Chapter 184: Negotiation
Not long after, a brightly dressed African warrior arrived on the scene. Compared to the surrounding tribesmen wearing simple cloth and the plainly outfitted East African soldiers, the warrior's appearance made it clear that he held a high position in the Yeke Kingdom.
"I am His Majesty Msiri's guard. The king has agreed to meet with you. Please follow me," the African warrior said.
"Please," Becker replied politely with a gesture of invitation.
The Yeke Kingdom's royal guard led Becker and his party toward the kingdom's capital.
They walked for an indeterminate amount of time before finally seeing a city. Around it lay clusters of slums, while at the center stood a lavish palace.
The city's conditions were naturally appalling, prompting the East Africans to cover their noses as they passed through muddy streets of unknown composition.
This made the guard from the Yeke Kingdom feel embarrassed. However, since these East Africans were guests specifically summoned by His Majesty Msiri, there wasn't much he could say.
Once they made their way through the slums, it was as though they had entered another world. The muddy path changed into a road paved with stone slabs. The palace they had glimpsed from the outskirts was now surrounded by a low wall; it had been blocked by the slums earlier, which was why they hadn't seen it clearly.
This area was likely the "royal city" of the Yeke Kingdom. Its layout exuded a strong Arabic architectural influence—columns and carvings that clearly didn't originate with the local people. It seemed this had been built by craftsmen from the Sultanate of Zanzibar at Msiri's invitation.
The African guard led Becker and the others through the city gate. Armed gatekeepers saluted him with rifles. Passing through, they at last saw the palace looming ahead.
"Everyone, by order of His Majesty, you may not bring weapons into the palace. You must hand them over to us for safekeeping if you wish to enter. Otherwise, you will have to wait here," the guard said to Becker and the others.
This put the East Africans in a difficult spot. Their rifles were their lifeblood, and they were, after all, deep inside hostile territory; naturally, they wouldn't want to give them up.
At that moment, Becker pulled Merck aside and said, "Mr. Merck, I'm the one who pushed for this endeavor, so I should see it through. I'll go in alone with our slave translator to meet Msiri. You stay with the rest of the group here. If anything happens, you'll have to rely on yourselves."
"Don't worry, Mr. Becker. If these locals don't know their place, we'll show them what it means not to trifle with a lion," Merck replied.
"Alright, then I'll head in first. Remain here, and if I don't come out after a while, make whatever decision you must." With that, Becker took the translator and followed the guard into the Yeke Kingdom's palace.
Inside the main hall:
"So, you're the envoy of the East Africans?" Msiri wore a golden crown and a lavish robe. He was sprawled rather than seated on a throne made from lion's hide, while several local maidservants behind him fanned him with banana leaves.
"Yes. I am an official from Mbeya in the East African royal territory. I've come to propose a transaction to Your Majesty," Becker said to Msiri.
"Hmph, you East Africans have a lot of nerve—coming here in such a small group to negotiate with me! Don't forget that you cut off my source of income!" Msiri blurted angrily, nearly pushing Becker to lose his composure.
Becker thought to himself, Sure enough, these locals are uncivilized barbarians who know only the law of the jungle. If East Africa were the weaker side here, they'd have attacked us long ago.
Still, Becker maintained a polite tone with Msiri: "Your Majesty, whatever do you mean? East Africa has always had friendly relations with your kingdom. We've never treated you with disrespect. For more than a year now, our two nations have coexisted peacefully, developing together in harmony."
Becker's bald-faced lie made Msiri break into a mocking grin.
"Others might not know all the details about you East Africans, but I, Msiri—the greatest believer of the Almighty in this world—am fully aware!
'Coexisted peacefully'? Ha! Don't you East Africans dare say such a thing. When I left Tanganyika years ago, that land belonged to us locals. And remember, I grew up in the Tanganyika region. You East Africans only seized our land for yourselves.
That's your so-called peaceful coexistence? Tanganyika was huge, and you went on snatching land all the way to the borders of the Yeke Kingdom.
Moreover, you've monopolized the slave trade, causing my kingdom's revenue to drop year after year. Were it not for me, the great King Msiri, the Yeke Kingdom would have disappeared by now…"
Msiri railed against the East African colony's wrongdoings, growing increasingly irate. Indeed, of all those harmed by East African expansion, he had been hit the hardest. With his slave-trading operations, Msiri had once held immense sway in Central Africa, living a life of indulgent luxury. But ever since East Africa cut off his trade routes, he had been forced to squeeze the local tribes further to keep up his extravagant lifestyle.
In truth, these grievances alone might not have provoked Msiri to such fury; in Africa, it had always been survival of the fittest, with the winner taking all. But what truly galled him was East Africa's complete disregard for others: the colony continued trading slaves yet forced him to do most of the work while offering no payment in return. In effect, Msiri was working for free.
Becker calmly waited until Msiri—his mouth presumably dry from ranting—called for some wine to moisten his throat. Taking this chance, Becker said, "Your Majesty, I believe you've misunderstood East Africa. We are actually very fond of peace."
"Heh," Msiri sneered, regarding Becker as though watching a performing monkey.
"In fact, most East Africans love peace. Look at me: I'm absolutely a messenger of peace. But we do have a few bad apples who want to sow discord between our two countries. Naturally, good people in East Africa can't sit idly by, which is why I came to speak with you today."
"Enough pretending! How many troops are you East Africans planning to send against us?" Msiri asked coldly. In truth, he was already thinking about how to flee. He knew all too well how powerful the East Africans were; even the Arabs couldn't defeat them, let alone anyone else.
"Your Majesty, what makes you say that? I've already mentioned we East Africans love peace, and it's only certain individuals stirring up conflict between our kingdoms. But there are righteous people in East Africa who won't stand by, hence my visit," Becker said.
"Then what exactly do you East Africans want?"
"Your Majesty, as I stated when I first arrived at the palace, I'm here to discuss a partnership—one that benefits you and East Africa alike," Becker said.
"And what sort of partnership is that?" Msiri asked, suspecting East Africa had ulterior motives yet unable to resist inquiring.
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