Qing Yao

Chapter 478 A Complete Slaughter!

Yongxi Ken's participation in the betting was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the result of careful consideration.

His ancestor, Hauge, was the eldest son of Emperor Taizong, but he missed the throne. Although he was entitled to a hereditary title, he had honor but no real power. During the Qianlong era, he was even stripped of his right to participate in government affairs and became a true idle prince.

The immense psychological gap and political setbacks led successive Prince Su to shift their focus from the court to desperately amassing wealth. This was partly to maintain the enormous expenses and prestige of the Prince's residence, and partly as a form of catharsis.

Xinshengbaoju, the number one gambling den in Beijing, is a product of this mentality.

Despite being the de facto number one gambling king of the Qing Dynasty, Yongxi himself never gambled. He preferred to stand in the dark pavilion on the second floor and look down at the bustling casino below through the carved window lattice.

Watching the gamblers' expressions shift from ecstasy to despair, seeing the gamblers, blinded by losses, betting their last fortune on a single game...
And he, though he doesn't gamble, is always the biggest winner!

The thrill of being in control of the whole situation, and even having one's own destiny in one's hands, was what Prince Su reveled in most.

Yongxi could easily guess the immense profits that Zhao An had made through the "national foundation gambling game" proposed by Prince Yi, Yongxuan. He was certain that once the game was launched, it would be a lever that could turn mountains of gold and seas of silver into gold.

Let alone a million taels, even ten million taels can be rolled around!

This is not a gamble with a winner and loser, but an unprecedented gamble that will last for three years. As time goes on, the participants will no longer be princes, ministers, high-ranking officials, or wealthy merchants, but may evolve into a "national carnival".

The Emperor is so senile, what good would it do if he heard rumors?

Everyone gambled, which meant no one gambled.

Yongxi has plenty of ways to extricate himself unscathed.

Scapegoats are something that has never been lacking in any dynasty.

Every year, people are bought to die in place of others in the Ministry of Justice prison.

Therefore, Yong-seok was not worried about the matter being leaked at all.

But this was only one of the reasons why Yong-seok decided to participate in the earth-shattering bet. Another reason was that Yong-seok's previous statement deeply touched him: "By betting, one can understand people's hearts and discern the winds of change."

Among the court officials, who didn't harbor some speculation about the succession? Who didn't want to choose sides before the new dynasty arrived?
If an official is willing to place a bet on someone they favor, it means that the official in question must be loyal to that person, and may have already secretly expressed their loyalty.

So this gamble, on the surface, is about money, but in reality, it's about the future, and even the lives, of many officials!

Every gambler's choice is seen by the house.

Gamblers place bets using anonymous vouchers modeled after salt and tea vouchers. These vouchers are difficult for outsiders to trace, and it is impossible to know who placed the bet. This allows gamblers to place bets with peace of mind and without any worries.

But if something is made by humans, how can its origin be truly untraceable!
The secret marks are so subtle that even if someone who doesn't know anything about them looks at them for a long time, they still won't be able to spot the trick.

Therefore, for Yong-seok, who has always been excluded from the core of power, this earth-shattering gamble may be an excellent opportunity to change the status quo.

The risks are enormous, but the potential returns far exceed those of gold and silver.

Congratulations if you bet correctly, but if you bet wrong, it will become a weakness.

The higher one's position, the more significant this leverage becomes.

Now that Prince Su, the first gambling king of the Qing Dynasty, has clearly stated his willingness to act as the bookmaker, the next step is simple: to directly begin the actual planning of how the gambling game will operate.

Yongxuan first raised a question: who can be the targets of betting?

Soon, the three reached an agreement: Prince Cheng, Yongxing; Prince Jia, Yongyan; and Prince Ding, Mian'en.

The crown prince can only be one of these three; there is no other possibility.

This is something that even the most humble street vendors and laborers know.

However, Zhao An thought for a moment and made a suggestion. He said to Yongxuan, "Why don't we add Your Highness and the Seventeenth Prince as well?"

The Seventeenth Prince refers to Yonglin, who was only granted the title of Beile by the old master.

The old master disliked his youngest son very much, not only giving him the title of Beile, but also giving him a pawnshop worth only tens of thousands of taels of silver when dividing the family property.

Therefore, like the myna bird, he was directly excluded from the list of candidates for crown prince.

However, in Zhao An's previous life, this seventeenth prince gained an enormous advantage because his fifteenth brother, Emperor Jiaqing, gave him Heshen's property and also gave him half of Heshen's family fortune, making this Prince Qing the richest man in the Qing Dynasty.

The last Prince Qing was even more remarkable; he was willing to sell the Qing Dynasty itself, and his mansion was known as "Qingji Company".

"Why include me and my seventeenth brother?"
Yongxuan frowned slightly, feeling that Zhao An's actions were somewhat "mocking" him and his seventeenth brother.

Zhao An was about to explain when Prince Su, Yongxi, smiled and said to Yongxuan, "We should add you and the seventeenth brother. Firstly, it will give gamblers more choices, and secondly, it will muddy the waters. There are always people in the world who want to bet on shady things in hopes of getting rich overnight. Let's give these people a few more shady options, and that way we can make more money."

Ah, this is what professionalism is all about.

Zhao An couldn't help but look at Yongxi with new respect. As expected of the number one gambling king in the Qing Dynasty, his insight and knowledge in gambling were on par with Zhao An's.

Upon hearing this, Yongxuan gave a self-deprecating laugh: "I doubt many people would be foolish enough to bet on a crippled prince like me. I bet more people would bet on the seventeenth prince than on me."

How were Zhao An and Yongxi supposed to respond to that?
To break the awkwardness and ensure the safety of the betting, Zhao An suggested giving each of the five candidates a code name, rather than openly using the names of princes and grandsons for gamblers to place bets. As the saying goes, arrogance brings trouble, and so does the heavens.

The suggestion was unanimously agreed upon by the two princes, who then asked Zhao An to think about how to choose code names for the five people.

After a moment's thought, Zhao An, considering the characteristics of the candidates, said, "I have heard that Prince Cheng's calligraphy is unparalleled in the world, so why not call him 'Old Man of Ink'? Prince Jia is calm and composed, so he can be called 'Stone Elder'. As for Prince Ding, he is the eldest grandson of the emperor and has a special status, so why not call him 'Green Pine'?"

Yongxuan and Yongxi exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

"The Seventeenth Prince can be called an 'innocent child,' as for you, Your Highness,"

Zhao An looked at Yongxuan and smiled slightly, "How about calling it a dark horse?"

"A dark horse?"

Yongxuan and Yongxi were both stunned. What did that mean?
Zhao An could only be amused by Yongxuan, but he had to explain seriously: "The term 'dark horse' means to rise unexpectedly. This bet is all about uncertainty. Princes Cheng, Jia, and Ding are the open players, while Your Highness and the Seventeenth Prince are the hidden players. As the saying goes, fate is unpredictable. Before the outcome is decided, who knows who will win the grand prize? Your Highness might just rise unexpectedly and become the biggest dark horse in this bet. The meaning of 'dark horse' is that this servant hopes Your Highness will have a good start."

"You, Zhao Youlu, so you've been making fun of me all this time? You're asking for a beating, aren't you?"

Yongxuan made a gesture as if to hit him, but a smile remained on her face.

Zhao An's words were partly a joke, but also partly a compliment. Before the outcome is decided, it's truly impossible to know the will of Heaven.

Yongxuan was self-aware enough to laugh it off and let Prince Su, Yongxi, see how the odds were determined.

Yongxi is an expert in this field.

Yongxi simply gave the odds of 1 to 2 for all three candidates, meaning that if you bet 1,000 taels and win, the bookmaker will pay you 2,000 taels.

The odds for Yongxuan and Yonglin, who were not even in the running, were set at 1 to 5.

A deposit of one thousand taels will result in a payout of five thousand taels.

The reason is self-evident; it simply attracted two simple-minded, reckless individuals to place bets.

Zhao An had no objections; after all, these two were just there to make up the numbers.

"For now, we'll proceed with the odds as Prince Su suggested, but they can't remain unchanged. I propose adjusting the odds every six months. During these six months, we need to observe the political climate at court, noting which prince wins and which performs a brilliant task. We also need to release some information at appropriate times, mixing true and false news, so that gamblers think they've figured out the trick."

Before Zhao An could finish speaking, "Gambling King" Yongxi chimed in, "When the year after next, which is the sixtieth year of Qianlong's reign, we raise the odds to an astonishing level. Are we still afraid of not being able to lure in that last wave of crazy gamblers?"

Zhao An couldn't help but glance at Yongxi again; it was truly a case of heroes appreciating heroes.

Not to mention the crazy surge in the market before the finals, the market still fluctuated even after the first half.

It's all money.

Yongxuan listened with some concern and said, "The odds are set too high. What if... I mean, what if a lot of people actually bet on the winning number? Wouldn't we lose everything?"

Yongxi and Zhao An exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with knowing smiles.

"Your Majesty,"

Zhao An bowed slightly and smiled at Yongxuan, saying, "I understand Your Highness's concerns, but please rest assured, Your Highness, the odds are entirely in our hands. Before everything is settled, we will have to use all sorts of means to stir things up."

As he spoke, he took a half step forward, patiently explaining like a master instructing a disciple, "For example, if we see that a certain gentleman's bets are too concentrated, we can release some rumors that this gentleman has committed some offense, or exaggerate that another gentleman has recently gained the emperor's favor, or embellish how well he handled a certain task and how much the emperor praised him..."

The truth and the falsehood are mixed together; we can even spend a fortune to get someone in the palace, or even a high-ranking official, to say a few words. In this way, gamblers who can't distinguish between truth and falsehood will naturally follow our lead.

"In the final analysis,"

Yongxi was full of confidence: "No matter how the betting odds turn or where they turn, it is ultimately up to us, the bookmakers, to steer the course. In the end, there is absolutely no reason for the bookmakers to lose money."

The gambling king of the Qing Dynasty had the confidence to say this.

"understood."

Yongxuan suddenly realized that the brilliance of this betting game lay not in whether you guessed correctly or not, but in the fact that the house always held the power to change the rules.

It's also a simple math game.

Once the accountants start moving the abacus beads and get everyone moving around, amidst all the smoke and mirrors, how could any gambler possibly bankrupt the house?

However, the two were unaware that their partner, Zhao Youlu, had also implicated them.

With a smile on his face, Zhao An now looked like the best partner for the Qing Dynasty.

After Yongxuan had completely figured out the mystery, an absurd thought popped into her mind, and she muttered to herself, "What if... in the end, no one wins at all?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Su Yongxi picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, chuckled softly, and uttered a few words: "Then let's take them all."

(End of this chapter)