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

The celebratory clamor will eventually subside as the night deepens.

When the last player, completely drunk, was carried back to the temporary barracks by his companions, and when the last light in a civilian's house went out, Guangning City, this behemoth that had just struggled to survive in blood and fire, finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

The garrison commander's residence, a quiet room.

Chu Ze dismissed everyone, including the dutiful Wang Erniu and the worried Su Qingying.

He sat alone, cross-legged on the cold ground.

The room was dark, with only the faint starlight outside the window outlining his silent silhouette.

The daytime award ceremony is for everyone to see. It's a necessary means to win over the hearts of the military, the people, and the players.

At this moment, this darkness that belongs only to him is his true battlefield.

His consciousness had already sunk into that boundless golden world.

【The Landscape and the State Map】!

The scroll at this moment is completely different from what it was before.

If the spiritual essence in the previous scroll was just a pool of water, then what is now presented to Chu Ze is a surging, boundless golden ocean!

On the sea, golden waterfalls composed of pure data streams are constantly cascading down from the void and merging into it.

[Event Summary: The Battle to Relieve the Siege of Guangning!]

[1677 Later Jin White Armor Soldiers and 3102 Han Army Bannermen killed... Converted Spiritual Energy +875,000!]

[Battle Rating: Complete Victory! Due to a major reversal of historical course, the efficiency of acquiring spiritual essence has been greatly increased, and the overall rewards have been doubled!]

[The morale of the people and military in Guangning City has reached 95%! Received the blessing of 'Popular Support', Spiritual Energy +1,200,000!]

[The historic event of "Relief of Guangning" has been confirmed as complete! The local historical momentum has been successfully reversed, granting a gift of "Grand Trend" power: Spiritual Energy +3,000,000!]

Looking at the massive numbers that almost overflowed his vision, even Chu Ze, who was used to operating behind the scenes, couldn't help but feel his heart pounding.

This is not the end.

His "gaze" passed over the golden ocean of spiritual energy and landed on the scroll itself.

The map's territory, centered on Guangning City, is expanding wildly in all directions! Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Dalinghe, Songshan... one after another, the military strongholds along the Liaoxi Corridor, under the golden light, have gone from blurry outlines to clear visibility, as if he could overlook every blade of grass and tree on them with just a thought.

At the very center of the scroll, the point of light representing Guangning City has undergone a complete transformation.

It was no longer a simple marker, but a phantom of a city radiating brilliant golden light, solid and solid, intimately connected to Chu Ze's soul, as if it had become an extension of his body. He could even clearly feel the joys and sorrows of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city, converging into warm and powerful invisible forces, continuously merging into the scroll, nourishing it, and nourishing himself as well.

"upgrade!"

Suppressing his excitement, Chu Ze issued the long-awaited command.

boom--!

The golden ocean of spiritual energy instantly boiled!

The vast spiritual energy seemed to have found an outlet for the ancient torrent, transforming into an unimaginably thick golden pillar of light that poured fiercely into the ancient and profound core of the Mountain and River Map!

The entire scroll shone with golden light, so bright that it almost pierced Chu Ze's consciousness!

[Ding! The Map of Mountains and Rivers has absorbed the 'hearts' and 'military spirit' of Guangning City, completing a qualitative upgrade!]

[Ding! Core phase updated! Current phase: Phase Two - Expansion and Foundation Laying!]

[Ding! Enhanced privileges detected for core modules. New features being unlocked...]

A series of soul-shaking notification sounds exploded in his mind!

The new Guild System is now unlocked! It guides players in creating organizations and assigning targeted missions!

The new feature, the "Tech Tree," is now unlocked! You can view and guide the technological development of your current faction!

[The core function [Expansion Pack Release] has had its permissions upgraded!]

Chu Ze's entire focus ultimately fell on the [Expansion Pack Release] function, which he was most familiar with and most looking forward to.

That originally simple button has now changed its appearance.

It is no longer a simple icon, but a brand new option that seems to be forged from molten gold, with a blazing flame burning at its core!

At the heart of the flame are two ancient and profound seal characters.

[Public Beta]!

Public beta!

Chu Ze's heart skipped a beat.

He eagerly focused his mind on it, and as the light spread, lines of more detailed explanatory text appeared before his eyes.

[Public Beta (Random Large-Scale Recruitment)]

[Function Details: Enabling this function will completely connect the Mountain and River Map to the Blue Star world, allowing for the indiscriminate and unlimited recruitment of souls.]

[Estimated number of players that can be recruited: Unlimited!]

unlimited!

These three words seemed to possess boundless magic, instantly making Chu Ze's blood boil!

In an instant, a magnificent and breathtaking picture of war appeared in his mind!

Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of fearless and infinitely creative players descended like locusts!

He no longer needs to be as meticulous as before, carefully using each player to their fullest potential.

He could arm them and form thousands of raiding squads, like countless sharp knives, to plunge deep into the bloated heartland of the Later Jin!

Harassment! Sabotage! Assassination! Burning supplies! Attacking isolated Niru!

Using a "natural disaster" tactic of exchanging one for one, or even ten for one, to endlessly bleed the Later Jin's war potential and logistical system!

He didn't even need a decisive battle to drag the entire Later Jin state into a quagmire, to its death, and to its collapse through this kind of "people's war" that was a devastating blow!

This is the most terrifying use of the "Fourth Calamity"!

However, just as Chu Ze's ambition was ignited to its peak by those three words, a cold, red warning system notification popped up without warning, like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

[WARNING: The initial activity area of ​​all 'Chosen Ones' will be strictly limited to the 'Official Certified Jurisdiction' of the 'GM'.]

[Currently certified jurisdiction area: The area under the jurisdiction of the garrison commander of Guangning City, Liaodong, Ming Dynasty.]

The excitement on Chu Ze's face froze instantly.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

The activity area is...limited to...the jurisdiction of the garrison commander of Guangning City?!

What does this mean?

This means that the "natural disaster" tactics he had just conceived, which were enough to overturn the entire warfare model of the cold weapon era, the countless raiding squads that penetrated deep behind enemy lines, and the locust army that swept across the entire Liaodong region...

At this moment, we declare bankruptcy!

The player, this sharpest sword, capable of severing all shackles in the world, is actually locked in this corner of Guangning by an invisible yet indestructible set of rules!

What is this?

I gave you a divine weapon that can destroy the world, but you are only allowed to wield it in your own backyard?

A profound sense of loss washed over me like a tidal wave.

But just a few breaths later, this sense of loss was replaced by a deeper, sharper, eagle-like contemplation.

Chu Ze forced himself to calm down.

He is not someone who wallows in negative emotions.

Why does the "Golden Finger"... or rather, the "Mountains and Rivers Map," impose such a restriction?

It's not restricting me.

A single thought, like a flash of lightning, pierced through the fog in his mind.

It's...forcing me!

Chu Ze instantly grasped the cold yet naked meaning behind this shackle.

The system is telling him in an unquestionable way: Want to expand your player's territory? Sure. Then expand your own "officially recognized jurisdiction"!

From a minor garrison commander in Guangning, to the Liaodong General Commander who oversaw the military and political affairs of the region, to the military governor who controlled the troops of several provinces, and even... the Grand Marshal who commanded all the troops in the country.

Even...?

The "Map of Mountains and Rivers" was forcing him to climb up the ranks, step by step, from within the bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty!

It was forcing him to transform the path of "innovation" and "creation" that had already sprouted deep within him but was not yet fully clear into a clear and only path that he had to take!

Want your Scourge army to sweep across the world?

Then let your official seal cover the entire land!

Having figured this out, Chu Ze not only felt no disappointment, but instead felt an even more burning ambition in his heart!

This path is ten thousand times more difficult than simply raiding behind enemy lines, but it is also ten thousand times more magnificent!

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and prepared to continue checking the other settings of the public beta. However, when his gaze returned to the light screen, another discovery made his heart, which had just calmed down, jump into his throat again, and a fine layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out on his back.

He discovered that in the [Expansion Pack Release] options, the [Elite Closed Beta (High-Precision Filtering)] option, which he had been using to accurately locate specific groups of people on Earth, had turned gray.

It's completely ineffective!

Instead, there was only that enormous, glowing "Public Beta (Random Large-Scale Recruitment)" button!

Another line of blood-red warning suddenly popped up in his field of vision.

[Warning: Due to the massive scale of recruitment, the flood of souls has exceeded the system's current computing power capacity. The precise screening function has been permanently disabled.]

[WARNING: GMs will no longer be able to control the identity, personality, and purpose of the players who descend upon the game!]

boom!

Chu Ze's mind went blank, as if he had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.

Unable to... control the player's identity, personality, and purpose?

What does this mean?

This means that the golden age he led during the closed beta and second closed beta, when he only recruited "elite technical talents" and "PVP pros," is gone forever!

The upcoming "public beta" will be a complete and uncontrollable carnival!

The next second, those who will descend upon Guangning City through the [Mountains and Rivers Map] may be just like him, fervent fans who deeply love this land and are willing to fight to protect the Chinese national identity.

But it's also possible that they are people who thrive on chaos and find pleasure in creating disorder and destruction!

Even... real spies and saboteurs from certain hostile forces, lurking within the player community!

He is about to possess an unlimited number of "Cataclysmic" legions.

But every soldier in this legion could be a disobedient bomb that could explode from within at any moment!

A double-edged sword!

A double-edged sword, sharp enough to cut oneself!

A tremendous sense of crisis, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed Chu Ze.

Compared to the limitations of jurisdiction, this "uncontrolled selection" is the truly fatal shackle!

The former only limited his tactical ceiling, while the latter was enough to shake or even destroy everything he had painstakingly built up from the ground up!

He could even foresee the chaotic scene that Guangning City would become once the public beta began.

When thousands of players from different countries arrive with different goals, will they abide by the rules they set? Will they fight to the death against the Later Jin to defend Guangning?

I'm afraid a considerable number of people will regard this place as a true "lawless land" without any moral or legal constraints!

Bullying NPCs, destroying buildings, and even... defecting on the battlefield!

They'll do anything as long as it brings them enough "fun"!

At that time, the enemies he will face will not only be the Later Jin outside the city, but also the "heavenly soldiers" he personally recruited inside the city!

What should I do?

Does this mean the public beta will never be launched?

The thought only flashed through his mind before Chu Ze rejected it.

No!

Faced with the pressure from the entire Later Jin state, and even the potential constraints from within the Ming court in the future, relying solely on the current thousand-plus players is far from sufficient.

He must expand his "heavenly army"!

Public beta testing was his only option, and also a tightrope he had to walk on, leading to the abyss.

He must find a rein.

A single rein sufficient to tame this terrifyingly large herd of wild horses that are about to break free!

Just as the immense pressure was suffocating him, his gaze swept over the two newly unlocked features on the screen.

[Guild System]

[Technology Tree]

Chu Ze's breath hitched.

He understood instantly!

The "Landscape and Social Map" never presents unsolvable problems.

As it handed him a poisoned blade large enough to cut himself, it also placed the antidote and the reins in front of him at the same time!

He cannot filter out the good and evil of players at the source.

But after they arrive, he can establish a completely new order to guide them, restrain them, and divide them!

The Guild System is the best tool for players to manage and discipline themselves! It uses players to manage players and order to combat chaos!

The "Tech Tree" is a shared, tangible, and grand goal that he presents to all players! When everyone's energy is drawn to "advancing in technology," "unlocking stronger equipment," and "building wonders," those who come simply for fun and destruction will naturally be isolated, rejected, and even ostracized and wiped out by the mainstream player group!

This is not just about two newly unlocked features.

This was the only, and most crucial, rein for him to tame this herd of runaway wild horses!

A race against time has begun.

Chu Ze's eyes regained their sharpness and calmness.

He must establish the basic framework of the reins before pressing the "Public Beta" button!

He wants to establish an effective system of rewards and punishments based on merit, issue a series of guiding tasks to encourage players to spontaneously form organizations, and deeply instill the concepts of "infrastructure construction" and "technological advancement" into the minds of every player.

What he had to do was to dig ditches and build dikes in advance before a devastating flood arrived!

Let the floodwaters be used to our advantage!