Chapter 1 Ye Tao's Comprehensive Inspection

That day, Ye Tao comprehensively inspected all the preparations for the Yi Zhan Lou (Strategy Game House). The building had been fully completed, and the final decoration work was coming to an end. The recruitment and training of staff had been fully completed with the strong cooperation of Tan Weixin. Tan Weixin seemed to be more proficient in training than Ye Tao. As for the production of Junqi (Army Game) and related products, and the reserve of goods, there was no need to worry. The Ye Clan Workshop in Danyang had drawn a few apprentices and hired a group of apprentices locally, which solved the problem well. All kinds of molds were directly transferred from the Ye Clan Workshop in Yicheng, and the remaining simple and repetitive production work was easily solved by those in the Ye Clan Workshop while yawning.

That night, after discussing with Tan Weixin, they began to prepare for the opening ceremony of the Yi Zhan Lou in full swing. Tan Weixin seemed to be extremely skilled in this business. In addition to asking Ye Tao to come up with the design of the invitation and prepare the speech for the opening day, and confirming the entire opening ceremony program, she quickly and methodically arranged all other work. After they discussed the entire agenda of the opening ceremony, they knew that it would be an unprecedented ceremony in this era, which would inevitably leave a deep impression on people.

Ten days later, the lecture hall of the Yi Zhan Lou was filled with all kinds of people, most of whom were young people. Most of them were the playboys of the capital. Although their relationships were complicated and many people disliked each other, they were divided into several circles, but since Tan Weixin asked people to send out invitations, they were embarrassed to refuse, or perhaps, they didn't dare not come. There were also many children of merchants who lived in the capital for a long time. They had leisure and money. Some of them managed the family's shops, some used the name of studying in the capital to make friends, and some were simply professional "players." Some were young officers in the army, some were from military families, and some had been promoted from ordinary soldiers to their current positions. All the invited officers were those who usually liked to play Junqi, or at least were interested in the game. From a professional point of view, they were much more serious than those who played Junqi with a playful attitude. There were also some people from all walks of life who had a good relationship with the Princess Mansion or the Ye family. In terms of the people invited, compared with some modern press conferences, apart from the "media reporters" class, which may not exist for a long time in this era, there was really no lack of any elements.

The performance of "Yu Zhou Chang Wan" (Evening Song of the Fishing Boat), with Liu Xiangyuan accompanying again, smoothly turned off the lights in the entire venue and quieted the entire venue. When the performance ended, a bright light shot down from the ceiling in the center of the dim stage. Under the pillar of light was a wooden podium and Ye Tao, wearing a light gray robe and standing upright.

"Here, first of all, thank you all for coming to the opening ceremony of the Yi Zhan Lou, to participate in this moment when a place where all lovers of Junqi, this unique special game of this era, can gather together, witness their own ideas, and make more friends, opens its doors to everyone..." Ye Tao's hands were on the podium, just like in the era he was accustomed to and loved, hosting a new product launch event. "We don't love war, but through Junqi, we may be able to get a glimpse of how those great generals turn war into art, turn ideas that others think are impossible into reality, struggle and dance in the inevitable and accidental, and proudly write their names in history."

"Junqi is such a game, a game that is not a battlefield, but strives to present a style similar to a battlefield." As Ye Tao spoke, bright images appeared on the big screen behind him.

Using crystal chips to draw things as a PPT is luxurious enough, right? Tan Weixin, who was sitting quietly in the first row with a cup of tea, saw Ye Tao looking at her at this moment and winked playfully. Making everything feel familiar and comfortable is the most vivid life.

After briefly explaining the origin, development, and changes of Junqi, and introducing the general rules, Ye Tao explained to everyone the "Da Zhanlue" (Grand Strategy) gameplay, which was officially released with the opening of the Danyang main store of Yi Zhan Lou. More arms, more complex rules, more elements that can be manipulated, more elements that require more strategic considerations, and even the necessary team cooperation for large-scale combined command made everyone who knew a little about Junqi excited. Those young officers in the army were even more surprised. This was simply a detailed and standardized sand table deduction. Compared with the routine sand table deduction used by the Ministry of War to test young officers, the "Da Zhanlue" gameplay was much more precise, and even considered the abilities of different generals and the many accidental factors that would appear on the battlefield. Perhaps, this is indeed not a battlefield, not a real war, but using Junqi and Da Zhanlue gameplay to test one's understanding of strategy, campaign, and tactics is the most appropriate.

In the Da Zhanlue gameplay, the original Junqi-style combat has become merely a small-scale battle, only testing the ability to control specific small-scale battles. Winning the battle and losing the campaign would probably be a very normal thing. The passage of time is linked to the quasi-turn-based system, and the weather and other changes will be determined by dice before each turn. The various effects of weather on military operations will be reflected in a series of rules and formulas of the Da Zhanlue gameplay. The general chess pieces commanding the troops will have different effects on the troops they lead. Some generals can speed up marching, some generals have calculation bonuses for siege and defense battles, some generals have bonuses in certain terrains, and some generals can reduce the possibility of troops collapsing in the event of a lack of supplies or continuous failures, while some generals can gain extra attack, defense, or mobility bonuses when commanding certain types of troops. As for the various arms designs and the different ability preferences of different arms, it is even more impossible not to marvel at them after careful thought. Being able to design such a game and perfect the Da Zhanlue gameplay to this extent, no one would believe that Ye Tao doesn't understand military affairs.

Because the rules are too complicated, and there are many calculation formulas, the gifts received by everyone participating in the opening ceremony include a thick rule description of the Da Zhanlue gameplay, which is more than two hundred pages thick. This booklet contains all the information with illustrations. And this book will be sold in the Yi Zhan Xiaopu (Strategy Game Shop) in the future.

One projection after another, coupled with Ye Tao's explanation, gave everyone a more comprehensive and intuitive understanding of Junqi and the Da Zhanlue gameplay. The exquisite chess piece designs also gave everyone a dazzling feeling. Different arms have different carved chess pieces to represent them, and each chess piece, in addition to fully conforming to the characteristics of the arms, also incorporates artistic designs, all of which fully express the military's mighty and high-spirited temperament. Even the carvings of those logistical soldiers fully express the quality of hard work and endurance.

When Ye Tao explained the various facilities of the Yi Zhan Lou, described the Yi Zhan Lou's membership system, and the service categories that can be provided to members in the future, and described the Yi Zhan Lou, especially when explaining the various services that the lecture hall can provide to everyone, the illustrated slides made a deep impression on everyone.

Finally, this opening finally reached its climax and came to an end after Ye Tao announced that the first Junqi Open would be held in half a year, with 10,000 taels of gold as the champion's prize money, and the total prize money would reach 100,000 taels of gold. In this era, there has never been a more flamboyant opening than this one.