Chapter 226 Reminder

In order to rush back to Highgarden as soon as possible, Samwell handed over the army's leadership to Todd Flowers and took the first step with only the cavalry squad.

When he arrived at Highgarden, he found that many lords' troops had already gathered there.

In fact, when Samwell set out for Starfall City to meet Prince Doran at the request of Lady Olenna, the "Queen of Thorns," the Duke Mace had already publicly denounced Cersei and her brother's scoundrels, declaring they had no right to inherit the Iron Throne.

Interestingly, this public statement did not explicitly support Stannis Baratheon's ascension to the Iron Throne.

At the same time, the Duke Mace also issued a recruitment order.

However, it was not clearly stated who the target of the conquest was.

Of course, this ambiguous statement was negotiated between Samwell and Lady Olenna to leave room for future actions.

Samwell hurriedly washed away the travel dust, changed his clothes, and went to see Lady Olenna.

"Sam," Lady Olenna waved her hand, signaling the maids around her to step aside.

Then she looked at her grandson-in-law and asked, "What did you talk about with Doran? Why did Sunspear send an envoy to Highgarden ? What about renegotiating the tariffs between the two places?"

Samwell walked to the seat in front of the old lady and sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, drank it, and after quenching his thirst, he didn't panic but leisurely recounted the circumstances of his meeting with Prince Doran.

After listening quietly, Lady Olenna sneered and said, "He actually wants you to learn from Aegon the Conqueror? Ha! He really has no good intentions. Aegon had three adult dragons back then, and you only…"

As she said , Lady Olenna looked up and saw the white dragon Cleopatra hovering over the courtyard, making sharp neighing sounds from time to time.

"It grows very fast," Lady Olenna sighed, and then she became confused, "Do dragons grow so fast? " It was indeed very fast. The dragon Samwell brought before was the size of a kitten when it first hatched, but just over two months later, it is already the size of an adult falcon.

"She has eaten a lot," Samwell chuckled and made an excuse.

Samwell was secretly excited. It seemed that dragon bone soup could indeed accelerate the growth of dragons.

This also made him let go of his worries. Finally, he was not raising a dragon for his grandson's grandson.

Lady Olenna didn't know whether to believe this reason, but she didn't bother with it and continued:

"Anyway, you were right in not agreeing to Doran's alliance conditions. He seems gentle, even a little weak, but if you think he is easy to bully, you will definitely suffer big losses.

They all grew out of Dorne's viper's nest.

How could Doran be a harmless sheep? But compared to his flamboyant brother, Doran knew how to conceal himself. Fangs better hidden, but such venomous snakes are more deadly."

"I understand," Samwell showed an open-minded look.

In fact, a more important reason why he rejected Prince Doran was that he did not want to offend the Tyrell family.

They had just entered into an engagement, and now if he marries a second wife. Could Lady Olenna endure this kind of humiliation? And the attitude of the Reach nobles must also be considered.

The thousand-year feud between Reqch and Dorne is not something to be talked about casually.

Samwell knows very well that he can only get the support of one party for the time being, and Reach is obviously much more suitable than Dorne.

"Okay, now let's talk about the business tax. What are your plans?"

Samwell leaned forward slightly and said softly: "I thought of a plan to conquer Dorne. Don't worry, it won't be with force, but with food."

"Oh? Food?" Lady Olenna became interested. "Tell me about it."

"You also know that brandy is produced in my territory, so a large amount of fresh mountain grapes are needed as raw materials for winemaking. Previously, in order to strengthen the relationship with Dayne, I chose Starfall City as a grape supply base due to family connections.

When I met Prince Doran this time, I also took a look at the grape plantation in Starfall City and found that the local Dornish people were happy to grow grapes for Eagle Island.

The reason is very simple. They can make money by growing grapes. The land in Dorne is barren, and the yield of crops such as barley and wheat is not high.

I asked specifically. With the same planting area, farmers can earn almost twice as much if they plant grapes instead.

Therefore, now a large area of farmland on the outskirts of Starfall City has been converted into grape plantations.

Moreover, the owners of those grape plantations and the farmers working there are all very friendly to Eagle Island, which is understandable, after all, they have to rely on Eagle Island to make money.

Think about it, a year ago the two places were still fighting each other, but now, they have become as close as one family because of trade and interests.

Now if you go to Starfall City and ask, I'm afraid not many people are still willing to be enemies of Eagle Island, or even the reach.

Think about it, if this model is promoted, and the entire farmland of Dorne, of course, it should be impossible, but as long as a considerable part of the farmland is converted into grape plantations, or other cash crops that are more expensive and more suitable for planting in arid areas, such as olives, cotton, sugar beets... Then -"

"Then Dorne's food production will be greatly reduced."

Lady Olenna seemed to have understood Samwell's thoughts, and her small eyes shone with excitement and coldness.

"That's right!" Samwell continued, "In order to make the Dornish people more willing to grow other cash crops, we must provide a large amount of food, and it should be low-priced food, impacting the food market in Dorne, and let farmers discover how they can't make any money at all by growing food.

And because there is a large supply of low-priced food, they don't need to grow their own food. As a result, the Dornish people will become increasingly dependent on food from the Reach. And as long as we control Dorne's food supply..."

"We can control Dorne," Lady Olenna followed Samwell's words and concluded.

"Yes. That's why I want to renegotiate the tariffs with Prince Doran, just to strengthen the commercial exchanges between the two places and reduce the difficulty of implementing this plan."

"It is indeed an excellent idea." Lady Olenna did not hesitate to praise. "Conquering Dorne with swords will only arouse hatred and resistance, but using food will make the Dornish people increasingly inseparable from the Reach.

Perhaps one day in the future, even if the Martell family issues a warning to the Reach, even a war order, the Dornish people will also find that they can no longer become enemies with the Reach."

After thinking about it, she added, "The only thing to worry about is that the Martell family will become aware of theis problem and issues an order to force the farmers to grow food."

Samwell said with a smile, "That will destroy people and money, and the Martell family will need to be prepared to bear the wrath of Dorne farmers.

My plan is actually to transfer enough food in Dorne to create 'pro-Reach Faction,' as long as there are more Dornish people like this, the less likely Dorne will be our enemy, and even gradually come under our control."

Lady Olenna smiled and nodded, "What you said makes sense, Even if the Martell family realizes that something is wrong, they may not dare to issue such an order that is bound to offend the Dornish peasants and even the Dornish nobles. Moreover, isn't Doran just trying to show us sincerity? He can't just sign a tariff agreement and then turn around and regret it."

"So, you agree to this plan?"

"Agreed. There is no shortage of food in the Reach. Even if we lose a little, it can be sold to Dorne.

As long as your plan can be implemented smoothly, maybe we can achieve the goal of Targaryen family without dragon's , an achievement that has not been achieved in years."

Samwell looked happy and stood up to help Lady Olenna add a cup of tea.

He had to admit that after receiving the support of the Tyrell family, the means and power he could use were far beyond what he had before.

Even Dorne, the hardest nut to crack in the Seven Kingdoms, dare to think about it.

Of course, this "agricultural invasion" plan is destined to be a long-term plan. It may take several years or even more than ten years to slowly transform Dorne's agriculture.

The best way for him to increase his strength currently is to swallow the Stormlands.

Thinking of this, Samwell asked, "How is the situation with the call of arms ?"

"Most of the lords in the Reach have already sent out troops. There are currently nearly 30,000 people gathered in Highgarden, and it is estimated that there will be 40,000 troops in the end."

"That's enough," Samwell nodded with satisfaction.

Most of the Stormlands' troops have been trapped in Dorne, and if they can gather another 20,000 troops, they will be able to hold up the sky. What's more, the bastard Duke appointed by the Iron Throne has no such appeal.

"It is expected that the army will be assembled next week. At that time, I will let Mace officially declare war on the illegitimate Duke. I will not participate in the specific battle plan. You can discuss it with your father and Mathis Rowan."

"Okay," Samwell nodded. He also asked, "Will Lord Mace go to the Stormlands this time?"

"He will stay in Highgarden," Lady Olenna snorted, "Garlan will go out with the army on behalf of House Tyrell."

"Okay," Samwell nodded with satisfaction. As long as the almighty lord doesn't cause trouble.

Just as he was about to say goodbye and leave, he suddenly remembered something.

After hesitating for a moment, he still said to Lady Olenna: "A witch who served the red god R'hllor once told me a prophecy. She said she saw the withering of roses..."

"Prophecy?" Lady Olenna sneered, "I have never believed in any bullshit prophecy in my life. One of the reason why the Targaryen family always produces crazy people is because of the so-called prophecy. What's the dragon with three heads? What's the 'Song of Ice and Fire'... They were obsessed with prophecies, so they did all kinds of unreasonable things, which ultimately brought destruction to the family."

Samwell shrugged, "Actually, I'm also not too fond of prophecies. However, it is always good to be careful."

"Don't worry, the Reach is not that fragile. Even if 40,000 troops are dispatched, there will still be enough defense power."

"Okay," Samwell also Without further words, stood up, saluted, and then left.

[END]