Chapter 383 Viserys’ dream of going to war

At noon, the sun is in full swing.

King's Landing.

The streets and alleys were crowded with people, blocking the main path from the Red Fort to the Mud Gate.

There are five black horses and a horse-drawn cart. The cart is covered with a layer of black gauze, and inside is a huge black and silver dragon head.

In just a few days, Rhaegar's glorious victory over Lys and the liberation of hundreds of thousands of slaves spread throughout King's Landing.

The common people were eager to see the triumphant team with their own eyes.

I hope the crown prince will conquer the entire Three Women Kingdom as soon as possible.

…

Red Fort, Assembly Hall.

Viserys sat at the head of the table, leaning on the table with his elbows, and kept smiling happily.

Prime Minister Leonor stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, Mogul's dragon head has been transported from the port. Will it be paraded through the streets?"

Lin Man, who was seated at the end, nodded and looked at the king inquiringly.

The dangers of the Lyss attack had reached the Red Keep early, and they had all heard of the difficulties.

Hundreds of well-equipped mercenaries drove warships, and tens of thousands of garrison troops guarded the port.

The Lysians even tamed the wild dragon Mogul and forced the dragons to kill each other.

Thanks to Prince Rhaegar's bravery in battle, he defeated Mogul by driving the Glutton, which completely broke Lys's last life-saving straw.

The battle between the two dragons was rumored both inside and outside the Narrow Sea, and Essos called it the "War of the Dragons".

The names of Rhaegar and Glutton are sensational in the world, and the titles of Ash Maker and Deathwing can make children stop crying.

Viserys listened to the content quietly and said solemnly: "Don't parade around. Mogul is a Targaryen dragon. Transport it back to the Red Keep for processing as soon as possible and keep it properly in the cellar."

Leonor looked serious: "The craftsmen are ready, just waiting for the dragon head to return."

Viserys nodded, a look of pity in his eyes.

Mogul is a wild dragon that does not belong to Targaryen, and is essentially like an ownerless treasure.

The Targaryens lost their chance and fell into the hands of the despicable Lysians.

As a last resort, Mogul fell.

That should have been a Targaryen dragon, but now it was reduced to blood food in the belly of a glutton.

This way of feeding the dragon made Viserys very heartbroken.

"Fortunately, the dragon is not wandering around, and Rhaegar is also safe."

Viserys thought to himself, feeling suddenly relieved.

In his heart, the eldest son is his reverse scale, and the dragon has to take second place.

Otto looked solemn and spoke next: "Your Majesty, in the Battle of the Narrow Sea, we successively occupied Myr and Lys. A large number of rich people were slaughtered, and civilians and slaves accounted for the main population of the city-state. To appease these people, the kingdom must allocate a sum of money. Astronomical amounts of food.”

This is not alarmist talk, but actual experience after Mill's fortification.

There is an endless amount of food in the two city-states, but more of it is transported away by the rich in advance, with the idea of ​​hoarding the goods.

As the city-state was conquered, the rich were either fleeing or being massacred, and there was not enough money to collect, let alone the food hidden outside.

Not counting the civilians in Myr and Lys, the slaves alone have hundreds of thousands of mouths waiting to be fed.

The fastest and most convenient way is to buy it from other Free Cities.

However, this was a war of aggression, and the other Free Cities refused to provide food.

Pentos and Volantis were allies, and their request for food supplies was even more outrageous, more than ten times the usual amount.

Besides greed, there's also the reason Braavos is involved.

Using the influence of the Iron Bank across the world, they maliciously raise the price of food, preventing Myr and Lys from purchasing food on their own after they restore their ports.

Viserys hesitated and asked, "Approximately how much food is needed, and can it be collected from the Riverlands and the Reach?"

Hundreds of thousands of mouths sounds like a lot, but it's actually about the same as King's Landing's permanent population.

The Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia are the high-producing areas of food in Westeros. The temporary recruitment of 100,000 troops can provide food and grass, and hundreds of thousands of slaves can eat and drink without any problem.

Otto frowned and said thoughtfully: "Your Majesty, Braavos has raised the price of food too high. The nobles may be more willing to sell it to the Iron Bank at a high price."

Braavos and Pentos are the Free Cities that have the most contact with Westeros.

The great nobles would make friends with them and promote each other's trade.

Many second sons and illegitimate sons of minor nobles traveled to two city-states and became high-priced mercenaries.

Some nobles who encounter difficulties will mostly choose to borrow money from the Iron Bank.

During the period of King Jaehaerys I, he borrowed a large sum of money from the Iron Bank in order to build the "Kingdom Road" from King's Landing to various places.

The national treasury borrows money from the Iron Bank, and the influence of the Iron Bank can be imagined.

Viserys' face turned ugly for a moment and his attitude was tough: "The kingdom is at war, and the two river basins must requisition food for free. This is not a negotiation."

His children are fighting abroad and will never allow anything to go wrong on the home front.

"I will find a way and ask Lord Monds Hightower to hold a recruitment meeting in Old Town."

Otto thought for a moment and agreed.

Lin Man, who had been silent for a long time, frowned slightly and interrupted: "Lord Otto, Duke Tyrell of Highgarden is the lord. Don't overstep the mark in the recruitment meeting."

This old man was born in Hive City in the Reach, and he was the Earl of Hive City.

Logically speaking, Hive City is a direct vassal of Hightower and should help Otto.

But Lin Man, who has been loyal to the royal family for many years, has his own judgment in mind and remembers the word loyalty.

Viserys was stunned when he heard this, looked around at Lyotto and Leonor, and reminded: "Inform Duke Tyrell and Duke Tully as soon as possible, so as not to delay the battle on the front line."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Otto kept a straight face and silently agreed.

Lin Man snorted and sat down contentedly.

Since the king married Otto's daughter as queen, the Hightowers have acted more and more arrogantly.

The Tyrell family, which also includes Highgarden, is thin, and the old Duke is mediocre.

Hightower in Oldtown has an inexplicable confidence in controlling the Reach.

boom! boom!

At this moment, two dull knocks on the door suddenly sounded.

Viserys looked up in surprise and saw Tormund in black and white robes hurriedly entering the door with a sullen expression.

"What happened?" Viserys asked as usual.

Tormund walked around the conference table and approached with serious eyes: "Your Majesty, Dorne has taken action, crossing Cape Wrath and besieging Stonehelm City."

Storm's End is still some distance away from King's Landing, so the raven's message was a little late and had just reached the Raven Tower in the Red Keep.

Aemond elaborated one by one and handed over the letter.

Suddenly, a storm of thoughts erupted in the conference hall.

Leonor had a sullen face and was the first to speak: "I suggest immediately recruiting a group of royal troops to be on standby at any time."

"Stonehelm is under siege. We should mobilize troops from Storm's End."

Justice Minister Jaspi said casually.

Leonor's expression remained unchanged and he said impartially: "Dorne's invasion of the Stormlands is likely to trigger a turning point in the Narrow Sea War. The royal territory must station an army that is available at any time to prepare for emergencies."

Either to quell the war, or to support beyond the narrow sea.

Jaspi was speechless for a moment, realizing the seriousness of the problem.

Viserys nodded and agreed: "I will give the order later to gather a team of three thousand people."

Otto continued: "The Dornish people are coming fiercely. There are ten thousand troops besieging the city alone. Storm's End Castle must send troops as soon as possible."

Stonehelm City is just an earldom, with no more than 500 knights under its command, and no more than 3,000 infantry, cavalry and archers.

The Dornish people are under siege, and the food in the castle may not last long.

The imperial meeting was still very efficient, and a detailed response plan was quickly discussed.

At the beginning of the Narrow Sea War, Rhaegar had anticipated that Dorne would send troops and discussed it with many ministers.

Just copy it and use it, it is convenient and effective.

Tormund's face softened slightly and he hesitated: "Your Majesty, Prince Aemond also sent a letter requesting to ride the dragon to fight."

"Eamond?"

Viserys was stunned when he heard this and said with a headache: "How young is he? He is not as calm as Helena. Let him stay at Storm's End honestly."

Helena's deeds of riding a dragon to aid Seagull Town had spread early, and her popularity in the royal realm and the valley was only inferior to that of Rhaegar.

Viserys was impressed by this neglected daughter.

Aemond shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. The prince stated in his letter that the troops from the Stormlands have been summoned to prepare for a counterattack."

As the son-in-law of the Baratheon family, Aemond has this right with the cooperation of Lady Elena.

"Bastard!"

Viserys was so angry that his head almost exploded, and he said angrily, "He has never been on the battlefield, so he has a shitty commanding ability."

In the two Battles of the Stepped Islands and the War of the Narrow Sea, only three people showed their ability to lead.

Sea serpent, Daemon, Rhaegar.

Even Rhaenys, known as the Uncrowned Queen, could not command the army and could only cooperate with the three to participate in the war.

Tormund:…

He is only responsible for intelligence on internal affairs of the royal family.

Viserys's chest heaved violently with anger, his purple eyes turned several times, and he suggested: "I will drive Vermithor to the Stormlands, and use the power of the dragon to drive away the Dornish people."

"no!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Leonor immediately objected.

Otto raised his eyebrows and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, you are the king of a country, so it is best not to put yourself in danger."

The other ministers nodded repeatedly.

Viserys's cheeks turned red and he said angrily: "Just because I am the king, I should fight for the peace of the kingdom."

He is not the ordinary person he was a few years ago. He has now inherited the "Rage of Bronze" from his grandfather, King Rui.

Leonor persisted in his objection: "With all due respect, you are more worrying than the young and ignorant Prince Aemond."

"You are not a warrior." Lin Man added a blow from the side.

Jaspie nodded thoughtfully: "The Dornish people are despicable and cunning. Your every move will affect the whole kingdom. It's better not to take risks."

The ministers said something to each other, and the king who wanted to go to war was silenced.

Viserys's face flushed red, and he yelled angrily: "If you don't go, I won't go!"

After that, leave all the ministers behind and leave this sad place.

The king's outburst came so suddenly that all the ministers did not react and looked at each other in shock.

After a while, Lin Man asked slowly and logically: "Do we still want Prince Aemond to fight?"

"Of course, a young Targaryen is also a Targaryen, not to mention he tamed a dragon."

Jaspie quickly agreed and voted in favor.

His family is also in the Stormlands.

Leonor and Otto looked at each other, remembering the scene of the king waving his sleeves and leaving, and acquiesced without speaking.

It is better for a prince to go to war than for a king to go to war himself.

Before Rhaegar left for the Narrow Sea, he had allowed Prince Aemond to ride the dragon into battle.

"Hey, I'm going to write a letter to ask for food and grass."

Leonor sighed, stood up and left his seat.

I touched my bald curly hair and felt that the bald area in the middle was getting bigger and bigger, and it was likely to continue to spread.

I thought silently in my heart: "I will do my best."