Chapter 172 Jon Arryn’s Temptation

Chapter 172 Jon Arryn’s Temptation

In the next few days, Lind directly transferred six thousand gold dragons from the Chamber of Commerce in King's Landing City and handed them over to Tob Mott. Then he asked his people stationed in King's Landing to hold Tob Mott to transfer all the debts. After repaying the money one by one, Linde's Chamber of Commerce will temporarily pad the excess amount, and then deduct it after the blacksmith shop is sold.

Tob Mott's blacksmith shop is in an excellent location and is the largest among the steel street blacksmith shops. It already has a certain reputation in King's Landing. People from the Chamber of Commerce estimate that it can be sold at a high price and it can be easily sold.

Perhaps because he is debt-free, Tob Mott's forging skills have become more and more sophisticated recently. The frozen dragon rune necklace he asked him to make had a very high success rate and took less than five days. , only failed eleven times, and all twenty-six dragon rune pendants were made.

Linde set these dragon rune pendants on twenty-six pre-made bronze plates, strung them together with ropes, and made twenty-six necklaces suitable for stone giants to wear.

After that, he asked the stone giant leader Mag to test the effect. Although it was not as effective as Linde's direct use of the frozen dragon rune to cool down, it could still make the stone giant continue to feel the coolness around his body.

However, the coldness felt by the stone giant is fatal enough for ordinary people. Linde used a rabbit to conduct an experiment. After hanging the frozen dragon rune necklace, the rabbit was directly frozen into ice cubes, and the rabbit was directly frozen into ice cubes. A servant named Varys is almost the same.

It can be seen that the stone giants are cold or have a certain resistance to the magic power of the Frozen Dragon Rune.

After solving the problem of the stone giant, Lind also planned to leave King's Landing. Although these days, he has been either hunting with King Robert or accompanying him to various banquets, living a leisurely life, but it is precisely because of It was so leisurely that it made him feel extremely bored, and he already started to miss his Summer Hall Castle.

Although the Midsummer Hall Castle is only a foundation now, for him, even if he is sitting under the mountain where the castle is located, watching the Midsummer Hall Castle being built bit by bit in the study room of the meeting hall of Redemption Town, it is better than participating in various events here. The banquet is more meaningful.

So, one morning he made an excuse to resign to King Robert, planning to leave the next day.

Although King Robert did not want Lynd to leave, he could see that the banquets that made him forget to leave and the hunting that could satisfy his desire to fight were too boring for Lynd, so he did not continue to retain Lynd. , just to let Linde have time to come to King's Landing to get together.

"Sir, the Prime Minister wants to see you." When Linde was about to leave the Red Fort, a Red Fort servant stopped Linde and said.

Linde was stunned for a moment, feeling a little confused, but he didn't say anything, and followed the servant to the study room in the Prime Minister's Tower.

When Lynde came in, Jon Arryn had just finished reviewing a document. After signing his name, he handed it to the waiting courtiers and said: "Give this document to Sir Pathorn immediately and ask him to comply immediately. There must be no mistakes or omissions in the execution of the above matters.”

"Yes, sir." After the courtier took the document, he turned around and saw Linde. He immediately saluted to Linde and hurried out of the room. However, the salute he gave was not a regular etiquette, but a ceremony for the believers of the Seven Gods. Worship.

"Baron Roubaix is ​​a devout believer in the Seven Gods. In his mind, you, the Chosen One, have almost the same status as the Archbishop." Jon Arryn said casually, and then pointed to the chair beside him. , said: "Please sit down! Mr. Linde, with your current status, you should not stand and talk to me."

Lind was not polite and sat on the chair in front of Jon Arryn.

Jon Arryn explained with a serious look: "The order sent from the Prime Minister's Palace to the garrison was forged by one of my servants. He had some personal grudges with your chief craftsman and learned that he might be going to your territory. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to retaliate against him in the future, so I used my name to let the people from the garrison make things difficult for your chief craftsman, but I didn’t know about it.”

Lind was stunned and looked at Jon Arryn with some confusion. He didn't know whether these words were deliberately made up to hide that his wife Lysa Tully was also involved in this matter, or whether he really didn't know. This matter actually has something to do with Littlefinger.

Although he was doubtful about Jon Arryn's intentions, he still followed the other person's words and said: "This is just a grudge between his subordinates, and it has been resolved now."

Jon Arryn nodded, then looked at Lind, and said with some surprise, "I know there is a connection between you and Varys, and there was a connection a long time ago."

However, in the eyes of the King's Hand, Linde did not show any expressions of surprise or guilt, but remained calm as usual.

"I know." Linde also looked at the old Prime Minister calmly, nodded, and said: "I have known that Prime Minister you have known about my connection with Wallis a long time ago, but my cooperation with him It’s fair and honest, there’s nothing hidden, so there’s no need to hide it.”

Lind's truthful admission of his connection with Varys was beyond Jon Arryn's expectations. He was stunned for a long time before he calmed down the surprise on his face and asked: "Can you tell me, do you have any What kind of cooperation?”

Linde did not answer directly, but pointed to the armor on his body.

"It turns out that he introduced Tob Mott to you." Jon Arryn nodded, and then reminded: "Although there is nothing wrong with your cooperation, I still think that people like you are inappropriate. He must have had too close contact with someone like Varys..."

"I understand what you mean, Lord Prime Minister." Lind interrupted Jon Arryn and said, "However, please forgive me for being difficult to obey. I don't think there is anything wrong with dealing with Lord Varys."

Jon Arryn frowned and said, "Is that what you think?"

"Yes, sir." Lind and Jon Arryn looked at each other and said, "I think you have never really understood Lord Varys, right? In the eyes of your Lord, or in the eyes of most nobles, Lord Varys is just a eunuch, a eunuch, and even a freak. Let alone getting to know him, even saying a word to him feels like you are tarnishing your own spirit, am I right?"

Jon Arryn did not answer him, but looked at Lind calmly.

Lind continued: "However, in my eyes, Lord Varys is nobler than most nobles, and more like a knight than most knights."

Jon Arryn showed a little surprise on his face and said in surprise: "You have such a high opinion of Varys."

"With all due respect, Mr. Prime Minister, you have been extremely noble since you were born. From childhood to adulthood, you have stood on the shoulders of your ancestors and looked at the world. This allows you to see further and see the world more clearly, but it also makes you None of you lowered your head and really looked at the people at your feet." Linde criticized unceremoniously: "In your eyes, the people at the lower level are vulgar, stupid, and need to be tamed, so you are unwilling to put too many people under your feet. Keep your eyes on them, you only hope to see people who are born as noble as you and have the same thoughts. "

"But I'm different. I came all the way up from the bottom. I can see the bottom and the top. In my eyes, there are stupid and ugly villains among the noble people, and there are also stupid and ugly villains among those at the bottom. There are also noble and beautiful sages, and in my eyes our Lord Spider is such a sage. I am honored to know him and honored to be his friend.”

After Lind's words fell, the room fell silent. Jon Arryn seemed to be lost in thought, and Lind did not disturb him.

After a while, Jon Arryn stopped thinking, looked at Linde with a deep look, and said: "Sir Linde Terra, maybe you are right, sometimes I do forget that the person under my feet is the most fundamental. Arrogance and habits can mislead our understanding and make us miss many talents, but I still want to remind you that Spider is not a suitable person to be friends with." As he said, he suddenly changed the topic and asked a little abruptly: "That day. Where did you and Varys go after you left the blacksmith shop?"

Linde answered directly: "He took me to the Dragon's Cave to meet a friend from across the narrow sea."

"Why did he introduce you to a friend across the narrow sea?" Jon Arryn asked in a deep voice.

"Because I asked him to introduce it." Linde answered truthfully.

"Did you ask him to introduce it?" Jon Erin asked, "Can you tell me the reason?"

"Of course I can tell you, because this matter may also require your cooperation, Prime Minister." Linde said seriously: "I am looking for the person on the other side of the narrow sea to help collect Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys. and detailed information about the Stepstone Islands. Within these five years, I will completely control the Stepstone Islands and return them to the Seven Kingdoms. Then I will send my army eastward to attack Tyrosh, Myr and Lys."

Lind's words completely confused Jon Arryn. He summoned Lind temporarily this time, mainly to get information. Under the introduction of Varys, Lind met a smuggler from across the Narrow Sea. He felt that Something was fishy, ​​so I brought Linde here to test his tone.

But he never expected to hear such an astonishing plan from Linde. The first thing he thought about was whether Linde was crazy and would actually plan to start a war on the other side of the Narrow Sea.

"Are you crazy?" Jon Arryn also subconsciously said what he was thinking, but he didn't seem to know his behavior and still thought he was just a thought in his mind.

"Of course I'm not crazy. My mind is very clear now." Lind looked at the Hand of the King in surprise. He did not expect that Jon Arryn would make such rude words and actions.

"Huh?" Jon Arryn was still wondering why Linde knew what he was thinking in his mind, but soon he realized that he seemed to have said what he was thinking involuntarily.

After being slightly embarrassed, Jon Arryn looked at Lind pretending to be serious and asked: "Why do you want to attack the members of the Free City-State Alliance eastward? Do you know the consequences of doing so?"

"Of course I know the consequences of doing this." Linde said seriously: "Prime Minister, I have seen the White Walkers outside the Great Wall and know how powerful the White Walkers are. If the White Walkers really used some method to break through the Great Wall, then It is difficult for the seven kingdoms in the south to resist the attack of the ghoul army. We need to think about our retreat in advance, and the retreat I am thinking of is to escape to the Essos continent through the Stone Steps Islands."

"You are too pessimistic! Lord Lind." Jon Arryn frowned and said in a deep voice.

"No, you are too optimistic, Mr. Prime Minister." Lin De retorted: "You have never seen what the White Walker army looks like, and you don't know how terrifying they are, so you behave like this. Calm down, if you saw the existence of those legends, you wouldn’t question my decision like you do now.”

Jon Arryn was silent for a moment and asked: "Are the White Walkers really that scary and powerful?"

Lind nodded and said: "It's more terrifying and more powerful than you think now."

Jon Arryn is very aware of how powerful Lind is, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a one-man army. But now even Lind has such a strong fear of the White Walkers, and he thinks of how to deal with it. The way is not to directly confront them, but to consider a retreat after failure. This is enough to show how powerful and terrifying the White Walkers are.

Thinking of this, Jon Arryn made a decision and asked in a deep voice: "Is there anything I can do to help you in this matter?"

When Lind heard Jon Arryn say this, he knew that his hard work had been successful, so he said unceremoniously: "I know that the Iron Throne controls part of the Stepstone Islands, and I hope that part of the Stepstone Islands can It is under my control for the time being. I need to use these islands as a forward position to capture the entire Stepstone Islands. In addition, I also need the Greenstone Castle in the Stormland as my logistics base to provide logistical support for my forward fleet, so I need the Prime Minister. My lord, please send a letter to the Earl of Greenstone Castle."

Jon Arryn was stunned for a moment, and found that Lind's request was not too much, but much less than expected, so he asked: "Is it just this request, no financial assistance or military assistance?"

Lind shook his head and said: "In terms of money, I still have a lot on hand, and I don't need support. As for the army, I have enough people under my command. Maybe when we attack Tyrosh in five years, we may need the Iron Throne to send it." Order someone to come over, but to deal with the pirates on the Stepstone Islands, you have to ask the Iron Throne to support them, it’s too high of a priority for them.”

Jon Arryn was silent for a moment and said: "I will bring up the matter of the Stepstone Islands at the Royal Council. I believe it should not be difficult to pass. As for your attack on Tyrosh, the Iron Throne will not interfere. You are responsible for the final result." He paused and then said, "However, when the time comes, I will let the Seagull Town fleet join your fleet for logistical transportation. That is the behavior of the Valley and the Iron Throne. It’s irrelevant.”

"Thank you, Lord Duke Aylin." Lind thanked him.

"You can go now." Jon Arryn seemed a little tired and rubbed his forehead, indicating that Lind could leave.

Now that he had received the benefits, Linde naturally had no intention of staying here any longer, so he stood up and prepared to leave.

"The apprentice named Gendry among Tob Mott's apprentices, help me take good care of him." Jon Arryn suddenly said again.

Lind stopped, turned his head slightly, looked at Jon Arryn, and said, "He is King Robert's illegitimate son, right?" After saying that, he paused and deliberately emphasized his tone: "They look very similar. , all with black hair.”

After saying that, without looking at Jon Arryn's reaction, he left the study.

The King's Hand obviously didn't understand the implications of Lind's last words, because he was thinking about another thing now.

"Arrogance and habits will mislead our understanding and make us miss many talents." Jon Arryn muttered what he just said. He seemed to have made some decision, took out a piece of paper, and wrote quickly Some contents were added, and then the prime minister's wax seal was printed.

Then he rang the bell, summoned the attendant outside the door, handed the order in his hand to the attendant, and said: "Immediately send someone to deliver this transfer order to Petyr Baelish, the tax collector in Seagull Town."