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

Chapter 255: Winning over, power

As the lights come on, Yongzhou City is brightly lit.

Inside a private room at Shen's Restaurant, floral lamps were arranged in an orderly manner, shining brightly, illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

The square eight-immortals table is painted with crystal red lacquer and carved with textures, exuding an air of nobility.

Shen Qing sat upright on the main seat on the left, looking dignified and with a look in his eyes that revealed the composure of a superior. Small vendors surrounded him.

Among the vendors, a burly man with a face full of flesh stood out. He stood up and said loudly, "Come on, everyone, fill up your glasses and toast to Vice President Shen!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a burst of enthusiastic response in the box, and the crisp sound of wine glasses clinking together.

Upon hearing the news, merchants of all sizes in Xinyifang gathered at Shen's Restaurant to celebrate Shen Qing's promotion.

Now everyone knows that there is no position of chief constable in the Weiwu Division, and Shen Qing, the deputy chief constable, is the head of this office.

The power of the Weiwu Division is not as great as that of the Bingmasi, but no one can tell whether there will be a few remnants of the Huangtian Sect or demons in their family in the future.

These traveling merchants are all shrewd people. After hearing the news, they all came to pay homage and make themselves known.

Shen Qing originally didn't want to join in the fun, but when he thought that he was not alone and was weak, and wanted to expand his power, he simply agreed to the drinking party.

"Brother Hong, you are too polite. I appreciate your kindness."

Shen Qing's words were gentle, like a spring breeze, making everyone present feel the kindness.

The former Weiwu Division Chief Zheng Yuanqiu was only concerned with gaining benefits all day long and was insatiable without caring about anything else. They had always suffered greatly from him.

Occasionally, when demons were needed to deal with the officials, they would frame others at random, causing countless deaths and ruin to their families.

These people have been full of resentment for a long time, and now that a replacement has finally been made, everyone is relieved while also wondering about the temper of this Vice President Shen Qing.

Now it seems that the new vice president is easy to get along with, which makes them feel relieved.

Shen Qing picked up the wine glass and stood up, glanced at everyone at the table, then drank it all in one gulp with a heroic gesture.

"How straightforward!" Someone among the crowd was the first to applaud, with sincere praise in his voice: "Vice President Shen is really a man of character. Let's toast to him again!"

"it is good."

Before we knew it, the atmosphere became more and more lively.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the status of merchants was not high, only higher than slaves, so if they did not have strong military force, they were basically in a state of being suppressed and exploited.

On the one hand, they had to deal with the commercial competition from the Thirteen Hongs, and on the other hand, they had to deal with extortion from the government and local gangs. Overall, their lives were not very good.

Since joining the Weiwu Division, Shen Qing has basically been either on the road slaying demons or practicing. On the contrary, he has rarely extorted these small vendors in his jurisdiction.

In addition, these vendors were well aware of Shen Qing's bloody massacre of the Black Claw Gang, so they had a very good impression of Shen Qing.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became more harmonious, and Hong Tao started talking about the recent events involving demons.

"Speaking of which, Lord Shen, do you know about the recent incident regarding the injury of the county governor? This matter has caused a lot of uproar in the city, and we are all a little uneasy."

Shen Qing groaned softly, a barely perceptible solemnity flashed across his brows: "About the snake demon?"

Hong Jingtao nodded and said in a low voice: "The county magistrate is a master of innate martial arts. His cultivation is unfathomable and he has the power to overturn mountains and seas. I heard that he fought a great battle with a snake demon and flattened several mountains in a row. But he is still no match for the demon? If the demon enters the city, won't we all die without a burial place?"

Shen Qing remained silent. No one present knew better than him how terrifying the snake demon was.

but……

Under the gaze of everyone, he picked up a wine glass and said leisurely: "I don't think so."

"What does Lord Shen have to say?"

Shen Qing couldn't help but think of Huangfu Rou's words: "What do you think of the strength of Yongzhou's Thirteen Hongs?"

Everyone looked at each other and said, "It must be strong."

"That's it. Do you see any unusual movements from them, any moves to leave Yongzhou?" Shen Qing said in a gentle and persuasive way, "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. They must understand such a simple truth."

"If they don't make any moves privately now, it means they are not in a hurry yet and have something to rely on. I don't think Yongzhou City will be in chaos for a while, so you can rest assured. When the day comes when the people in the Thirteenth Lines lose their patience, then you will have to worry."

A vendor reacted and said, "Yes, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up, so why should we be in a hurry? I heard that in the Thirteen Hongs in Yongzhou, many old immortals are hanging on by the elixirs in their homes, and they are still alive. All of them have reached the innate realm, and the demons can't even come to this city to cause trouble." "That makes sense." Hong Jingtao agreed.

"If the enemy comes, we will stop him; if the water comes, we will build a wall. Come, let's drink some wine and stop talking about these troubles!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing happily raised his glass, and the others also stood up.

"Sir Shen, I heard that your Weiwu Division is going to expand its manpower?"

At this moment, a vendor suddenly spoke nervously.

Shen Qing had no intention of hiding anything, and nodded, "Is that true? What's the matter? Do you want to join the Weiwu Division?"

"No, no, I'm too old to endure that."

"Then who are you?"

"I have a son at home who has learned a little bit of martial arts. I wonder if you would be willing to help him? Even if it means just doing some hard labor."

Shen Qing touched the rim of the wine glass, showing a hesitant expression.

"Don't worry, sir. I know some of the rules."

Shen Qing knew that most of these people were just ordinary people. They might have been farmers originally, but had to start a business to make a living because their families had suffered disasters.

How far can such a person reach in martial arts training?
Not everyone is as "gifted" as he is.

But then again, those children from wealthy families wouldn't even look at him with any respect, and he really had no one to use at the moment.

The huge Weiwu Division cannot be managed by him alone.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "Then let him try. If he is a good-for-nothing, then let him go back to where he came from."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Master Shen."

Seeing that someone had got there first, the other vendors couldn't wait to speak.

"My Lord, there is also me..."

"I have a little girl at home..."

"..."

Shen Qing waved his hand and said, "Let them all try. If they are suitable, I will give them a chance."

"Thank you, Lord Shen. Thank you, Lord Shen."

The banquet lasted for an hour before it ended.

Before leaving, these vendors donated generously. Knowing that Shen Qing's mount was damaged in the battle, they pooled money together to buy Shen Qing a horse.

Shen Qing accepted it generously.

At this moment he suddenly realized that after reaching a certain position and gaining some power, he could do many more things.

……

Before Zheng Yuanqiu came to power, he had always been scheming and had left a mess for the Weiwu Division.

After Shen Qing took over the position of deputy chief of the Weiwu Division, he found that all the accounts and old cases were in a mess.

Fortunately, he has lived two lives and knows a lot of tricks, so these are not difficult for him. It just takes some effort.

Time passed little by little.

After spending a month, Shen Qing finally sorted out the income and expenditure of the Weiwu Division in recent years and the overall demon case, and had a clear idea of ​​it.

In his opinion, this was an unavoidable step if he wanted to completely control the Weiwu Division.

Because he was busy dealing with accounts and old cases during this period, there was no change in the Weiwu Division, so it seemed that he was doing nothing.

Gradually, rumors of his "incompetence" began to spread among the Weiwu Division, and these voices grew louder and louder.

(End of this chapter)