The sign of a person's maturity is the ability to think rationally.
After the meeting that day, a few days passed in the blink of an eye. Wu Huaiyu was busy planning the mining with Doulu Huairang. He also took advantage of this busy affairs to stop thinking about the Huaichun girl.
She can be emotional and impulsive, but Wu Huaiyu cannot.
Li Dejiao came from Yanzhou but did not see Li Sanniang. She did not want to go back to Chang'an and asked her maid to stop her from seeing her second uncle. She also bluntly said that if Li Dejiang forced her, she would cut off her hair and become a maiden.
This was more of a threat to Li Dejiang than joining a Taoist temple. Once his hair was shaved, it would be troublesome, so Li Dejiang had no choice but to stay in Lingzhou.
The mining business did not go well.
The local power in Lingzhou is very strong. Although it is not as powerful as the vassal town in the late Tang Dynasty, in the ninth year of the Taketoku Dynasty, this area has always been relatively special, so it has become somewhat of a vassal town.
Nowadays, although the governors, chief historians, Sima, and governors have all been replaced, the officials, powerful people, landlords, and merchants below are also intertwined and powerful.
If Wu Huaiyu wants to ban the sale of money-made wares in Shuofang, he must first reach a compromise or an exchange of interests with these local snakes. If he cannot negotiate first, then even if the order is issued, it will not be implemented.
Fortunately, Wu Huaiyu had already anticipated this and was not in a hurry.
He and Doulu Huairang took turns hosting banquets, and even organized a slave-fighting competition during the period. The martial arts in Lingzhou, slave-fighting, and polo were deeply loved by the officials and the people.
Huaiyu planned the polo league in Chang'an and put it on trial in Lingzhou first.
While having a banquet with the local powerful players, he proposed the idea of a polo league, which was unanimously praised by them. Soon many powerful players launched their own polo teams, some of which were established under names such as business names.
team.
Originally, those local gangsters thought that engaging in this kind of competition could alleviate the current situation and even show the strength of each of their families to Takeshi.
They offered to raise a sum of money as a bonus.
But Wu Huaiyu had a better plan.
It is free to watch the polo match in the general area, but the number is limited, first come first served, and no entry is allowed when the crowd is full.
However, there is also a private room area in the VIP area, which requires admission tickets.
In addition, during the game, there will be drinks and snacks outside and inside the stadium, drinks will be sold, and lottery tickets will be sold, which means betting.
These revenues belong to the league parties, and each polo team can receive some share.
Of course, the league will also announce that part of the lottery proceeds, after deducting expenses, will be used to build public welfare facilities in Lingzhou City, such as public toilets, public bathhouses, social studies, orphanages, public cemeteries, etc.
A charity warehouse funded by the league will also be established to store charity grain, and the warehouse will be opened to provide relief in the event of famine.
This is a move that is more popular with the people.
There is no shortage of horses in Lingzhou. There are many good pastures here, not to mention that it is adjacent to the Turks and there is a large number of horse trades every year.
Many people with better conditions in Lingzhou can play polo, and even like it very much. There are even women's polo teams of aristocratic and powerful families, and there are also players riding donkeys and mules. Even the common people with poor conditions play barefoot.
Have to play ball.
Discussions about mining here have been going on to no avail, but the polo league has quickly attracted many polo teams to sign up.
So, on Xiaoman's Day in early April, the Shuofang Polo League officially started. The competition system was completely designed by Wu Huaiyu. It adopted two leagues, Lingzhou and Yanzhou, and then each league was divided into three divisions, each with five divisions.
Team quota.
Before the start of the official season, a preliminary round is held to select the thirty official polo teams. After the thirty official teams are selected, there is a pre-season game to warm up and perform for these teams to enhance tacit understanding.
Let players and coaches become more familiar with each other.
Then comes the official regular season, playing two games with teams from different leagues, one home and away game, for a total of thirty games. Playing four games with teams in the same division, two home games each, for a total of sixteen games.
Sixty teams from different divisions of the league play four games, for a total of twenty-four games, and four teams play three games, for a total of twelve games.
In this way, from the selection rounds to the preseason to the regular season, and finally the playoffs, the top eight teams in each of the two leagues in Lingyan will enter the playoffs. The matchup will be based on the first vs. eighth, the second vs. seventh, and so on.
Each round adopts a best-of-seven game format until the top three winners are determined.
For each team in the league, the higher the ranking, the higher the rewards and even the higher the dividends.
The main reason for this kind of competition system is that there are more games, especially the division into two leagues. In fact, the Lingzhou Dudu Palace is mainly composed of Lingzhou and Yanzhou, and there are three competition areas below, which is equivalent to the county level.
Now the registration for the first Shuofang Polo League has ended. A total of more than a hundred teams have registered, which is amazing. After the registration deadline, each league will be divided into five groups. Lots will be drawn to compete in groups until the first place in each group will become the winner.
There are five official teams in this division.
For this competition, several new stadiums were built in Lingzhou, specifically for the convenience of watching the competition.
"There are so many people."
The weather was fine and the stadium outside the city was full of people. It felt like people from Lingzhou came to watch the game.
The vendors have already grabbed good spots and set up various stalls, some selling various foods and snacks, some selling buttermilk, sour water and liqueur, and some selling tea and cakes.
I didn’t miss any other stores selling clothes, shoes, needlework and trinkets.
It feels like the Chinese New Year.
Wu Huaiyu took the Fan sisters out of the city in a carriage. When they saw the lively scene, they exclaimed that Chang'an was not so lively.
Wu Huaiyu specially arranged to build a polo field outside the city just to create this lively "ball club" scene, which was no worse than a temple fair.
In fact, this is not entirely voluntary by the people, but is an operational arrangement by the government. The vendors in Lingzhou have been notified long ago to encourage them to come, and even in order to attract them, they are not charging any fees to come here.
When doing business, whatever you earn is yours.
There are no booth fees, no management fees, no sanitation fees, no security fees, and all other expenses, and no taxes are required.
Even the yamen had planned in advance, leveled the ground, laid sand, marked lines with white ash, and drawn each stall. Not to mention building a large number of parking lots, horse tying posts, and many public toilets in advance, which was very convenient.
Even those who are engaged in donkey leasing business in Lingzhou were notified early to let them do business from Lingzhou to the stadium to facilitate people's travel.
"Which teams are playing today?"
"Today is the All-Star Game."
"What is the All-Star Game?"
"The most famous polo players from all our teams in Shuofang were selected to form two teams to compete as the opening exhibition match of our Shuofang Polo League in the first year of Zhenguan."
Since this is the first official game, it has to be an instant success. You can't have a bunch of amateurs pecking each other on the field. If the game doesn't look good, then who will come to watch next time.
In the first game, each team must choose the best to put on a wonderful performance.
And there must be polo babies, singers and dancers invited to perform.
The stadium is very large and can accommodate many spectators.
Before entering the stadium, Huaiyu also took the Fan sisters to the lottery ticket shop at the door to place bets. There are many ways to place bets, including guessing the outcome, guessing the number of goals, and even targeting a certain player.
Place a bet on how many goals he can score.
Different bets have different odds, which are actually carefully calculated.
The odds calculated by the actuaries carefully allow the bookmaker to be the biggest winner without having to worry about winning or losing at all, without the need for match-fixing or anything like that.
This is the same as opening a gambling stall, where there is a lot of knowledge. Anyway, this time Doulu Huairang specially invited some people from the big gambling stalls to come over and make calculations.
You can bet as much as you like, no matter how much you want.
Anyway, buy the tickets written for the prizes and redeem them after the game. Everyone has their own taste.
Wu Huaiyu bet on various things and bought a total of 10,000 yuan.
When the tickets were issued, Huaiyu found that there was a long row of cabinets in front of the lottery ticket shop. There were many people coming to place bets and tickets. The ticket sellers at the counter kept writing with pens. The lottery tickets were all specially made with paper stamps. After writing the bets,
It also requires several people to stamp it, which has a strong anti-counterfeiting function.
Huaiyu took his prize ticket and observed it for a while, and found that there were many hidden marks on it, plus the ticket maker's special handwriting and seal, which ordinary people couldn't imitate.
Soon I met many officials from Lingzhou at the door. They came up to say hello to Huaiyu. They all felt that today's lively scene was beyond their expectations.
"Li Sanniang is here." Wu Niang pulled off Huaiyu's robe.
Wu Huaiyu turned around and saw Li Sanniang coming on horseback. Li Dejiang was also riding beside him, followed by a group of followers.
Not seeing her for many days, Li Sanniang seemed to be in bad spirits.
She also noticed Huaiyu and looked up. Wu Huaiyu quickly averted his gaze, led the Fan sisters into the stadium, and went straight to his box.
Before the two Fan sisters entered, they did not forget to stare at Li Sanniang with a warning look.
"This woman is really crazy." Wu Niang entered the box and kept complaining about Li Sanniang.
"That's right, how can anyone be so self-degraded that he has to hook up with a married man?"
Wu Huaiyu helplessly asked them not to talk nonsense. Although this was a private room, it was still semi-open.
There are many such boxes around the Globe. They are close, can be seen clearly, and have a better viewing experience. Compared with VIP seats, these boxes are not only more expensive, but also require a certain status to buy them.
Xue Wanche arrived late, but took the initiative to greet Huaiyu's box first. He was also a little surprised by the lively scene today.
"There are so many people outside. I didn't expect there to be so many people in Lingzhou. It seems like everyone in the city has come out. I almost got stuck outside and couldn't get in."
"Fortunately, you had the foresight to not only ask Lingzhou Yamen to send Yamen Ding Zhuang to maintain order, but also to mobilize state soldiers. If it weren't for these soldiers today, I'm afraid it would be easy to cause trouble."
Huaiyu had already expected it. In fact, whether it was a polo match or a gladiatorial match, these were nothing. What he really cared about now was that he could reach an agreement with the local forces, stop spending money to make weapons, and switch to mining.
If they still refuse to agree, don't look at everyone laughing and playing together now, but they may turn around and start a war.
He didn't want to go to that point.
But the current situation is that these local snakes in Lingzhou are vested interests. They feel that they have given up 40% of their share to Wu Huaiyu and others who have crossed the river, and they have also given up a lot of the benefits they have gained.
But now it hasn't stopped for a few days and it's starting to cause trouble again. That's a breach of trust.
They were determined not to give in anymore, and the situation was deadlocked.
Of course, the more important thing here may be that the existing interests are too heavy, and they are reluctant to let them go. The prospect of switching to mining is not attractive enough.
Xue Wanche chatted in the box for a while and then left and went to his own box.
While Huaiyu was drinking tea in the box, he could see Xue Wanche greeting many people along the way after going out. This guy had not been here long, but he seemed to have gotten along well with the local forces.
Just as Huaiyu was waiting to start the game, something suddenly happened to Xue Wanche.
Several men greeted Xue Wanche, and then suddenly drew a knife from their sleeves and stabbed Xue Wanche.
A total of five men suddenly drew their swords from their sleeves and pounced on Xue Wanche. Xue Wanche did not expect it at all. Although he was brave and dodged immediately, the space there was relatively narrow and he was still stabbed twice.
"There's an assassin!"
Xue Wanche's entourage shouted, and then rushed to block the front. The assassin stabbed him a few more times. When he saw that there were already people surrounding him, he immediately turned around and ran away.
Wu Huaiyu also didn't expect it. When he saw this, he immediately jumped out of the box and rushed over.
By the time he passed by, the assassin had disappeared into the countless people watching the game as they entered the stadium.
Xue Wanche was stabbed three times, two in the abdomen and one in the lower abdomen. He was dripping with blood.
No one could have imagined that there would be such a scene of assassination of the Governor during the lively opening All-Star Game of the Polo League.
"Stop the game immediately, evacuate people in an orderly manner, and be sure to prevent stampedes,"
"Send someone to search for the assassin quickly!"
"Carry the governor into the box and get the medicine. I'll stop the governor's bleeding first."
Xue Wanche was still awake, but his face turned a little pale. He took Huaiyu's hand and whispered, "Damn it, I feel like a knife hurt my thing.
Brother Wu, you must help me take him back, I am still young."
Huaiyu was a little speechless about this guy. He was still thinking about this thing at this time.
He carried the person to the box next to him, cleared the area, and called in soldiers to guard him in case there were any lurking assassins. Wu Huaiyu didn't carry a medicine box with him either.
I had to cut open his clothes first to check the injuries. The two stab wounds were on the abdomen, and the blood was flowing. However, he probably didn't hurt any vital organs, but the stab below was really injured.
Xue Wanche faced a fierce enemy with thousands of people, but his second brother was cut open and the bag was directly cut open, exposing his balls.
Xue Wanche looked up and fainted in despair.
Huaiyu took a closer look. It looked scary, but it didn't seem to be so damaged that he needed to cut it. It only hurt the epidermis and could be sewed, so it probably wouldn't affect its use.
It's just that I will have a long scar in the future.
Last time Wu Huaiyu was attacked in the city and ambushed by dozens of people. Wu Huaiyu was not injured at all. This time, Xue Wanche was tricked by five people and stabbed three times. It was really bloody bad luck.
Almost immediately, Wu Huaiyu identified the suspect as a local force.
It must be because he wants to ban the sale of money to make money and the illegal making of money, which has stirred up a hornet's nest for them. As for the fact that they came to Xue Wanche instead of him, it may be because Xue is the governor, or perhaps there may be assassins today.
Our target is not just Xue.
Thinking of this, Wu Huaiyu looked at his box. The Fan sisters were still in the box.
"Hurry up and send someone to protect Wu Niang and the others,"
"Go to Doulusima and ask him to be careful. There may be assassins."
Almost as soon as Wu Huaiyu finished speaking, there was indeed the sound of commotion again, and a fight broke out in front of his box. He anxiously left the box, looked into his box in the distance, and found that Li Sanniang and Li Dejiao, uncle and nephew, were each carrying a bag.
Holding a sword, he was fighting five or six assassins.
Although the two were extremely skilled, the assassins actually had arrows in their sleeves. The two were surrounded and were at a disadvantage. There were also assassins running towards Sister Fan Wuniang. The two sisters were practicing martial arts, but they did not bring swords, so they had to grab cups and plates and wait to throw them out.
enemy,
Wu Huaiyu was furious and rushed over.
Sure enough, these assassins were not just coming for Xue Wanche, but were they going to kill them all?
