Chapter 156

  Both sides discussed the conditions put forward by Tang Yin, and also opened the prelude to a tug of war. Besa's ministers also participated recently.

  For the first condition, Besa City-State agreed not to station a large army on both sides of the border, but requested that Tang Yin's side also refrain from stationing a large army, in order to show fairness. Currently, Tang Yin didn't have any extra military force to guard the border anyway, so he naturally accepted Besa's condition with pleasure.

  The second condition was to open all of Besa's cities for trade, and Sanchez agreed while also asking Tang Yin to open the cities of Fengguo to Besa, at least within the territory under Tang Yin's jurisdiction. Tang Yin refused to back down on this point, as opening up the cities would be equivalent to allowing Besans to move freely in and out, which could lead to trouble if a large number of Besan troops were to suddenly launch an attack. Besa had similar concerns, and both sides went back and forth, each trying to reason with the other without making any concessions. In the end, the negotiations reached a stalemate, and Tang Yin and Sanchez could only retreat a step. Tang Yin promised to open up the border cities and Heng City, while Sanchez promised to open up five cities along Besa's borders. On this second point, both sides finally reached an understanding.

  When it came to the third condition, Tang Yin proposed that Besa compensate his side, with a single mouthful being 500,000 taels of gold and 5 million taels of silver.

  Baisa was willing to give out so much gold and silver, but the two sides haggled over compensation issues and argued until the end without reaching a result.

  At this time, the sky was already very dark, and both sides had been talking until now, and they were all a bit tired, feeling more tiring than fighting on the battlefield.

  Sánchez said: "General Tong, it's getting late now, let's discuss this matter tomorrow?"

  Tang Yin nodded and said, "Of course."

  Sanches smiled and said: "There is a dinner party in the palace tonight, I hope General Tang can stay and attend."

  Tang Yin was about to refuse, but hesitated for a moment, then agreed: "Alright, it's better to obey than to show respect."

  Sanchez burst out laughing at this.

  The dinner party at the Palace of Versailles was no ordinary one, with a grand scale and sumptuous feast.

  The banquet hall was nearly five meters high, with a length and width of about twenty meters. The grand hall was packed with people, all of whom were officials and nobles from the city-state of Besa, along with their family members. Groups of servants moved in and out, weaving through the crowds.

  Tang Yin was not unfamiliar with this Western-style banquet, but Shangguan Yuanyu was amazed, finding everything fresh and exciting, especially the crystal cups used at the banquet, which were as transparent as water crystals, something that could not be seen in Fengguo.

  Everyone at the banquet was a noble of Besa, except for Tang Yin and Shangguan Yuan, who were the only two fops. Their attire was also different from others, making them the focus of the banquet. Many nobles had already heard of Tang Yin's name, so they took advantage of the banquet to take a look at him and see what kind of person he was.

  After taking a closer look at Tang Yin's appearance, the nobles of Bessa felt even more disappointed. They thought that Tang Yin would have three heads and six arms or something, but it turned out that he was not even as good as an ordinary person from Bessa. His height of 1.8 meters was only average among the people of Bessa, and his slender build made him look like a half-grown child with his oriental face. He didn't have any resemblance to a demon holding a sickle at all. On the other hand, the person standing next to him, Shangguan Yuanyi, had an air of majesty about him. His large dark face was stern and imposing, his expression cold, like a black-faced evil god.

  At the banquet, Besa's officials in charge of entertaining Tang Yin occasionally introduced him to the nobles around him. Even if Tang Yin was smart enough, he couldn't remember so many complicated names.

  However, a young woman in a white sarong next to Sanchez caught Tang Yin's attention. The woman was 23 or 24 years old, with golden hair and green eyes, her skin as white as snow, and her nose bridge high and raised. Whether viewed from an Eastern or Western perspective, she could be considered stunningly beautiful.

  Tang Yin was able to notice her because she would occasionally glance at him, her eyes exuding confidence and provocation, as if the two had met before. However, in Tang Yin's impression, he had no impression of this woman.

  Shangguan Yuan leaned in, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Tang Yin, then glanced at the woman beside King Bessa, and asked suspiciously: "Do you know her?"

  Tang Yin shook his head.

  "She seems to be very interested in you!" Shangguan Yuanyuan smiled slyly.

  Tang Yin furrowed his brow, raised his nose and sniffed, the smell of wine hit his nostrils, it was clear that Shang Guanyu hadn't held back on drinking. He didn't respond, instead saying in a low voice: "Drink less."

  "The liquor of He Feng country is compared, Ba Sa's wine is simply like sugar water." Shang Guan Yuan said disapprovingly.

  "This wine has a strong aftertaste, it's easy to get drunk, don't forget where we are now, if you pass out, your life will be in danger!" Tang Yin said with a hint of warning. The wine at the banquet was all red wine, which tasted sour, sweet and astringent when drank, but lacked flavor, yet it was very easy for people to get drunk unknowingly.

  Shangguan Yuan let out a surprised glance at Tang Yin, feeling that his knowledge was even broader than his own, as if there was nothing he didn't understand. He felt admiration in his heart, but didn't say it out loud, instead saying nonchalantly: "There's still no wine in this world that can knock me out!" As he spoke, he had already put down the cup in his hand and wouldn't take another sip.

  At this moment, Knie came over to Tang Yin surrounded by a group of people.

  Just by looking at his proud and arrogant demeanor as he walked, Tang Yin had a premonition that trouble was brewing. The surrounding nobles also seemed to sense something amiss and stopped their conversations, turning to look in their direction.

  Kneiss walked directly up to Tang Yin, chuckled and asked hypocritically: "General Tang, are you satisfied with the wine and dishes at the banquet?"

  Tang Yin remained calm and said indifferently: "It's neither too good nor too bad."

  Kneiss was taken aback, then burst out laughing. He slightly turned his body, pointed to a burly man behind him and said: "This is our Besa's king of fighting, who has won more than 50 games in the arena and never lost."

  Tang Yin looked up and sized up the big man pointed out by Kneiss.

  This is a genuine black man, over two meters tall, with a sturdy physique like a large water buffalo. His head has no hair and is shiny and bright, his skin is so dark it seems to be oozing oil, he has a flat nose, thick lips that curl outward, and on the side of his forehead there are circular scars in the shape of a cross, the characteristic brand of a Bassa slave, I don't know from which country the Bassa people captured this slave.

  Tang Yin looked at the black man, and the black man was also sizing up Tang Yin. After just two glances, his flat nose wrinkled, and he let out a heavy, cold snort.

  "Your spiritual martial arts are very powerful, I admire them, but I don't know how your hand-to-hand combat skills are? Does General Tang have the guts to fight him without using his spiritual martial arts?" Kneiss raised his chin and looked at Tang Yin with disdain.

  At the sound of this, the entire banquet hall fell silent, with everyone turning to look at Tang Yin, including King Sancho of Besa and the woman beside him.

  Shangguan Yuan didn't know what he was saying, but he had a general idea. He burst out laughing and said to Tang Yin: "If you want to fight, let me do it!"

  Tang Yin rushed forward and made a gesture to stop him. Shangguan Yuan let out a cold snort, but if only the skill of close combat was considered, it was not necessarily possible to defeat this slave who specialized in gladiatorial combat.

  He looked at Shang Kexin with a smile and said, "What's wrong? I just feel sorry for you."

  "What a pity?"

  "What a pity to lose such a capable slave."

  "Haha!" Kneiss burst out laughing, unsure if he was amused or irritated by Tang Yin. He leaned in close to Tang Yin and said, "If General Tang feels he's no match for me in a fight, to save his life, he can also use the Lingwu."

  Tang Yin shrugged and smiled: "There's no need for that."

  "Good!" Kneiss snapped his fingers, and shouted to the surrounding nobles: "Make way, let's see how formidable General Tang's martial arts are!" As he spoke, he himself retreated, and when he passed by the black man, he whispered: "Gru, kill him!"

  That black slave named Gulu stared at Tang Yin with a fierce gaze, panting heavily, his thick arms as big as an adult's thigh, with bulging veins, looking like a wild beast about to break out of its cage.

  At this time, a Besa guard stepped forward and handed Gulu a long spear. Another guard also handed Tang Yin an identical long spear, but after Tang Yin took it, he didn't even look at it and casually threw it away. He turned around and walked to the table, picked up a wine cup with two fingers, and said with a faint smile: "To take his life, a wine cup is enough."

  "What——After hearing Tang Yin's words, the Besa nobles were in an uproar. Ge Lu was just a slave, but he was extremely famous in Besa, as Knie? said, he had never lost in the bloody battles of the arena, and countless gladiators had died at his hands. This time, Knie? brought him here to deliberately suppress Tang Yin's arrogance."

  When Tang Yin was about to take the wine cup and the long spear of Gruel, King Sanchez also laughed, waiting for a good show. The lady beside him had a gleam in her eyes, staring at Tang Yin without blinking.

  In the arena, as Tang Yin walked slowly towards him with a wine cup in his hand, Gulu suddenly let out a loud roar and charged forward with his spear, the long spearhead stabbing straight at Tang Yin's chest.

  "Oh——"

  The nobles of Bessa exclaimed in surprise, their faces filled with shock and excitement, regardless of whether they were male or female, old or young. In their eyes, this was not a duel between two lives, but a game that could bring them stimulation and pleasure. This is the nobility of Bessa.

  Tang Yin sneered in his heart, and just because the Besa people didn't treat slaves as human beings, he could make use of it for himself in the future.

  While he was thinking, others were not idle. When the long spear stabbed near him, he slid a step with his foot and flashed to the back of Gulu at an incredible angle and speed.

  Ge Lu indeed had a place beyond others, with such a huge body, yet reacting extremely quickly, and his movements were extremely agile. Immediately afterwards, he counterattacked with a spear, stabbing Tang Yan in the back.