Chapter 661: The Heir of Valyria

The Hand of the King, Jon Connington, had departed for an expedition to Dorne, leaving King's Landing. Oberyn, the Minister of Justice, as the principal among the ministers, took the initiative to make a proposal, naturally causing many uninformed nobles in attendance to exchange glances.

The concept of the Seven Kingdoms was deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people, as this political system had maintained itself for three hundred years, spanning over a dozen generations.

Aegon I, as the Conqueror, had subjugated six of the major kingdoms of Westeros with his three dragons, and the seventh kingdom, Dorne, was later incorporated into the Iron Throne through a marriage alliance.

Thus, people were familiar with the concept of the Seven Kingdoms, recognizing the Iron Throne as a symbol of royal authority. However, after the Conquest, Aegon did not entirely erase the vestiges of the former Seven Kingdoms, even coexisting with the nobles of the erstwhile kingdoms.

Should one put themselves in Aegon's shoes at that time, perhaps they could understand the decisions made by the Conqueror.

For before him, no one had united the whole of Westeros or the Seven Kingdoms, hence the concept of a unified kingdom was not deeply embedded in people's minds.

The Kingdom of the Riverlands despised the Kingdom of the Rock, the Storm Kingdom despised the Riverlands, and the King in the North gazed down upon the world from Winterfell. The populace of each kingdom viewed themselves as distinct from the others, devoid of a unified concept.

The Conqueror Aegon faced a process of creating unity from nothing, a process that needed time to settle.

If he wanted to unify the Seven Kingdoms and secure his realm, perhaps he had to make such a choice, to compromise with the nobility of the Seven Kingdoms.

The king and the nobility jointly governed the nation, in exchange for the cooperation and submission of the former Seven Kingdoms' nobility to the new royal authority.

Otherwise, if Aegon had been rigid, proclaiming "The state is mine," then the situation he faced would become extremely complicated. He could stabilize the nation through force in the short term, but it would inevitably lead to widespread rebellion and dissent in the future.

Conversely, Viserys' situation was different from Aegon's, for with Aegon's prior unification, the concept of a united Seven Kingdoms was now deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Including the common folk, everyone recognized the benefits brought about by unification: the elimination of war, the unity of more people, national peace, and a stable livelihood.

With Aegon as a precedent, both the people and the nobility of Westeros now regarded unification as a necessary condition.

As such, when Viserys occupied the Riverlands and King's Landing, even though he was surrounded by the remnants of the Baratheon dynasty, both sides tacitly ceased hostilities temporarily, yet never proposed a truce.

Because both sides could not possibly divide in their mindset and concept, it was inevitable that one side would annex the other.

Either Viserys would exterminate them, or they would exterminate Viserys.

Of course, if Viserys, like Aegon, had chosen to compromise at that time, relinquishing the blade aimed at the power of the nobility, he might have achieved national unity in an instant.

However, that would be another cycle, re-tracing the path Aegon had walked.

Viserys did not make such a choice but chose to fight to the death against the old major nobility.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, he broke their spines, making them kneel on the ground begging for mercy, or simply, like the Hightower family, not even giving them a chance to beg, erasing them from this world completely.

Thus, it is not to say that Aegon was short-sighted, but that Viserys was in a much more mature condition than he was.

And now, Oberyn's sudden proposal, in fact, had already been discussed in the royal council.

This matter was discussed several months ago before Jon Connington left King's Landing. It was a major issue, and most of the royal council members, aside from a few old-fashioned ones like the Minister of Agriculture, Alester Florent, were capable people, with extremely open and active minds.

Viserys's royal council, including governors from all regions, could be said to be filled with talents.

Breaking the backbone of traditional nobility, weakening the power of traditional nobility, consolidating royal power, and next was to weaken the concept of the Seven Kingdoms and consolidate the concept of the entire nation.

The first person to propose this idea was Varys, the Minister of Intelligence, who strongly advocated that the concept of the 'Seven Kingdoms' should not be used in official documents, including in terms.

Instead, it should be replaced with phrases like 'King of Westeros', emphasizing unified vocabulary.

However, Varys's initial view was not widely accepted, mainly due to the change in thinking and habit, changing a habit sometimes needs a generation's time.

And now, hearing Oberyn's proposal, all the noisy voices in the throne room disappeared. Although Oberyn, like Ramsay, was not very popular, Oberyn's open power was still strong, and no one dared to offend this Minister of Justice who held military power.

"Valyria!"

Then, Oberyn, who was the first to propose this idea, spoke.

"As far as humans have recorded history, Valyria is the greatest country."

"And the Targaryen family originated in Valyria, being the most potent heir of the Freehold."

"Therefore, I propose that Your Majesty claim the ancient empire and rebuild Valyria!"