Chapter 100: First Round

Chapter 100: First Round

Chapter 100: First Round
At noon the next day, the first round of drawing lots ended, and the Xiao family of Jiangdu, the Yu family of Kuaiji, and the Lu family of Lujiang were grouped together.

This time, three families came from Bashu, three each from Jingxiang and western Jiangnan. Together with two from Huaixi, three from Huainan and seven from eastern Jiangnan, there were a total of twenty-one families from the South.

There were twenty-seven competitors in the north, including those in Guanlong, Hedong, Hebei, Henan and Shandong.

In the end, there were only five spots for five trading companies, but these five trading companies were different from other ordinary trading companies. The top five trading companies were the dealers that owned docks and warehouses.

Hundreds of other ordinary businesses, large and small, have to rely on these five major businesses.

In name, it is a competition among the major families, but looking through the phenomenon to the essence, the major forces participating in the competition for the places of the five major trading companies are subtly connected with the five princes.

This is why there were only three places before. Previously, Prince of Jin Yang Guang and Prince of Shu Yang Xiu were excluded. Now that they are added in, two more places are added, making it five.

But it is not just that each prince's power is divided into one, this involves the interests of the major families themselves, so it is very complicated.

For example, since the Yuan family of the prince's faction wants to participate in the competition for three places in the northern faction, they also have to compete for the quota of the southern faction through the Jiangdu Chen family.

If the Yuan family succeeds in both the north and the south, then the Yuan family or the prince's faction will have two trading company quotas.

For example, the Jingzhao Wei family also belongs to the prince's faction, and they also participated in the competition for three places in the Northern faction.

If the Yuan family succeeds and the Wei family fails, will the Yuan family give a share of the profits to the Wei family?

Obviously, it is impossible. Although they belong to the same faction of the prince, each family has its own interests, and the Yuan family can only give the prince 30% of the share at most.

As there were too many families signing up to participate in the competition, there were fifteen groups from the north and south that wanted to fight at the same time, and Jiangdu could not find such a venue. With the approval of the emperor, the competition was held at seven docks on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Martial arts competitions in the Sui Dynasty were divided into two types: north and south. The southern type was mainly sword fighting, which was also called Xiaowu.

But it is different in the north. In the north, people fight with weapons on horseback, or compete in horseback archery. This kind of competition is called Dawu.

This is why the North looks down on the South in terms of military strength. There is no way around it. The South does not produce horses. Even in Jiangdu, which is the border between the North and the South, it costs thousands of strings of cash to buy a good horse.

At daybreak, more than 30 people from the Xiao family arrived at Pier No. 6. The river bank of Pier No. 6 was one mile long and covered a vast area, which could accommodate dozens of large ships for unloading at the same time.

The best piers were No. 1 and No. 2, located on both sides of the canal and occupied by government officials.

Piers 3, 4 and 5 are on the west side and are contested by the Northern Group, while Piers 6 and 7 on the east side are contested by the Southern Group.

If the Xiao family can take over the Yangtze River Wharf, then the dozen or so small businesses that were previously dependent on the Xiao family will also be able to move here.

Today, seven groups from the Southern Department will compete at the same time, with four groups scheduled at Pier 6 and three groups scheduled at Pier 7. The first round of competition will be completed this morning.

The competition venue was rather simple, with no wooden platform. Just a three-meter square circle drawn with white lime. Because the emperor and many concubines were present, the rules allowed injuries but no deaths. Those who were injured would lose, those whose weapons dropped would lose, and those who were knocked out of the white circle would lose.

There is one more rule on the Northern side: whoever falls loses.

"Dang!" With the sound of a gong, the competition began.

The Xiao family of Jiangdu, the Yu family of Kuaiji, and the Lu family of Lujiang were all gathered on both sides of the white circle.

The Jiangdu Xiao family was worthy of being the local boss, with more than 30 people watching and cheering, while the other two families had only a dozen people.

The fighting format is exactly the same as the Sanxiao Fighting Arena. Each family fights twice, and warriors cannot fight repeatedly.

First, the contest between the Yu Family of Kuaiji and the Lu Family of Lujiang took place. Xiao Gui sat next to Xiao Xia and whispered to him, "Although the Yu Family of Kuaiji is well-known, they are mainly literary, and there is only one fifth-rank person in their family.

The Lujiang Lu family is not a big family, but they have many martial arts talents. This time they sent out a fifth-rank and a sixth-rank master. Especially Lu Tao, who has not yet played, is a sixth-rank master. "

Xiao Xia could fully understand. The Yu family was located in Kuaiji, where there was almost no war and it was relatively peaceful. It was quite good for them to have a fifth-rank warrior.

For hundreds of years, Lujiang has been a battlefield between the North and the South. Survival is difficult and the sense of crisis is extremely strong. Of course, they have to practice martial arts desperately to protect themselves, and this has resulted in the emergence of many talented people.

Xiao Xia whispered, "Let me be the sixth-rank warrior of the Lu family!"

After Xiao Xia's battle with Yuwen Chengdu, his confidence soared.
Xiao Gui nodded, "Okay! I'll go make the arrangements."

...........
After a while, the competition ended, and the fourth-rank warrior of the Yu family was stabbed in the right arm by a sword from the Lu family warrior. "The first match, the Lu family wins!"

There was applause from the field, and the Yu family warriors immediately became dejected.

The MC shouted again, "In the second match, the Xiao family of Jiangdu will face the Yu family of Kuaiji."

Xiao Xin came on the field. The rules of the competition required that contestants must be of the same clan and surname, so Xiao Xin was perfectly allowed to go on the field. Of course, the Jinling Xiao family could also sign up, but Xiao Xin could not go on the field. In order not to be distracted, the Jinling Xiao family did not sign up and fully supported the Jiangdu Xiao family.

In order to thank the Jinling Xiao family, Xiao Cong and his two brothers unanimously decided to give 20% of their own 50% to the Jinling Xiao family.

Xiao Xin's opponent was Yu Feihong, a fifth-rank master and the most famous swordsman in Kuaiji County.

Xiao Xia suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder. When he turned around, it turned out to be his elder brother Yang Zhao. Xiao Xia quickly took out a cushion for him.

Yang Zhao sat down cross-legged and asked with a smile: "When will you go on stage?"

"The third one is me!"

Xiao Xia looked back again and asked, "Why didn't Li Min and Chai Shao come?"

Yang Zhao smiled and said, "Don't you know? They also have competitions in the Northern Department."

Xiao Xia was speechless. He also said that the Yuan family was greedy and bet from both the north and the south. Isn't it the same for the Li and Yang families?

Yang Zhao smiled and said, "It's not the eldest aunt, it's Li from Yuanzhou!"

It turned out to be Li Min’s own family.

Yang Zhao whispered again: "If the Xiao family wins the quota this time, our family will get 30%, the Li family and the eldest aunt will each get 10%, and the majority will be ours."

That's it!

Xiao Xia seemed to have thought of something and looked around, but there was not a single soldier.

"Why are there no soldiers watching the battle?"

"They are all in the west! Over there, it's a one-on-one duel, much more exciting than this. The soldiers will definitely not be looking at this side."

"Ah!" Xiao Xia's heart was also aroused.

"Brother, let's go to the west and take a look later."

Yang Zhao nodded and smiled, "Take my carriage over there later!"

At this time, cheers came from the arena. Xiao Xin had been suppressed at the white line and was about to be forced out of the white line. Both the Yu and Lu families shouted excitedly.

Yang Zhao immediately straightened his back and looked at the field nervously.

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said to the somewhat nervous Yang Zhao: "Don't be nervous, brother. Xiao Xin is going to win."

Yu Feihong shouted loudly and stabbed at Xiao Xin with his sword like raindrops. Xiao Xin suddenly dived forward, slid under his crotch, and kicked Yu Feihong out of the white line with a fierce kick.

The field suddenly fell silent. It actually passed through the crotch. Everyone was stunned. Even if they won, it felt a bit unfair!
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Xiao Xin can defeat the opponent within two moves. He deliberately dragged it out until now to hide his strength and make people think that he is just so-so. He is preparing for the next match."

Yang Zhao nodded. "This Xiao Xin is not particular about details and is quite resourceful. He will be a big shot in the future!"

The emcee shouted again: "In the second round, Jiangdu Xiao family wins!"

The Xiao family members were jubilant, while the Yu family members in Kuaiji were dejected. They lost both battles and were the first to be eliminated.

At this time, the bell rang and the emcee shouted, "The third match, Jiangdu Xiao family versus Lujiang Lu family."

(End of this chapter)