Chapter 373 War Horn
The sun is rising and the sea is calm.
Seagull Town, port.
Two giant dragons, one black and one light blue, flapped their wings and glided, landing slowly as if dancing together.
boom--
The huge body fell to the ground, causing smoke and dust to stir up air waves.
After a chaotic night, the port was filled with people, taking boats to salvage the wreckage and charred corpses in the bay.
"Rhaega, you are finally back."
As soon as she got off the dragon's back, Jenny's face was full of joy, and she trotted closer with her skirt in hand.
She stayed up all night, adhering to her duties as duchess.
Seeing the face of my beloved makes me feel at ease.
"Jenny."
Rhaegar responded, opening his arms for a hug.
He forced a smile, with a hint of gloom in his brows.
His eyes scanned the crowd present and quickly locked onto Yang Yan, who was lying dormant behind.
Jenny hugged her waist tightly and glanced back sharply.
Seeing that it was the giant dragon Yang Yan, he whispered: "Aegon used the dragon to investigate Crab Cove last night and burned many remaining enemies to death."
Lei Jia's eyes flashed slightly and he nodded: "Hmm~!"
After the hug, he ignored the saluting crowd and walked straight towards Yang Yan.
Aegon was sleeping under Yang Yan's wings when he shivered unconsciously and woke up in a daze.
As soon as he raised his head, he saw the shirtless Lei Jia coming menacingly.
"Rhaega, I'm sorry for last night's..."
Aegon's eyelids jumped and he quickly stood up to apologize.
Rega was furious, grabbed his collar, and punched the white face.
boom--
Aegon flew out, fell to the ground and rolled twice.
Lei Jia hurriedly caught up with his silver hair, forcing him to look at her, and scolded him: "I asked you to patrol the Narrow Sea, but you went to visit a brothel. Your brain is blocked by dragon dung!"
He witnessed with his own eyes the horrors of White Harbor and the Three Sisters.
White Harbor was raided immediately. Thanks to the timely defense, the garrison at the port was not lost.
Even so, the harbor was half destroyed by fire, and the ships were almost completely burned through.
Of the five major ports in Westeros, White Harbor ranks last.
Due to the cold weather in the north, the economy is not doing well, and he is no different from an ordinary wealthy noble.
After this blow passes, White Harbor will be of little help to the War on the Narrow Sea.
The half of Aegon's face that was beaten quickly became red and swollen, his eyes flickered back and forth, and he said uneasily: "I didn't expect this to happen."
"What else do you want!?"
Rhaegar was almost furious and asked loudly: "You go to prostitutes and let the mercenaries of Braavos easily attack our port!"
"Just because you couldn't control me, Seagull Town almost fell!"
The strength in his hand increased, Rhaegar stared at him and said bitterly: "In order to vent your lust, you almost killed yourself and the dragon who grew up with you!"
He found out about Aegon's situation yesterday.
Trapped in a brothel by mercenaries, Yang Yan came to the rescue and was almost shot down by a crossbow.
A Targaryen dies, a dragon falls!
This is not the loss that the Narrow Sea War deserves.
Aegon's eyes were dull and he said tremblingly: "Rhaegar, I didn't mean to do this. I will try my best to make up for it."
"You better realize your mistake!"
Rhaegar's eyes were sharp, his forehead pressed against his, and he said solemnly: "Aegon, you are my brother. If you make a mistake, I will deal with it, instead of dying in the hands of a group of lowly mercenaries."
"Feel sorry."
Aegon lowered his head, his heart seemed to be grabbed, and he didn't dare to breathe.
"Get ready. Let Helena garrison Seagull Town. Follow me on the frontal battlefield."
Rhaegar reminded him not to worry about him anymore.
…
Dragonstone.
Dong Dong...
There was a knock on the door of the lord's bedroom.
Rhaenyra lay on her side on the couch, half asleep and half awake, calling softly: "Come in~"
She had been sleeping a little lightly recently and heard Rhaegar leaving in the middle of the night.
Crunch——
Sarah pushed the door open and walked in, holding breakfast and a letter of paper in her hand. She lowered her eyebrows and said, "Princess, there is a secret letter from Reese."
"Reese?"
Rhaenyra was a little stunned.
She rarely goes to the Free Trade City, and she doesn't make friends like Uncle Wang Damon. Where did the Lys letter come from?
Sara put down the tray with breakfast and walked closer to break the letter apart to make sure there was no hidden trick.
Rhaenyra could see clearly that the pattern of the inkpad she believed in was two intertwined roses.
Sara checked it carefully and handed it over with a strange expression.
Rhaenyra was slightly confused, took the letter and read it silently.
After a while, he closed the letter with a snap.
The corners of Rhaenyra's lips raised, and she chuckled, "A strange friend."
…
Time flies, half a month flies by.
Bloodstone Island.
On the barren mountain cliff with the beach at its back, a strange building completely pitch black was built.
The building area is huge, and its appearance is like a bloated dragon, crawling on the cliff and staring at the vast sea.
If you look closely, you will see that the body of the dragon is a castle divided into three floors, the head of the dragon is a watchtower, and the wings supporting the ground are warehouses and armories.
A towering black wall was built around the perimeter, with more than a dozen dragon-shaped towers interspersed to serve as arrow towers and other defensive fortifications.
To enter Blackstone Castle, you must first climb a steep barren mountain.
The entire area of the cliff is occupied by the Black Stone Castle, leaving only the narrow entrance of the bronze gate, which can accommodate up to a hundred people crowded together.
In this way, if the enemy wants to attack Blackstone Castle, they can only send a team of a hundred people at a time.
It is truly easy to defend but difficult to attack.
"Hiss..."
Yang Yan hovered in the air, and the scales were golden in the sun, as if in contrast to the black stone castle.
Beach, black wall, castle vestibule...
Thousands of soldiers stopped and stood, looking at Dragonstone Castle with reverence.
They witnessed the construction of a castle.
The dragon burned away the vegetation on the barren mountains, the cliffs were repeatedly burned with dragon flames, and the stones dissolved into flat ground.
Thousands of laborers and garrison soldiers climbed up the cliff together with dragon dung and stones on their backs, and used mysterious magic to fuse them into black dragon stones, pouring out a majestic castle like plaster.
The speed is unparalleled.
On the black wall, Aegon was in a daze, looking at the Blackstone Castle.
Lanino put his arm around his shoulders and said intimately: "How does it feel to have a castle of your own?"
"not bad."
Aegon answered subconsciously and said in confusion: "Cousin, am I completely exiled?"
The castle is certainly great and looks quite majestic.
But in a castle on a remote island, what will he eat and drink in the future?
Lanino was much smarter than him, and said with a smile: "When the Three Women Kingdom is conquered, the Stepstone Islands will serve as a sea transit point between the kingdom and Essos. Just collecting taxes will be enough for you to make a lot of money. "
As Velaryon, he knows best how much wealth the Three Women's Kingdom made during its occupation of the Stepstone Islands.
To be honest, he thought Aegon was lucky.
A second son was granted such a good territory.
You know, Damon only married Lady Leia in the first place, hoping that his descendants would inherit Runestone City.
To this day, the king's brother has no official territory.
Of course, there was a time when the Stepstones belonged to Daemon, dubbed "King of the Narrow Sea."
But Daemon didn't have his brother to help him build the castle, and finally ran back to King's Landing in despair.
…
Twin Castles.
Rhaegar sat on the only chair in the empty hall.
This black stone castle was named "Twin Castles" by him, one each on Bloodstone Island and Gray Gallows Island.
Construction on Gray Gallows Island has not started yet, so it will be put on hold for now.
The two castles guard the gateway to the Stepstone Islands, like brothers.
There is another meaning.
Rhaenyra was pregnant with twins, seeking a lucky break.
"Prince, Volantis has agreed to send troops and is meeting Lord Corlys."
Tormund walked into the hall and reported the news with a solemn face.
Rhaegar held a letter from Dragonstone in his hand and said casually: "Has Daemon set out?"
The Twin Forts were built, and the defense line of the Stone Steps Islands was formed.
Daemon and the Sea Serpents separated their forces and attacked the waters of Tyrosh and Lys respectively.
The fleets of the two city-states were unwilling to confront the dragon head-on. They hid in every island on the sea, casting a net to ambush.
This guerrilla strategy was borrowed from the First Dorne War.
But the two are fundamentally different.
The Dornishmen are willing to risk their lives and would rather burn down the city and leave no one alive, young or old.
Lys and Tyrosh couldn't afford such a high price.
Rhaegar's response was simple. The two fleets cooperated with the dragon to sweep across the sea, dividing and isolating the two city-states, cutting off the ability to support each other.
Finally, the dragons burned one city-state and forced another city-state to surrender.
This strategy is to attack the city from the bottom and attack the heart from the top.
To crush with force is a real conspiracy.
Tormund replied: "Daemon has already set off. I notified Pentos and Prince Rhaenys to send troops to cooperate and blockade the waters of Tyrosh."
Tyrosh is a gathering place for mercenaries, and it is also a city-state with political chaos.
The monarch relied on amassing wealth to collude with officials and wealthy businessmen, and oppressed the common people at the bottom to obtain wealth.
In Rhaegar's plan, Lys is the main battlefield to recapture the wild dragon Mogul.
Tyrosh refused to attack, and threatened the people with the fate of Myr and Lys, forcing them to resist the evil government and surrender to the Iron Throne.
Rhaegar handed over the letter and muttered: "Braavos has taken action, Dorne is ready to move, we must capture Lys as soon as possible."
After the Battle of Crab Cove, all the mercenaries in Braavos were wiped out. However, Sea King Ferregor denied that Braavos had sent troops and still held high the banner of neutrality.
Rhaegar was furious, but the battlefield was not in Braavos, so he could only redeploy the upper half of the Narrow Sea.
There's a little upside, too.
In a short period of time, Braavos will not send any more troops, gaining precious time to attack the Three Women's Kingdom.
The key to this is that Martell of Dorne remains secretive, like a poisonous snake hiding in the yellow sand, ready to show its fangs to the Iron Throne at any time.
Tormund read the letter with an expression of surprise and said with a smile: "If we really can do it, it will be much easier to capture Lys."
"That's right."
Rhaegar rolled his eyes and suddenly said: "Bartimos from Crab Island is escorting King's Landing. The Royal Council is discussing whether to punish him for smuggling or treason."
Bartimus Celtija smuggles goods or sells them to the Free Trade City.
He should be convicted of treason and hanged.
It was during the war, and the Sertija family was still needed, so it was not yet settled.
Tormund was stunned for a moment and hesitated: "What do you mean?"
Rhaegar said seriously: "Tormund, do you want to restore your surname?"
The Baolan siblings are the illegitimate children of Bartimus living abroad, and the blood of the Celtija family flows in their bodies.
Tormund's mind wandered far away, and he thought of many things at once, but then he pursed his lips and shook his head: "Prince, I am used to being a commoner."
He understands the meaning.
Execution of Bartimus, implicating his heirs, and supporting one of his illegitimate sons to ascend to the throne and inherit Crab Island.
This is a secret method commonly used by kings of all ages, including some big nobles.
With his status as a member of the royal council and Rhaegar's regency rights, it was not difficult to do this.
But he didn't want Rhaegar to bear the infamy, and he had no intention of getting involved with the Celtija family.
Rega looked at him deeply, smiled and said: "Forget it, I won't force you."
He originally wanted to give this capable general some benefits, and add Crab Island to his command to enhance Targaryen's maritime power.
Since Tormund doesn't want to return to the family, let's find another way to support Bartimus' eldest son.
It doesn’t matter who inherits Crab Island, what matters is who can create value for him.
