Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 368 Would you like a Heart of Africa?

The emperor wants to see me? Li Wu was immediately delighted.

It's already nighttime, and they're summoning generals to the palace so late at night? Could it be that history is experiencing a butterfly effect, causing Zhu Youjian to abandon his dignity and plan to cross the Yangtze River to Jiangning?
However, it would be useless for Zhu Youjian to escape at this moment. The Beiwei Army was preparing a landing plan in the capital region. Before Zhu Youjian could board the ship, Tianjin would fall.

Li Wu's task was to "protect" Zhu Youjian's family when the capital fell into chaos, so that Zhu Youjian would not hang himself on Coal Hill.

After all, there are many players who want to watch the "Gongdelin Boxing Match".

So Li Wu stretched his muscles and then put on the "game helmet" again to enter "Late Ming Dynasty".

He had just woken up when he saw several of his brothers squatting around him. One of them, seeing that he had opened his eyes, whispered, "You're awake. The surgery was a success. You're a beauty now..."

"Go away from me." Li Wu waved his hand to shoo away the sand sculptures, as if he were chasing away annoying flies.

The moment Li Wu awoke from his bed, a familiar, crisp sound rang in his ears. His brothers froze in place, each raising their hands to trace lines in the air.

An ancient-style scroll unfolds before your eyes, with a faint shimmering ice-blue light, and the new version 0.8.1 comes into view.

The update log is still written vertically from right to left. The neat and even characters in the traditional Chinese style are bold and grand. Reading the whole log is like giving a top-notch eye massage.

After reading the update log, Li Wu exclaimed, "Wow!"

The first to enter the capital will be king, needless to say; just by looking at Li Wu's name, you can tell who he is!
Is this some kind of attempt to emulate the King of Hanzhong and create a "King of Beiping"?

Although these Black Flag Camp brothers who had entered the capital could not become kings, the update log stated that they were allowed to choose which legion to join to earn rewards before the capital fell.

That makes things simple. No matter who comes, just open the door and welcome the new king.

Li Wu thought to himself that he didn't care who the "county magistrate" was, as long as he could be the county magistrate's husband... oh no, the county magistrate's underling.

Wait a minute.

When Li Wu saw an exclamation mark in the system email, he felt an invisible, ticklish hand tickling him. You never know if it's a "survey" from the game planner or a reward for the new version.

He reached out to touch it, but accidentally poked his brother in the corner of his eye, which made the latter curse and practically skewer his whole family like kebabs, then put them on the grill and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

He seems to be a ruthless person with an extremely high pain tolerance.

Despite being scolded, Li Wu still managed to break into a good mood.

Because he "shipped" the goods.

He was honored to be selected to test the newly released version via live stream! It felt like winning a once-in-a-million reward!
The merit points consumed to start a live stream are negligible.

Just like someone who has to show off when they receive a rare reward, Li Wu immediately clicked the "live stream" button.

A beam of light, visible only to the player, enveloped his entire body. From the astonished and envious gazes of those around him, Li Wu realized that he looked as dashing as a member of the Imperial Guard stepping out of the shadows in the rainy night.

"Damn! Li Wu got the live stream test qualification!"

"Damn! How come he, an unlucky player, got a good item?!"

"The law of conservation of luck means you are prematurely depleting your future fortune!"

Li Wu remained silent, simply holding his head high and swaggering towards the front hall, his arrogant posture as if he intended to use his two pectoral muscles as war drums.

There are two rows of numbers in the upper left corner of the view. The top row shows the number of viewers in the game, and the bottom row shows the number of viewers outside the game. For now, both are zero.

Intense jealousy manifested as a series of crisp teeth grinding sounds, and the brothers seemed to transform into a group of red-eyed rats. However, 'Li Wu' thoroughly enjoyed the sense of superiority of having what others didn't, as if his entire soul was soaring to the heavens.

Without turning his head, he greeted Eunuch Wang, who had been waiting for a long time. The latter went straight to the point, his tone and attitude much gentler than before.

Wang Chengen was Zhu Youjian's "right-hand man," and there was no need for him to be humble towards civil and military officials, but now he has changed his attitude.

It's as if a proud relative has gone bankrupt, no longer carrying that arrogant air, and has finally returned to the human world from the frigid heavens.

Haha, Li Wu thought to himself, "Now that things are so critical, you finally understand the importance of military generals, right?"
If you, Zhu Youjian and Wang Chengen, had put in any effort in history, how could you not have had soldiers to escort you to Tianjin to take a boat? Now, it's too late to try and catch up at the last minute.

However, Li Wu didn't put on airs. After all, this was his first time entering the palace, and he was eager to see for himself what the residence of the ruler of the world looked like.

Just before they were about to leave, a series of loud thuds, like stones hitting the ground, suddenly occurred. It turned out that the brothers following behind Li Wu, unable to broadcast live, decided to watch the live stream instead.

Unexpectedly, watching the live stream required detachment from one's mind, and as a result, players were thrown to the ground like puppets with broken strings.

One of the people fell in an awkward position, with blood seeping from the back of his head. It's unclear whether he died on the spot.

Li Wu was used to it. Even if a brother fell to his death, his guildmates would "collect the body" for him, storing away his valuable equipment and precious metals.

Li Wu remained calm and composed, while Eunuch Wang turned pale with fright, glancing at Li Wu with a mixture of astonishment and worry, "This..."

"It's alright. The brothers are just too tired from patrolling the city all day. They can't stop feeling sleepy."

"Won't you catch a cold sleeping on the floor?"

"It's alright, we both come from humble backgrounds in the countryside, we're not picky about beds."

“They are all loyal ministers and generals who serve the country…” Wang Chengen immediately ordered several strongmen to carry the Black Flag soldiers into the house to rest, and to bandage any wounded soldiers.

"Serving the country with utmost loyalty is the only proper course of action."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen fell silent and led Li Wu across the street in haste, the bright torches and lanterns appearing as fleeting images in the night.

As night fell, the "curfew" began, and there were hardly any civilians on the streets. According to regulations, the Five City Garrison, the Patrol Battalion, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard patrolled the city.

Now that it's the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), during the patrol and defense period, you can see groups of ordinary soldiers patrolling with lanterns from time to time.

Even with torches providing illumination, Li Wu still felt the night was incredibly dark, as if a zombie might jump out from the shadows at any moment.

At this moment, a barrage of comments flashed before our eyes, and the number of viewers, both inside and outside the chat, exceeded one hundred.

"Damn, this perspective is exactly the same as the first-person view of the possession function..."

"Wait, was it this dark at night in ancient times?"

"You'll see when you get to the countryside; it's pitch black at night."

Did Zhu Youjian (Emperor Yongle) actually hang himself in the palace in history?

"It is Wansui Mountain, north of the palace, or you could say it is within the imperial city."

"What do 'Imperial City' and 'Palace City' mean?"

"The Imperial City was the residential area for those who served the emperor, while the Palace City was the luxurious villa where the emperor, his concubines, and princes lived. The entire residential area served this villa." "Is that Wang Chengen next to you, the one who died alongside Zhu Youjian?"

"Holy crap, this night view, these hurried footsteps... This realistic perspective makes it feel like the emperor is about to dismiss a powerful minister, summoning his confidants to the palace late at night for a meeting, and then unleashing a storm in the capital. It captures the essence of power struggles!"

"The walls of the imperial city are this thick."

"The uniforms of the Embroidered Uniform Guards are so cool! I want to be an Embroidered Uniform Guard too."

"Quickly, go into the palace and give Zhu Youjian three punches, and I'll give you a big one!"

Li Wu thought to himself, "Give me a break. This game stream doesn't have any spending buttons. Even if he could tip, Zhu Youjian isn't a red name (indicating he can't tip), so how would he tip?"

Besides, he's a loyal subject! How could he possibly do something like assaulting the emperor?!

"I've never been to the capital in real life, but now I'm seeing the authentic Forbidden City in the game."

As the number of viewers continued to rise, Li Wu thought to himself that today everyone could see the authentic Forbidden City without needing tickets, and also get a first-person view of Zhu Youjian's true appearance.

As the number of viewers exceeded 500, the density of the bullet comments was almost obscuring his vision. Li Wu had no choice but to raise his hand to set the settings and hide all the bullet comments in the center to avoid affecting his view.

Fortunately, Li Wu learned from his previous "accidental injury lesson" and deliberately suppressed the range of his raised hand, otherwise he would have given the Imperial Guard a good beating on the back of the head.

"Poor Li Wu was unaware that he had stepped into the abyss of death, and that the imperial palace had long since become a world of zombies..."

Li Wu cursed inwardly, wondering what these ridiculous comments were saying. He wasn't even in the movie, yet he was being pointed at and criticized by the comments.

However, with these silly comments accompanying him, his loneliness upon entering the palace alone was greatly reduced, and he even learned some popular science knowledge along the way.

The ten-meter-high palace walls stood like towering mountains, and the moat, dozens of meters wide, was lined with guards on night watch. Soldiers on the walls moved about in the flickering light of braziers.

Li Wu's imagined entry into the palace from the south did not happen. Wang Chengen led him through the Dong'an Gate and then across the Donghua Gate into the palace.

The barrage of comments marveling at the Forbidden City was endless. Wang Chengen soon stopped at a palace, gesturing for Li Wu to stay while he shuffled in to announce his arrival.

Inside the hall, candlelight flickered, and a person dressed in casual clothes stood with his back to the door. His silhouette, illuminated by the candlelight, appeared decadent and lonely.

The thirty-year-old man turned around abruptly, a flash of surprise crossing his face. But his face, hidden in the light and shadow, looked rather old, more like that of an old man in his forties.

Following protocol, Li Wu quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee with his upper body upright, and chanted "Long live the Emperor!"

The moment Zhu Youjian appeared, the barrage of comments in front of Li Wu almost completely flooded his field of vision. Even though a screen was placed in the center of his field of vision, it still densely blocked other areas of his view.

Some praised him for dying for his country as a monarch.

Some people suggested including Zhu Youjian in the plan to possess the body of a false person, while others wanted to forcefully penetrate Zhu Youjian from behind.

Some say that although Zhu Youjian was the emperor, when he wore ordinary clothes he was no different from an ordinary scholar, just a handsome but aged thirty-year-old.

Some people suggested that he be imprisoned in Gongdelin Prison and made to fight with the civil officials who were prisoners of war.

Some people say that Zhu Youjian ruled the country like a keyboard warrior, acting in a simple and brutal way, making the empire worse and worse.

The number of players and viewers watching the live stream grew to nearly a thousand, and they debated the upheavals at the end of the Ming Dynasty, making Li Wu's eyes almost turn into a barrage of comments.

Zhu Youjian was unaware that thousands of people were watching him and commenting on him.

As the officials paid their respects, Zhu Youjian looked the young deputy commander up and down. He was indeed strong and powerful, a born loyal and capable general!

While feeling moved, the middle-aged man also felt a pang of regret. He let out a barely audible sigh, lamenting that he had not been able to see the face of the Loyal and Righteous Lord.

Li Wu was just a servant of Li Mu. Perhaps the young and promising Li Mu was even more heroic and handsome?

A hint of unease flickered across Zhu Youjian's face, and his urgent voice echoed in the hall, "Minister Li, rise."

He quickly added, "Give Li Qing a seat." Wang Chengen personally brought over a wooden stool and placed it behind Li Wu.

The emperor and his minister chatted for a while about everyday matters, all related to Li Mu. They talked about General Li's origins, his favorite foods…

Li Wu and Zhu Youjian chatted and laughed, and the solemn atmosphere of the meeting between the emperor and his subject gradually eased, making them seem like two old friends who had not seen each other for many years catching up and having a casual chat.

A seemingly realistic emperor was captured on live stream.

The moment the comments supporting Zhu Youjian gained the upper hand, it was like showing the childhood or flashbacks of a major villain in a movie or TV series, instantly whitewashing him.

After some casual conversation, Zhu Youjian frowned. "Minister Li has been fighting the bandits for many days. Do you know how many troops the bandits have? Can the capital withstand their invasion?"

Li Wu thought to himself, "So you really want to cross the Yangtze River to Jiangning?"
But for the sake of your brothers' great cause, you, Zhu Youjian, cannot leave the capital.

Ignoring the barrage of comments, Li Wu immediately sat up straight, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that although the rebels have a large force, they are all a rabble. I have also seen the reports in the official gazette these past few days. The rebels are each ruling their own territory and occupying their own areas. Although there is a risk of them being divided and attacked, they can be defeated one by one by our Great Ming. With my Black Flag Battalion of 5,000 brave warriors stationed here, the capital will surely be impregnable!"

As the candlelight flickered, Zhu Youjian's smile was hidden in the shadows. "Then, in Li Qing's opinion, how should we repel the enemy?"

"Your Majesty, I lack the loyalty and ability to distinguish right from wrong, but I am willing to lead five thousand soldiers of the Black Flag Battalion to protect Your Majesty and the imperial heir to the death! Even if we fight to the last man, the bandits will not be able to harm a single hair on Your Majesty's head."

As soon as Li Wu finished speaking, Zhu Youjian squeezed out a cold, hateful snort through gritted teeth, "I have the intention to uphold the foundation of the nation, but there are villains and treacherous officials who are secretly plotting against me, intending to hand me over to the traitors."

Li Wu was a beat slow to react upon hearing this, but it was only after the comments reminded him that Zhu Youjian's words showed his great trust in him that he realized what was going on.

Drawing upon his life's accumulated acting skills, Li Wu stood up angrily and shouted, "What kind of traitor dares to plot against His Majesty!"

Li Wu's almost offensive behavior startled Wang Chengen. What was this kid trying to do?
The latter's eyes were almost squeezing out of their sockets, but he still couldn't make Li Wu "wake up".

Zhu Youjian didn't care about these trivial details. He sighed repeatedly and recounted how he had ordered the "donation" of the prince and the various events related to his son's illness.

"Outrageous! With the nation in peril, it's one thing to not think of serving the country, but to dare to harm a prince and threaten His Majesty is simply a crime deserving of death! Although I cannot think of a good solution, I am willing to kill this traitor for Your Majesty!"

Although Li Wu had no feelings for Zhu Youjian himself, he was deeply affected by the frustration of being plotted against by the "interest group". The resistance to reform was imaginable. But now that Li Wu had the knife in his hand, why shouldn't he treat them to a big meal?
"Very good!"

Zhu Youjian praised Li Wu for his loyalty to the country, saying that he was indeed a loyal minister "trained" by the Duke of Zhongyi, and immediately appointed Li Wu as the commander of the military affairs in the capital.

He could temporarily command the Five City Garrison, the Patrol Battalion, and even parts of the Beijing Garrison, to suppress these treacherous villains in secret.

"The minister obeys the order!"

As soon as Li Wu finished speaking, the barrage of comments was so dense that it was impossible to read any complete sentences, but there was one thing he understood very well.

Many players want to join the "hunt for rebels" operation. And interrogating criminals is the most proficient skill of many war-crazed players.

(End of this chapter)