Take the ride to dominate the game

Chapter 174 The Poor King

After listening to the explanations from Margaery and the surrounding people, Arthur said loudly: "The purpose of building the city wall is to protect the civilians, not to make you more tired. Miss Tyrell did the right thing, today's work is here... not only Today, there will be no need to repair the city wall on such a large scale in the future until we get through this long winter."

When the king was in Harrenhal, the raven told him about the situation on the south bank of the Blackwater River.

Since Stannis' death, the high nobles of the Stormlands have changed allegiance yet again.

Astan Selmy, Earl of Harvest Hall, Hugh Granderson, Earl of All-Seeing City, Bastian Errol, Earl of Hay Hall, Ralph Buckler, Earl of Coppergate City and other nobles The soldiers returned to their own territory, and then sent letters to the River Bend Army led by Baron Sven and King's Landing City to show their family's loyalty to the Iron Throne.

Most of the Stormland nobles who were ready to vote for Arthur I were in the north of Storm's End, and the three or four earldoms occupied by the Golden Group were all in Cape Wrath, south of Storm's End.

That is, the peninsula area north of the Dorne Sea and south of Shipwreck Bay.

Coupled with the fact that Dragonstone Island and the Throat are under the control of the Redwyne fleet, Blackwater Bay is temporarily safe, and the only restless western border is far enough away from King's Landing, which makes the situation in the capital less dangerous.

In other words, before the situation on the mainland changes dramatically, the people of King's Landing don't need too high a city wall for the time being.

The words of the king immediately made this group of toilers cheer for joy. They didn't want to do this tiring work without money for a long time.

Taking advantage of the high popularity, Arthur also imitated Margaery just now, and began to communicate with the common people.

With the characteristics of being easy-going, amiable, noble, and handsome, it is easy to be loved by the people of King's Landing. Rhaegar Targaryen and Renly Baratheon are all like this, and Arthur I is no exception.

Coupled with the lovely Queen Margaery by his side, the king received a lot of blessings in a very short period of time.

"Seven Gods, Your Majesty is really the best king in decades!"

"Look, Queen Margaery and King Arthur I are so well-suited!"

"The new king will surely be able to keep the kingdom long-term and stable, and the people live and work in peace and contentment just like the wise and mighty Aerys II."

When Earl Tully led his people to arrive, he saw such a scene: Arthur I in iron armor was in close contact with his people, listening to the people's petitions and blessings.

The surrounding Tali soldiers saw their lord coming, and told Lando what had happened.

Earl Tully nodded, not to spoil the scene, quietly waiting for the end of the king's pro-people behavior.

Among the civilians, Arthur, who was touched and blessed by many hands, noticed the blue light curtain that suddenly flashed.

[Mission: Open a free food supply point for the people in King's Landing who can't eat]

[Task: Send bachelors and other medical personnel to treat sick civilians]

[Task: Improve the sewage and sewage system in Junlin City to reduce the smell of the capital]

[Task: Build a water purification plant]

[Task: Hold certain entertainment activities, such as martial arts competitions or invite circuses to tour]

A series of five missions appeared on the system panel, and the three missions that appeared last time in Harrenhal had been completed, allowing Arthur to gain [-] experience points.

Coupled with the combat experience gained since the last upgrade, he only needs more than 4000 points to upgrade.

In other words, the king will be able to rise to level ten immediately, and his riding skill will be raised to level nine.

It is only one level away from the ten o'clock of riding a dragon.

In the next period of time, in addition to gaining experience from the battles between the Western Territory and the Stormlands, the upcoming Royal Family Standing Army will also provide Arthur with a considerable amount of experience.

I'll be a dragon knight in no time!

Although Alduin, covered in spikes, doesn't look easy to ride, but who is he?

The man who has already ridden Sansa and Arianne is about to ride Margaery, and the man who will ride Daenerys in the future.

At worst he was Arthur Morgan.

After contacting the common people, the king remembered what Margaery told him about the origin of the matter.

"As for that Tully officer, since you love whipping people so much, I'll reward you with a whip."

Arthur turned to his bodyguard, Podrick Payne, and ordered, "Slap him five times, and use his own whip, a little harder."

Not long after, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, the Tali officer accepted the king's caning.

"Ah~"

Podrick's power is still great!

As for the young man named Will, after the king asked him if he wanted to join the royal guard, Will readily agreed.

Arthur did this to prevent the young man from being retaliated by the Tully officer. After all, the king has too many things to do to pay attention to a commoner in a flea nest, so the best solution is to take him to his side .

As for whether Will's force value is qualified for the role of guard, it's a small question. There are basically no people who can defeat the king with force.

What Arthur I's guards did the most was to carry the sledgehammer instead.

No way, the king can't carry the sledgehammer all the time—it's an eyesore—so the servants Medan, Podrick and others have to be responsible for transporting the sledgehammer to various battlefields.

After Arthur's power gradually grew, Maydan, Pod and others stopped doing this work themselves, but there were always unlucky people who carried the sledgehammer.

After letting the civilians near the city wall go back to their homes, the king, Margaery and others saw Randall Tully who had heard the news.

"Your Majesty, I think it is a very unwise choice to stop the construction of the city wall. Not to mention what other nobles will think when they see the dilapidated city wall of the capital, that is..."

Although Arthur I had issued the royal order, Earl Tarly still spoke his mind.

In the opinion of this stubborn old lord, it is meaningless to be sympathetic to the common people.

So he urged the king to continue building walls as high as twenty or thirty feet.

"It's just a city wall, how can I save my face? Lord Landau, as a ruler, we must understand the principle of using the people for the right time. King's Landing has experienced several wars, and the common people have been starving for a long time. Under the circumstances, if we still mobilize the people to build large-scale construction projects, I am afraid that a black heart will be added to my title. If that is the case, according to the records of historians, I will be the black heart king Arthur."

The king still insisted on his point of view.

It is a very metaphysical question to use the people and the time. With the experience of Arthur II, it is natural to know that quite a few rulers have failed in this regard.

For example, Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, one of the ten philosophers of the Net Temple in the previous life of Great Xia.

There is no doubt that this man is a complete tyrant, but judging from his actions, such as digging the Grand Canal, opening up the Western Regions, rebuilding the Great Wall, initiating the imperial examination, and conquering Goguryeo three times.

But Brother Guang, who wanted to be strong all his life, was not convinced. He had to accomplish so many things in his short life, which naturally ruined the amazing legacy left by his father.

Closer to home.

Given the situation in the king's land and the riverland, what needs to be done now is to slowly resume production in towns, workshops, etc. in addition to providing relief to the refugees.

It is impossible to overhaul the city walls, build large-scale construction projects, etc. in a short period of time.

Arthur I discussed back and forth with Earl Tully for a long time, and he had a new idea.

"The construction of tens of thousands of civilians at the same time must be stopped, but it is still possible for dozens of stonemasons and apprentices to slowly repair the city wall. This time it will not be carried out in the form of voluntary labor. Food, let those who will work come."

King's Landing City and a large piece of nearby territory are the private property of the royal family. The restoration of the city wall before today was carried out in the form of voluntary labor.

That is to say, no money is given, and the citizens are forced to work.

This is also a way for the lord to collect taxes, but it is not very common.

However, if the royal family gave money to hire civilians to work, the people's resistance to this project would be much smaller, and even quite a few young people who could not find work to make money would be willing to join it, and praised the king for providing them with a good job.

In today's world, it is the greatest wish of ordinary people to feed themselves.

The problem of the city wall was solved in this way. On the way back to the Red Castle, Arthur on horseback discussed the situation in the Stormlands with Earl Landau in detail.

As for Little Rose Margaery, after she kissed her fiancé, she got into the sedan chair—as a decent noblewoman, riding a horse is very indecent, so the ladies and wives in the south prefer to sit in the sedan chair.

The northerners are not so particular. Even Sansa, who is dedicated to being a lady, can ride a horse, and her riding skills are not bad.

"While most of the nobles in the north of the Stormlands have sent ravens, claiming to be consistent loyalists of House Targaryen, I think the loyalty of these houses is in doubt."

While talking, Lord Randyll controlled his mount so that it was two or three steps behind King Arthur I's huge red horse.

Except for the guards, no courtier can walk ahead of the king.

"Why do you think so?" Arthur turned his head and asked curiously.

The main branch of the Baratheon family has no adult males, and Robert's illegitimate son has not been legalized. The nobles of the Stormlands have no object of allegiance, so naturally they can only vote for Arthur, who is currently the strongest.

"Let me give you an example. The Granderson family of All-Vision City, whose family, Sir Superintendent Sir, has sent a letter, but another important member of the family, Sir Nabert Granderson, is still in Storm's End Allegiance to Selyse Florent, many Stormland families are betting on both sides in this way." Earl Tully explained.

Arthur thought for a while and waved his hand lightly, "This is a small problem. Didn't Storm's End send a raven to say that Melisandre has set off and is about to come to show that the Baratheon family, the Florent family, and the original dragon Is the loyalty of the vassals of Stone Island and other forces? When Storm's End falls, the nobles of the Stormlands will no longer be a problem."

His main concern is the Golden Company and Aegon VI and other forces.

This group is very likely to form an alliance with Volantis and other places, and then launch a round of attacks on the Western Continent through the Stone Step Islands.

As for the Stormland family, they don't have the support of the Essos forces, so they can't make any waves.

Because he kept turning his head to talk to Lando, Arthur, who had an uncomfortable neck, ordered him to take two steps forward and walk side by side with him.

The pedantic Ran Dao seemed a little flattered. He pretended to resign, then lightly clamped the horse's belly, and took two steps forward, so that the king's neck would not be so uncomfortable.

After the two got closer, the topics they talked about became bolder.

"...As for the inheritance of Storm's End, I suggest that you marry your second or third son to Shireen Baratheon, and then let the prince inherit the castle and the position of Lord of Stormland."

Lord Tully suggested boldly.

Anyway, the king has plenty of wives, and the Tully bloodline inherited by Queen Sansa is the same as the Tyrell bloodline whose family motto is "endless life". They are both famous for their fertility in the Seven Kingdoms.

In the foreseeable future, His Majesty Arthur I will have quite a few children.

Although the Deer family is the main force in the usurper's war, the newly appointed Lord of the Stormlands of the royal family wants to secure his territory and has to marry Shirene, just like Aegon I's illegitimate brother Orys defeated the Storm King in the war of conquest. He got the territory and the castle, but still married the only daughter of the Storm King, and inherited the woman's flag, coat of arms and motto.

"I remember that Shirin suffered from stone scale disease, and I don't know if she has fertility?" Arthur asked curiously.

This method can be regarded as a backup plan. His first child has no shadow yet, so there is no need to think so far for the time being.

As for the current Storm's End, the stupid Selyse still has the support of two or three thousand soldiers, mainly soldiers from Florens, Baratheon's family, and Dragonstone Island.

Arthur also didn't want to stay idle and compete with a strong castle that couldn't be defeated by an army of [-].

"I don't know either." Lord Randall shook his head.

He cared far more about soldiers than gossip about noblewomen.

Arthur suddenly remembered something, "By the way, have the aborigines of the Crab Claw Peninsula arrived? It's the group of ancestors in tattered clothes."

After he gave the order, the group of people went south along Rossby Road from Maiden Springs, counting the days, they should have arrived long ago.

"Arrived in King's Landing City a week ago, their equipment is really outdated, and they don't behave very well. I think it's a bit embarrassing for the royal family, so I let them be stationed in the barracks north of the Lion's Gate, and they are not allowed to enter the city." Tower replied Lord Leigh.

That group of ancestors gave him a very bad impression, they looked even more shabby than the Ironmen of the Iron Islands, so Lord Randyll refused to let them enter the city.

"This is the main force for the formation of the King's Landing garrison in the future. How can it be left outside the city?" Arthur I blamed. Yes, it’s not that it can’t be used.”

Robert spent all the wealth accumulated by the Targaryen family for 300 years, and owed a whole lot of debt, which made the Red Castle jingle poor.

In addition, Arthur himself didn't have much money, and the only huge sum of money was still in the Tyrell family, but Duke Mace said that there was something wrong with the money, and what Loras received in King's Landing was a new golden dragon with only [-]% of the gold content. currency.

The Knight of Hundred Flowers, who only had fencing in his mind, didn't know the difference between the old and new Golden Dragon Coins, so he didn't mention it in the letter.

Before that, Arthur didn't understand the difference between old and new Golden Dragon coins, so he used them in a daze.His previous transactions with the Rose family were all based on the value of the old coins, and the Duke of Metz, who insisted that his son-in-law settle the accounts clearly, planned to pick a time to settle this muddled account with the king.

This made the already poor king even worse.

Although the gold mines near Golden Tooth City can produce gold, after buying food for the farmers in the entire South River, there is not much left.

What's worse is that many of the new gold dragon coins have flowed into the Western Continent, making the already chaotic currency system even more chaotic.

Thinking of this, Arthur's hatred for Littlefinger increased a bit.

You said that you ran to the valley and dug such a big hole for me.

As for the debt owed by Robert, Arthur is ready to deny it all - what has the evil done by the usurper to do with me, Arthur I Targaryen?
Of the 600 million gold dragon coins owed, the Lannister family's 300 million and the church's 93 gold dragon coins owed the most.

The heir of the former is Tyrion. After the king pacified the Western Territory, the little devil who benefited couldn't chase the moneyless Arthur for money, right?

The church's money is easier to handle. The new archbishop has gone to nowhere. The big sparrows who use the Baylor Cathedral now don't even have an archbishop, and they have no right to collect debts.

The rotation method of the archbishop is also endless, so before the current Brother Lu Chen died, the name of the big sparrow was not justified.

Thinking of this, Arthur was going to pick a time to drive away the group of monks sparrows.

As for the debt owed by the Braavos Iron Bank, not only did Arthur I not think about repaying it, he even wanted to borrow another sum to form the royal family's standing army.

When I owe 5000, I am my grandson, and when I owe [-] million, the bank is my grandson.

The cost of the subsequent coronation ceremony and the wedding with Margaery was mostly paid by the Tyrell family, and the king paid a symbolic amount.

Arthur even planned to use the wedding to earn some expensive gifts, and then see if he could fill the empty royal family assets.

well!It will be fine when you make a windfall.

What the king didn't know was that in the next two or three months, not only would he not be able to make a fortune, but he would have to continue to lose his fortune.

Another wedding awaited him, and to a man who didn't have much money in Westeros.

PS: Ask for a recommendation ticket and ask for a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)