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

The Yuelai Inn, that colossal building that had long since closed down and occupied the center of Guangning City, was now being pressed heavily on Chu Ze's sand table by his fingertips.

The fish have started looking for food.

And this famine drama, which he personally instigated, has only just begun to reach its climax.

To make the performance more realistic, the players' "performance art" quickly escalated, and their dedication was enough to put even the world's top actors to shame.

At the corner of the west wall of the city, Tian Qianhe was leading her agricultural team in a serious "academic seminar" around a small plot of newly reclaimed land.

"Look," Tian Qianhe picked up a small handful of soil, rubbed it between her fingers, and analyzed it seriously, "This 'Guanyin soil' is rich in kaolinite group minerals and has a moderate aluminosilicate content. Although it doesn't have much nutrition, it's extremely filling. It's just that if you eat too much of it... it's easy to have trouble defecating."

A player nearby immediately pulled out a notebook and jotted it down, his face serious: "Boss, should we research what wild vegetables can help with bowel movements? Like purslane?"

"That makes sense, this research project is worth funding!"

Not far away, Gongshu Ban was leaning against an old locust tree, tapping and tinkering with the rough bark.

Instead of studying the structure, he posted a technical thread on a player forum that was quickly highlighted.

A Comparative Analysis of the Crude Fiber Content of Different Tree Barks and Human Satiety: A Case Study of Locust, Elm, and Poplar Trees

Below the post, there were a lot of "666" comments.

"I've learned something new! There's actually a lot to know about eating tree bark!"

"This software engineer is awesome! Even eating dirt is this hardcore!"

"Does anyone know anything about this? Does elm bark taste better when ground into powder?"

Qian Lele, who is best at creating mischief, started a survival challenge livestream called "Guangning Hunger 24 Hours".

On camera, she sported multicolored hair and had her face painted with alternating black and white stripes. She was sharing a steamed bun that had grown green mold with Shi Dali and several other burly men.

"Family members, who understands?!" Qian Lele took a small bite, then burst into tears, her acting skills on full display. "Taking this bite, I felt like I was seeing my great-grandmother. This steamed bun is older than my great-grandmother!"

Shi Dali was even more of a heavyweight. He grabbed half a steamed bun, glanced at it, and then threw it on the ground in grief and indignation, grinding it hard with his foot twice.

"I'm not eating anymore!" he roared at the camera. "I'm saving this energy to kill a few more Tartars! Even if I die, I'll die with a full stomach!"

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

[I cried, what about you? Brother Meat, don't throw it away! Pick it up, wash it, and you can still eat it!]

【Cai Miao, stop eating! I'll give you a super-hot gift; go buy a chicken leg!】

This game is too brutal! It's making me hungry. I'll order some takeout to calm my nerves.

[Reported! Abuse of streamers! Does this game company have no humanity?!]

The entire city of Guangning was enveloped in an atmosphere of overwhelming despair, thanks to the players' passionate performances.

On the high platform, Li Xunyi, who was personally supervising the implementation of the "grain-saving order," felt his heart clench as he looked at the miserable state of the people and "heavenly soldiers" below.

He saw an old woman faint on the ground because she hadn't received any porridge.

He saw that those "heavenly soldiers" who had been full of energy and chasing after the Tartars just a few days ago were now emaciated and listless, leaning against the corner of the wall.

For the first time, tears welled up in Li Xunyi's old eyes, which were always filled with scrutiny.

"What a tragedy!" He pounded his chest, trembling all over. "This is all because I am incompetent and unable to share the general's burdens, causing the soldiers and civilians to suffer this famine!"

He couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he turned around and stumbled down the platform, heading straight for the backyard of the government office.

Su Qingying was checking the accounts when she saw Li Xunyi rush in like a gust of wind.

"Master Su!" The old scholar rushed to the desk and placed a heavy cloth bag on it. He opened the bag and found a few loose pieces of silver and a string of copper coins inside.

"This is my life savings! It's not much, but please accept it, Lord Su, and use it to cook some more thick porridge for the soldiers and the people!"

Tears streamed down Li Xunyi's face as he bowed deeply to Su Qingying. "The sage said, 'The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important.' Now the soldiers and civilians in the city are crying out for food, and I... I cannot bear it!"

Su Qingying looked at the few pieces of silver that added up to no more than three taels, and then at the scholar in front of her who was crying like a child, and her heart was greatly shocked.

She opened her mouth, as if to say that there was plenty of food in the city and that this was all just an act.

But when she looked into Li Xunyi's clear and compassionate eyes, she swallowed the words back.

This element was not part of the general's plan.

But Mr. Li's "compassion" became the most real and also the most fatal element in this grand drama.

It will completely dispel the last shred of doubt from everyone in the city.

"Mr. Li, you..." Su Qingying supported him, her voice choked with emotion, "Qingying... on behalf of all the people of the city, thanks you for your righteousness!"

That afternoon, the porridge at the porridge stall was indeed a little thicker.

Li Xunyi personally took charge of the cooking, handing bowls of hot porridge, large enough to support chopsticks, to every soldier and civilian.

His heartfelt compassion and his heavy sighs moved everyone who received the porridge to tears of gratitude.

Qian Lele's live stream camera faithfully recorded this scene.

She changed the title of her live stream to: "[A Saint's Glimmer in the Apocalypse: He Burns Himself to Illuminate the Darkness]".

Countless viewers on Earth were moved by it.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, the true spy could no longer restrain himself and began to act.

Yuelai Inn.

Qin Jue's team has been keeping watch here without sleep for a full twenty-four hours.

Like a group of patient hunters, they were scattered in all the inconspicuous corners around the inn, observing everyone who went in and out of the kitchen.

As evening approached, the target appeared.

A worker responsible for emptying the swill pushed a wheelbarrow out of the kitchen. The wheelbarrow was loaded with five or six large wooden buckets, emitting a nauseating, sour smell.

On the handle of one of the wooden buckets, there was an inconspicuous strip of red cloth tied.

Qin Jue's team member, a player with the ID "Night Raven", immediately sent a signal in the team channel.

[Target spotted, red marker. I'm following.]

The night raven's figure, like a ghost, silently followed behind the wheelbarrow.

The man pushed the cart, not taking the main road, but turning into a series of secluded alleys, and finally stopped in a nearly forgotten corner in the south of the city.

Here, there was only a dilapidated courtyard, from which came the squeals of pigs.

The worker unloaded the marked red bucket separately at the pig farmer's door, then pushed the remaining swill away without looking back.

There was no communication throughout the entire process.

One hour later.

Li Si, the armory clerk, appeared at the alley entrance, carrying a small cloth bag and swaying leisurely.

He walked into the pig farmer's yard and loudly proclaimed that he wanted to buy two ounces of pig's head meat to go with his drinks.

While haggling with the pig farmers, his foot "inadvertently" kicked the red-labeled bucket by the door.

The wooden barrel wobbled, making a dull thud.

The pig farmer didn't even glance at it; he was focused on cutting a piece of meat from the hanging pig's head, threading it with a straw rope, and handing it to Li Si.

Li Si paid the money, humming a little tune, and left satisfied.

Everything seemed flawless.

It was late at night, when everyone had gone to sleep.

A dark shadow, like a gecko, silently slipped into the pig farmer's yard.

Qin Jue squatted in front of the red-labeled bucket, holding his breath.

He carefully examined the wooden barrel and finally felt a very incongruous bulge at the bottom.

With a light pry using the thin-bladed knife he carried with him, a layer disguised as a wooden board popped open.

Inside the interlayer, a wax pellet was lying quietly, completely wrapped in oilcloth.

Qin Jue crushed the wax ball, revealing a crumpled piece of white cloth inside.

The cloth was completely empty.

Qin Jue remained calm. He took out his small water pouch and poured some water on it.

The white cloth was soaked with water, and a faint smell of vinegar spread out.

Lines of tiny characters slowly emerged on the cloth.

[Supplies are running low, morale is low. The Chu rebels are refusing to come out, and the imperial army is exhausted and vulnerable. A swift attack is advisable.]

Intelligence obtained.

Qin Jue restored everything to its original state, and his figure once again disappeared into the darkness.

The garrison commander's residence, study.

Chu Ze looked at the secret letter written in rice vinegar without any surprise.

The pig farmer and the clerk Li Si were merely peripheral intermediaries and pawns.

The real core is the Yuelai Inn, which provides a large amount of food every day and uses this as a cover to transmit intelligence.

And then there's the seemingly most unassuming old Taoist priest who can integrate all the information and decide what to convey.

A large net has been cast.

Chu Ze placed the secret letter on the candle flame and watched it turn to ashes.

He gave a new command to the shadows behind him.

"Keep an eye on them and wait for them to deliver 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'."