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

[Guild System]

[Technology Tree]

These were the reins and dams he prepared for the impending, devastating flood known as the "Public Test."

He first accessed the [Guild System].

As the light shimmered, lines of detailed explanatory text appeared before his eyes.

Guild System (Guide Mode)

[Function Details: GMs cannot directly create or specify guilds.]

[By issuing "guiding tasks," the chosen ones can be encouraged to spontaneously form stable and large-scale organizations.]

Once an organization completes the "Certification Task," the GM can consume a small amount of Spirit Essence to provide "Official Certification" and unlock permissions such as [Guild Warehouse], [Guild Exclusive Channel], and [Guild Headquarters Application].

"Unable to create directly..." Chu Ze pondered these words, not feeling constrained at all, but rather a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

That would be perfect.

Things given away as charity are never appreciated.

But they would value the honor they fought so hard for more than their own lives!

This system is practically tailor-made for PUA... no, for guiding this group of overly energetic players.

A meticulously planned scheme, full of "carrots," quickly took shape in his mind.

A cold, emotionless system task box was created out of thin air under his mental control.

[Epic Regional Quest: The Road to Restoration]

[Mission Description: Though the flames of war have subsided, the wounds remain. The hundred-mile-long official road from Guangning to Jinzhou is ravaged by the fighting. Without a road, merchants cannot travel, and military orders cannot be carried out. Brave chosen ones, take up your tools and repair this lifeline, so that the glory of Guangning may once again shine upon the Liaoxi Corridor!]

【Task Requirements:】

1. The team size must be no less than fifty people.

2. Repair the official road for a distance of no less than one hundred li.

3. Clear out all bandits and wild animals along the way (Danger level: Low to Medium).

[Task Rewards:]

[1. Team Shared Merit Points: 20,000!]

[2. Team leader receives a special title: [Trailblazer]!]

[3. Unlock the next quest chain: [The Cornerstone of Order]!]

Twenty thousand merits!

For players at this stage, this is nothing short of a gold mine!

That's enough to drive any ambitious player team crazy!

The rigid threshold of "more than fifty people" will force those lone wolves who are used to working alone, as well as those small groups of only a dozen people, to undergo a large-scale integration and screening.

Whoever can organize a highly efficient team of more than fifty people first will win the task.

This is just the first step, a calculated move to select the "leaders".

The real killer move is the follow-up mission – [The Cornerstone of Order].

Once a team completes the "Road to Restoration," subsequent tasks will be automatically triggered.

[Certification Task: The Cornerstone of Order]

[Mission Description: Guangning is in dire need of reconstruction, and the restoration of order cannot be achieved without a strong protective force. A disciplined and trustworthy mercenary group will be the most reliable ally for the General. Prove your worth to the General, and you will gain official recognition from Guangning City, becoming the glorious cornerstone of maintaining peace in this place!]

[Mission Requirements: Submit the title of "Pioneer" and swear an oath to fight for the order and prosperity of Guangning City.]

[Task Rewards:]

[1. The team has received official certification and has been formally established as the first registered mercenary group (guild) in Guangning City.]

2. Gain access to your exclusive guild channel.

[3. Obtain an initial 5x5 guild warehouse.]

[4. Gain the right to apply for a plot of land within Guangning City as the guild's headquarters.]

After this series of moves, Chu Ze could almost imagine how lively the player forum would be.

From a makeshift operation to an officially certified guild, players will spontaneously band together, fighting tooth and nail for the honor of being "number one" and for those tangible privileges.

And he, this "GM", was, from beginning to end, just a "fair referee" who issued tasks and awarded rewards.

No one would feel that he was forcing them; on the contrary, they would be grateful that he gave them such a "fair competition" opportunity.

Use players to manage players, and use honor and benefits to bind them together, forming stable pyramid structures.

This is the first rein he prepared for the upcoming army of millions of players.

Having done all this, Chu Ze withdrew his consciousness from the [Guild System] and immersed himself in the even more vast and alluring star map.

[Tech Tree]!

It was an endless, blurry star map composed of countless points of light and threads.

Most of the stars were dim, with only a few points of light, which were successfully "lit up" by Chu Ze and his players' previous actions.

[Basic Cement Technology]: Developed under the leadership of player 'Zhou Keke', this technology significantly improves the durability and construction speed of city defense buildings.

【Blast Furnace Ironmaking Method】: Improved by player 'Gongshu Ban' and the city's blacksmith, it increases pig iron production by 100% and can produce crude steel.

[Potato (High-yield crop)]: Discovered and cultivated by player 'Tian Qianhe', it initially solved the food crisis in Guangning City.

These few glimmers of light appear so tiny in the vast star map, yet they are so crucial.

Around them, countless dim nodes loomed in and out of sight, each marked with a name that could drive any modern soul mad.

"Hydraulic forging hammer", "Lathe", "Standardized parts", "Assembly line production"...

"Nitroglycerin", "explosive shell", "rifled barrel", "repeating musket"...

"Surgical procedures", "penicillin purification", "anesthetics", "blood transfusion techniques"...

Each dimming node represents a technology ahead of its time, a path leading to higher productivity and greater destructive power.

They are like sealed Pandora's boxes, lying there quietly, waiting for the chosen ones to open them one by one with their wisdom and hard work.

Chu Ze's gaze lingered on the point of "repeating musket" for a long time.

He could even imagine the utter devastation his army would experience when equipped with such weapons, facing the Later Jin army that was still using primitive bows and arrows and matchlock guns.

That wasn't war, that was massacre!

This is the most deadly "carrot" he prepared for the players.

It was also the second and most crucial rein he used to tame this herd of wild horses—a bond of shared interests!

His mind raced again, and a new plan came to mind.

[Guild Technology Competition]!

He decided to deeply link the guild's honor with the unlocking of the tech tree!

He can issue exclusive "technology breakthrough" missions to guilds that have already obtained "official certification".

For example, you could issue a task to a guild formed by tech geeks like Zhou Keke and Gongshu Ban to develop a "Blooming Cannonball".

If they succeed, the entire guild will receive a massive amount of merit points as a reward, as well as a unique honorary title such as "Military Pioneer".

More importantly, their guild will obtain the "priority application rights" and "technology patent rights" for this technology!

This means that for a period of time, only their guild will be able to manufacture and sell "Blooming Shells".

Other players or guilds want it? Sure, either buy it from them at a high price, or tackle other technological nodes and offer your own "patents" in exchange!

What will happen once this model is implemented?

Chu Ze almost burst out laughing.

Players will spontaneously form well-defined research and development teams in order to climb the technology tree.

Those who work in machinery will obsessively work on the "steam engine," those who work in chemicals will ponder "smokeless gunpowder," and those who work in agriculture will hybridize "higher-yielding wheat."

Those people who come here just to cause trouble and have fun?

While all the mainstream players are frantically mining, smelting iron, and conducting experiments in order to drive "armored vehicles" and use "Gatling guns" as soon as possible, those who only know how to kill chickens and tease NPCs in the city will seem out of place.

They will be despised and ostracized by the mainstream player group, and even actively eliminated by those "hardcore" guilds that are eager to rush for technology points, who will treat them as "disrupting the production order" and actively eliminate them!

At that time, there will be no need for him, the GM, to intervene; the players will complete the internal purification on their own.

Use a grand goal that is visible, tangible, and full of endless allure to absorb and guide the thousands upon thousands of unvented energies.

perfect!

Chu Ze mentally rehearsed the entire plan several times, and only after confirming that there were no obvious flaws did he slowly withdraw from that golden world.

The quiet room remained dark, but he felt that the road ahead was bright.

He had already dug ditches and repaired dikes in preparation for the impending flood.

Now, all that's left is to press the "Public Beta" button and let the real natural disasters descend upon this long-suffering land.

……

Outside Shanhaiguan Pass, at Ningyuan Camp.

The night was deep and the wind was biting.

Inside the central command tent, the lights were bright, but the atmosphere was oppressive.

Yuan Chonghuan, dressed in a well-worn cotton armor, stood facing a huge geomantic map, his brow furrowed. His face, etched with the sharp features of time, was etched with an inescapable weariness.

Just a few hours ago, he led 9,000 Guan Ning cavalry in a fierce battle against Huang Taiji's detachment, which was bypassing Mongolia and attempting to breach the pass, in the plains north of the capital.

Although they successfully repelled the enemy, the Guan Ning army also suffered considerable casualties.

What worried him even more was that this was merely a test by Huang Taiji. The main force of the Later Jin remained entrenched along the Jinzhou-Dalinghe line, watching with predatory intent.

The entire Liaoxi defense line was like a bowstring stretched to its limit, in danger of snapping at any moment.

What he was most worried about was the isolated city of Guangning, which was heavily besieged and had long been cut off from all communication.

Chu Ze... that young man he personally promoted.

Can they hold on?

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a guard led in a messenger covered in dust and dressed in tattered clothes.

"Commander! A replacement soldier from Guangning has arrived urgently!"

Yuan Chonghuan turned around abruptly and stared intently at the messenger who was almost exhausted and collapsed on the ground.

"Guangning?! How is Guangning?!" His voice trembled slightly with excitement.

The messenger pulled a bamboo tube tightly wrapped in oilcloth from his bosom, and with his last ounce of strength, raised it above his head. His voice was hoarse, yet he couldn't hide his overwhelming joy, and he roared:

"A great victory—!!"

"Commander-in-Chief! A great victory at Guangning!"

"Ten days ago, General Chu laid an ambush west of the city and burned two thousand elite Tartar soldiers in white armor overnight! He also killed the Later Jin general Turge in battle!"

"The Second Prince of the Later Jin, Amin, suffered a crushing defeat, coughed up blood, and hastily retreated from the siege!"

"The siege of Guangning has been lifted!!!"

boom!

These words, uttered inside the tent, were colder than the wind and snow outside the window.

Everyone stopped moving, the air seemed to have been sucked out, and only the crackling of the charcoal in the brazier remained.

Yuan Chonghuan turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on the messenger who was almost falling apart.

He lunged forward and snatched the blood- and mud-stained bamboo tube from his hand. The tube was cold, and the patterns carved on it hurt his palm.

He didn't open it immediately, but stared intently at the messenger's face, which was no longer recognizable, and asked, word by word.

"What did you say?"

"Burning...white armor?" A lieutenant beside him instinctively asked, his voice trembling. "Say that again?!"

The messenger gasped for breath, his throat making a rumbling, bellowing sound, but with all his might, he roared out those words.

"The Great Victory at Guangning—!!"

"General Chu... burned two thousand elite Jurchen soldiers in white armor!"

"Amin... has lost!"

Two thousand? White armor?

Inside the large tent, there was a deathly silence.

One of the generals couldn't help but burst out laughing, though the laugh was more like a grimace: "Brother, did you break your brain in the snow? Two thousand white-clad warriors! Do you think they're two thousand pigs? Even if they were two thousand pigs, you could set them on fire and they'd still run away!"

No one agreed with his joke.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yuan Chonghuan.

Yuan Chonghuan's hands were steady. He used his fingernails to pry open the wax seal and poured out the thin but weightier news of victory.

Above were Chu Ze's familiar, bold and elegant handwriting.

The text was short, but Yuan Chonghuan read it extremely slowly, his gaze like he was plowing the paper, looking at each word one by one, chewing on each word.

"...using oil, coal dust, and sulfur as bait, they spread it in the granaries, luring the enemy into a trap...the operation was successful overnight, with countless casualties..."

"...Enemy chieftain Amin, seeing the fire, coughed up blood and fled north in panic..."

Finally, there was only one line of text.

"Guangning still stands, General, please rest assured. May the Ming Dynasty triumph!"

The paper was thin, but Yuan Chonghuan felt as if he were holding a mountain in his hands.

He read it once.

I watched it again.

Then, he slowly raised his head, his face, sculpted by time like rock, expressionless.

He suddenly laughed.

At first, there was just a strange "hoarse" sound coming from his throat, followed by an uncontrollable low laugh, and his shoulders began to tremble.

Finally, he suddenly tilted his head back and opened his mouth!

"Hahahahaha—!!"

That laughter was not one of joy or pride, but rather a near-mad roar, a result of extreme repression breaking free from all shackles!

He laughed, laughed so hard he almost fell over, and tears streamed down his face, shaking the snow off the tent ceiling.

All the generals in the tent were dumbfounded; they had never seen a commander like this before.

There was so much in that laughter. There was the frustration of being suppressed by Huang Taiji for months, the constant worry about the isolated city of Guangning, and even more so, a silent roar against the criticism in the court!

"good!"

Yuan Chonghuan slammed his hand on the table, causing the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to jump high into the air.

"Good! Well done, Chu Ze!!"

He slammed the report of victory onto the geomantic map, placing it on the location of Guangning City.

"A nail! I ordered him to defend Guangning, but he drove a poisoned nail into the Jurchens' ass!"

He pointed to the map, his eyes burning with an unprecedented light.

"With this thorn in our side, how dare Huang Taiji turn his back on me? He'll have to be constantly on guard, worried that this kid might set his homeland on fire!"

"That mad dog of his has finally been put on a leash!"

Inside the tent, the oppressive atmosphere was swept away, replaced by expressions of relief and even ecstasy on the faces of all the generals!

They finally understood the significance of this good news!

"Pass on my orders!"

Yuan Chonghuan stopped laughing, straightened his back, and the murderous aura of the Liaodong governor once again enveloped the entire tent.

"Send this news of victory via the fastest courier service, covering 800 li, to all nine border regions! And then to the capital!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every excited face in the tent, and his voice deepened.

"I'll make those sarcastic young men in the capital open their eyes wide and see clearly!"

"Our Ming Dynasty's border troops are still fighting!"

"The men of my Ming Dynasty still have courage!"

"The Jurchens are not invincible!"