Chapter Thirty
The Red Keep. King's Landing.
"Well done, Cersei" praised Tywin Lannister.
In her entire life she couldn't recall her father ever using those words in her presence despite how hard she'd worked to become the greatest queen in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, at least in her view. His praise for her efforts was long overdue.
As to why he'd used those words, both Cersei and Tywin had just left the demonstration area that Lord Thrax had set up outside of the city. Already nobles from all over Westeros who come to King's Landing for the Hand's tourney were circling the Rogue Trader like jackals, but those beasts would not get a chance to sink their teeth in until after the lion had its share. Cersei had gotten their first and staked a claim, or so she thought and her father certainly had that impression.
"Now we have to find a way to pay for as much of the ammo as possible" stated Tywin as he poured them both some wine "if we can control the supply of ammo we won't need too many guns".
The queen who was not as smart as she liked to think felt a little confused.
"I know that Thrax offered to let purchase a lot of ammo" she said "but won't controlling the guns be more important?".
Her father set down a couple of glasses on the desk before speaking.
"Guns are useless with ammo the same way a crossbow is useless with bolts to fire" he explained "But unlike bolts these bullets can't be made in great number by anyone other than Lord Thrax's people".
The Lord of Casterly Rock laid a single bullet down on the desk he was sitting behind.
"Even training with these guns takes a lot of these bullets and while they can brought in large amounts there's a big difference between firing at a target and shooting one of these guns in a battle" Tywin explained to the queen "Ammo sold to the other houses will be used up quickly and if we can control the lion's share then we can deny a supply to our enemies or extend one to our allies, but to do that we'll need to stockpile the ammo in vast amounts".
He already had some ideas about that.
"I plan to offer the Rogue Trader the lands of Houses Reyne and Tarbeck" Tywin informed.
During the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion against House Lannister, the then heir of Lord Tytos Lannister, Ser Tywin defeated both rebelling houses.
Rather than starve out Tarbeck Hall, Tywin used siege engines to destroy its walls, and he ordered the castle put to the torch. Tywin Lannister then defeated the army from Castamere when it arrived at the ruins of Tarbeck Hall. The ruins had remained vacant since the rebellion as far as Cersei knew, however they could be rebuilt.
The Reynes retreated to Castamere after the destruction of Tarbeck Hall. Tywin Lannister, ignored any offers of surrender and had his miners bury Castamere's entrances beneath stone. The Lannisters then dammed a nearby stream and diverted it into a mine entrance, flooding the underground chambers of Castamere and drowning those trapped inside. Tywin also had the surface buildings put to the torch.
"Lord Thrax clearly values gold" said Tywin "and while Castamere's mines are flooded I can't imagine that anyone who flies around in sky ships and produces on mass this ammo will have much trouble pumping out all the flooded mines of Castamere. As for Tarbeck Hall that can be restored, but I want more than just a place to store ammo. I want the machines that produce these bullets".
Tywin placed another bullet on the desk.
"Notice any differences?" he asked.
Cersei wondered if it was a trick question, she couldn't see anything different between the two small bits of metal.
"No father" she admitted.
Tywin held them up as if to inspect them more carefully.
"That's because there isn't any" he said "There must be some sort of machine involved, something that involves a large amount of metal and produces these bullets. They can't be made by hand, not if they are all alike. Perhaps metal is poured into a mould of some kind".
The queen wondered where the lord-paramount was going with this.
"If we can convince this Lord Thrax to set up the means of producing this ammo on our lands we can take control of the ammo once it is produced" Cersei was told "No merchant prince is going to care much about who pays him for this merchandise".
The queen could see a flaw in this plan.
"If Lord Thrax has conquered the Stepstones then what is to stop him from building his ammo machines on those islands and moving them by ship?" asked the queen "He doesn't even need his flying machines as he controls the trade routes between here and Essos".
Tywin had also considered this.
"We offer Thrax something no one else can give him, at least not in the Seven Kingdoms" said the Lion of Lannister "Marriage to a princess".
Cersei did not like hearing this.
"Myrcella is twelve years old!" the woman protested.
This did not concern the former Hand of the King.
"They don't have to marry now" he said "In fact waiting a few years would be best, it would give Myrcella time to mature and prepare while giving Thrax a reason to stay allied with us. He will see that he has everything to gain by allying with House Lannister".
Cersei's mind raced and came up with something.
"He has the Targaryen girl" she told her father "She's the daughter of the last king and older than Myrcella".
That might not be a concern. Tywin just needed Thrax close by for the next couple of years. They needed him pinned in place by the lion's claws. If he married both princesses and flew off in his sky ship that that was fine with Tywin Lannister.
"For now we'll just make the offer" said the Lord of Casterly Rock "Myrcella might never have to marry the Rogue Trader and Robert should agree to the engagement once I explain the benefits to him. Even he's not foolish enough to keep angering this Imperium".
Cersei would not simply accept this engagement, yet right now there was little she could do.
"If we have the Rogue Trader on our side and your son on throne then it will be House Lannister that rules Westeros" stated the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms "That is what matters. With control of these guns, allies in the Imperium and Joffrey on the throne then our family could rule for the next thousand years".
Cersei was still not convinced.
"Why can't be simply buy him?" she asked "If he is a merchant then all he'll care about is his profits and we'll find some way of appeasing this Imperium".
Alas it wasn't that simple.
"Because we don't have enough money" Tywin told her "Our last working mine ran dry a couple of years ago".
If the queen hadn't heard of this then her father must have gone to great lengths to keep the information contained.
"So how have we been paying for anything?" she wondered.
The former Hand of the King poured them both some more wine before answering the question.
"We owe the Bank of Bravos a great deal of money" he confessed "and we'll end up owning them more before the debts are settled".
The lord that sink it for a moment before carrying on.
"That is why we need these guns as well as a powerful ally" he went on to say "When the Imperium moves to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, and they will sooner or later, we will aid them rather than resist and reap the rewards. We'll help conquer the other kingdoms and use their wealth to pay off this debt".
This was shocking for the queen to hear.
"But they want to put a Targaryen on the throne" Cersei protested.
Tywin had heard about that.
"No they want someone they can control to sit on throne" her father corrected "By holding Viserys that means they have a replacement monarch ready, he's a piece to played if needs be, but if this Rogue Trader has any sense he'll know that the son may take after the father. All we have to do is prove that House Lannister will make a better ally than the Targaryens who really don't have anything to offer. They have no lands, no armies, no allies. All Viserys has to offer his sister, and a we already discussed we have also have a princess who he can marry".
Cersei did not want her only daughter married off as she had been, and yet she could see the sense in it. She'd go along with this plan. For now.