Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 916: Killing the King

Zhan Bo did not answer. He was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: "If possible, I want to get this fish market, that is, if I help you enter the city, this fish market will belong to me and my children in the future!"

"No problem!" Heba Yun answered decisively. He gestured to Wang Bo: "Mr. Wang, take some white linen paper for this..." He paused: "What's your name?"

"Zhanbo! Everyone calls me that!" Zhanbo lowered his head in shame: "But I don't know how to write my own name!"

"It doesn't matter!" Heba Yun said to Wang Bo, "Give him a name and write a letter of appointment, saying he will be in charge of all matters related to the fish market!"

"Well!" Wang Bo wrote quickly, and in a blink of an eye he had written the official letter on the white linen paper. Heba Yun took it and looked at it, then took out his official seal from the fish bag on his waist, dipped it in ink and pressed it hard on the white linen paper, then handed it to Zhan Bo and said, "Take it, now this fish market is yours!"

Zhan Bo looked at the flamboyant handwriting and the bright red seal on the white linen paper, his body trembling slightly. He rolled it up carefully and put it in his arms: "I know a small path that can lead into the city. My children and I usually use it to smuggle some contraband and earn some money to survive. But that path is actually a sewer, dirty, smelly and filthy!"

"We are not afraid of fighting in battle, let alone dirt and stench?" Heba Yun said with a smile: "Big Eaton, I leave this matter to you!"

————————————————————————

royal palace.

The smooth bronze screens reflected the bright torches and filled the king's banquet hall with light, but there were still shadows in the banquet hall. Princess Shaya could see it in her father's eyes - and heard it from the painful coughs and whispers of the ministers, and the chief attendant who slipped in from time to time to report news to the king.

When the chief attendant came in from the back door for the first time, Shaya had just finished eating fruit. She caught a glimpse of him talking to the king's brother, General Jayaharavarman, before he walked to the guard of the long table and knelt beside the king's seat. He was covered in blood and the stench of animal feces, with several wounds on his face and his hair in a mess. Although his voice was very soft, Shaya couldn't help but listen. "Our army has defeated the front team of the bandits, but was repelled by the second wave of enemies that landed behind. In the face of thunder and fire, your warriors suffered heavy casualties. Some poor and drunkards in the city wanted to take the opportunity to rob houses. The city guard has sent soldiers to deal with them. Every temple is crowded with people, and everyone is praying."

"Where's the high priest?"

"The high priest is in the front hall of the temple to appease the people!"

"Where is my son?"

"It's all ready!"

"Very good, let him leave the city immediately and head to the deputy capital. We must prepare for the worst!"

"As you command!" The chief attendant knelt down and left quickly. Shaya noticed that his father picked up the wine glass and took a big sip. The king's face was red, and there was a kind of fanaticism in his eyes when he looked around, as if fire was burning.

The servants brought various dishes, and Shaya noticed that it was already dinner time. It should be said that the dishes were rich, but no one had a good appetite. Many people's hands were shaking as they held the tableware, and the prime minister's wife even began to sob. The king ordered the women at the table to leave. Shaya stood up and walked to her father to pay her respects. The king held his daughter's arm: "Child, why don't you cry? Men must be brave, must face swords and spears, everyone wants to kill you - but women are different!" At this point, a painful expression appeared on his face: "I'm sorry, Shaya, I'm sorry, if you were not my daughter, you wouldn't have to endure this -"

The exclamation from outside interrupted the king's apology, and the chief chamberlain rushed into the banquet hall with a warrior. "The enemy has entered the city!" The warrior's arm might have been injured, and his coat was full of blood. When he walked into the hall, many people were frightened and screamed. "There must be an insider who brought the enemy into the city through a secret passage that no one knows about. Damn it, the city is on fire everywhere, and the streets are full of robbers and drunkards. The guards on the city wall dropped their spears and fled, and the streets are full of corpses, flames, and abandoned debris. Your Majesty, you must go immediately. Only in this way can you -"

Another officer came in from outside. "There is fighting all over the city right now, Your Majesty. No one can tell what is going on. It is chaos. Ram Gate has been occupied by the enemy, and the enemy flag has been raised. The enemy soldiers have poured into the city. This guy is right. The soldiers have abandoned the city walls and killed the officers. The mob has swarmed in and tried to besiege the temple. The whole city is in chaos."

"Captain of the Chamberlain," the king stood up, "my son has left the city?"

"Yes, I saw the prince's ship sail out of the water gate with my own eyes!" replied the chief attendant.

"Very good, put on my armor!" the king shouted, his eyes sweeping over everyone at the long table: "My ministers and generals, take up your weapons, the final time has come, we must fight to defend our city and our families!"

Watching her father put on his armor and walked out with his men, Shaya trembled all over but could not say anything. The king stopped at the door, looked back at his daughter, and smiled apologetically: "Please forgive me, Shaya!"

There was chaos in the banquet hall. Someone was crying, "Gods, we are defeated. The city has fallen. What should we do?" Several younger women also started crying. The air was filled with the smell of fear. Shaya found that she was the person with the highest status in the room. Should she stay here, or should she escape back to her room, close the door, hide in the bed and shiver?
She found herself standing up and walking to where the king used to be, as if an invisible spirit was controlling her. "Don't be afraid!" She shouted loudly, "The king has guards around him. They are numerous and well-equipped. One person can defeat a hundred enemies. The palace is also very strong. There is a moat outside and sharp bamboo sticks in the ditch. This is already the safest place in the city--!"

"What has happened?" A woman stood up. She was the daughter of the king's treasurer. "Has the city fallen?"

"Don't panic!" Shaya raised her right hand. "The battle is still going on. There are just some thieves on the street who took the opportunity to steal. They set fire to some houses. The besieged enemies are still helpless!"

"But I heard that the enemy has entered the city, and the Rama Gate has also been occupied!" "Your Majesty has personally gone to retake the city gate, you don't have to worry!" Shaya felt that she was about to collapse, she said to the maid beside her: "Bring some more wine, everyone is thirsty!"

The maids brought the wine, and the women took the cups and drank. Frightened and sporadic laughter echoed in the hall. Shaya looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her, and walked out carefully. She wanted to run out, but she still used all her strength to control herself and walked out of the hall slowly. As soon as she reached the stairs, she really ran, running up the many steps until she was panting and dizzy. A guard bumped into her on the stairs, and a jeweled wine glass and a pair of silver candlesticks fell out of the red robe wrapped in something, and rolled down the stairs. When he concluded that Shaya was not going to compete for his spoils, he ignored her and hurried to chase the things.

The bedroom was as dark as pitch. Shaya bolted the door and walked to the window in the dark. She opened the curtains and her breath caught.

The evening sky reflected the flames below, showing an eerie brightness, with orange light spreading across the sky. The blood-red sunset and the ordinary red or yellow flames below competed with each other, one rising while the other fell, giving birth to countless fleeting shadows. The air was filled with a burning smell, and the ashes of the fire fluttered in the wind like fireflies.

Shaya left the window, lay on the bed and closed her eyes. She told herself that when she woke up again, everything would return to normal and her fate would be decided by the winner. She sobbed silently and began to miss her father, brother, and mother who was no longer in the world.

————————————————————————

"Let your men clean up the streets!" Heba Yun shouted loudly to Zhanbo.

"Follow the order!"

Less than half an hour after the Tang army captured the Rama Gate, Zhanbo's men already had 700 men, and the number was even increasing. In any commercial city in ancient times, there were a large number of lumpen proletarians who had nothing. As long as they encountered an opportunity to change their fate, these people would not hesitate to trample on all legal and moral boundaries. Heba Yun ordered these people to be armed with the weapons left by the defenders of Linyi City and let them serve as his vanguard and servant army. Heba Yun ignored Gugar's people, but did not indulge his soldiers to plunder and make a fortune. It was getting dark, and Heba Yun did not want to throw his few soldiers into a street fight where the outcome was unpredictable.

Under Zhanbo's command, the mob began to quickly clear the streets, throwing corpses and various debris into the ditches beside the road. Heba Yun placed four cannons on the city gate, which not only allowed them to shoot down the defenders who were trying to retake the city gate from the streets, but also protected the rowboats moored at the dock outside the city. According to his judgment, the defenders in the city were likely to launch a counterattack under the cover of night, and this was their only chance to turn the tide.

Facts soon confirmed Heba Yun's judgment. At the boundary between dusk and night, the Linyi people's counterattack arrived - it should be said that the commander of the Linyi people had tried his best: the Linyi people launched attacks from three directions almost simultaneously, one from inside the city, one from the city wall, and another one first left the city from a neighbor, went around the city wall, and launched an attack from outside the city.

"Turn the muzzles of the guns and clear the enemies on the city walls first!" Heba Yun shouted loudly. He had been through many battles and grasped the key to this battle in an instant. Whoever could control the city gate would take the initiative. He immediately ordered the muzzles of the four short guns on the city gate to be turned and aimed at the enemies rushing over from the walls on both sides. They fired with shotgun shells, then volleys, and finally bayonet charges. In a short time, the enemies were defeated. Then the muzzles of the guns were turned again and aimed at the enemies on the streets below, and finally the enemies outside the city were bombarded. In a very short time, all three routes of enemies were defeated.

"General, General! Look!" An officer ran over, holding a gorgeously decorated helmet and a sword in his hands, which were inlaid with a large number of gems and gold and silver, immediately attracting countless greedy eyes.

"These are two real treasures!" Heba Yun smiled and asked, "Where are the people?"

"He's dead!" the officer replied, "He was shot once in the thigh and once in the abdomen, and twice in the chest!"

Heba Yun stood beside the dead man. Judging from his burly figure and the gorgeous armor on his body, he should be sure that the dead man was at least a noble. He squatted down and confirmed that he was dead. He said: "Call two captives to confirm the identity of the dead man!"

"I have already questioned four prisoners, and they are all sure that it should be correct!" Wang Bo said with a wry smile: "According to the prisoners' confessions, the city is full of bandits, and many bandits have even begun to besiege the temple. If the king cannot retake the city gate as soon as possible, there will be no way to delay until tomorrow!"

"We just took down one city gate, and the whole capital is in such a mess! Tsk tsk!" Heba Yun laughed, "I really don't know how the King of Linyi governs on a daily basis. It's like a soup pot on a fire, the soup is about to overflow, but he has no idea at all! Ridiculous, ridiculous!"

"This general doesn't know anything!" Gu Jiaer on the side said with a smile: "This Linyi King and his ancestors were famous for their worship of gods. Is that why they made the country like this?"

"Oh? How does he believe in gods?" Heba Yun asked curiously.

"About thirty years ago, when the previous king of Linyi ruled, a fire broke out in the city and burned down the Shiva Temple. So the previous king made a solemn vow to build a unique temple for Shiva—"

"I understand. Did the king spend a lot of people's energy and build this temple?" Heba Yun said with a smile.

"If only it were just that!" Gujar said with a smile, "This Shiva Bhadrasura Temple is not just a waste of manpower. It is said that the statues in the temple are all made of gold and silver, and inlaid with various jewels, made by master craftsmen. In order to avoid another fire, the temple is mostly built with huge stones, the gate is cast with bronze, and the floor is also polished with precious stones, as smooth as a mirror. This Linyi Kingdom is just a small country, where can it find so many gold, silver, gems, and master craftsmen?"

"You wouldn't say that the Linyi Kingdom promoted commerce just to build temples?" Heba Yun asked.

"Yes!" Gugar nodded. "If we want a stable country and peace, business is not as good as farming. But if we just want to obtain treasures from all directions and fill the treasury, farmers can never beat merchants. If the King of Linyi only relied on his own people, even if he forced all the people to death, he would not be able to build this magnificent temple of Shiva and Bhadrapura!"

Routinely asking for subscriptions, votes, and rewards.