Chapter 199 Settlement
"Your Excellency Msili, this is the payment from our East African government. You can count it." Merk said.
“Yes.” Msili glanced at the two black men beside him.
For Msili, no politeness is as important as profit, so he directly asked people to start counting the arms provided by East Africa.
The two indigenous officials began to carefully count the boxes one by one. It was really rare for the Yeke Kingdom, which had no prenatal education per capita, to find two people who knew a little bit about mathematics.
It didn't take long.
"Your Majesty, one is not enough." said the two indigenous officials of the Yeke Kingdom.
However, Msili was not reassured. He came to a box, took out a musket from it, put it in his hand and inspected it carefully, and then randomly checked several boxes.
"Mr. Merck, can I have a test shot?" Msiri said.
“Of course, this is your right.” Merk said.
Msili skillfully loaded a gun with ammunition, then pointed it at a big tree in the distance and pulled the trigger. There was a "bang" sound and a hole appeared in the tree.
At this time Msili finally showed a satisfied smile, and he said: "You are very good! I am very satisfied with this transaction."
"This is natural, and our East African government is also particular about Those who are honest will never deceive you with those bad things, my friend.
Though he said this, Merk didn't think so in his heart. These guns were all defective products that had been repaired in East Africa. However, they could be used normally, but they would definitely be junk in the East African colonies.
There are at least hundreds of thousands of guns in East Africa, and most of them are old-fashioned muskets that have been eliminated from Europe. They have many problems, and some will develop various problems after being used a few times.
The East African government will then send these problematic guns to arsenals in East Africa for repair, and finally select the lowest batch from this batch of repaired guns before sending them to Msiri.
"By the way, Your Excellency Msili, because your cooperation this time has made us in East Africa very satisfied, so we have prepared some other gifts for you this time." Merk said.
Merck waved his hand, and several East African soldiers unloaded three boxes from the carriage. They looked quite big and should have contained a lot of things.
“Is there something in this?”
“You can open it and take a look.”
Msili looked at these unexpected gifts curiously, but worried about fraud, Msili still asked his men to open them and check them.
As the first box was opened, it was a box of wine, not much in quantity, five bottles in total, with straw on the bottom.
Msili suddenly felt his eyes light up. He stepped forward and took a wine bottle in his hand and looked at it carefully.
The glass bottle is really rare for Msili, and the workmanship is so perfect, but the shape is a bit weird.
"Mr. Merk, is this bottle made of gemstones filled with water?" Msili asked.
"This is filled with drinks," Merk replied.
“This wine should be very expensive!” Msili asked like a country bumpkin.
What is packed with such an ingenious work of art should not be ordinary. Especially when Merk said that it contained wine, Msili was even more convinced that the wine inside was also very precious.
Msili also drank wine, but it was fruit wine brewed from local bananas in the Yeke Kingdom. It had many impurities and was very turbid. When he saw that the liquid in the bottle was so pure, Msili thought that the liquid in the bottle was so pure. It contains water.
As for why this piece of art contains water, maybe it is a special hobby of East Africans, this is what Msiri thought before Merk said that it contained wine.
"You are right. Look at the logo on the bottle. It is a horse herder. So in our place, this kind of wine is called 'Wrangler'. This kind of wine is very precious. There are only a few of them even in Europe. People can afford to drink," Merk said with his mouth full.
“Where is Europe?”
“It’s my hometown.”
“Is it true that only your king can afford to drink?” Msiri asked .
“Of course, only people with your status can drink this kind of wine.” Merk said. After hearing this, Msili was instantly satisfied. Just like himself, wouldn't he be their king? This wine matches my identity.
In fact, Merk said this deliberately. In his eyes, how could Msili be compared with people in the civilized world.
Wrangler, a familiar brand, is the popular vodka that sold explosively in Tsarist Russia. It is the favorite of the bottom drinkers in Tsarist Russia.
However, with the contribution of Tsarist Russian drinkers, Wrangler Vodka has become the most produced drink of the Hechingen Consortium.
The low price is its biggest advantage, so it was used in East Africa to give to Msili.
Msili couldn't wait to taste the taste of this wine. He fiddled with it and found the wooden cork on it. He held the bottle with one hand and pulled it hard with the other hand, then opened it and faced the last He took a big gulp in his mouth.
"It tastes really good. You guys from East Africa are very sincere. I will remember this friendship!"
"We have always been generous with our friends." Merk said with a smile.
The first box contained such a good thing, and Msiri couldn't wait to see what the remaining two boxes contained.
This time he did it himself, holding the wine bottle in one hand and opening the second box with the other, only to see a piece of textile inside.
"Mr. Merk, what is this?"
Merk walked forward, took out the fabric, shook his hand, and a cloak made of cotton appeared in front of Msili's eyes.
It is also sewn with unique animal patterns in Africa. It looks gaudy, but the workmanship is quite satisfactory, especially compared to the robe Msili is wearing, it is indeed more exquisite.
“This is the cloak we prepared for you, which can better show your kingly spirit.” Merk said.
Msili took it and looked at it carefully. The workmanship was indeed "exquisite" and the patterns were very beautiful and colorful, especially the lions, crocodiles, etc. on them, which were simply "lifelike".
"Okay, that's great. I'm very satisfied with this gift." Msili put the cloak back into the box.
When he came to the third box, he opened it. This time Msili had no idea what was in front of him.
Wine bottles are works of art made of gemstones. Musili also knows the fabric, but at most he doesn’t know its function. But what he sees in front of him is beyond Musili’s knowledge and he has never seen it in Africa. Such a thing!
Merck stepped forward and said: "This is our specialty in East Africa. It is called cigarette. It is used to smoke. It can make people feel good."
"How do you smoke this thing? ?”
Merk took out a box, removed the seal, took out one, lit it, and then began to teach Msili how to smoke.
Soon, Msili was on the road, but he was very puzzled: "This thing doesn't feel very good, isn't it just smoke!"
Merke said: "Short Time has no effect. After a long time, you will know the fun of it."
But Msili was still dubious, and Merk said to him: "From now on, one pill after a meal will only last a few days. God, you know the fun.”
……
The reason why East Africa gave gifts to Msili was naturally out of kindness. Tobacco and alcohol were addictive things. When Msili's inventory ran out, he would naturally take the initiative to contact the East African colonies.
Anyway, Msili is still going to grab territory now. He can always grab some good things from other indigenous people. East Africa can just exchange them for tobacco and alcohol.
Of course, Msili was more generous. He cooperatively handed over the territory of the former Kingdom of Yeke to East Africa, and also actively expelled the citizens to the border areas with other indigenous countries, which saved the East African colonies a lot of trouble. Therefore, the East African colonies should be "rewarded".
However, Msili is also very thoughtful. After leaving the Yeke Kingdom, he did not choose to be neighbors with East Africa again. Instead, he grabbed a relatively far away territory as a base. If it were not for the payment from East Africa, If the account is not received, it is estimated that he can run further. In the future, Msiri's ammunition will still be replenished from East Africa, so it is impossible to cut off contact with East Africa directly. .
The East African colonies are not worried if the guns and ammunition are handed over to Msili. The more chaos the Zambian region can get into, the better. Anyway, the number of guns in Msili’s hands is small and does not threaten the security of East Africa.
And with the weapon in his hand, Msili will definitely not be able to rest, and the surrounding indigenous people will definitely suffer. It depends on who is more unlucky.
(End of this chapter)