Chapter 41: Concluding the discussion

A/N: Hey guys,

Here's the fifth chapter.

Thanks to everyone who supported me.

https://www.pàtreon.com/Gnanaa

Enjoy.

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The Lords were stunned for a moment. Had they done something wrong that made Their Lord angry at them. Stannis and Cassana were the same. Usually, the Lord of Stormsland would talk rationally with the other lords of Stormslands, but Edward threatened them directly. Was this his way to make them submit?

"We would not dare, my lord." Said Lord Selwyn Tarth before bowing a little, followed by the rest. They would not dare to provoke Edward and make Their Houses incur his anger. Edward was not a talk with no action man. He would do what he said.

They were also thinking about the meaning of the first half of his sentence. Was the Baratheon House going to help them make more gold if they were loyal to them?

Edward did not let them off with just such a trivial question. Instead, he used all the ways that he came up with to test the men's loyalty.

After half an hour of questioning, Edward was sure that this group of Lords would be loyal to him. But still, he was not going to trust them completely this early on. Only time could discern their real motives and loyalty. And if they dared to betray him, he swore to catch them and kill every family member of their house in front of their eyes before killing them. Not only that, but he would send their heads to the other lords to let them also see what would be the result if they betrayed him.

Stannis, who stood by his brother's seat, tried to judge and see how his brother would manage the lords, who swore loyalty to his father. He wanted to learn from his brother's way of controlling the lords under him.

Cassana, who listened by the side, could only nod her head after knowing that the lords were taking her son's side. She could relay this information to her husband when she met him in the future.

After Edward finished his questioning session, he told the guard to put the map on the table. He was using it for two purposes. First, Edward used it as a warning. As if he was saying to the lords. 'The moment you show any disloyalty, I am going to divide your lands and give them to those who are loyal to me.' The second, Edward was using it to show them the part of his plans that would involve them. He had to explain it in detail so they could understand the profit that they would be making.

After explaining the details of the plan to the lords, Everyone could see how excited they were. Edward had told them that he would build a new port in The Rain House, The island of Tarth, and Parchments. He would provide the money himself and would also lend the port some of his ships. They would get twenty percent of the profit without doing anything. How could they not be excited? It was free money, and no one would say no to a free meal. They would only have to protect the area and pave the roads to transport the goods.

The main road from the Parchments port would only connect to the Haystack Hall, not Storm's End. It meant that House Errol would also enjoy many goods and taxes. They could be the base market for the area.

The Bronzegate would be the gate to export all the goods to Kings landing. Edward also told Lord Buckler that he would supervise the fortification of the Bronzegate. If an enemy could invade King's Landing and the Bloody Gate of the Eyrie, Edward did not want them to be able to touch the Bronzegate.

And with this, Edward's discussion with the first group of the lords came to an ending. Edward did not forget to tell the lords about his ideals. He wanted to see more female warriors in Stormsland. So they were forbidden to put down any female who wished to carry the sword. He said that while looking at Selwyn Tarth. It was just a reminder for the future.

Edward also mentioned the matter of population. He had told them that he wanted Stormsland to be the most populated kingdom in the seven kingdoms in three years. And they had to decrease the taxes on their land so that the Smallfolks could live and more could come.

The Lords, then, excused themselves. They were thrilled by what Edward had promised them. They were sure that the land would prosper under Edward's rule. From just the part of the plan in which they would participate, they could see the foresight of their Lord. They would not dare to betray him or even think of it. They were also going to warn their descendants and their grandchildren not to cross Edward's bottom line, ever.

After the lords had left, Edward started discussing with Stannis, his mother, his men, and his father's men about some small projects that he wanted to start before the alcohol factory could start its operations. He wanted Stormsland to be the center of trade, politics, military, and arts. Edward was going to achieve all that, but it would take a while. He estimated that before the show's events started, he would have finished with all the projects.

Edward did not forget to tell Stannis to send a letter to the next group of lords. Edward wanted to take it slowly with the lords. He had to make sure that they would never betray him nor his children in the future. He would meet the next group of lords in the following month.

At the moment, Edward had a lot to do. He had to inspect Storm's End's new port and see the progress of the ships. The rest of the first batch should be ready to enter the sea by now. He had already attended the launch of the first galleon-type ship the previous week. The rest of the batch were frigates and galleons.

After seeing the huge success and the large ship in front of their eyes, everyone started looking at Edward as if he was a messenger of the seven.