NPCs, and didn't talk much in the live stream.

Looking at the comments in the live stream, Feng Lei was a little curious:
"Protests have broken out in other places as well?"

"What's going on?"

Following a tip from viewers in the live stream, Feng Lei opened the player forum on the Polaris official website.

After entering the "Republic of China" section, one of the pinned posts was a collection of videos about the May Fourth Movement.

Feng Lei clicked on it out of curiosity.

The screen slowly brightens, low music begins, and the perspectives shift one by one. The video shows numb crowds and ordinary people everywhere, and the entire video is in gray.

The perspective shifts to the capital city, accompanied by the shouts of newsboys.

The people on the street also learned about the actions of the Western powers. A little color appeared on the scene, and some people cursed while others shook their heads.

However, as the perspective shifts, what is seen more often are numb ordinary people and workers, mechanically performing manual labor.

The color that had just appeared on the screen disappeared in an instant.

These things may ignite public anger, but only for a moment, because it's none of their business to comment on such matters of national importance.

The scene continues to shift until it reaches a university in Beijing.

Looking at the newspapers in their hands, the angry students unfurled their banners and rushed out of the school gates that had protected them. The procession of thousands of students, holding white banners, stretched out like a white dragon.

In the gray-toned video, the numb world is tinged with color by this parading 'dragon'.

And it gradually spreads and diffuses outwards.

At this moment, the people just stared blankly, not understanding what had happened or what the point of doing this was.
Until a large number of military and police officers in black arrived.

The warlord's men, dressed in black, surrounded the group of students. The video footage, which had been blurred into color by the students, gradually turned back into dark gray.

The images travel to various locations.

Beijing, Tianjin, Changsha, Jinan, Shanghai
The marching students were arrested and driven away by warlords from various regions.

The newly lit flames are gradually dying out.

The scene suddenly shifts to an old factory area at a dock.

evening.

On a sweltering summer day, laborers who had worked all day were sitting together under a big tree.

Everyone remained silent.

One of the older workers frowned, puffing on his acrid pipe, his gaze lingering on the children playing in the distance, lost in thought.

"Those kids were all arrested during the day."

After he finished speaking, the surroundings became even more silent.

After a while.

One of the workers spoke up sullenly:

"Not all of them were arrested; some of the ringleaders were."

No one responded.

The old worker took several more puffs of his pipe before speaking:
"Well, he was arrested too."

The old worker's words were like a stone, striking into everyone's heart.

far away.

The group of children, dressed in tattered clothes, were still laughing and chasing each other carefree, which made the adults under the big tree feel even heavier.

A worker stared at the group of children and suddenly spoke:
"Some of the students who were arrested were only a few years older than my son."

The worker next to him sighed:
"They're all just school children, what crimes could they possibly commit?"

"What's the big deal about just telling a few truths?"

The old worker puffed on his pipe, but his gaze was fixed on the group of children, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

What did our parents teach us when we were young?

"Just do your job honestly, don't cause trouble, and whatever happens will pass if you just bear with it."

"There are some things and some people we can't afford to offend."

The old worker slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe.
"This endurance lasted for decades, and in the blink of an eye, most of my life had passed."

"You'll get used to it if you just bear with it."

“But those children are different. They have read more books than us and have seen more of the world. They know that there are some things that cannot be tolerated.”

The workers around him clenched their fists, their knuckles turning white.

The old worker looked at the children in the distance:

“I’ve endured most of my life, and my son has endured most of his life too. I can’t wait until my grandson grows up and make him endure the same thing as me for the rest of his life.”

"You've endured it your whole life, and in the end you don't even dare to speak a word of justice?"

"What's the point of living this whole life?"

"It's so frustrating."

No one answered, but everyone's breathing was incredibly heavy.

The laughter of children in the distance struck everyone's hearts. As parents, how could they not want their children to live their own lives in the future?

A silence fell beneath the large tree.

The old worker slowly got up, brushed the dirt off his trousers, and tucked his pipe behind his waist:
"Walk."

With that, the old worker walked towards the city center.

The workers under the big tree behind them exchanged glances, remained silent, and then stood up one by one, following the older worker in front.

far away.

The children played and frolicked, carefree.

The women watching the children wanted to stop them but did nothing, perhaps because they all understood their husbands' temperaments, and could only secretly wipe away their tears.

Because nobody knows what the outcome will be.

A group of workers walked into the night, but the colors in the video suddenly spread out.

The entire video was rendered in color.

The scene then changes.

Beijing.

Inside the train station, workers were dismantling train parts that were being used to transport goods for 'traitors'.

The guards dared not make a move in the face of the dense crowd, while the foreigners inside the train were furious, pointing at the workers outside the window and shouting angrily at the guards around them.

Because all the supplies on the train were purchased by him.

Inside the station, workers pulled up a white cloth and wrote the words "Give me back Qingdao" in crooked, large characters with black machine oil, pointing it at the furious foreigners inside the train.

Shanghai.

Inside the textile factory, female workers cut up the fabric on the production line, linked arms, and rushed out of the factory area like a surging river that no one dared to stop. Meanwhile, in the shipyard on the other side...

The forge workers put down their work, picked up their hammers, and joined the parade.

British warships on the Huangpu River raised warning flags, keeping a watchful eye on the parade.

Tianjin.

Students from Nankai University and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce joined forces to stage a business strike and a workers' strike.
Images with locations marked flashed by.

The demonstrations and strikes nearly ignited the entire 'Republic of China'.

Faced with such oppression and the people's resistance, the masterminds hiding behind the scenes dared not come out.

As the entire map of the 'Republic of China' was turned into color.

Next, the view from outside the prison came into view: the prison gates were open, and students were walking out, accompanied by cheers from the crowd.

The scene slowly faded away.

After watching this edited clip, Feng Lei couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"Absolutely."

"Who created this? There are so many different perspectives."

"The May Fourth Movement was surprisingly widespread."

"It includes the entire country."

The live stream chat was filled with comments.

[These aren't the main points. The main point is that the May Fourth Movement sparked a lot of discussion, and then...]

And then what?

[What the heck, a punctuation idiom freak?!]

Then our professor assigned homework: to research and explore the May Fourth Movement, and each person had to submit a personal reflection.

Feng Lei, looking at the comments, said:
"Goodness, is this how homework is assigned now?"

In fact.

This type of assignment was given by more than one professor.

To know.

Every world has its own circles, not to mention professors, who naturally have their own chat groups and the like.

And you left this kind of homework here, and then mentioned it in the group.

The group of hundreds of professors, once it spread, caused a huge uproar among university students in the Great Xia Federation.

Many students from Blue Star began to enter the game and study the changes brought about by this "movement", because only a few decades passed between this "Republic of China" and the later "Republic".

The dramatic changes that have taken place over the past few decades may have begun with the awakening of national consciousness here, or rather, the profound impact of this "movement".

Even when faced with humiliating treaties that stripped the nation of its sovereignty, the people did not react in any way.

Even if they do, they only utter a few curses; most of the time, they remain indifferent, ignoring the fact that it doesn't concern them.

With the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, the entire land of China was ignited and quickly spread throughout the country.

For no apparent reason, netizens on Earth suddenly realized.

If the Western powers knew that the Paris Peace Conference could awaken the Chinese people from their abyss of despair, I wonder what they would feel.

The netizens on Earth don't know.

But
As netizens on Earth know, according to the timeline of the Republic, decades from now, the Republic will slap 17 countries hard across the face.

Those countries probably didn't expect that the "Republic" would grow so quickly after its national awakening.

Blue Star's side.

Discussions about the May Fourth Movement are ongoing.

The hype only gradually subsided after half a month.

half a month later.

On the TianSha live streaming platform, Fang Ming's live stream room unknowingly climbed into the top three of the popularity chart.

at this time.

In Fang Ming's live broadcast room.

A screenshot of a grayed-out story card from the "Zhi-Wan War" was displayed in the upper right corner of Fang Ming's live stream.

From Fang Ming's perspective, the scene is on the high seas, currently on a cargo ship. Fang Ming changed the title of his live stream because they were about to dock.

[Major plot development: The Zhili-Anhui War, live stream!!!]

That's why it quickly rose to the top three in terms of popularity, after all, it's one of the events on the [Republic] timeline.

Newcomers to Blue Star are still unaware of the situation.

Once Fang Ming saw that there were enough people, he began a new round of explanations:

"Brothers, the streamer is currently delivering weapons."

"His identity is that of an arms dealer. Do you see this huge ship behind me?"

"It's all loaded with my goods."

As he spoke, Fang Ming looked around.

The perspective in the live stream also shifted, and all the viewers on Earth saw the cargo ship, with comments flooding the screen.

[6666, everyone else is faking it, but you're really doing it?]

[Damn, you're the first real arms dealer I've seen in a while.]

Good grief, everyone else is following the storyline, you haven't been adrift at sea for months, have you?

[With that kind of perseverance, the hype is well-deserved.]

Without him.

Fang Ming is really involved in arms transportation.

Other streamers also choose arms dealers, but the arms factories are mostly in Europe, and it takes several months to transport a single shipment of weapons.

However, this is because the system provides contact information for many arms factories.

These livestreamers who chose to identify themselves as arms dealers all gave their contact information to those warlords, swearing that there would be no problems.

And then the warlords sent their own people to actually bring back the weapons.

They would genuinely believe that this person could actually buy weapons, and would begin to gradually expand their purchases from small batches to include the buying and selling of various heavy weapons.

So, Fang Ming really did transport and escort the goods himself?
This left some new viewers who were unaware of the situation completely bewildered, and many admired the streamer's perseverance.

however.

Soon, comments popped up to refute their claims.

[Hilarious, don't be fooled by him.]

[What "Gouba Zhen" arms dealer? That's because the warlord didn't pay the final payment, so he paid for it himself. Of course, one has to be cautious.]

[What I really want to know is whether the streamer will be killed when we get there; those guards are all that warlord's men.]

Wasn't Zhang Zuolin a bandit? Murder and robbery were commonplace for him, weren't they?

[I can't persuade them; they've been completely fooled.]

I'm curious to see how this guy will recover after he's taken down.

Seeing the mocking comments in the live chat, Fang Ming scoffed:
"fart!"

"I transport it myself, mainly for safety reasons."

"After all, the quantity of weapons purchased this time is too large, and I don't trust anyone else to handle it."

"But as long as this deal goes smoothly."

"Take off immediately afterward."

"You know Zhang Xueliang, right? He's Zhang Zuolin's son."

"Several major events on the timeline of the Republic, such as the change of flag, armed mediation, the September 18 Incident, and the Xi'an Incident, are all related to him."

"To be frank, my relationship with Zhang Zuolin is currently very strained."

"They're practically sworn brothers."

"It's just that Zhang Xueliang is not young now. If it weren't for wanting to treat him as an equal so that we could talk things out in the future..."

"I'm Zhang Xueliang's great-uncle now."

"As soon as the timeline arrives, the plot will trigger in a series of quick cuts."

"At that time."

While Fang Ming was still bragging, the viewers in the live stream sensed something was wrong.

Why does he sound a bit like a Dachas (local dialect) speaker? Did he catch it?

hiss--

Damn it?

Can games change your accent?

In the live broadcast room.

The Blue Star fans looked on with strange expressions, while Fang Ming was boasting as the cargo ship he was on slowly entered the port.

Port office.

Several squads of soldiers in gray uniforms could be clearly seen lined up at the dock, and Fang Ming smiled smugly.
"See? This is what it means to value something."

"These are all welcoming me."

"Do you really think I drank all that alcohol for free?"

"I'm just a modern person from Earth, how could I possibly fool a warlord from the 'Republic of China' era?"

As the cargo ship docked, the soldiers respectfully came over to greet Fang Ming.

Under Fang Ming's command, they began unloading weapons and equipment from the cargo ship, much to the astonishment of the new viewers on Earth who joined the live stream.

good guy?
They really do have some status, huh?

How can he command so many people?
Even if the long-time viewers in the live stream wanted to criticize him, they couldn't, since Fang Ming was being treated like a father by Zhang Zuolin.

What Fang Ming said earlier was not a lie.

After all, they had seen the live stream of Fang Ming drinking with the warlord, and Zhang Zuolin did indeed want to become sworn brothers with him, but Fang Ming did not agree.

The reason why veteran viewers criticize Fang Ming is not only out of habit, but also because they don't believe that this kid is really that lucky.

They've actually become honored guests of the NPC warlord, which is why they keep mocking them, warning them to be careful not to be double-crossed.

And look at how it turned out now.

The fact that Zhang Zuolin could mobilize so many people makes him seem less like the type to double-cross others.

md.

My wish has been dashed.
Many longtime viewers in the live stream were secretly cursing, thinking, "This kid is actually that good-looking."

But there is no way.

They could only watch Fang Ming gloat.

After half a day in the game, the weapons and equipment were loaded onto the train, which then sped off towards Fengtian.

Fang Ming also has a private VIP room on the train where he can wash up directly.

The new viewers were amazed by the treatment he received.

Because it was a shipment of military supplies, Zhang Zuolin used the fastest train available.

However, even at the fastest.

By the time Fang Ming arrived, it was already late at night.

The train slowly came to a stop.

Fang Ming also saw Zhang Zuolin waiting on the platform, and Fang Ming smiled smugly:
"see it?"

"This is the treatment you're getting."

"A mighty warlord of the Republic of China, waiting for me until the wee hours of the morning."

Fang Ming got up and got off the train after it came to a complete stop.

As soon as Fang Ming got off the train, Zhang Zuolin walked over and gave him a big hug and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey bro!"

"You are finally back."

I miss you so much!

Fang Ming said with a smile:

"I miss you too, brother."

"This shipment is all high-quality goods, all made in the Imperial style."

"I got 20 Krupp guns, 50 MG08 heavy machine guns, and Mauser Gew98s."

"These cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"This is all the money I can afford to buy."

"As long as you find it easy to use, brother."

"Give me the money later, and I'll import in bulk. The quality of the equipment will definitely be fine."

"You try it first."

"Then let's discuss the payment first."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Zuolin interrupted him, his face serious:
"What are you talking about! Try what?!"

"You can't even trust my own brother?"

"You've gone through so much trouble for me, it's been months, and I'm finally on shore, so I should enjoy myself before talking about anything else."

"Otherwise, what do you take me for?!"

"Let's go, let's have a welcome feast!"

"We'll talk about other things tomorrow!!"

(End of this chapter)