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

The third quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM).

The night had not yet faded.

Thick clouds hung over Guangning City.

It was intertwined with the black smoke that the distant blast furnaces spewed out day and night.

It exudes a sense of oppression.

The biting morning wind carried ice shards.

It roared through the streets and alleys.

It scrapes onto people's faces.

It cut out waves of burning pain.

The iron gate creaked loudly as several guards pushed it together.

The sound of friction echoed in the early morning.

It tore open the breach in Guangning City that had been sealed off overnight.

Lu Jian gripped the cold reins, stepped into the stirrups, and swiftly mounted the horse.

Beneath the front of his shirt, tightly pressed against the sealed document, sealed with sealing wax.

The thin paper clung to the skin, creating the illusion of burning heat.

It was constantly burning his nerves.

The dozen or so guards from the Northern Garrison behind him mounted their horses in perfect unison without uttering a word.

The warhorse beneath them sensed the tension in its masters' emotions and became restless.

The iron hooves scraped and pounded the frozen earth, making a jumbled sound.

The horse repeatedly exhaled puffs of white, turbid air from its nostrils, snorting loudly.

These ruthless figures, who had run rampant in the capital, now all had ashen faces.

Their eyes were sunken.

Deep fear and exhaustion surged in his bloodshot eyes.

"Boss, the door is open."

The officer codenamed Tanuki lowered his voice.

His voice trembled slightly with barely suppressed urgency.

He held the reins tightly.

His gaze was fixed on the official road leading into the pass outside the city gate.

Lu Jian did not turn around.

He took one last look at the colossal city behind him, a city filled with madness.

The flames from the blast furnace danced on the edge of the night.

The strange shouts could still be faintly heard coming from deep within the city.

"Let's go, back to Beijing at full speed."

Lu Jian suddenly jerked the reins and squeezed the horse's belly with his legs.

The warhorse neighed, reared up, and charged out of the city gate.

A dozen or so riders followed closely behind, their hoofbeats breaking the chill of the morning wind, hurried yet resolute.

They didn't want to stay in the city for even a moment longer.

The area outside the city gates was already bustling with activity.

Hundreds of people dressed in all sorts of strange clothes with strange characters floating above their heads.

They were pushing wheelbarrows and carrying logs, busy at the foot of the city wall.

The shouts, curses, and clanging of metal mingled together, making one's eardrums throb with noise.

"Group Three, hurry up, this section of the city wall hasn't been fully repaired yet."

"I won't be able to get the full amount of merit points when the daily tasks refresh later."

"Don't rush us, the cement over there isn't completely dry yet."

"Zhou Keke said, who dares to leave footprints on cement that hasn't dried completely?"

"She then led a group and ransacked someone's guild headquarters."

A man known as a brick-moving maniac was pushing a cart full of gravel.

It whizzed past Lu Jian's horse, just brushing against his nose.

The warhorse was startled and reared up.

Lu Jian gripped the reins tightly, forcibly pushing the warhorse down.

The guards behind him instinctively drew half of their Embroidered Spring Blades.

The blade made a cold sound as it rubbed against the scabbard.

"Move aside, are you blind? You're blocking my reputation farming."

The man pushing the cart didn't turn his head, but shouted a curse.

Pushing the cart, I ran towards the construction site in the distance.

The veins on the backs of the knights' hands, which were gripping their swords, bulged, but they forced the swords back down.

Last night's lesson was too painful.

In this city, drawing a knife won't scare anyone.

It will only attract a bunch of excited lunatics.

Lu Jian ignored the man.

He sat upright on his horse, taking one last look at the great city.

The giant chimney was still spewing thick black smoke, staining half the sky murky.

The surface of the city wall has a smooth and hard appearance.

There wasn't a single gap between the bricks and stones.

Tens of thousands of people inside and outside the city worked tirelessly.

At a chilling pace, the city's war potential was being expanded at an alarming rate.

There was no bureaucratic shirking of responsibility like that of the Ming Dynasty officials here.

There was no embezzlement of military pay, and no gloomy despair.

There is only one kind of fanaticism here, pure to the extreme, existing only for expansion and slaughter.

Footsteps came from inside the city gate.

Chu Ze walked at the very front.

He wasn't wearing his black iron armor today; instead, he was dressed in casual clothes.

A long sword was casually hanging at his waist.

He shed the grimness of a battlefield general and gained a more composed demeanor.

Wang Erniu and Li Xunyi followed behind, one on the left and one on the right.

Wang Erniu looked displeased.

A pair of eyes glared fiercely at the Imperial Guard on horseback.

He muttered something undisguisedly.

"A bunch of cowards dressed in flying fish robes, they were nowhere to be seen when the Tartars came."

"They come here to show off their power after the war is over, bah!"

Li Xunyi completely disregarded the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The old scholar wore crystal glasses on the bridge of his nose and held a thick account book in his hands.

He walked along, sketching on it with a brush while muttering to himself.

"The No. 3 blast furnace is using too much coal, so we need to quickly irrigate the ten acres of newly reclaimed land to the east."

"These heavenly soldiers work quickly, but they consume too much food."

Lu Jian, standing high above, took in the expressions of the three men.

An unruly and fierce general, a bureaucrat obsessed with mundane affairs, and the unfathomable Chu Ze.

"Lord Lu."

Chu Ze walked three steps in front of the horse, stopped, and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

A gentle smile graced his face.

"The morning wind is bitterly cold; why must you hurry away, sir?"

"Why don't you stay a few more days, so that I, Chu, can do my best to be a good host?"

Lu Jian tightened his grip on the riding whip.

"I appreciate General Chu's kindness."

Lu Jian's voice was dry and hoarse, as if he hadn't slept all night.

"Guangning is in dire need of reconstruction and military affairs are numerous, so I will not trouble you any further."

"There are still important matters to attend to in the capital, and we must depart immediately."

"Since that's the case, I, Chu, will not insist on keeping you here."

Chu Ze lowered his hand, his posture upright.

"My lord, your journey back to the capital is long and arduous; I hope you will take good care of yourself."

"I will trouble you, sir, to truthfully report the matter of Guangning to His Majesty."

Report this truthfully.

These four words swirled on Lu Jian's tongue, bringing a bitter taste to his mouth.

He would certainly report the truth to Chen.

He will tell you everything that happened here.

Those miraculous feats that defied common sense, and the war machine that Chu Ze created.

He wrote it down in a secret memorial, word for word, and presented it to the emperor.

Lu Jian leaned forward, placing his hands on the saddle.

This brought her closer to Chu Ze.

"General Chu."

Lu Jian lowered his voice, so that only the two of them could hear him.

"I have spent half my life in the imperial prison and have seen more dead people than living people."

"Once you see through things, they're really just like that."

Chu Ze remained expressionless and listened quietly.

"These heavenly soldiers filling the city are an immortal and indestructible miracle, and also a raging fire capable of burning everything."

Lu Jian's cheek muscles twitched slightly as he gritted his teeth and uttered each word.

"This fire can burn the Jurchens to death, and it can also burn through the sky of the Great Ming Dynasty."

He straightened up and looked down at Chu Ze again.

"General Chu is an exceptionally intelligent man."

"Are these heavenly soldiers divine soldiers who protect the country and bring peace, or demonic soldiers who bring chaos to the world?"

Lu Jian drew out his words, his tone conveying a warning and a stern rebuke.

"It all depends on the general's decision."

"General, please take good care of yourself."

As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Although Wang Erniu couldn't hear what Lu Jian said, the warning tone was too obvious.

He took a sudden step forward, his thick arm pressing directly onto the hilt of the knife at his waist.

It emitted a piercing metallic scraping sound.

Chu Ze raised his right hand and waved it gently.

Wang Erniu abruptly stopped in his tracks, exhaled a heavy breath from his nostrils, and retreated.

Chu Ze raised his head to meet Lu Jian's scrutiny.

The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a calm.

This tranquility carries more weight than any passionate vow.

"Lord Lu is overthinking it."

Chu Ze's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

"Chu Ze was born and raised here."

"The entire city is filled with soldiers and civilians, and these 100,000 heavenly soldiers."

"What I seek is nothing more than to expel the Tartars and restore our land."

He paused, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"In Chu Ze's heart, there is only the Ming Dynasty."

Lu Jian took a deep breath of the cold morning air.

This statement is impeccable.

Regardless of what Chu Ze really thought.

At least on the surface, he maintained the image of a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty as solid as a rock.

This is enough.

The rest is up to the one in the Forbidden City to decide.

"drive."

Lu Jian stopped talking nonsense and gave the reins a sharp jerk.

The warhorse let out a long neigh.

Its forelegs landed heavily, splashing up a cloud of ice shards.

The imperial guards behind him also turned their horses around, preparing to line up and set off.

Just as the farewell was about to end and everyone was preparing to go their separate ways.

A sudden sound tore through the cold morning wind.

Da da da da.

The sound of horses' hooves.

Not just one horse, but several riders.

The sound came from the end of the official road due south.

That's the direction leading to Shanhaiguan, and then to the capital.

The reins that Lu Jian had just lifted suddenly froze in mid-air.

His heart began to pound uncontrollably.

As a high-ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had an extraordinary sensitivity to the sound of horses' hooves.

That wasn't the usual pace of traveling.

That was pushing warhorses to their limits, a reckless gallop with no regard for the animals' lives.

"alert."

Lu Jianli shouted.

A dozen or so imperial guards instantly drew their embroidered spring knives and spurred their horses to scatter.

A semi-circular defensive formation was formed outside the city gate.

Wang Erniu also drew his ring-pommel sword and roared.

"The city walls are on high alert, and the crossbows are nocked."

The players, who were still working, heard this commotion.

They immediately dropped the bricks and timber they were holding and surrounded them.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? We're killing monsters."

"They came from the south, could they be a story NPC from the Ming Dynasty faction?"

"Holy crap, record this right now, something big is definitely happening."

Chu Ze stood still, without moving.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, faced south, and raised his chin slightly.

At the horizon, billowing dust rolled in.

Three fast horses madly tore through the morning mist and charged straight toward the gates of Guangning.

The distance is getting closer and closer.

Lu Jian made out the rider's attire.

His face turned deathly pale instantly, and even his lips lost all color.

Flying fish costume.

Moreover, it was a tattered flying fish robe stained with large patches of dark red blood.

What made Lu Jian's scalp tingle the most was the flag planted on the back of the knight at the very front.

It was a black triangular command flag with a blood-red border.

On the flag, a ferocious character for "death" is embroidered in gold thread.

The highest-ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard wore a black flag with the character for "death."

This flag must never be used unless the nation is in dire straits or the capital is on the verge of collapse.

"Get out of the way, all of you, get out of the way."

Lu Jian brandished his whip, driving away the imperial guards and players blocking his way.

He spurred his horse's flanks and galloped towards the three riders.

"Sigh."

The warhorse that charged at the front finally exhausted its life force when it was less than ten steps away from Lu Jian.

It let out a mournful cry as its two front legs snapped off at the root.

Its massive body crashed onto the frozen ground and slid several meters away.

The rider on horseback was thrown off by the enormous inertia.

It rolled on the ground repeatedly, leaving a long trail of bloodstains.

The other two riders also collapsed to the ground.

The horse foamed at the mouth, convulsed a few times, and then became still.

Lu Jian dismounted and rushed to the knight who had been thrown off his horse.

He grabbed his tattered collar and pulled his upper body up.

The knight's face was covered in mud and blood.

The helmet was long gone, and his hair was disheveled.

He had a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his chest, with the flesh turned inside out and blood still gushing out.

"I am Lu Jian, the Vice Commander of the Northern Garrison."

Lu Jian's voice cracked, filled with undisguised panic.

"What happened? Tell me."

The knight struggled to open his eyes and saw clearly the official robes on Lu Jian's body.

His chapped lips trembled violently, and hoarse gasps came from his throat.

He gripped Lu Jian's arm tightly, his nails almost digging into Lu Jian's flesh.

"Jiannu, Jiannu."

The knight mustered all his strength and squeezed out the last breath from his chest.

The voice was harsh and stern.

"Huang Taiji personally led an army of 100,000."

"They bypassed Mongolia, breached Da'an Pass, and Zunhua fell."

boom.

These words struck hard outside the gates of Guangning.

Lu Jian felt a loud buzzing in his head, and his vision went black.

His body swayed violently, and he almost fell to the ground.

The dozen or so guards behind him fell silent.

His hand holding the knife trembled uncontrollably.

They bypassed Mongolia and breached the Da'an Pass.

What does this mean?

This means that the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line was built by the Ming Dynasty at the cost of countless amounts of money and grain, and with the full strength of the nation.

That defensive line that stretched across the Liaodong plain became nothing more than a decoration.

Huang Taiji did not attempt a direct confrontation.

He led an army of 100,000 and bypassed Liaodong.

They pierced the heart of the Ming Dynasty by striking through the weakest point in the Great Wall defenses.

"Urgent report from the capital!"

The knight coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs.

The hand that had been gripping Lu Jian's sleeve finally loosened, and his head slammed heavily onto the ground.

"The Jurchen army is advancing straight towards the capital."

"His Majesty issued twelve gold tablets in succession."

"A decree has been issued ordering all troops in the realm to come to the aid of the emperor."

After uttering the last two words, the knight breathed his last.

Dead silence.

Silence enveloped the open space outside the city gate.

The only sound was the fluttering of the flags in the cold wind.

Wang Erniu's mouth dropped open, and the ring-pommel sword clattered to the ground.

The account book slipped from Li Xunyi's hand, the papers rustling in the wind.

Even the most carefree players were stunned by this sudden plot twist.

Holy crap.

In the crowd, someone swallowed hard and uttered a curse.

"This plot twist is so damn exciting!"

"They've already marched all the way to the capital. What are we supposed to do defend here?"

"A major event, absolutely a major event on the level of a version update."

Whispers among the players began to spread, and excitement quickly spread through the crowd.

Lu Jian knelt in the mud, still gripping the corpse's collar.

He was ice cold all over.

It’s over.

It's all over.

With the Jurchen army at the gates of Beijing, the heart of the Ming Dynasty was blocked.

If the capital falls and something happens to the emperor, the country will be thrown into complete chaos.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Chu Ze, who was standing a dozen steps away.

Chu Ze remained standing in the same spot.

Her everyday clothes swayed slightly in the wind.

His face showed no shock, no panic, not even a hint of surprise.

He simply stared silently at the corpse on the ground.

Looking at the devastated Lu Jian, and at this chaotic situation.

History has finally reached this point.

The Ji-Si Incident.

Huang Taiji's incredible gamble.

The turning point that accelerated the Ming Dynasty's descent into the abyss.

The turning point in Yuan Chonghuan's fate.