Chapter 118 Recruiting mercenaries and developing

In Lys City - In the Governor's Mansion

Gavin sat quietly behind the quaint desk, looking at the big bear standing in front of him calmly - Jorah Mormont.

At this time, Jorah Mormont was about less than 40 years old, a northern man in his prime, with dark skin that seemed to have experienced countless wind and frost, and thick hair growing in disorder. Although his head was slightly bald, his sturdy body still exuded a strong sense of power.

Now he looked quite embarrassed, his face was black and gray from smoke, his clothes, which were originally shabby, were torn in many places and ragged, and the long sword he carried with him was nowhere to be found, leaving only an empty scabbard hanging around his waist.

Not long ago, after Gavin completely captured Lys City, Hassan accidentally heard the name Jorah Mormont while inspecting the mercenary captives.

Thinking that he had previously arranged ships to send prisoners in the territory to the Wall under the order of Lord Gavin, and that the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch there was also named Mormont, and that his son Jorah Mormont had come to the East Continent to be a mercenary in order to escape trial, Hassan did not dare to neglect it and quickly reported the matter to Gavin, thus facilitating this unusual meeting.

Gavin slowly showed a gentle smile on his face, and slowly said: "Nice to meet you, Sir Jorah. I didn't expect that our first meeting would be under such circumstances."

Jorah looked at Gavin with doubts, and then said: "I am just a mercenary captive now, not a knight anymore. Sir, who are you? Why do you know me?"

Gavin nodded slightly and said solemnly: "Let me introduce myself. I am Gavin Belleris. I believe you must have heard of my name recently."

Jorah smiled a bitter smile mixed with helplessness and bitterness on his face when he heard this. His experience as a captive today was also caused by the other party. He responded: "Of course, your reputation is probably known to everyone in Rees recently, and it must be spreading to more distant places in Essos at this time."

Gavin stood up, poured a glass of mellow red wine for Jorah, and motioned him to sit down. "Not long ago, I visited the Wall as a guest. Your father, Commander Mormont, received me. When I was in the North, I also heard about your past. I didn't expect you to be stranded in Lys now."

When Jorah Mormont heard Gavin talking about his father, a deep sadness instantly appeared on his face. He asked in a low voice: "Is my father okay?"

"Not bad. At least when I saw him, he was in good health. He is currently devoting himself to the affairs of the Night's Watch."

After hearing this, Jorah looked a little relieved. Since leaving the North, he has not heard about his father for a long time, but he never expected to have such an unexpected gain here.

Thinking of his current difficult situation, Jorah was uneasy and asked cautiously: "I wonder how Lord Gavin plans to deal with me?"

Gavin smiled and said calmly: "I have already asked about the relevant situation. You are just passively involved in the turmoil of those mercenaries. You can leave at any time later."

After hearing this, Jorah bowed gratefully and said: "Thank you for your kindness."

Gavin waved his hand and then asked with a smile: "Since you are now a mercenary, I wonder if you can accept my employment? I hope you can train and command the mercenaries captured before. I believe you know them better than me."

Gavin captured thousands of mercenaries this time. He originally wanted to recruit these people, but most of his subordinates were captains, and the navy soldiers he commanded before were all specially customized Unsullied.

Gavin originally planned to command these mercenaries himself, but since he happened to find Jorah who was stranded here, he decided to hand over these captives to him.

Jorah's military ability is not weak. He has also participated in wars. He has nowhere to go. At this time, he is also a timely help. Don't expect him to train the captives to be elite. It is also good to be cannon fodder in the subsequent war.

Jorah Mormont hesitated for only a moment, and then decisively decided to accept the employment. Then he said firmly: "Thank you for your appreciation of me. I am willing to accept your employment. Please rest assured that I will not disappoint your expectations."

Gavin nodded and said: "That's it. You go to Hassan and he will arrange it for you."

"Yes, my lord." Jorah Mormont retreated respectfully.

Gavin slowly walked to the window and looked at the still devastated Lys city with a solemn look. Although the once blazing flames have been extinguished, the broken walls and ruins after the burning are still shocking. In this terrible turmoil, the number of buildings burned and burned far exceeded the damage caused by his dragon attack.

At this time, Lys had been cleaned up briefly, and the piles of corpses in the city had been pulled out one after another. The city had barely restored basic order, and the civilians and captives were organized in an orderly manner, cleaning up the ruins of the buildings. According to Hassan's estimate, the cleanup work could be completed in about three days.

Gavin was thinking in his mind that he planned to start taking over the towns and villages previously controlled by Lys in the next two days. The defenses were weak but the number was large.

Most of these towns were located in the southwest corner of the Essos continent, occupying a part of the disputed land, bordering Tyrosh, Myr and Volantis, and separated from Lys Island by only a short strait.

But at this moment, Gavin faced the dilemma of severely stretched troops. Excluding the manpower necessary to control the warships, the remaining soldiers that could be used were less than 2,000, all of which were infantry.

And in order to ensure that there is no trouble in Reese City, a thousand people must be left to garrison here.

Gavin is not worried about relying on warships for naval battles, but once he lands for battle, his army's combat effectiveness will plummet. In desperation, he could only use the captured mercenaries to make up for the lack of troops.

"The time is still too short!" Gavin couldn't help but muttered to himself. It would be much easier for him if he could be given three months to digest the gains from capturing Lys City.

However, at this time, Tyrosh and Myr were watching intently from outside, wondering whether they would join the battle. Volantis on the side may also take the opportunity to seize the disputed land, and it is still unclear whether the Iron Throne further away will take the opportunity to take action.

Before they could react, Gavin knew he had to race against time to capture those vital lands quickly.

Two days later, a small storm broke out on the sea. Under the gloomy sky, strong winds rolled up dark clouds and howled. The waves rolled like a group of galloping wild horses, chasing and colliding with each other. The sea surface was rough and the waves splashed, forming a misty mist.

Gavin led the 3,000-man army composed mostly of prisoners, boarded the warship with great momentum, and headed for the Essos continent.

The warship moved forward on the rough and turbulent strait, splitting layers of white waves, and the ship's hull shook violently, as if it was engaged in a fierce battle with the sea. Soon, the warship transporting soldiers passed through the short strait and approached the continent of Essos.

However, the landing process was not smooth. The previous pier had been demolished due to the war, and only small boats could be used to transport soldiers. The ruthless waves kept beating the side of the ship fiercely, making a deafening roar.

The soldiers struggled to climb down the rope amid violent shaking and boarded the swaying boat. Jorah took the lead and personally stood on the bow of the ship to command the mercenaries. He shouted at the top of his lungs and tried his best to maintain order to ensure that people and materials could be safely ashore.

Finally, after half a day, they successfully landed. After landing, the army took a short rest and then marched non-stop towards the nearest town of Dok.

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the land, and I finally saw the low city wall of Dok Town. Although Doc Town is small in size, its fortifications are fairly strong. The town firmly controls several nearby villages and the vital trade route connecting sea and land, and its strategic position cannot be underestimated.

When the guards in the town saw the huge figure of the dragon hovering in the sky and the huge army gradually approaching, they instantly fell into extreme panic. The guards' faces were pale, their hands and feet were trembling, and they hurriedly stumbled to report.

Upon learning of the emergency, the mayor and many slave owners panicked and hurriedly gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

The destruction of Lys City was like a heavy alarm bell. They were well aware of the unrivaled power of the dragon, and knew in their hearts that resistance meant destruction. For a while, everyone looked at each other with worry.

The mayor looked around at the crowd and said in a deep voice: "You all know the situation now. The Dragon King's army is almost outside the city. Do you have any suggestions?" As his words fell, the room fell into a brief silence. .

With a trembling voice, someone proposed to flee here with their wealth: "Let's pack our things quickly. Before they surround us, we might be able to escape."

Another slave owner retorted: "Escape? Where can we escape? Didn't you see a dragon in the sky? How far can we escape?"

Everyone was arguing, but no one dared to resist.

At this time, the mayor spoke again, with a hint of trembling and helplessness in his voice: "Escape? We can't escape very far. The Dragon King's target is obviously not just our little town of Dok. Let's surrender in Kaicheng. Maybe you can save your life.”

After he finished speaking, the rest of the people stopped talking, and the room fell into silence for a while.

The mayor looked around at the crowd. The slave owners lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him.

The mayor sighed and said, "Since no one objects, let's do it." Then, he stood up in a hurry and led everyone towards the city wall.

When Gavin finally approached the town, he found that the town's gate was not closed. There were only a dozen people in gorgeous robes waiting quietly outside the city, and there were no defenders on the wall.

Gavin, who understood clearly in his heart, drove his horse forward towards those people, and the Blood Dragon Guard behind him quickly followed.

Before he could get closer, the dozen or so people all knelt down.

The leader's voice trembled and he said with deep fear: "Dear Lord Dragon King, welcome to Duoke Town. I surrender to you on behalf of Duoke Town. We have no intention of resisting. We only ask that you treat the town mercifully." people in."

Gavin looked down at the people kneeling in front of him and said with a majestic expression: "As long as you truly surrender, I will ensure the safety of everyone in the town and make Doc Town prosperous under my rule."

After hearing Gavin's reply, the mayor quickly thanked him: "Thank you for your kindness. We will be loyal."

Then, with a wave of Gavin's hand, Jorah Mormont quickly entered Doc Town with five centurions. Just like that, the first town fell easily into Gavin's hands.

Unlike the prosperous city of Rees, there were many slaves in the towns and villages under Rees' rule. They were responsible for labor and production to supply the nobles in the free trade city-state. As Gavin rode into the town of Dok, he saw many slaves kneeling densely on both sides of the street. They were hunched over, with their heads buried deep in the ground, and they dared not look up at the new ruler.

The slaves were half-dressed, with new and old scars on their bodies, which were the marks left by long-term abuse and labor. Their eyes were full of fear and helplessness, as if waiting for the unknown fate to be decided.

Gavin glanced at these slaves, and a complex emotion surged in his heart, and then he calmed down and stopped paying attention to those slaves.

He knew very well that he could not rashly reform when he just ruled here, otherwise it would be very easy to cause unrest, but when he gradually gained a foothold, these slave owners would not be able to do it.

His army marched neatly in the middle of the street, and the sound of horse hooves and the collision of armor echoed in the silent town. The slaves along the way trembled and dared not make a sound.

Gavin continued to ride forward and came to the central square of the town. Some small slave owners and civilians also gathered in the square. They looked at Gavin tremblingly, trying to figure out the mind of the new ruler.

Gavin glanced at them coldly and said, "From today on, everything here is mine. All of you must act according to my orders. If you disobey, you will be executed immediately!" The slave owners nodded in agreement.

Gavin then ordered the army to be temporarily stationed outside the city, and he brought Jorah and several officers together to discuss the arrangements for tomorrow's march.

In the next few days, Gavin captured five towns and countless villages in a row, basically controlling all the land controlled by Rees before, and also controlling the garrisons of the previous towns. His army reached 5,000 people in one fell swoop, and each town basically surrendered without encountering any resistance.

At this time, Gavin had led his army to the outside of the last town. As expected, the slave owners and officials in the town had already been waiting outside the city.

Gavin rode on a tall warhorse, looking at the respectful crowd in front of him with a cold look. He knew in his heart that these people surrendered more out of fear of his powerful force than true submission.

But at the moment, quickly controlling the situation is the key. Without too much nonsense, Gavin's army quickly controlled the city defense.