iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 422: Green's Property Knights
Ser Fowler Prest is the cousin of the Earl of Feastfire in the West. He is short and thin, with pinched nostrils, a bald head and a gray-brown beard. His appearance is quite distinctive.

Led by the blue-robed guards and his standard-bearing officer, he crossed half of the camp and entered the Duke's tent.

Green sat alone behind a long table covered with a map of the Three Rivers Basin, while the vassals of the Kleber family stood on both sides like loyal guards.

As the master of ceremonies sang, Ser Fowler stopped in front of the long table, put his right hand on his chest, and said respectfully: "Dear Duke of the Eyrie, I am Fowler Prester of Feastfire. Here, I would like to extend my greetings to you on behalf of the Guardian of the West, Ser Davon Lannister."

Duke Green leaned slightly on the armrest of the chair, casually looked at the envoy Davon in front of him, and murmured: "Davon... Guardian of the Western Territory..."

After a pause, he said to the messenger: "You are interrupting my war meeting, Sir Prester."

Disturb? To Sir Fowler, Green's sudden accusation was a bit "willful", which made him angry. If he was not entrusted with the important task of being an envoy, Sir Fowler would not be so sensitive about it given the difference in status between the two.

However, at this moment he represented the protection of the Western Territory.

Ser Fowler was about to speak when Green's voice came first: "Because you are Cersei's vassal, I stopped this crucial war meeting and allowed you to meet with her. As for the new Warden of the West..."

As he said this, he sneered and continued, "I will look forward to his wonderful performance in Riverrun."

Glancing at Fowler's clenched fist, Green waved his hand and said, "My time is precious. Please state your purpose directly, sir."

Sir Fowler tried his best to calm his emotions. After a long while, he finally spoke: "My Lord Duke, Sir Davon heard that your army is heading towards Riverrun..."

On the surface, Green seemed to be listening to Sir Fowler's narration, but in his heart he was thinking... The man in front of him was not good enough at speaking, and was not a suitable candidate for an envoy... Well, he should set up an "envoy discipline" in Westeros to cultivate such talents.

"...He hopes to hold a war meeting with you at the foot of Riverrun, and use the coalition forces of Lannister, Crabbe, and Frey to jointly attack the castle of the rebel Trout."

After a depressing silence, Duke Green's voice slowly sounded: "Have you finished your speech, sir?"

Sir Fowler has always been fearless on the battlefield, and he regards sacrifice in battle as the highest honor. Moreover... he admires those knights who are good at fighting very much.

The Duke of Green before him was a famous knight in the Seven Kingdoms, known as a famous general.

But... at this moment, the famous general whom Sir Fowler admired looked at him... He seemed to be examining a stupid guy?

Sir Fowler nodded blankly: "Yes, my Lord Duke."

Green frowned slightly and said, "Didn't the Imperial Council tell you that my purpose in entering the Riverlands was to assist Earl Kevan in settling the displaced people and to restore farmland production with all my strength (Chapter 405)?"

Raising his hand slightly, Green stopped Sir Fowler from speaking and continued: "Yes, Lord Kevan has met with misfortune, so now I have to take over his responsibility. Do you understand what I mean? I didn't come here specifically to help Davon Lannister fight. And..."

His eyes suddenly became sharp. "I won't make it difficult for you, but go back and ask Sir Davon what qualifications he has to invite me to fight together."

After hearing the last part, Sir Fowler, the messenger of Sir Davon, turned red: "Please allow me to take my leave!"

"Stop." Green coldly called out to the messenger who was about to turn around. As his voice fell, the vassals of the Kleber family who were standing quietly around him all grasped the hilts of their swords.

Sir Fowler raised his head, his eyes showing no fear, and said loudly: "But do you have any other instructions, Duke Crabbe?"

"Nice courage."

Green praised him at first, then suddenly changed his tone and said in a deep voice: "The Imperial Council ordered me to buy the surplus grain from the lords of the Riverlands, and I heard that... Sir Davon confiscated a lot of grain from the Riverlands. You go and tell him to give some of the grain away. This is for the king and the kingdom, as well as the suffering people of the Riverlands."

Hearing Green's bandit-like request, Sir Fowler immediately responded angrily: "We have run out of food and fodder..."

His lips trembled and he suddenly stopped the words that were about to come out.

There was silence.

Green looked at Ser Fowler, who was frozen in place, and said, "Tell Ser Davon to remember the three-month deadline given by Queen Cersei. If the Warden of the West feels that he cannot do it, he can hand Riverrun over to me. You may leave now, Ser Prester."

As soon as Sir Fowler walked out of the tent, he heard the shrill laughter coming from inside. He stood there... his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. After a pause, he strode towards the camp gate.

Because the Lannister envoy brought relatively important intelligence, the combat meeting convened by Green ended near noon.

At this time, hundreds of tied-up bandits were kneeling on the flat ground west of the camp, and the few surviving captives sent by Sir Per Pili, who was commanding Crab's army to wipe out the river bandit group, were there.

[The whereabouts of Kleber's three retainers: Emperor Thornes guards the valley; Per Pili is commanding the army to pursue the bandits who are causing chaos in the riverlands; Mason Baker assists Dick Kleber in "buying food" in the southwest of the riverlands. ]

By the afternoon, thousands of people from the villages near the Kneeling Inn gathered here. After a heart-wrenching horn sounded, the heads of the robbers rolled.

The bloody scene made the people present hold their breath. Several of Kleber's heralds began to calm these people's fears and move westward along the River Road... They had repeated this task several times and had become familiar with it.

"Listen up everyone! This is what happens when you become a villain!"

"Look everyone—that's the marigold flag of the Kleber family. This flag will protect you and allow you to live in peace!"

"Your savior, Duke Green Crabbe, will choose new lords and new knights who can protect you!"

"Your savior, Duke Green, will allow you to return to a stable life!"

"Always remember the Marigold Flag. From now on, you will always be protected by this flag!"

Near dusk, Green personally appointed nineteen wealthy knights to occupy the large tract of unowned land near the Kneeling Inn. Among them... ten were knights of the Crab Claw Peninsula who had already accumulated sufficient military merit, and the remaining nine were three knights from the valley who had gained military merit in the battle to suppress the bandit group, and six down-and-out knights from the eastern part of the riverland.

In the Duke's tent, candlelight flickered.

Lord Green picked up his quill, dipped it in ink, and marked the unowned lands and future unowned lands on a map of the riverlands.

Putting down the pen, Green stared at the location of Riverrun on the map and pinched his chin. The Riverlands had suffered heavy losses due to the war. If the normal order here was to be restored in a short period of time, the investment of materials would be a bottomless pit for a period of time. But... this was a rare opportunity for Kleber to establish his rule over the entire Riverlands.

The new masters of the unowned land in the Riverlands, the vassals and property-owning knights of the Riverlands who were canonized by Green, would become staunch supporters of Crab's rule, because their legal basis came from him - Green Crab.

After a pause, Green pulled out a blank piece of parchment, picked up the quill again, and began to write a letter. He was writing to Dick Crabbe, and he wanted to make Dick's knife sharper.

Just after writing the letter, Ser Brienne brought the intelligence about Storm's End that had just been delivered to the camp.

"Storm's End?" Grimm took the letter from Brienne.

Green raised one eyebrow as he read the letter. The Duke of Mace was planning to destroy Storm's End with a catapult? Sure enough... steady.

Handing the letter to Brienne, Green said, "Sir, send someone to convey my order to Sir Geoffrey to hire more carpenters. When we arrive at Riverrun, we will build a catapult."

Five days later, Green received intelligence that the Lannister army had launched a fierce siege on Riverrun, and the two thousand reinforcements from the Frey family to support Ser Davon suddenly accelerated their march.

The next day, Kleber's army left the Kneeling Inn camp one after another and headed towards Riverrun.

…………

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"The next topic..."

Cersei's appointed Prime Minister, Harys Swyft (Kevan's father-in-law, Chapter 404), looked around at the people at the King's Conference Table and said to Cersei, who was sitting at the main seat, "Regent Queen, dozens of river lords who have surrendered to the Lannisters have jointly protested, hoping that the King's Conference will stop the atrocities of Crabbe's army in the riverlands."

"Pour me some wine."

Osney quickly placed the full glass on Cersei's table. She took a sip of summer red and asked, "What atrocities?"

Prime Minister Harris lowered his head and flipped through several letters in his hand, saying, "To be precise, it was the people of Duke Green who caused public outrage. It is said that he executed many nobles in the name of buying food..."

Cersei shook the jeweled golden goblet in her hand and frowned, "Speak clearly."

Prime Minister Harris trembled at the lioness's impatience, and he quickly said, "Dick Crabbe asked to inspect their food warehouses. Those who refused... the river nobles who were not protected by tall castles, were all executed by him... in the name of rebellion."

Pycelle's maester's necklace jingled softly. He added, "I've heard about this, too. It's said that he will also rob them of all their wealth. The people of the riverlands now call him the plunderer."

Cersei's emerald eyes turned to her intelligence chief.

Coben stroked his chest and said, "Some people call him the executioner, but according to my intelligence, Lord Dick killed those who refused to sell their excess grain."

The voice of the Admiral, Count Matus, rang out: "Lord Qyburn, what is the current situation in the Riverlands?"

Coben turned to Count Matus and replied in a gentle voice: "In the places where Count Rowan, Duke Green and Lord Dick passed by, the surviving farmers have returned to their fields and are working hard to farm."

Cersei glanced at the only confidant of Rose at the royal meeting and said, "Prime Minister Harris, the next topic..."

Harris Swyford was stunned for a moment, and said: "But... those unfortunate river nobles are waiting for us..."

Cersei interrupted impatiently, "I will take care of this matter myself. I will write to Lord Green."

"Yes... yes, as you command." Harris sat obediently in the Prime Minister's chair and said no more.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Earl Giles Rosby, coughed for a long time before speaking slowly: "Queen Mother... Your Majesty... Because the royal fleet is building large sailing ships, the budget of the royal treasury is extremely tight... I suggest... ahem... reducing the number of gold cloaks... ahem... King's Landing... is safe..."

As Cersei's fullness rose and fell slowly, the Chancellor's constant coughing annoyed her.

Financial issues had been the daily theme of the Royal Council recently, and she gestured for Earl Giles to stop speaking.

She said, "The royal revenues are insufficient to cover Robert's debts. Therefore, I have suspended payments to the Church of the Seven and the Iron Bank of Braavos until the war is over."

Upon hearing this, Grand Maester Pycelle said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I am afraid this will bring you unexpected troubles. The Iron Bank is..."

Cersei raised her chin slightly and interrupted, "The Iron Bank is in Braavos, across an ocean. Return the gold when the war is over. A Lannister must pay his debts."

"But...but...the people of Braavos also have a saying - the Iron Bank is not owed money."

Cersei snorted coldly and said, "It is up to me to decide whether to delay or not. Until then, the people of Braavos should wait respectfully. I do not want to see the enemy fleet wandering freely in Blackwater Bay again."

"What about the Church of the Seven Gods... ahem..." asked Earl Rossby.

"I will go to the Baelor Cathedral this afternoon. I will discuss this matter with the Archbishop who was elected with an axe. The next topic..."

As Cersei left the throne room, a violent gust of wind blew in her face, causing her burgundy skirt to flutter.

Qyburn came to Cersei's side and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, according to the information I have collected, the High Septon who calls himself the High Sparrow may be hostile to noble people..."

Cersei smoothed her messy golden hair, snorted coldly, and said, "There is no shortage of such people in the Seven Kingdoms. This is just a trick they use to win people's hearts."

"If he dares to offend you..."

"I will praise his incredible courage and send him to the Stranger to pray."

(End of this chapter)