Divide et impera

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Pov of Wilhelm Von Hohenzollern twelve moon 285 AC

The camp seemed to be composed mostly of houses from the Riverlands, so the problem appears to be widely spread in the territory. Nothing unusual considering that during the civil war, most skirmishes were fought here. So all the chaos and destruction happened here.

'Wait a moment... the Stormlands were terribly ravaged by the Tyrells... I must send letters to the area to see what is happening there. It would be terrible if there's a massive migration from that area as well. It's Baratheon territory, and Robert might truly take it badly. Arryn could get serious if it destabilized the ancestral territories of his beloved adopted son.'

There was no tent indicating a central command, so probably all the lords gathered here to try to safeguard the entire Blackwater Rush. But, unless the lords could assemble an army exceeding fifty thousand men, it would be an impossible mission.

I moved through the camp searching for a lord to speak with, but it seemed there was no one in the camp until I came across someone who owed me a debt.

"Lord Tytos Blackwood, didn't expect to see you here," I said, looking at the tall lord with his long black hair and cloak of crow feathers.

He turned and saw me, surprised.

"Lord Hohenzollern... What's... well, it's obvious... I didn't expect to find you so soon. I heard that letters were sent to your castle yesterday to inform you about what's happening in some territories," Lord Tytos said, quickly changing from a surprised face to a serious one.

"The serf problem has also affected you, Lord Tytos?" I asked courteously and kindly to my debtor.

"Apparently, the old gods are smiling at me because it hasn't affected me much. One or two villages have disappeared, but no more than that. Fortunately, I didn't find myself obliged to raise taxes because... well, I found a kind and honorable moneylender who allowed me to recover much faster than other nobles who didn't have that possibility," Lord Tytos said.

"So, what brings you here? I heard that all the lords who are desperate for their serfs are trying to make them return to the fields... as if they were slaves," I said to the river lord.

"There are few occasions when you can see Jonos Bracken red with anger and helplessness. I still remember in Robert's Rebellion when we were looking to continue the enmity between our houses, hoping to see who decides to support the other, so we could finally fight, and I would emerge victorious. Later, we both followed Lord Hoster," Tytos said with a smile.

"And I thought the enmity between the Von Hohenzollerns and the Von Habsburgs was long... How are the moods among the other nobles?" I asked Tytos.

"Terrible. Many are angry, and some are desperate. To the lords who have lost dozens of villages, it was even being considered the possibility of sending knights to fetch the serfs in their lands, Lord Hohenzollern. But, well, they weren't so foolish as to offend you and pick a fight with the fearsome Prussian knights," Lord Blackwood said.

"It would have been very foolish, as near the border, there is a monastery fortress that belongs to the Teutonic Order with orders to crush any armed force that decides to enter The Reach without my permission. So it would have been a massacre... and a political headache... Well, do you know if the rest of the nobles will return today? I would like to reach a quick agreement with them and try to resolve this as soon as possible," I said, looking at the tents of several lords that were empty.

"They should return when night falls since they will bring the serfs they managed to capture before crossing the river. Given the lack of clarity about the boundaries between The Reach and the Riverlands, it's difficult to know if they are in your territory or still in the territories of House Tully because the lords don't want to extend the search to The Reach without negotiating first. Since on some maps, The Reach extends a bit north of the river, and in others, the river is the border, so it's an ambiguity. If we talk about the first map, this camp would be in your territory, and, in fact, that bridge would be yours, and someone would have been collecting tolls illegitimately, unless the second map is the true one," Lord Tytos said.

"Well, I'll have to discuss it with Lord Hoster... although I know he doesn't like me, and he might refuse. But I lose nothing by trying to make the borders of our territories clear... By the way, Lord Tytos, do you have any idea how many of your serfs escaped to try to compensate for it?" I asked Lord Blackwood.

"I would lie to you if I gave you a number of how many of the serfs living in my lands escaped because I can't even be sure if they went to their lands. So... let's say... five hundred, maybe more, maybe less. It's difficult to know," Lord Tytos said, very thoughtful.

"Well, we agree that there are five hundred serfs... Do you think a fair compensation would be three golden dragons per serf you lost? So, we settle the problem as soon as possible between us and continue the good commercial relationship between our houses," I said to Lord Blackwood.

"It seems like a fair compensation, Lord Hohenzollern. It's going to make many eat their words. Many thought you would try to prolong the situation as much as possible because it benefits you greatly since the flow of serfs meant many extra hands for your fields," Lord Tytos said, smiling.

"Go for the gold... and give the septons of the Faith of the Seven a chance to say that I am the embodiment of all that is evil in the Seven Kingdoms," I ordered a knight and then continued my conversation with lord blackwood.

"True... the Faith of the Seven can be very troublesome when they want to be... I'll give you valuable advice, Lord Hohenzollern, for your dealings with the other lords... never trust a Bracken," Lord Tytos said.

During the next few hours, I waited with Tytos, who told me about the hundreds of fights in the long enmity between the Brackens and the Blackwoods and all the acts committed between them in their long struggle.

While my men brought one of the carts loaded with gold coins, and I immediately handed the compensation to Lord Blackwood, as it was one less voice to complain.

When night fell, several groups of the lords returned with more chained serfs who had desolate faces. Upon seeing me, the lords showed hostility and anger. Since there were no tents where everyone could gather, we assembled around a bonfire and waited for everyone to join. Throughout the moment, a sepulchral silence prevailed. Once everyone was gathered, I decided to lead the conversation.

"Greetings, noble lords. It's pleasant to see all of you here. Only I wish the circumstances were different, but we all know why we are here, and I seek to provide a solution to all as quickly as possible," I said with a serious expression.

"To give us a solution to a problem you created while controlling grain prices, making the sale of these no longer profitable," said one lord.

"Did I create the problem by being more efficient than you?" I said, raising an eyebrow at the lord.

"Yes, that's why we had to raise some taxes to compensate for the losses of the war and pay the fines that Lord Hoster Tully imposed on those who were not loyal to him," said Lord Ryger.

"Am I talking to the lords of the Riverlands or children? Complaining won't solve anything because your brilliant idea of making life impossible for your serfs to fill your coffers didn't work. That's what caused this. Everything has a limit, especially when I already had a way to achieve stability. The caravans of my northern company passed through your lands, trading and providing stability to your lands, exchanging food for goods. But the brilliant Lord Ryger couldn't see how caravans passed without leaving everything to him. Think a little, fool. You made life impossible for your serfs, and now you complain that it's my problem," I said, looking severely at Lord Ryger.

"Apologies for Lord Ryger's whining. I understand that many saw their caravans as free markets, and some wanted more, and things didn't turn out as expected. The question here is if we have your authorization to go to your lands and bring back our serfs," said Lord Bracken, looking angrily at Tytos.

"Of course, as long as you can provide me with the assurance that you can recognize and find your serfs because if you go to more villages and take anyone you can claiming they're yours, I won't allow it," I replied to Lord Bracken.

"Eh... what you ask is impossible... no one has control over all their serfs," said another lesser lord, looking at me as if I were crazy.

I signaled to one of my knights, and he handed me a book.

"This is one of the serfs closest here... Harlon, 32 years old, five children, height 1.69 meters, brown hair, brown eyes, recognizable by moles under the lips, and has a nose deviated to the left and a large burn on his left arm... It's not impossible. If you can't give me that certainty, I won't allow it," I said, looking at the lords.

"Have your men caught any serfs?" another lord asked.

"Several, to be exact, but there's a group that I'm not willing to return," I responded immediately.

"These serfs are ours, Lord Hohenzollern," said Lord Piper.

"Yes, and I acknowledge it. Only that some of them are now Protestant believers. As the head of the Protestant Church of Prussia, I am the defender of all Protestants, and I will not deliver them in faith to lords of another religion. But there are no problems with the rest. I must have around forty thousand captured serfs," I replied to Lord Piper.

"Well, let's bring back our serfs, and we'll need your men to patrol the river to prevent more escapes to your lands," said Lord Bracken, somewhat angry.

"Fine, it will depend on you how you distribute the serfs, but your serfs destroyed one of my most valuable plantations in the area. We were planting high-quality strawberries intended to be sold to the capital and merchants in Essos. So I need an economic compensation for what I lost due to your serfs. My estimate is a hundred thousand golden dragons due to the high quality of the product and intensive labor it required. You should also split that payment among yourselves," I said, looking at the lords, who turned pale.

There were complaints about that from all the lords.

"Another option is to offer you a lesser compensation for your serfs: two gold dragons per head, but I won't accept high numbers if you can't confirm them... and my last option is that you receive the serfs, stay in debt, and pay with favors. Since we could make an interesting business with dyes,I could create the infrastructure in your lands to dye clothes in colors, red, blue, light blue, yellow. You improve the lives of your serfs, improve conditions for my caravans to cross your lands, and we share profits. You take back your serfs, find a way to generate gold, and the problem should cease to exist. As a gesture of goodwill, I'll place two thousand guards on the river," I said with a smile.

As expected, some refused and only received the economic compensation. Others cursed me for being a pagan and took the serfs, but I doubt they will pay me. However, there was a group to which my idea seemed good, and I managed to create a small corridor between the Riverlands to do business and create acceptable conditions for the inhabitants of the area.

The problem will continue... only that it won't be as big. But now I have to figure out what to do with twenty thousand serfs and hope this doesn't grow any further.