The Empress's Gigolo

Chapter 608: The Value of the Martial Arts Center

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

It could even spur them on like how the Rearguard Commandery was motivated by using a system of acc.u.mulated points to exchange for rare manuals. They had to accomplish their missions in order to acc.u.mulate points. The rare manuals would act as bait suspended in front of everyone, and they would definitely want to get ahold of them by any means.

Once they got ahold of power, they would surely want to seek progression and obtain even more strength.

Getting ahold of such power would enable them to possess substantial strength in one leap. Even though they wouldn’t be experts of weapons, these highly-skilled martial artists were already weapons themselves. Such power would be sufficient to raise anyone’s eyebrows.

As for the amount of time to get there, Ren Baqian believed that it wouldn’t take long.

After all, paper couldn’t contain fire; this would be discovered by others sooner or later. On one hand, the nation would allow more people to train sooner or later. This was something that was impossible to hide forever because that would defeat its purpose of existence. It would most likely begin with a small group of troops, extending to training of the special forces for instance. Once the number of people grew larger, news would very easily leak out.

( B oxnovel.c om ) On the other hand, it was impossible for the experts nurtured by the nation to stay in the military bases and live incognito forever. After obtaining strength, people would be unwilling to be indifferent. Think about it—would you be willing to conceal your ident.i.ty after attaining strength that surpa.s.sed ordinary people? What if your family ran into problems? What if your family was humiliated? Once these experts did something, they would very easily be detected.

Most importantly, after the martial arts center was set up and when experts nurtured in the center became stronger, it would force the nation to reveal this matter even earlier.

Therefore, regardless of what the trigger was, this matter wouldn’t stay a secret for too long. Ren Baqian originally guessed that it would last ten to 15 years at most. However, with the addition of his own martial arts center, the timeline would be accelerated, and the reveal could happen in just seven to ten years.

Plus, what could he gain from the pharmaceutical factory in 15 years? Even if he could earn up to several billion or even ten billion in profits per year, he would only gain over 100 billion yuan in 15 years. Even though this might seem like a large sum, 100 billion yuan in 15 years’ time would probably be equivalent to just ten billion yuan at present.

Even though he would still be a very wealthy person, it was definitely incomparable to the things that setting up a martial arts center could bring him.

The martial arts center wouldn’t only bring him money, but also power as well as a large network that would extend over the entire world.

As such, Ren Baqian had a lot of expectations for this plan of setting up a martial arts center. He already foresaw that changes would occur in the future, which was why he had to obtain as much strength as he possibly could before that happened. This way, he could then leap to the pinnacle of this world before the changes began and watch as things happened.

His time on Earth was limited to only ten days per month, leaving him with no time and energy to get involved in technology or other businesses. Besides, even if he wanted to do such things, he didn’t have the knowledge for it. After getting slightly more than a billion yuan in bonus from the pharmaceutical factory and adding the tens of millions that he originally had, he would only have a little more than two billion yuan in total. This might be an astronomical sum to ordinary people, but this amount wouldn’t be enough to bring about any major changes to this world.

However, on the contrary, he had the expertise regarding everything the martial arts center needed. The number of experts and rare manuals that he possessed were his greatest resources. Also, he would be able to ride on the wave of the major changes that were about to happen. Only a fool would fail to take full advantage of these factors.

…

Ren Baqian looked through everything that Shen Feng had prepared for him before making some arrangements and allowing her to take her leave.

Ren Baqian then gave Ren Wannian a call. ( B oxnovel.c om )

“Hey brother, it’s already been a few years, and you’ve finally remembered that you have a younger brother!” Ren Wannian sounded very surprised when he answered the call. He had been attending university for a couple of years, and this was the first time that he had received a call from his elder brother, who had been appearing and disappearing unpredictably over the last few years.

Not to mention himself, even Papa and Mama Ren had constantly been grumbling about how their chick had grown up. Back when Ren Baqian graduated from university and first started working, they would usually receive a call from him every two to three days. Unknowingly, this now extended to ten days or even two weeks before they would receive a call from him.

The brothers chatted a little about their family matters before Ren Baqian asked, “You have to find a place to do an interns.h.i.+p at the end of the year right? Do you have any plans yet?”

“It’s rare for elder brother to be thinking about me—could it be that you have a good recommendation that you have arranged for me?” Ren Wannian laughed.

“Indeed, there are some matters that I won’t feel a.s.sured about unless they are handled by my own family,” Ren Baqian answered.

Besides, he was rarely on Earth, so he still needed someone to be in charge of the general situation. Even though Shen Feng did things very properly, she had recently been less capable than desired. After all, the things on her plate had been increasing and many issues had started to exceed her capabilities. Her background was another huge problem as well.

As for Ding Jie, even though that kid was hard-working enough and was willing to use his brain, he was a little timid due to his background. He had improved slightly after learning martial arts, yet it was still too early for him to take up such responsibilities.

Since Ren Baqian would require more manpower in the future, it would be better to rope Ren Wannian in as early as possible.

“Brother, that notion of yours is already outdated. I’m already a professional manager now. Even though owners can rest a.s.sured regarding their family businesses, there are many troublesome things that need to be handled given the growing pains that come with expansion. I’m already wanted!” Ren Wannian burst out laughing.

“Oh? What are you doing that can be better than the opportunity I have for you?” Ren Baqian laughed. He couldn’t help but lament to himself—even though it didn’t feel like a long time had pa.s.sed, his younger brother had already grown up.

“The same position as you!” Ren Wannian replied softly and secretively. Even though there were people who wanted him to keep it confidential, as a student who hadn’t gone through professional training, he didn’t have a strong concept of confidentiality. He had a hard time keeping it from his cla.s.smates, friends, and even his parents. Finally, he couldn’t help but let the cat out of the bag when Ren Baqian asked about it now.

Despite the fact that Ren Baqian had very rarely returned or called home over the last few years, they had been together since they were young, so Ren Wannian still maintained a very close relations.h.i.+p with this elder brother of his.

Besides, Ren Wannian always felt that he wasn’t on the same level as his brother. He shared this secret with his elder brother because Ren Baqian knew more things and more people than he did and could probably give him some ideas.

“My position?” Ren Baqian asked as he very quickly thought of a possibility. “A government organization?”

Even though he very rarely a.s.sumed this ident.i.ty, his family only came to know that he held this position because he made it up back when they went to Lu Province to help Ren Wannian settle his problems.

“Correct!” Ren Wannian said.

Ren Baqian knitted his eyebrows. As an ordinary third year university student, how did Ren Wannian get into a government organization? This was entering a government organization, not just any ordinary office job. Even if it was just an office job, he hadn’t even taken his examinations.

The only remaining possibility was through Ren Baqian himself.

The nation definitely wouldn’t allow Ren Baqian to fly on his own so easily and would surely try any means possible to tie him down to the nation.

Ren Wannian was one of their means.

“Was it the research inst.i.tute or the special affairs agency? Or was it the operations base?” Ren Baqian asked in a deep voice.

“Brother, you know about it?” Ren Wannian was a little surprised. There were many government organizations and many remote departments that people had never heard of. On the contrary, Ren Baqian guessed it, and this made Ren Wannian feel very surprised.

“Forget it! Don’t go—they are using you as leverage!” Ren Baqian said.

“What do you mean? Brother, what do you know about this?” Ren Wannian raised his voice and asked.

“If you join me, you will know in the future. I will pay them a visit, and they won’t look for you ever again,” Ren Baqian answered faintly.

“Brother, you have that big of an influence?” Ren Wannian was stunned.

“A little greater than you imagined. You will know when you come and work with me in the future. You have to be extremely deferential to your bosses when you join certain departments, but if you join me, you can do as you wish and won’t have to bother with things that you don’t wish to.”

Ren Baqian’s words were very ordinary, but somehow, Ren Wannian felt that his elder brother really acted a bit differently.

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Chapter 609: Blueprint

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The next day, a pair of brothers in their forties arrived at the villa. They looked almost identical. They both wore a Tang suit, were very skinny, had a small beard, and had really thick fingers.

They were both people from the world of martial arts that Ren Baqian had hired to provide training for the winged cavalry.

This training wasn’t in the department of skills, but to teach some of the etiquette and ways of traditional martial arts.

After all, the winged cavalry were too crude and barbaric.

Modern society was a civilized one. Regardless of the occasion, people had to put on civilized clothing to be more readily accepted by others and also to look cla.s.sier.

Their company name, The Martial Arts Culture Company, was written on their business permit as well and included the word “culture” in it.

After opening the martial arts center, there might be people who would come to challenge them and force them to close down. Ren Baqian was afraid that the winged cavalry would heavily injure or even kill such challengers. This was another reason why he wanted to engage someone to educate them. Eventually, through the recommendation of someone, he hired these two from the martial arts world.

They weren’t exactly highly skilled, but it would be useless even if they were because they could never attain the Man Wheel level. At present, all Man Wheel experts were deployed at various military bases all over the country.

Even if they were to attain the Man Wheel level, compared to the winged cavalry, they would only be at the level of getting swatted into a wall after one slap.

As such, Ren Baqian managed to find these two to provide training for the winged cavalry. However, the pair were flabbergasted the moment they arrived outside the villa.

They saw around eight burly men in the courtyard who were using huge barbells as dumbbells.

These barbells weighed at least 100 kilograms and had thick weighted plates on the ends. Furthermore, the burly men held one in each hand and lifted them one after another.

The duo almost thought that these weights were made of wood. However, when someone threw a set barbells aside, it immediately created a deep hole in the ground.

At the sight of this, they both were bewildered. The winged cavalry were already at such a level, so why were they still required here?

Were those people in the courtyard actually monsters?

The two of them even felt like returning home at that moment.

However, after some thought, they decided to give Ren Baqian a call.

After all, it wasn’t easy to earn money in the traditional martial arts industry, especially when they had no sect backing them and neither of them had much of a reputation. They didn’t possess the brains for making money either.

Ren Baqian was willing to pay them quite a hefty sum of money as well. With this money, they wouldn’t have to worry for a few years.

Ren Baqian greeted them from the window after receiving the call. After that, one of the winged cavalry warriors walked toward the main door.

The two men suddenly felt a great deal of psychological pressure when they saw him approaching.

When enemies met face to face, the bigger one would win. This was rather practical in the world of martial arts. All martial arts compet.i.tions had different weight cla.s.ses. Regardless of whether it was strength or the toughness, the heavyweight cla.s.s would definitely have a strong advantage.

The person in front of them clearly belonged to the heavyweight cla.s.s.

The aura of the winged cavalry warrior also made the two of them feel extremely uneasy.

It was as if they were facing a fierce tiger that was about to devour them.

The two of them had still felt pretty confident before they arrived. After seeing these people, however, they immediately lost all confidence.

There were many times when one could feel the disparity even without the need for compet.i.tion. This was especially the case for people like them who were well-travelled; they were very skilled at judging people and sensing danger.

That winged cavalry warrior stepped forward, sized them up, and said, “Follow me. Lady boss is expecting you.”

The two men gave their thanks after hearing this and followed him across the courtyard. When they walked past the other winged cavalry, they felt gooseb.u.mps on their skin like they had just walked past a group of tigers.

Before they entered the house, they still thought that they would be meeting someone young and beautiful. However, all they saw when they entered the house was a young man watching the news while sitting on the sofa. He nodded in greeting after seeing the two of them.

While they were still wondering who this person was, they heard the burly man who brought them in say, “Lady boss, they are here.”

“Scram!” Ren Baqian immediately raised his eyebrows, grabbed a fruit knife, and threw it over.

The lady boss… was actually a man… The thoughts of the two brothers immediately went askew… After taking into account those burly men outside who had oppressive auras, they immediately thought of Dongfang Bubai[1.Dongfang Bubai: literally “Invincible East,” is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong] and Yang Lianting. In the blink of an eye, the villa turned into the society’s legendary Black Wood Cliff.

Ren Baqian actually didn’t sense their thoughts. After exchanging a few words, he called for the winged cavalry and declared, “These two men shall become your etiquette teachers in the future. The rules are the same: no beating, no scolding, no threatening, and no playing finger-guessing games while drinking with the teachers!”

When Ren Baqian started speaking, the duo started breaking into a sweat. When he was done talking, they were both drenched.

The winged cavalry then answered, “Understood, lady boss.”

Ren Baqian stared at them and narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t seem to get rid of this t.i.tle anymore. This bunch of idiots, they were getting naughtier!

Two days later, Ren Baqian brought an extremely large loudspeaker back to Dayao.

The next day, Ren Baqian appeared outside the palace early in the morning and waited together with everyone. He held a loudspeaker that was about half the size of a person in one hand and carried a box in the other. Once again, this attracted quite a bit of attention.

Seeing Ren Baqian’s appearance, s.h.i.+ Qing stepped forward and asked, “Sir Ren, you still haven’t given up yet?”

“There are some things that need to be said. The behavior from last time is already outdated.” Ren Baqian replied.

“I’m looking forward to Sir Ren’s ideas, but don’t be too eager and impatient.” s.h.i.+ Qing laughed.

Ren Baqian cupped his hands in grat.i.tude.

After a while, everyone entered the main hall. The empress glanced across everyone’s faces after she took her seat at the top and said, “File your reports!”

“Your Majesty, I have something to say.” Ren Baqian stepped forward before waiting for anyone else to speak. In fact, the others were also waiting for him to speak. Besides, looking at his att.i.tude, they knew that he was here to say something.

“Speak.”

“Dear Sirs, do you still remember our objective for declaring war on the Yun Nation this time around? We didn’t do it for leisure or to simply rob them and leave. We wanted to take possession of the entire Yun Nation and incorporate them into our empire.

Dayao even had to request for Her Majesty to utilize the imperial treasury in order to restock on weapons. What was this for? It was because even though Dayao’s lands are vast, we don’t have an abundance of natural resources. As such, we need to incorporate the Yun Nation into our territory to make use of their mineral reserves and skilled workers so that we can develop Dayao. Their resources will be used to supplement us.”

Everyone understood Ren Baqian’s speech and had no objection.

“However, governing an area isn’t as simple as drawing a circle around it on a map. Like what happened to Tianjing Basin previously, would there be a difference even if we didn’t conquer them? The Yun Nation is of higher importance than Tianjing Basin and steadier governing will be required. Only then will we be able to make use of their skills and resources to develop Dayao. Therefore, we can’t act like we did previously and treat their civilians as slaves. Tyranny may work temporarily, but not forever. Do you still remember how the Hao Nation perished back then?”

“Sir Ren, how can we compare the Hao Nation to our dynasty?! Let alone the Yun Nation? Hmph, hmph!” Qin Chuan responded with a look of disdain when he mentioned the Yun Nation.

“The Hao Nation naturally can’t be compared to our dynasty, and the Jing Tribe can’t be compared to the aboriginals either. However, if we rule the people through tyranny, then the way they view Her Majesty will be similar to how our late emperor saw the Hao Nation’s emperor. Water can float a boat and also capsize it. The rise and fall of every generation of the previous dynasties has proven this point,” Ren Baqian replied with power and resonance.

“So what if they are unsettled? We have thousands of aboriginal youths!” Qin Chuan still reb.u.t.ted even though he understood Ren Baqian’s words.

You hater! These words suddenly sprouted in Ren Baqian’s mind.

“Military force can’t represent everything. Development is still the key task of the future. Future developments will greatly surpa.s.s your imagination. Everything in the future will be completely different from the past! In order to build the blueprint that Her Majesty has in mind, everything has to evolve and pave the road to peace!” Ren Baqian cupped his hands at the empress who sat above them.

“Isn’t the world simply like this? What are these changes that will surpa.s.s imagination?” Qin Chuan sneered.

“The blueprint that Her Majesty has in mind is to let everyone lead a liberal life free from the upheaval of injuries, illnesses, and the lack of food and clothing. She wants every child to go to school and learn knowledge that they are interested in. She wants everyone to have food to eat and books to read. She wants everyone to be able to reflect upon themselves. She wants everyone to have a goal to strive for. She wants everyone to live, not just for the sake of living, but for their own self-regard! The blueprint that Her Majesty has in mind is to let everyone in this world progress and prosper!” Ren Baqian explained as he began to paint the big picture. This was what the empress envied about Earth when she first went there. This was also what she had never been able to forget.

Of course, to the present Dayao, this would be like achieving communism.

However, there wouldn’t be any problems with this if that was the blueprint in the empress’s mind.

After hearing Ren Baqian’s words and recalling what she had seen, heard, and felt when she first went to Earth, the empress remembered the envy that she had felt at that time.

Even though she was straight-faced, she was actually overwhelmed with emotions!

Indeed, Ren Baqian knew her thoughts the best.

As for the rest, they simply looked at Ren Baqian like he was a fool, but they didn’t dare to direct that same look at the empress. How could what he said be possible?