Chapter 380 Knowledge does not need to be locked, the king of the whole territory

Hightower, a very interesting family.

In terms of pride, they may be even prouder than the Lannister family.

The bloodline of this family goes all the way up and can be traced directly back to the times of the ancestors and can be traced from generation to generation.

Once upon a time, the Hightowers also held a crown and ruled over Oldtown and its surrounding areas.

Although, when the Andals invaded, they gave up their crowns and did not resist.

Later, they surrendered to the kings of the river.

Because of their strong influence and their "knowledge", this family is like Dorne to the Iron Throne.

It has a very special status.

Backed by the Citadel, a "powerful" institution in another sense, after Aegon unified the Seven Kingdoms, he actively participated in the power game of the throne.

The family's financial resources and manpower were abundant. Finally, during the era of King Viserys, the Hightower family took the throne of the Prime Minister.

However, immediately afterwards, they lost their game, and their ambition grew wildly, allowing them to personally start the civil war called the Dance of the Blood Dragons that involved the entire Westeros.

Finally, the war ended, and the Hightowers paid the price for their ambitions.

Gradually moving away from the center of power, and finally shrinking into a towering tower, rich but ignored.

Now, as their lord, the Tyrell family has surrendered.

The 20,000 king's army led by Clay Mandler, plus a giant dragon, have appeared overhead.

Leighton Hightower, the "Old Man of Oldtown," opened the gates of Oldtown to the king.

Although there is "Guardian of the Academy" in his title, it is obvious that this guy believes that the fate of his family is better than the life and death of the Academy.

As a result, Clay's army successfully blocked every door in and out of the school city.

Towering tower.

Lord's room.

"Greetings, my lord."

The rather old Earl Leyton Hightower bowed tremblingly to Clay.

A large number of his sons stood around.

Examination, disdain, awe, eyes of various emotions glanced at Clay.

But Clay didn't care at all. He raised his hand slightly to signal Leyton Hightower to stand up:

"Earl Hightower, we have plenty of time to chat later. Now, let's get straight to the point and tell me what the attitude of the cardinals in the city is."

Clay didn't give the old guy a chance to be polite at all.

Hightower is not a good thing, but there is no need to deal with them for the time being, and besides, they slide too quickly, making it difficult for Clay to deal with them.

You can’t just make something happen out of nothing. Everyone is watching, so you still have to pay attention to the impact.

"Your Majesty, regarding the city... after your request, I still want to have another talk..."

Earl Hightower had a smile on his face, but there was a bitterness in his heart.

Being the middleman is actually a disservice to both parties.

The Citadel felt that they, the "Guardian of the Citadel," were a traitor and had sent a message for Clay Manderly, a barbaric tyrant, to let his army surround the Citadel.

And Clay Mandler would feel that he, the lord of Oldtown who had surrendered, still leaned on the side of the city.

The impression in the king's heart will definitely become very bad.

But he had no choice at all. He didn't dare to do this job. He really pushed Clay Manderly into a panic and set fire to the academy. Can his old town be spared?

Even when the fire is burning, it doesn't recognize anyone.

"Still want to talk?"

Clay's face darkened, and as his expression changed, the atmosphere in the entire hall seemed to become a little dull.

There is no way, the bad name this king has given to the lords is really too great.

I'll fuck you if I don't agree with you, that's really unambiguous.

Clay decided to first listen to what these desperate guys had done for him.

If conditions permit, he actually doesn't want to do anything hard.

Although he said he didn't care about the knowledge, as someone who once lived in an era of information explosion, he knew very well how much knowledge can contribute to the progress of a society's productivity.

This is not a world where magic is everywhere and tall buildings are built from the ground with the wave of a hand.

Therefore, it is best for the city to be liberated peacefully, or at least wait until he gets out everything inside before taking action against these arrogant guys who are still living in their dreams.

"Yes, Your Majesty, what Chief Nolen means is that the school city has been rooted here for thousands of years. It is indeed a bit difficult to move to King's Landing this time. Can you wait for two years to let them clean up... "

Clay almost laughed at this sentence.

how? Why are you trying to hold back for the time being and wait for the future?

Save it!

"No, when I go back this time, I must take away all the books in the school. Remember, it's all. Otherwise, I will take away all their heads."

Since he is regarded as a tyrant by others, Clay does not have to act like a benevolent monarch.

If you think I am barbaric, then I will be barbaric. As long as I can achieve my goal, it doesn't matter what you think of me.

Not convinced?

Hold it in!

Along with Clay, there were also some nobles from the Riverlands and the North, and Leyton Hightower turned to them for help.

However, none of these people were willing to take a stand.

Some of the honest-minded ones just stared back.

Can't count on it at all.

Leyton Hightower could only bite the bullet and said to Clay:

"Your Majesty, actually... I don't quite understand why you must take action against the academy. You know, the bachelor system has been in Westeros for thousands of years, and the nobles cannot live without the nobles..."

Clay glanced at him with a half-smile and said softly:

"Yeah?"

At first, Leyton Hightower didn't realize what the smile was about, but when he remembered the last name of the man in front of him, he understood the reason.

The fact that the Manderly family executed the maesters sent by the city and refused to appoint new maesters was widely spread throughout Westeros at that time.

It wasn't that everyone paid much attention to the Mandalay family at that time, but the angry cardinal sent the news to the entire aristocratic circle in Westeros.

Among them, there is another reason why Clay wants to kill the academy:

How could public opinion, a weapon that kills without blinking an eye, be placed in the hands of a civil society organization?

Who is our king?

Well, it seems that there is no way to make sense with His Majesty. Leyton Hightower can only make another trip to the city to work as a lobbyist.

Of course he was anxious. Clay had a good temper now. When the city was so stubborn again and the giant dragon above his head casually came down with a mouthful of dragon flames, Leyton Hightower would be very distressed.

Everything in Old Town is the property of Leyton Hightower!

"Did the tyrant really say that?"

The atmosphere at the cardinal's meeting was silent and awkward.

Chief Nolen is still very puzzled. Why is Clay Mandler not given any face?

How much hatred is there?

From his perspective, isn't it because he wasn't on Clay Mandler's side at the beginning?

It's not a normal choice for everyone to be their own master...it's the same for everyone.

Until now, they have not realized how dazzling their existence is to Clay Mandler.

"Yes, to be honest, I don't understand why he is forcing him so harshly. But this is the situation now. You have to tell me the truth about what to do. But I advise you not to let the dragon destroy the old The prosperity of the town goes to the grave.”

…

After procrastinating and hesitating, Chief Nolen still wanted to resist to the end. However, the number of doctors and ordinary bachelors who were afraid of death still accounted for the vast majority.

The combined power of their voices was more than he, the chief cardinal, could resist.

Moreover, Theobald, the chief steward of the school, has remained silent on this and has not supported him behind his back.

Therefore, in the end, Chief Nolen, who had lost control of the school city, chose to surrender amidst the roar of the dragon that was hovering over the school city and destroying the school city as if in warning.

In fact, this is the case. The less knowledge a person has, the less wealth they have, the less they have a family, and the so-called death, they will become numb and indifferent to their own lives.

On the other hand, those who are superior, have great wealth, great power, or think they have the truth, then when faced with the threat of death, they will shrink back and be afraid, which shows their human nature better than the former.

Clay knows this very well, so he is not surprised at all by these guys who are tough in the front and soften after he increases his intensity a little bit.

The gate of the school city...oh no, the school city no longer has a gate.

In short, after Chief Nolen chose to surrender, Clay's army stationed in every corner of the school city and took control of the great library.

Clay ordered that all research courses be suspended, and all the people in the city, except those who led them, should leave the city.

In Clay's view, the foundation of the school city is not this bunch of ancient buildings.

As long as he takes all these books to King's Landing, he doesn't believe that these ordinary bachelors from the city will not follow him to the capital.

There was nothing Chief Nolen could do about it.

The moment he chose to surrender, it had nothing to do with him.

Moreover, when he realized that he and most of the Cardinals were being guarded separately from other bachelors, an ominous premonition appeared in his mind.

No way... These people are the smartest minds in all of Westeros, Clay Mandler...

Fear began to swallow up the normally aloof Cardinal Chancellor bit by bit.

It tore at his flesh and blood, causing him to fall into the abyss of endless panic.

Yes, he was right, Clay was indeed going to do this.

There are always people in the school who must be held responsible for their previous actions.

The people of the valley paid the price of having part of the castle burned and the army dispersed by Clay.

For the Westerners, all the main army was finished, and the old lion handed over his head.

The Stormlands were in ruins, and House Baratheon was effectively exterminated.

All those who dared to be enemies with Clay paid the price to a greater or lesser extent.

Moreover, after this period of long-distance communication, Clay also understood that the arrogance of these people was engraved in their bones and there was no way to erase it.

If he brings these people back to King's Landing and rebuilds a new school city with them as the core, what will be the difference from before?

Isn't this setting yourself up for trouble in the future?

Therefore, they must die.

As for how much knowledge Clay will lose from the king's perspective...

It seems that if you don't kill them, these people will share all the things locked in their minds.

When the time comes, it is impossible to say that these people will enter into the logic of self-preservation in order to prove their own importance.

Instead of wasting the energy to dig it out, it's better to cut it clean with one knife.

…

Ten days later, all the books in the city, as well as all valuable things such as experimental equipment, were packed away and loaded onto the carriages collected from Highgarden and Old Town.

Clay has finally accomplished his goal for this trip.

So he went to the rooms where the members of the Council of Cardinals were imprisoned.

He didn't know Chief Nolen, but soon he knew who this person was.

"You...what are you going to do?"

Chief Nolen's tone was very weak. The worries these days had caused him to suffer from severe insomnia, so he was in a very bad state now.

"Come see you off."

Clay replied.

His cloudy eyes suddenly opened, and Chief Nolen discovered that his judgment of the king had never been accurate from beginning to end.

"You will need us...without us, you will never be able to control what is in the city."

Steward Theobald interjected.

Clay shook his head:

"I said, today I'm just here to see you off, there's no need for us to talk about the rest."

Originally, I came here today to see if there was anyone among these people who could be saved.

But now it seems that I still think too much.

These people are hopeless.

He stood up and stared at the long chains under the necks of these doctors.

"I really don't know why you would choose this thing to prove your glory."

Clay said.

"You lock up your knowledge and think that you can always stand high with these things. Then you should expect that such a day will come."

He pointed at himself:

"Remember, I am the king, so I need your knowledge, but it is definitely not knowledge that can be obtained only by you adding a lock and depending on your mood."

"I will do what the previous kings failed to do."

"Now, I ask you to die for this new king."

He said the last sentence calmly, and then left the room while everyone was stunned.

With a slight wave of his hand, countless flammable objects were thrown in through the window.

A wisp of sparks flew and ignited the hungry dry firewood.

The bright flames burned, exploded, and were fierce.

Amidst the endless vicious screams, the poison of the past was purified bit by bit in this small room.

Some people saw this rising smoke column and could only sigh from a high place.

This is the price. Under every throne, there must be numerous bones.

Clay Manderly, now the de facto King of Panorama, is already considered the one with fewer kills.

So, it’s better not to mess with him.

In the clouds in the sky, the figure of the giant dragon is looming.