As night falls, the King's Hall in the middle of the pyramid is illuminated by hundreds of blazing braziers.

The insolent beat of the drum and the melodious flute sound merge to create a wonderfully exotic atmosphere.

Three young and beautiful female dancers swirl and jump around the bonfire in the center of the main hall.

They were smeared with oil, and their sturdy bodies glistened in the firelight.

A dozen Unsullied officers with spiked helmets sat in their positions like sculptures, indifferent to what was in front of them.

But not everyone is as unappreciative of beautiful things as they are.

Katou Huya watched the performance so engrossed in the performance that his saliva almost flowed.

Samwell sipped sour persimmon wine while looking at the dancing girls with an eye for art appreciation.

But that wasn't the case with the distinguished guest beside him.

The man had a pale, thin face, a pompous gold-silk robe, and his bald head shimmering in the light of the campfire, as well as the opal gem set in his nose.

The man, who seemed to be more interested in fruit bowls than naked dancers, was a wealthy merchant from Quells, Zaro Zanwang Dassus.

Although Quells was nominally ruled by the royal family, the actual power was in the hands of thirteen top wealthy merchants, also known as the "Thirteen Giants".

Zaro Zanwang Dassus was one of the thirteen.

The youngest and most ambitious.

The drums stopped abruptly, and the dancers knelt down on their knees and saluted.

"You guys danced very well." Samwell clapped his hands, then looked at Zaro beside him, "What do you think?" Honored guests? ”

"It's really an elegant and moving dance." Zaro said in an exaggerated tone, "The woman of Astapor is so good under your tutelage! ”

The corners of Samwell's mouth twitched, and he wanted to explain that he didn't train any dancers at all, but he still didn't say anything.

There is no need to explain to such people.

"Lord Zaro, I heard Daenerys talk about you." Samwell smiled meaningfully, "She said you were kind and hospitable, and that she had wandered to Quells thanks to your great help. ”

"Oh, Daenerys, the beautiful Dragon Queen, and it is a pleasure to be complimented by her." Zaro raised his glass, "Forgive me for taking the liberty of being of the same race as her?" After all, you all have dragons. ”

"We are the last true dragon bloodline in this world." Samwell raised his glass and touched it.

Zaro drank all the wine in his glass and laughed:

"In that case, we are friends. I don't know if the beautiful Dragon Queen ever told you that I proposed to her, but she didn't, otherwise we would be relatives. ”

Samwell thought of the man's blind eye to the naked dancer just now, and he just wanted to laugh, but on the surface he put on a regretful expression:

"That's a shame."

"Yes, that's a shame." Tears welled up in the corners of Zaro's eyes, "Since the departure of the beautiful Dragon Queen, my mansion has been as empty as a tomb, and the joy of that great city has dissipated from my mouth like dust. Alas! Say, 'Why should she forsake me?' ”

If it weren't for the fact that Zarrow had no interest in women, and that the Quells pride themselves on strong emotional fluctuations and see them as a sign of civilization, Samwell would have almost taken this guy for an infatuated species.

"Maybe you're not sincere enough." Samwell said casually.

"Not sincere enough?" "You know I have proposed to her fifty times!" But every time I get the same cold rejection! ”

"Fifty times?" Samwell raised his glass to hide his expression, "Then I'm really wrong about you." ”

"Yes. Daenerys is a cruel girl who has broken the hearts of many men! A humble merchant like me was like a broken stone, trampled under her slender feet in jeweled sandals. As he spoke, he shed another teardrop.

Samwell was amazed, it wasn't too difficult to cry at any time, but every time he cried, he only shed a tear, no more, no less, it was too much of a test of his acting skills.

This one has clearly reached the realm of incarnation.

"Regardless, I consider you a friend." Samwell said, suddenly changing his words, "But I didn't expect you to hire the Cat Regiment and the Spear Regiment to take my city, are the Quells so rude?" ”

"You're wrong about me!" "We didn't invite the Cats and Lancers to Astapor, not to oppose you. Instead, he heard terrible rumors and learned that there was a riot in the city, so he sent mercenaries to help maintain order. As you probably know, the stability of Slave Bay is especially important to Quells. ”

Samwell, of course, knew that Zarrow was talking nonsense, but the last words of the other party were the truth.

Quells' prosperity was built on the slave trade, and Slave Bay, as the source and center of the slave trade on the continent of Essos, was of course of great importance to Zaro and others.

"Your Majesty Caesar." Zaro leaned forward slightly, and said, "The Thirteen Giants are willing to recognize your rule over Astapor, but only if you can't ban the slave trade. ”

"Oh? As long as I don't prohibit the slave trade, the Thirteen are willing to recognize my rule over Astapor? ”

"That's right." "I know you have a compassionate heart, but the slave trade is extremely important to Astapor. If I'm not mistaken, you're short of food, right? Although you can now buy food with gold. But there are no gold mines in Astapor, and the gold will only be used less and less.

As for your work on the banks of the Worm River...... It is appreciated. You may not know it, though. The hills of Astapor were once covered with forests, but were destroyed by Dragon Burn during the war between Valyria and the Guggis Empire.

When the forest disappears, the unsheltered soil is baked by the scorching sun and turns into flying red sand. There is not much food to grow on such land. Your people will die of hunger and misery.

What a disaster! ”

"You're right." Samwell laughed, "Actually, I was about to tell you that two days ago Astapo had decided to continue the slave trade through a referendum. ”

"What a wise decision!" "You see, your people themselves know that freedom is not as important as bread. Instead of being a starving free man, you should become a slave who can fill your stomach. ”

Samwell took a sip of wine, and his mood was a little complicated, but soon, he put aside his superfluous thoughts and said:

"However, while the slave trade continues, there will be no new Unsullied from now on."

Zaro was stunned for a moment: "Why? Don't you know how popular Astaba's Unsullied are? They are the best soldiers and guards, and people will wave gold to buy you the Unsullied. ”

Samwell shook his head firmly, "The way the Unsullied are trained is so inhumane. ”

"That's true. But how can there be a shortcut to training good fighters? To forge a sword, a blacksmith also needs to burn it, beat it repeatedly, and then put it in ice water to temper it. If you want to harvest sweet fruits, you have to water them diligently. ”

"I've made a decision about that." Samwell insisted, "There will be no new Unsullied in the future. However, the Astapors would still train slave soldiers. ”

"Okay." Zaro shrugged, "If you insist. However, I must warn that you are about to lose a lot of profits. ”

"It's us." Samwell laughed, revealing eight teeth.

Zaro was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?" ”

Samwell smiled slightly, and said leisurely, "I am going to divide half of the profits of the Astapo slave trade to the thirteen giants of Quells. ”

"You're not kidding?" There was a glint of greed in Zaro's eyes, but soon, he calmed down and asked, "What else do you have?" ”

"There is indeed one condition." Samwell said, "As you know, my roots are in Westeros, where there are many enemies to deal with. So, I'm going to go back with the Unsullied......"

"You need a boat, right?"

"That's right." Samwell nodded, "I know that the Thirteen Giants are merchant giants in maritime trade, with hundreds of large ships. It shouldn't be too hard to help me transport thousands of Unsullied people back to Westeros, right? ”

Zaro shook his glass, the red wine in the glass glowing like blood in the light of the fire.

He took a sip of wine and said with a smile:

"You're such a shrewd person, saying it's a condition, but there's actually a hidden condition."

"Oh?" Samwell smiled innocently, "What other conditions are hidden?" ”

"If you're leaving Astappor with the Unsullied, why do you continue to remotely control the city? Paying half of the profits from the slave trade is actually to let our Thirteen Giants help you stabilize the situation in Astapor and fight against possible pretenders. ”

Samwell laughed and did not deny it:

"This offer is beneficial to both of us. If my rule is overthrown, the new slave owners will not be so kind to give you the usual profits. ”

Zaro pondered for a moment and said:

"If you can leave Slave Bay with Daenerys and her three dragons and restore order here, you will have the support and friendship of the Thirteen."

Samwell smiled slightly and said:

"Yes."

Zaro glanced at Samwell in surprise:

"Are you so confident that you can convince the Dragon Queen? I had the impression that she was a very stubborn girl. ”

Samwell laughed:

"It just so happens that I'm a very convincing man."

"Yes." "However, if you can convince the Dragon Queen, perhaps Meereen and even Aykay's slave trade, we can cooperate." ”

Samwell shook his glass and smiled inexplicably:

"Okay, deal."

Zaro also showed an exaggerated smile, got up and shook Samwell's hand with both hands:

"Deal."

(End of chapter)