Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire

The throne room of the Red Keep welcomed its king, Robert Baratheon, who rarely sat on the Iron Throne on the high platform. The two rows of important ministers in front of the king lined up in the throne room. Unlike usual times, the throne room was missing many people from King's Landing and even the Crownland who were supposed to come to petition. The noble ladies and officials from the Free Trade Cities who usually came to witness the trial and decision were not here.

The King's Hand, Eddard Stark, sat on the special seat under the high platform of the Iron Throne. The Minister of Justice, Renly Baratheon, leaned against the towering pillars of the throne room. He was not as serious as everyone imagined, and looked at the ministers standing there with a squint.

Since the Minister of Finance Petyr was sentenced to death, the seat of the Royal Council has been vacant, so these financial decisions were temporarily decided by Eddard, the Hand of the King, but he had never dealt with such complicated accounting books, and even with the help of Grand Maester Pycelle, it was useless. The two were completely helpless in the face of huge royal debts, especially the debt owed to the Lannisters in the West, which was as high as millions of gold dragons. The rich treasury left by the Mad King Aerys had long been squandered by Robert.

Eddard and Pycelle could only stare blankly. Financial decisions were often made in a hurry amid Eddard's complaints to King Robert and Pycelle's frequent nodding.

And the prize money for the tournament was actually looted from the property left in King's Landing by Atys's golden robe, which was left by Littlefinger. This method of drinking poison to quench thirst could not beat time after all.

Barristan, the captain of the Kingsguard, stood under the high platform of the Iron Throne, separated from Eddard on both sides.

Varys was still wearing a silk robe, looking at King Robert on the platform with a worried look on his face.

The envoys from Braavos were dressed in black gowns and held thick account books in their hands. The Iron Bank had noticed the changes in the finances of Westeros early on. First, there was a big purge of the customs in Gulltown, and then the important ministers in front of the king, the contact between the Iron Bank and the Iron Throne, and the Minister of Finance Petyr Baelish was sentenced to death by beheading.

Faced with political changes that might affect the repayment of debts, the Iron Bank was eager to send envoys to visit King Robert, and the intention was obvious.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the Hand of the King, I express my most sincere greetings on behalf of the Iron Bank of Braavos." The black-clad envoy of the Iron Bank greeted politely.

"Get up, envoy of the Iron Bank," Robert replied solemnly, "Excuse me, may I ask the name of the envoy?"

"Naho Demetrius." The envoy spoke fluent Westeros Common Language, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear the accent of the Valley.

Robert raised his eyebrows slightly, "Where did you learn the Common Language? In my impression, the envoys from the East Continent all speak the Common Language with a strange accent." Robert was referring to the Valyrian accent that the Targaryen family used to hear when he was a child, and the official language of Braavos happened to be Valyrian.

Naho glanced at Artis Arryn, who had a blue falcon iron pattern printed on the other side of his breastplate, and replied respectfully: "Speaking of which, this has something to do with the Vale under your command, Your Majesty."

Robert became interested, "Tell me, did you learn the Common Language in the Vale? Where did you learn it?"

"Seagull Town, a beautiful port in the Vale." Naho was humble and polite, looking at Artis, "Seagull Town under your governance is in good order, and everyone in Braavos admires it." Naho said exaggeratedly.

Artis nodded slightly, "This is thanks to the joint governance of my father and the vassals of Seagull Town. I am indeed a little bit of luck."

"Hahahaha!" Robert laughed, "You can tell me the purpose of your visit, Laiho." Robert stuttered, he did not remember the name of the envoy.

"Naho Demetrius." Naho reminded immediately.

"Okay," Robert said, "Naho, you can tell me the purpose of the Iron Bank." He probably knew the reason why the Iron Bank sent an envoy, but it was still a few years before the Iron Throne paid its debt, so he still had some time to prepare.

Naho cleared his throat lightly, took a step forward, smiled at the Kingsguard in front of the Iron Throne, and then said to Robert: "Some things in Westeros have made the Iron Bank a little uneasy in recent days. We are afraid that the funding that helped King Robert build the country will not get the due return."

"What are you worried about?" Robert asked knowingly, he coughed lightly, tried to sit on the edge of the Iron Throne, and placed his hands on both sides of the Iron Throne.

Naho said, "Of course, it is the vacancy of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Your Majesty, this is an important position. Without this position, the Iron Bank will find it difficult to settle down."

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a seat in front of the king. Both ability and status need to be valued. It is not something that can be selected overnight, this envoy Naho." Renly replied, and he looked at Naho.

Naho shook his head, "I believe that King Robert values ​​ability the most. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer has close ties with the Iron Bank. I heard that he is not from a noble family. King Robert's career is so dazzling that it costs a lot. I hope that the Iron Throne can show its economic ability to continue its career as soon as possible." He looked at King Robert.

"It is natural to pay back debts. The Iron Throne will guarantee you its reputation." Eddard Stark, the Prime Minister of the King, finally spoke, and he said to Naho.

Robert spread his hands. "You see, Braavosi, that Lord Eddard is the most trustworthy man in the Seven Kingdoms. You can rest assured that we will allay the Iron Bank's concerns."

Naho nodded with satisfaction, "I believe in the credibility of the Iron Throne and the honor of your Prime Minister. The friendly exchanges between the Iron Throne and the Iron Bank for hundreds of years can prove this." He bowed to King Robert and continued, "I think we will talk about some specific economic debts next, Your Majesty."

"Seven layers of hell," Robert said softly, and only he could hear his voice. "I still have kingdom affairs to deal with. If you want to discuss these, talk to those who are good at these numbers." Robert stood up and walked down the platform, and Barristan immediately followed.

Eddard Stark helplessly watched his king leave the throne room. He looked at the messenger from Braavos and said, "Robert, the king has important things to do. Please talk to me."

The Prime Minister pointed at Varys and Pycelle, "Lord Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle, please stay and talk to me and this Nar. messenger."

Pycelle nodded tremblingly as usual. Varys put his hands together and walked towards the messenger with a smile, "No problem at all, respected Prime Minister."

Artis silently left the throne room with Renly. The sky was blue, in sharp contrast to the gloom in the throne room. Renly took a long breath and stretched his limbs.

"More than 10,000 troops from the Westerlands have gathered at the Golden Tooth, and so has the Tullys, who have gathered more than 10,000 troops nearby. If the two families do not reconcile, the kingdom will soon face war." Renly said, "And the Iron Bank is coming to King's Landing at this time to put pressure on the Iron Throne, and the debt cannot be avoided."

"Lannister?" Artis knew what Renly was referring to.

"Castle Rock has always been connected to the Iron Bank, and even part of the gold mine's output is stored underground in the Iron Bank. The Iron Bank's coming here at this time, I guess, is related to Lannister." Renly smiled and looked at Artis.

Artis knew that Renly was testing him. Originally, the connection between the Arryns and the Tullys was close and inseparable, but the accusation from Riverrun brought the relationship between the two families to a freezing point. It was quite necessary for Renly to know the Arryns' attitude towards the Lannisters.

"Maybe it's related," Artis said, not looking at Renly, "but just as 'the Iron Bank cannot be defaulted on,' the Iron Throne cannot be coerced." Artis chuckled and said goodbye to Renly.

Renly looked at Artis's back, smiled thoughtfully, and left the courtyard outside the throne room.

"Bleeding Gate, kill Tully! Roast all the trout in the Trident River and eat them!"

"Who can tolerate such a false accusation? Our lord is the Arryn family, the family that values ​​honor the most in the Seven Kingdoms. The Tully family dared to frame us like this. Do they really think that the Vale cavalry will only shrink in the Bloody Gate?"

"Roast trout! Roast trout!"

The knights of the Vale gathered in the Arryn family's courtyard in King's Landing. Robert Royce and Waymar Royce were surrounded in the middle. Robert looked at the people around him helplessly, while Waymar was infected by the atmosphere and joined the team shouting "Roast trout!"

The knights' attendants scattered in a group, and Artis Arryn walked into the courtyard. He looked at the knights in the valley.

"Master Artis," Shufu wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I'm sorry, the noble knights of the Vale are very."

"Duke Artis!"

Artis turned his head and looked at a very active knight of the Lindley family in Snakewood City, one of the few knights in the Vale who participated in the Prime Minister's Tournament this time.

"Sir Lymon." Artis said.

Lymon Lindley saluted him, "The accusation of Riverrun is already known to everyone in King's Landing!" He shook his arm armor indignantly, "We have all been inspected by you in Runestone City. After you quelled the rebellion in Longbow Hall and wiped out the high mountain clans that penetrated into the Vale of Arryn, this matter concerns your honor and the honor of the entire Vale. The Tully family must be punished!"

"Grilled trout!" The indignant valley knights behind Sir Lymon shouted one after another.

Artis calmly looked at the excited and indignant knights. The Red Castle really had no secrets.

"Lord Tywin Lannister has led the army to punish Riverrun for us. We should appeal to King Robert of the Iron Throne, join this war, cross the Trident, and trample the fields of the Riverlands with the iron hooves of the Vale Cavalry!" Since the end of the tournament, Michel Redfort was defeated by Loras Tyrell, the "Knight of Flowers". He often came to the house of the Arryn family to show goodwill to himself and the Royce family. After hearing that his feudal lord was insulted, he also came here and said to Artis.

"That's right! The Tully family is the trout, and you, Duke Artis, are the falcon! The eagle of the Vale took the trout, and the Seven Gods arranged it this way. It is only natural for us to punish the Tully family!" Sir Lymon said with exaggeration, bringing up the Seven Gods.

Attis looked at the valley knights who had gathered around him, the noble knights from various castles, and even their attendants who were also from the great nobles of the valley. He believed that it would not be long before the accusation made by the King would be known to all seven kingdoms. There were many young and energetic noblemen in the valley who wanted to establish their careers and become model knights. The atmosphere of martial arts was very strong in the valley. Whether it was the direct confrontation with the alpine clans for many years, or the border frictions caused by the unclear territorial boundaries due to the rugged terrain of the valley, they constantly tested the people of this land.

Even the ordinary residents of the valley, the firm belief of the Seven Gods takes root here. Becoming a knight is the dream of almost every boy who is new to knowledge. There are even rare female knights in historical myths, but they only exist in myths. Among them, people call them female knights, but it is actually unknown whether they have received the formal process of knighthood.

Therefore, I am afraid that there are not a few people in the valley who hold this kind of tit-for-tat view, and it is even the mainstream. Attis has to face this voice carefully.

"The Tullys must be punished," Attis said, eliciting cheers from the knights, "but," he paused, "Duke Hoster, who has a deep friendship with us in the Vale, is currently ill in bed. This accusation was probably made by his heir Edmure Tully." Sir Lymon and the knights behind him frowned. They only wanted to teach the Tully family a lesson, and did not go into detail about the person.

"Although I don't know where this baseless accusation comes from, I will definitely go to the Iron Throne. Whether it is directly leading troops to severely punish the Riverlands, or other measures, King Robert is my father's adopted son, and he will definitely Give us a fair verdict," Attis said to the Knights of the Vale.

Sir Lemon frowned. He was not sure if this was a good countermeasure, but it was a legal channel to notify the Iron Throne before sending troops.

"The Tully family knows that the slander is coming to the Iron Throne, not to mention that in our valley, if the behavior is illegal, can the Seven Gods agree to the knights' actions?" Attis said, and he patted the breastplate of the leader, Sir Lemon.

"The seven gods testify," Robert put his hand on his chest, "the laws of the kingdom are the laws of the seven gods, and we must abide by them."

"That's right." Weimar looked at Attis and Robert's statement and decisively responded, "We are not like the shameless members of the Tully family."

The knights either shook their heads regretfully, or silently recited "In the name of the warrior", or said nothing.

Attis knew that this would not convince the proud knights of the canyon under his command, but he did not say anything more. He just told the knights to be calm, and then asked Robert to hold a banquet in the house to entertain these people who were loyal to the Arryn family and loyal to the Arryn family. Knight of the Vale.

"I'm afraid the kingdom's finances." Varys said pessimistically. At this time, the envoy from the Iron Bank of Braavos had left the throne room. The task he received was to travel to all the ports of the Seven Kingdoms, record and inspect, and investigate the situation of the Iron Bank. The team also took on the task of conducting an economic inspection of Braavos, and they had already led a group to visit King's Landing Port.

"Alas, it turns out that this time it's all about Littlefinger. With all due respect, we must admit the economic talent of the sinner Petyr. I'm afraid it's hard for the Seven Kingdoms to match him." Pycelle shook his head and said regretfully.

Ed rubbed his temples, "No one can break the laws of the kingdom, not even the Chancellor, no matter how capable he is. Such conspirators are not worthy of living in Westeros." He frowned and said seriously.

Pycelle straightened his posture, "I think since the Iron Bank requires the Iron Throne to appoint a competent Chancellor of the Treasury immediately." He glanced at Ed.

"But it doesn't matter," Ed said.

"A competent Chancellor of the Exchequer, the richest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, I think Casterly Rock." Pycelle glanced at Ed again.

"Lord Tywin is indeed a good choice," Varys agreed, "for the position of Lord Chancellor."

Ed frowned and asked, "Does the kingdom still owe Tywin and the Lannister hundreds of thousands of golden dragons?"

"Three million," Pycelle said ruthlessly.

Ed protected his head with both hands, "Seven levels of hell!"

"But I'm afraid." Varys looked at Pycelle with a smile, "Lord Tywin, there is no one richer than him in the Seven Kingdoms, and he is fully qualified to be the Minister of Finance." He turned to Ed, "But now the West and the River There is a huge army facing off in the world. Does this mean that the Iron Throne has expressed its support for the West? This matter must be discussed with King Robert."

Pycelle shook his head, "There is no need for the Iron Throne to express any opinion on this matter. Lord Tywin's beloved son Tyrion is still imprisoned in Riverrun. It makes perfect sense for the army to confront Lord Tywin this time, and there is no need to say anything at all."

"Love?" Wallis smiled, "That's the deep love between father and son."

Pycelle narrowed his eyes and was about to answer, but was stopped by Ed.

"No more words," Ed waved his hand and said, "The Minister of Finance has been put here in advance. Reconciling the conflicts between the West and the Riverlands is the top priority now. Robert and I have discussed and decided on the choice of Minister of Finance. I will be here first today. here."

After hearing this, Pycelle and Varys stood up and left.

After they left, Eddard let out a long sigh in the throne room. There were too many things to deal with recently, whether it was the Tully family's secret accusation, or the pressure from the Iron Bank, including the confrontation between the Westerlands and the Riverlands. , all gave him a huge headache, and he kept thinking about how he would deal with these things if Jon Arryn were to deal with them.

Ed misses the castle of Winterfell again, the boundless wilderness in the north, the snow that is about to enter winter, and the underground bug rats that have emerged. He feels very cute now.

He looked around the walls of the throne room. There were no weirwoods. The old gods were not here.

Eddard stood up. He wanted to wipe the Valyrian steel sword "Ice" of the Stark family with clean water before making the next move. In Winterfell, the sound of the gurgling stream made him immersed in In his ethereal thinking, the surrounding woods allowed him to listen to the voices of the old gods, and the thousand-year-old soil beneath his feet allowed him to be guided by his ancestors sleeping underground.

And here, there are only constant troubles and the impurity of power. Littlefinger, whom he originally trusted among the ministers in front of the king, is a conspirator. Pycelle is drowsy and seems to always speak for the Lannisters. Although he does not trust Varys, the eunuch, at all, he has to admit that he always needs the guidance of the Minister of Intelligence when making decisions.

Here, only returning to the Prime Minister's Tower and seeing Arya, who is as dirty as usual, can remind him of the moment of Winterfell, while Sansa seems to be sticking to the queen, God!

He sighed heavily again. His wife was still in Riverrun. She did not follow his orders to return to Winterfell to gather the vassals and strengthen the defense of Moat Cailin.

"Damn it!" Eddard was even more distressed and angry when he thought of his king Robert who was enjoying himself in that brothel or tavern again. Troubles came one after another, but these were not what Wolf Run could handle.

Eddard stood up and left the throne room.

Five thousand words chapter, one update today