#337 - Second Sons in action
The conquest of the Dragonheart King brought new vitality to Westeros, but also brought huge challenges.
The climate of the Conquered Lands is completely different from that of Westeros. The North of Westeros is bitterly cold, Dorne is scorching hot, the Vale and the Westerlands have four seasons during the long summer, the climate of the Riverlands is mild, the Stormlands are treacherous and changeable, and the heat waves of the Reach ripen the sweet fruits that ripen countless times in the long summer, and the wheat, rice, and oats that fill the granaries.
And the long summer in the Conquered Land - although it is a long summer, the Conquered Land always has scorching sunshine for half a year and continuous rain for half a year. The scorching sunshine allows olives and fruits to thrive, and the warm rain that pours on the body also allows the food to get sufficient moisture.
The princes and knights of the conquered lands happily endured the completely different climate and enjoyed the abundant output.
At the same time, they were also worried about whether they could keep their wealth, land and population.
Hot rain pouring down.
The warm rain fell on the heavy ears of wheat and on the slightly bumpy plate armor.
Charles, who had made contributions in the expedition and acquired land, was fortunately assigned to Earl Eustace Osgrey in the area demarcated by Aegon. The checkered lion is not like the red lion and the round ball, nor is it like the white fish, the skinned man and the bastard. The checkered lion just wants to live a good life and doesn't want to cause trouble.
So it was quite comfortable to be a vassal of the Checkered Lion, but now that the Second Sons were growing like a snowball, the Black Goat Bandits from Qohor in the northeast and the returning Dothraki were eyeing them covetously.
No one can be immune.
The Second Sons will not attack these neutral people, but they will not leave them alone either.
They are "gangsters" after all.
"My lord, it's a letter from Austin Mullendall, 'Mad-Eye' of the Second Sons." The maester covered his head with his gray robe and rushed out of the Raven Tower with a sad face.
"read."
Charlie took a deep breath and looked at the mature farmland outside the castle with some reluctance.
"Sir, they are coming again?" The old farmer who hid in the castle said indignantly. This gray-haired old farmer came from the valley and was part of the great immigrants from the conquered land. The bumper harvests in the past few years were the richest time in his life.
Unfortunately, with the death of Dragonheart King Daeron, the chaos in the conquered lands caused all the benefits to be greatly reduced.
"Mad-Eye is very polite, sir. He has already asked several surrounding lords for food." The bachelor muttered somewhat dissatisfiedly.
"Borrowing grain, borrowing grain, it is always borrowed but never returned."
"How much does Mad-Eye want to borrow?" Charlie sighed. As long as the wheat fields outside the castle were not touched, he would accept Mad-Eye's request to borrow grain.
"He wants to borrow five hundred bags of wheat, oats, and barley, five oxen, twenty sheep, and a thousand silver deer."
"Why doesn't he go and rob?"
Charlie was horrified: "He said the same thing to the other lords?"
"Some want less." The maester pressed his temple. "Their land is relatively poor, and some want more because they are vassals of the Bol family. The Second Sons are afraid of the Whitefish and the Bastard because the Whitefish and the Bastard have a good relationship with the Silver Dragon. Now Prince Jacaerys, Prince Rhaegon, and Princess Elona are stationed in Tyrosh. The three dragons can take off at any time to support the Silver Dragon's allies. They can only keep an eye on us."
"What if it's not enough?"
"Mad-Eye said that he had experienced farmers under his command, and he would not harvest too much, but would only take enough wheat and leave immediately."
The anger that had just risen in Charles was extinguished in an instant. The knight raised his gloved hand decadently, "Give it to him, give it to him. The money comes from my private treasury. Bachelor, write a letter to the earl. I want to accuse him!"
The Second Sons' camp.
The hot rain made the mess of flags even more chaotic. Even Mad-Eye's white, black and orange butterfly and the quarter flag with a blue and yellow flower were wet and lay limp on the top of the tent.
Mad-Eye Austin Mullendaur is a tall old man, wearing badly worn plate armor. The once gorgeous golden butterfly pattern on the breastplate can be vaguely seen. His gray hair is scattered behind his head, and his equally scattered beard makes the old man look particularly fierce.
Especially his eyes.
A huge scar cuts through his right eye, and where his right eye used to be, there is now a huge pearl inlaid, which is said to be from a big pirate he killed with his own hands, and is the proof of his military exploits in the conquered land.
The old man slammed the wine glass on the table. On the burning campfire in front of him, a shiny roasted wild boar was seducing the others in the tent.
Mad-Eye's remaining eye looked coldly at the castle in the distance.
The castle belonged to an earl, subordinate to the Duke of Pole, the third son of the House of Crahey.
He had adopted the burning boar as his family crest, but now the once-splendid banner lay scattered on the ground, and it was obvious that the "burning boar" had just had a fight with Mad-Eye.
Unfortunately, the wild boar was actually roasted.
"Mad-Eye, when are we going to drag that wild boar out and roast it?"
A skinny boy laughed viciously.
Podrick Weir.
The Second Sons are role models for many young people and are praised as the second "Bloody Class". However, it seems that Oscar "Whitefish" Tully and his descendants hate this title. Oscar Tully even led his army to encircle Podrick Weaver, but this cunning boy managed to escape.
"It would be bad if Whitefish knew you were here with me, so shut up, boy."
Mad-Eye said unhappily, he withdrew his gaze and turned to look to the other side, his remaining eye changed color and stared at Quentin Boll who was slowly cutting meat from a wild boar.
"Fireball, I heard from the Grand Master that you joined the Second Sons. However, the Grand Master trusts you, but I don't." Mad-Eye glanced at the three young men behind Quentin.
“I don’t trust what you brought either.”
Mad-Eye swallowed the word "dragon cub" into his stomach. He could tell at a glance that the black hair of the polite boy who showed a warrior's unruly nature when eating was dyed.
Plus those purple eyes that are hard to hide.
Before being stripped of his title and expelled from Westeros, Mad-Eye's family was also a great noble in the Reach. Although he was displaced in his childhood, he also received a complete aristocratic education.
Know what these eyes represent.
"Mad-Eye, don't be disrespectful to our knights."
William Seashan, the illegitimate son of Westerling, said coldly: "Fireball has also joined the Second Sons, which is a huge blow to the reputation of Duke Pol." He looked at the three teenagers: "These three boys have proved in previous battles that they are warriors, just like little Podrick, not babies."
"Sir, I've told you many times not to use me as an example." Podrick yelled in dissatisfaction, "Although I like it very much."
"Shut up, kid."
Mad-Eye snorted.
"I hope you and your servants can be as calm as you are now when you are roasting the wild boar."
