It was late at night, the north wind was howling, the sky and the earth were frozen, and it was extremely cold inside and outside the imperial city.
Just when the Chongzhen Yangxin Palace was summoning loyal ministers for a secret meeting late at night, the Royal Horse Prison in the northeast corner of the palace was brightly lit and bustling. Although the weather was cold, the enthusiasm of the people was not diminished. At least two hundred people gathered here, including many Some maids.
Needless to say, the reason was that the underground boxing match took place in just one afternoon and became the hottest topic in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I had heard of Ouchi guards competing in fists and kicks, but I had never heard of eunuchs competing in such a match, and they could even be staked. Note, such novel and exciting entertainment activities soon became too attractive. Just after ten o'clock, the front of the Yuma Prison was crowded.
Why the competition venue was chosen in Yumajian is the result of careful consideration by Chang Yu, Wang Dehua and others. Firstly, Yumajian is relatively remote. It is next to Yinshoujian and Xiangdongdong and is close to the roots of the imperial city, so it is relatively secretive. Secondly, they considered There are many spectators, so a larger venue is needed, and the Royal Horse Guards has a pasture, which is the pasture used for raising and walking horses in the palace. There are stables and grain and grass warehouses inside, which can be used as a competition venue after being tidied up. You can't play outside in the cold weather.
The last reason is that the Royal Horse Supervisor has a relationship with the personal guards. This is a big leg and an information channel to attract investment.
Because there were so many onlookers at the time, and due to lack of preparation in a hurry, Wang Dehua and others finally decided to limit the number of people allowed in, allowing only about 200 people to enter, and the rest regretfully left.
More than two hundred people filled a temporarily empty warehouse to the brim, leaving a small open space circled by a rope in the middle, where the arena was.
There are several tables and chairs placed in front of the ring, which are the positions of the referee and several eunuchs. Next to them are larger tables, and several eunuchs are busy collecting cash and placing bets.
Rules: Free fighting, but only touching the vagina, gouging eyes and hitting the back of the head.
The winning and losing referee standards: ko, tko, or the opponent voluntarily admits defeat, or the winner is calculated based on points within half a stick of incense. These are customized by Chang Yu, Wang Decai and others, and the referees on the first night are also them.
Since this is the first game, it is equivalent to an exhibition match. The contestants are selected from each of the eight eunuchs, plus Chunxiang recommended by Chang Yu, a total of nine people compete for hegemony.
The most exciting thing for everyone is the competition system. Although it is a nine-person competition, the audience can bet on the players they like, but they can also participate in person. For example, you can challenge which player you think you can beat. If you win, The reward is two taels of silver for one game, one tael for losing, double the amount for winning two games, and so on. However, each player can only play three games per night. If he wins all three games, he will receive an additional bonus of ten taels.
Win or lose, you will earn money. It's a pie from the sky. Many people are ready to take action immediately.
Now Chunxiang lined up with eight other people and stood in a tight-fitting singlet in the middle of the rope circle to draw lots. Because there is no round-robin competition according to the competition system, a lucky person must be drawn first to select the top five players who will directly enter the second round. The other eight People fight against each other to grab the other four spots.
Chunxiang is not short, about 1.78 meters tall, but compared with those eight people, he is a little thin. After all, there are more than 8,000 eunuchs in the palace, many of whom are tall. In order to fire the first shot, those few Naturally, the eunuchs in the hall only select big men to play, so that Chunxiang will look inconspicuous. .
But this does not affect his popularity. There are quite a lot of people betting on him, because there are well-informed people who know that he is a good friend of Eunuch Chang who is the best at fighting among the eunuchs.
After the lottery was completed, Chunxiang had no luck and went directly to the second round. He exited the ring and watched the eight people compete for the spots, but he did not place a bet for anyone, including Jiang Quan and others, even though Chang Yu took it for them before leaving. Twenty taels are allowed to bet.
At the beginning of the game, four pairs took turns to fight on the stage. The scene was extremely fierce but not exciting.
But at least it's much more exciting than Chang Yu's. At least that's what the audience of this era thinks. Fighting has to have a process before it's interesting. If you kill someone before they even blink, it's okay. How wonderful to say...
"How's it going? Are you sure?" Chunxiang looked at it very seriously, and Jiang Quan asked loudly in his ear, because the people around him were so excited, screaming, shouting, and roaring that their heads hurt.
Chunxiang's face was solemn and he didn't answer immediately. He looked at it for two rounds. Although those big guys were unorganized, they were extremely fierce. Although they didn't have any moves, they were whistling with wind. Their power should not be underestimated. The so-called killing of a master with random punches was like this. King Baquan.
These big men were usually engaged in the most menial labor jobs in the palace. Now that they heard that they could use their strength to make money, they naturally went all out because the biscuits drawn by Wang Dehua and others were really tempting. If they won, they would not have to do those menial jobs. And you can earn a year's worth of money in one night...
The top three soon came to fruition. After the competition between the eight people, no matter whether they won or lost, all their faces were stained with disgrace, and their noses and faces were severely swollen. The winner had a smile on his face, but Chunxiang's heart sank, because they were all big guys. Sure enough, The larger the tonnage, the higher the winning rate.
take a breather
The second round finally started, and the atmosphere in the warehouse was high. Everyone began to place bets again. This time Chunxiang was not so lucky to be drawn and directly entered the third round. He was going to play.
Jiang Quan and the four younger brothers around him discussed it briefly and decided that no matter whether they win or lose tonight, they would only bet on Chunxiang. For no other reason than to cheer him up! Besides, that's not what Chang Yu meant when he left the twenty taels of silver.
But after all, it was Chunxiang's first time on the court, and everyone didn't know what to do. One person took out two taels to press, and helped Chang Yu to press five taels of silver, and then concentrated on the game.
Chunxiang's opponent is a 185-year-old fat man nicknamed King Kong.
In fact, he was just a fat man. Although Chunxiang was very nervous, he kept in mind Chang Yu's instructions: Don't get close to a huge creature, don't fight, and move.
Three minutes later, amidst the crazy cheers of Jiang Quan and others, Chunxiang won his first victory in his life. Although it was very hard and dangerous, he won after all. He knelt on the ground and put his hands on the ground without wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He covered his face and started crying.
Chunxiang instantly pushed the competition to the highest level. After all, he was the apprentice of Eunuch Chang, who was the best at fighting in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, he was the smallest among the contestants, so he naturally attracted a lot of attention, so when he won, , the field was boiling.
"Eunuch Oshiharu..."
"Those big guys are just weak and strong. I am remanding Eunuch Chun in custody."
Chunxiang quickly became a popular player. After a while, his mood calmed down, and his face gradually gained confidence, unlike the worried look he had just looked on.
We're in the top three. If we're lucky, we only have to fight once.
"Are Chunxiang sure?" Jiang Quan and the others are now the kind of people whose whole bodies are so hot that they can't wait to play in person.
Chunxiang nodded vigorously: "Bet, tonight our family not only wants to make a name for itself, but also makes a fortune."
After the draw was completed, Chunxiang stepped on dog shit again and was directly the runner-up.
It was almost six o'clock in the morning when Chang Yu returned to the Ritual Supervisor. He was extremely upset and vowed that he would never serve the emperor on the night shift again. It was simply a sin that no one should suffer.
Jiuhantian was just waiting outside the palace, feeling suffocated by the cold. For the first time in his life, he experienced the true meaning of the word "hunger, cold, and hardship."
Normally, the eunuchs and maids can go to rest after the emperor rests around two o'clock in the morning. But last night, Chongzhen and the prince murmured and summoned the ministers to the palace to meet the emperor. In the blink of an eye, it was the morning shift time for the ministers.
In ancient times, civil servants had a very hard morning shift. They had to line up outside the Meridian Gate at around three o'clock. At this time, the emperor would also get up. Usually, he would hold a morning meeting at Qianqing Gate from around four to five o'clock. Future generations will be satisfied.
Chongzhen issued an unprecedented order today: There will be no morning court today.
However, even so, Chang Yu still stood outside the hall until the shift change time around five o'clock before going back.
When he arrived at the ceremonial supervisor's dormitory, he fell asleep. When he woke up again, it was already noon. Feeling dizzy, Chang Yu secretly sighed that staying up late was too damaging to his vitality.
But when he opened his eyes and saw clearly the expressions of the people standing in front of the window, he had a premonition that not only would his vitality be damaged, but he might even be angry.
The premonition was very accurate. After Chunxiang, who was bruised and swollen, told Jiang Quan the whole story, he roared angrily, jumped out of bed and kicked several people in succession. Three hundred taels of silver wasted his fortune!
Yes, Chunxiang lost. In the final match between the champion and the runner-up, Chunxiang, who was 100% sure, asked Jiang Quan to invest all his money. All six people had saved more than 300 taels.
There is a reason for Chunxiang's self-confidence. Although he has only fought once and has little actual combat experience, he has a good vision. These big guys rely on brute force and king's eight punches to fight. They do not know how to defend and have no effective offensive methods. Although he only has It's not difficult to deal with these people even though Chang Yu is cramming. What's more important is that I've had two bad lucks and my physical strength is much better than those big guys.
"That man is so shameless. He keeps running in circles and doesn't dare to fight with us..." Chunxiang felt extremely aggrieved, but was scolded by Chang Yu: "What is shameless? That's called tactics. His physical strength is not as good as yours. But my brain is a hundred times better than yours."
To be honest, Chang Yu never thought about letting Chunxiang take first place at first. He just pulled him out for actual training. But he didn't expect that these guys could lose everything. Gambling is harmful!
"Except Jiang Quan, each of you can do 300 push-ups and 30 military punches. If anyone dares to be lazy, don't blame me for being rude." Chang Yu was angry!
Jiang Quan was a little flattered that Chang Yu looked at him differently.
"You play tonight. If you don't make the top three, I'll beat you until you can't get out of bed for three days." Chang Yu's cold eyes made Jiang Quan's eyes darken and he almost fell over.
After lunch, Chang Yu was giving one-on-one guidance to Jiang Quan in a corner of the Si Li Supervisory Courtyard. Jiang Quan, who knew that the consequences of tonight's game would be serious, did not dare to be distracted from studying very seriously.
"Hey, Eunuch Chang is running a small stove here." A voice sounded. Chang Yu turned around and looked, but it was Wang Lian.
Wang Lian's eyes were a little dark and his expression was depressed. Even the smile on his face could be seen to be a forced smile, because this kid also lost miserably last night. Whoever followed Chunxiang who didn't lose last night had a leak in his crotch. Chun Xiang is now being secretly cursed like a rat crossing the street.
"Hey, how are you, Mr. Wang?" Looking at Wang Lian's forced smile, Chang Yu joked: "You posted it last night?"
"Tmd...hey" Wang Lian suppressed his calm mood and did not curse out, and sighed: "Eunuch Chang, please give me more support in the future."
Chang Yu was stunned and didn't know what he was talking about. Could it be because he was close to the eight eunuchs in the hall? It's unlikely that this guy wanted to get me. This guy is Wang Dehua's brother-in-law, and it is said that he is also one of Wang Chengen's confidants. One.
"Congratulations, Eunuch Chang." Wang Lian looked at Chang Yu's expression and smiled slightly: "You are now a member of the Prince's Palace."
"What do you say, Eunuch Wang?"
Chang Yu was startled. His relationship with the prince was by no means simple, but it was impossible for outsiders to know what this man meant.
"It's rare for the prince to kiss you and ask you to serve him at the prince's residence." Wang Lian looked at Chang Yu with envy on his face.
Chang Yu was startled for a moment and then realized that there was something wrong. He secretly laughed that the prince was a child after all and could not hold his breath. Generally, the eunuchs who served the various palaces closely were the imperial eunuchs. To such a person, he could directly appoint someone and cross departments. There are almost no such things. Although the imperial supervisor is also under the control of the ceremonial supervisor, doing so is too deliberate and will attract the attention of interested people.
But fortunately, the prince is young and he is known as a master in fighting. Outsiders may think that the prince is just having fun and wants to leave him.
Chang Yu smiled at Wang Lian and said, "Then our family will live in the Prince's Mansion from now on?"
"No, of course. Eunuch Chang can come back to live at any time if it's convenient. The dormitory bed will be reserved for you at any time."
After chatting with Wang Lian for a while, Chang Yu told Jiang Quan to exercise alone, then simply packed up and headed to the Prince's Mansion. He couldn't help but feel funny in his heart, it was like moving three times in one day.
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