252: Chapter 252 Fishing

The people of Great Qin had too few entertainment activities.

Located on the frontiers, the Qin people had fierce customs and were naturally combative, often coming to blows over the slightest disagreement.

Organizing boxing matches provided them with a place to vent, which would inevitably attract a large number of people to the ring.

This could also serve as an upward mobility channel for the common folk at the bottom of society; they could use their own two fists to break out of extreme poverty.

Currently, there were far too few channels for the common people to rise. Once boxing could change one's social status, it would surely attract a large number of aggressive and competitive individuals to take up the sport.

These people were originally the main force of rebellions. By channeling them into boxing, the number of people rebelling would naturally decrease.

Zhao Fusu put a lot of heart and soul into promoting the sport of boxing.

Even though he had many things to attend to, he still took time out of his busy schedule to formulate a promotion plan, write boxing rules and rankings, and outline the interests of all parties involved.

No matter what sport it was, the more benefits it could offer, the better it would be organized.

Zhao Fusu established three ways to profit from the sport of boxing.

The first was exhibition matches, using them for commercial performances to increase popularity for businesses.

The second was to have boxers register for competitions, collecting registration fees and awarding prize money to the top ten boxers.

The third was through national auditions to attract massive public attention, thereby drawing in businesses to invest in advertisements, earning advertising fees, and using a portion of those fees as prize money for the boxers.

He planned to divide Great Qin into the Qi Territory War Zone, Chu Region War Zone, Yan Territory War Zone, Han State Land War Zone, Zhao Territory War Zone, Wei Territory War Zone, Qin Region War Zone, Xiongnu War Zone, and South China War Zone. He would select the Boxing King of each war zone, and then have the Kings of each major war zone fight to determine the Great Qin King of Fighters.

Zhao Fusu called the strongest boxer in Great Qin the Great Qin King of Fighters, which was also an intentional move to undermine the Emperor's authority in the public's mind and achieve his goal of 'the world belongs to the public.'

To help the public better understand boxing, he planned to establish rankings for the sport.

From weakest to strongest, they were: Boxing Apprentice, Boxing Warrior, Boxing Master, Grand Boxing Master, Boxing King, and King of Fighters!

A total of six ranks.

In the middle of winter, Great Qin's primary activity was agricultural production.

Since they couldn't farm in winter, Zhao Fusu decided to immediately hold The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament.

An impressive title could often attract a large number of hot-blooded youths to compete.

What's more, winning an impressive title came with substantial prize money, enough to achieve financial freedom.

The number of people wanting to compete would be even greater.

The Boxing King title for the Chu Region War Zone was the Hegemon-King of West Chu.

The Boxing King title for the Qin Region War Zone was the Northwest Hammer King.

The Boxing King title for the Xiongnu War Zone was the Northern Frontier Boxing King.

The Boxing King title for the Yan Territory War Zone was the Northeast Tiger King.

The Boxing King title for the Wei Territory War Zone was the North China Tiger King.

The Boxing King title for the Qi Territory War Zone was the East China Tiger King.

The Boxing King title for the South China War Zone was the South China Tiger King.

The Boxing King title for the Zhao Territory War Zone was the Zhao Territory Leopard King.

The Boxing King title for the Han State Land War Zone was the Han State Land Eagle King.

Zhao Fusu setting the Boxing King title for the Chu Region War Zone as the Hegemon-King of West Chu was also a form of 'fishing' for a specific person.

If a certain 'big fish' was hooked by him and given massive amounts of flowers, applause, and fame, he might just sink into it and be unable to extricate himself.

Knowing that this 'big fish' once said that achieving wealth and honor without returning home was like 'wearing silk clothes and walking in the night,' one could see how strong this person's vanity was.

By fully satisfying his vanity, there was no fear that he wouldn't take the bait.

After planning the regulations for The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament, Zhao Fusu sent a message via carrier pigeon back to Xianyang, instructing Zhang Han and Li Si to handle it together.

"Can money be earned this way?"

When Zhang Han and Li Si saw in the regulations that Zhao Fusu wanted them to find merchants to invest in advertisements, both were dumbfounded.

This was something they had never even considered.

"Prime Minister Li Si."

Zhang Han said, "His Majesty the Head of State's business acumen is even more formidable than that of the leaders of the merchant houses!"

"Sigh!"

Li Si sighed and said, "His Majesty the First Emperor detested merchants the most, exiling a large number of them to Lingnan. Yet, His Majesty the Head of State is a commercial genius who also values commerce. The ways of the world are truly strange!"

Zhang Han nodded slightly.

Whether it was the Qin State of the past or the Qin Region of today, both were commercial deserts.

Since Shang Yang's reforms, the already poor commercial ecology of the Qin Region was further suppressed by the policy of prioritizing agriculture and restricting commerce.

After General Zhao Tuo conquered Lingnan, because the local area needed people for development and the five hundred thousand men of the Qin Army had no wives, they asked the First Emperor for people and wives.

The First Emperor gave Zhao Tuo over ten thousand women from the Central Plains and took the opportunity to migrate a large number of the merchants he disliked there.

The fact that the people of Lingnan were so good at business was inextricably linked to the First Emperor concentrating all the merchants in Lingnan two thousand years ago.

In the Qin Region, Zhang Han and Li Si couldn't find many businesses to invest in advertisements, but the nobility also had their own industries, so they could advertise their own businesses.

Zhang Han pondered that he could take advantage of The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament to push products like Magic Box Napkins, Office Paper, Toilet Paper, Backrest Chairs, Folding Fans, Glass Products, and Wool Sweaters to places outside the Qin Region.

Zhang Han sent a carrier pigeon to Zhao Fusu, suggesting that the production of these goods should be increased.

Zhao Fusu agreed, letting Zhang Han set up factories on a large scale and recruit more workers.

The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament was featured in the Great Qin Empire Weekly for pre-event promotion.

Once the massive crowds of spectators learned about The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament, they all began to discuss it fervently.

The first thing they discussed was how much money one could get by participating in The First Great Qin King of Fighters Tournament.

The selection would start from the townships, then move to the counties, then to the commanderies, and finally, a Boxing King would be decided for each war zone.

The top three in the township matches would receive five coins, four coins, and three coins respectively, which was 100 yuan, 80 yuan, and 60 yuan.

The top three in the county matches would receive fifty coins, forty-five coins, and forty coins, which was 1,000 yuan, 900 yuan, and 800 yuan.

In the commandery matches, the top ten would be rewarded: first place five hundred coins, second four hundred, third three hundred, fourth two hundred, fifth one hundred, sixth fifty, seventh twenty-five, eighth twenty, ninth fifteen, and tenth ten coins.

That meant first place was 10,000 yuan, second was 8,000, third was 6,000, fourth was 4,000, fifth was 2,000, sixth was 1,000, seventh was 500, eighth was 400, ninth was 300, and tenth was 200 yuan.

The rewards for the top ten in the war zones were as follows.

First place was five thousand coins, which was one hundred thousand.

Second place was four thousand coins, which was eighty thousand.

Third place was three thousand coins, which was sixty thousand.

Fourth place was two thousand coins, which was forty thousand.

Fifth place was one thousand coins, which was twenty thousand.

Sixth place was five hundred coins, which was ten thousand.

...

Tenth place was one hundred coins, which was two thousand yuan.

Ultimately, for the King of Fighters final battle, the winning King of Fighters could get five hundred thousand coins, which was ten million!