Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 909 Gift
"Bring me a crossbow and let me try!" Feng Sheng said.

The sailor next to him handed over a crossbow arrow. Feng Sheng looked carefully and saw that the birch pole, the three-edged iron arrow flashed a cold dark blue light, and the tail wing was made of wood. He thought to himself that it was no wonder that the Prince of Hejian had been invincible in all these years, and even the crossbow arrows he gave to the sailors for trial were made so finely. He shook the capstan, strung the crossbow, put the crossbow arrow into the arrow slot, pressed it with the arrow pressure piece, and then aimed at the target about 30 meters away.

"Wait a minute!" Mituo said with a smile, "Mr. Feng, you should put the crossbow butt against your shoulder first! Keep your body tense, yes, like this!" As Mituo spoke, he took a crossbow from the sailor next to him and demonstrated a motion. Feng Sheng imitated it doubtfully, then pulled the iron handle under the crossbow. With a slight sound, he felt his shoulder being hit.

"Let's go and see how Mr. Feng shoots!" said Mituo with a smile.

The sailor next to him responded, and after a moment he reported: "General, the recorder shot the marquis, but the distance was a few points off!"

"It's not bad to hit the target the first time! Mr. Feng, please try shooting a few more arrows!" Xu Tuo said with a smile. In ancient times, the target was called "Hou" and the mark in the middle of the target was called "Hu", so hitting the target was also called "hitting the Hu". Feng Sheng also became interested and shot a few more arrows. When he checked again, he found that he had hit three out of five, which was very good for a beginner.

"It actually went through!" Feng Sheng walked closer and was surprised. The target was an oak barrel for wine. The crossbow arrow, which was more than a foot long, had penetrated nearly half of the target. Even the part covered with iron sheet was penetrated. He turned around and said, "Master Xutuo, this crossbow is really powerful. I wonder what it is made of?"

"The crossbow handle is nothing special. It has a roller crossbow tooth and is fired with an iron handle. The crossbow arm is made of whalebone, tea stalks and bamboo slices!" Sutuo smiled and said, "My father selected dozens of materials for arrangement and combination, and finally chose this one. In fact, animal tendons, mulberry wood and horn pieces are more effective, but this crossbow is to be distributed to sailors at sea. We are going to the south again this time. If the tendon glue encounters humid weather, there will be problems. So we still use whalebone and tea stalks The laminated bamboo slices are used!"

"I didn't expect that even sailors are equipped with such sophisticated weapons. No wonder Master Xutuo is so confident about this trip!" Feng Sheng sighed.

"It's not very sophisticated, but this crossbow is a good self-defense weapon for lightly armed personnel!" Suta said with a smile.

"Self-defense weapon?" Feng Sheng was surprised and asked carefully, "What do you mean, sir?"

"These sailors usually don't need to go ashore, they just need to fight pirates. This time we are short of manpower, but they are just auxiliary soldiers! What I really rely on are the soldiers accompanying me!" Sutada pointed to the soldiers around him and said, "My father's arsenal in Fanyang is really too busy, otherwise, these sailors would not be able to use crossbows!"

Feng Sheng looked at the soldiers surrounding Suta. The short spears they carried had no spear tips. He realized that the spear tip he had seen before was actually a dagger with a straight blade, which could be disassembled. It looked very delicate, but even with the dagger attached, it was only as tall as a person. Would such a short spear be useful on the battlefield? He thought to himself, but he didn't dare to ask. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry about his future journey.

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As the sun climbed up the glittering light blue sea again, the gradually weakening sea breeze also turned to the southeast, blowing straight from the stern. Under normal circumstances, Suta would order the top sail at the highest point of the mast to be raised in order to achieve the fastest speed; but this time he was content to keep only the spritsail, the second sail of the foremast, and the auxiliary sail on the cable between the bowmast and the mainmast. Even so, the Long Tailed Whale was much faster than any speedboat Feng Sheng had ever seen in his life. He could feel the boat under his feet rising and falling lively with the waves again and again. He felt his stomach churning, and he had to cover his mouth to prevent his breakfast from spurting out. But he was surprised to find that everyone around him was accustomed to this kind of bumps. The boat sailed briskly, except for the rhythmic creaking of the mast, the crossbar of the sail, and the countless pulleys as the boat rose and fell. The whole boat was almost completely calm, and only he was still struggling to fight vomiting.

As the journey continued, Feng Sheng gradually adapted to the turbulence of the boat, but he discovered another thing that made him panic - sitting on the boat, all he could see was the sea, and he could only see a little land occasionally. How could he know that he was on the right path and not lost? When Feng Sheng confided his doubts to Xu Tuo, Xu Tuo laughed and showed him several instruments he had never seen before.

"Look, this is called Si Nan, it can measure direction. This can measure our latitude at noon, and combined with this, it can measure our longitude. The longitude plus the latitude can roughly determine our position at sea! Of course, we are going to Jiaozhou this time, so there is no need to be so troublesome. As long as we are not too far from the land and the direction is not wrong, it will be fine!"

"Then, why not get closer to the coast? Wouldn't it be safer?" Feng Sheng asked.

"That may not be the case!" Suta said, "Our ships are large and have a deep draft. The wind direction changes frequently near the coast and there are many reefs. If our fleet sails close to the shore, we can certainly see more clearly, but it is also easier to hit the reefs. In addition, in order to avoid being blown onto the reefs by the sea breeze, the ships dare not raise too many sails, so the speed is slower. If we are farther away from the coastline, we don't have to worry about these things. It is safer and faster!"

Feng Sheng didn't quite understand what Suta said, but one thing was certain: the ship he was on was indeed very fast. On the fifth day after leaving Guangzhou, the lookout on the top of the mast shouted loudly. When he saw the brown-black land gradually rising from the sea level, Feng Sheng felt tears sliding down his cheeks.

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"We are so lucky! I didn't expect that the port here is still under the control of the court!" Looking at the dock with many boats in front of him, Suta sighed: "Also, this place is really prosperous. It doesn't look like--"

"A wild land!" Feng Sheng continued what Xu Tuo hadn't said. "It's not surprising that people who haven't been here think so, but in fact, Jiaozhou was once the most prosperous in the entire Lingnan region. Even now, it is second only to Guangzhou! Do you see the big river in the distance? There are endless fertile fields on both sides of the river. As long as it is cultivated, rice can be harvested three times a year. If we only consider this aspect, even Guangzhou can't compare!"

"Hmm!" Suta looked at the river rushing into the sea and nodded subconsciously. As a sailor who had traveled thousands of miles, he naturally understood the value of such a river better than Feng Sheng. Due to the large amount of silt and organic matter carried from the middle and upper reaches of the river, the catch at the mouth of the river would be particularly rich, and there would be a vast and fertile delta, which was a prime area for developing agriculture. More importantly, the river would also provide a natural and convenient passage, making it easy to obtain the products of the vast inland areas, not to mention the rice that Feng Sheng mentioned that could be harvested three times a year.

"Yuanbao, are you still blaming your father for letting you be the governor of Jiaozhou? To be honest, seeing this, I am a little envious of you!" Suta murmured to himself.

"General, a small boat is approaching!" an officer shouted.

"Well! Order the soldiers to be on guard, show our identities, and do not use force without my order!" The fleet lowered most of the sails and reduced the speed, which was a sign of no hostility. Two long oared boats approached, only seven or eight meters long, flexible and convenient, and very common in the entire southern China. Standing at the bow was a small official in a green robe, shouting loudly to the Long Tailed Whale in the front.

"We are from Guangzhou, following the orders of Yang Quansheng, the governor of the Five Prefectures. I am Feng Sheng, the secretary of the prefecture!" Feng Sheng stood at the bow and shouted loudly: "My ancestor Feng Ang, my father Feng Zhiyu, was the governor of Hezhou!"

"So you are the descendant of Mr. Feng. My apologies!" When the man on the boat heard Feng Sheng's identity, his face changed drastically and he hurriedly said, "Please follow me into the port!" After that, he called on his men to turn the boat around and guide water for the fleet.

"The Feng family of Lingnan is indeed worthy of its reputation!" Sutuo gave a thumbs up and praised.

"I feel ashamed for the little reputation left by my ancestors, and for the fact that my descendants are unworthy of me!"

"You can't say that!" Suta said with a smile: "If this can be accomplished, wouldn't it be another good story?"

Under the guidance of the pilot boat, the Thresher began to sail slowly inland. Along the way, Suta could clearly see villages and cultivated rice fields everywhere on both sides of the river. Although it was almost October, the rice fields were full of newly planted rice seedlings. Bamboo rafts and small boats kept passing by, piled with various fruits and flowers. Some brave ones even approached the Thresher. The women on the boats, who were dressed coolly, held up various fruits and vegetables and shouted to the boat to sell them.

"Isn't there a war in Jiaozhou? Why can't we see any signs of chaos here?" Heba Yun asked.

Feng Sheng shook his head. Although he had lived in Lingnan for generations, he had never been to Jiaozhou. Xu Tuo called Wang Bo to ask. Wang Bo smiled and said, "My two lords, Jiaozhou is very big, and there is a big difference between being near the sea and being in the mountains!"

After listening to Wang Bo's explanation, Xutuo and Heba Yun realized that the geography of Jiaozhou was very different from that of the Central Plains. The entire Jiaozhou was actually a narrow plain facing the sea. Not far inland was a continuous mountain range covered with dense subtropical forests, which were basically the territory of local indigenous tyrants. The Central Plains Prefecture could only control a few mountain basins and coastal plains. The Red River Delta where Hanoi was located was the largest part of this narrow plain. It was two or three hundred miles deep into the inland, while the deepest in other places was only more than a hundred miles, and the shallowest was only forty or fifty miles. This other terrain made the coastal and inland areas of Jiaozhou almost two completely different worlds. Even if they were only twenty or thirty miles apart, they looked completely different. Like the Red River Delta estuary they arrived at, it was rich in products and prosperous in commerce. It was also the area where the Tang people's ruling power was most concentrated, so it naturally looked like a peaceful scene.

"That's the best!" Suta said with a smile, "I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find anything after I got ashore, and I would have to catch even the peasants and livestock myself!"

"Don't worry about that!" Wang Bo pointed to both banks and said, "You see, the market here is very prosperous. As long as you have money, there is nothing you can't buy. The war caused people from other places to flee here, which made this place even more prosperous!"

Facts proved that what Wang Bo said was true. When Sutuo and others went ashore, they were immediately invited by the leaders of local merchants. They learned that Sutuo and his party were ordered by Yang Quansheng, the governor of five prefectures, to quell the local rebellion, and they warmly invited them to attend the welcome dinner in the evening.

"It's strange, why are the people who greet us the local merchant leaders? Where are the local officials?" Heba Yun asked curiously.

"You don't know, sir. This place is a commercial town under Aizhou (near Thanh Hoa, Vietnam). It is nominally a territory of the Tang Dynasty, but in reality it is managed by local chiefs and big merchants. Officials from the imperial court only come twice a year to collect some taxes." Wang Bo said.

"So many people and fields for a market town?" Heba Yun was surprised.

"If they are not on the list of the imperial court, then they are not there!" Wang Bo smiled. "These fields and people belong to local chieftains and big merchants. If they are included in the list of the imperial court, how can they agree? Jiaozhou is too far away from Chang'an. The imperial court only wants nominal submission. As for other things, we can only turn a blind eye!"

After hearing what Wang Bo said, Heba Yun and Xutuo remained silent. Obviously, the situation in Jiaozhou was very different from what they had imagined. The power of the local tyrants was even greater and more fragmented than that in Guangzhou. It seemed that their original plan had to be modified.

Trading house.

The news that envoys from the Tang Dynasty were coming from Guangzhou quickly spread, and more and more visitors came to the trading house. According to local custom, everyone who visited the imperial envoys had to present gifts.

The trickles soon became a raging torrent. Merchants and local wealthy people brought Iranian carpets, boxes of cardamom, hematite and other spices from Java, jade from Ceylon, amber and dragon crystal from Sindhu; merchants presented bags of coins; silver merchants sent rings and necklaces; others sent fine pearls and ivory; the most precious gift came from a local chief, who sent a gorgeously decorated elephant - a white female elephant.

"Is this white elephant the most precious gift?" asked Suta.

"Yes!" Wang Bo answered carefully, "This kind of elephant is very precious, and according to the local natives, only the king is qualified to ride it!"

"Only the king can ride it?" Suta was shocked: "What does that guy mean?"