Chapter 246 Escort Fleet

Fishnet Joe is a fisherman living in the King's Landing fish market. His original name was Piman, but later because someone often called him by the wrong name, he corrected it several times and failed to correct it, so he simply replaced his original name with the wrong name. The name was changed to Joe.

The reason why he added the name fishing net is because he is the best fishing net weaver in King's Landing. The fishing net he weaved once caught a big snapper weighing a thousand kilograms.

It was the same day as usual. He and several of his men drove a boat and went to Blackwater Bay to fish.

The past two months have been the season for a species of black-ridged red snapper to return to spawn. At this time, the black-ridged red snapper that inhabits the Narrow Sea will gather in Blackwater Bay and then swim upstream along the Blackwater River. Go upstream to the stream near the Noble Heart to lay eggs.

The black-ridged red snapper at this time is the most plump, especially the roe of the female fish, which is a delicacy that only the rich can enjoy. A small plate costs ten silver deer.

Therefore, catching black-ridged red snapper during this period has become Joe’s most important source of income throughout the year.

However, there were many people in King's Landing who were interested in this deal, so when he arrived at Blackwater Bay, many fishing boats had already anchored on the sea.

The most important factor in catching black-ridged red snapper is to find the correct fishing point. Due to the habits of snapper, they will only gather in warm currents. Due to the long summer, the seawater in Blackwater Bay is generally very cold. Warmth, thus making finding such lower outlets very difficult.

However, this is not a big problem for Joe, because their family has a way to easily find warm waters suitable for black-ridged red snapper gathering. Just like now, he has just entered the waters of Blackwater Bay and found it quickly. Find a suitable place to get off the net.

After sailing the boat to that position, Joe immediately asked his men to drop the anchor. He took out the fishing nets that had been woven yesterday from the cabin, tied them to floats, and began to put them into the water one by one, letting them follow the warm ocean current. Drifting farther away, the fishing net also fell into the water in the direction of the water drift, and slowly opened under the pull of the heavy objects, forming a trap that was fatal to the fish.

After setting up the net, they don't need to do anything else. They only need to wait until late at night to put the net away.

During this time, an old sailor under Joe took out a set of old chess boards and chess pieces, placed them on the deck of the ship, and taught others to play this game called cyvasse. It is said that this was the old sailor running the ship. A Volantis man taught him.

Joe watched for a while and then quickly lost interest. In his opinion, it was a bit boring and stupid to place the chess pieces around on the chessboard and then take away other pieces.

So he picked up the fishing rod on the boat and prepared to catch fish for a while.

Just as he had just tied the fishhook and was about to hang the bait on the hook, his ears suddenly heard the sound of some horns in the wind blowing from the shore.

At first, he thought he heard wrongly, but as the people on a boat not far from him stood up and looked towards the city wall and the Red Keep of King's Landing in the distance, they suddenly discovered the Red Keep and the city wall. A very obvious black flag was erected in Xanadu.

"War? Who is King's Landing City at war with?" Seeing the black flag, Qiao's face showed a blank look, because the black flag means that King's Landing City has entered a state of war readiness at this moment.

Joe remembered that when he left King's Landing, everything was fine. Why was he suddenly in a state of war readiness now?

Just when Joe was confused about this, his men suddenly stood up from the deck, pointed in the direction of the Blackwater Bay outlet, and shouted loudly: "Look over there! Head, look over there!"

Joe's gaze followed the direction of his finger and saw that the mist on the sea level in the distance had dissipated. He saw that the sea level that had been shrouded in mist had risen and now there were countless long-masted sailing ships floating. These ships were slowly moving Sailing towards King's Landing, every ship was arranged neatly and closely, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

"Where do these ships come from? Are they pirates from the Iron Islands?" Joe said with a panicked look.

"No way, it can't be an island in the Iron Islands!" The old sailor was obviously more experienced than Joe. He raised his hand and looked at it for a moment, and said: "I saw the flag of Pentos on the ship, and I also saw some other flags. , should be someone from across the narrow sea.”

"Are they attacking King's Landing?" Someone immediately asked worriedly.

"That shouldn't happen, right?" The old sailor hesitated.

Just when they hesitated, they saw that the ships had slowly sailed into the Blackwater Bay near King's Landing. Then they did not continue sailing, but stopped, lowered the sails, and dropped the anchor.

At this time, those fishing boats that were too late to leave were caught in the middle of these boats, feeling like they were trapped in a maze. Joe, who had just recovered his fishing net, was also swallowed up by this fleet. They could only stay on the boat. , Dare not make too big a move.

At this time, they also saw clearly that the boat seemed to be full of people. Many of them were soldiers wearing exotic armor, while others looked like prisoners because they were all shackled. These prisoners were old and young. The oldest among them is already gray-haired, while the youngest seems to be just a baby.

At this time, a small boat was lowered from the leading ship, and it followed the small boat towards a small pier under the cliff of the Red Fort that could only be used by the nobles and high-ranking officials of the Red Fort. The small boat was full of exotic nobles in gorgeous clothes.

At the same time, in the courtyard of the Red Keep, Robert Baratheon stood on the edge of the observation deck overlooking the entire Blackwater Bay, his face was livid, and his eyes were filled with anger.

Although he has become out of shape due to various reasons over the years, the majesty of the Lord of the Iron Throne has not weakened much, and he can still make people around him fearful.

"Are these the ships you were talking about? Are they not dangerous?" Robert Baratheon turned his head and glared at the expressionless Stanlis Baratheon, and pointed at the ships scattered across the sea of ​​Blackwater Bay, Said: "How about you count for me, how many ships are there on the sea now, one hundred or two hundred? How many people are on board?"

Stanley did not answer. His whole person was as cold as a piece of pig iron. Those who knew him well should have seen that he was also very angry at this moment.

Stanlis's upright character would not accept Robert's responsibilities silently. Instead, he retorted angrily: "Do you blame me? When we discussed it at the meeting, wasn't it because you were blind to money and knew those people on the other side of the narrow sea? Someone offered me a sum of money to pass by, so I couldn’t wait to agree, and now it’s all my fault!”

Being exposed in front of his face, Robert also showed a slightly embarrassed look on his face, and looked at his younger brother with great disgust.

At this time, Renly on the side said: "This matter is not to blame on my second brother. It is entirely the trouble caused by Lynde Terra. If it were not for his request, how could the other side of the Narrow Sea send so many ships to escort the prisoners? Moreover, their ship did not go to Miracle Port, but specifically to King's Landing City. This must have been his request. He clearly did this deliberately to show off his power to the Iron Throne!"

"Shut up!" After Renly's words fell, Robert scolded his younger brother without hesitation and said: "If Lynd Terra is such a cautious person as you say, then he will." It is impossible to become a living legend. If he really wants to express his dissatisfaction or show off his power, he will only come to you in front of you and will not play around with these useless things. If you figure it out yourself, you can’t even restrain your own territorial vassals, and you still have the nerve to tell others.”

When Renly heard Robert's scolding, he also lowered his head. Although when he lowered his head, his expression was normal, but after lowering his head, he could not hide the look of resentment on his face.

Behind the three Baratheon brothers, Finance Minister Petyr Baelish, Intelligence Director Varys, Archmaester Pycelle, and Iron Guard Captain Barristan Selmy all looked at them in silence. , no one is stupid enough to intervene in the quarrel between the three brothers at this time.

Only Hand of the King Jon Arryn stopped the three brothers from continuing to quarrel in front of the ministers of the Royal Council. He said: "This is not a matter of arguing about right and wrong. What we want to discuss is to solve the trouble at hand. We must first find out what they are using." Is Lynde Terra using it as an excuse to do evil things to us, or is he really just escorting prisoners through here?"

At this time, the sharp-eyed Varys looked at the ships on the sea and said: "These ships are not warships of the Free Trade City. They are all cargo ships with a variety of flags. Some are cargo ships of the Pantos Chamber of Commerce, and some are cargo ships. The slave ship over there."

Renly frowned and said, "You mean these ships are not warships and are harmless?"

Wallis shook his head and continued: "I made a rough estimate just now. There are about one hundred and fifty ships on the sea. The cargo capacity of these ships varies. If we make a compromise calculation, each ship except In terms of necessary sailors and supplies, they can only carry about 25 to 50 people at most, which means that there are at least 3,000 to 7,500 people in these more than 100 ships. As far as I know, This time, Kohol included the entire Soyid family, including family members, relatives, friends, employees, and servants who were involved with him. The number of people was at least about 5,000, plus the ones used to escort these people. The number of soldiers should at least match the number of ships."

Renly looked at Varys impatiently and said, "Varys, what are you talking about? Is it of any use?"

Wallis smiled and lowered his head and said: "I am just describing the intelligence and analysis I have obtained. As for the final judgment, it is a matter for you and Your Majesty."

"They seem to have sent a messenger." Littlefinger suddenly pointed at the sea and said.

Everyone looked in the direction pointed by Petyr Baelish, and happened to see a small boat carrying four or five people approaching the small dock of the Red Keep.

Seeing this scene, everyone unanimously stopped arguing. Robert led them back to the meeting hall, sat back in their seats, and waited for the arrival of the messenger.

Not long after, the attendants came to report, and Robert ordered the messengers to be brought over.

"Greetings to you, His Majesty Robert Baratheon, King of the Andals, Rhoynar and First Men, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Lord of the Great Iron Throne!" Several envoys who came in went to Robert Baratheon first! Bo and others saluted and spoke respectfully.

"Tell me who you are? The foreigners across the narrow sea." Robert asked these foreigners in a deep voice.

The old man standing in the middle of the crowd said: "I am Boon Someda from the Someda family of Kohor, and I am the supervisor of the escort team."

The soldier next to him saluted Robert and said, "I am the leader of the Qohor Longlegs. I am mainly responsible for the escort of prisoners."

The middle-aged man dressed as a priest nodded to Robert and said, "I am Malphas, the chief priest of the Church of the God of Disaster."

A red-robed weirdo with a bare head, a big red beard, and some mysterious symbols tattooed on his head said in a very strange accent: "I am the new president of the Qohor Mage Association, the high priest of the Church of the God of Magic, Marlow. Xin.”

Robert frowned, pointed at the middle-aged priest and the red-robed weirdo and asked, "What are the gods of natural disasters and gods of magic that you are talking about? Why have I never heard of them?"

After Robert asked this question, before the two of them could answer, Varys had already approached Robert and whispered about the origins of the God of Disasters and the God of Magic.

After Robert heard this, he couldn't help being stunned, and then smiled: "This bear hunter is really interesting. He created a storm god before, and now he has created a natural disaster god and a magic god. Will there be another one in a few years?" Want to create a god like the Ocean God or the Sun God?" He said with a hint of meaning: "He shouldn't be a lord, he should be a god."

There was a hint of sarcasm in Robert's words, and everyone around him could hear it. The two priests, Malphas and Malohin, frowned in unison after hearing this, but they did not make any move to refute. He looked at Robert calmly.

Faced with this situation, Robert was quite bored. Then he stopped talking nonsense and gestured to Littlefinger on the side. Littlefinger took his place and said: "You have too many ships and people. It has exceeded expectations, and I I can’t believe you. I need to send people on board to inspect. Only after I am sure there is no danger will I allow you to pass through my dock. Of course, you will need to pay an additional inspection fee.”

As the escort supervisor, Boon Somida said with some dissatisfaction: "There is no problem with the inspection, but we have already paid for it..."

Stannis angrily rebuked: "You didn't tell the truth at all at that time. You didn't tell me that there were so many ships. You just said you were escorting some prisoners..."

"Okay!" Robert interrupted Stannis and said, "If you don't agree, you can sail away immediately and dock at other ports. If you want to dock here, you must follow my request."

The four of them looked at each other and nodded reluctantly.

"You can discuss the specific matters with my Hand of the King and the Minister of the Royal Council! I still have something to do." Robert stood up, said, and walked outside, quickly disappearing behind the porch.