Almost as soon as Wu Shuangren caught Liao Yu's blow, Wu Dongrong came charging in on horseback.
His horsemanship was clearly more than a cut above Liao Yu's. He had no need to crouch low; he seemed to have grown into the saddle, the horse's movements one with his breathing.
After Wu Shuangren changed the target of Match for One Person, the Qi and blood in his body surged even more fiercely. Veins bulged all over him, his muscles and bones rumbled of their own accord with a series of explosive cracks, and his mind was more aroused than ever!
This was the greatest boost he had received so far!
Surprise flashed in Wu Shuangren's eyes. He hadn't expected his father to be so formidable at fighting on horseback.
Wu Dongrong thrust his spear.
Liao Yu's thrust had come straight at him, but the spear in Wu Dongrong's hands seemed alive. Its tip quivered constantly, tracing one tiny circle after another and making it hard to tell where the thrust would ultimately land.
At the very moment they were about to meet, the spear in Wu Dongrong's hands straightened.
Man, horse, and spear became one, their strength concentrated at a single point, carrying all the momentum of the charging warhorse.
The spear thrust along a single line!
In Wu Shuangren's eyes, the thrust had almost no weak point. He couldn't use a trick to receive it as he had with Liao Yu's spear.
Wu Shuangren pushed off and leaped to the left. The instant his wooden saber struck the spear tip, he used the force to turn, his body following the blade as he spun once on the spot. The wooden saber carried the force of his rotation as he struck the sweeping spear again with Whirling Gale Shocks the Mountain, finally dispersing Wu Dongrong's charge.
Crack!
The wooden saber snapped under the tremendous impact, sending splinters flying.
Man and horse swept past Wu Shuangren once more, but just as they were about to part, Wu Dongrong suddenly twisted at the waist and hips. Turning in the saddle, he swung his spear around and sent a dazzling returning thrust at Wu Shuangren!
Wu Shuangren's wooden saber was already broken, and he would have had great difficulty receiving the thrust. He suddenly sprang to the left as though someone had yanked him hard from the side, dodging the returning spear.
"Good!!!!"
The militiamen watching nearby were all dumbstruck. Only after Wu Dongrong had ridden away did they burst into cheers and applause.
They had heard before that their militia commander was formidable, but they had never had a clear idea of just how formidable.
The ambush that night had taken place in the dark, and the militiamen had all been stationed on the hillside, so they hadn't witnessed Wu Shuangren killing the enemy.
Now, after watching him face two mounted charges in succession and stop them head-on, they truly understood how formidable their commander was!
The crowd looked at Wu Shuangren with newfound admiration.
Wu Shuangren went to get another wooden saber and motioned for the two men to come again...
During the two-hour midday break, Wu Shuangren spent the first hour sparring with Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong.
For the remaining hour, he learned to ride from Wu Dongrong.
That afternoon, quite a few people came to the militia camp to sign up, because Wu Shuangren had opened recruitment again.
The militia currently numbered eighty-seven. He planned to bring it back up to a hundred, so their formation would be neat when they practiced the spear array.
After the battle a few days ago, places in the militia had become hot cakes. More than a hundred people came to sign up that afternoon!
Bo County's seat had a population of nearly twenty thousand. If Wu Shuangren opened recruitment without restrictions, he could easily enlist three or four hundred men.
But even the Mo Family hadn't been able to support that many militiamen before, much less Wu Shuangren.
Still, he had the person in charge of registration record the names and family circumstances of everyone who came to sign up.
He couldn't recruit so many now, but he believed he would be able to recruit more sooner or later!
Though they had driven off the Mist Hidden Temple for the time being, he and the others still didn't dare leave Bo County lightly, making it hard to expand their sphere of influence.
Even though they had killed more than thirty of the Mist Hidden Temple's cavalry, they were still no match for it in a head-on confrontation.
They couldn't count on their opponent making the same mistake twice.
After recruiting enough men to bring the militia to a hundred that afternoon, Wu Shuangren began making plans for himself.
This was another of his habits: prepare before a competition, review it afterward, and make plans for the future after achieving a victory at one stage.
Long-term goal: build high walls, stockpile grain, and strengthen myself and my forces.
Mid-term goal: deal with the Mist Hidden Temple, my enemy.
Short-term goal: find a way to make money.
Following the habits he had developed in his previous life, Wu Shuangren quickly set himself long-, mid-, and short-term goals.
Only by earning enough money first could he support more soldiers.
Only by supporting more soldiers could he defeat the Mist Hidden Temple.
Only after dealing with the Mist Hidden Temple could he develop smoothly in Yi Province and expand his forces.
Just like that, the three goals were linked in a single chain.
Wu Shuangren began thinking about ways to make money-
Bo County's profitable avenues had long since been explored, and shady side businesses and protection fees couldn't bring in serious money.
The Mo Family had already pushed the most profitable business, illicit salt, to its limit.
Their earlier attempt to expand beyond the county had brought the Mist Hidden Temple down on them.
Given the current situation, selling Bo County's illicit salt outside was even less possible.
As for selling it in other provinces, they had major salt dealers of their own, making it hard to establish trade routes.
Even if Wu Shuangren took all the Mo Family's profits from illicit salt, he still couldn't support more soldiers.
His only option was to find another way to make money.
He didn't need to consider Yi Prefecture City for now. Going there would be courting death, so he could only consider other places.
Wu Shuangren had read some historical webnovels, and he wanted very much to imitate those protagonists who traveled back to ancient times, made inventions, changed the world with technology, and filled their pockets along the way.
But I'm a freaking physical education student...
Wu Shuangren didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Take improving gunpowder and the classic ratio of its three ingredients. He had forgotten it as soon as he read it. Who would go out of their way to memorize that?
Never mind making rifled guns or rockets.
As for making tofu, glass, or cement, making ice by ancient methods, or smelting steel with makeshift furnaces... Wu Shuangren couldn't do any of it.
Only when it was time to use knowledge did one regret having so little...
How can I make money with my profession?
That was the only way Wu Shuangren could approach the question.
Then he went to find Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong:
"Dad, Uncle Liao, is there anywhere in Yi Province or the neighboring provinces where people like watching martial contests?"
P.S.: Actually, I originally planned to have the protagonist make his fortune using some modern knowledge too. But first, unless you specialized in a relevant field or deliberately memorized that knowledge, it really would be pretty hard to pull off. Second, plenty of similar historical stories have already been written, so I wanted to write something different. It's an alternate history anyway, so just watch me make it up~
59. Boxing Matches
The Mo residence.
In the main hall, the two men in charge sat facing each other.
"I've asked all the major salt merchants in Yun Province, and they're all saying the same thing. Unless we pay a high price, we can't buy any salt."
Mo Zhengxing's face was grim.
It was the fifth day since the ambush on the Mist Hidden Temple's cavalry.
Something had suddenly gone wrong with the Mo Family's supply of illicit salt.
Yi Province had no coast, nor did it have salt wells, salt fields, or other sources of salt, so it couldn't produce its own.
Whether for the Mo Family or the Mist Hidden Temple, nearly all the illicit salt in Yi Province came from salt merchants in neighboring Yun Province.
Now Yun Province's major salt merchants had suddenly stopped supplying the Mo Family.
"Was the Mist Hidden Temple behind this?"
Mo Zhenglin asked.
Mo Zhengxing gritted his teeth. "It had to be the Mist Hidden Temple!"
Mo Zhenglin said, "Does the Mist Hidden Temple have enough influence to get all the major salt merchants in Yun Province to cooperate like this?"
Mo Zhengxing explained, "Big brother, it's all business. As long as the Mist Hidden Temple deliberately drives up the price, those salt merchants are happy to earn more. But the Mist Hidden Temple has the capital to keep this up against us. We can't outlast them."
"..."
Mo Zhenglin understood. "Is there no other way?"
Mo Zhengxing shook his head. "Unless we pay a high price, but then we won't make any money either."
Mo Zhenglin let out a long, heavy breath.
If they lost the illicit salt business, more than half the Mo Family's income would be cut off!
Although the Mo Family no longer supported the militia, how could Mo Zhenglin be content to stand by and watch the family decline?
"Are there any other avenues?"
Mo Zhenglin asked.
Mo Zhengxing had been in charge of their outside business for years. Besides illicit salt, he had investments throughout Yi Province.
Mo Zhengxing said, "As far as business goes, Yi Prefecture City has nearly a hundred thousand people and the most opportunities. But in our current situation, how can we go there?"
"..."
As the two men sat frowning, the steward came to the entrance of the main hall. "Masters, Militia Commander Wu, Constable Liao, and Warden Wu have come to visit."
Mo Zhenglin and Mo Zhengxing exchanged a glance. "Quickly, invite them in."
A short while later, Wu Shuangren and his two companions were shown into the main hall.
After an exchange of pleasantries, the servants served the three men tea.
Wu Shuangren got straight to the point. "I came today to discuss going into business together with you two."
"Going into business together?"
Mo Zhengxing immediately perked up. "What kind of business did you have in mind, Militia Commander Wu?"
Wu Shuangren said, "Holding boxing matches."
Mo Zhengxing was taken aback. "Boxing matches?"
Wu Shuangren said, "I've heard that in Xi Province, next to Yi Province, the people are fierce and armed fights are common."
Mo Zhengxing, who had been to Xi Province himself, nodded. "That's right. Of the entire Jiannan Circuit, Xi Province has the fiercest people."
Wu Shuangren looked at him. "Are martial contests popular there?"
Mo Zhengxing thought for a moment. "Yes. The martial artists there often hold public duels, and some gangs and local powers also settle disputes through martial contests from time to time."
Having received an affirmative answer, Wu Shuangren couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
He had asked Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu yesterday and received similar answers, but everything the two knew about Xi Province was hearsay. Only Mo Zhengxing had actually been there and done business there, so Wu Shuangren needed to hear it from him in person before he could rest easy.
"Militia Commander Wu, when you say you want to hold boxing matches in Xi Province, do you mean martial contests?"
Mo Zhengxing asked curiously.
Wu Shuangren didn't keep him guessing and gave him a straight answer. "We set up a platform and let martial artists go up and fight in public. But it won't be just one match. There will be several every day, with different fighters taking the stage. We'll put up stands around it and charge admission. Tickets won't have to be expensive. One or two copper coins will get you in to watch."
"One or two copper coins?"
By this point, Mo Zhengxing couldn't help wanting to laugh, but he held it in out of consideration for Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren continued, "Right. Cheap tickets will attract spectators. We could even let people watch for free at first."
"Then how would we make money?"
Mo Zhenglin joined the conversation.
Wu Shuangren said, "By taking bets on the fights."
"Betting on the fights?"
Mo Zhengxing's expression shifted, and he fell into thought.