Chapter 759

Hwang Byung-ahn, the son of Hwang Ja-man, the Left State Councilor of Ryukyo City, was a well-known fop in Ryukyo City.

Like the Great Yu Empire, the fops living in Ryukyo City usually had a fondness for gambling. Hwang Byung-ahn was a master gambler in Ryukyo City, a prime minister among cricket fighting enthusiasts.

Two days ago, a merchant from Haigucheng spoke of many new and curious gambling games in Haigucheng. He was like a bear smelling honey, his heart itching with unbearable desire to try them.

Although he didn’t know much about Haigucheng, Hwang Byung-ahn understood a few things. Now that Goryeo and the Great Yu Empire had signed a treaty, and the two countries were officially at truce, he wasn’t afraid to gamble in Haigucheng.

After all, many Goryeo merchants had traveled to Haigucheng during this period and returned safely.

So this time, he simply changed into merchant attire and came to this gambling house to see for himself, and he specifically brought a lot of silver by carriage.

Upon arriving in Haigucheng, Hwang Byung-ahn had a meal at a restaurant. After eating and drinking his fill, he descended the stairs with his round belly. Surrounded by his guards, he turned a few corners and entered the gambling house in the center of Haigucheng.

“Esteemed guest, please come in! Please come in!” A waiter stood at the entrance of the large gambling house. Seeing Hwang Byung-ahn’s luxurious attire and accompanying guards, he thought this was a wealthy family and quickly greeted him.

Ever since this large gambling house began operating, its business had been booming day by day. Now, every merchant and traveler coming to Haigucheng knew that a novel Great Yu Empire gambling house had opened in Haigucheng. Whenever they earned some spare money, some merchants would come here to squander a bit.

Most importantly, the gambling methods used here were unprecedented, which quickly attracted those addicted to gambling, because it was not just about money; it also offered complete entertainment and relaxation.

Sticking his head inside, Hwang Byung-ahn saw it was packed with people. Shouts and cheers continuously emanated from within. Every table was completely surrounded.

Seeing Hwang Byung-ahn’s appearance, the waiter immediately understood. He said, “Esteemed guest, this must be your first time here, right? Then I’ll give you a suggestion: first watch a few rounds inside to learn, then place your bets, otherwise, it’s very easy to lose money.”

Hwang Byung-ahn was a very prideful person. In Ryukyo City, there was nothing he couldn’t play, but here, he was treated like a bumpkin. He said, “I… I’m just waiting for my servant to bring the money.”

The waiter used to be a servant in a gambling house in the Great Yu Empire; he had seen all kinds of people, and there were many prideful ones.

Soon, the servant who had arranged the horses rushed over and found Hwang Byung-ahn waiting at the entrance of the large gambling house, handing him a bag of one hundred taels of broken silver.

Hwang Byung-ahn, feeling he had lost face, deliberately flaunted the silver in front of the waiter, then entered the large gambling house haughtily, leaving the waiter quite bewildered.

Striding grandly into the large gambling house, Hwang Byung-ahn’s arrival merely caused the gamblers surrounding the tables to glance back at him. Then he was completely ignored, unable to find any of the prestige he held in Ryukyo City.

Snorting, Hwang Byung-ahn decided not to bother with these merchants. Besides, this was Haigucheng, not Ryukyo City, and no one recognized him anyway.

After lingering in front of several gambling tables for a while, Hwang Byung-ahn was attracted by a game called Texas Hold’em poker. He stood fixedly by the table, staring intently at the dealer dealing cards, finding it fascinating. At this moment, he completely forgot he was a noble and mingled with these gamblers.

“This Texas Hold’em is essentially about whose hand is bigger. Everyone has to put in a small ante before the cards are dealt…”

A Great Yu Empire merchant was beside Hwang Byung-ahn. After the large gambling house opened, he came here almost every day to play a few rounds of Texas Hold’em.

He didn’t bet big. At his unluckiest, he lost a thousand taels of silver in a day, and when lucky, he could win a few hundred taels. He saw Hwang Byung-ahn standing beside him, continuously watching him deal and discard cards, so he began to explain in detail how to play Texas Hold’em.

In the past few days, more and more newcomers like Hwang Byung-ahn had arrived, and experienced players like him were happy to teach, as the more people came, the livelier it became.

Hwang Byung-ahn nodded repeatedly as he listened to the explanation. After basically understanding the gameplay of Texas Hold’em, he had his servants buy chips and began to try playing. But he was a novice after all and didn’t understand the essence of Texas Hold’em.

This game was about who was better at bluffing and who had higher psychological resilience. Hwang Byung-ahn, however, only bet according to the size of his cards: if he had good cards, he bet big; if small, he simply folded.

After a few rounds, the gamblers at this table understood his pattern: whenever he bet big, others wouldn’t bet, and in the end, he didn’t win any money; he actually lost his ante.

Seeing Hwang Byung-ahn becoming more and more engrossed in the game, the Great Yu Empire merchant beside him instigated, “To play this, you need to be bolder. You’re not going to be a sore loser, are you?”

Hwang Byung-ahn was accustomed to acting arrogant in Ryukyo City. Whatever he played, he played to the fullest. How could he tolerate such words? He angrily said, “My family’s silver is enough to buy half of Haigucheng.”

The Great Yu Empire merchant’s eyes lit up. He was actually a gambler and also an accomplice planted by Li Kaiyuan, specifically to make these Goryeo merchants and nobles lose more money.

He said, “I was truly impolite. Come, I’ll teach you how to play.”

Hwang Byung-ahn’s spirits became increasingly high, and he gradually became completely engrossed, unable to move until dusk, when the gambling house closed due to curfew. Only then did he reluctantly leave.

The next day, he hastily ate breakfast and rushed to the large gambling house to continue playing cards. This time, his carriage carried thousands of taels of silver; he was determined to gamble to his heart’s content.

However, the Great Yu Empire merchant saw that Hwang Byung-ahn had to retrieve silver from his carriage every time, which sparked an idea. So he said, “Young Master Hwang, it’s so troublesome to retrieve silver every time. Why not send your silver directly to the Qingzhou Bank in Haigucheng? That way, you can exchange your silver for banknotes; how convenient!”

Hwang Byung-ahn had good luck today, winning several hundred taels of silver. He thought about it carefully, and indeed, it was true. Every time he lost money, he always had to wait for his servants to fetch silver, which was very inconvenient.

Moreover, in the past two days of gambling, he had seen banknotes occasionally appear on the table, proving that these banknotes could be used in the casino. So he said, “Alright, I’ll send someone to exchange it now.”

While the Great Yu Empire merchant was coaxing Hwang Byung-ahn, Li Kaiyuan stood on the second floor, observing everything.

The gambling house was small, and the business was small, but controlling Goryeo’s finance was a major matter. The Great Yu Empire’s finance was hidden behind the gambling house and trade this time.

While establishing the gambling house, he also brought the Qingzhou Bank to Goryeo. In his and Xiao Ming’s plan, all of Goryeo’s silver would eventually flow through their bank.