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

Filled with surprise and doubt, Lu Jian followed Chu Ze's footsteps and stepped into the deep city gate.

The moment he stepped in, Lu Jian felt as if he had passed through an invisible membrane.

The light was swallowed up.

The clamor was cut off.

The clamor of tens of thousands of people outside, the frenzied atmosphere of hawking, shouting, and maniacal laughter, was completely shut out by the heavy, suffocating city walls. Only the dull footsteps of their group and the soft crackling of torches echoed between the cold walls in the passageway.

This brief darkness and deathly silence only made Lu Jian and the guards behind him even more tense.

When they passed through the tunnel and saw the light of day again, the sight was so different that Lu Jian and all the guards behind him gasped for breath.

There were no ruins as expected, no scenes of war and chaos, and no widespread famine.

What comes into view is an order.

A kind of wild, untamed order that Lu Jian had never seen before.

The straight, wide dirt roads, as if carved by a knife and axe, cut the city into square blocks. On both sides of the roads, most of the original houses and shops have been demolished and replaced by rows of simple but sturdy shacks and wooden buildings under construction.

The strangest thing was that at each intersection there was a crooked wooden sign with words written on it in charcoal that he couldn't understand.

"【Shenzhou】Guild Recruitment Office: Beta test veterans lead the teams, newbies are treated like royalty!"

"【Iron-Blooded Brotherhood】Equipment Repair Shop: Fair prices, honest service, no cheating! If you try to rip us off, you'll be bitten by wolves!"

"【Slaying Gods Pavilion】Materials Purchasing Point: Buying wolf pelts and iron ore at high prices, bulk discounts available!"

Inside the city gates, there was none of the chaotic, barbaric market outside the city; instead, there was a kind of... orderly madness.

Lines drawn with white lime powder crisscross the ground, dividing the huge square into dozens of functional areas.

To the left, beneath a wooden sign that read "Logistics Supplies Exchange Center," hundreds of players stood in several long queues. They carried timber on their shoulders, ore in their hands, and blood-soaked animal hides on their backs, yet not a single one dared to cut in line. At the very front of the queue, a woman in a light blue dress (Su Qingying) sat behind a long table, intently counting the supplies, while several accountants beside her worked swiftly on their abacuses. Each time a player handed in materials, the woman would make a note in a thick ledger, and the player would let out a satisfied cheer and run off happily.

To the right lay a vast workshop area. Beneath dozens of makeshift sheds, flames roared, and the clanging of hammers filled the air. A tall, slightly hunched man (Gongshu Ban) stood before a massive blueprint, yelling at the hundreds of players around him, "Torch number three! The angle of mortise number three is wrong! Take it apart and redo it! Anyone who dares to make a mistake again, you can forget about your meat soup tonight!"

Under his command, the players were rapidly assembling a strangely structured unicycle in an assembly-line fashion. One person was responsible for shaping the wheels, another for polishing the axle, and yet another for assembling the frame. The smoothness and efficiency of their movements left Lu Jian's elite cavalry, who had previously been in charge of arms manufacturing, dumbfounded.

This is hardly a devastated border town after the war; it's clearly a war machine running at full speed!

Just then, an angry shout shattered the busy tranquility.

"Damn it! Are you blind? How dare you cut in line!"

In a queue at the exchange counter, a player got into an argument with the person in front of him for cutting in line. Before the two could even make a move, two player guards wearing the [Shenzhou] badge on their chests walked over expressionlessly.

Without saying a word, one of them raised his knife and brought it down.

puff!

The cold blade cleanly and decisively sliced ​​through the neck of the player who had cut in line. Blood gushed out, and the player's face remained blank with shock before his body suddenly stiffened.

The guards behind Lu Jian instinctively gripped their sword hilts, thinking that there had been internal strife in the city.

However, the anticipated riot did not occur. The player who was "killed" did not fall; instead, under the habitual gazes of those around him, he transformed into a blinding white light and vanished into thin air.

The whole process was incredibly fast.

The players queuing around them showed no sign of panic, not even a whisper of concern. The queue merely shifted forward one step, as if the one who had just died wasn't a living person, but a burst bubble.

The Shenzhou guard who had made the move acted as if it were a trivial matter. He wiped the blood off his blade with a rag and yelled at those around him, "Everyone, follow the rules! Chairman Wang said that in Guangning City, order is everything! Anyone who dares to break the rules, don't blame my blade for being merciless!"

This extreme indifference to death, combined perfectly with the terrifyingly efficient production order before them, created a bizarre harmony that sent chills down the spines of Lu Jian and all his elite guards.

Chu Ze seemed oblivious to the undisguised shock on their faces. He simply turned to the side and calmly introduced, "Lord Lu, please look. These are the 'Heavenly Soldiers' I mentioned to His Majesty in my victory report."

His voice was calm and steady, without any hint of boasting, as if he were stating a fact.

"They are fearless of death and tireless, and Heaven, moved by the loyalty and bravery of our Great Ming, has specially sent them to help us resist foreign aggression."

Lu Jian's brows furrowed into a knot. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said in a dry voice, "Heavenly soldiers? General Chu, such a claim is far too absurd. I only believe in what I see with my own eyes, and I do not believe in ghosts and gods."

A mysterious smile appeared on Chu Ze's face. He did not argue, but simply pointed to an open space not far away.

On that open ground, a white light suddenly appeared, and when it dissipated, a figure materialized from the ethereal form. It was the player who had been "killed" for cutting in line.

He stood there unharmed, dusting himself off, muttering under his breath, "Damn it, those bastards from [Shenzhou], they really went all out! Just you wait, I'll corner your guild leader at the respawn point and kill him back to level zero!"

He cursed as he ran back to the end of the long queue and obediently lined up again, as if his "death" was nothing more than a minor, insignificant punishment.

This scene was like a silent, heavy hammer blow, striking hard into the hearts of Lu Jian and all his men.

"Please look, sir." Chu Ze's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying an all-knowing composure. "This person was just 'dead' in battle, but now he is perfectly fine. In their eyes, death is not the end."

"They are not ordinary beings of flesh and blood, but rather beings whose souls are formed in a way that we cannot comprehend, and who walk in the world. To them, dying in battle is merely the return of their souls to their origin, and they can simply expend a little energy to rebuild their bodies."

"This is a miracle, beyond human explanation."

Chu Ze casually packaged the godlike "resurrection" function of his cheat system into a seemingly absurd but perfectly explainable "theological" theory.

He left Lu Jian no room for argument.

Because every word he uttered was being constantly proven true by the actions of the tens of thousands of "heavenly soldiers" in the city.

Lu Jian fell silent.

His worldview, built on intrigue, torture, logic, and common sense, was torn open by this unfalsifiable "miracle."

He couldn't refute it.

Because everything he saw with his own eyes told him that Chu Ze's absurd "answer" was the only "truth" in this place.

"This...this..." A veteran imperial guard who had followed Lu Jian for many years trembled with fear. He looked at the tireless players, whose enthusiasm for work surpassed even their enthusiasm for looting, and then at the unlucky fellow who had just "come back to life." In the end, he could only manage to squeeze out a few words, "This...this is truly...a blessing from heaven for our Great Ming?"

Chu Ze didn't reply, but simply made a "please" gesture and continued to lead them toward the city center.

As he traveled, Lu Jian witnessed even more shocking scenes.

He saw a woman in gray overalls (Zhou Keke) directing hundreds of players to quickly repair a section of the damaged city wall with a gray, quick-drying mud. Once the mud solidified, it was harder than iron; if you cut into it with a knife, you could only leave a white mark.

He saw a handsome young man (An Ji) in a makeshift wounded soldier's camp, using a red-hot knife to cleanly and efficiently remove the rotten flesh from an old soldier with a broken leg, then sprinkle on medicinal powder and bandage it with a clean white cloth. His skillful technique and calm demeanor made even the accompanying military medical officer feel inferior.

He also saw that the land in the south of the city, which should have been barren, had been cultivated into countless neat fields. A dark-skinned girl (Tian Qianhe) was leading a group of players, carefully burying a tuberous crop they had never seen before into the soil, their faces beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.

All of this is full of vitality.

This vitality does not belong to this era, nor to this land ravaged by war. It is full of aggression and subversion, and is transforming this city and the perceptions of all its original inhabitants in an unstoppable manner.

Finally, Chu Ze led them to a newly built three-story building.

The building, constructed entirely of blue bricks and logs, features flying eaves and bracket sets, with bright and clean windows, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding low and dilapidated military barracks and civilian houses. Above the entrance plaque, three large characters are written in a flowing, elegant style: "Welcoming Pavilion."

"This building was constructed by Fairy Zhou... the extraordinary woman who just repaired the city wall, leading celestial soldiers and taking three days to complete," Chu Ze introduced casually. "It was specially built to entertain distinguished guests like Lord Lu."

Three days!

The guards behind Lu Jian gasped again.

Looking at the exquisitely structured and solidly built small building, and then thinking about how the imperial relatives in the capital would spend years and huge sums of money to build a garden, a feeling of extreme unreality arose spontaneously.

Chu Ze invited Lu Jian and his group into the best private room in the building.

The room was spotless, and the tables and chairs were made of freshly felled wood, exuding a faint scent of pine. Soon, the food and drinks were served in a continuous stream.

The food was freshly hunted game, roasted over a blazing fire until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sprinkled with unknown spices. The liquor was a strong, homemade spirit from the city, spicy on the palate and burning down the throat.

In war-torn Liaodong, this was nothing short of an imperial indulgence.

Lu Jian and his elite guards had been eating dry rations for over ten days on their journey, and now, smelling the aroma of meat, their stomachs were rumbling. Yet, not one of them touched their chopsticks; they simply sat there, tense, warily surveying their surroundings.

Chu Ze personally poured Lu Jian a full glass of wine and raised his glass in a gesture of respect.

"Lord Lu, I know you still have many doubts in your heart, and even think that I, Chu, am spreading rumors and misleading the public."

His voice was calm, as if he could see right through people's hearts.

"No problem, let's eat and chat. I can explain the origins and habits of these heavenly soldiers to you, sir."

Lu Jian picked up his wine cup but didn't drink. He stared at the clear liquid in the cup and asked in a deep voice, "General Chu went to great lengths to show me all this. What is your purpose?"

He didn't believe in any "heavenly soldiers"; he only believed in self-interest. Chu Ze's frankness must mean he had something to gain.

Chu Ze smiled upon hearing this.

He downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp, then slammed the glass down heavily on the table.

"Lord Lu's question is a good one."

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. Downstairs, the scene, both orderly and incredibly chaotic, once again came into view. The sounds of tens of thousands of "heavenly soldiers" working and shouting blended into a unique wave of sound that rushed towards them.

"What I ask for is very simple."

Chu Ze turned around, his deep eyes shining brightly in the dim light of the room.

"What I want is the court's trust."

"I want His Majesty and all the officials to understand that with the aid of heavenly troops, the recapture of Liaodong is just around the corner for Guangning City! What I need is not suspicion and obstruction, but more provisions, weapons, and... autonomy!"

He spoke each word deliberately and forcefully.

Lu Jian's heart skipped a beat.

What grand ambitions! What a blatant scheme!

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had seen many ambitious people, but Chu Ze was the first to openly express his ambitions like this.

He's...forcing the court to relinquish power! He's using these tens of thousands of "immortal heavenly soldiers" to coerce the imperial court into relinquishing control!

Chu Ze watched the changing expressions on Lu Jian's face, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He slowly walked back to the table, sat down again, and his tone returned to its usual calm and composed manner.

"Of course, I know that these alone are not enough to completely convince you, my lord, and the court."

He refilled Lu Jian's glass and gestured for him to enter.

"After we've had our fill of food and drink, I'll take the adults to see it for themselves."

"Let's go and see where those two thousand elite Jin soldiers in white armor are buried."

"Let's go and see how they were reduced to ashes beneath the walls of Guangning City."