Chapter 251: It is better to open than to block

There was a lot of fighting in the slightly cramped arena. An ugly fat man wearing gray leather armor and a wild dog with red eyes were walking and arguing with each other.

A circle of thin wooden guardrails surrounded them, and outside the guardrail, a large, dark crowd was watching, encouraging and cheering loudly.

Sitting on the second floor of the tavern, Renly glanced at the "battle situation" below and couldn't help but shake his head.

A bottle of sweet wine produced in the River Bend had just been placed on the wine table in front of her. The tavern maid had already swayed away, but the smell of inferior cosmetics and powder still lingered on her body, mixed with the ubiquitous smell of wine and meat around her. Seems particularly weird.

The burnt smoke from the candles burning on the table also joined in the fun, mixed with other smells, and penetrated into the nostrils. The smell was simply choking.

Renly was not used to these smells, just as he was not used to the surrounding environment. It was noisy, dark, and a large crowd of people were watching below. The sloppy diners were all over the second floor in twos and threes, bragging about trivial matters and dirty jokes without any scruples. .

The wooden ceiling above his head had little soundproofing effect, and the creaking sounds and female shouts could clearly penetrate into his sensitive ears. Renly couldn't help but speak to the person sitting across the table: "Stannis' proposal this morning is still It has certain merits.”

"What do you mean, my lord?"

The thin middle-aged man with a gray beard was startled when he heard this.

"He proposed at the royal council to ban all brothels in King's Landing." Renly couldn't help but laugh and said: "But he was scolded by the king and asked him if he should also ban brothels when eating and pooping?"

The thin middle-aged man coughed dryly when he heard this and did not dare to answer.

"But I think illegal brothels can be banned. This situation is simply too chaotic." Renly said while pointing to the ceiling above his head, but the other party looked up and looked confused, so Renly understood the person in front of him. The Onion Knight couldn't hear the movement above at all.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty the Duke, there are countless illegal brothels in the Seven Kingdoms. Most of them are hotels and taverns, and they usually operate this kind of business."

It was just a joke, but the man in front of him obviously took it seriously. Renly shrugged and then changed the subject: "How have you been these past few years, Davos?"

"Everything is fine, sir." The brown-haired middle-aged man replied politely, "My territory is relatively wealthy, and my wife and children are also healthy."

"Always in the territory?"

"Yes, I have never understood how to be a lord, and it must have taken a long time to become familiar with it."

"Didn't you follow my second brother?"

"I am a smuggler, your lord." Davos said with a wry smile: "What can Lord Stannis do with me?"

Renly blinked at this.

Things are completely different from what I remembered. The Onion Knight in front of me, who will be personally named Prime Minister by Stannis in the future, is obviously not taken seriously now and has no use whatsoever——

This is not surprising, after all, Stannis is not the lord of Dragonstone in his memory, but the Duke of the Stormlands, and there is no shortage of talents.

But if it weren't for this, Renly really wouldn't have invited this person here today.

"Come help me, Davos." He said bluntly: "I need your help."

"What can I do, my lord?"

Davos did not refuse, or in other words, as an underappreciated wealthy knight at this time, it would be better if he could attract Renly's attention than just living in the territory.

"I'm going to let you unify the black forces in King's Landing."

Renly glanced at this dirty tavern as he spoke, "Most of the street gangsters and thieves in King's Landing are in groups of twos and threes, and there is no large-scale organization, but the trouble caused by this kind of disorder is very serious, because They have no rules at all. You should know, Davos, I have been controlling the security of King's Landing recently, but it is better to block things than to keep them high. "

"I have never done such a thing, my lord."

Davos frowned when he heard this and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to do the job."

"You have never been a knight." Renly said with a smile, "Isn't it familiar now?"

"Being a knight is different than doing something like this."

"What is the difference?"

"This..." Davos hesitated.

"Why, do you think this kind of job can't be put on the table?" Renly asked with interest.

"Although it is a bit inappropriate to say this,... Sir, I think this may damage the honor of knights."

Davos answered carefully——

In fact, he doesn't want to live a life like a smuggler anymore. People always walk to higher places, so he can't crawl back no matter what, right?

He wanted to be a decent person, but in his opinion, hanging out with thieves or something like that was even worse than being a smuggler.

"Then what do you think the so-called knightly honor is?" Renly asked patiently. He thinks that the person in front of him is very suitable for this kind of job, so he doesn't plan to give up easily.

"Loyalty, courage, integrity..." Davos replied hesitantly.

"Is it an honor to help many people?"

"certainly."

"Then let's make an analogy." Renly said, raising his finger and pointing at the big fat man in the center of the tavern below who was already biting and fighting with wild dogs.

"With that guardrail, the dog would have no choice but to bite the fat man named Fang. But without that guardrail, do you think it would pounce on the people watching around?"

"of course."

"So do you think this fence is noble or vulgar? Honorable or shameful?"

Davos didn't answer, but he obviously understood what Renly said, and his expression was slightly thoughtful.

Renly didn't urge him, but kept watching the fight in the field below.

Such cruel performances are very eye-catching in the normal world, not to mention in the medieval background where there is no entertainment.

The fat man fought with the wild dog like crazy, causing cheers from the surroundings, and he also fought hard, because this is his life.

But if there was no dog, or if there was no stage to "confine" him, it would be uncertain whether the dog brought more destructive power or the barbaric fat man brought more blood.

And this is one of the reasons why he thinks it is better to open up than to block...

Thinking about it, Renly's thoughts drifted further unconsciously.

For the time being, there is not much to pay attention to in the situation in various parts of the Seven Kingdoms.

Dorne, the Vale, the Crabclaw Peninsula, Renly has done what he can, and the rest basically depends on how it will develop.

The Riverlands are a bit chaotic, and he doesn't know where to start for a while. In his opinion, the Frey family, the biggest "thorn" in the Riverlands, has been inexplicably eliminated, so he is not in a hurry to do anything there.

The Iron Islands are also a bit unstable, but Renly believes that it is not out of control.

Other places are fine.

The security in King's Landing is being managed, and the capital garrison is also under control. In the short term, it only needs to develop, and there is no need to worry too much. Other preparations are also not for Renly to worry about, and the warlike King Robert will naturally ask about it personally.

The problem of Lannister is a hidden danger, but this hidden danger is not serious. After the rumor "slander" more than ten years ago and Robert's hair color change, Renly believes that unless the Lannister siblings commit suicide or want to disclose this matter, this hidden danger will not erupt.

In general, Baratheon's rule is stable, just waiting for Targaryen to come to the door - it's not that he doesn't want to take the initiative, but mainly because his hands can't reach beyond Westeros.

So after all the calculations, he thinks that there is only one thing he needs to pay attention to at the moment, that is, to find a suitable archbishop for the church and complete the deal.

In fact, at this time, he asked Davos to talk about the unification of the underground forces in King's Landing, which was just a side topic. His main purpose in coming to this tavern was actually to observe a person.

A person who is said to be very suitable to be the archbishop.

Two chapters today~