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

Chu Ze's words fell silent in the quiet study, without a trace of echo. The figure in the shadows stirred slightly before disappearing back into the darkness, as if it had never existed.

Without saying anything more, he turned and walked back to the sand table, gently tapping his finger on the miniature model representing "Yuelai Inn".

The first dish, "plain soup and water," had already made the city rats so hungry that they were willing to eat anything, revealing their food supply route.

Now, it's time for the second, and most lethal, main course.

This dish must be large enough and tempting enough to entice the most cunning and venomous snake hidden deep within to use its most precious fangs.

Chu Ze raised his hand, and the GM-level backend interface silently unfolded before him. He didn't issue a task, but instead opened the player list and precisely locked onto that familiar ID.

[I am the King of Liver Kings]

A private communication command, transformed into a faint light, was sent out instantly.

A moment later, there was a gentle knock on the study door.

"Come in."

Wang Han pushed open the door and entered. His face still showed some fatigue from handling guild affairs, but as soon as he stepped into the study, he immediately tensed up, and that fatigue was replaced by a hunter's sharpness.

He knew that if the boss summoned him alone late at night, it must be for something important.

"General." Wang Han bowed in greeting.

Chu Ze didn't look at him, but pointed to the model of Yuelai Inn on the sand table and said calmly, "Tonight, I want you to stay there and treat a few people to dinner."

Wang Han was taken aback. Dinner?

"Please invite Shi Dali, Xiao Ran, and your few toughest and most troublesome guys," Chu Ze continued. "The food must be good, and the wine must be strong."

Wang Han's mind raced, and he immediately sensed something unusual. He had invited everyone to dinner, specifically ordering two incredibly volatile PvP enthusiasts, Meat Bro and Sister Xiao.

The flavor of this Feast at Hongmen is just too strong.

"During the meal, you must get drunk." Chu Ze finally turned around and looked at Wang Han. "Then, you must tell them a 'secret'."

Wang Han's breath hitched for a moment.

"Tell them I can't hold on any longer." Chu Ze's narration was completely flat, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself. "I have already dug a secret tunnel under that concrete maze in Ximen. At midnight three days from now, I will lead my personal guards and you core 'Chosen Ones' to break out through the tunnel and abandon Guangning."

Wang Han's pupils contracted sharply.

Abandon Guangning? Break through?

This news is more shocking than the sky falling! If it gets out, the morale of the entire military and civilian population of Guangning City will collapse instantly!

But he was only in a daze for a moment before he immediately understood Chu Ze's true intention.

This is a trap. A trap big enough to fit everyone inside!

"I need an internal conflict," Chu Ze said to Wang Han, enunciating each word clearly, "a fierce internal conflict that can be heard throughout the entire restaurant, or even half a street."

"A high-level upheaval that led to a complete breakdown due to the choice between 'escape' and 'fight to the death'."

Wang Han felt a chill run up his spine to the top of his head, which then transformed into an indescribable fervor.

That was so exciting! This is the kind of thing a main storyline boss should do!

Acting? Or acting in such a grand spectacle?

He, Wang Han, loves doing this the most!

"Don't worry, General." Wang Han's face lit up with an almost theatrical excitement. "Forget internal strife, even if you asked me to fight Shi Dali right here and tear down the Yuelai Inn, I guarantee it wouldn't be a problem!"

He has even started to conceive the script in his mind.

Shi Dali, that simpleton, would be the first to slam his fist on the table and curse the moment he hears he's being asked to desert.

Xiao Ran, that PVP fanatic, with her calm and pragmatic personality, is a perfect match for the "escapist faction."

A major annual event, featuring heartfelt performances from core gamers, is about to unfold.

"Go ahead." Chu Ze waved his hand. "Remember, make a big fuss, and act it out."

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Han accepted the order and left, his steps becoming lighter.

That night, the Yuelai Inn, which had long been closed, surprisingly lit up again.

In the largest private room on the second floor, food and drinks were served in a continuous stream. Wang Han had booked the entire second floor. Although the dishes were not as lavish as in times of peace, they were still the best banquet that Guangning City could offer at the moment.

Shi Dali, Xiao Ran, and a dozen or so top-ranked PVP guild leaders from the "Chosen Ones" sat around a table.

The atmosphere was a bit strange from the start.

"Guild Master, what's the wind blowing today? Why are you spending so much?" A rogue player asked, stuffing a piece of fatty meat into his mouth.

Holding his wine bowl, Wang Han's cheeks were flushed an unnatural red. He swayed as he stood up, slurring, "Brothers... this... this might be our last meal... our last meal before we're beheaded!"

"Pah!" Upon hearing this, Shi Dali slammed his wine bowl down on the table, splashing wine everywhere. "Chairman, how much of your mother's piss have you drunk to say such unlucky things!"

Xiao Ran, arms crossed, leaned back in her chair, her spear resting beside her. She didn't speak, but her scrutinizing gaze swept back and forth between Wang Han and Shi Dali.

Wang Han seemed to be provoked by Shi Dali. He gulped down a large mouthful of wine, then grabbed Shi Dali by the collar, his eyes bloodshot as he growled, "Last meal? I fucking don't want to die!"

"Guangning can't be held! The Tartars have besieged the city like an iron barrel! How can we, with our small force, possibly outlast their tens of thousands of troops?"

"You're all drinking thin porridge in the city every day, haven't you seen it? Mr. Li has even donated his entire savings for his funeral, and the porridge is only getting a tiny bit thicker! If this continues, we'll starve to death before the Tartars even attack the city!"

Wang Han's roar was filled with despair and resentment; his acting was so convincing that it was almost indistinguishable from reality.

The atmosphere in the private room instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"So?" Xiao Ran finally spoke, her voice cold. "What are you trying to say?"

Wang Hansong shook off Shi Dali, staggered back two steps, then lowered his voice and, in a sneaky yet boastful tone, moved closer to the crowd.

"General Chu...he has a backup plan!"

"He knew this day would come! He... he dug a tunnel beneath the concrete maze at the West Gate! A tunnel that leads outside the city!"

"Three days from now! At midnight three days from now! The general will lead us out through the tunnel! We'll leave this hellish place!"

boom!

This "earth-shattering secret" exploded like a thunderclap in the private room.

"Bullshit!"

Shi Dali abruptly overturned the table in front of him, shattering dishes and bowls on the floor with a loud crash. He pointed at Wang Han's nose, his chest heaving violently, and the veins on his neck bulging.

"Deserters! You're all fucking cowards! You're deserters!"

"I'm here to kill Tartars! Not to crawl through dog holes! Go ahead and try to do whatever you want! I'll die on the city wall!"

"You know nothing!" Xiao Ran stood up, slamming his spear heavily on the floor with a dull thud. "As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild! Breaking out with the general and preserving our strength is the only way to survive! What's the point of dying here? Just handing our heads to the Tartars?"

"Pah! What do you know about guts, woman!"

"All I know is victory! You idiot!"

"Who are you calling an idiot!"

"I'll yell at anyone who answers!"

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

Two top players, one furious, the other calm, instantly started arguing. Wine glasses were smashed, chairs were kicked over, and the huge noise seemed to shake the entire second floor of the Yue Lai Inn.

Downstairs in the lobby, a few scattered diners were so startled by this sudden "upheaval" that they shrank back.

In a corner of the lobby, a man dressed as a leather merchant was eating a bowl of noodles. Hearing the loud arguing and smashing sounds upstairs, especially the words "tunnel" and "breakout," his hand holding the chopsticks trembled uncontrollably.

He dared not listen any longer, hurriedly threw down a few coins, and without even finishing his noodles, got up and quickly left the restaurant.

The moment he left, a pot mender in the shadows across from the inn gently tapped his iron pot.

"bite."

A soft click signaled the start of the signal.

The fur merchant Zhang San did not go home. He kept his head down and walked hurriedly, circling around the dark alley seven or eight times. After confirming that no one was following him, he slipped into the back gate of the City God Temple.

The temple was deathly silent.

Qin Jue, like a weightless leaf, silently climbed onto the roof of the main hall and looked down through the gaps in the tiles.

He saw Zhang San kneeling in front of the statue, whispering something nervously to the old Taoist priest who was sweeping the floor.

The old Taoist priest stopped sweeping.

He slowly straightened up, and his eyes, which had always been covered in wrinkles and looked murky, suddenly shone with an extremely terrifying light.

After listening to Zhang San's report, the old Taoist priest did not hesitate for a moment. He walked to the base of the huge statue, fumbled around for a moment, and took out a palm-sized bamboo tube from a hidden compartment.

He took out a flint and steel and a small candle that he had prepared beforehand, lit them, and then quickly wrote something on a piece of white cloth with a special potion. After finishing writing, he heated the cloth with the candle flame, and the writing disappeared. Then, he rolled up the white cloth, stuffed it into a bamboo tube, and sealed it with wax.

After doing all this, the old Taoist priest walked to an inconspicuous old locust tree in the backyard, raised his head, and imitated the call of a cuckoo, emitting three long and two short cries.

"Coo coo coo...coo coo..."

A moment later, a dark shadow glided silently down from the dark canopy of trees and landed precisely on the old Taoist's outstretched arm.

That was a magnificent gyrfalcon! Its eyes were sharp, and its claws were like hooks!

This is their highest-level and fastest intelligence transmission method! Enough to deliver intelligence to Amin's command tent within half an hour!

The old Taoist skillfully tied the bamboo tube containing the "earth-shattering secret" to the gyrfalcon's claws.

Qin Jue held his breath on the rooftop.

He slowly raised the specially made crossbow in his hand; the tip of the bolt gleamed with a faint blue light.

He knew the time to close the net had come.

The old Taoist priest gave the bindings one last check, a sinister smile spreading across his face. He raised his arm, preparing to release the messenger, which carried information that could determine the fate of Guangning, into the endless night.

Qin Jue's index finger gently rested on the trigger of the crossbow.

He waited for that one and only signal.