In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

April 4th.

Today is the opening day of the Hanchao League.

The Jingzhou Olympic Sports Center was packed to capacity, with colorful flags waving everywhere. The flags from sixteen cities were being waved by flag bearers, creating a flurry of cheers as fans roared in support of their home teams.

"Jingzhou, Jingzhou, who can rival you? Jingzhou, Jingzhou, forever guarding the eastern frontier!"

"From Lüzhou rises, heroes flee; war rages; the Han dynasty defends the east; westward they take Jingzhou, eastward they cut through the passes; above, they pluck the forests of Lincheng; below, they trample the weeds; alone, I, Lüzhou, reign supreme for eternity!"

"With sword drawn and horse in hand, I laugh to the heavens; in the pursuit of beauty in eastern Hebei, Tongzhou is the place to be!"

The slogans were all incredibly arrogant, and the attitudes were all incredibly overbearing, creating a tense atmosphere throughout the venue.

That's just how the fans are.

There's not a shred of brotherhood or respect here. The so-called "friendship first, competition second" is utter nonsense. Fans come here with only one purpose: to vent their anger on the opposing team after they lose.

Sixteen teams of players took to the field together, standing in the center of the green field awaiting inspection from the organizers and spectators.

The players were clearly affected by the fans' emotions, their eyes red as they glanced at their competitors, as if they weren't playing football, and the laughter and joking they had shared during training camp a while back were nowhere to be seen.

Off the field, you can be best buddies with your arms around each other, but on the field, sorry bro, you and the ball have to score at least one goal.

The three young players from Wuhu, Ma'anshan, and Chuzhou stood trembling beside them, like little white rabbits who had accidentally wandered into a high-class arena. Their demeanor was completely different from that of the people around them.

"Comrade Yangshan, you may come up on stage."

All the Standing Committee members who could attend were present in the guest seats inside the dais.

Lin Zhiyuan and Pan Lin were in charge of controlling the overall direction, while Li Dakang and Yang Wanli, as municipal party secretaries, were directly involved. Naturally, other provincial government factions would also come to support them.

Tian Guofu came to investigate potential economic problems, while Sha Ruijin's motives were more complex:

He initially didn't take the so-called Hanchao League seriously at all; it was just an informal, grassroots competition that many provincial and ministerial-level officials who liked sports had tried, but none of them had really taken off.

Remembering this, I casually flipped through a summary of the situation before the opening of the Hanchao League. I was shocked to find that the ticket price was not high, only ten yuan, but all the tickets from the opening in April to the beginning of May were sold out.

Why only until early May? Because you can only book tickets for a maximum of one month.

Taking the Jingzhou Olympic Sports Center as an example, the ticket revenue of 600,000 seats and 600,000 yuan may not seem like much, but the real money is not in this.

A new food street has been opened outside the Olympic Sports Center. The 100 stalls were auctioned off for an average price of 10 yuan each. This is not much, but it is expected to generate 2-3 million yuan in revenue annually.

The entire province's thirteen cities account for 20 billion!

What surprised Sha Ruijin the most was the variety of sponsors and internet companies. They ranged from top technology and internet companies in the province to restaurants, nail salons, and internet cafes that he wouldn't even glance at on the street.

This bizarre composition immediately piqued the curiosity of the gerbil agent, and he felt he had to join in the fun.

Let's see how much of a stir Lin Zhiyuan can make with an ordinary, informal football league, or how much sports, tourism, and economic benefits he can generate.

If it succeeds, it will become a case study for him to learn from and a tool for sharing credit, since he made an appearance at the opening ceremony; but if it fails, well, he'll have to make Lin Zhiyuan taste the bitterness of failure.

Today is another day where we won't lose.

wonderful!

As for the tall plants, it was simply because everyone was here, and I couldn't stay alone at the provincial party committee, so I decided to come along.

"Executive Director Lin doesn't need me today. Comrade Shen Jie from the Sports Bureau, along with the heads of the sports bureaus of the sixteen cities, will preside over the opening ceremony."

Lu Yangshan's eyes darted around, seemingly plotting something, but he said, "The Hanchao League has just started. Although the feedback is good and the players are in high spirits, it's uncertain whether it can retain viewers. Lowering the standards appropriately will allow us to handle things better later."

The Standing Committee members nodded in agreement.

Their collective arrival on the podium already signaled to the outside world the importance that the Handong team placed on the league; adding more chips would be going too far.

"Secretary Sha, Governor Liu, and other members of the Standing Committee, are you interested in football?"

Lu Yangshan chuckled cheekily, "We have thirteen teams in Handong, which is exactly the same number of standing committee members. How about each person supports one team and bets on the final winner to liven up the audience's excitement?"

"Oh?"

Li Dakang and Yang Wanli were the first to react. Naturally, they wanted to support their own team and were full of confidence in it. They weren't afraid of this.

"Since it's a guessing game, how about we offer some...rewards?"

Yang Wanli almost blurted out, "Of course it's definitely for entertainment purposes. For example, in future work, those who guess wrong will give some help to those who guess right."

"Pair the last pair with the first pair, the second to last pair with the second pair, and so on. The middle pair is more about participation."

"We will provide the reward, but it must be used in the city of the winning team so that the normal development of the losing city will not be affected."

hiss!

Sha Ruijin was tempted.

He can't outmaneuver Lin Zhiyuan in normal urban planning and development, but football is a game full of unpredictable changes.

While strength is the foundation for victory, player form, tactical arrangements, home and away games, and even luck are all decisive factors. Upsets are not uncommon on the field.

Sha Ruijin and Tong Li exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded decisively. There were only two of them, but a whole bunch of people from the provincial government. Their chances of successfully stealing the chicken were extremely high.

As long as you get into the top six, you won't lose out.

As for losing…

This makes it sound like those people from the provincial government system don't usually take advantage of them.

"Um!"

Sha Ruijin quickly spoke up, "I think Secretary Wan Li and Governor Yang Shan's proposal is excellent, I agree!"

Tong Li followed closely behind.

idiot!

Lin Zhiyuan quietly stepped back and kicked Yang Wanli in the buttocks. "You can't even do arithmetic, what use are you?"

Yang Wanli patted his behind nonchalantly, not caring at all. What he ate was his own, while his Luzhou team was invincible. Not to mention winning the championship, they could easily make it into the top six with their eyes closed.

hum!

Lin, you better remember this: you may be the boss today, but you can't be the boss forever. Once I, Yang, achieve a breakthrough, I might just lead this huge provincial government system and Handong.

"I agree!"

The next second, Li Dakang raised his hand high.

I'm sorry, Executive Director Lin, I've betrayed you again. But you really can't blame me; the resources you all have are just too tempting.

I couldn't resist!

He felt he would be betraying the 6.8 million people of Jingzhou if he didn't participate in such a good mining opportunity.

How can this be allowed!

He was a great squad leader in Jingzhou.