Chapter 274: Recruiting
"Master Shen, what is this?"

"It looks like a square seal. Could it be the seal of Dongshan Company?"

"It doesn't look like..."

Facing everyone's speculation, Shen Dongshan smiled slightly, then held the official seal respectfully in his palm, raised it high, and said loudly: "This is the official seal of the second-rank official of the court, the Minister under the command of the Prime Minister of the East Palace!"

"what?"

As soon as Shen Dongshan said this, he was immediately met with exclamations of disbelief.

"This..." Teng Sanshi asked suspiciously, "Is this really the official seal of the Song Dynasty?"

"The goods are genuine and the price is reasonable!" Shen Dongshan said seriously.

Miao An looked at the official seal in Shen Dongshan's hand in confusion, and asked in confusion: "When did Master Shen become an official?"

"This official seal does not belong to me, Shen." Shen Dongshan shook his head and smiled bitterly, "It belongs to Lord Jia, the Minister of the East Palace. When I said I was entrusted by someone, the person who entrusted it was none other than Minister Jia."

Yin Baimei said in a deep voice: "Everyone present today is a fellow martial artist. Why did Master Shen bring an official seal?"

Zuo Hongxuan echoed, "What did Mr. Shen mean by his impassioned speech just now? Could it be that Minister Jia also taught you to say that?"

Qing Feng waved the whisk in front of him and said calmly, "Master Shen, please speak frankly. People in the martial arts world are always straightforward, unlike you businessmen who are so secretive."

"Since you have spoken, I will get straight to the point." Shen Dongshan said with a smile, "To be honest! I am here at the request of Minister Jia to convey an imperial decree to you."

"What decree?"

"The imperial edict of recruiting!"

"hiss!"

Shen Dongshan's words immediately caused an uproar in the martial arts field.

For a moment, all the martial arts heroes were surprised. First there was a dead silence, then they whispered to each other. Finally, the quiet scene was completely broken by the noises that came one after another.

In an instant, the entire martial arts arena was in chaos.

"Recruit us! It sounds good, but the imperial court just wants us to be scapegoats for those corrupt officials!"

"Bah! We are not bandits or thieves, how can they be so peaceful?"

"That's right! The Emperor of Song is as timid as a mouse. He hides in the golden palace and enjoys all the happiness. Yet he wants us to work for him? It's just wishful thinking!"

"Thinking back to the past, the Yue Family Army and the Yang Family Army all died tragically in the intrigues of the imperial court. If we are recruited, won't we be killed even more? No! No!"

"Shen Dongshan, I thought you were a businessman with a sense of loyalty and righteousness, but I didn't expect that you are just like other businessmen, a lackey of the court!"

"I am living a carefree life now. The imperial court is incompetent and wants to use our lives to save their survival. No way!"

"That's right! We are used to living a life of idleness and cannot bear the constraints of the court. Master Shen, you should go back to where you came from!"

"Hypocrisy, words always sound better than songs! Do you really think we are three-year-old children?"

……

In a moment, the crowd was in an uproar and complaints were heard everywhere. Shen Dongshan stood in the middle of the field, suffering from accusations and slanders from all sides, his face changing color, it was really exciting.

At this moment, Liu Xunyi, who was hiding behind the crowd and saying nothing, had the same grim expression as Shen Dongshan.

Although Liu Xunyi didn't know whether Shen Dongshan's offer of amnesty today was true or false, at least he could use this incident to get a sense of the martial arts heroes' views and attitudes towards the Song Dynasty court in advance.

Now it seems that the resistance of the people in the martial arts world to the imperial court is far stronger than Liu Xunyi had imagined.

"Everyone, Lord Jia entrusted Shen to come here with good intentions. Everyone, please listen to me..."

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to Shen Dongshan's explanation, and his voice was drowned out by the waves of anger among the crowd again and again.

"Master Shen, we are so grateful that you can come and point out the real villain and resolve our misunderstanding." Jin Fuyu's voice suddenly rang out in the noise. As soon as he spoke, the noisy scene suddenly quieted down. "It's just that we are far away in the rivers and lakes and have no interest in the high and mighty court. Please go back and tell Minister Jia that we are just common people and are not up to the task, so we are sorry that we cannot obey your order."

"But……"

"That's right!" Without waiting for Shen Dongshan to reply, Luo Tianjin suddenly said, "I know that Mr. Shen has his own difficulties, so we won't embarrass you today. I just criticized the matter, not the person. I hope Mr. Shen will forgive me."

"Everyone, please listen to me! Listen to me!" Shen Dongshan seized the opportunity and hurriedly said, "Shen knows that all of you are heroes of the time and cannot be controlled by others. Everyone, please listen to me. The court's recruitment is by no means a constraint, but to unite all the martial arts sects and factions to form a solid and indestructible force. In this way, whether it is a pagan in the martial arts world or a powerful foreign enemy, we can attack and defend in moderation and hit them head-on. If everyone is on their own, once a fight breaks out, it is inevitable that the formation will be in chaos..." "Master Shen, the current situation is indeed as you said, with internal and external troubles, and it is precarious." Xuanming said respectfully, "But we are people in the martial arts world, so we should use the methods of people in the martial arts world to solve problems, and we will never serve the court."

"Master Xuanming, may I ask, besides being loyal to the imperial court, what other good strategies do you have?"

"This……"

Being pressed so hard by Shen Dongshan, Xuanming was unable to respond and was speechless.

Shen Dongshan's eyes flashed with pride, and he struck while the iron was hot, saying: "Everyone, time is running out. If we delay any further, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles..."

"Who said there is no way?"

Before Shen Dongshan finished speaking, Yin Baimei suddenly smiled and said, "There is another plan that will definitely ensure the stability of the Central Plains martial arts world. Not to mention the invasion of the three northern religions, even if they collude with the four major heterodox religions, we can have nothing to fear and can rest assured!"

"I would like to hear your profound opinion!" Shen Dongshan said in surprise.

"Now, our biggest concern is also the hidden danger that Master Shen just mentioned, that is, the various martial arts sects are fighting each other and the people are not united." Yin Bai said quietly, "So as long as we can make all the sects and schools united and loyal to each other, we can keep the country safe and secure and forever consolidate the Central Plains."

"That makes sense." Teng Sanshi murmured, "Now that many tragedies have occurred, the Tartars' wolfish ambitions are obvious. We really should not fight among ourselves anymore, but should focus on the overall situation, unite to face the enemy, and fight together."

Shen Dongshan raised his eyebrows and asked, "That being said, I wonder how you all plan to fight the powerful enemy together?"

"We can come to an agreement." Zuo Hongxuan hesitated, "Following the ancient three-article agreement, we promise not to fight each other, and also to support each other when one side is in trouble."

Jin Fuyu shook his head and said, "When times are favorable, we can still be prepared. But if we encounter adversity, I'm afraid that a piece of paper... will not be able to check and balance each other."

"That's right!" Qin Ming nodded and said, "Forgive me for being so blunt, but each faction in the martial arts world actually has its own selfish motives. If we expect everyone to be sincere just based on a piece of paper, it would be wishful thinking."

"This……"

After some debate, everyone was deadlocked again.

"If you want people to be convinced, then there must be rewards and punishments!" Luo Tianjin said slowly, "If rewards and punishments are not clear, people's hearts will inevitably be divided."

"Lord Luo's words make sense!" Zhongli Mu said, "But who should have the final say on whether it is a reward or a punishment? We can't just say our own thing, otherwise what's the difference between that and being a pile of loose sand?"

Shen Dongshan interrupted, "So submitting to the imperial court is the best strategy. Rewards and punishments can be decided by the imperial court, and any problems will also be coordinated by the imperial court to avoid confusion..."

"Mr. Shen is wrong again!" Yin Baimei interrupted again, "I only said half of what I said just now, but there is still the other half. As long as I say the rest, all worries and troubles will be gone."

"Please give me some advice, Master Yin!" Qin Ming asked curiously.

"It's very simple!" Yin Baimei looked around and suddenly his expression straightened. He said word by word, "As long as we elect a martial arts leader and he leads the heroes, we will be able to uphold justice and revitalize the Central Plains!"

"hiss!"

When Yin Baimei said this, everyone present was shocked.

"Master Yin, are you...joking?" Tang Yuan said with a half-smile, "The system of the martial arts leader has been abolished in the martial arts world for a hundred years. Don't forget that the reason why this system was abolished was because the martial arts leader was in a high position and had great power. No one in the martial arts world could compete with him. In the end, he would easily become a martial arts demon who brought disaster to the country and the people, endangering the people and causing endless troubles."

"That's true!" Zuo Hongxuan pondered, "But although there are risks in nominating a martial arts leader, not all people are greedy, despicable, and evil. What's more, this is a different time. Now the martial arts world is divided and people's hearts are scattered. If there is no person of high moral character and prestige to stand up and take charge of the situation, I'm afraid it won't be long before the Central Plains martial arts world will collapse..."

"In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures should be used." Lu Tingxiang said, "It is better to elect a martial arts leader to take charge of the situation than to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty, or to be conquered one by one by the Tartars."

"This matter is of great importance, and we must not act rashly." Teng Sanshi said in a deep voice, "Especially the selection of the leader of the martial arts world, which is of utmost importance. If we are not careful, the Central Plains martial arts world will be in danger."

Miao An said: "I think that in terms of qualifications and prestige, the twelve heroes of the Central Plains martial arts world are all qualified to take on this task."

"That's exactly what I meant!" Zhongli Mu said with a smile, "But according to the old rules, anyone from the Central Plains martial arts world is eligible to participate in the election for the leader of the martial arts world, and everything is determined by the outcome of the martial arts competition. The rule back then was 'The leader of the Central Plains martial arts world must be someone with outstanding martial arts skills and extraordinary courage to be able to take on such a great task.' In your opinion..."

"Rules are dead, but people are alive." Qin Ming sneered, "Let's change the rules! Change it to... only the twelve heroes of the martial arts world are qualified to compete for the title of leader of the martial arts world. How do you think?"

"Not appropriate!" Luo Tianjin shook his head solemnly, "In this way, the 'Master of Wulin' will exist in name only, and the one who is elected will only be the Master of our twelve sects, not the real Master of Wulin. There are countless sects and forces of all sizes in the martial arts world, and there are countless masters and knights who hide their identities. If we can't gather the strength of the heroes of the Central Plains, what's the point of relying on our twelve sects? In my opinion, the old rules don't need to be changed, but we can add one more condition besides the conditions of superior martial arts and extraordinary courage."

"What to add?"

"Anyone who wants to run for the position of Wulin leader must first kill a Tartar and swear an oath of blood in front of all the heroes of the world, never to disobey!"

……

(End of this chapter)