Chapter 99

Interesting. I read the letter once again and gave it back to Bakir.

"What do you think?"

"The canal? Well, it was a great idea. It can bring them gold and other riches."

"However, there are a lot of problems."

"That's right. The most obvious one is the Ironborn. Well, the remnant of it. While they said that they were willing to obey the law of the Iron Throne, some of them decided to ignore them. Because of this, they still choose a pirate as a profession. There is also the problem that the royal family did not help them to stand on their own legs. It was a mistake and as a result, the people of the Iron Islands decide to return to their roots. Anyway, the canal will be a great passway for them to ravage around the inner part of the Seven Kingdoms."

"Yeah, that would be bad. However, it can be taken care of if we post a guard that checks every ship that gets in and out of the canal, right?"

"That is true. However, will they agree to this?"

"Maybe."

Even when they agree and place a guard at the important point of the canal, they can still be bribed. Westeros did not have the same strict rule of bribery as Lunaria. We put a strict rule that can cripple them and their family if they accept bribery but in return, I pay them handsomely.

They will receive strict rules and training, but I will ensure they and their family live comfortably. With this, I receive their loyalty and devotion.

Westeros, on the other hand… They pay their soldiers for food. It was a good amount of food, but when someone offered them a couple of golds in exchange for letting bandits get inside your kingdom… Well, it was terrible.

"There is also a problem with money. You must know the reason why they come here."

"They heard about the rumor of us getting back from Valyria and we got a lot of money from our expedition."

"That's right. They want to borrow our money. A canal is an expensive project. We can give them the money or we can use that money to finish our ongoing project and the future one."

"You are right. Because of the demand for our tea from Yi Ti, we need to expand our tea production. Not only that, we also need to expand our city because the Dothraki keep attacking Stormfist."

"That's right. So far Stormfist manages to hold the horde but we have a rumor that a large Khalasar will come and try their luck on Stormfist and we need as much material as possible to build a siege engine."

Yeah. I need to think about that. But, lucky for me, we have an ace in the hole for the incoming horde of Mongol wannabe. Gun powder. With the help of scholars, engineers, and a bit of luck, we managed to build the first-ever canon.

And they managed to make it just before I came back home. Right now, it is in the late stages of testing. We will use it for our ship and as a siege weapon if it is deemed safe and ready to use.

I shake my head and look at Bakir.

"I guess you are right."

"The last thing is that we did not need that canal, your highness."

"Hmmm?"

"I have a feeling that House Tully cannot pay the debt for this project and they will instead use a contract. They will give us the right to use the canal for a few hundred years for free in exchange for our money. However, my spy told me that he wants to put the canal from Seagard to Duskendale."

"Ah, I see what you mean. We did not really need it, huh? We did not trade with Lannister and Tyrell. We did not need quick access to that area. The only places we trade with are the Baratheon, the Royal Family, and the North. Not only that, the canal will stop at Duskendale is not a strategic place for us because we still need to pass the Stepstones where the pirate nest is located. We still take risks to use this canal."

"That is correct. They can connect Riverland and Dorne if they are willing for a bigger project but Dorne will not want Lannister to use something that can give them access to their home. If they follow the path I think of, the canal will pass the territory of Lannister and I have a feeling Lord Martell will reject this proposal."

"You are right."

I release a sigh and say.

"I guess there is nothing that benefits us from this project. So I guess I will reject him."

"Ah, actually, your highness."

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"Actually we can benefit from this project, your highness."

"How? You already said that we did not get any benefit from this project."

"If that is the only thing they offer. I have something in mind that can benefit us greatly."

Bakir opens up a map. It was a map of Westeros.

"Here is Seagard and this is the route I think they will take to make the canal."

He pointed his finger at the Seagard and moved it to the river to the north and south of Seagard.

"They either connect this part of the canal to this river or the other one depending on their stand on the north. If they are close allies, they will connect the North and Riverland using this canal."

"Doesn't that mean they will make an enemy of the Frey family? With the canal connecting the river, the merchant could simply use the canal to the north and did not need to pay taxes to the Frey."

"That is why I told you that it depends on the closeness between the two factions. The Frey family is a cunt. They are the thorns on both sides of the faction. Lord Tully wanted to get rid of them for a long time but he cannot do that because they are a noble house and technically they did nothing wrong."

"I see."

"If they have a stronger tie to the North, they will create the path for the North to access Riverland that is directly controlled by the House of Tully. If Lord Tully did not want to create discontent with his vassal, he would use the southern river also known as the Blue Fork river. It will connect Oldstone and Seagard. It also gives them an excuse to rebuild that old castle and use it as a hub between Seagard and the Eastern part of Westeros."

"I see."

Bakir follows the line of the river and then creates a new line using a pencil to Duskendale.

"This will be the path for the canal in my opinion."

"And what makes this benefit for us?"

"This place."

He pointed his finger right in the center of the path of the canal.

"The land of House of Darry?"

"That's right. This the land of our knight, Willem Darry The knight that rescued you and your sister from King's Landing. This land has been in decline for the past years because his family condemned their betrayal and supported your family. They will not tax anyone who walks past their land and only gets an income from their common folk."

"They did not do trade?"

"They were a trader but not anymore. To gain favor from the Stag King, Lord Tully punishes the House of Darry and that punishment is that they cannot do trading. Because of this, their house quickly goes into decline."

"I see and the reason why you told this?"

"If Lord Tully is willing to give us this city, we can benefit greatly from it. Not only does the loyalty of the House of Darry get even greater but we also get a steady income of money from this. There is a reason why this area is called a Crossroad. This place connects three major powers in Westeros: the Riverland, the Vale, and the Crownlands. However, with the canal, it includes more major power."

"The Stormland."

"That's right. If we have this place, we can get a steady income from the tax on all ships using the canal. We will still pay taxes to both the Iron Throne and Riverland but even then we still get a lot of money from this. Not to mention the trade city we can build in this general area and the farm we can build in this area. While not as fertile as Lunaria, this place is fertile enough for use to plant grain and maybe some medical herbs."

I lean back on my throne and think about it for a few seconds before saying.

"Very well. Sent a letter to Heir Tully. We will hear his proposal and we will see from there."

"Of course, your highness."