nagpurpolice Chapter 71 Betting
Chapter 71 Betting
In the afternoon, the second round of the martial arts competition, a ten-person melee, began with a low horn call.
The atmosphere in the training ground became even more enthusiastic.
Many martial arts performers who did not achieve good results in the first round of testing are eager to try and show themselves in this elimination round. After all, not everyone is good at strength, and brute force alone cannot prove much.
Shouts of agreement, betting sounds, and conversations rose and fell in a cacophony.
From the stands not far away, Hu Liangyu looked at Fu Que in the arena. Fu Que seemed to sense something and nodded slightly to Hu Liangyu.
He said in a low voice, "Do you remember what I told you?"
"Remember."
Xu Qingying beside her replied softly, "I brought all the silver notes you asked me to bring."
Xu Qingying tentatively asked, "Which company do you want me to bet on?"
Hu Liangyu smiled and slowly took a puff of his pipe: "The Zhu family, didn't they set up betting odds on who would be in the top five and who would win? Let's slap them in the face."
Martial arts competitions do not prohibit betting outside the court. Although this may lead many people to make irrational moves in order to influence the outcome of betting, these are minor issues compared to the profits that Da Zhao can reap from them.
Moreover, the Da Zhao government is confident that it will not falter in this regard. Its martial spirit is not something that has been created for nothing, and it conducts comprehensive and thorough patrols and protection.
The annual martial arts competition and the triennial martial arts tournament are considered small-scale events, but the once-a-decade World Martial Arts Tournament is a true grand event.
Countless riches flowed from the people into the casinos, only to be ruthlessly skimmed off.
As long as one can make it into the top ten, no matter what mistakes they have made before, even if it was treason, they will still be pardoned by the emperor as a sign of respect for heroes of the world.
Of course, slapping the Zhu family in the face was a minor matter. More importantly, Hu Liangyu had his eye on the two shops owned by the Zhu family in Gaoyang County. This time, he was going to use all his savings to rip off the Zhu family.
When the time comes to divide up the spoils among the powerful families of Qi, Li, Zhu, and others in Gaoyang County, they can occupy a favorable position and have the right of first refusal.
Whether it's the road repair plan that 014 wanted to carry out, the post station reorganization plan, or the burning of mountains and forests to open up farmland.
Whether it's digging a small canal and repairing the dikes to connect the only river in Gaoyang County to the prefectural city for transporting goods, all of these require money.
It wasn't enough for 014 to use the captured nobles and their henchmen as laborers to make up for the losses; ultimately, most of the profits had to be used to raise money.
Although these wealthy families had been leeching off Gaoyang County for a long time, they didn't actually have much cash in the form of real estate, shops, and trading companies.
014 intends to use this as bait, and then, with the fishermen's mutual aid association created by Fu Que as the framework, to liquidate and integrate all the merchants in Gaoyang County. As he said, 014 wants to unify all scales and bring Gaoyang County completely under his control.
Fu Que did not hide this information from Hu Liangyu. While admiring this seemingly overworked official, Hu Liangyu also had the idea of seeking some benefit for herself. You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household.
Fu Que is one thing, he can go off and live a dissolute life, but Hu Liangyu now has to start saving for the unborn child.
Hu Liangyu had already asked Xu Qingying, who was skilled in Suzhou embroidery. They would borrow a few embroiderers from Liu Yu, one of Fu Que's cronies, and buy some maids from the wealthy families. That would set up the basic framework of the shop.
As for what to do next, that depends on how 014 plans Gaoyang County. Gaoyang County is close to the mountains and forests, and Hu Liangyu does not believe that the other party will not take advantage of its strengths.
Hu Liangyu was deep in thought, but Xu Qingying had no idea that neither Fu Que nor Hu Liangyu completely trusted her.
Trust between people is not so simple, especially in Da Zhao. It is either a bond of friendship that has lasted for several years or even more than ten years, or a deep-seated interest in the relationship. Of course, the most direct bond is blood ties.
If Xu Qingying is pregnant with Fu Que's child, Hu Liangyu doesn't know what Fu Que plans to do, but he certainly won't hide his plans from Xu Qingying.
But now, all we can say is that in Hu Liangyu's mind, Xu Qingying is just a high-ranking maid, at most a teacher with real talent and learning, and nothing more.
Fu Que originally intended to hide his little scheme within the fishermen's mutual aid association, believing that Mo Tong, this woman, could handle it well. However, Hu Liangyu rebuked him without any politeness.
Fu Que was too lazy to argue with the old man about this matter. Anyway, he didn't intend to take the money or any future profits. He could do whatever made the old man happy.
Following Hu Liangyu's instructions, Xu Qingying, carrying silver notes, went to the gambling den that the Zhu family had set up outside the temporary military camp.
What happened next was simple: the gambling den manager was shocked, the onlookers were shocked, the bettors were shocked, Xu Qingying successfully placed her bet and drifted away.
Several thugs were thinking of following in Xu Qingying's footsteps and finding an opportunity to kidnap this seemingly very beautiful and wealthy young woman, but when they saw the direction Xu Qingying was heading and the malicious gazes of the patrolling constables, they wisely gave up the idea.
These thugs then realized that this was a martial arts competition. If someone were to be ambushed and robbed in such a place, it would truly be a slap in the face to the Great Zhao Dynasty.
The substantial amount of water pumped out came from here. Although the Taisho government as a whole might not care about this money, the military factions that directly controlled this pie couldn't possibly be indifferent to it.
Whether for their own face or for their own interests, they would not allow anything to happen during the martial arts training.
Meanwhile, the second round of chaotic assessments also began.
Fu Que went on stage with his number in his hand, and as soon as he looked up, he saw the two Qi brothers.
Aside from the two Qi brothers, he knew the other seven people; they were basically the sons of local powerful families that 014 was going to deal with.
He twisted his neck as if he had cervical spondylosis, and while being watched by nine opponents at the same time, he not only remained calm but also showed a sickly smile.
Fu Que remained calm, but Qi Wei felt a chill run down his spine, showing no joy whatsoever like that of his own brother.
This is the opposing team's home turf; they wouldn't be foolish enough to hand over their own people to be killed.
The ten people on the stage now, apart from Fu Que, are all their own people, unless their opponents have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.
That means the opponents believe that Fu Que alone can take care of them all!
"Let's see if you don't die this time!"
Qi Hong grinned maliciously at Fu Que.
But when he turned his head again, he found that his elder brother's face was ashen, without a trace of joy. He couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what's wrong?"
"The situation is hopeless. We must admit defeat immediately. Our Qi family cannot afford to lose any more of its direct descendants so easily."
Qi Wei's voice was barely audible.