King of The Wall

2022-01-12

Chapter 700 An Old Account

Devil, this man is definitely a devil!
Margaery shivered again, hands and feet cold.

But it's not the same as the last time she was shivering and cold just a few minutes ago: this time, she didn't have a lump in her head, but was soberly aware of the other party's intention: to bring oneself and Tyrell home, Throw in a terrifying and unsolvable game. In the Earth world where Igor came from, this conspiracy is well known as the Prisoner's Dilemma.

He offered to buy the Tyrells for a relatively small benefit, in exchange for them acting as a leader, betraying Reach's...to be precise, the huge overall interest of the Reach aristocracy.

In 99% of the cases, the Tyrell family, the supreme lord of Reach, could not possibly agree to this condition - as the rulers of Duke lords, their reputation and personal connections in the entire noble class are the most important factors. The greatest long-term benefit, such a betrayal will make three hundred years of hard work in vain, even a fool like Margaery father will not do such a suicidal stupid thing for a royal seat.

But right now, they don't seem to have a choice.

The only solution to the Prisoner's Dilemma is for the entire Reach family to advance together, with a high degree of unanimous staunch opposition and the threat of desperate struggle to resist the agreement...but this extreme ideal situation , even if there are only two participating in the game, it will be a sinister and dark intrigue, and how many families does Reach actually have?
As long as any one of them fails to withstand the threat of life and the temptation of interests, the resolute pride of the Tyrell family will only become the pedantic stubbornness of the next Lord of Reach. The innocence is left in the world, but who will remember a loser who has been wiped out after a few years! ?

Or...

Pretend to say yes and do a backstab when Igor gets paralyzed?
Margaery smiles bitterly in his heart: Just look at the former - she is a weak woman who needs to be searched - she is so cautious that she doesn't think anyone can play tricks with Igor.

And after thinking silently for a brief moment when she was cold all over, she suddenly chained up a series of messages.

After entering Reach, the Queen's Army has been promoting the slogan "The Queen Comes Not Paying Food". At first Margaery, like most Reach nobles, thought it was Igor's tactic of public opinion warfare to weaken the will of the Reach people to resist. But now it seems that this seems to echo the strategy of "relocating the Reach tyrants to King's Landing", and it has become a set of combination punches against the Reach nobles?
Take advantage of the victory to pull all the Reach nobles out of the castle and put them under house arrest in King's Landing, so that they are separated from the land and lose their ability to resist. The purpose and starting point of this are easy to understand, but the difficulty is: the native local nobles are easy to rely on The subjects loyal to oneself support, continue to conspire to rebel or even openly confront, get into the mountains and forests to fight guerrilla warfare, etc... Even if the big nobles are all controlled, they can still exert their power through the vassals of the small nobles, and fool the people into setting off one wave after another anti-kingship wave.

But what if the Queen didn't immediately start collecting taxes after conquering Reach?

Then the situation is reversed: The people of Reach, who have just experienced the winter and war, are exhausted physically and mentally, and it is impossible to live a good life. ——To fight against a Queen who is extremely powerful and does not levy tax and corvée.

Once the new dynasty's control of Reach has stabilized and an effective ruling order is established, it will be easy to return the Reach nobles in King's Landing to Fiefdom and start collecting taxes again. In the perception of the Reach people, two concepts are bound together: Reach nobles = tax and corvée.

What a way of alienation!
Margaery came back to his senses from the association, and admitted the fact in a cold sweat: Igor killed the Reach noble must move to King's Landing This one, I am afraid that from the beginning it was not a joke or a stubborn paranoia, But the beginning of a... grand, systematic and orderly castration of the Reach nobles!
Since there is a beginning, there is also a process and an end.

She was suddenly shivered, realizing how stupid oneself had been before.

For such a grandiose, ruthless, and seemingly very feasible plan for state governance, oneself is still considering whether or not mantis trying to stop a chariot to resist it?

This great decisive battle to conquer Reach took place under Highgarden city, so Tyrell a waterside pavilion gets the moonlight first - became the first clan to negotiate with Igor and get the chance and qualification to join the victorious side , is simply the luck of the misfortune!
[Will it turn into dust and become the dust of history, or embrace it with open arms? ]

This metaphor that oneself was mocking a moment ago, and then come back to it after I figure it out, it's not too appropriate!

Then, there is no need to say how to choose.

"The Tyrell family joins!" She squeezed the words out of her teeth, "But, a seat at the front is not enough!"

......

Dealing with smart people is easy.

Margaery Tyrell figured out the stakes after a brief silence. Not only did she happily sit her "ass" on Igor's side and switch positions in minutes, she also used her skillful negotiating skills to turn the The Tyrells' loyalty, influence, and intelligence espionage network all sold for a reasonably high price...

You think this is the end?
No, the next part is what really impresses Igor: whether it's a show of sincerity or a determination to cut off one's means of retreat, Margaery, after negotiating the price, seamlessly - on the spot Begin to patch Igor's plans: such as how to make good use of the steward and lower aristocracy after the house arrest of the upper nobles for a stable transition of social order, such as organizing the upstarts in the land-grant army and the unmarried women or widows in the Reach nobles Marrying, both rewarding heroes and silently strengthening control...

What a thorny rose, a ruthless character.

Some of these suggestions ran counter to Igor's long-term goals, which he could have adopted, while others were so refreshing that he almost had the urge to take notes on the spot. Time passed by minute by minute. Outside the tent, the sound of the celebrations gradually ceased. Inside the tent, the fuel in the oil lamp had been refilled.

This negotiation has been going on for too long, and now that the general terms have been set, it is time to come to an end and another time for more detailed negotiations and document signing.

"It was a great conversation with you, Ms. Margaery. I believe that the alliance between the Tyrell family and the Queen will be mutually beneficial and bring the best interests to each other." Igor smiled and began to make preparations for the meeting. In the closing remarks, the tone changed at the last moment when it was time to see off the guest, and another topic was brought in, "However, at the end of this negotiation, I still want to settle the account with you again." He raised the corner of his mouth, "One The pen has nothing to do with Queen... the old account of the three thousand Golden Dragon, I wonder if you still have an impression?"

(Not at all.)
Margaery was at a loss, of course he knew that this was not the correct answer. After a brief period of stunned, Princess Reach's face quickly changed from bewilderment to surprise, and finally stopped at a flush of embarrassment.

She remembered.

In the King's Landing Night's Watch offices a few years ago, Igor was going to transfer complete paper and printing production technology to the Tyrells for five thousand Golden Dragons...a very reasonable price to Margaery's usual style is likely to pay the original price after a little negotiation, and the extra part is considered a friend. But that day, in order to avenge Igor's indifference in Robert's barracks outside the Vale Bloody Gate, she deliberately pretended to be stupid, teased him, and finally pushed the price to an unbelievable bottom line, and finally took it with 2,000 Golden Dragon Down.

It was one of her rare encounters with Igor that she completely prevailed, and Margaery even had a brighter mood for days.

Who would have thought that a small, thoughtless joke, let alone a malicious joke, would now become the reason for this man's troubles?

Apologize and double pay?
That's too cowardly. Today's Igor impossible is a few thousand Golden Dragons.

Flustered and exasperated accusing him of being a real man but having a small stomach, how can such a trivial thing be remembered for years?

She lost in a hurry.

(Don't settle this joke-style so-called "old account" in a spurt of energy, I'm afraid it will be endless in the future!)

After a short thought, the bloody color from Margaery The face faded, and she thought of a strategy of fighting back without losing the wind.

"The Tyrell family admits this old account." She raised her chin and raised her chest, with a confident, soft, defiant look--even if you don't dare, as if dancing With his posture, he turned around gracefully, "Your Excellency Prime Minister, how much does it cost me to stand in front of you?"

——

(this chapter end)