Late Ming Dynasty: Summoning players from Liaodong to support the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 172 A Cold Shoulder? This is Clearly a Mobile Treasure Chest!

Outside Guangqumen, the moat was covered with a thick layer of ice.

The ice surface was covered with loose snow, gleaming a deathly gray light under the bleak sky. The withered willows on both sides of the moat were frozen into iron-gray skeletons, creaking and groaning in the north wind.

Chu Ze reined in his black horse.

The warhorse snorted, its breath condensing into two plumes of white mist in the frigid air. He sat ramrod straight on the horse, the collar of his dark fox fur coat billowing in the cold wind.

The formation on the city wall was even more exaggerated than he had expected.

The iron gates of Guangqumen were tightly shut, not even a crack. The drawbridge hung high, its thick iron chains swaying in the cold wind. Behind the city walls and parapets, a dense mass of fully armed Beijing garrison soldiers stood. Bird guns, crossbows, and spears—a dark, imposing sight, all aimed at the city below.

The bronze muzzles of the three Hongyi cannons were slightly lowered, and the gunners stood next to the fuses holding torches, the flames leaping in the wind.

The military commander of the Beijing garrison stood atop the highest point of the parapet, clad in mountain-patterned armor, a sword at his waist, hands on his hips. He looked down at the less than one hundred men below, his nose in the air and chin held high.

"Below the city lies Chu Ze, the Marquis of Pingliao!"

The adjutant raised his voice, which was broken and intermittent by the cold wind, but it was full of arrogance.

"The capital region is a strategically important area, no ordinary place! Although the Jurchens have retreated, there's no guarantee that spies haven't infiltrated! I am here on the orders of Commander Li of the Beijing Garrison to strictly guard the nine gates!"

The adjutant placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, while pointing the other directly at Chu Ze.

"If the Earl of Pingliao wishes to enter the city, he must dismount and lay down his sword! All one hundred of his personal guards must remain outside the city and are not allowed to cross the moat even a step! The Earl himself must walk alone across the frozen moat to enter the barbican for a body search and inspection! Only after confirmation may he enter the city!"

The adjutant's voice echoed before the empty city gate, each word striking the frozen earth.

Wang Chengen was sweating profusely with anxiety. He scrambled out of the sedan chair, stumbled and staggered across the icy ground to the foot of the city wall, and then, with his neck craned upwards, opened his hoarse voice to shout.

"General Zhang! General Zhang! Have you gone mad?! This is the Earl of Pingliao! The Earl of Pingliao who just repelled 100,000 Jurchens for His Majesty!"

His Majesty personally issued an edict summoning him to the capital to receive his reward! Are you defying this imperial decree?!

On the city wall, Zhang, the military officer, didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Eunuch Wang, the military regulations of the Imperial City are absolute and no one may disobey them." General Zhang's voice was cold and firm, leaving no room for negotiation. "When generals from outside the capital enter the capital, their identities must be verified. This is an ironclad rule set by the founding emperor. Even if a Duke comes, the rules must be followed."

Wang Chengen was so angry that he trembled all over. His withered lips quivered for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He knew perfectly well what was going on. All that talk of the founding emperor's ironclad rules and guarding against spies was utter nonsense. This was clearly a show of force orchestrated beforehand by the emperor and Wen Tiren's cronies. They wanted to crush Chu Ze's reputation right here outside Guangqumen, in front of everyone.

Let the world see that no matter how good you are at fighting, Chu Ze, once you enter this capital city, you'll have to keep a low profile.

Inside the corner tower on the east side of the city gate, a warm and cozy atmosphere prevailed.

Wen Tiren, wrapped in a mink coat, sat beside a small red clay stove, holding a cup of hot tea in both hands. The rising steam from the teacup made his wrinkled old face slightly flushed.

He was surrounded by seven or eight civil officials. The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the Vice Minister of Rites, and the Academician of the Hanlin Academy, all dressed in thick cotton robes, huddled in the warm corner tower, looking down through the half-open window.

"Grand Secretary Wen, take a look." The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate held a teacup, a sneer playing on his lips. "This Earl of Pingliao, who was so powerful and influential in killing the Jurchens in Liaodong, has to dismount obediently when he comes to our capital."

Wen Tiren took a sip of hot tea, his old eyes narrowing into slits.

"What's the rush?" Wen Tiren put down his teacup, his thin fingers tapping lightly on the table. "Let him freeze outside for a bit."

The warriors of Liaodong are tough and stubborn. The more stubborn a person is, the more important it is to first smooth away their arrogance. Once they obediently dismount, lay down their swords, and walk alone across the moat into the barbican—”

Wen Tiren's lips curled into an increasingly wide smile, revealing an extremely sinister smugness.

"Then he finally understood. Who really calls the shots in this Ming Dynasty?"

The Vice Minister of Rites leaned closer and whispered, "Your Excellency, what if he refuses? What if he uses his demon soldiers to force his way into the city?"

Wen Tiren scoffed.

"Where are his demon soldiers? Outside the pass! In Yanjiao, hundreds of miles away!" Wen Tiren held up a withered finger. "He only has a hundred men with him. A hundred men without armor. Three thousand elite troops from the Beijing garrison on the city wall, and three cannons from the Red Barbarians."

He dares to break through? What does he have to offer? His head to ram the city gate?

A suppressed laugh rang out from the corner tower.

These civil officials finally regained the courage they had lost after being terrified by the battle report in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Without the support of those tens of thousands of unkillable demon soldiers, what was Chu Ze? Just a fourth-rank border general, a crude warrior who won a battle by sheer luck using unorthodox methods.

In this imperial court, in this city of Beijing, the pen is the real weapon that kills.

Under the city.

Chu Ze sat motionless on the horse.

A cold wind ruffled his dark fox fur coat, revealing a long steel sword materialized by the system beneath. The hilt was wrapped in black sharkskin, which gleamed coldly in the pale light of the day.

He did not dismount.

The blade was not removed.

Even his expression didn't change.

He merely turned his head slightly and glanced at the corner tower on the east side of the city gate. The window of the corner tower was half open, and several figures could be vaguely seen moving inside. Warm air drifted out from the window cracks, condensing into white mist in the frigid air.

Chu Ze withdrew his gaze, a slow smile playing on his lips.

That curve was extremely shallow and cold, exuding a chilling mockery.

Dismount and unload your weapon?

Walking across the moat alone?

A body search is to be conducted upon entering the barbican?

What arrogance! What a vicious scheme!

A barbican. What kind of place is that? It's surrounded by walls on all four sides, with only one exit. Once you're inside, the heavy gate will slam shut, trapping you like a turtle in a jar. Whether you're killed or tortured depends entirely on their word.

Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren regarded Chu Ze as a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, and he was obediently walking towards the slaughterhouse.

Chu Ze did not speak.

The hundred players behind him were in complete uproar.

On the edge of the retina, the guild channel was refreshing the chat at a crazy speed, with dense red text filling the entire screen.

[Civil Engineering Bro - Zhou Keke: Holy crap! What's going on? An NPC is blocking the road and charging a fee? And they want to search me?! I've got three pounds of explosives hidden in my crotch, you try searching me!]

[Cultivation Party Member - Qian Lele: Hahahaha! Are these NPCs out of their minds?! They actually dared to block our way! What is this? This is triggering a hidden quest! Siege warfare! The siege warfare is coming!]

[Breaking Bad - Cheng Huaxue: Let me do the math—3,000 men on the city wall, three cannons. We have 100. A 30 to 1 ratio. Perfect. Last time at Wild Wolf Gully, we had about the same ratio against Huang Taiji's 20,000 men. It's a sure thing.]

[PVP Assassination - Qin Jue: No need for a siege. Give me three minutes, and I can get up there.]

[Civil Engineering Bro - Zhou Keke: Wait, wait, wait! Don't rush to attack! Look at that city wall! Those bricks! Those are genuine Ming Dynasty official kiln blue bricks! One brick is worth fifty merit points! There must be hundreds of thousands of bricks on this city wall! Brothers, this isn't the enemy, it's a mobile merit point warehouse!]

Shi Dali, carrying an entrenching tool, stretched his thick neck out, his large, copper-bell-sized eyes fixed on the three barbarian cannons on the city wall. His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he could no longer control the drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Boss!" Shi Dali leaned close to Chu Zema, lowering his hoarse voice, which trembled violently with extreme excitement. "Those three cannons! Pure bronze! Each one weighs at least three thousand jin! If we bring these back to the main city, I can exchange them for a legendary set of equipment!"

He suddenly turned around and waved his entrenching tool at the group of players behind him whose eyes were shining.

"Brothers! Did you see that? The city walls are full of treasures! Those NPCs are wearing mountain-patterned armor, each piece is worth at least two hundred merit points! A musket is worth fifty merit points! And there are those red-tasseled spears, waist knives, quivers—"

Shi Dali became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice growing louder and louder until he finally let out a hysterical roar.

"This isn't a cold shoulder at all! This is clearly a huge welcome gift from the developers! Three thousand mobile merit point chests are right there on the city wall, waiting for us to open them!"

"Awooo—!"

One hundred players simultaneously erupted in a deafening roar.

There was not a trace of humiliation at being turned away, nor any fear of the cannons. Only pure, naked, undisguised greed and fanaticism.

The way they looked at the three thousand soldiers of the Beijing garrison on the city wall was no different from how they looked at three thousand fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

Wang Chengen stood at the foot of the city wall, the howling of the group of people entering his ears with the cold wind.

He froze on the spot, his blood seemingly frozen in that instant.

Moving cannons? Demolishing city bricks? Treating the three thousand garrison troops of Beijing as a treasure chest of merit points?

These guys are insane! Or are they really capable of this?!

The description in the secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard flashed uncontrollably through Wang Chengen's mind: someone who could still laugh wildly and ignite explosives even after being pierced through the stomach by a spear; someone who, even after having their hands and feet severed, would still bite down on the enemy's leg flesh and refuse to let go.

He suddenly shivered, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed on the ice.

On the city wall, General Zhang also heard the terrifying roar from below.

He frowned and leaned halfway out to look down. He saw that the hundred people dressed in gaudy cotton-padded jackets were not intimidated by the formation on the city wall. Instead, they were all excited, their faces flushed, gesturing wildly, pointing at the city wall and the soldiers on the wall, chattering excitedly.

A woman with a broken iron pot on her head was holding a chipped entrenching tool and gesturing at the cracks in the city wall while muttering incantations.

There was a huge, burly man carrying a rusty greatsword, craning his neck to stare at the cannons on the city wall, with glistening saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.

There was also a thin man in black who had somehow made his way to the edge of the moat and was squatting on the ice, tapping the ice with his fingers as if testing its thickness.

A sudden chill ran down General Zhang's spine.

He couldn't explain where the chill came from. Clearly, there were three thousand elite soldiers on the city wall, three large cannons, and walls several meters high. He had the advantage of terrain and superior numbers.

But the way those people looked at him—

wrong.

Those people weren't even looking at him.

They were looking at his armor, the sword at his waist, and the city bricks beneath his feet.

That greedy, naked, and undisguised scrutiny made the hairs on Zhang Can's body stand on end instantly.

That wasn't the anger of being shut out.

That's the excitement a hunter feels when he sees his prey.

Chu Ze remained seated on horseback, motionless.

A cold wind swept across the open field, swirling up large swaths of snow. His dark fox fur fluttered in the wind, and his slender fingers rested lightly on the hilt of his knife, slowly tracing the sharkskin pattern.

He did not dismount.

The blade was not removed.

Not a single word was spoken.

He just sat there quietly, waiting.

Let those people on the city wall figure out who is really trying to intimidate whom.

In the guild chat, the comments were still refreshing like crazy.

[Civil Engineering Bro - Zhou Keke: Boss, say something! To attack or not to attack? If we attack, I'll start calculating the demolition points right now! The hinges on this city gate are cast iron; if I stuff three pounds of gunpowder in, it'll blow it in two!]

[Cultivation Party Member - Qian Lele: Don't rush! Let the boss finish this act first! Didn't you guys see the plot hints? This is a main quest! There are definitely follow-up trigger conditions! If we act now, we might miss out on the rewards!]

[PVP Assassination - Qin Jue: I've reached the other side of the moat. There's a drainage outlet at the northeast corner of the city wall; I can squeeze in. Give me five minutes, and I can take that adjutant's head off.]

[Breaking Bad - Cheng Huaxue: Qin Jue, calm down. Don't kill anyone yet. I just checked the wind direction; it's a northwest wind. If we throw the poison gas from the west side of the city wall, the poisonous fog will drift into the city gate. Three thousand people will all be incapacitated within half an incense stick's time. Not a single person will die.]

As Chu Ze watched the messages from the group in the guild channel, the cold smile on his lips grew wider and wider.

He raised his head and looked at the corner tower on the east side of the city gate.

The corner tower window remained ajar. Inside, a group of civil officials sat around the fireplace, drinking tea and waiting to see how Chu Ze would bow his head and submit.

Waiting to see how a border general who has made unparalleled contributions will shed all his pride and dignity and bow down in defeat in the face of the rules of the capital.

Chu Ze withdrew his gaze.

He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread.

The clamor of the hundred players behind him abruptly ceased.

All eyes were immediately focused on Chu Ze's right hand, which was suspended in mid-air.

Quiet.

Extremely quiet.

Only the north wind howled between the city walls and the open fields.

Upon witnessing this scene atop the city wall, General Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed violently. He instinctively gripped his sword hilt, his palms drenched in cold sweat.

Chu Ze did not lower his hand.

He simply turned his head to face the hundred pairs of green-glowing eyes behind him and spoke softly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the extremely cold air.

"I've memorized them all."

"People on the city wall, people inside the city tower, people drinking tea in the corner tower."

"Their faces, the armor they wore, the knives they used."

"Remember everything clearly."

Chu Ze paused, the curve of his lips freezing into an extremely cruel line in the cold wind.

"We'll settle this once we get into the city."

The guild channel was instantly flooded with a barrage of blood-red comments.

[All players: Received!!!]