Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Don't underestimate me! Get the armor quickly!" Di Renjie saw Sancho's thoughts and yelled with all his strength: "There are many more pirates than us, and we need every sword on the ship!"

"Okay!" Sancho sighed helplessly: "But you'd better stand behind me!"

Di Renjie's ship is called the Blackbird. It is a long and narrow two-masted schooner. The sharp bow is enough to break through the violent waves on the Yellow Sea. On the sea, the Blackbird is like a flying fish on the water, more powerful than all other ships. All fast.This kind of ship usually plies regularly between ports in Hebei, Shandong, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese state, transporting various in-demand valuable cargo and passengers.

At the beginning, Sancho suggested that Di Renjie choose a bigger and stronger merchant ship with a big belly, because although it was slower, it was more comfortable to ride and could carry more guards.Di Renjie refused without hesitation and chose the faster Blackbird. The reason was that the military situation was urgent and he could not care about so much.

"These sons of bitches have spread their wings and are trying to besiege us! You idiot, quickly soak the sails with seawater, spread sand on the deck, and put the bamboo rafts and shields up on the side of the ship. Hurry up! We need to turn to starboard first. , jump out of the encirclement, and then kick their butts from behind!" The captain was more like shouting than talking. The sound of drums and the rapid footsteps of the sailors were deafening. While giving orders to the sailors, he explained to Di Renjie, There was no chaos at all. Di Renjie couldn't help but feel lucky that he had met a good captain.

Following the captain's order, the Blackbird began to turn to the right. Di Renjie felt the creaking sound from the deck under his feet. The huge pressure generated by the high-speed and sharp turn deformed the ship's ribs. He suspected that the ship's materials might break in the next second. He will also fall into the sea.

The pirates also saw the Blackbird's actions. They began to use conch shells and waving flags to command their subordinates to adjust their formation, trying to continue facing the Blackbird in two rows to take advantage of their numerical advantage.

But this was not an easy task, and soon the Blackbird came around to the left end of the Pirates and began firing arrows and throwing spears at the leftmost sloop.The pirates also tried their best to fight back, but most of the arrows and spears were blocked by the shields erected on the side of the ship.As the distance between the two sides got closer, Di Renjie was stunned by the power of the "Scorpion". He could clearly see four pirates being nailed to the side panels with short spears lined up in a row. The leather shield penetrates.

"Quick, quick, lower the bowsail and half-sail the mainsail! Go around, go around!" The captain's voice was hoarse. The sailors on the deck were like wind-up toys, running around crazily, executing the captain's instructions. Order.

The Blackbird's sails were folded and unfurled, flying past the flanks of the pirate ship formation like a big gray bird. Two pirate boats turned their bows and tried to take a shortcut to intercept the Blackbird, but were blocked. The nearby rocks shattered.

From the deck of the Blackbird, Di Renjie could clearly see the wreckage of the rowing boat among the rocks. The crew washed up on the shore and became a meal for sea crows and crabs. "Damn, we're too close," muttered an old sailor. "A big wave could knock us right up to them."

"Quick, hoist all the sails, full sail! Get rid of these sons of bitches and rush into the mouth of Baijiang River! Our ship will be here soon!" The captain shouted loudly, and the whip cut through the air above his head, shouting A sharp sound.

The sailors of the Blackbird were exhausted, but they still arched their backs and pulled the sail cable hard. The ship quickly sailed towards the mouth of the river in the south. The rocks behind it and the shadows of the pirate ships gradually shrank, leaving only a few black shadows on the horizon, like dark clouds. , or like black peaks, or both.

"Master Di, look at our patrol boat!" Sancho pointed to a few boat silhouettes in the distance: "We are safe, captain! Hurry up and raise the flag to let them know who is coming!"

"As ordered!"

Along with the sailors' trumpets, a flag slowly rose on the main mast of the Blackbird with the sea breeze. On the white flag surrounded by red edges, there was a big word "王" written on it. Below the words is a line of small characters, which are a series of official titles of Wang Wenzuo. On the other side of the flag, there is a white-fronted tiger with dazzling eyes. Its feet are on several islands and peninsulas, which are vaguely the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. look like.

"This is -" Di Renjie pointed at the tiger and asked.

"Of course it's my husband!" Sanqiu proudly pointed to the flag that was blown by the sea breeze: "My husband's surname is Wang, and the tiger also has the word "王" on its forehead. From Liaodong to Japan, the mountains and forests There is no more ferocious beast than this tiger, and as long as they see this flag, they will all know that the general is back!"

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Zhou stayed in the city.

When Di Renjie entered the city, he rode a tall horse with high spirits, wearing a Shu brocade official robe and a purple gauze futou on his head. His saddle and bridle were decorated with gems and gold; a large flag with the word "王" above his head fluttered in the wind, as a symbol of He was leading the way with twelve tall knights. They were all wrapped in steel armor. They were silent and majestic, like the statues of Weng Zhong guarding the tomb of the emperor.

The welcoming team went from the pier to Zhouliu City Gate. Both sides of the road were lined with welcoming people. Most of them were decorated by warriors. Behind them were the accompanying troops. The strong wind blew over their heads, crackling flags. , connected in the air.Di Renjie straightened his back and passed the eagle flag, crow flag, boar flag, wolverine flag, bull flag, etc. He quickly gave up trying to count because there were too many.

Master Shen stood first in the line of greetings. Half a step behind him was Gu Shiyun. She held the maid's arm with her right hand and pressed the shoulder of a young man with her left hand. Then came Zen Master Huicong, who was wearing a monk's robe and looked calm. The mighty Cao Wenzong, the lean and capable Yuan Fei, and the already somewhat stout Wang Peng, all of them were dressed gorgeously to show respect for their upcoming master.

Behind everyone, there were a hundred archers and three hundred spearmen, with bearskin cloaks hanging from their shoulders, which made Di Renjie feel a little uncomfortable - it felt a bit like a demonstration rather than a welcome.

"Sancho!" Master Shen frowned: "Where is the general?"

"Still in Fan Yang!" Sancho said with a smile: "This is Ambassador Di Renjie. He came here on the orders of the general!"

"Mr. Di Renjie?" Master Shen glanced at Di Renjie: "This good envoy, did the general send you to declare his order to us?"

"I did come under the order of the general!" Di Renjie could feel the contempt hidden in the other party's words: "But the general asked me to go to Silla to declare my order to Jin Famin, not to you!"

"Oh? Jin Famin?" Shen Faseng smiled: "How can that guy understand human language? It's better to talk to him with your mouth than with a bow and arrow!"

There was a low sneer from the crowd, and Di Renjie said nothing. These people in front of him must be the same people who followed Wang Wenzuo to put down the rebellions of Baekje and Japan, and conquered Goguryeo!He could feel the arrogance hidden under the skin of these people. It was not easy to convince these people. "Sancho, since Saburo didn't come, you shouldn't have raised this flag!" Shen Faseng sneered: "Many people came from home overnight. I want to see how you explain to them!"

Master Shen's voice immediately aroused a response from the crowd. Di Renjie looked at Sanqiu worriedly. This Master Shen was not easy to get along with.

"Do you recognize this sword?" Sanqiu took off a saber from his back and brought it to Master Shen. Master Shen looked at it and said, "Tuhe clan, why don't I recognize it? Sanlang gave this to you?"

"That's right!" Sancho said with a proud smile: "This sword was given to me by the master. He asked me to tell you that by the emperor's order, the time has come to conquer the rebels. From Xiongjin to the Japanese country, as long as they still think they are All his retainers will come in armor, and if there are any who don’t come, let me kill them with this sword!”

Sanqiu's voice was so loud that not only Master Shen but also the people next to him could hear it clearly. Just when Di Renjie was still worried about whether everyone would obey his orders, Master Shen was the first to kneel down on one knee, and the people behind him were like fallen reeds. Everyone knelt down one after another, but within a moment, there was no one standing beside Sancho except Di Renjie.

"According to the emperor's edict, the general Wang Wenzuo will conquer the rebellious Silla. Anyone who disobeys the order will be burned as a stone!"

The crowd's shouts resounded through the sky above Silla City, startling a flock of birds and resounding through the sky.

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The capital of Silla, Jincheng.

The messenger knelt on the ground. Jin Famin looked at his leather coat, which was soaked white with sweat, and thought to herself: This should be good news!No, this must be good news.

"Your Majesty!" the minister whispered: "The time for the meeting is coming -"

"The meeting will only start after I arrive! Maybe this is good news, I can make everyone happy!" Jin Famin said. He took the letter from the messenger, took a deep breath, opened the letter, and touched his cheek Showing a flush of excitement.

"Well done, the Khitan people finally took action!" Jin Famin clenched his fists: "This way, Xue Rengui will no longer have the strength to fight me. We can have a good talk with the Tang people. North of the Datong River, No, maybe we should also add Xincheng and Wugu City, both of which will belong to us. Otherwise, the Tang people will have to deal with three or four enemies at the same time, and they may not even be able to save Yingzhou!"

"But the new city has fallen into the hands of the Mohe people. They are allies of Silla!" the minister reminded carefully.

"On the surface, yes!" Jin Famin showed a sly smile: "But in fact, he, like those Goguryeo remnants, is just a bargaining chip between us and the Tang people! Do you understand? I will use the Tang people's concessions to us In exchange for a knife in the back of the Mohe people, the Tang people need us to eliminate these barbarians, and we also need the Tang people to subdue these barbarians. There will be no room for the Mohe people in Liaodong in the future, so you don’t have to worry about this problem?"

The minister opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond to the king's reverie, but Jin Famin had already stood up excitedly: "Actually, the same goes for the Khitans. They are the same as the Mohe people. Their role is to use their own blood to consume the power of the Tang people. Wait until When they have dragged the Tang people to exhaustion and have to accept our conditions, we can take action. Really, it is a pity that Uncle Yu Xin and his father are gone. If they are still alive now and can see everything in front of them, how happy they would be. !”

"Your Majesty, the time for the meeting -" The minister finally decided to use the royal meeting to interrupt Jin Famin's wild thoughts. There is no doubt that Jin Famin is a smart man, but he is still too young and does not understand the truth. Plans are one thing. The reality is another thing. Even a stable slave has his own brain and will not follow his master's orders intact.

"Okay, meeting, meeting! I know!" Jin Famin shook his head dissatisfied: "I really don't know why Uncle Yu Xin told me to pay attention to this meeting before he was alive. Doesn't he know that those guys don't even have his fingers?" Can't you even compare? What can you accomplish with such a group of bugs?"

The minister decided to keep silent. The "insects" mentioned by Jin Famin were probably the richest and highest-status group of nobles in Silla. The minister did not feel that he could cope with their revenge.

When Jin Famin walked into the conference room, the nobles stopped talking. The oldest one was coughing violently. The others stood up and welcomed Jin Famin's arrival with smiles on their faces.

"Please forgive me for being late!" Jin Famin's tone was not apologetic at all: "But I have brought you good news. The Khitans have raised the flag of rebellion, and we have another ally!"

There was silence in the conference room. The nobles did not cheer as Jin Famin expected, but exchanged uneasy glances. Jin Famin's brows furrowed dangerously: "What's wrong? What are you doing? Why don't you cheer?"

The oldest noble finally stopped coughing. His body was trembling. He didn't know whether it was because of old age or fear: "Your Majesty, we are worried!"

"What are you worried about? What's there to worry about? Are you worried that we will have more allies?" Jin Famin asked.

"I'm worried about how to end the war with the Tang Dynasty! Really, Your Majesty, if you make the war bigger and bigger, won't it be beyond our strength?"

"That's not necessarily the case!" the old man retorted: "And even if we add up all the Khitans, our strength is far inferior to that of the Tang people. The reason why we are in today's situation is not because of how strong we are, but because of the main strength of the Tang people If we put it in the west, the east will be empty. So I think we should take advantage of the opportunity that the Tang Dynasty cannot take action to achieve our goal as soon as possible and then end the war. This is the way for Silla to survive!"

"Old guy!" Jin Famin suppressed his anger. He could feel the attitudes of the others around the long table. They were surprisingly consistent today.Even if he is a king, he must make concessions when faced with the unity of so many nobles. When he thinks of this, he misses his father-in-law. If he was still alive, he would never be in today's situation. (End of chapter)