Chapter 182 Implicated

"Cass, after cleaning the eagle's nest, go to the feed warehouse and get some meat to feed these little guys." The Eagle's Nest Manager of Summer Hall Castle assigned the matters in his hands, and the one assigned to Cass Things are always the heaviest and the dirtiest.

"Yes, sir." Faced with the deliberate difficulty of the Eagle's Nest Manager, Cass showed no intention of resisting. After responding, he honestly took the tools and went to clean the Eagle's Nest.

Although there was a burst of ridicule from behind, he didn't care at all. For him, as long as he could work in the castle, it was fine. At least it was much better than being a slave in Reese.

There are seven people in charge of the Eagle's Nest in the Summer Hall Castle. The other six, including the steward, are all from a place called the Valley, so they all huddle together and exclude Kass from the Essos continent.

Cass also knew this very well, and knew that he had no advantage in front of these valley people. Suffering silently and not giving these colleagues any excuses to make trouble was the only way he could think of.

Those people in the valley also know that things must be done in a measured way. Excluding strangers is not a big problem, but once they go too far and cause some trouble and alert the earl, even if the strangers are driven away in the end, They don't want to stay. There have been more than one example of this before, so giving the strangers more things to do and making their own people more relaxed is the most important method they can use.

Although these falconers think they do things in secret and will not give anyone any excuses, in fact everything they do is seen by the castle guards, and they are reported to the ears of the general manager Moose every day, and are recorded in a book. On this roster, there is a score next to each person's name. Once the score reaches the top, the corresponding person will be transferred to other places to work, which are usually not good places.

However, in the list, instead of writing a score next to Cass's name, the word "General Manager" was written and a circle was drawn around it.

Cass didn't know that he had been registered in the heart of the castle manager Mus. Even if he knew, he wouldn't have any idea. He is a very contented person. Now he can become a free man and get a job with a long life. A job with a good salary is already very satisfying. His next goal is to save a lot of money, then marry a wife, adopt a child, and his life will be perfect.

Although he was thinking about a happy life in the future, Cass was not slow at all in his work. He quickly cleaned up the feces on the scaffolding, replaced the water in the basin, and repaired it. Damaged support rod.

After cleaning the scaffolding room, he released all the letter eagles from their cages and let them go out for a while. He also cleaned the cages. It was not until the afternoon that he finished cleaning all the eagle nests.

Just when he was about to prepare food for the letter eagle, a kestrel came in and landed firmly on the scaffolding.

Cass was stunned when he saw this kestrel. He quickly recognized that this kestrel was not the one released just now, but the kestrel from Miracle Harbor. The copper message tube at the foot of the kestrel was also very eye-catching. .

Cass did not take off the letter tube himself, but hurriedly ran to the main office under the Eagle's Nest.

"Sir, over there at Miraculous Harbor, Kestrel." Cass reported to the general manager in Common English, which he was not very proficient in.

The steward was stunned after hearing this, and soon realized what Cass was saying. He quickly stood up and went to the eagle's nest. After seeing the kestrel, he carefully leaned over, took off the copper pipe, and then ordered Cass to After Si took care of the kestrel, he hurried out of the eagle's nest.

The Eagle's Nest is located on the cliff on the west side of the castle. The entire Eagle's Nest is made of cliff stone. From the Eagle's Nest through a stone wall plank road, you will arrive at the square platform of the castle. This is the center of the entire Shengxia Hall Castle. In the center, a fountain statue with craftsmanship from Braavos was built in the square. Groundwater flows from the kettle mouth of the statue and collects into the reservoir along the surrounding waterways.

Next to the reservoir is a hanging garden where flowers from all over the world are planted. A small pavilion is built in the garden. Next to the garden is Linde's study which is also a temporary meeting hall.

In addition to bookshelves, desks and other facilities, the study room also has a huge conference table.

This conference table is about eight meters long and two meters wide, and can accommodate twenty seats around it. On the table is a stone slab carved by skilled craftsmen showing a panoramic view of the continent of Westeros, including all the cities, mountains, rivers, and rivers in the Seven Kingdoms. Some special locations are marked.

This stone slab was not made by one of Linde's subordinates, but was dug out from a collapsed basement of Summer Hall during the construction of the Temple of Redemption. According to Maester Thorne's research, this stone slab should be that of Aegon V. It was re-carved based on the panoramic map of the Seven Kingdoms on Dragonstone, but it was never used, stored in the basement, and finally buried underground until they discovered it.

This slate map had been broken into seven pieces when it was found, and the number seven seemed to have a certain destiny. After Bachelor Thorne repaired the slate map, he transported it to the top of the mountain. ’s castle and placed it in Linde’s study, becoming one of Linde’s favorite items.

Ordinary matters will be discussed here. Only when major matters need to be summoned and all department heads and military commanders need to be summoned, will they go to the meeting hall of Redemption Town.

Although the castle in Shengxia Hall has not yet been completed, the main facilities such as the eagle's nest, study room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, etc. have been built, and the rest are some secondary facilities, such as warehouses and libraries. Wait, these can be built slowly.

Linde had moved to this castle built on the top of a 100-meter-high columnar mountain half a year ago and started working in the castle.

I was not used to it at first, because everyone who came to report things needed to take the elevator, which was very troublesome. However, this speeded up the classification of various affairs. Some ordinary trivial matters were all solved in the town hall below. Only When encountering some matters that the cabinet cannot handle, he will directly meet with Linde to report the matter.

Just like the matter that Nymeria personally sent to Linde now, it is a matter that needs to be handled by Linde personally.

"Has he been the Archbishop for so long that his brain has become rigid and turned into a stone?" Linde's angry roar came from inside the room. When the servant passing by outside heard who the person Linde was cursing was, All of them lowered their heads and walked away in a hurry, fearing that if they walked too slowly and listened too much, they would get into trouble.

Nymeria tapped her fingers on the edge of the conference table and said in a deep voice: "It is useless to scold the Archbishop now. When he asked King Robert to abrogate the agreement prohibiting church armed forces signed by Jaehaerys I and the church, We have already been involved. He has the confidence to make such a request to King Robert because our growth provides him with too much confidence in his delusions. "

Rhys Farwell, who had just returned to Redemption Town, also came to the castle and reported everything he saw in King's Landing. He said: "His Majesty drove the Archbishop back to the Great Sept of Baelor and issued a ban on the Archbishop. Order prohibiting the Archbishop from leaving the Great Cathedral of Baelor."

"How could your Majesty do this?" Bishop Hullen stood up with excitement and said, "Is he going to go to war with the Church of the Seven Gods? Just like the cruel Maegor?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present looked at Bishop Hu Lun in a daze.

"Sit down. If you can't speak, then shut up. You represent not only the Salvation Church, but also my Midsummer Hall." Linde scolded Bishop Hulen coldly: "You know what you said. What will be the consequences if it spreads? You should use your brain when speaking, and don't say anything without thinking. There are some consequences that you cannot bear. "

Bishop Hu Lun also realized his gaffe, and did not dare to refute Linde's rebuke. He lowered his head and sat back in his chair.

"When I came back, I heard the news from the Red Castle. His Majesty the King approved the Prime Minister's proposal and will charge additional taxes on the goods we sell to the Seven Kingdoms. In addition, he will also charge a currency on the currency we mint. I heard that he also plans to take back control of the Stone Step Islands that were just handed over to us. All in all, half of the dozen or so newly issued decrees are aimed at us." Reese said with a serious look: "It seems like. His Majesty Robert has fully identified us with the Church."

Burt Farwell, who also came to the Midsummer Hall with Nymeria, looked at his father with a puzzled expression and asked: "Hasn't His Majesty the King always admired Lord Linde? Why..."

"Idiot, in front of the imperial power, even brothers will attack and hurt each other, let alone a lord that they admire." Reese scolded his son unceremoniously, even though Bert was one step higher than him in terms of position. , "The Archbishop's request has endangered the imperial power of the Baratheon Dynasty. Of course, it will be regarded as an enemy. And since we are too close to the church, we will naturally be targeted."

Lind's face became a little gloomy after listening to Reese's words. When he decided to use the power of the church to strengthen himself, he had already considered being influenced by the church, and even made some countermeasures for this, such as Build a temple of salvation and a temple of miracles that are completely under your control.

However, before all his countermeasures were fully implemented, something went wrong at the Great Sept of Baelor. The rise of himself as the Chosen One gave the Archbishop the illusion that he could re-establish the Arming the church allows the church to regain its lost rights and become an existence above the lords.

"Sir, I have received the latest news from other regions." The Bahrain Knight, who has been transferred to the intelligence chief, took out the intelligence received in the morning and handed it to Linde. Said: "The Vale, the Riverlands, the West, the Stormlands and the North have all responded to King's Landing and added an additional tax to our goods. There is no news from Highgarden and Sunspear. It seems that Highgarden and Sunspear probably won’t comply.”

"Okay! The Archbishop caused trouble, but we became the ones punished." I don't know whether it was because he was extremely angry, or because he had already figured it out, but Linde suddenly smiled, muttered, and asked Balin : "What about the Starry Cathedral and the High Seat Cathedral? Is there any news?"

"There is no news, nor any objection to the Archbishop's house arrest in the Cathedral of Baelor." Bahrain shook his head and said.

"It seems that they are all waiting for your decision." After staying in the political cabinet for a long time, Nymeria's political level has improved by leaps and bounds, leaving Lind behind, as if she can now see the stars at a glance The intentions of the bishop of the great cathedrals, such as the cathedral and the high cathedral.

Linde was obviously a little behind and didn't understand what Nymeria meant. He asked, "Why does it depend on my decision?"

Nymeria analyzed: "You underestimate your status in the Church of the Seven Gods. Although you do not hold any substantial teaching or teaching positions in the Church of the Seven Gods, your influence has far exceeded The Archbishop of Baelor Cathedral can be said to be the faith leader of the Church of the Seven Gods. This time the Archbishop made the matter so big, the bishops of the Cathedrals in various places naturally want to see how you, the leader, make decisions before they can make any decisions. Corresponding decision.”

"Do I really have such a big influence?" Linde has spent most of the past year cooperating with Moroya to research new potions and train himself to gain the power from the Dragon Feast Ceremony. Most of the external affairs are left to I had to deal with it with Nymeria and her men, so I didn’t know much about my current situation.

Bishop Hu Lun quickly answered: "Yes, Lord Chosen One, you are already the substantial faith leader of the church. The bishops of various churches have close correspondence with us, and the relationship is far closer than outsiders imagine." As he spoke, he took out some letterheads, placed them in front of Linde, and said, "These are letters sent from various churches after the news from the Archbishop spread, asking how we plan to respond."

Linde took out a letter written by the Bishop of the Stars Temple. The content was very simple, asking the Redemption Church how they planned to deal with the Archbishop. The contents of the other letters were similar, except for some of the letters. The wording seems more respectful.

"The church is in charge of faith, and kings and lords are in charge of secularity." Linde put down the letter and thought for a moment, then said: "Bishop Hulen, you and Bishop Joses will issue a statement on behalf of the Redemption Church and the Miracle Church respectively tomorrow. It means that the archbishop’s behavior has exceeded the scope of the church’s authority and it will not be supported. We must emphasize that the archbishop’s behavior is only a personal behavior and has nothing to do with the church.”

"Yes, sir, I know what to do." Bishop Hu Lun responded quickly.

Muss frowned and said: "If we do this, we will really offend the Archbishop to death. It may be difficult to get financial support from the Baylor Cathedral in the future."

"Are we short of money now?" Linde asked.

Musi was stunned for a moment and said nothing.

"What about us? Should we also give a statement or something?" Nymeria asked.

Linde shook his head and said: "No, Bishop Hulen is enough. His statement represents our attitude."

"Where are the new tax laws against us in King's Landing?" Moose asked again.

"Don't worry about it, just pay the taxes that need to be paid." Linde shook his hand and asked Moose: "What impact will the additional taxes have on us?"

"Our income will be reduced by about 30%, because more merchant ships will go to King's Landing, so they can reduce an additional tax," Moose said while looking at the document in his hand: "But we and Erso It won’t have much impact on mainland Sri Lanka’s business. It was the same as it was before, and it’s still the same now.” He paused and said, “Actually, we can use this reason to raise prices, probably by about 10%. , in this case, it should be able to offset it..."

Lind interrupted Moose's proposal and said in a deep voice: "There is no need to raise the price. The previous price will still be the same price now. Continue to increase arms exports and send people to negotiate preferential arms exchange agreements with Tenosi, Reese and Mir. , they can get cheaper weapons from me, and we can also get cheaper specialties from them, but specialties are not our goal. Our purpose is to let everyone in these cities have one in their hands. Take the weapons we produce.”

With the creation of the water-powered hammer machine, the forge hidden deep in the mountains by Linde has become the core industry of Summer Hall. Weapons that took other blacksmiths a month or two to create now only take less than a day. It takes time, and it's not just a handful, it's thousands of them, and it doesn't require a skilled blacksmith, just an apprentice who knows a little about blacksmithing skills, and even ordinary people can get started with a few days of training.

However, weapons made by this kind of assembly line also have big flaws. For example, they cannot make users feel as comfortable as specially made weapons. In addition, due to the craftsmanship, these weapons are also more fragile than carefully forged weapons and can cut each other. If so, most of them are assembly line weapons that break, and its advantage is that it is cheap. Basically, the money required to buy a carefully forged long sword is ten times that of the Midsummer Hall assembly line weapons.

"Where's the armor?" Moose asked again.

"It's still the same as before. Not a single piece of armor is allowed to be sold." Lind said very seriously to Rosso Brun, who was sitting at the end of the seat: "The blood-armored men under you must keep an eye on me. Dead, anyone who dares to participate in smuggling armor must be arrested, remember it’s anyone.”

"Yes, sir." Rosso Brun nodded cautiously.

Then Linde continued: "Don't pay attention to the things over in King's Landing. They ask for price tax, so pay the price tax. If you want to set up a card, set up a card. Don't conflict with them, and don't pay attention to the people in the Great Sept of Baelor. We will all There is only one focus of our work, unifying the Stepstone Islands and provoking a war between Tyrosh, Lys and Myr. This is the most important thing for us in the next few years, and all other things will be put aside. "

"What if King's Landing and the kingdoms to the north continue to put pressure on us and make us bow our heads on behalf of the church?" Nymeria asked worriedly.

Linde smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about this. If they really continue to cause trouble for me, I don't mind causing chaos in the Seven Kingdoms in advance."

At this time, the Master of the Eagle's Nest, led by his attendants, came to the conference hall of the study, handed over a copper tube, and told everyone that the copper tube letter was sent by the Kestrel.

When everyone heard this, their expressions immediately became serious, and their eyes fell on the copper pipe.

Linde opened the copper pipe, took out the letterhead, and looked at it quickly, with a strange look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Nymeria asked anxiously.

Linde handed over the letter and said, "Sea dragon? Sea dragon appeared in the sea of ​​Dorne."