As Zhang Bangchang and his retinue approached, his personal guards cleared a path for him. Those whose positions were usurped were naturally annoyed, but seeing the guards’ identical short tunics and the sabers at their waists, they could only let out disgruntled snorts.
With his guards paving the way, Zhang Bangchang finally pushed his way to the very front. However, as he watched, he suddenly found himself a bit confused.
The currently popular style of cuju, or ancient football, was called Zhúqiú. Simply put, each side in the match would select over ten players. These players would form two teams on the field, and between the two teams, a 'ball head' would be chosen.
In the center of the playing field stood a goalpost over ten feet tall, with an opening in the very middle. When the match began, the team that gained possession of the ball would start passing it. As long as all players passed the ball without it touching the ground, the ball would eventually be returned to the ball head, who was responsible for the final step – the shot. If the ball went through the opening, a point was scored. Of course, if the ball touched the ground during the passing sequence, possession would revert to the opposing team.
While this rule set was interesting and technically demanding, it always lacked that touch of passionate excitement. Although he didn't understand what these people were watching, seeing how the onlookers were filled with fervor, Zhang Bangchang suddenly realized that this spectacle seemed far more engaging than the Zhúqiú style.
"It's in!"
"Damn it, lost again! How can this Li Sanlang be so unreliable? My five strings of cash are gone again!"
"Hahahaha, I won! I won! Five hundred strings of cash! Hahahaha!"
Before Zhang Bangchang could even grasp what was happening, the crowd that had surrounded the field suddenly dispersed. As everyone scattered, he noticed many small square pieces of paper scattered on the ground.
"What is this? What are they even talking about?" Zhang Bangchang’s curiosity was piqued by this novel phenomenon. He picked up a small piece of paper from the ground and asked one of his subordinates.
"These are cuju tickets issued by the Cuju General Society. You can bet on odd or even, or on the winner. Of course, with these two types of bets, the winnings are relatively small if you guess correctly, but they are stable! There's also a way to bet on the number of goals scored. Each matchday has three games, and you can bet on all of them, or just one. This ticket costs five hundred cash for one game, ten strings of cash for two, and if you guess all three correctly, it's five hundred strings!"
Listening to them speak so knowledgably, Zhang Bangchang’s mouth twitched. It seemed they had been frequenting this suddenly appearing Cuju General Society quite a bit.
"There's such a way to play? Don't Grand Tutor Liang and His Highness the Prince of Yue manage this?" After a moment of thought, Zhang Bangchang's curiosity was ignited. It was one thing for people to watch cuju, but to bet money on the outcome of their games, he couldn't believe Liang Shicheng and the others would be so magnanimous.
"I'm not clear about this, sir. I've only heard that Grand Tutor Liang and the others have shares in this General Society..."
"What did you say?" The subordinate's words made Zhang Bangchang freeze.
"I'm just repeating what I heard, sir. I don't know the details. It's not just Grand Tutor Liang; it's said that members of the imperial clan in Bianliang city are all involved..."
"Imperial clan members?" The subordinate's words truly startled him. In Bianliang city, the most troublesome individuals were not from any government office, but precisely these imperial clan members. If someone could truly unite them, it would indeed be a force to be reckoned with! After all, they were the imperial family, and while one or two were insignificant, a large number of them could cause serious trouble.
"Let's go!" Although he didn't know who was behind all this, Zhang Bangchang smelled a conspiracy.
---
"Lord Long, you've made me search far and wide!" In Quanzhou city, led by the old servant of the Long residence, Han Mo finally met Long Haoting, dressed in simple cotton clothes, in a civilian house in the southern part of the city.
"Who are you?" Looking at the luxurious robes Han Mo wore, Long Haoting asked with some confusion.
"This is my lord. My lord is the newly appointed Commissioner for Coastal Control of Liangzhe and Fujian, and the Director of the Maritime Trade Bureau for the southeastern circuits!"
"Quanzhou Prefect Long Haoting pays his respects to Lord Han!" Upon hearing Jiang Yan's introduction, Long Haoting quickly cupped his fists and bowed to Han Mo.
"Lord Long, there's no need for such formality. This is not an official occasion, so you don't need to be so polite!" Just his dusty, simple cotton clothes already gave Han Mo a good impression. After all, in this era, it was becoming increasingly rare to find officials willing to humble themselves and work diligently.
"Please excuse my appearance, my lord. I truly did not know you would be coming today, nor that you would find me here. Please have a seat!" As Long Haoting spoke, he quickly used his sleeve to wipe a wooden stool beside him.
"Lord Long, why are you here? What are you doing?" Looking at the cotton laid out in the sun, Han Mo asked Long Haoting curiously.
"To answer my lord, I enjoy pondering things when I have free time. This is cotton brought from overseas. I've heard that it can be woven into cloth similar to linen, and this type of cloth is incredibly expensive at the moment. I've been thinking, if this could take root and flourish in our Great Song, wouldn't it provide another means of livelihood for the poor populace? However, my own abilities are dull, and after pondering for over a year, I still haven't figured out much..." Long Haoting said, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly.
However, his idea coincided perfectly with Han Mo's. If it weren't for the fact that this fellow seemed so simple and unlikely to be a transmigrator, Han Mo would have been very curious about how his mind worked.
"Does Lord Long mean you have already sent people to plant this?" To Long Haoting's surprise, Han Mo not only showed no mockery but asked instead.
"I have only asked people to plant some on my official fields. As it's the initial stage of cultivation, we're still not quite adept. Out of ten mu, less than five mu have succeeded, yielding less than five hundred jin of cotton in total..."
"Lord Long, if I were to say I possess the technology to turn this cotton into cotton cloth, would you be willing to take the lead in promoting the cultivation of this crop?" After some deliberation, Han Mo suddenly spoke.