Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 905 Inquiry
Wang Bo snorted coldly. Didn't he see through the servant's mind? But suffering is the best way to teach people. Only with money can I get rid of the current situation, find opportunities, and - in short, I must not continue like this.

"Whoever wants to know about this, we'll go over there right away!"

----------------------

Guangzhou was formerly known as Panyu. It was built by Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, and was known as Zhao Tuo City in history. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Nanyue was destroyed by the Western Han Dynasty, and Panyu City was also destroyed by war, but it was quickly restored after the war. In the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Bu Zhi of the Eastern Wu was the governor of Jiaozhou. After he arrived in Jiaozhou, after learning about the local customs and practices of Jiaozhou, he decided to move the seat of Jiaozhou from Guangxin (Guangxin, that is, Guangxin County, now Fengkai, Guangdong and Wuzhou, Guangxi) to Guangzhou, and built a new city on the site of the old capital of the Nanyue Kingdom. From then on, Guangzhou has been the economic, political and cultural center of the entire Lingnan region (the Lingnan region here includes the northern part of Vietnam today). In the early Tang Dynasty, the 45 states of Lingnan were divided into five military governorates (also known as the Five Governorates of Lingnan), namely Guangzhou, Guizhou, Rongzhou, Yongzhou and Annan. The five governorates were all under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou, and the chief officer was called the Five Governorates (Capacity) General, who was concurrently the governor of Guangzhou. Guangzhou was the largest foreign trade port in the Tang Dynasty. In order to facilitate trade, land was set aside on the west side of Guangzhou city for foreign merchants to live in. That was the famous Fanfang, with a prosperous economy, a mixed population, and various temples and shrines on both sides of the road, which formed a sharp contrast with the market town strictly managed by the indigenous people of Guangzhou at that time. The Guangta Temple where Wang Bo was located was also in this Fanfang.

The streets were crowded with people. Wang Bo felt very uncomfortable under the strong subtropical sun. He had to walk through the market, which was covered by a huge canopy. It was colorful, noisy, and full of flavors. Taverns, warehouses, and casinos lined the streets, closely connected with cheap brothels and temples dedicated to various strange gods. Thieves, gangsters, merchants, and money dealers were everywhere. In a sense, the entire Fanfang was a big market, trading from sunrise to sunset, where you could find all kinds of strange and bizarre goods. The skinny woman had a pottery jar on her head filled with fermented coconut milk. Merchants from dozens of countries wandered between the shops, drinking all kinds of strange drinks and bargaining with the shopkeepers in strange accents. The air was filled with the smell of sea salt, sweat, and spices.

Wang Bo held the hilt of the knife at his waist and looked around vigilantly. This was one of the few valuable items on him, and thieves were everywhere here. He walked through the market and came to the stone dock at the end. This was the exclusive dock for Arab merchants. He saw a group of dark-skinned slaves unloading boxes of goods from a triangular sailboat. Two Arab merchants in white robes were urging them loudly. Boxes of porcelain, raw silk and other goods were piled next to them. The ship should set sail into the sea at high tide that night and continue to sail south with the strong southeast wind.

"These greedy misers!" Wang Bo complained inwardly. He knew that the strength of these Arab merchants had grown rapidly in recent years, and they were extremely greedy and cunning. Most importantly, they would never share profits with others. As long as they had the ability, they would do everything they could to drive out competitors, and then raise prices to squeeze out the last bit of profit. When Wang Bo was in Jiaozhou, he often heard curses against these Arab merchants from other merchants.

"It's right in front, sir!" The servant turned around and pointed forward. Following the direction of his finger, Wang Bo saw a black ship. This was not the largest ship Wang Bo had ever seen, but it was the most beautiful ship he had ever seen - a slender, streamlined hull, a narrow bow, and a long and sharp bowpost extending from the bow, like a slightly curved knife. The ropes connected the mast and the side of the ship, in an orderly manner. The whole ship was like a water bird resting on the water, giving people a feeling that it might flap its wings and fly up from the water at any time.

"Is that the boat?" Wang Bo asked.

"Yes, that's it!" said the servant, "But we don't need to get on the boat. The man told us to go to the tea shop next to it!"

Wang Bo nodded. This made him feel better. He knew that all these guys who made a living on the sea were desperadoes - all of them. They might pretend to be law-abiding citizens when they were on shore, but their true colors would be revealed once they got on the boat. The reason was simple. If a person dared to take the risk of going out to sea, no law could restrain him.

When Wang Bo walked into the teahouse, his eyes were immediately attracted by the young man sitting by the window. He was wearing a dark green round-necked brocade robe embroidered with a wolf. He had broad shoulders, a well-proportioned figure, and a handsome face. He could smell the scent of upper class society from this young man.

"This person should be a son of a noble family. Why is he asking about Jiaozhou's affairs?" Wang Bo pondered.

The servant walked towards the young man, but was stopped. He said a few words and pointed at Wang Bo. A warrior with a sword came over and looked Wang Bo up and down: "Did you come back from Jiaozhou not long ago?"

"That's right!" Wang Bo nodded. He did not reveal his true identity. "I heard that if you want to find out what's going on over there, you will be rewarded!"

"That depends on how much you know and whether the news is important or not!" The warrior said coldly, "If you are talking nonsense or saying something that everyone knows, forget it!"

"The riots first broke out in Anding County (the name of a local county, located east of today's Hanoi City). My father, Wang Fuzhi, was the local county lieutenant!"

Wang Bo's calm attitude intimidated the warrior, who bowed to Wang Bo first, then came to the young man and whispered a few words in his ear. The young man's eyes lit up, and he stood up and walked to Wang Bo, bowed his hands and smiled, "I am Heba Yun, serving under the Hejian Palace. I am honored!"

"The Prince of Hejian's men?" Wang Bo was surprised. He didn't expect to meet Wang Wenzuo's men here. "Isn't the Prince of Hejian in Hebei? Why is he here?"

"Oh!" Heba Yun smiled and said, "I was ordered by the King of Hejian to take a ship to Jiaozhou to do business. When I unloaded the ship in Guangzhou, I heard that there was a riot over there, so I wanted to get the exact news. I didn't expect to meet you, brother. I don't know what to call you? Please tell me!"

Wang Bo had recovered from his surprise and bowed his hands in return: "My surname is Wang, my courtesy name is Zi'an, and I am from Bingzhou!"

"It's Brother Zi'an!" Heba Yun said with a smile, "Come, please sit down and talk!"

"Thank you very much!" Wang Bo sat down at the table, looked at the black ship moored outside the pier, and asked, "Just now I heard Brother Heba say that you are going south by sea, so is the ship moored outside the pier the one you are taking?"

"Not bad!"

"I have never seen a ship of this style, but it looks quite unique!" Wang Bo said with a smile.

Hearing the other party praising his boat, Heba Yun was delighted and said with a smile: "You have a good eye indeed. This boat was built according to the order of the Prince of Hejian. It is different from other boats. It is the fastest and strongest. It is like a flying fish on the sea!"

Wang Bo praised him a few more times, and then he recounted his experience in Anding County in detail. He was originally very knowledgeable and eloquent, and he was talking about his own personal experience, so he was naturally better than others. Heba Yun listened carefully and took notes. When Wang Bo finished speaking, he sighed and said, "Thank goodness I met Brother Wang today, otherwise how could I have understood the matter so clearly?"

"I dare not!" Wang Bo said with a smile: "Brother Heba, if you stay for a while longer, you will naturally be able to find out from other refugees. How dare I take credit for it!"

Heba Yun was even happier to see Wang Bo being so humble, and said with a smile, "I heard that the cause of this incident was that the local county magistrate was unfair and accepted bribes from local bigwigs, which angered the local Lu family and caused the disaster. I wonder if this is true or not?"

Wang Bo's heart skipped a beat and he forced a smile, "Brother Heba, I don't know where you heard those rumors from. Just think about it, how powerful can a mere county magistrate be to offend a wealthy family that could cause such a big mess? If the Lu family had such power, how dare the local county magistrate favor his opponent?" "What you said makes sense, brother!" Heba Yun nodded, waved his hand, and took a money bag from his subordinate, "This little money is not enough to thank you! I will report what you heard today to my superiors. If you have any further questions, where should I go?"

Wang Bo was already thinking about making friends, so he smiled and said, "I fled from Jiaozhou and am now staying in Guangta Temple. You only need to ask the monk Wang Bo from Jiangzhou in the temple, and he will bring you to see me!"

"Wang Bo from Jiangzhou, hmm, I remember him!" Heba Yun sent Wang Bo out the door, thinking to himself that the name sounded familiar, but he didn't know if he had heard it somewhere before.

Heba Yun met seven or eight people from Jiaozhou in the teahouse and wrote down what they had seen and heard. When it was getting dark, he handed the copy to Sutuo and said, "Brother Sutuo, this is the news I collected today, take a look!"

"Well, sit down and talk!" Suta asked while flipping through the book, "Who did you meet today? Tell me about it!"

Heba Yun responded and said with a smile: "Actually there is nothing much to say, they are all merchants and common people, but there is a man named Wang Zian, who claims to be the son of the Anding County Magistrate. He escaped from there after the riot and told the story in great detail."

"Oh? Wang Zian? Is this it?" Sudatta turned to that page and started reading: "Well, it's quite detailed. By the way, do you remember where the riot first broke out?"

"It seems to be Quyang County!"

"Yes, that's the name!" Sutuo slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, this Wang Zi'an is the son of the county magistrate. He must know the local situation very well! Have you asked him about the leader of the bandits? Is he the hero named Lu who avenged his father?"

"I asked!" Heba Yun said, "But Wang Zian said that it was not like that. He also said that if there really was a man named Lu who was so powerful, then the county magistrate would not dare to favor his opponent! I don't know if we heard the wrong news or he deliberately avoided talking about it!"

"Yes, that's true!" Suta nodded: "It seems that this guy has other hidden secrets. Do you have a place to stay for him?"

"He stayed. He said he escaped and is staying at Guangta Temple!" Heba Yun smiled. "To be honest, he looks really miserable today!"

"People always get into trouble!" Sutuo shook his head indifferently, "How about this, I'll take some time in a couple of days to go there in person and find out the details of this guy. If he is really the county magistrate's son, then we can ask him to go to Jiaozhou with us again."

"Yeah!" Heba Yun nodded excitedly: "So, we are really going to Jiaozhou?"

"Hmm!" Sutuo smiled. "Yuanbao will be the governor of Jiaozhou in a few days to serve as a scout for you. I will serve as a scout for him. According to what I have learned these days, the situation in Jiaozhou is very bad. The officials sent from the Tang Dynasty are either mediocre and incompetent or exiled. Few people think about how to govern the local people. Jiaozhou is a place with abundant resources: pearls, tortoise shells, rhinoceros horns, and ivory. If these two things collide, won't it cause chaos? And the local tyrants are quite powerful. Once they think it is an opportunity to start a rebellion, it will not be a matter of one or two counties!"

"What about the Five Prefectures General?" Heba Yun asked, "I heard that Jiaozhou is under his jurisdiction. If there is a riot over there, how could he not intervene?"

"How can it be that simple?" Suta said with a bitter smile, "Didn't you hear his official title? The governor of five prefectures! Did you hear that? He is in charge of a very large area. Jiaozhou is just one of them. Not to mention that the climate in Lingnan is hot and humid. Once it rains, the roads become muddy. In my opinion, the governor may not be able to spare many troops at once!"

"Yes!" Heba Yun nodded. He had been in Guangzhou for a few days, and he saw a peaceful and prosperous atmosphere, with no signs of mobilizing troops for war. Obviously, this powerful governor of the five prefectures of Lingnan would not send troops to Jiaozhou in the near future.

"Then when do we set off?" Heba Yun asked.

"Don't worry, at least wait for another month or so until the hottest season is over! Most of our soldiers are from the north, and they can't fight in such a hot weather!" Suta said with a smile, "And the goods in the bottom hold, if they are sold, the money will be used to recruit foreign soldiers, guides, and purchase various military supplies."

"Well! What about the five governors? Do you want to inform them?" Heba Yun asked.

"Of course, how can we not discuss this important matter with this local tyrant!" Suta said with a smile: "But there is a lot of knowledge to be learned about this matter!"

"Oh? We helped him put down the rebellion. Isn't he happy?"

"It's not that simple!" Xu Tuo laughed. "In your eyes, it's helping him to quell the rebellion, but in his eyes, it's probably our father trying to get involved in Lingnan! Not to mention that the news that Yuan Bao is going to be the governor of Jiaozhou should have spread by now. The official hasn't arrived yet, but the soldiers and ships have already arrived. What would you think if it were you in his place?"

"That's right!" Heba Yun nodded: "I'm afraid he is suspicious!"

"Suspicious?" Suta sneered, "If the Five Prefectures Governor is a ruthless person, he might kill us with a sword, and then swallow up the ship and the cargo, and just think that we encountered a big storm on the way, the ship was destroyed and everyone died, and we never reached Guangzhou at all!"

"Ah! How could this happen?" Heba Yun's face turned pale.