That evening, the Fist Academy remained extremely busy.
It's even more popular than before because of what happened last night!
Even those who don't enjoy boxing matches want to see how these outsiders go head-to-head with the West River Gang.
All twelve private rooms were booked out early in the morning, and representatives from various factions in West River Market came to watch the battle.
Wu Shuangren stood at the entrance to the back hall, watching the competition on the stage.
He has already arranged for militia to guard all areas.
He was never worried about martial arts competitions; what he really needed to guard against was large-scale bloodbaths.
The matches continued one after another.
Even after the four boxing matches were over and the audience began to leave, no one from the West River Gang appeared.
Wu Shuangren looked at Mo Zhengxing beside her.
Mo Zhengxing thought for a moment and then smiled, "Perhaps they're a little wary because of your display of force today."
"Formation?"
Wu Shuangren was taken aback, then realized what he meant.
He led the militia into the Fist Academy, which many people witnessed.
"Well, time is on our side."
Wu Shuangren said.
The two then went to the back room to settle accounts and calculate the total revenue for the night.
"The private room sold for 360 coins, the entrance fee for 220 coins, and the bookmaker made 3,768 coins from the boxing match!"
The accountant excitedly reported the final results.
Mo Zhengxing's eyes lit up. "You made so much money as the bookmaker tonight?"
Accountant: "Third Master, all the guests in the twelve private rooms have placed bets tonight, and they're all very generous."
Mo Zhengxing suddenly realized, "No wonder."
Wu Shuangren was also very excited when he heard about this income.
Based on tonight's revenue, after deducting costs, the net profit exceeds three strings of cash!
When Wu Shuangren first decided to organize the boxing match, he wasn't really sure about it. He only chose this business because it was the one he was most familiar with.
It seems that boxing really is profitable!
"Tonight won't be the norm."
Mo Zhengxing noticed Wu Shuangren's excitement, and out of a businessman's caution, he couldn't help but remind him, "Many people think the West River Gang will send someone to confront us again tonight, so they've come all this way to see. We might not have this many big spenders every night in the future."
Wu Shuangren nodded. "I know, but our business isn't static; it can still be improved."
Mo Zhengxing's eyes lit up. "How else can it be changed?"
Wu Shuangren said confidently, "Right now, people come to watch boxing matches because of the matches themselves, for the novelty. Betting on boxing matches is all about luck, there's no basis for it. In the future, we can promote the boxers, create a few star boxers, and hold one or two star boxing matches every month to whet everyone's appetite, drive up ticket prices, and make it hard to get tickets."
Most importantly, as more people get to know and support the boxer, more people will place large bets. And even if not that many people can attend the live show, we can still get more people to place bets on the sidelines.
"..."
"And another thing," Wu Shuangren, getting more and more excited, "We'll assign rankings to the boxers. The higher the ranking, the more money they'll make per fight. This will motivate the boxers, encourage more betting from the audience, and make upsets more likely, allowing the bookmakers to earn even more."
Finally, a world champion title will be awarded, and a Fist King Championship will be held every three or six months, with a group of boxers vying for the title. "In literature, there's no first place; in martial arts, there's no second," and that's what everyone loves to watch.
"..."
Mo Zhengxing was completely stunned.
After a long while, he finally managed to utter a few words:
"You're a fucking genius!"
The 67th Regiment Commander-in-Chief, West River Campaign Commences (Please continue reading)
The next day, Mo Zhengxing to talk to someone about buying the courtyard.
Last night, the fifty militiamen brought by Wu Shuangren had to sleep in the audience area. They moved the chairs aside and everyone slept on the floor.
But this can't go on forever; the militia also need a place for daily training.
Wu Shuangren led the militiamen in conducting 'trust training' inside the Fist Academy.
He instructed the militiamen to go to the private rooms on the second floor, then climb out of the windows, grab the railings, turn their backs to the ground, and fall down so that the militiamen below could catch them.
Compared to physical training, drills, and how to use spears and shields, what Wu Shuangren values most is this 'trust training'.
Although he didn't understand military strategy, he knew that the defeats on ancient battlefields were like a landslide, like a curtain being rolled upside down... in essence, it was because the 'chain of trust' among the soldiers had broken.
'If I don't run, everyone else will. I can't possibly fight off so many of them by myself.'
When everyone in the group has this thought, the 'strange sight' of tens of thousands of people being chased by hundreds of people will appear.
Therefore, Wu Shuangren attaches great importance to 'trust training'.
This led the militia members to repeatedly entrust themselves entirely to their comrades when they were completely unable to rely on themselves, filled with anxiety, fear of injury, or even death, and to believe that their comrades would catch them and protect them.
When the chain of trust between people is strong enough, it will never be possible for tens of thousands of people to be chased by hundreds of people on the battlefield!
"Jump!"
Trust your comrades!
"Catch! Continue—"
Wu Shuangren's voice echoed repeatedly within the Fist Academy.
The Mo Family's guards and servants watched the spectacle with great interest.
The injured Bai Jinhuan walked over. "Militia Commander Wu's method of training troops is truly..."
He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable word.
"Master Bai."
Wu Shuangren nodded to the other party.
Bai Jinhuan watched the militiamen fall one after another and sighed, "When I took the military exam, I wanted to join the army and lead troops into battle. So during the years I was idle at home, I bought a lot of military books and studied them. Now it seems that I was just talking about military strategy on paper."
He said this not only because he had seen Wu Shuangren's training methods, but also because he had seen the militiamen's neat formations and steps yesterday.
That night, he also witnessed Wu Shuangren leading the militia to hold off the Mist Hidden Temple's cavalry and win the battle.
Wu Shuangren's heart stirred upon hearing this. "Since Master Bai has read military books and wants to lead troops into battle, would you be interested in joining the local militia?"
He knew he didn't actually know how to lead troops in battle and had almost zero battlefield experience, so his militia needed someone like Bai Jinhuan.
"This..."
Bai Jinhuan hesitated for a moment.
Actually, when Mo Zhengshang was still around, he had invited him to join the training camp.
However, at that time he was a bit too proud to admit it, feeling that the militia training was just child's play and completely different from the real army in his mind, so he politely declined.
However, the training unit that Wu Shuangren has led now...
"I need to ask the head of the family and the Third Master for their opinions."
Bai Jinhuan said.
In any case, he was the chief bodyguard of the Mo Family, while the local militia in Bo County was now under the surname 'Wu'.
"Okay, then you can ask first."
Wu Shuangren nodded.
Mo Zhengxing returned that afternoon.
He bought three houses on either side of the Fist Academy for more than 130 taels of silver.
These three houses, after some renovation, could accommodate more than a hundred people.
Wu Shuangren decided to break down all the walls between the three residences and the Fist Academy, connecting the area.
This arrangement facilitates defense and provides ample space for the militia to train.
Upon hearing about Bai Jinhuan joining the militia, Mo Zhengxing immediately nodded in agreement and said that his elder brother would definitely agree as well.
Bai Jinhuan was, after all, half a Mo Family. If he could join the militia, it would be equivalent to increasing the Mo Family's influence within the militia. How could the two heads of the Mo Family disagree?
Therefore, Wu Shuangren directly announced that Bai Jinhuan would join the regiment and temporarily serve as the squad leader.
Nowadays, the militia training consists of ten people in a squad and fifty people in a company.
Wu Shuangren asked Bai Jinhuan to try to take charge of the fifty militiamen he had brought.
Bai Jinhuan did not disappoint Wu Shuangren. The first thing he did after taking office was to arrange for night watch personnel, with everyone taking turns to work the night.
Which areas need to be patrolled? Where should the defense personnel be positioned? How should we respond to emergencies?
Bai Jinhuan arranged all of these things in a very orderly and meticulous manner.
Wu Shuangren couldn't help but sigh, those years of studying military strategy hadn't been wasted.
He then proposed the concept of 'drills' to Bai Jinhuan —simulating several attack scenarios at night to familiarize everyone with the response procedures in advance, so that they wouldn't be flustered and could react more quickly when a real attack occurred.
Upon hearing this, Bai Jinhuan was completely convinced and sincerely said, "Militia Commander Wu truly knows his troops!"
That evening, the Fist Academy was as busy as ever.
The West River Gang still didn't send anyone to cause trouble.
The next three nights passed peacefully.
On the contrary, Wu Shuangren led the Mo Family's guards to impersonate the enemy and simulate a night raid, which startled the militiamen so much that they haven't slept well for the past few nights...
Night falls on the stronghold of the West River Gang.
Inside the main hall, the head of the gang, Li Ming, the second-in-command Chen Xiao, and the other three leaders were gathered together.
The West River Gang has five leaders. Although none of them are First Rate masters, all five are martial artists who are second only to the First Rate, and each possesses unique skills!
Besides the five of them, the West River Gang also had seven or eight martial artists of the fourth Fifth Rank rank, including "White Ape" Yu Cheng, plus more than five hundred gang members.
This is the source of the West River Gang's confidence in dominating West River Market!
"My lords, I have rushed back overnight to deliver this message."
A young man who looked like a servant stood in the center of the hall and spoke timidly.
"Stop talking nonsense and speak!"
Chen Xiao said impatiently.
"Yes, yes, the boss took us to Bo County in Yi Province. We inquired around and found out that Boss Mo was actually from Bo County!"
"Oh?"
Li Ming, sitting in the tiger-skin chair, shifted slightly. "Tell me more."
The West River Gang has been inactive for the past few days, not because they've given up on their covetousness of the Fist Academy, but because Li Ming was wary of the sight of Wu Shuangren arriving with fifty militiamen. He feared he had encountered a real outlaw!
So he contacted a merchant caravan that was going to Yi Province to do business, and asked them to inquire along the way and send someone back immediately if they had any news.
I never expected to run into the person in question at my very first stop.
The caravan member who returned with the news then recounted in detail what he and his companions had learned in Bo County.
When Chen Xiao heard that the Bo County Militia only had a little over a hundred people and that the newly appointed militia leader Wu Shuangren, was only seventeen years old, he burst out laughing on the spot.
"I thought they were some powerful clan leader, but it turns out they only have this many men? A seventeen-year-old militia commander? Bo County really has no one left. This is hilarious, hahahahahaha—"
The other leaders also laughed.