Chapter 265 Poison

"If the Volantis fleet launches a massive siege on the Arbor, the Redwyne family's army will certainly return to support us. We can't count on them."

Just as the sea was surging, a state meeting was held as usual in the Red Keep of King's Landing.

Stannis, who served as the Minister of the Sea, spoke expressionlessly, but his words caused others to nod.

The navy of Westeros is not strong, and there are few large-scale fleets in the Seven Kingdoms. The fleet of the Redwyne family in the Reach is the strongest in Westeros and an important support for the Iron Throne in this battle.

However, it seems that the Redwyne family is already unable to take care of themselves.

"This is not a bad thing." Jon Arryn, the Prime Minister sitting next to the bald king, said while looking at the Minister of Finance Mace Tyrell.

"Redwyne at least attracted the army of Volantis."

"Without Volantis, there is still Braavos." Varys, the intelligence chief in a pink robe, said softly: "Braavos's naval power is the strongest in the world. If you count the fleets of other city-states..."

After he said that, he looked at Stannis, who was in charge of maritime defense, and shook his head.

The fleet of the previous Targaryen dynasty was completely destroyed in a storm, and the new royal fleet was formed by Stannis himself, only ten years ago.

Although ten years is not a short time, it is not enough to compare with the trading city-states with business all over the world.

"I think they will fight the North as Renly said." Barristan, the white-haired captain of the Kingsguard, said so.

"How is this possible?" The Duke of Mace, who had been silent just now, retorted.

"King's Landing is the core of the Seven Kingdoms. As long as we take it down, with the supplies and follow-up troops from the Free Trade Cities, we can basically win."

"They are not united."

Barristan said: "The enemy's major forces are complex and they still have hatred for each other. Even if they are united at this time, they can't be called united at all."

"If we attack the city directly, 50,000 Dothraki can only be used for harassment, which is a waste." Stannis also nodded in agreement at this time.

"King's Landing is strong. They may not succeed in attacking King's Landing. As long as the time is delayed and the morale is lost, the enemy alliance is likely to collapse automatically. If it were me, I would not decide the victory or defeat on a battle. The risk is very high. It is better to divide the troops to avoid internal conflicts."

"If we really go to attack the North, can Stark resist?" Someone changed the subject.

"The Tully River and the Vale will support the North."

"These two places..."

...

The meeting lasted from morning to noon, and from noon to dusk.

As the enemy set sail, more and more news continued to be sent back to the Iron Throne, but most of them were not good news.

Jon Arryn, the Prime Minister, was worried about this.

The enemy had too many navies and had a clear advantage in the ocean. The Iron Throne could only passively defend. Before the war officially started, it was not even possible to clearly understand the specific deployment of the enemy.

This gave Jon a headache.

The lords of Westeros responded to the call of the Iron Throne very actively, but no matter how active they were, they could not avoid falling into a passive defensive situation.

At the same time, there was a huge hidden danger within the party, that is, Dorne.

Dorne had been quiet for a long time, which surprised the old Prime Minister, but he would not really let down his guard because of this, but became more worried.

"The army in the borderland must not act rashly unless the situation gets out of control..."

After the meeting, the old man who returned to the Prime Minister's Tower was still thinking about the war. He sat at his desk and looked at the map of Westeros intently, with his sparse eyebrows tightly tangled together.

"We must also be careful of the Iron Islands taking the opportunity to cause chaos."

"I specially prepared a summer-relief soup, Jon, come and try it." A gentle female voice came from the side, but it did not interrupt the old man's thoughts, because that was his young wife who he had married for more than ten years. He was already familiar with her and could ignore it.

The old Prime Minister, who was concentrating on the map, took a sip of the cup and felt that it tasted good, so he drank a few more sips.

He never looked up from beginning to end, so he didn't notice that his wife seemed a little nervous at this time. After seeing the old man drink it, she even couldn't help but sigh.

"The ideal situation is to stop the enemy from the land and prevent them from landing, but this may not be possible..."

The old man pondered and kept drawing on the map with a feather pen. The strange power made him energetic when sitting here, and he was also full of energy when working.

But when it got dark, he stood up from the chair, and the fatigue all over his body suddenly surged up, and his stomach began to feel nauseous, making him feel drowsy.

After a hasty dinner, the old Prime Minister habitually lay back on the bed to rest. His muddled mind made him fall asleep soon.

As a result, he suddenly couldn't get out of bed the next day. He felt weak, his head was swollen and his mind was fuzzy. He seemed to be seriously ill. The maester came to check but couldn't find the cause.

This matter quickly spread throughout the Red Castle. As the Prime Minister, Jon Arryn was in a high position and had great power. It was no small matter for him to fall ill suddenly, not to mention that it was a time of war.

"Rest well, leave the war to me."

King Robert came to visit in person, but he had no other way to deal with the disease. After a few dry words of comfort, he could only strictly order Grand Maester Pycelle and the Prime Minister's accompanying maester to treat him as soon as possible.

In this situation, many people are anxious, and the most anxious one is the young wife of the old Prime Minister. She is from the Tully family and has long red hair. She is less than 30 years old and walks hurriedly. She looks impatient.

However, she is anxious about the opposite of others.

"When will he die!?"

While others are distracted by the old Prime Minister's illness, the red-haired woman who was once considered shy by Renly is secretly meeting her lover in the deserted library.

"Don't worry, we must make him look like he died of illness, otherwise there will be big trouble."

A thin, short middle-aged man hugged the red-haired woman and comforted her: "The drug will take effect, sooner or later, he will die."

"I want him to die sooner, I want to be with you--"

Before the woman finished her hurried words, the thin middle-aged man raised his finger to block her mouth, "I've waited for ten years, and now is the time? Don't worry, Lysa, we have plenty of time in the future."

"...Yes, I'm still young."

The woman murmured, with a smile on her face, "Petyr, let me give you a child?"

"Of course, dear, but you know, it can't be now."

The thin middle-aged man smiled and answered, his tone was gentle, but his eyes were full of coldness.

His humble origin made him suffer humiliation, and his efforts to climb up were always in vain. A few years ago, his immediate boss Jon Arryn promised him the position of Chancellor of Finance, but in the blink of an eye it was taken away by the incompetent fat pig in the River Bay.

Except for the stupid woman in his arms, no one spoke for him, even if his ability was a thousand times better than that fat pig.

The seven kingdoms have been solidified, and those with ability are not reused. The position of the kingdom's important minister can be casually given to a 16- or 17-year-old boy who has never been involved in politics. Hearing about this at that time made him dumbfounded and completely lost hope in this cruel world.

Fortunately, the war came.

I didn't take a day off today, but I will take it tomorrow. I will work on two more chapters in the evening, but the time cannot be guaranteed. Come and see it tomorrow~