Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"So fast?" The high priest smiled and said, "Then your Majesty will be very angry?"

"Your Majesty has ordered the army to withdraw from Jiaozhou!" the waiter replied.

"Oh? This is beyond my expectation!" The high priest laughed: "When did your Majesty become so tactful? I thought he would be angry for a few days before withdrawing his troops!"

"The intelligence sent back by Jiaozhou's spies said that the Tang army has mastered the power of thunder and fire!" the waiter whispered.

"The power of thunder and fire?" The relaxed expression on the high priest's face disappeared, replaced by panic: "What do you mean?"

"The spies said that the Tang soldiers can summon thunder and fire, making a loud noise, spewing fire and smoke, and killing enemies in the distance!" At this point, the waiter's body trembled: "Many people were killed before they could even see the Tang people clearly!"

"A huge noise? Fire and smoke? Killing distant enemies?" The high priest frowned. "Could it be a rocket? The craftsmanship of the Tang craftsmen is indeed excellent, but they should not be able to summon thunder and fire, which is the power of the gods!"

"The spies said it was very clear that it was not a crossbow. Many of the people who were killed were wearing armor. They checked the fallen people and found no arrows on them, only deep wounds. Some even had two wounds, one on the front and a bigger one on the back. A crossbow cannot be so powerful!"

The high priest paced back and forth, and the attendant lowered his head, held his breath, and tried not to make any noise to disturb the high priest's thoughts. Everyone said that the high priest in the temple was a favorite of Lord Shiva, and the gods gave him longevity and wisdom to reward his piety. Even the king often asked for help from him.

"I will pray and make sacrifices. Perhaps the gods can hear my request." The high priest stopped and looked at the waiter: "You can tell His Majesty that although I haven't prayed to the gods yet, I don't think the Tang people can possess the power of thunder and fire. They are not pious, and the gods will not be so generous to them. This should be a new weapon made by their craftsmen, which looks like thunder and fire. This weapon should have its weaknesses, but we just don't know it yet! Your Majesty should find a way to send someone to find out the truth, and don't be stingy with money. Before finding out the truth, we should be careful and not leave any handle for the Tang people!"

"Yes, sir!" the waiter responded and stepped out. The high priest walked to the shrine, knelt on his knees and prayed devoutly.

When Suta set foot on the land of Jiaozhi, he began to work intensively. The residents of the city were surprised at the tenacity and diligence of the new ruler. Suta counted the various materials, craftsmen, and the number of males available for conscription in the city's warehouses, and then issued the first decree of the governor's office: in order to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible, all entertainment activities in the city, including drinking, gambling, etc., were temporarily suspended. All male residents between the ages of 16 and 50 in the city must receive one hour of military training every day unless they have special permission from the governor's office. This immediately set off an uproar.

"General, General!" Bu Kui looked a little nervous: "I understand your feelings, but isn't the new decree a bit harsh?"

"Where? The Chief Secretary can speak frankly!"

"Although gambling and drinking are not good things, they can bring tax revenue to the government, which is a great source of revenue. Also, all male residents aged 16-50 in the city must undergo military training every day unless otherwise permitted. Forgive me for being frank, but is this really necessary? The siege has been broken, and men of this age have their own livelihoods. If they are asked to stop and do these things, I'm afraid chaos will arise out of nowhere!"

"Chief Secretary, the rebellion is the biggest trouble right now!" Sutuo said, "Yes, banning gambling and drinking will reduce government revenue, but if the rebellion continues, it will reduce it even more. Next, I will send troops to fight the rebels, but the thousand men I brought are definitely not enough. I need more soldiers, even if they can only stand in a row with spears and stab people!"

No matter how many objections there were, Suta's order was still carried out, and a strange scene appeared in Jiaozhi City - in the open space of the parade ground, groups of men of different ages dressed in different styles, under the guidance of the veterans, learned to use spears and to form horizontal, vertical, square and circular formations. This attracted the attention of children. Many children lay on the low walls and trees around the parade ground, watching the adults who usually looked dignified clumsily imitating the actions of the veterans. Whenever they made a mistake or fell down and messed up the formation, the children watching around burst into laughter.

"Xudao, what are you going to do with these people?" Feng Sheng said with a smile, "You are not really going to send them to the battlefield, are you? This is not a joke!"

"Why not?" Suta smiled and said, "I have checked. There are about 9,000 men in Jiaozhi City. Most of them are in good health. With a little training, they can become good infantrymen!"

"These are just a bunch of rabble!" Feng Sheng sighed, "Moreover, most of them have family businesses. They are OK for defending the city, but definitely not for field battles. If you want to recruit soldiers, you should recruit more local farmers! They are able to endure hardships and obey orders honestly!"

Xu Tuo smiled but said nothing. Feng Sheng knew that he would not listen to his advice, so he could only shake his head: "Forget it, since you are the general, then everything in Jiaozhi City will be up to you!"

As soon as Feng Sheng left, Xu Tuo called Wang Bo and Heba Yun over. He didn't say any polite words and said directly: "Ayun, after dark, you lead the army out of the city and return to Aizhou! Mr. Wang, you should go with us!"

"What happened?" Heba Yun was surprised: "Did the rebels capture Aizhou? That would be terrible, our fleet is still there!"

"No! Aizhou is safe and sound!" Suta shook his head: "I asked you to return to Aizhou for only one purpose, to board the ship and attack the capital of Linyi, Sanghapura City, by sea!"

"What?" Heba Yun opened his mouth wide, surprise and ecstasy merged on his face, forming a very special expression: "It's really a ghost! Brother Xutuo, please forgive me! I mean you really scared me, this is really a good idea, great, we should have done this a long time ago! Show these Linyi barbarians a little color!" "General!" Wang Bo showed a puzzled look: "What about the rebellion in Jiaozhou? Are you going to ignore it? If the war is not going well, won't we be trapped both internally and externally?"

"I have thought about it carefully!" Suta said, "On the way to Jiaozhi City, I have seen the strength of the rebels. They are incomplete in armor and have not received good training. If they fight on flat ground, one hundred of my men can easily defeat one thousand. But the rebels are not fools. They will disperse and retreat to the mountains, forests and swamps, where they are familiar with the terrain and know where to find food and clean water. I can only divide the soldiers into several small teams and then clear them out one by one. In this case, the gap in strength between the two sides will narrow, and the weather and geography will help them. My people will be infected with plagues, bitten by poisonous insects and snakes, sprain their feet, and eat the wrong things. As the war drags on, more and more people will fall ill and get injured, but they won't get any spoils of war. The morale of the soldiers will become lower and lower. At this time, the talents of Linyi will jump out. Do you think I can still win at that time?"

"So you plan to attack the Linyi people first?" Wang Bo asked.

"Yes!" Suta nodded. "After the siege of Jiaozhi City was lifted, the rebels would not continue to besiege the city unless they were fools. The news that I was training soldiers in the city must have been known to the rebels. They must have thought that I was preparing for the next crackdown on them, so they would definitely prepare for the next battle. The Linyi people should now know the advantages and disadvantages of our new weapons. If I were the King of Linyi, I would definitely try to figure out what the new flame-breathing thing in our hands is, what its weaknesses are, and how many troops we have, and then make a decision. Before figuring it out, he would not take any major action!"

"It is said that the Linyi Kingdom has 100,000 soldiers, but you only have over a thousand people here. Isn't the difference too big?" Wang Bo said with a wry smile.

"Haha!" Suta laughed twice: "I have checked it these days!" He picked up a scroll from the table and unfolded it: "Look, this is the capital of another country, Sanghapura City, and this is Aizhou! If we go by land, it will be difficult and dangerous, but if we go by sea, it will only take two or three days at most!"

Heba Yun and Wang Bo looked at the map. Aizhou was probably located near Thanh Hoa Province in Vietnam today, and it was also the southwestern end of the Red River Delta. From Thanh Hoa to the south, its coastal plains became narrower and narrower. In many places, walking 30 or 40 kilometers inland from the coastline turned into steep and difficult mountains. The boundary between Linyi State and Jiaozhou is in Hue, Vietnam today, which is also the dividing line between north and south Vietnam today. The capital of Linyi State, Sanghapura City, was probably located in Hoi An, Da Nang City, central Vietnam today, at the confluence of two rivers, and it was only half a day's boat ride from the estuary. Obviously, if Linyi State wanted to strengthen its vigilance against Jiaozhou, it would definitely build fortifications in the narrow area near the border, which would be useless for the upcoming maritime invasion by the Tang army.

"I think this is a good idea!" Heba Yun said with a smile, "I heard that there are many merchants in Sanghapura City, and there are countless kinds of wealth. If we can capture it, we will definitely gain a lot, and the soldiers will be very happy!"

"A country's capital must be very strong!" Wang Bo asked, "Are you prepared?"

"There were already guns and cannons on the ship, and since Linyi was founded on commerce, the residents in the city must have come from all over the place. Our army suddenly arrived from the sea, taking them by surprise. The King of Linyi was in a hurry, and even if he had more soldiers, he would not have had time to summon them!" Sutuo paused for a moment and said to Heba Yun, "After you capture Sanghapura City, don't stay there for long. Take away all its wealth, burn down the city, and retreat back to Aizhou!"

"As ordered!"

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Half a month later, the soft monsoon blew on the surface of the South China Sea, causing ripples. From a distance, more than a dozen black spots were floating on the sea. In this season, merchant ships from Southeast Asia and South China will use the wind to sail to the Strait of Malacca, where they will stop and wait until next year before sailing to India, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. This trade that relies on sea breezes began in ancient times until it was replaced by more prosperous and efficient steamships in modern times.

Heba Yun had never been to the Strait of Malacca, India, or the Arabian Peninsula, not to mention North Africa. The southernmost sea he had ever been to was Jiaozhou. Four days ago, he had the soldiers on board, then weighed anchor and left Aizhou, heading south along the coastline. In addition to his own eight ships, there were also seven or eight merchant ships of various sizes traveling with him.

"Look, General Yun, we are not far from Sanghapura City!" Gugar pointed to a vague mark on the sea not far away: "Do you see it? That is the boundary between the river and the sea water after it enters the sea, and Sanghapura City is on a peninsula half a day away from the estuary! We just need to turn northwest and we can reach the estuary before dark!"

"The Linyi people will definitely set up defenses at the river mouth. We will be discovered if we do this!"

"You are really very clear-sighted!" Gugar clapped his hands lightly, and the gems on his hands sparkled in the sun. "But you can rest assured. My ship comes here very often. The guards here are not on guard against them. They can help you solve this problem. You can park the ship near that island and wait for the signal to attack!"

Heba Yun looked at Gu Jiaer. To be honest, he didn't like this fat man very much. Even though he was on his side now, who would like someone who sold out his old business partner for profit? He hesitated for a moment and said, "Big Eaton, take 20 people with you. If the matter is accomplished, send out the signal we agreed on in advance!"

The burly man didn't say anything, but just nodded. A few minutes later, the two triangular sailboats sailed towards the river mouth. Heba Yun docked his ship in the shelter of a nearby island and let the soldiers rest on the island.

Soon it was dark, Heba Yun sat by the fire, holding a cup of sugarcane wine mixed with water, took a sip, and chatted with Wang Bo, Gu Jiaer sat beside him with a smile. This Sindhu merchant was very clear about his situation, and he looked so happy that Heba Yun couldn't help but admire him secretly.

"Fire, fire!" a voice rang out, Heba Yun jumped up, took two steps at a time and ran to the high point of the island reef. Looking towards the coast, he saw several flames rising.

"Successful!" Heba Yun exchanged glances with Wang Bo in surprise. He turned back to look at Gu Jiaer and found that the other's fat face was still the same, as if he had already known the result. (End of this chapter)