Take the ride to dominate the game

Chapter 171 The Bad Imperial Meeting

"The Andals will never allow anyone to plunder our territory."

"Fuck them!"

"The loser of Westeros, still want to run back to fight for the territory?"

The news of Volantis did not excite the group of nobles, but their reaction to the golden group was beyond Arthur's expectations.

However, it is also understandable that neither the Andals nor the culture of the Seven Gods allow the existence of slaves.

What's more, most of the officers of the Golden Regiment are landless nobles, illegitimate children, and members of rebel families in Westeros. The orthodox people on the western continent are naturally extremely hostile.

"Quiet!" Arthur I announced after stopping the noise of his vassals again: "After we have expelled the Ironmen and captured the Western Region, most families will send troops to the Stormlands to completely wipe out the defeated group of the Golden Company." dog, and then put the Stone Step Islands in our hands."

The Stepstones are a chain of islands in the Narrow Sea, from east of Dorne to the Disputed Lands.Only two islands in the archipelago have names: Bloodstone and Gray Gallows.Tyrosh, one of the Free Cities, is also located there.

"If Volantis dares to intervene in our internal affairs, the Targaryen family will lead all the armored soldiers of the Western Continent to capture the disputed land and fight all the way to the mouth of the Lorne River, so that all Volantis slaves will lose their Handcuffs, to regain personal freedom."

Volantis is the most powerful free trade city-state. In the "Bloody Century" (100 years before the conquest) after the destruction of Valyrian Freedom Fortress, the city-state controlled by the Tiger Party once launched a war to restore Freedom Fortress. Simultaneously attacked the three city-states of Rees, Tyrosh, and Myr, and occupied the island of Rees and Myr for two generations.

Later, the intervention of forces such as the Storm King Argila Durandon, the Targaryen family of Dragonstone Island, the sea king Braavos, Tyrosh, and Pentos, as well as the rebellion in Reese and Myr Due to multiple factors, Volantis withdrew from the two city-states, and the moderate Elephant Party has been in charge until now.

One sentence sums up Volantis, the only true overlord in the southwest of Essos, a ruthless character against the four surrounding city-states.

If the Golden Group only supported Aegon VI, then Arthur really couldn't find a reason to send troops to the Stepstone Islands, and there was no need for the nobles of the Western Continent to fight the rich merchants of Volantis.

But if the power of the Eastern Continent intervenes in the stormy land and snatches the peasants as slaves, then the lords and house governors will not be able to bear it.

The king's stance greatly inspired the lords who were determined to abolish slavery. Many nobles such as Matus Rowan and Clermont Piper expressed their support for the royal family's policy of sending troops on the spot.

Since the trade between Pentos and Maiden Springs was still going on, Arthur I ordered Earl William Mooton to continue to pay attention to various news from the Eastern Continent, especially whether the Volantis Consul had an order to expand the army.

The third message, "Mill's Call for Help," is said to be somewhat related to the second.

The city-state is located on the west coast of the continent of Essos, protected by a huge and calm bay - the Sea of ​​Myr - from which a section of the Valyrian Road extends.

Trade is the lifeblood of Mill's economy, and its handicrafts are world-renowned, producing lace, carpets, glass, glasses and green mead, as well as various processed finished products.One of Myr's inventions is the telescope, and the rugs and lace produced here are very expensive.Mill is collectively ruled by a Council of Governors, who are mainly wealthy local merchants and nobles.

The Golden Company was originally serving as the city guard for Myr, but was bought by Illyrio at a high price and fought for Aegon VI.

Most of the nine free city-states do not have their own army, such as Quhor, relying on their own mercenaries and the Unsullied Legion to resist the attack of the Dothraki in the east.

Another example is Mir, who has established contracts with well-known mercenary groups such as the Second Sons, Windblown, Long Spears, Ravenstorm, and Gold all year round, so that the mercenaries are on guard against the attacks of Volantis and nomads.

And after Captain Harry Strickland broke the contract, Mill's military strength was not as good as before.

Civil war between Tyroshi and Lys is about to break out, and both want to win over Myr, a potential ally.

Unfortunately, news of the Golden Company's breach of contract spreads, and a newly minted Khal Pono arrives with his khalasar (a large tribe of Dothraki).

Khal Pono was formerly Khal Drogo--Daenerys's first husband, now deceased--of Cole, the commander of the Khass (a small group of khalasars).

After the death of the horse king, Bono gathered about 3 Dothraki people and became the new khal, and brought his kalasa to the source area of ​​the Sehoru River, intending to blackmail a free trade city. .

The Sehoru River is one of the tributaries of the Lorne River. To the south of Pono Khal is the town of Sehoru, the important town of Volantis, and to the east is the jurisdiction of Myr.

Therefore, the rich merchants and nobles of Myr sent distress letters to the major forces around them. If there is no accident, a messenger group will arrive in King's Landing soon, asking the nobles of Westeros to send soldiers to help defend against the centaurs or Varan. slaves of Tith.

"We'll see this at a later time. If necessary, we can send soldiers. The salaries offered by the wealthy merchants in Mir will not disappoint us," Arthur concluded.

Although Mir also traded slaves, in general, the relationship with the Western Continent is pretty good.

And for the matter of stationing troops, it is easier to ask the gods than to send them away.

Arthur himself also has thoughts about big fat sheep such as Pentos and Myr.

Conquering a medium-sized free trade city-state at random is enough to solve the food crisis in Riverland, Kingland, and King's Landing City, and allow the king to gain the wealth to form a large standing army.

Due to the fiefdom system in Westeros, it is quite difficult to centralize power. Even if a larger kingship is established, it will be opposed by many princes and nobles.

But Essos is different. Once conquered, it can be directly regarded as the territory directly under the royal family, and troops will be stationed there for a long time.

The fourth message, "Pantos Shakes" is also related to the dog skin plaster of the Golden Group.

Due to the influence of Pentos' northern neighbor Braavos, the city-state does not allow slaves.

But in the courtyards of the mansions of governors and wealthy businessmen, there are many men and women who are called servants but are actually slaves.

Due to Daenerys' disruption, the slave trade in the entire world has been greatly affected. The slave markets in Volantis, Myr and other places are only [-]% of the previous scale.

And one of Pentos' magisters, Illyrio, had set an example for his peers.

If the cheesemongers and the peasants plundered by the Golden Company in the Stormlands were popular with the free folk of Volantene, at least three Pentos governors would join the slave trade.

They are likely to send their own guards and mercenaries into the Stormlands to participate in slave hunting, and they will also undertake some combat tasks assigned by Aegon VI and the Golden Company.

"Yanina Jaskis said that if Illyrio succeeds, he will also participate in the slave trade, but the grain trade with Maiden Springs will not stop." Earl William Mooton said.

Arthur sat up straight and reprimanded:
"If he dares to come to the stormy land, I dare to hit Pentos. I'm not used to the problems of this group of merchants."

Due to the violent action, the king's solid gold crown was slightly deflected.

Queen Sansa reached out to straighten the crown for her husband.

After Arthur glanced at her, he continued to say to the officials: "Slave traders are our enemies. After joining us in the Reach, food is not a big problem for the time being."

Combined, the Seven Kingdoms and the Targaryen Dynasty did not allow Essos in the east to come to the western continent to rob slaves for thousands of years, even the Valyrian Freedom Fortress at its peak failed to do so.

If a few big businessmen were able to accomplish this in the hands of Arthur, then he wouldn't have to be a king, he would just jump into God's Eye Lake as soon as possible.

The nobles were very satisfied with Arthur I's attitude, and they expressed that they would obey the king's order to counter the forces in the Western Continent.

In the following period of time, the relationship between the vassals and the king was not very harmonious.

Someone raised the issue of discussing the members of the imperial council, and Duke Mace Tyrell continued the conversation, announcing on the spot that he was the No. 1 choice for the Hand of the King.

"Looking at the Seven Kingdoms, can Your Majesty still find a great nobleman like me who is good at governance, full of strategy, full of martial arts, and loyal to the Targaryen family? According to my wisdom, I will definitely make the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms up and down Satisfied, let the common people in the countryside and towns praise the wisdom of His Majesty Arthur I..."

Master Inflatable Fish not only boasted, but also praised the future king's son-in-law by the way.

Arthur had no objection to his self-recommendation.

Mace is a very mediocre duke, his subordinates Lando Tarly, Matus Rowan and others are much better than him.

But it was precisely because of his mediocrity that Arthur dared to let him be the prime minister.

If another shrewd river bend nobleman came, the king might not be able to play well.

With Arthur's ability, he was just able to hold the Duke of Metz in his hands.

That's what Lord Tyrell has decided to be Prime Minister, but the nobles in the river have a new proposal.

"Your Majesty, we were the ones who supported you first. After all, people from Hejian should at least have two seats in the Imperial Council, right?"

cried a bold river knight.

Claremont Piper, Aenys Frey, William Mooton and other great nobles spoke in agreement.

The big event that caused Arthur a headache finally came.

By convention, there are usually seven seats in the Imperial Council: the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Sea, the Minister of Finance, the Chief of Intelligence, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Grand Master.

The last three seats have a special status, and the right to appoint and dismiss the bachelors is in the hands of the cardinals of the academy city, and the king can't intervene.

In other words, there are only four seats available, and the Hand of the King has already been given to the Duke of Metz.

And the Redwyne fleet occupied Dragonstone Island, and among the forces loyal to Arthur, only Earl Paxter Redwyne had a strong naval force.

The number of sea ministers has also been confirmed.

As for Chancellor of the Exchequer, Arthur is going to make the calculating Tyrion Lannister.

Although Arthur had promised the imp to be his Hand of the King a long time ago, the situation at that time was very different from the current situation, and Tyrion himself was still in Pentos, so he didn't have to abide by this rule. up.

The vacated Minister of Justice, the king is going to let Earl Randall Tarly be in charge. This is also the beginning of his win-win and support of the Tarly family.

His family's Horn Hill is not far to the south of Gaoting, which is suitable for fighting with Rose's family after a wave of strengthening.

"Does any of you want to be chief intelligence officer?" asked the king.

After all the calculations, the only jobs left to the Hejian people are the Captain of the Royal Guard and Chief Intelligence Officer.

But the captain of the Kingsguard Iron Guard is related to the personal safety of the royal family, so Arthur is going to select carefully, not in a hurry.

The governors of the Hejian family looked at each other, and they were not very willing to do the job of intelligence chief, which has a very bad reputation.

"Your Majesty, the Commander of the King's Landing City Garrison has also been in the imperial meeting. This is a good position." Sansa reminded in a low voice.

When she was in King's Landing, Queen Cersei had let Janos Sterling, commander of the King's Landing Garrison, into the Royal Council, and Queen Stark had a little impression of it.

Arthur also remembered this, so he announced to his vassals: "The commander of the garrison of King's Landing City can also be appointed by the nobles of the river, you can choose one!"

These seats in the imperial meeting with special exchanges are to win the support of the basic board, and Arthur is going to let them decide who will be in charge.

To the king's surprise, the family governors elected an earl with average family strength, and he was not here yet.

Lord Claremont Piper nominates Tristan Rigg, who is backed by the subsequent Dragonfamilies.

Arthur thought about it, but it made sense.

The Red Pink City, Lvxi City and other forces in the Hedong area were once loyal ministers of the Tully family. They supported Arthur due to various factors before. They are not the same as the Dragon Party family.

But Tristan Legge and Claremont Piper of Willow City contacted the earls and led to the establishment of the River Kingdom earlier.

The Leger family is also a Dragon Party family, so the two waves of people unanimously agreed to allow him to enter the imperial meeting as a representative of the Hejian nobles.

As for the strongest Frey family in the Three Rivers area, they were collectively ignored by this group of people.

"That is Lord Tristan Legge as Lord Commander of King's Landing," Arthur I announced.

After hearing this appointment, the bald Aenys Foyle jumped his feet angrily, "Your Majesty, our Frey family swore to you much earlier than this group of people, right? At..."

With his bald head and red neck, he thought that the strongest family in Hejian would secure a seat in the Imperial Council, but he didn't expect no earl to nominate him.

"Lord Frey will be Secretary of War."

Seeing that the angry bald head was about to reveal some of the past, Arthur hurriedly said a job.

"Minister of War, what is that?" Duke of Metz, who stood at the forefront of the crowd, asked doubtfully.

With his knowledge, he couldn't think of such a member of the Imperial Council.

Most of the nobles also discussed in whispers whether the king's appointment was in line with tradition.

Arthur had no choice but to explain to the old stubborn people: "In the next few years, there will be several wars in the entire kingdom, but I don't have a clone, and I can go to various battlefields to command battles, so it is very useful to set up a war minister to help the king fight. It is necessary."

"The responsibility of the Marquis of Ines is to coordinate the families of different borders and prepare for war. When necessary, he can also command the army of a certain route on behalf of the king..."

Arthur's intermittent speech supplemented the division of labor that had been compiled a few minutes ago.

This impromptu imperial meeting did not satisfy the king, and the appointment of members and positions was full of compromises and exchanges.

But there is no way, except for the dragon, Arthur's own military strength and territory are not strong.

That's all there is to it.

But fortunately, the notorious position of intelligence chief can be chosen by the king himself, and Arthur is going to do something about it.

Moreover, the Hightower family did not express their own attitude. He thought of using this as an excuse to force the lord of Old Town to make a concession on the appointment of the Grand Master.

The treacherous and loyal Lannister Pycelle must be replaced, and the simple-minded Qyburn can be brought up.

(End of this chapter)