Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 941 Scholar

"Governor, are you threatening us?" one of the elders shouted, and it immediately caused a chorus of voices to respond, like a huge wave hitting him. Gujar had to close his eyes to avoid being drowned. After a moment, when the sound subsided, he raised his voice: "Everyone, we are all wise people, and wise people cannot deceive wise people, so let us be honest with each other! I know that some of you have received some kind of promise from the Javanese, so you come to me and ask me to open the city gates and invite the Javanese into the city. But have you ever thought about why the Javanese don't do it themselves? Well, let's put this question aside for now. If, I mean if, I do as you say and open the city gates to invite the Javanese into the city, and then the Tang general returns with a fleet, what do you think the Javanese will do? Will they fight the Tangs for the city of Paratiphu, or will they return the city of Paratiphu to the Tangs to maintain their alliance with them? If it is the latter, what will happen to those who take the initiative to open the city gates and welcome the Javanese into the city?"

"The Tang people are unlikely to come again?" Someone shouted, "The sea is very dangerous? Their fleet ran aground, encountered storms, or got involved in another war. All of these are possible!"

"That's right!" Gugar nodded. "But they may come again, right? There are many Tang merchant ships coming to the city of Bharatiphu every year. They are very familiar with the sea route from Jiaozhou to here. And you have all seen the Tang ships. They are sturdy and fast, better than the Javanese ships, right?"

This time the elders were silent. They exchanged glances with each other, communicated with gestures and whispers. After a while, someone asked: "Gugar, tell us what you think! Let's see if it makes sense!"

"My idea is very simple!" Gujar said, "Whether it is the Khmers, Javanese or Tang people, they are much stronger than you. It is natural for the weak to rely on the strong and seek protection from the strong. No one can blame you for this. Some of you think that the Javanese are stronger than the Tang people, so you want to surrender to the Javanese. This is normal. But I want to remind you that if the Javanese want the city of Paratipū, why don't they let the Javanese take it themselves? In this way, even if the Tang people come back, they can't blame you. After all, they know very well that you are all Brahmins and merchants with a good life, not warriors! It was because they did not leave enough soldiers to defend the city that Paratipū fell into the hands of the Javanese. And if you take the initiative to open the city gate, it means that you take the initiative to stand on the side of the Javanese, which is very dangerous."

After hearing what Gugar said, the elders all looked thoughtful. After a long while, they all nodded. Someone praised: "Gugar, you are really a wise man. So what do you think we should do?"

"It's very simple! You should wait patiently. As the weak, you should wait patiently for the strong to decide the winner. Once the outcome is decided, you should show your submission to the victor, instead of rashly intervening before the outcome is decided and bringing disaster upon yourself!"

After using words to dismiss the elders of the city of Balatiba, Gugal felt exhausted. He knew that he could not keep going like this forever with just his mouth, so he called his followers and said, "If Jumong does not come in half a month, the city will belong to the Javanese!"

Fortunately, Jumong did not let Gugal wait that long. On the fourth day after the elders forced the emperor to abdicate, the masts of the Tang fleet slowly rose from the horizon. The lookout on the tower gave up when he counted to the twelfth. He blew the horn hard, and the sound of the horn cut through the air and resounded over the city of Paratipat. The residents of Paratipat were not the only ones alarmed by the appearance of the Tang fleet. The Javanese outside the city also immediately raised their sails, left the port, and lined up to welcome these uninvited guests from afar.

"It seems that our arrival has frightened some people!" Jumong smiled and gestured to the captain beside him: "Fire the cannon and say hello to our allies!"

As the cannon roared, balls of fire shot out from the sides of the Tang warships, which left a deep impression on the Javanese. Soon, a small boat with a white flag came over, and the Javanese envoys on the boat waved their arms and shouted something to the Tang ship.

"Dear General, it's a pleasure to see you again!" The Javanese envoy bowed deeply to Jumong as soon as he stepped onto the forecastle.

"Me too!" Jumong nodded with a smile: "Did you see my fleet? I didn't lie!"

"Yes, I'm glad to see this! You brought a large army with you!" The Javanese envoy's eyes flickered, and he looked around carefully. As far as he could see, there were fourteen schooners and eight cargo ships. The latter were wider and could carry more cargo. The entire fleet was arranged in three columns, with the schooners on both sides and the cargo ships in the middle, obviously to guard against possible enemy raids.

"A large army?" Jumong laughed. "Maybe. I came with several of my brothers. We hope to stay in Bharatiphu for a long time. As for the Linyi Kingdom, to achieve this, we must completely defeat the Khmers!"

"Khmer? Of course!" The Javanese envoy quickly responded, "You can rest assured that in the war against the Khmer, we Javanese will definitely stand firmly on your side!"

"Really? That's great!" Jumong smiled, his white teeth shining in the sunlight.

In the following time, the Tang fleet began to slowly sail into the large lake where the city of Paratipat was located. It was a natural shelter. It could also avoid attacks from the Khmer people at sea. In order to avoid running aground, all the Tang ships lowered most of their sails and were towed through the waterway by two long rowing boats. Both sides of the waterway were filled with Javanese and locals. Most of them saw the heroic appearance of the Tang schooner for the first time. The sharp bow, the streamlined narrow hull, the gun muzzles on the decks on both sides, and the neatly dressed and well-equipped soldiers all left a very deep impression on the onlookers. Unlike the locals who exclaimed from time to time, the Javanese were gloomy and worried, and had no joy at having a powerful ally.

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Observation tower.

The Astronomical Tower is the tallest building in Israpura, a city about 50 kilometers from Bharatipat. It was built by a legendary local king. Like many kingdoms in Southeast Asia, this king was the product of a Brahman saint and a local female chieftain. He learned a lot of valuable knowledge from his father, one of which was astrology. He built this octagonal tower in his palace, which was made of large cut stones. The stairs were within the thick walls. It looked more like a fortress than an astrological tower. Perhaps for this reason, the stone tower was well preserved. After the Javanese occupied the city, the astrological tower became the place where their leaders discussed important matters.

"In addition to warships, the Tang people's fleet also has many cargo ships! It is obvious that they will not leave this time!" a Javanese leader shouted.

"We all know this. The city of Balatiba has been theirs for a long time. Why should they leave?" someone nearby retorted.

"Yes, but will they be satisfied with just the city of Balatiba?" Someone asked, "Everyone has seen it today. It is a powerful fleet! And they are going to use the power of thunder at the beginning? This is clearly a demonstration to us!"

"Yes, that's it!"

"These Tang people are trying to intimidate us!" Everyone in the tent was shouting loudly, their faces flushed red. Although they did not know the secret of the Tang people's mastery of "Thunder", anyone who was not a fool would understand the purpose of their doing so, which made the Javanese people both afraid and angry.

"There's no point in yelling and cursing! What we should be thinking about is what to do!"

The person who spoke was not loud, but everyone in the tent stopped arguing and turned their eyes to the person who spoke. It was a man sitting by the window. On his right hand were several parchment scrolls - these scrolls might have come from ancient Persia or even more distant Greece (i.e. Eastern Rome). There were also several heavy books with leather covers and copper and iron buckles lying around. Beeswax candles as thick and long as a person's arm were inserted in the iron candlesticks on the wall, and the light they emitted was enough for him to read. Chief Geng Anlu was neither fat nor thin, neither tall nor short, neither handsome nor ugly. His hair was black, as were his eyes, and his beard was trimmed short and neat, and that beard had turned gray. In short, he looked like an ordinary person, with no special features except for his preference for black and white words. However, for most people in the room, reading was a quirk, not something a man should do.

"Geng Anlu!" Someone asked, "What book are you still reading at this time?"

"Meditations by Marcus Aurelius!" Geng Anlu closed the book and showed the cover to his companions: "This is a personal note of an emperor. The book talks about the relationship between the soul and death, analyzes personal virtues, personal liberation, and personal responsibility to society. It tells us how to live an upright life!"

"An emperor tells others how to live an upright life?" Someone sneered, "What's the difference between this and a prostitute teaching a girl how to stay chaste? Why would you waste your time reading this kind of book at this time?"

"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you have some misunderstandings about integrity!" Geng Anlu sighed.

"Well, we have more important things to discuss now than 'integrity'! Geng Anlu, what you just said is right. What we should consider now is what to do. Tell me! If it were you, what would you do?"

"Me? Are you talking about how to deal with the Tang people?" Geng Anlu carefully moved the scroll away to avoid it being damaged by the dripping candle wax. After thinking for a while, he replied, "It's actually very simple. Choosing who is your friend also determines who is your enemy! Do you plan to choose the Khmer or the Tang people as your enemy?"

The Javanese leaders looked at each other, and soon they gave their own answers:

“Khmers, of course!”

"Yes, we have been fighting the Khmers for nearly a hundred years!"

“Although the Tang people are dangerous, they are still better than the Khmer people!”

"Yes, the Tang people can't possibly take over the entire Water Chenla. If the Khmers win, not only will we lose the entire Water Chenla, but even our trade routes will be cut off!"

"Very good!" Geng Anlu nodded: "Since you plan to choose the Khmer people as your enemies, then you can only treat the Tang people as your friends, otherwise it will be too dangerous! And what you are worried about is that the Tang people are too powerful and threaten us, right?"

Everyone nodded. Geng Anlu calmly pointed out what the Javanese leaders were worried about. In a sense, allies were more dangerous than enemies. Enemies attacked from the front, while the allies' daggers would stab from behind. As an ally, the Tang people were too powerful.

"What are you most worried about? The power of thunder that the Tang people possess?" Geng Anlu asked, "Why don't you ask the Tang people to share this secret with us?"

"How can this be?"

"Yes, if it were me, I would definitely not let anyone know!"

"Yes, the Tang people will never accept it!"

Facing the opposition of his companions, Geng Anlu acted very calm, just like his nickname "Scholar". He gently patted the cover of the book and said, "You haven't tried it, how do you know it's impossible? I have asked the warriors who were defeated by the Tang people. The secret of the so-called thunder of the Tang people should be some kind of weapon of theirs. Since it is a weapon, it must be distributed to the soldiers for use. It can't be hidden forever. We can let them make any request they want in exchange for this secret!"

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"What? You want to buy thunder power from us?" Jumong was surprised. He looked at the unremarkable Javanese leader in front of him, wanting to make sure whether he was sane.

"Yes?" Geng Anlu replied, "I know this secret is very valuable, but everything has a price! I have asked the soldiers who were defeated by you. The so-called "thunder" power should be just a weapon that can make a loud noise and spray flames. I saw in the Arabs' books that the Greeks used similar weapons that could spray flames and burn ships on the water! The Arabs called this weapon Greek fire. You should have learned your weapon from the Greeks, right?"

Jumong looked at Geng Anlu in surprise. He didn't know what "Greek fire" was, but Geng Anlu was right in one thing. It was indeed just a weapon that anyone could use. And the meaning of what he said about Greek fire was also very clear: "If you refuse, I can buy it from another party!"