Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 939 Advice
"Fool, idiot!" Wang Wenzuo stroked his son's hair and sighed, "Since you are born as a human, who can escape this day? I have been a soldier for half my life, destroying countries and breaking cities, killing countless fathers and brothers, and my hands are covered in blood. To be able to die on the bed with children and grandchildren around him, you are already a blessed man!"

Hu Liang choked up and said, "My child, I understand what my father said, but when I think about being separated from you forever and never seeing you again, I am overwhelmed with sadness and cannot help myself!"

"Ah!" Hearing his son's words, Wang Wenzuo sighed and his eyes became wet. "I call myself a hero, but I am just an ordinary man after all. I cannot let go of my greed for life and fear of death. Well, when a man is about to die, his words are kind, and when a bird is about to die, its cry is sad. I have a few more things to tell you. It's up to you whether you want to listen or not!"

"I will obey my father's orders!" Hu Liang let go of his knees, knelt down and kowtowed twice.

"I hope so!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and said, "Huliang, if I say that I owe a favor to someone in my life, there are two people: Lord Liu Renyuan and the late emperor. Lord Liu was my superior in Baekje. If it weren't for his selection, I would have died in Baekje, and naturally there would be no future. After destroying Baekje, Lord Liu returned to Chang'an, was harmed by traitors, was exiled to the southwest, and died of illness on the way. Although I later pleaded with Emperor Gaozong after returning to Chang'an, and sent his bones back to Chang'an for burial, and pardoned his family to return to Chang'an, which can be regarded as repaying some favors, but his family and I are also old friends. Since you are in Chang'an, you naturally have to take care of Lord Liu's descendants!"

"Please rest assured, father!" Hu Liang said in a deep voice, "After I return, I will write a letter to the emperor to select talented people from the descendants of Lord Liu to serve in the court!"

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "As for the late emperor! If it weren't for his kindness, I would have died at the hands of Emperor Gaozong's empress when I was in Chang'an. He regarded me as a good friend, but I failed him in some things. Others naturally dare not say it in front of me, but people cannot deceive themselves. There are gods in the dark, don't I feel guilty? I don't care how you behave after I die. But you must not hurt the blood of the late emperor. Even if you want to change the ancestral temple, you must give the blood of the late emperor a state of land to serve the ancestral temple. You must not cut off their blood and food. Treat their descendants as guests, not as subjects!"

After hearing what Wang Wenzuo said, Huliang was already sweating. Ever since Wang Wenzuo resigned from the court and left Chang'an to retire in Fanyang, he had actually inherited Wang Wenzuo's power and resources within the Tang Empire system. After his meritorious service in the war against Tubo and his years of experience, he had digested them one by one and had become the de facto number one in the Chang'an court. In addition, his wife was the biological sister of the previous emperor and the biological aunt of the current emperor, and he had strong external support. In a sense, Huliang might be closer to the throne of the emperor than Wang Wenzuo was at the beginning.

Over the years, Huliang's close confidants and even his wife have often said or hinted that he should cross the line. But Huliang never took that step. This is not to say that he has any special loyalty to the Tang Dynasty Li family. After all, he has never received a salary from the Tang Dynasty since he was a child. Although he later served as an official in Chang'an, the court was more concerned about his father's face. Even if he was somewhat loyal, he was almost influenced by his wife's daily pillow talk. After all, Princess Taiping, a Li family, did not care about her own kingdom, so why should he, a relative by marriage, care so much?
But he could not care about what others think of Hu Liang, but he could not ignore his father's opinion. Of course, he knew that Wang Wenzuo still had some special feelings for the Tang Dynasty. He could not care about other people's feelings, but he could not ignore his father's opinion. And this time, Wang Wenzuo made it clear: I don't care what you do after I die, and I can't control it, but you are not allowed to hurt Li Hong's two sons.

"Don't worry, father. I will keep your words in mind!"

"That's good! Let's get up and talk!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and patted Huliang on the shoulder: "Let's go. While I still have the strength to walk, help me walk around the yard and take a look at the oranges on the trees! Such good oranges will not be seen in a few days!"

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Jiaozhou.

"Please dress up!" The dark-skinned woman knelt down and saluted Shaya: "Governor, come back here to visit in the afternoon!"

"Governor?" Shaya looked at him in surprise. This Funan woman was nominally sent to serve her, but in reality she was her guard. Since she came here, she has been locked up in this small courtyard, like a bird in a cage, and this Funan woman stayed here from morning till night, her eyes never leaving her.

"That's right! You are the emperor's order to guard the people of Jiaozhou. You are a very noble person!" The Funan woman raised her chin slightly and replied arrogantly: "He is coming today, you'd better dress up nicely, it will also be good for you!"

Shaya felt a sense of shame, but nodded. She couldn't help but think of her mother: she was also a princess, but from a small country. The Linyi King Jayaha Livarman destroyed that small country and took possession of Shaya's mother. After giving birth to Shaya, her mother always taught Shaya like this - beauty is a woman's most powerful weapon. As long as she learns to use this weapon, this woman can make a man do everything for her. She nodded to the Funan woman, returned to her room, took a hot shower with the help of her maid, then combed her hair, applied makeup, and chose clothes and jewelry. When everything was ready, Shaya looked at herself in the mirror and felt a little strange. She couldn't remember the last time she dressed like this.

The planned visitors finally arrived, and Shaya had to kneel down and bow to them. After getting permission, she stood up. There were four visitors in total, all of them were very young. Except for one who was wearing an official robe, who should be the "Governor", the other three were wearing round-necked short robes that the Tang people used to wear when going out hunting and riding horses. They looked energetic and heroic.

"Please sit down!" Yuanbao stretched out his hand to motion Shaya to sit down, with a hint of surprise on his face. He did not expect that this princess of a fallen country would be so beautiful. He subconsciously glanced at his brothers and obviously saw the same expression in their eyes.

"Let me introduce myself first!" Yuan Bao pointed at himself and said, "My name is Yuan Bao, and I am the governor of this state. As for the three of them, they are all my brothers, named Jumong, Yakushi, and Yaksha!" He paused for a moment and said, "We are here today for the alliance between the Javanese and the Tang Dynasty!"

"The alliance between the Javanese and the Tang Dynasty?" Shaya was stunned: "But, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Jumong, please explain this to this prince!" Yuanbao said.

"Yes!" Jumong responded, and he recounted the agreement he had signed with the Javanese to divide Linyi Kingdom, and finally said: "According to the covenant, Linyi Kingdom will be divided into two. The northern part will become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and the southern part will belong to the Javanese. In order to win the support of the Linyi people, one of my brothers will be the king of the northern Linyi Kingdom, and you will be the queen. Your Highness, do you understand?"

"I will be the queen?" Shaya smiled bitterly: "You mean, you will marry me?"

"No!" Jumong shook his head: "It should be my brothers, these two. You can choose any one of them as your husband!"

Shaya glanced at Yaoshi and Yasha and asked, "Do I have to choose?"

"You are the best choice!" Jumong said coldly, "You have just heard that according to the agreement between us and the Javanese, Linyi will be divided into two, half of which will belong to my brother. He needs a wife with royal blood. You are the best candidate we can find, but not the only one. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand this!" Shaya lowered her eyes: "It's not difficult to find a woman from the royal family of Linyi. If you find one, I will be useless!"

"That's not the case!" Jumong shook his head: "We won't kill you, but in order to avoid future troubles, you will be sent to a temple in the Tang Dynasty to become a monk!"

"I understand!" Shaya nodded: "You are such kind people!" She was silent for a moment: "Okay, I promise you, let's choose this one!" Shaya pointed at Yaksha casually.

"Very good!" Jumong turned his gaze to Yasha: "Then you will be the King of Shanglinyi. Next, you will marry this princess, and then you will be crowned king and restore the country!"

"Yeah!" Yaksha stood up excitedly and held the pharmacist's arm: "Pharmacist, don't worry, when I succeed in restoring my country, I will definitely help you become king next!" "Thank you very much!" The pharmacist nodded with a sullen look on his face.

"Princess Shaya!" Jumong said to Shaya, "Time is short, so the wedding may be a little frivolous, but don't worry, all the necessary ceremonies will be there. A matchmaker will come to listen to your arrangements and see if there are any taboos. Please remind them in advance!"

"No problem!" Shaya had completely calmed down. She glanced at Yasha and said, "What you care about is the restoration of the country. If that's the case, let's keep it simple here. When the restoration is successful, we can hold a grand ceremony!"

Jumong was stunned. He did not expect that this girl from a fallen nation could face her fate so calmly. He could not help but show a trace of admiration: "Okay, let's do as you say!"

After the brothers had agreed, they left the house. Yuanbao said with a smile, "Yaksha, I think this woman is from a barbarian family, but she has a very good appearance and temperament. You won't suffer any loss if you marry such a wife!"

"Hehe!" Yaksha laughed dryly twice: "I didn't expect it either. I thought it was a female Yaksha! But I didn't expect it to be so handsome!"

"Female Yaksha? Aren't you a Yaksha yourself? You are a perfect match!" The pharmacist sneered at the side, "You still look down on others?"

"You--" Yaksha said angrily, "If my name is Yaksha, then I am Yaksha. If your name is Medicine Master, then you are Medicine Master Bodhisattva?"

"Alright! Stop arguing!" Jumong shouted, "We agreed before that only the two of you wanted to marry the Linyi princess and become king, so we let the woman choose. No matter who becomes the king, you are not allowed to argue. Why are you arguing now?"

"Who is arguing?" the pharmacist muttered, "I just can't stand seeing someone getting carried away!"

"You've become king and married a beautiful wife. What's wrong with being proud?" Yuan Bao said with a smile, "Pharmacist, be more open-minded. The South China Sea is so big, how could you not have a place to be king? Don't hurt the harmony between brothers, that's the most important thing!"

After Yuanbao and Jumong's persuasion, Yasha and Yaoshi finally made peace. Yuanbao smiled and said, "Jumong, what are your plans after the marriage? Do you want to send troops to Linyi directly, or -"

"It's the rainy season now, it's too early to send troops to Linyi!" Jumong said, "I plan to return to Balatiba City first and stabilize the city. As for Linyi, let's wait and see what happens!"

"It's best if you can keep calm!" Yuan Bao nodded. "Even if it's the city of Bharatiba, we have to be more careful. The Javanese agreed with their mouths, but it's against human nature to spit out the meat after eating it. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Well, I'm also worried that if I delay too long, there will be more trouble, so I don't want to stay in Jiaozhou for too long!"

"So when are you planning to leave?" Yuanbao asked.

"After the wedding!"

"Okay!" Yuan Bao nodded. "A man should do things. Once he has made a decision, he should not look back. Being around your children is filial piety, but so is expanding territory and making a name for yourself in the future? With my father's personality, he might even prefer the latter!"

"Thank you brother for your enlightenment!" Jumong said gratefully.

"You don't have to thank me!" Yuan Bao smiled and said, "After all, this is for myself. If you hadn't expanded the territory in the South China Sea, Jiaozhou would be a barren land with nothing. The more you expand southward, the more prosperous and rich Jiaozhou will be. If you can conquer Cambodia, Java, Funan and so on, Jiaozhou will be the future Chang'an and Luoyang! Do you understand?"

"Brother, you are right!" Zhu Meng said with a smile, "But there is one thing I don't agree with!"

"Which point?"

"If in the future it is really as you said, and our brothers annex Cambodia, Java, Funan and so on, then Chang'an and Luoyang in the South China Sea will not be Jiaozhou, but the city of Balatiba!"

Yuan Bao was stunned when he heard this, and then he burst into laughter: "Okay, okay, I like your enthusiasm. To be honest, when you first came to Jiaozhou, Jumong, I didn't like you no matter how I looked at you, but now I like you no matter how I look at you. Don't you think it's weird!"

"To be honest, I feel the same way!"

At this point, the two brothers linked their arms and burst into laughter. Their laughter broke through the sky and startled the birds in the trees along the road.

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Just after sending Yuanbao and others away, Shaya returned to the house, tears unconsciously streaming down her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)