Chapter 546 Sports
At this time, amidst the clamorous voices, Osborne saw a man standing up in the VIP seats.
"That's the mayor of Constantinople. In the absence of the emperor, he will host the event!" The person next to him said with awe and a little jealousy.
The other party waved his right hand downward.
The rapid and sharp trumpets sounded continuously, and the game began.
The establishment of sports events is a policy passed by the Senate. Arenas are built in various places to hold horse racing and car racing competitions, from local to national, and then the team that wins the Constantinople competition will receive a trophy and a bonus of 30,000 lei awarded by the emperor.
Whether it is for reputation or bonus, local areas have begun to train horse racing and formed their own teams. As for the maintenance of the stadium, it is composed of government funding and ticket revenue.
The arena has attracted small vendors to do business around, and those who watch the game need food and drink to watch the game. This not only increases income, but also promotes the game.
Osborne stared at the field intently. The game was indeed very exciting, beyond his imagination.
In Western Europe, there were only knight competitions, and they were games between nobles. There were no such competitions. They were all busy making money, so how could they have the leisure to compete?
At this time, the Donetsk and Moldova teams tied for first place. Osborne was sweating in his heart. The more this time, the more he wanted Donetsk to take the lead.
The two teams were getting closer and closer to the finish line. At this time, the yellow team directly surpassed the two teams and won the game.
"Ah, what a pity, I didn't expect Crimea to win." The person next to him said.
"Crimea?" Osborne looked at the winning team and muttered to himself.
After watching the game, it was natural to go for a walk in the city. Osborne went to the coffee shop he had always come to. This is a three-story building. The top floor is a place for dignitaries such as congressmen to enjoy. It is not only quiet here, but also has various flowers and plants to adjust the mood.
Constantinople consumes a lot of coffee and sugar every day. They found that coffee is not only a symbol of the upper class, but also has the effect of refreshing the mind. Therefore, many citizens and craftsmen will buy a cup of coffee to refresh themselves in their spare time.
"Isn't this Lord Osborne? Please come in. A seat has been prepared for you on the third floor."
Led by the waiter, Osborne went up to the third floor. There were already quite a few people here, most of whom he knew in parliament.
Osborne ordered a cup of coffee and a dessert, and sat next to other parliamentarians and ate. He also took the opportunity to listen to something.
"Your Majesty is coming back and has arrived at Mircea Castle now."
"Really? Your Majesty hasn't been back for more than a year, so will the triumphal ceremony be held as well?"
"That's for sure. This time, not only the land in the north was obtained. The Duke of Lithuania was also captured. This is the first time."
From the mouths of these parliamentarians, Osborne learned that this was the fourth triumphal ceremony held by Emperor Peter. With so many triumphal ceremonies, the emperor's achievements were greater than Charlemagne, not to mention that the Grand Duke of Lithuania was captured. At this time, he also understood how lucky Florence was to join Rome, although he felt sorry for those families.
"Speaking of which, the empire has expanded so much land this time, so it must be invested. Should we invest more?"
A Green MP asked his colleague that he had a lot of land in Luhansk, but according to imperial law, a family like his could own up to 6,000 acres of land. So in addition to land, local workshops have also become one of their investment projects.
"That's natural. Given the geographical location of Kiev and Mircea Fort, they will definitely be able to develop into huge cities. Hurry up and build houses and workshops in the local area, otherwise you will have to spend more money when the price goes up."
This is true. After the emperor left, several businessmen have begun to invest in and build workshops in Kiev and Mircea Fort. And this news has spread to all of Ruthenia along the tributaries of the Dnieper River. Local businessmen and workshop owners with assets have begun to lay out new industries. And they are more enthusiastic about investing in land than those manor owners.
Osborne listened to them and was ready to invest. It would be unreasonable not to invest in such a large piece of land.
In addition to the northern region, overseas colonies and the eastern Syrian region are also good investment options. The local agricultural and mineral resources, as well as the relatively relaxed policies, are also the destinations of many people. The people of the empire began to immigrate to another place according to their needs.
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This event is expected to bring 350,000 lei of income to Constantinople, and the mayor thinks that this growth is too fast.
The Colosseum can seat 50,000 people at a time, and the ticket revenue can reach more than 60,000 lei. And each vendor in the surrounding stalls also has to pay a certain rent. Adding up all the things, the daily income is also astronomical. After deducting the bonus and maintenance costs, it can still make a lot of money.
Regarding the holding of national horse racing competitions, the emperor said that the most influential sports event in the ancient Greek city-state was the Olympic Games held in the city-state of Elis in the Peloponnese. The oldest and most sacred, it is mainly dedicated to Zeus. The Temple of Zeus in Olympia is a holy place for the Greeks. Whenever a celebration was held in the local area, celebrities from all over Greece gathered there, and the eyes of all Greeks were focused there, winning great fame for the host city.
If a large-scale event could be held, it would not only boost the economy, but also win great prestige, just like the Knights' Conference in the West.
In the past, the Roman gladiator games were famous in the Mediterranean. They had several forms of fighting, one-on-one, ten-on-ten, and collective fights with wild beasts. They either survived or died in battle, or were released because of their outstanding performance. Their fate was very tragic.
In a sense, the existence of gladiators also led to the rapid demise of the ancient Roman Empire. The huge demand for gladiators was a considerable loss of manpower for a slave state like the Roman Empire. This became a huge burden in the late imperial period. In addition to coping with the rising military expenses, the imperial government had to maintain free athletic performances held by the state. Finally, the prosperity of the gladiator movement ended with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the Eastern Roman Empire was keen on horse racing and other sports.
The current empire does not need such bloody, cruel and barbaric projects, but can still entertain the public and inspire the martial spirit of citizens, and can do better!
To this end, Constantinople is ready to fully promote horse racing and try to restore other Olympic events. We strive to turn it into a large-scale comprehensive sports event so that the people can be proud of it.