Chapter 1156: A Grand Spectacle and the Many Faces of Warriors

After looking it over carefully inside and out, you would realize that the tournament arena is actually enclosed by a ring of two-story brick and stone buildings. From the outside, you can only see the outer walls of these buildings, while on the inside, their roofs form a slope. On that slope are seats and walkways, along with bamboo and wood-framed cool sheds and heated sheds to shield against wind and snow. The ground encircled by these "buildings" is a level field surfaced with lime, earth, sand, and gravel — that is where the matches take place.

From the outside, the tournament arena looks like a circular compound; the interior is a cylinder. The arena is surrounded by the inward-facing walls of the "buildings," and the seats closest to the field sit about seven chi above the ground. If the outside resembles a wooden tub, the inside looks more like a cup or a goblet.

There are many kinds of seats, most of them just stone slabs. If you want to come and sit, the arena will provide bamboo or wooden seats, cotton cushions, and the like, which are placed at your spot — these are the most ordinary kind. There are also semi-enclosed box compartments. Truly wealthy families can even bring their household dependents and servants and stay inside such a box, which is not only separated from the surroundings but also fully equipped for serving and enjoying every comfort within.

The most conspicuous feature, however, is a stone platform on the northern seating section that juts forward into the field. The seats on this platform and its surroundings clearly differ in design from all the other seats in the arena. There is no mystery about it — one glance tells you these are the seats for honored guests and the host. Many people thought to themselves and murmured in private, though they dared not say it aloud: facing south with one's back to the north, in this region, only Zhao Jin was qualified to sit there.

Beneath the seating tiers are rows of small rooms, especially so on the second floor; the rooms on the first floor are relatively larger. The warriors competing in the tournament, and even the guests coming to watch, can rest, hold discussions, or even do whatever business they please in these rooms during their leisure time or before entering the arena. Quite a few Qingjiangpu merchants, after touring the place, had already keenly realized that using these rooms as wine shops, restaurants, teahouses, or even providing female entertainers and performers would all make for very good business.

There were also rumors that the arena had one or even two underground levels, but since outsiders were not permitted to tour them, it remained mere speculation. In fact, there were even more fanciful conjectures than this. Seeing such a circular structure and strolling through the many rooms large and small within, people were bound to let their imaginations run wild in all sorts of ways.

Although the Zhao Camp had already demonstrated its strength many times in Qingjiangpu, the construction of this tournament arena still astounded many. A project originally expected to take years, even a decade, was completed in just a few months — and what's more, it was such an outstanding and fully equipped structure. The arena itself already embodied the inconceivability of the Zhao Camp, shocking people with their power and wealth.

Those truly knowledgeable about civil engineering could discern a few things. For instance, the bricks and stones used in this arena — the most important stone material came from local Qingjiangpu stockpiles. Back when Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu were building river embankments and waterworks, they needed large quantities of granite ashlar and strip stone. At that time, tribute grain barges shipped goods from south to north; carrying southern goods northward was always profitable, but on the return journey all the way south from the capital, there were not so many goods worth transporting, and not every barge had the chance to carry private cargo or do business. Thus, shipping bamboo materials north and granite south became the fixed ballast cargo for the tribute barges.

The canal waterworks required annual repairs, so the demand for stone material was there every year. However, as time went on, the work grew more and more slack. In this ever-slowing process, strip stone and granite stockpiled more and more in Qingjiangpu. The locals could never use it all for building houses, and the material was so cheap it was simply tossed aside.

Yet the construction of the Zhao Camp's tournament arena turned this waste into treasure. Fu Chen put all of Qingjiangpu's stockpiled stone to use — for laying the foundation, building the outer walls, and even within the structure of the arena's stands and rooms. This was one convenience of using local materials; another convenience was the canal waterway itself.

Building this arena required a huge quantity of red and grey bricks, yet there was no suitable place to fire bricks anywhere near Qingjiangpu. This, too, was simple: brick kilns were set up directly in nearby prefectures and counties, and then the bricks were shipped over barge by barge via the tribute grain fleet. Without this waterway, relying solely on carts and horses, the expense would have been truly staggering and the efficiency abysmally low.

What the canal barges brought was not only red bricks but also great timbers that came by sea. These logs from Liaodong entered the canal near Clam Harbor and traveled upstream to the vicinity of the arena. Though going upstream was troublesome, it was still far more convenient than overland transport. There were even rumors that a great deal of wrought iron smelted at the Xuzhou Ironworks was used in the arena's construction. Although the price of wrought iron had been dropping slightly and imperceptibly over the past year, to use wrought iron as a building material — Xuzhou was truly extravagant.

Beyond the convenience in materials, the abundance of manpower shocked countless people even more. A project this large surely required tens of thousands of laborers. Qingjiangpu and its surroundings were all fairly prosperous areas; the common people each had their own livelihoods — where would so much labor come from? Yet when the arena's construction began, boatload after boatload of able-bodied young men and women arrived, living and working around the worksite. Boatload after boatload of grain and supplies were shipped in to sustain them. This was tantamount to building an entirely new town in the span of about a month. What this kind of mobilization and organization represented truly gave one pause. At the time, there were even rumors that Zhao Jin intended to build a new city next to Qingjiangpu, and that the tournament arena was merely a front.

With sufficient materials, sufficient manpower, and military discipline enforced so that no one dared slack off or shirk, the efficiency of construction was naturally extremely high. Once the foundation was laid and they began stacking bricks and stones, it could be said to change appearance by the day. During that period, crowds of idlers gathered around every day to watch — such a pace of construction was truly a rare sight.

Thousands upon tens of thousands were all hard at work, each team busy with different tasks, yet there was no chaos. Everywhere was orderly, and when combined, it produced the high efficiency of the arena's construction. This was also related to the existence of the Xuzhou Ironworks, Textile Mill, and Distillery. In those large workshops and manufactories, foremen and managers knew how to manage, how to coordinate and cooperate, how to organize. Although still relatively rudimentary, it was already remarkable progress. Many of these foremen and managers were transferred over to serve as overseers, greatly boosting efficiency.

After it was completed, even more people came to see it. Such a tournament arena was, in truth, a castle and a stronghold. Troops could be garrisoned inside, and it could withstand a siege. With it sitting at the edge of Qingjiangpu, Qingjiangpu would never dare show the slightest defiance toward Zhao Jin again. But few paid any mind to this speculation — the Third Brigade and the Qingjiangpu Patrol Corps were deterrent enough; there was no need to gild the lily.

Moreover, the Zhao Camp's handling of this arena did not seem intended for warfare. For example, after its completion, they opened it for people to tour while simultaneously building shop fronts for rent around the arena. They also held trade fairs for ironware and cotton cloth inside the arena. Guests from all quarters came in droves, and it was only then that everyone realized the Zhao Camp's intention: they likely meant to turn this place into a new Qingjiang Grand Market. This piqued everyone's interest.

Many of the laborers who had come earlier to build the arena stayed on to maintain it and to work in the shops and various businesses around it. Quite a few of them spoke with a Liao region accent. Everyone said that in this matter, Li Ziyou, the proprietor of the Chenbei Firm, had contributed a great deal of effort, taking care of his fellow countrymen.

Nowadays, when out-of-town merchants who have visited Qingjiangpu a few times come again, they occasionally hear the name "Treasure-Gathering Town" — this refers to the tournament arena and its surrounding area. Now, when the gentry and commoners of Qingjiangpu have guests from out of town, they always like to bring them over to the arena for a stroll. Seeing the guests marvel in admiration, they themselves feel a glow of pride, considering it a splendor of Qingjiangpu.

No one expected the Zhao Camp to maintain the tournament arena this way. When it was first built, people were already fully satisfied just to get close and look from outside; they never imagined it would be opened for everyone to tour. Everyone had originally assumed the arena would be strictly off-limits to outsiders, just like an official residence, a palace, or a military camp. The merchants of Qingjiangpu mulled over this arrangement and each gleaned some insight — how to make a fortune, how to create an environment for making a fortune, much could be read from the whole story of this arena.

Once the twelfth lunar month arrived, first, the weather turned cold and the people of Qingjiangpu were disinclined to go out; second, with the grand tournament imminent, the arena began to close. The area grew quiet and deserted. Each day, apart from the odd-job workers coming in to clean and the patrolmen making their rounds, the only people there were the warriors from all over who were participating in the grand tournament.

People study martial arts to win fame and seek wealth and rank, to support their families, and also to contend for supremacy. The various sorts invited to compete, the various fighters who had the confidence to join the tournament — all had come intending to win, and they wanted their victories to be known by as many people as possible. After seeing this arena, each of them grew even more enthusiastic. The reason was simple: competing here would allow more people to witness their heroic bearing and let their victories spread farther and wider.

With the arrival of the competing warriors and guests from all quarters, Qingjiangpu, which normally would have grown quiet once the New Year goods trade was over, continued to bustle and prosper. As many longtime local residents put it, "It's like celebrating the New Year a month early." Those wealthy idlers who came were naturally there to scatter silver. With last year's experience of hosting them, from the inns down to the teahouses, the local businessmen of Qingjiangpu all knew how to receive them now, sending out managers and clerks early to guide them everywhere, making things convenient for both sides.

But this bustle also had its consequences. Once there were many warriors outside the systems of the Zhao Camp and the authorities, the streets became less peaceful. Although when they lodged at inns, the innkeepers and clerks would kindly warn and remind them — telling them to register at the arena if they wanted to compete, and if they really had personal grudges or rivalries to settle, it was best to go at least five li outside the city walls of Qingjiangpu, and under no circumstances to brawl in the streets, because the patrolmen here were not to be trifled with.

Warriors with plenty of experience understood this reasoning. Fighting and killing over a momentary impulse of pride could very easily bring danger upon themselves.

Thanks to old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "User Cold Night" for the tips, and thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Friends on Chuangshi, the monthly tickets for Great Ming Warrior on Qidian are coming in so fiercely — let's push hard on our side too, alright!