Chapter 148: Distributing the knowledge

A/N: Hey guys,

Here's today's first chapter.

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Although Brienne saw Corenna as an idol and the star that made her take her first step in this path, she did not plan to concede in defeat. On the contrary, since Edward was the first worthy lord and king to appreciate Brienne's talents and did not put her down like the rest of the lords, Brienne made an oath to protect him and prove to Edward that his choice was in its place. She would prove herself to the others and tell them how they had missed their chance.

After getting chosen by Edward as his squire, Brienne started following Edward left and right, especially in the training field where Edward would teach her personally. Although Brienne knew that Edward was probably the strongest man in the kingdom and the best swordsman, especially after he killed Rhaegar in single combat without getting injured, she was still surprised by his level when he taught her how to fight correctly with the sword. Although Edward was older at that point in time, he was not like his brother, Robert, who got fat and did not train well during the peaceful years after the Greyjoy's rebellion. So Edward, who was still at the beginning of his thirties, was at his prime instead. That was why Brienne got amazed time after time. Edward's news was scarce since Edward did not fight personally for more than ten years after the rebellion. Many started to forget about the legends that he created back then. But Brienne could see that all of them were true. The man standing in front of her was the man who defeated both Arthur Dayne and Barristan Selmy, the most famous Kingsguards in this era. He was the one that ended an entire dynasty by killing its crowned prince, Rhaegar Targaryen.

Although Brienne saw that her mission was getting harder and harder after seeing Edward like that since it meant that Edward was much stronger than her, which, in return, indicated that she was not suitable to be a Kingsguard yet, she was overjoyed as well. Edward's performance meant that she could learn a lot from him. Plus, that action also suggested that Edward was still in his prime and could rule for more years. Edward's position in the heart of everyone living in the kingdom was like a god.

After all those years of disastrous submission under the Targaryen's hands, Stormsland could finally feel free again. And under the hands of a wise king like Edward, the lives of the people continued to improve. Especially the young generation and the Smallfolks, they were the ones that worshiped Edward the most.

The younger generation grew hearing the tales of Edward's brilliance in both military and political affairs. They heard about how he united the kingdom of Storms and defeated the seasoned commander, Randyll Tarly, in the reach. They sang songs about how he killed the mighty prince, Rhaegar Targaryen, in single combat in minutes and without getting injured at all. Although they also heard about Edward's cruelty and his actions against those who opposed him, especially the families that betrayed him, they did not care and thought that he was dominating instead. Those who did not experience such acts with their own eyes would not think much of it and would not know how horrifying such scenes were. Unless you are as honorable as Ned, you would not think much of it.

As for the Smallfolks, they did not care about his achievements during the rebellion at all. They did not care if he was a titan or a giant. Yeah, they sang about it and admired him from afar, but that was it. If they did not get any benefits from the king that made their lives easier, they could turn against the king at any moment because of something idiotic like the religion of the seven. That was the thought process of the Smallfolks.

But Edward's action changed most of that, or at least most of it. Not only did Edward make things easier for them by paving the cement roads, building new towns and castles, and starting new projects where he would hire more Smallfolks, but he also let them learn as well. Edward had commenced his plans to distribute the basic knowledge among the Smallfolks. Edward's goals for doing something like that were three ones.

First, Edward wanted to groom up new talents for his kingdom. The kingdom could not just depend on the noble's blood that actually weakened it by keeping everything for themselves, their greed for power and wealth, and ambitions. Of course, he would not go against the nobility as it was a part of the kingdom. Removing the noble's titles and changing everyone into ordinary citizens in the kingdom would be a far-fetched goal for a society that had lived in such a situation for thousands of years since the arrival of the first men to Westeros. But enabling the commoners to take high positions little by little would create a new faction that his sons and descendants could depend on if they had a problem with the nobles. Those two factions would move against each other throughout the years, putting each other into check.

Second, Edward wanted to grow loyalty towards the kingdom, not because of benefits only. In Edward's eyes, the northerners were the only ones who had a complete loyalty towards the north and would fight against any southern invader who came to fight them on their turf. Although they were not entirely loyal to the Starks as some of them had a hidden agenda like the Boltons and the Umbers, at least they would fight together against any southern invader.

Edward asked the singers and musicians to compose new songs about the new kingdom. He wanted songs that inspired the Smallfolks' loyalty towards their kingdom so they could defend it with all they got. It was the same way the countries in the modern world use to raise the nationality flag. If you educated everyone that this place was their land from their young age, they would grow thinking that it was their land and would defend it.

That was Edward's plan to raise such loyalty, but this plan needed one thing, knowledge. The Smallfolks had to learn how to read and write at the very least. They had to do their assignments which were mainly about reading and writing those songs. Doing that made the young generation of Smallfolks think of the Kingdom of Storms as their everything, especially with the easy life they got in the past sixteen years.

Third, Edward wanted to improve the living conditions of the Smallfolks, and he saw the basic knowledge like reading, writing, and calculation. And Edward's plans proved that he was right, day after day, and the Smallfolks of the other kingdoms started to despise the maesters in the citadel. After dealing with the learned folks from the Kingdom of Storms, the others rose to think how their lives were miserable compared to them.