257: Chapter 257 Xiang Yu's Vanity Boom

While boxing promotion and registration work were in full swing in Sishui Commandery, promotions also began in Fangling Commandery.

Over the past few days, Xiang Yu and Yu Ziqi often drank together, and gradually, the two became well-acquainted.

"Brother Xiang."

Yu Ziqi said, "Brother Xiang's strength is the greatest I have ever seen in my life. If you participate in our Chu Region War Zone boxing tournament, you will surely take first place and win the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu."

Xiang Yu originally had no interest in any boxing tournament, but when he heard the title 'Hegemon-King of West Chu', his body trembled for some unknown reason.

"Hegemon-King of West Chu, Hegemon-King of West Chu!"

Xiang Yu was completely stunned.

He didn't care about the boxing tournament, but the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu had to belong to him.

In all the world, besides him, Xiang Yu, who else was qualified to be called the Hegemon-King of West Chu!

"I shall sign up to compete."

Xiang Yu said.

"Good!"

Upon hearing that Xiang Yu wanted to compete, Yu Ziqi's face was filled with excitement.

"Brother Xiang, if you can win the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu, I can introduce a marriage match to you."

"Uh!"

Xiang Yu was taken aback.

"Brother Xiang."

Yu Ziqi said earnestly, "I have a younger sister who has reached marriageable age. I was thinking of finding a reliable man for her. What do you think?"

"I'll introduce you two to each other."

"This..."

Xiang Yu felt a bit bashful.

"Brother Xiang, I never imagined that a man with such world-conquering heroic spirit as yourself would actually be shy."

Yu Ziqi laughed.

He said, "My sister is a well-known beauty in Wuzhong. Although she has just reached marriageable age, the matchmakers have already worn down our doorstep."

"But my sister is a national beauty, and those who come to propose don't seem like reliable men to me."

Yu Ziqi looked at Xiang Yu and said, "Brother Xiang, I can tell at a glance that you are no ordinary man. A hero deserves a beauty. If you win the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu and are paired with a beauty, it will surely become a legendary tale."

Xiang Yu was moved by his words.

Once he made a name for himself, if he didn't have a beauty by his side, how could he show off in front of the elders back home!

"Then it's settled."

Seeing the expression on Xiang Yu's face, Yu Ziqi said with a smile, "I look forward to Brother Xiang winning the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu."

"Mhm."

Xiang Yu nodded slightly.

After returning to the inn where he was staying, he immediately told Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng that he wanted to participate in the boxing tournament.

After hearing this, Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng looked at each other.

Fan Zeng said, "This is good. If Yuer can truly win the title of Hegemon-King of West Chu, he will become even more famous in the Chu Region."

"When the time is ripe, if Yuer raises the banner of rebellion in the Chu Region, countless heroes will surely come to join him."

"Brother Fan is absolutely right!"

Xiang Liang said with an expression of total agreement.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Han Xin and Xiang Yu each headed to the locations where the commandery-level tournaments were held.

Commerce in the Chu Region had always been more developed than in the Qin Region. Under Zhao Fusu's instructions and Liu Bang's network, many vendors in Sishui Township, where the boxing tournament was held, had rented space to sell their goods.

Looking at the revenue flowing in over the past few days, Liu Bang sighed with great emotion.

His Majesty the Head of State's business mind was simply too powerful. By organizing a boxing tournament, he not only gained prestige but also brought in extremely significant profits.

Their township government had made a lot of money just from renting out the space around the boxing arena.

The advertisements promoting merchants' products in the boxing arena were all calculated by the 'breaths'.

Within twenty breaths was one price.

Twenty to forty breaths was another price.

Forty to sixty breaths was yet another price.

Anything over sixty breaths was even more expensive.

Liu Bang conservatively estimated that a single township boxing tournament would generate at least two gold pieces—360,000 coins—for their township government, while they only had to pay out twelve coins in prize money.

Their township government was raking it in.

Even if they had to hand over half of the income, they were still making a fortune.

And this was just a township tournament; if it were in a more commercially developed county seat or commandery capital, the government would receive even more revenue from merchants for promotion.

Liu Bang had a premonition that once the first boxing tournament was held and everyone tasted the benefits, there would definitely be a second and a third, and the scale would only grow larger.

The derivative commercial income would surely be even greater!

Liu Bang couldn't help but think of the majestic scene when His Majesty the Head of State traveled; that was how a real man should be!

It was only after seeing the grand spectacle of His Majesty the Head of State's travels that he swore to climb up step by step, hoping that one day, when he became a high-ranking official, he could have such a scene when he traveled.

Liu Bang fantasized; this was the motivation he was striving for!

Relying on his flexible movement, Han Xin used hit-and-run tactics to constantly deal damage; he was a tactical-type contestant.

Fan Kuai's Wild Swings were wide and powerful, and he knocked out his opponents in every match.

Unsurprisingly, Fan Kuai was undoubtedly the first-place winner of the township tournament.

Fan Kuai was known as the second-greatest general of the late Qin Dynasty, with bravery second only to Xiang Yu. After the fall of Qin, the title Xiang Yu granted Fan Kuai was Marquis of Wu—note the word 'Wu'. In ancient times, the words 'Wen' and 'Wu' were not granted lightly.

Second place was Han Xin.

Boxing is not only a physical sport but also an intellectual one, placing great emphasis on tactics.

Tactics were Han Xin's strength; it was only because Fan Kuai's raw power was so overwhelming that he was defeated.

Both Cao Shen and Hou Ying, who possessed extraordinary martial prowess, were defeated by him.

"Han Xin! Han Xin! Han Xin!"

With his strength, Han Xin had gained quite a few fans.

Seeing her sweetheart being so outstanding, Ji Tao was naturally filled with joy, her eyes fixed solely on Han Xin.

The butcher gnashed his teeth.

Ji Tao was supposed to be his woman, yet Han Xin had actually snatched her away.

The butcher really wanted to teach Han Xin a lesson, but the Han Xin of today was by no means the Han Xin of the past.

Han Xin had won second place in the township tournament and was highly valued by Liu Bang. With Liu Bang backing Han Xin, how could a mere butcher like him ever hope to compete with Liu Bang?

Liu Bang's father-in-law, Old Man Lü, was the wealthiest man in their township; even the township government officials had to defer to him. Furthermore, Liu Bang had a fierce man like Fan Kuai as his enforcer.

How could he possibly challenge Liu Bang?

The butcher could only squat in a corner, drawing circles and cursing Han Xin to have children with no assholes.

Xiang Yu's boxing matches had almost zero entertainment value; he was even more ferocious than Tyson. The matches ended as soon as they began, as no one could withstand a single punch from him.

Even someone as strong as Yu Ziqi couldn't take one punch from Xiang Yu and collapsed onto his knees in the ring.

"Xiang Yu!"

"Xiang Yu!"

"Xiang Yu!"

...

The tens of thousands of onlookers shouted in unison.

On the ring, Xiang Yu raised his fist high. He originally hadn't been interested in boxing, but seeing tens of thousands of people shouting his name gave his vanity infinite satisfaction.

He absolutely loved boxing.