The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 223 Hugo's Good Situation

"Lord Ed, how are you doing now?

"I'm fine, Lord Hugo. I've recovered a lot now. When can I go to the North?"

The person standing in front of Hugo and talking to him now is Eddard Stark, the former Hand of the King and Duke of the North. It was his disappearance that eventually led to the civil war that swept across both sides of the Narrow Sea.

So, when Tyrion received the news of the discovery of Eddard, Hugo immediately sent someone to escort Eddard to him. Eddard was a person who meant a lot to him. No matter whether it was past kindness or current needs, he could not ignore this leader of the North.

Not only that, in order to ensure Ed's safety and avoid any unnecessary incidents, Hugo also specifically ordered Canatiel and his elite troops to be in charge of this matter.

When he saw Ed again, Hugo almost didn't recognize Duke Ed. Although the Duke had bathed and changed his clothes before meeting Hugo, and even put on clothes suitable for his status, the fatigue in his eyes and his overly long hair and beard silently told of the suffering he had experienced during his disappearance.

From Eddard, Hugo finally learned what happened to his previous disappearance: Braavos had kidnapped Eddard, and the specific action was done by the Faceless Men.

When he was kidnapped, Ed was still asleep and had no idea what was going on. When he woke up, he found himself in a dungeon. He was very anxious and wanted to leave because he knew what kind of uproar his disappearance would cause in Westeros. However, facing the solid walls of the dungeon, all he could do was wait and try to figure out where he was.

Next, Ed stayed in this dark dungeon for a long time. Except for the jailer who brought him food, he could not see anyone. He tried to get information from the jailers, but these people remained silent. Ed tried his best but could not get any response from those people, which made him at a loss. He never knew which force had captured him.

Finally, after staying in this sunlightless place for who knows how long, he was escorted out of the dungeon. This was the first time he saw the sun above the ground, and the cold sea breeze of northern Essos also made him immediately realize where he was - Braavos.

Since the Eastern Crusade, Braavos's hundreds of years of covert actions have gradually become known to the public, and the Faceless Men have been included in the defense of the lords, and even included in many stories that adults use to scare children. In general, although this dark blade is still deadly, as the threat is exposed, Braavos is not as skillful in using it as before.

Therefore, it was not difficult for Ed to realize the mastermind and intention of the incident.

However, as a prisoner, no matter what Ed wanted to do, it was impossible. No matter how anxious he was, he could only be escorted by the Braavos people to the mines in northern Essos to start smashing stones.

It was a miserable time. Eddard smashed stones in the dark mine every day, and was occasionally taken out for fresh air. Although the Braavos people did not want him to die, he had enough oil and water every day, his shack was cleaner than that of ordinary miners, and he did not have to worry about being whipped, but it was still hard labor. Eddard's labor intensity was very high, no less than that of other ordinary miners. He knew very well what kind of turmoil his disappearance would cause, so he lived in fatigue and anxiety every day.

However, he gradually no longer had to endure such pain. The heavy work eroded his mind and the pain in his body made him more numb.

Eddard thought about escaping and had tried several times, but the people of Braavos had strict guards over this kind of mine, and the surrounding residents were willing to exchange fugitives for rewards. He either failed at the beginning or was caught again not long after escaping. After so many failures, all Eddard could do was accept his fate.

After that, Ed became as numb as the working animals on the farm. All he did every day was smashing stones, eating and sleeping. His biological clock was completely disordered, his brain gradually rusted, and he became more and more haggard. He was like a barbarian isolated from the world, working endlessly in the mine.

At certain times, he even felt that life in Winterfell was just a fantasy born out of misery, and that he was actually a prisoner or debtor of the city-state. After all, how could a great noble in the West be kidnapped so easily and taken thousands of miles away to smash stones?
It was under these circumstances that Tyrion Lannister took over the Braavos mines and discovered and rescued Eddard.

When Eddard was released from the mine by the soldiers and saw the long-lost sunlight and the figure of the little devil, he thought that his hallucinations were getting worse. It was not until Tyrion took him away from the mine with surprised eyes and mentioned the familiar yet unfamiliar Westeros that Eddard realized that all this was real. In response, Eddard cried bitterly, which was rare. After experiencing long and hard labor that felt like years, he was finally liberated and free.

After a good rest and washing, Eddard immediately asked Tyrion about what happened in Westeros. He understood that his disappearance would have very bad consequences and was prepared for the worst. However, when Tyrion recounted the civil strife in the Seven Kingdoms, he still felt a heavy blow and found it difficult to accept those facts for a while.

Robert's kingdom was in a mess because of the civil war. The political structure designed by old Arryn almost completely collapsed, and the control of the Iron Throne over the local areas almost regressed to the Targaryen era. The situation in the Riverlands ruled by his father-in-law was even worse. The Three Rivers split into two camps in the civil war, and the damage caused was no less than the War of the Usurper. When everything settled, the Tully family was deprived of the title of Duke of the Riverlands, and Frey took over. In addition, the North also suffered heavy losses in this war. A large number of Northern men died in the South. His daughter was either under house arrest or disappeared, his wife was punished to become a silent sister, and his eldest son was also captured and paraded in King's Landing. Winterfell is currently facing challenges from Bolton...
The deaths of a series of familiar people also made the situation even more turbulent: Hoster Tully, Renly Baratheon, Tywin Lannister... When Eddard heard the once familiar names one by one, he felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking. The earth-shaking changes in the situation in the West suddenly made him feel at a loss.

However, Eddard is a Stark after all, the popular Duke of Winterfell, and he will not be defeated so easily.

After calming down, Duke Ed greeted the team sent by Hugo to protect him with the demeanor of a duke, and followed them on the journey to meet Hugo.

Ed understood that he needed strength, and given his current situation, the only way for him to gain the strength to reorganize the North was to go to Hugo. Hugo alone had a large number of Northern immigrants under his command, and there were even more in the entire New Seven Kingdoms. He now needed the support of these people, and if possible, he also wanted to get Hugo's support.

As for Robert's kingdom...May the old and new gods forgive him, he no longer cares for the Seven Kingdoms.

Thanks to the obedience of the remaining northern city-states, Ed did not have to waste time in the harsh northern coast. The team escorting him quickly crossed the hilly area of ​​Norvos and arrived at the city of Hugo along the nearest route. Now, Ed has safely arrived at the Winter Palace of Andas and met Hugo in the reception room. Hugo could only look at the Duke in front of him with great emotion. In the eyes of the world, Ed had died long ago, and even he thought so, "Ed is still alive!" When the news from the mountains spread, it would shock the world.

The survival of Eddard Stark is undoubtedly a great benefit to the Starks. Unlike the infamous Young Wolf, Eddard Stark still has unquestionable prestige in the North and among the northern lords. Although the information transmission with Westeros has been miscommunication again because of Euron's crazy behavior, the northern nobles in the east are already on their way to meet the old duke, and even the relevant settlements with weaker relations have sent representatives.

Fate really favors the Stark family, Hugo thought, this time the civil war for the Iron Throne was so fierce that many families suffered heavy losses, but even Eddard, who was most likely to die, survived. He originally thought that the missing Arya Stark should have suffered the same misfortune as Eddard, but now it seems that maybe she also survived, but was hiding somewhere because of the war.

The family that was originally most likely to be wiped out now seems most likely to have all its members survive. This is too much of a dark humor.

For now, although Stark lost the civil war for the Iron Throne as fate would have it, since Eddard is still alive, it is enough to solve many problems caused by the defeat.

As for Eddard Stark's return home, Hugo intends to let the Northerners handle it. His bottom line is the stability of White Harbor, which is the key to his northern strategy.

Next, Hugo and Ed talked about some casual things. After all, there was not much information that the two sides needed to exchange. Ed already knew the information he needed to know on the way, and Hugo would not reveal the most important secrets to him.

Looking at Ed's leaving back, Hugo couldn't help but sigh again, but he would not indulge in the feeling of the fickleness of fate for too long. As the supreme ruler of the East, Hugo had a lot to do.

He already knew what the South had done, and Hugo knew that Euron was seeking help from the forces behind him.

However, now is not the time to make a decision with Euron. He received some news from the Wall that the actions of the White Walkers were very quiet, and the quietness was a bit weird. Even the harassment of the Wall stopped. This made Hugo sure that the next large-scale action of the White Walkers might be imminent.

.

But before the White Walkers break through, he still has to sort out the
Hugo already knew about Euron's actions in the south. In his opinion, this was Euron's move to find the forces behind the scenes. Finally, after more than ten years of silence, the Iron Islands became hostile to the mainland again.

However, Hugo knew that now was not the time to deal with Euron. After all, no matter how strong the Iron Men were, they could not do without water. He had recently received some news from the Wall. The White Walkers were currently very quiet, so quiet that it was a little weird. Even the harassment of the Wall had stopped.

This made Hugo certain that the White Walkers were probably making final preparations for the next large-scale action, so he had to gather all his strength for that moment.

However, before the White Walkers break through, he still has to sort out the mess caused by the civil war in the territory.

First in the south, after Euron caused a massacre in the strait, he left quickly, leaving a mess behind. He evacuated as quickly as he came, and the Iron Men gained nothing except killing, so that everyone was wondering if the former naval commander had been exposed to too much evil and had gone completely crazy.

Of course, this idea was limited to the upper-level lords and officials, but in the grassroots society of the kingdom, this brutal atrocity had aroused overwhelming panic.

For the Easterners, the fear brought by Euron's atrocities has been hanging over their heads for more than a decade. When Euron left the East and went to the Iron Islands during the civil war, the entire eastern coast of the Narrow Sea was grateful for it, and countless people hoped that the madman would never come back after he left - although the war would still rage in the area after the evil sea monster left, everyone would feel more at ease without the monster. After all, suffering and death can be divided into many levels, and meeting Euron is the most tragic among them.

Even in some areas that suffered greatly from the Tranquil Fleet, local lords and people dismantled some redundant fortifications and began to return to the days without Euron.

However, their hopes have now been ruthlessly shattered. Euron is back, he is not dead, and he has completed the largest naval annihilation war in history.

As information spread, fear began to spread in the East, and many coastal residents began to leave their homes with their families and flee to nearby defensive settlements. Each settlement, whether village or town, continued to spend money and effort to strengthen defenses, organize armies, stockpile supplies, and repair city walls to guard against possible attackers.

Hugo welcomed this trend. It was a good thing for the grassroots to strengthen military force and defense. Now there was Euron on the sea, and there would be White Walkers on the continent in the future. When the ancient legends appeared before the world again, he could draw on these prepared forces when needed.

At the same time, with the royal fleet's collapse, Stannis did not miss the opportunity and launched a surprise attack on the remaining royal troops.

Thanks to the high level of organization, Stannis's fleet was able to escape intact, unlike the Iron Throne's fleet which was almost wiped out. So, Stannis immediately and urgently requisitioned civilian ships from Tyrosh, and then used them to carry his troops to the mainland, launching an attack on the army led by the inflatable fish.

At this moment, Inflatable Fish's army was in shock over the destruction of the fleet. The army's morale was low and they neglected their defenses. They were unable to react to Stannis's surprise attack, not to mention the leading general Inflatable Fish. He also did not expect that Stannis, who had suffered heavy losses, would take such a risky move.

Stannis' strategy almost succeeded. He once broke up the army of the inflatable fish. Unfortunately, Randyll Tarly led his family soldiers to hold the last line of defense. At the same time, the Estuary Army led by Ser Barristan Selmy came to reinforce. These elite troops blocked Stannis' attack and forced Stannis to retreat, barely saving the army led by the inflatable fish.

However, although the expeditionary army did not collapse under the command of Stannis, the Inflatable Fish was still frightened. He led his army in a wild retreat, abandoning a large amount of occupied land. Many lords also led their troops away. The Iron Throne's southward expedition ended in a whimper.

As for Stannis, he had suffered heavy losses earlier, so he did not continue the pursuit.

It seems that, apart from Euron who doesn't know what he is going to do, the battle in the south has come to an end.

Currently, the Inflatable Fish's army is stationed outside the walls of Myr. Due to the destruction of the Iron Throne's fleet, they are now trapped in the east.

Hugo provided a lot of food to Mace Tyrell's army. Anyway, the rich output of the Myr Plains was enough to feed the damaged army, and with the wealth of the River Bay, a new fleet would soon come to take away the inflatable fish. So Hugo was not overly hostile to him, but only secretly ordered militias across Myr to keep an eye on the inflatable fish.

Hugo sent many envoys to Stannis. He maintained peace between himself and Stannis. He was unwilling to attack Stannis, nor did he want to be involved in a civil war. This is undoubtedly the best situation now.

Next came the north. With the capture of Braavos and the elimination of the old rivals of so many years, Hugo was truly freed from his shackles.

The vast tracts of land obtained from Braavos were enough to feed those ambitious guys, and now his subordinates were busy registering the new fiefdoms.

In addition, the floating wealth obtained from Braavos is also huge. If you don't count it, you won't know. Once you count it, you will be shocked. These treasures should be enough to sustain the next battle with the White Walkers. The Iron Bank is not as rich as expected. There is a lot of gold and silver in it, but it is far from the level of the world's largest bank.

However, as the various documents of Braavos were decrypted, Hugo soon discovered the secret - it turned out that Braavos used the money in its government operations and various investment activities. These activities brought more gold and silver to Braavos and made the city-state more prosperous.

When a customer needs to withdraw gold and silver from the Iron Bank, the government can quickly mobilize gold and silver from all parties, so that the reputation of the Iron Bank will not be damaged in any way.

Hugo was not surprised by such a move. After all, this was the essence of finance. The people of Braavos were indeed at the forefront of the times in the financial field.

So, Hugo didn't leak the information about the Iron Bank. He also planned to continue playing this trick. Not to mention that the reputation of the Iron Bank was also a benefit to him. He planned to continue using the Iron Bank brand. After all, the Braavos brand is pretty good, isn't it?
As for Braavos' allies, those northern free trade cities, these cities only made some symbolic actions to assist Braavos during the siege of Braavos, which shows their attitude towards Braavos and this war.

After the siege, these people either surrendered or came to make peace, and also provided support for the expedition to the Axe Peninsula instead of seizing the colony of Braavos. Although there was a factor of unwillingness to face the aggressive Iban people, this was enough to illustrate their attitude.

Therefore, now is the state that Hugo has been working hard for for a long time. The troubles in both the north and the south have been solved. All we need to do is wait for that moment and treat the war that is bound to happen...

(End of this chapter)