Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"It's nothing!" Wang Bo said with a smile, "In fact, presenting gifts is a common thing. Every official from the imperial court will present gifts when he comes here. My father did the same when he was the county magistrate, but the gifts were not this valuable!"

"Okay!" Suta shook his head helplessly. He now finally understood why such an exaggerated rebellion had occurred in Jiaozhou. It was not that the officials in the prefectures and counties in the inland Tang Dynasty were so honest and upright, but there were not many people like Jiaozhou who received generous gifts from local merchants and wealthy people as soon as they took office. This showed how bad the eating habits of the Central Plains literati who came here to serve as officials for hundreds of years were.

"Check who sent the white elephant and return it first!" Suta said with a wry smile, "It's too eye-catching. It's really beyond the reach of a minister. As for the others!" He hesitated for a moment, "Use them as military supplies. Also, check if we can buy horses here! There are no war horses or pack horses. Remember, you have to buy them with money!"

"Yes!" Wang Bo responded, "General, in fact, if Jiaozhou is used to transport supplies, horses are not as good as elephants. Jiaozhou has few horses but many elephants. Why not buy some elephants?"

"Buy elephants?" Suta was stunned: "Okay, let's do this! Before sending the white elephant back, I will go and see if it can be used to carry military supplies. If it can, then buy some elephants!"

After that, Suta led everyone to the stable in the backyard of his residence. When they were still twenty or thirty steps away from the stable, they smelled a strong stench and could not help but cover their noses. When they pushed open the door of the stable, they saw that it was empty inside, without a single horse, and only a dark shadow was seen inside.

"Where are the horses?" Suta asked the stableman beside him, "I remember the twenty horses we brought from the ship were placed in this stable, right?"

"They've all been taken away!" The stableman replied, "We can't help it. The elephants have a strong body odor, and the horses get scared if they get a little too close, and they keep neighing. We can only take them away, and they've already been put in another stable!"

"Is there such a thing?" Suta was surprised. "I heard that people in Jiaozhou use elephants as soldiers. Doesn't that mean that even cavalry can't do anything to them on the battlefield?"

"That's right!" Wang Bo said, "I've also heard that when encountering elephant soldiers, cavalry can't get close and can only shoot arrows from a distance. But elephants also have weaknesses. Like most wild animals, they are afraid of fire and loud noises. If they encounter fire and loud noises, they will go crazy and will not listen to people's control. Instead, they will break through their own formation!"

"So that's it!" Suta nodded. At this time, the stableman had already placed the torch on the iron ring on the wall. With the help of the firelight, Suta and his companions could see the white elephant clearly. It was pure white like jade, about twelve or thirteen feet tall, like a wall, with big ears like palm-leaf fans, long nose like a python, and the seat on its back was inlaid with gold and silver, shining in the firelight, like a god. They couldn't help but sigh: "This beast is so majestic, fortunately it is afraid of fire, otherwise who can subdue it?"

Heba Yun saw that Sutuo liked the white elephant very much, so he said, "Brother Sutuo, I think this white elephant looks really majestic, and it is also a good omen. Why don't you accept it? At most, you can give the person who sent the elephant some money, and just regard it as our purchase!"

Suta was moved after hearing this. After thinking for a while, he sighed, "Forget it. If I don't ride this white elephant, it will be useless to me. If I ride it on the battlefield, it will be too conspicuous and easily become a target for enemy archers. Moreover, I am not familiar with its temperament. It is very dangerous to ride it on the battlefield!"

"Brother Sutuo..." Heba Yun wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Sutuo: "Ayun, we came from a long distance by boat, not to show off! I'll leave the important matters to you! Be more friendly! Mr. Feng!"

"What's the matter, sir?" Feng Sheng replied.

"Go and pay your respects to each of those who gave you gifts!"

"Return the greeting?" Feng Sheng was stunned: "Don't you want those gifts either?"

"No, those gifts are very valuable, and we are going to fight a war and will have to spend a lot of money, so I plan to accept these gifts and use them as military supplies! If we just accept the gifts without saying anything, the locals in Jiaozhou will treat us the same as those officials in the past!"

"I understand!" Feng Sheng nodded: "Are you planning to borrow some of my ancestor's reputation?"

"That's right!" Suta said with a smile, "If I hadn't been preparing to send troops, I would have gone there myself. Ah Yun, you should also go with Feng Jishi and keep a low profile! Also, don't come empty-handed. Pick a few items from the goods we brought with you. The price is a small matter, but you must give them enough face. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Heba Yun responded.

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Gujar leaned back in a soft chair, eating raw oysters from the golden bowl in front of him. Because the oysters were added with a lot of lemon juice and spicy seasoning, there were many beads of sweat on his forehead and eyebrows. A pair of slender eyes flashed on his fat face. When his fingers waved, a pile of jewels danced on them: agate, emerald, tourmaline, jet, jasper, cat's eye, tiger's eye, ruby, sapphire, amethyst, and a black pearl and a green pearl. The servant next to him took a lot of effort to move his eyes away from those gems.

"Are you saying that the Tang official returned the white elephant to Agong?" Gu Jiaer licked his fingers with satisfaction and asked the servant standing at the door: "I mean the little white female elephant!"

"Yes, my master!" the servant answered carefully, "It is the white female elephant, the most beautiful one! The Tang official who just arrived sent the elephant back intact, even the gems on the seat of the white elephant were not missing!"

"This is really amazing!" Gujar laughed. "It's not easy to find a white elephant like this. In my hometown, if you offer such a white elephant to a Kshatriya king, he will be appointed as a minister to manage the market and collect taxes. But this Tang man actually refused? Wouldn't our good friend Agong be very frustrated?"

"Maybe not!"

"No?" Gugar waved his hand, signaling the maids to put a thick soup of crab and sea fish on the table in front of them, and asked, "Why?"

"The Tang official sent his deputy to Agon's home, and it seems he brought a gift in return!" The servant said, "I heard it was a fox's fur!" "A gift in return?" Gugar was surprised. In his impression, although the Tang officials always boasted of morality and etiquette, they were no less greedy than the rulers of other places. Moreover, these guys were not only greedy, but also hypocritical and arrogant. Usually they would not tell you what they wanted in person, you had to think about it yourself, but if you did not give them a gift that satisfied them, they would make you regret coming to this world. No matter how many precious gifts you offered, they would still regard you as a barbarian, not a friend.

"Yes!" the servant replied, "and the deputy of the Tang official not only visited Agong's home, but also visited other people who presented gifts one by one!"

"Did anyone give gifts in return?" Gugar put down the soup spoon in his hand and asked in surprise.

"It seems so, but it should be far less expensive than the gift you sent!" The servant replied: "If my guess is correct, they should come to you later!"

Gugall waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave. The maids brought a cold soup with eggs and berries. Then came roasted quail with honey and pepper, lamb loin, wine-soaked mussels, carrots with buttermilk, and a stewed duck. In normal times, Gugall would have eaten heartily at the table, but now he had no appetite at all.

In the evening of that day, the expected guests finally showed up. Gujar stood at the door and respectfully greeted Feng Sheng and Heba Yun. Although he was a Gurjar (a southern Indian ethnic group), he had lived in Jiaozhou for many years and spoke fluent Tang dialect.

"Welcome, welcome, honorable envoy!" Gugar bowed deeply as fast as his fat body allowed, then stretched out his right hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Your arrival really brings glory to my humble house!"

Feng Sheng nodded. He looked at the almost fat Hu Shang in front of him. This was the last visitor he had planned for the day. He forced himself to smile: "I'm sorry for coming here so suddenly!"

"Please, please!" Gugar led the visitor to his main room and seated the host and guest. "I have heard that a distinguished person like you actually returned the visit one by one. This is something that has never happened before. I really can't believe it!"

"This is all General Xutuo's order!" Feng Sheng smiled. "General, you came here to quell the rebellion under the order of Yang Shijun, the governor of the five prefectures of Lingnan. The imperial court has already issued an edict!" Feng Sheng paused for a moment to make his voice sound more majestic. "The son of the Prince of Hejian, the governor of Cangzhou, Yuan Bao, is appointed as the new governor of Jiaozhou. General Xutuo is the younger brother of the new governor of Jiaozhou!"

"Oh, oh!" Gu Jiaer made a meaningless sound, his eyes flickered, thinking about the meaning behind the other party's words. Feng Sheng smiled: "The Prince of Hejian is an important minister of this dynasty, and the most trusted person of the emperor. Since the son of the Prince of Hejian is going to be the governor of Jiaozhou, it is only a matter of time before the rebellion here is quelled! Before the arrival of the new governor, the affairs of Jiaozhou will be decided by General Xutuo. When it comes to rebellion, the Tang Dynasty has always been to comfort the submissive and punish the rebellious!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Although he was mentally prepared, facing the naked intimidation of the Tang official in front of him, Gu Jiaer still felt a chill. No matter what these Tang people said, they were actually barbaric. He cursed secretly and laughed, "We are naturally respectful to the Tang Dynasty, otherwise we would not present gifts!"

"The general also knows this! So he asked me to return the visit to express my gratitude!" Feng Sheng said with a smile, "The general meant that he originally did not want to accept gifts, which would damage his integrity. But he will have to fight the rebels next, which will cost a lot, so he put the gifts you presented into the military treasury for the next military expenses. This is a little gesture from the general, just to show his appreciation, please accept it!" As soon as he finished speaking, Heba Yun on the side presented a tray, covered it with a green cloth, and sent it over. Gu Jiaer hurriedly took it and said with a smile, "How can I have the nerve to let the general spend money!"

"No problem!" Feng Sheng said with a smile, "It's just a small gift, just as a token of my appreciation. The general will naturally take your previous actions to heart!"

"Yes, yes!" Gu Jiaer replied. Feng Sheng did not say much and left. Gu Jiaer sent him out the door and closed the door before he breathed a sigh of relief: "No matter how kind a tiger is, it will still eat people!"

Gugar returned home and uncovered the green cloth on the tray. He saw a fox skin, ten gold coins, and a piece of black waxy substance inside. He picked it up curiously, looked at it, and smelled it. A refreshing fragrance filled his nose. His eyes moved, and he looked at it carefully again, and asked in surprise: "Could it be ambergris?"

He was originally in the jewelry business and had a wide range of experience. After careful observation for a long time, he finally confirmed that it was correct. He couldn't help but feel very happy: "I didn't expect this small gift to be so generous!"

A close servant nearby asked, "Master, is this black thing very valuable?"

"This is ambergris, a rare treasure in the sea, so it is naturally very valuable!" Gu Jiaer calculated. Although the value of the return gift sent by the other party was definitely not equal to the gift he sent, the other party's status was still high. Not to mention the fox fur and gold coins, even if he sent a piece of ramie cloth as a return gift, he would have to accept it honestly. Judging from the behavior of this General Suta, he was a person who was easy to deal with.

Suta's move had a very good impact on the local area. Taking this opportunity, he paid for more than 50 war horses, more than 200 pack mules, more than 20 elephants, more than 1,000 local laborers, and more than 40 small boats for inland navigation. Finally, he established a logistics column. At the same time, he tried his best to collect intelligence on the rebels, but the intelligence he collected was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"What? That bandit leader surnamed Lu is dead?"

"That's right!" Feng Sheng said, "He died more than a month ago. It seems he was hit by a stray arrow from the government troops and died from the wound!"

"Then he doesn't have any sons or nephews to inherit the family business?" asked Suta.

"Yes, but after his death, there was a fight in the army, and then it was swallowed up by another rebel army. Even if he had sons and nephews, they would have been wiped out!"

"This..." Suta felt absurd. He had come all the way here and was determined to kill the leader of the bandits, but he didn't expect that the leader would die before he could do anything. He didn't even have a son. It felt like he had punched into nothingness.

"That's how it is in Lingnan!" Feng Sheng said with a wry smile: "The first one to start a rebellion may not be the strongest. On the contrary, those who are respectful now may stab you in the back in the future, so you must always be careful!" (End of this chapter)