Mercenary’s War
Chapter 1100 - 1100 One Thousand Eighty-Three State Gift

1100: Chapter One Thousand Eighty-Three: State Gift 1100: Chapter One Thousand Eighty-Three: State Gift Having finished lunch and inspected the area, as well as meeting with a few individuals separately, Bashar had left the airport by almost five o’clock.

Gao Yang and the others arrived at the Presidential Palace on the same helicopter fleet used by Bashar.

Accompanying them, aside from full membership of Satan and the unofficial member Taylor, were only three individuals: Dani, Farouk, and Gilanor.

Bashar, of course, could not accompany them the whole time.

Gao Yang and his companions were arranged to stay in the lounge, waiting for the evening banquet to begin.

The Presidential Palace of Bashar was not as opulent as Gaddafi’s upstart-looking palace.

However, the palace was by no means simple; whether it was the architecture itself, the furniture and furnishings, or even some seemingly inconspicuous little items, they all exuded, in the eyes of the knowledgeable, signals that they were not ordinary.

During the waiting time, Gao Yang and his companions managed quite well, not appearing too abnormal, especially the veterans like Gao Yang and Glolov from the early days of Satan, who seemed relaxed and at ease.

After all, it wasn’t their first time in the Presidential Palace.

They had also entered Gaddafi’s palace—although they stormed in uninvited and plundered as much as they could when they departed.

Gao Yang and the others seemed relaxed and at ease, but it was different for Farouk and the other two, given their distinct statuses.

After waiting for about two hours, at 7:30, someone came to invite Gao Yang and his group to the banquet.

The banquet was held in a large hall, with not many people present.

The officers and officials who had accompanied Bashar to the airport during the day were there, and then there were Gao Yang and his companions.

The rest were some of the work and service staff.

As the host, it is customary for Bashar to give a speech before the banquet begins, and during the speech, it was time for Bashar to present the gifts he prepared for the guests.

After a few welcoming remarks, Bashar clapped his hands and called out loudly: “Bring up the gifts I’ve prepared.”

Soon attendants brought forth the gifts prepared by Bashar—a Damascus Sword for each guest.

Although Gao Yang was at least a brigadier general, his gift naturally had to be different from the others.

The blade prepared by Bashar for him was a long Arabian Scimitar, while the others received short daggers, the kind that Arabs traditionally carry at their waists.

Gao Yang had always wanted a Damascus blade.

He had the opportunity to acquire one back in Gaddafi’s palace, but he chose a shotgun as his spoils of war instead.

Unexpectedly, here he received one—in Damascus, gaining a Damascus Sword felt quite fitting.

Named after Damascus, the actual steel of the Damascus Sword came from India, known as Uzi Steel.

Damascus was not only the geographical heart of the Middle East but had always been the region’s economic and political hub, and thus a distribution center.

Additionally, Damascus gathered some of the most outstanding Arab craftsmen of the time.

After ancient Arab merchants imported Uzi Steel from India, a large portion of the steel was turned into finished blades by Damascus smiths.

What makes the Damascus Sword precious is not just the craft; the main reason is that Uzi Steel, the sole raw material for its production, is no longer available.

The Uzi iron mines in India were exhausted by the end of the 17th century, and the vast majority of genuine Damascus Swords are ones that have been passed down from antiquity.

There is a small number of newly-made Damascus Swords from occasional finds of remaining Uzi Steel ingots in India, but such new blades forged from leftover Uzi Steel are very scarce.

Gao Yang noticed that the short swords Bashar gave as gifts were basically the same style.

Although there were differences, they were minor, likely crafted uniformly in recent times and by hand, hence the slight nuances in style.

What pleased Gao Yang was that the long blade Bashar gave him had no tacky gem decorations on the sheath.

The sheath was made with a wooden interior, wrapped in sharkskin on the outside, with silver wraps at the mouth and tip of the sheath.

The handle and the guard were also forged from silver, appearing clean and minimalist, but a closer look revealed oxidation marks on the silver parts of the handle and sheath; hence, it was an old blade.

Gao Yang truly appreciated the gift from Bashar, but he didn’t get to marvel at it for long.

At a banquet, especially in front of the head of state, it wouldn’t be proper to carry the blade around.

So after admiring the sword for a short while, he had to return it to the attendant, asking them to store it to be picked up later when departing.

For Bashar, the recent military situation gave him a reason to be cheerful, so the atmosphere at the banquet was quite pleasant.

The dishes were good too, but such occasions were never really about eating.

The dinner ended quickly, and after eating, Gao Yang and his group were invited to the parlor.

Now, it was time for formal conversations.

In the homes of Middle Easterners, to showcase their valor, it is common to display guns and knives.

If it’s an especially wealthy magnate’s household, the reception room might very well be turned into a small-scale armament exhibition.

Modern firearms as display items lack sophistication, so cultured families often hang old-fashioned smoothbore guns with Middle Eastern styles on the wall.

These smoothbore guns are luxuriously decorated and beautiful, with no real utility, but they must still be able to fire.

As for the oil tycoons, or families like that of Gaddafi, naturally, they would hang any gun that could be displayed as a work of art – this is why many precious antique guns crafted by famous European gunsmiths can be found in the Middle East.

Being invited to a dinner, naturally, it is normal to tour the host’s home.

Although it’s impossible to see every room in the Presidential Palace, the rooms prepared for guests are certainly something one would be led to see, and incidentally admire the host’s collectibles.

Since displaying guns is a custom, Bashar’s home would, of course, be no exception.

Having helped Morgan look for guns for a long time, Gao Yang is sensitive to antique hunting rifles.

Everywhere else seemed ordinary, but the walls of the drawing room were adorned with two upright double-barreled hunting rifles, which is why the moment he entered the reception room, Gao Yang’s gaze was captivated by the antique guns on the wall and could not shift away.

It was impossible to take the guns in hand, but it was definitely acceptable to get close for a careful look.

Following the appraisal knowledge taught by Morgan, Gao Yang first checked several key spots, looking for any names or marks left by the gunsmiths.

Gao Yang hadn’t conducted any particularly in-depth study on antique hunting rifles.

After looking for quite some time, he couldn’t identify whose work the guns were.

On the metal plate above the trigger of one rifle, the gunsmith’s name was engraved, but Gao Yang couldn’t recall any information about the gunsmith no matter how hard he tried.

After much study, Gao Yang concluded that these two rifles were not any particularly precious antiques, nor were they very old, definitely not predating the 1900s, and they certainly weren’t the work of any particularly famous gunsmiths.

While Gao Yang was deep in study, suddenly someone said beside him, “It seems General Ram is quite knowledgeable about hunting rifles?”

Gao Yang turned his head to look and saw that it was Bashar speaking.

He quickly gestured with his hands, “I can’t say I’m knowledgeable.

I’m just very interested, marginally so.”

Bashar smiled and said, “I’ve heard more than once that General Ram, your gunmanship is extremely good, and you’re particularly proficient with shotguns as well.

Those who are good with guns naturally take interest in them.”

After speaking, Bashar stared at the two hunting rifles on the wall and spoke gravely, “These two rifles are not some precious treasures, but they have very special meaning to me.

Both of these guns belonged to my father, and he often used them for hunting.

One of them I have also used many times, so I hung them up here.”

Gao Yang didn’t know how to respond, so he pretended to be very interested and focused on the two hunting rifles.

Just then, Bashar changed the subject with a smile, “It seems I was negligent.

I should have given you a gun instead of a knife, as you clearly seem to favor guns more.”

Gao Yang quickly said, “No, no, you misunderstand.

I am very interested in guns, but I also love knives equally.

I like the gift President Bashar gave me very much.”

Bashar laughed, nodded, and then turned and walked away, whispering a few words to one of his attendants before returning to Gao Yang’s side and speaking softly, “Mr.

Ram, you’ve done quite a lot during your time in Damascus, and you might not realize how crucial a role you’ve played.

I must admit, your presence has been a great help to us.”

Gao Yang whispered, “Mr.

President, you flatter me.

One person’s capabilities are limited, and I’m very happy to have done something, but I don’t presume to be irreplaceable.”

Bashar smiled and responded, “Mr.

Ram, no, I should address you as General.

Syria needs talented individuals like you.

Would you be interested in considering staying in Syria for long-term development?”

What Gao Yang feared most was Bashar proposing to recruit him again, but since Bashar had brought it up, there was no avoiding it; it had to be refused.

“Sorry, Mr.

President, I have very important matters to attend to, so I cannot stay for an extended time.

Moreover, I believe that, as time goes by, there will be an increasing number of excellent talents under your command.

Whether I stay or not isn’t all that significant.

Also, there’s a good chance that I’ll return here again, and I hope I will still have your support at that time.”

Bashar shrugged and said, “Well, I have no intention of forcing you.

I respect your decision.

I just want to tell you, Syria is always welcoming of your arrival.”

Just at that moment, the attendant whom Bashar had just instructed came back, holding an antique hunting rifle.

After taking the hunting rifle from the attendant, Bashar casually presented it to Gao Yang and with a smile, said, “I’m not very knowledgeable about antique guns, I just know this rifle is a 19th Century European piece.

Now it’s yours, and I hope you will like this gift.”(To be continued.

If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com).

Your support is my greatest motivation.

Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)