Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 326: Sense of crisis, hard practice
"My Lords, you summoned us this time not to gossip, undermine our confidence, or create anxiety, right?"

An official who knew the history of the Society for the Peaceful Rebellion stepped forward and said, "I remember that it has not been sixty years since the last Society for the Peaceful Rebellion ended, but now it has suddenly been brought forward. My Lords, you are well-informed in the capital, do you know anything else? If you know anything, why not tell us everything so that we can all come up with a plan together."

County Magistrate Dou Wenxi and County Supervisor Yan Xushou looked at each other and said helplessly: "Speaking of which, this matter is still related to the Xue family."

"Not long ago, General Xue's campaign against the Huangtian Sect was unsuccessful, and His Majesty was dissatisfied with it, so he opened the meeting to quell the rebellion in advance and asked us to wipe out the Huangtian Sect."

"Aren't they fighting each other? Why is Huang Tian Sect involved again?"

County Supervisor Yan Xushou explained: "Now that the Great Zhou Kingdom has been established for nearly a thousand years, the Jingluan Society has gradually undergone many changes."

"As the scale of the war grew, the fourth emperor of the Great Zhou, Emperor Taiyuan, felt that such simple fighting was a waste of manpower. So from then on, every meeting to quell the rebellion was held under the slogan of conquering the barbarians, in order to expand the border. Later, whenever there was a rebellion, a fight to conquer the enemy, or other difficult and large-scale wars, the emperor of the time would choose the opportunity to start a meeting to quell the rebellion."

"Constrained by the speed of the rise and development of martial artists around the world, the frequency of opening is still controlled at a sixty-year interval, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer."

An official questioned, holding on to a glimmer of hope, and asked: "What if after suppressing the rebellion, it is a great victory, and the casualties are not too many?"

"Then keep on conquering and killing. Anyone who enters the Society of Treasures will be consumables to us until they are exhausted. Also, don't forget that many children from noble families are here for the purpose of meritorious service, and everyone is a competitor. So in addition to attacking the enemy, you also have to guard against your colleagues. It's not that easy to stay alive."

The atmosphere in the county government office became increasingly depressing.

Everyone was silent after hearing this.

County Supervisor Yan Xushou clapped his hands and said, "After hearing so much bad news, let's hear some good news."

"What good news?"

"His Majesty has issued an edict. I heard that those who have made the greatest contribution to the suppression of the rebellion can be appointed as generals and given titles of nobility. This is considered a step to heaven."

After County Supervisor Yan Xushou finished speaking, some people's eyes lit up.

"If everything goes well, the pacification will begin before the beginning of spring, which is about one or two months later. We will rush to Danzhou. We have plenty of time now, so we can discuss countermeasures together. Everyone, if you have any insights, please feel free to speak up."

At this time, a middle-aged official stepped forward and said, "We have thirty-six people recruited this time. Maybe we can try to form a small team, cooperate with each other, and advance and retreat together."

The officials present nodded, thinking that this made sense.

After all, in a chaotic place like the Jingluanhui, the power of one person is ultimately limited. However, since they come from the same place, they can trust each other and cooperate with each other, which can increase each other's chances of survival.

"Master Li is right. I think among us, Master Shen is the most capable. His achievements in killing demons are obvious to all. We should take him as our leader."

"Yes, Lord Shen has great accomplishments, and he should be the leader."

The officials present were talking among themselves, and all their eyes were focused on Shen Qing.

Shen Qing looked around and scanned everyone.

He found that most of these people were officials in the county town, and there were basically no confidants or subordinates of his.

Such a group of people may seem very capable, but in fact they only care about their own survival, so it is difficult to coordinate them.

If he stood in front, he might be used as a shield by them when he entered the battlefield.

This is not a good thing.

Shen Qing thought about it and refused, "I only have some fighting skills, but I really don't know how to lead troops. You can let me fight, but I'm afraid I can't lead people. I'm far inferior to Lord Dou and Lord Yan. Today's matter was convened by the two lords, and they are well-informed. How about letting the two lords take the lead?" Shen Qing's suggestion made Dou Wenxi and Yan Xushou's eyes light up.

Although they have never had any ambitions, they were tempted by the power that was within their reach.

In fact, when they gathered everyone together this time, they inevitably had some thoughts deep in their hearts.

Dou Wenxi gently stroked the sparse beard on his chin, his eyes revealing a hint of desire, and pretended to refuse: "Eh? Compared with Lord Shen's bravery, our petty tricks are nothing."

"Although we two are willing, we are afraid that we are not up to the task. It is better for Lord Shen to come."

Seeing this, Shen Qing guessed what the two were thinking.

He continued to speak sincerely: "Lord Dou, Lord Yan, it is not that I, Shen Qing, am shirking my responsibility, but I know that my ability is limited. With the two of you, we can do more. What do you think, colleagues?"

The officials present felt that it was fine, and it seemed to make no difference to them, so they all agreed.

After a moment of silence, Dou Wenxi and the other man took a deep breath and said excitedly, "Since everyone trusts us so much, we will no longer be hypocritical. Brother Yan, you and I will take on this responsibility for the time being, and when the time is right, we can discuss other things."

"it is good."

After rejecting his leadership responsibilities, Shen Qing discussed the next steps with everyone.

This continued until almost dusk, when it finally ended.

After returning to his mansion from the county government office, Shen Qing began to become worried.

After learning some details about the Jingluanhui, he felt a sense of crisis.

"Time waits for no one, and we must improve our cultivation as soon as possible. There is still a month left, and it would be best if we could break through to the Lingxu realm, and then we must strengthen our Daxu technique for escaping and our long-range archery skills."

Shen Qing secretly had a direction and decision in his mind.

In the following period of time, he began to retreat and put all his mind on cultivation, using the resources at hand to improve his martial arts.

In addition, he also asked Wu Sheng to go to Kyoto to buy a precious bow weighing 200 stones in case of any emergency.

Time flies, and a month goes by in the blink of an eye.

In the training room of Shen's residence.

Shen Qing sat upright on the simple futon, closed his eyes and concentrated, breathing slowly.

In front of him, a wish-power bead and a jade plaque were suspended, shining brightly.

The patterns engraved on the jade plaque continued to glow, and a huge amount of spiritual energy gushed out.

The wish-power bead contains the devout faith of countless believers, like a trickle of water, constantly drawing the surrounding spiritual energy into his body.

With every breath Shen Qing took, the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn by an invisible force and turned into thin threads, seeping into his body through his pores, flowing along his meridians, nourishing every inch of his flesh and bones.

His breath began to rise.

(End of this chapter)