iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 395 Dragonstone 3
Tycho Nestos had a long, stringy beard that sprouted from his chin and hung almost to his waist.

He smiled again. "The borrower of the Iron Bank is the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms."

After a pause, he added, "And you, Lord Stannis, believe that your bloodline entitles you to demand gold from us just as much as the Iron Throne."

Stannis narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, and said in a positive tone: "No one in the Seven Kingdoms is more qualified than me."

Tai Chu raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "The Sunset Land across the Strait is full of words like usurper, lunatic, bloodline inheritance, etc. that require careful interpretation and contemplation, while the Iron Bank on the other side of the Strait prefers stories with numbers because they are more straightforward and harder to misinterpret."

He glanced at Stannis and Davos, a faint smile on his face, and then asked, "How many soldiers do you have?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Stannis gave his answer: "Four thousand."

"How many warships do you have?"

Seeing Stannis glance at him, Davos was about to speak when the Iron Bank representative reminded him, "I mean the warships that are still floating on the sea and can be put into battle, Sir Davos."

Davos was silent for a moment, then said, "Thirty-six."

Tychu's gaze then turned to Stannis and continued to ask, "What is the output of Dragonstone? Can it supply four thousand soldiers and thirty-six warships?"

Stannis replied simply: "No."

Hearing this, the three people behind the table looked at each other and paused for a moment. Tai Chu still had that seemingly polite smile on his face and said, "You can see that the numbers you provided really don't indicate a happy ending. I'm afraid we can only thank you for visiting the ship in person."

Stannis' chest rose and fell slowly, his lips were tightly pursed, and he turned and left without saying a word.

"please wait."

Davos suddenly spoke, then he turned to the Iron Bank representative sitting high up and said, "My Lords, please listen to me..."

Tycho Nestos still maintained his educated and polite appearance, but his words were completely different. He interrupted directly and bluntly: "I am not a lord, I am just a small servant employed by the Iron Bank. And... I want to tell you, Lord Davos Seaworth, in Braavos... thieves cannot be canonized as a title."

Hearing the iron bank representative's sarcastic words, Stannis stopped abruptly. He looked back at them with his icy eyes. At this moment, he was on the verge of "furious".

Davos had long been accustomed to such sarcasm in the past decade or so since he was knighted by Stannis. He just shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Strictly speaking, I never robbed anyone when I was smuggling. I just transported the goods from one place to another."

After a brief explanation, Davos looked directly at Tychu and said seriously, "Since the Iron Bank's ship is docked here, I assume you are not here to admire the stones of Dragonstone. You are actually well aware of King Stannis's 'value' in the Seven Kingdoms, aren't you?"

As he spoke, he slowly took off his leather gloves and said, "Justice. The Seven Kingdoms all know King Stannis's justice. The people of the Seven Kingdoms look forward to the king's justice the most."

He held out his hand, with one finger missing, to the representative of the Iron Bank. "I am a smuggler. King Stannis made me a knight for my services, but he also punished me justly for my past crimes."

He added: "According to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, Stannis Baratheon is the legitimate king. At the same time... he is an honest man. I would like to sincerely remind you that this is the best time to gain his friendship."

He withdrew his outstretched hand. "From what I understand, the Iron Throne owes the Iron Bank a large sum of money, and war is expensive."

Tychu stared at Davos for a long while before he slowly said, "The war in the Seven Kingdoms will soon be over."

Davos turned sideways and stretched out a hand in Stannis' direction. "As long as the king is alive, the war will not end. Please allow me to remind you of another thing. Tywin Lannister is dead, the Queen Regent is a slut despised by everyone, and Jaime Lannister is most famous for stabbing the king he swore to protect. So, after Tywin's death, who will the Iron Bank support? Do you really think that a half-grown child born of incest can sit firmly on the Iron Throne?"

After a pause, seeing that Davos had stopped speaking, Taichu's smile deepened slightly: "That's for the future, sir."

Davos stroked his chest, took a step forward, and said, "I'm sorry, based on my understanding of King Stannis, you only have this one chance. He never talks, but always takes action."

After a solemn silence, the three representatives of the Iron Bank began to talk to each other in low voices.

After a while, they nodded to each other. Tycho Nestorus looked at Stannis and paused before speaking slowly: "My lord, in view of your bravery, the Iron Bank can lend you 50,000 gold royals."

Fifty thousand? It seems that the Iron Bank has secretly investigated them. This number can pay off the commissions owed to the mercenaries and continue to employ them... Is this to give the drowning man a little breath to see if he can swim out by himself?
"There is only one reliable king in the Seven Kingdoms..."

Davos glanced at Stannis, held up five fingers to Tychu, and said, "Five hundred thousand gold dragons."

Tai Chu frowned and said, "Sixty thousand gold royals."

Davos shook his head slightly, his tone more determined: "Six hundred thousand gold dragons."

"Forty-five thousand gold royals."

"Five hundred and ninety thousand gold royals."

"Forty thousand gold royals."

"Five hundred and eighty thousand gold dragons."

Tai Chu: “…………”

After a moment's silence, he reminded, "Lord Davos, we are not fishmongers bargaining in the market."

Davos's forehead wrinkles deepened. "Your Majesty Stannis needs a ship that can ride the wind and waves, not a small boat that cannot go out to sea when it encounters windy and rough weather. He is a proven commander, and I cannot agree with the figures you offer him."

There was silence.

Afterwards, the Iron Bank representatives once again engaged in a low-voiced conversation.

…………

After getting off the Iron Bank, Davos found that King Stannis's eyes seemed to be fixed on him. He subconsciously touched his beard which he had carefully trimmed this morning, and felt a little uneasy.

"Three hundred thousand gold royals... Davos, you have performed your duties brilliantly."

Hearing the king's praise, Davos immediately bowed. He raised his eyes and glanced at him carefully, then said respectfully, "Smugglers are better at bargaining with merchants, Your Majesty Stannis."

Stannis's mouth curled up slightly, and he lifted his foot and changed direction, saying, "Walk with me."

Crash——Clatter——

On the beach, King Stannis stood, his deep blue eyes staring into the gray distance, while Lord Davos stood respectfully beside him, too nervous to even breathe.

After an unknown amount of time, Stannis' voice rang out: "The Onion Knight."

Davos quickly responded respectfully: "Your Majesty."

Stannis turned around, his hard face showing a rare hint of warmth. "I will be sailing north soon. Please keep Dragonstone for me for a few days."

How many days of storage?

For some reason, Davos suddenly felt nervous. He opened his mouth and spoke with difficulty: "After that... I should... I should..." Stannis's voice was so cold that it made people feel like they were falling into an ice cave: "Good deeds are good deeds, and evil deeds are evil deeds. Good deeds cannot offset evil deeds, and evil deeds cannot cover up good deeds. Each behavior has its retribution. This is the justice of the law. Smuggler, kneel down."

Davos knelt silently, bowed his head, and said, "King Stannis, I am at your disposal."

Stannis lowered his eyes to examine his Onion Knight, then slowly put his hands behind his back and said, "My punishment for you is exile. From this moment on, you are no longer my vassal."

Hearing this, Davos raised his head in shock and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I am willing to be executed by you as your vassal. I will never..."

Stannis interrupted Davos mercilessly: "I will not be hypocritically kind. The lands, castles and titles I gave you will remain yours, and Davon (Davos' fifth son) will remain the king's squire."

With a cold glance at Davos, King Stannis turned around and walked away.

The sea breeze carried his voice lightly into Davos' ears: "Your loyalty is free, it no longer belongs to me."

…………

The bathhouse at the Dragonstone dock.

In the steaming hot bath, Salador Saan held a milky white-skinned beauty in his left hand and an olive-skinned beauty in his right hand.

He looked at Davos, who was walking towards him with a haggard face and heavy steps, with a dazed look in his eyes, grinned, and shouted loudly: "My friend, look at you, you seem to be in urgent need of the gentle comfort of a beauty."

Davos pretended not to hear anything. He walked to the side of the bath in silence, looked at them calmly, and said calmly: "Enjoy as much as you can. You will set sail in three days."

"you?"

Salado's eyes moved slightly. He patted the two beauties in his arms and said, "Go and prepare some delicious food, and then we... hehe..."

After they walked away laughing, Salador looked up at his old friend and asked in confusion, "Davos, why you and not us? And, set sail? Where is he going?"

Davos said nothing, he just shrugged.

After a pause, Salado murmured with emotion: "I once thought that man loved me, but now I know that he looked down on me. He wanted me to die poor and alone in a cold and desolate corner..."

Without listening to the pirate's complaints, Davos took off his bulging purse and threw it neatly beside the bathtub where Salador was leaning.

Salador was startled. He first looked at Davos in surprise, then reached out and took the bag and opened it.

Davos' voice sounded at this time: "You will not be poor, nor will you be alone."

After seeing what was inside, Salado blinked and said, "That's all..."

Davos raised his lips slightly and said, "There is still a full box..."

Under Salado's shining eyes, he continued: "I sent my son to your home in Rees. He will hand it directly to your wife."

Sarado's expression suddenly froze, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are really my good friend."

Davos sat down, his voice unable to hide his fatigue: "Pirate, you're welcome."

"you look like………"

Salado looked at his old friend again and then asked, "Why do you look like a homeless old man?"

Davos took the cup from Sallador, raised his head and took a sip of the wine, and said, "I have committed a crime, and the king has punished me to stay on Dragonstone."

Salado also took a sip of wine, gradually getting excited, and said jokingly: "Isn't this a good thing? All the stones on the island are yours."

After saying this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter with glee.

Davos forced a smile and said, "I was expelled. I am now a wandering knight without a lord."

Hearing this, Salado stopped raising his glass and asked in surprise, "What did you do? Did you secretly sell that man's stone?"

Davos shrugged slightly. "I committed a crime, and His Majesty the King dealt with me with mercy and justice."

Salado was still a little bit unbelievable, frowning and saying, "I'm really curious about what big trouble you have caused... Doesn't he know that you occupy half of his dream kingdom?"

"I still have something to do."

Davos reached out and patted his old friend on the shoulder. He said, "The generous king now has enough gold coins to be generous. Pirate, congratulations on your upcoming fortune. You just need to behave well in front of His Majesty."

Salador looked at Davos who was about to get up and leave, and said, "What else can I do? That man doesn't think highly of a pirate like me."

"Perhaps, you are only suitable to be a pirate?"

"Damn smugglers!"

…………

…………

Mermaid Harbor.

In the Government Affairs Hall, Green was looking through the documents that detailed the "trophies" of Crab Island (Chapter 188, Chapter 364), while Butler Herschel beside him chuckled from time to time.

Hearing Herschel's snickering, Green smiled gently and said, "Herschel, you will continue to be responsible for the subsequent affairs of Crab Island."

Hershel quickly put away the smile on his face, rubbed his fat hands, and said, "My master, the warehouse in Whispering Castle is not enough, we need to expand it."

Green nodded slightly: "I'll leave this matter to you as well."

Putting down the documents, he reached out and picked up a Valyrian steel one-handed axe on the table, examined it carefully, and said, "You go and do your work. Also, please help me call Monton in."

"As you command." Herschel responded respectfully, then turned and left.

Soon, the fat man Monton pushed the door open and walked in.

After paying his respects, he said naively, "Lord Green, Monton is at your service."

Green's brown eyes moved slightly, and he threw the Valyrian steel one-handed axe in his hand over. Monton raised his big hand and just grabbed the axe handle steadily.

"Until I find a suitable candidate, this Valyrian steel axe is in your care. Use it wisely."

“Hehehehehe…”Monton grinned.

(End of this chapter)