The presence of Prince Gu San-Tong put the party in a sense of anxiety. They did not expect a member of the Gu Royal Family to meet them straight away. With the realisation of his status, Captain Matthias and Larys Cassell offered a sincere nod toward the foreign prince. They could not afford to ruffle any feathers before meeting the king.
Larys Cassell stepped forward and asked his interpreter to translate the following introduction. "It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness. I am Larys Cassell, uncle to King Victor Luxenberg. With me is a captain of the Royal Guard, Captain Matthias, as well as the Grand Admiral of the Luxenberg Navy, Grand Admiral Horatio Nelson.
The interpreter representing the Luxenberg party was a skinny young man with green eyes and blonde hair. His name was Ernst Augustine. As the words began to flow out of his mouth, Prince Gu San-Tong showed an increased interest and stepped closer to Larys and his companions.
His eyes locked on to Grand Admiral Nelson and proceeded to intensely study him. After a moment he turned to Wang Jun and spoke. Carefully listening to the prince, Wang Jun relayed his words.
"The prince would like to know if it is true that you are the supreme commander of the Luxenberg Navy." Grand Admiral Nelson met the prince's gaze and nodded firmly. This delighted the prince and he began to speak some more in his foreign tongue.
Wang Jun looked slightly uneasy at the prince's words, yet still fulfilled his job and correctly translated the following words. "Prince Gu San-Tong is most impressed, not only with you, but your ship. He says it is the most magnificent vessel he has ever seen. The prince would like to know if you would be able to sell him this ship."
Grand Admiral Nelson scrunched up his face as soon as he heard the words roll off Wang Jun's tongue. "Ridiculous, I would never forsake my honour and sell the crown jewel of the Luxenberg Navy. This ship belongs to the King, it is by his grace that I command his navy from his ship. I would rather die than give up this ship."
Everyone's faces dropped at the grand admiral's words. It was bold and rude. Even Wang Jun was taken aback by Nelson's defiant stance. Carefully he translated word for word what the Grand Admiral said. As Wang Jun spoke, Prince Gu San-Tong's brow furrowed and his eyes lit up.
To everyone's surprise, the prince spoke calmly and with no hint of aggression in his tone. Wang Jun sighed with relief and relayed the Prince's words. "Prince Gu San-Tong admires your honour and respect for your king as well as your ship. He does apologise for slightly upsetting you."
Grand Admiral Nelson was surprised by the Prince's maturity and in turn offered a sincere nod of respect. The atmosphere had now gone from tense to calm in an instant, and now both parties could properly converse about the mission at hand.
Wang Jun explained how things were to proceed from their current situation."The King has authorized that your ships may remain anchored in the harbour while your delegation proceeds with us on our ship. From there you will be escorted to Xiangyang and will hopefully arrive within 2 weeks. You are permitted to bring a total of 100 guards, as well as your envoys"
Larys Cassell took the lead and thanked the Prince and Wang Jun for their help and complied with their instructions. Within half an hour, all 100 Royal Guard infantrymen, Captain Matthias, Larys Cassell and Ernst Augustine loaded their belongings onto Prince Gu San-Tong's ship.
They were taken ashore and led out of the harbour to a place for lodging. Prince Gu San-Tong bid farewell to the Luxenberg delegation and continued with his duties as an Admiral. His ships were to guard the harbour in case of any foul play by the Luxenberg fleet.
Larys and his men were led to this massive wooden inn. It was spacious and on the outskirts of the city, beyond the walls. It was run by a large family who offered good service and nice hot meals. Most of Luxenberg soldiers, including Captain Matthias were happy to have nice food and a comfortable bed to sleep on. They no longer had to deal with the swaying hammocks that they called beds.
"Thank God we are on solid ground," one soldier from the Royal Guard remarked. The nearby soldiers chuckled and shared their comrade's sentiments. They were all grateful to have made it to Simbar, but they could not let their guard down so easily. They were in foreign territory and needed to remain alert, it was imperative that they do not forget why they are here.
Captain Matthias remained vigilant and organised his men for guard duties that would extend throughout the night. It would not be hard for their enemy to use the cover of darkness to make a move on them.
With many of the men lingering and conversing in the inn courtyard, Larys Cassell took the opportunity to address the soldiers and boost morale. "Soldiers! We have made it to Simbar. After a month and a half at sea, we now stand on foreign soil. Rest up, relish the opportunity to enjoy a comfortable bed and decent food, for we will be departing at first light tomorrow."
The soldiers cheered and continued to enjoy the well needed rest. Even Captain Matthias and Larys could not help themselves as they spent the rest of the day relaxing. After the speech the day quickly passed and torches began to illuminate the darkness. Fires were lit and the soldiers who were not on duty began to get into bed and sleep.
Plump pillows and comfy futons were laid about, all with soldiers in them. From then on the night progressed peacefully. No howling winds or uncomfortable temperature kept any of the soldiers awake. Their consciousness slowly drifted away once they had hit their heads on the pillows.
With a good night's rest, the Royal Guard infantrymen began to form ranks with their belongings packed in their backpacks. They had two weeks of marching to do before they reached the capital city of Xiangyang. Some of them felt uneasy leaving their ships behind, but no one dared to voice their opinion.
Everyone was assembled and an escort of 300 Gu soldiers had arrived to lead them to Xiangyang with Wang Jun in command.