Chapter 99 Motives

The teams from Dorne and the Reach moved smoothly. After passing Vance City, Hellgate Castle and Skyreach City, they officially entered the Prince's Pass.

Although the Prince's Pass is also a canyon, because the mountains on both sides are far apart, the bottom of the canyon is extremely wide. Even tens of thousands of people can easily pass through the canyon, let alone thousands of people.

Because this is the main land trade route between the Reach and Dorne, there are countless caravans going south and north. They will consciously repair the roads here to make traffic smoother, which is also convenient. This team of Vilas and the Red Viper.

It is precisely because of the large number of caravans here that there are many bandits in the mountains on both sides of the Prince's Pass. Some lords and nobles even pretend to be bandits to rob the caravans themselves.

But this time the caravan going north to the Reach was lucky. After they encountered the team of Willas and the Red Viper, they followed closely behind them and safely passed through the Prince's Pass with the power of nearly ten thousand people. The most dangerous area is within the territory of Nightsong City in the northern section of Storm Land.

Although Willas had informed the Cullen family in Nightsong City in advance that his team visiting Dorne would need to pass through the Cullen family's territory, the Cullen family saw Willas's letter mentioning that the team visiting Dorne The team was immediately frightened.

An army of nearly ten thousand people, including logistics, was advancing towards Nightsong City in an overwhelming manner. There were many Dornish flags among the ranks, which made the Cullen family of Nightsong City subconsciously think that this was a Dornish force sent by them. Invasion, immediately close the city gates, and at the same time prepare ravens to deliver the news of the Dornish army's invasion to the Iron Throne.

Fortunately, the envoy sent by Vilas arrived at the gates of Nightsong City in time and explained the situation, so that things did not get out of control.

In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Vilas did not stay in the territory of Nightsong City for too long, and traveled overnight, leaving the territory of Nightsong City and officially entering the Reach.

After that, the team moved along the edge of the Crimson Mountains and headed directly towards High Court. At this time, High Court also sent a team to greet them.

A few days later, they met up with the welcoming team at the edge of the Peake family's territory in Star Shuttle City. A few days later, the team successfully returned to Highgarden.

After returning to Highgarden, Lind found Garth Tyrell, the warden of Highgarden. He stepped down from his duties as captain of the guard and went to the manor arranged for him outside the city. He packed his bags and prepared to take the manpower he had gathered tomorrow. , along Rose Avenue, back to Tengshi Town.

During this trip to Dorne, Linde was able to gain a lot. Not only did he get the Mustang King and the horses, he also got a lot of golden dragons, and he also recruited a lot of talents, such as Moloa Hightower.

In addition, in addition to the knight Rossos, there are also some knights who are not doing well in Dorne, and some warriors from the Essos continent have also taken the initiative to find Linde, hoping to serve under Linde.

Although these people are not many in number, they still have extraordinary strength, and it should be enough to serve as the squad leader of the cavalry.

While Lind was packing, Willas suddenly brought Arianne Martell and her companions to Lind's manor.

"What's the matter? Lord Vilas." Linde looked at these people and asked.

"Ariann, tell him yourself!" Willas stepped aside and said to Princess Arianne.

Princess Arianne said very directly: "I heard that you are going back to Tengshi Town tomorrow. I want to go to Tengshi Town with you."

On the way from Dorne to Highgarden, Linde stood beside Willas as Willas's bodyguard. He met Arianne many times, but never talked to him.

On the contrary, Arianne's partner Theresa Sand Snake, the Red Viper's illegitimate daughter, talked to him several times.

However, when she met Moroya, she almost became Moroya's follower, asking him for various poison-related knowledge.

After hearing Princess Arianne's request, Lind immediately understood what she wanted to do, so he said very directly: "Nymeria is not interested in Prince Lewin's inheritance, otherwise she would have told her a few months ago. Prince Oberon has gone to Dorne, there is no need for you to go to her."

Princess Arianne was a bit petite. Facing Lind, she had to raise her head and said, "I just want to see my cousin, I have no other intention."

Lind looked down at Princess Arianne and said, "What can I do if I see her? Are you looking up and talking to her like this? She is much taller than me."

When Princess Arianne heard Linde's words, her expression immediately turned extremely ugly. Without saying anything else, she turned around and walked out of the manor, followed by Teresa Sand Snake and others.

Willas immediately asked his personal guards to arrange for some people to follow Princess Arianne to prevent accidents. However, he did not leave, but motioned to Lind to go outside for a walk.

The two came to the farmland outside the manor and walked along the field path.

"You shouldn't laugh at a young lady's height so harshly." Vilas suddenly blamed Lind.

Lind looked at Willas and said, "It seems you really like Princess Arianne."

"She is a very special woman." A smile appeared on Vilas's face, but it was quickly replaced by a worried look. He sighed and said, "It's a pity that I probably won't be able to marry her."

Linde asked: "Has something changed?"

Villas smiled bitterly and said: "I was scolded. Not only my father and mother scolded me, but even my grandma scolded me for being too hasty." After that, he looked at Linde and asked: "What about you? Lin De De, do you also think that my decision to marry Prince Doran and the Martell family was hasty?"

Lind was silent for a moment and said: "I think the Duke and Lady Olenna said that you are hasty. It does not mean that you agreed to Prince Doran's marriage proposal, but that you should not agree to allow Prince Oberon and Princess Arianne to marry. Return to Highgarden with you. You have left no room for change. The Duke has only two choices. One is to agree to the marriage and make the Reach and Dorne an ally. The other is to refuse the marriage and let Dorne become allies. Relations between the two places have become even worse.”

Vilas was silent for a moment and said calmly: "If I say that I have considered the consequences in advance, would you believe it?"

Linde was stunned and couldn't help but wonder: "Since you have expected such a result, then with your wisdom you should not...unless," as he said that, he suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something, and was slightly confused. Looking at Willas in surprise, he said: "Lord Willas, are you really going to Dorne just to improve the relationship between the Reach and Dorne and sign a peace agreement?"

"Lord Linde, I said you should be more than just a knight." Vilas did not directly respond to Linde's question. Then he deviated from the general topic and said: "Lord Linde, do you know? Our nobles in the Reach. He is the oldest noble in the entire continent of Westeros. The family inheritance of any noble lord has a history of thousands of years. Any great noble can trace back to the ancient times of the ancestors, and those passed down by the Seven Kingdoms. Most mythological stories are adapted from the stories of our ancestors. Now the civilization and religion of the Seven Kingdoms have spread from the Reach to other kingdoms, so the Lord of the Reach should be the most noble of the Seven Kingdoms. , the most respected lord."

Listening to Vilas' words, Linde could vaguely sense the anger hidden in Vilas's heart.

"However, my father, Lord of Highgarden, Warden of the South, and Supreme Commander of the Reach, has been treated like a clown in King's Landing for more than a year. What qualifications does Robert Baratheon have to do this? Is it just the Baratheon family that humiliates our Tyrell family? Even the Frey family in the Riverlands has more foundation and history than them. He has What qualifications do you have to humiliate my father like this?”

Willas unabashedly unleashed his long-simmering anger, his eyes unabashedly hostile to the Iron Throne.

Linde did not expect that Willas would be so angry about Duke Mace's encounter in King's Landing, but when he thought about it seriously, he was not surprised. After all, Willas's love and protection for his relatives and friends was obvious to all. The importance of love exceeds all feelings.

Lind turned to look at Willas's personal guards who were following behind him. Obviously, Willas's words just now must not be spread, otherwise, there would really be no room for redemption in the Reach and the Iron Throne.

Vilas regained his composure and said, "Don't worry, they are all my most trusted people, just like you, Mr. Linde."

Linde sighed, not at all happy because of Vilas' trust. He asked very directly: "Since you trust me, Lord Vilas, can you tell me the real purpose of doing this? War, or something else?" ?”

"War? Lord Linde, why do you think I want war?" Vilas couldn't help but smile and said: "Actually, you don't have to think too complicated. I just want to make the Iron Throne feel uncomfortable. That’s all, no matter what the Iron Throne does in the future, we must consider our Highgarden’s attitude and not treat us like clowns.”

Hearing this somewhat childish answer, Lind didn't know what to say. Although it didn't sound like the answer was true and was just made up casually, Lind could feel that this was Vilas's intention.

It is not difficult to understand when you think about it. No matter how mature and wise Vilas appears, he is still just a boy of thirteen or fourteen. It is normal for him to have some impulsive and childish thoughts, like Linde himself. A person who looks fifteen or sixteen years old but is already an old man on the inside is a real monster.

However, this time, Willas was a little too emotional because the Duke of Highgarden was humiliated in King's Landing. Linde did not think that the situation was still within Willas' control as it developed until now.

Linde asked very directly: "Mr. Vilas, have you ever considered that things will get completely out of control if you do this?"

"Of course I have considered it. I have already made arrangements, but those arrangements may not necessarily work." Vilas nodded, looked at Linde and said, "However, now that you, the bear hunter Linde, you should be able to make up for it." The loopholes in my plan meant that my arrangements should eventually work."

"What do you want me to do?" Linde asked.

"We should follow your original plan to suppress the bandits in Tengshi Town." Vilas' expression became serious and said: "When you return to Tengshi Town this time, High Court will give Namei, Earl of Tengshi Town Leah Fudley sent an appointment, appointing her as the guardian of the Mander River, expanding her powers, and giving her some support to expand Tengshi Town so that her castle and town can be built as soon as possible. "

Lind frowned and said, "Nymeria cannot allow outside forces to enter Tengshi Town, not even Highgarden."

Villas dispelled Linde's concerns and said: "Don't worry, the High Court will not interfere in the affairs of Tengshi Town. The so-called support is just money, material and administrative support. These will be converted into gold dragons and no interest will be paid. There is no time limit for borrowing, as long as the Earl of Tengshi Town has enough money, he can repay the principal himself. "

"Are you sure?" Lind looked at Vilas in disbelief and said in a deep voice, "Is this something you just said casually, or has the Duke already decided?"

Vilas smiled, without saying anything clearly, and continued: "In addition, you will also be appointed as the commander of the southern bandit suppression. Although you are actually only responsible for the bandit suppression task in the area north of Kuqiao, your scope of authority covers the entire river bend. Land, so that you can legitimately expand your military strength. The authority we give you to expand your military strength is 10,000 people. As for how to combine these 10,000 people, whether it is all infantry or all cavalry, it is all up to you. Of course, the High Court of Military Expenditures also You can only provide part of it, and most of it can only be solved by yourself, and you will also be allowed to build a fortress on the upper reaches of the Mander River or the south bank of the Blackwater River, but this fortress will be under the name of Tengshi Town, I think. Based on your relationship with Count Nymeria, it doesn’t matter whether this fortress belongs to her or to you.”

Linde thought for a while and then asked: "Does the mission of suppressing bandits still need to be carried out?"

"Of course it must be implemented, but the result is not that important. If Tengshi Town is built, Tengshi Town should regularly clean up the surrounding bandits." Vilas looked at the frowning Lind and said: "You also Don’t worry about the final reward of the bandit suppression mission. You don’t have to complete the bandit suppression mission. You only need to build the fortress and stay there for three years. Even if you complete the bandit suppression mission, the reward for completing the task may change? "

"What has it become? A golden dragon?" Linde asked with some concern.

"No, it's a territory." Vilas gave a surprising answer, saying: "It's not a manor or a village, but a real territory."

Linde's breathing became a little heavier after hearing this, and then he suppressed some excitement, looked at Vilas with a little doubt, and asked: "If my guess is right, that territory shouldn't be very good, right? ?”

Willas gave the answer: "It is indeed not very good, it can even be said to be very bad, because it is an enclave, located on the shores of the Dorne Sea, opposite the city of Weir."

Linde didn't remember where the territory was for a while. He carefully recalled the map in his mind and asked in surprise: "Isn't that the territory of Stormland? How come it became the territory of Highgarden?"