Chapter 87

Chapter 87 The Kings landing (1)

  As the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, King's Landing is located on the east coast of Westeros, overlooking Blackwater Bay.

  Three hundred years ago, Aegon Targaryen landed here, brought three giant dragons with him, and started the road of conquest.

  After the War of Conquest, Aegon was crowned in Oldtown as "King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm."

  It is said that the Hightower family had humbly expressed their willingness to dedicate Old Town to the Targaryen family as the capital to rule the Seven Kingdoms, but Aegon finally rejected the proposal for some reason.

  He did not choose the most prosperous city in Westeros at that time as his capital, but built a new city-King's Landing at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush where he landed.

  It means the place where the king landed.

  Three hundred years have passed, and the once small fishing village at the mouth of the river has now become the largest city in Westeros with a population of 500,000.

  After the Robert rebellion , the Targaryen dynasty fell, but the Baratheon family still used King's Landing as the capital to rule the Seven Kingdoms.

  This not-so-old city is still prosperous, but it is also faltering under the pressure of population beyond the limits of the times.

  On the hill of Aegon in the southeast corner of the city, there is the royal castle, the Red Keep.

  This majestic castle made of light red rocks, like a sleeping dragon, quietly crawls among the rocks, silently watching everything.

  Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, Minister of couns , walked through the tall bronze gates of the Red Keep, the mockingbird clasp of his cloak glinting in the sun. He seemed to be in a good mood today, smiling and nodding to every guard and servant he met along the way.

  Walking into the council hall, Petyr found that Lord Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, had arrived.

  The Hand of the King, also known as the king's chief advisor and executor, responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Seven Kingdoms.

  The seventy-year-old King's Hand is showing his old age. His once dazzling blond hair has now turned gray, and his broad and thick shoulders are gradually softening in the process of handling various complicated government affairs.

  Only those blue eyes were still as sharp as before.

  After Duke Jon saw Petyr, he nodded to the Minister of coins who had been lifted up by himself, and then leaned over his desk again to look at the documents in his hand.

  Petyr bowed and saluted, and came to his seat to sit down. He knew that the old duke didn't like to be disturbed when he was thinking about problems, so he sat quietly, his eyes wandering aimlessly in the hall.

  The furnishings of the conference hall was quite luxurious, the floor is covered with Myrish carpets with exquisite patterns, the walls was covered with exquisite paintings from all over the world, and on both sides of the door are a pair of Valyrian sphinx statues, their piercing eyes seemed to be staring at the bored minister of coins .

  While waiting, the rest of the cabinet ministers also entered the chamber one after another.

  Sea Lord Stannis Baratheon, Head of Intelligence Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle.

  Duke Jon, the Hand of the King, finally raised his head and asked, "Is everyone here?"

  Varys, the head of intelligence known as the "Spider", smiled softly and said, "

  Except for Lord Renly, the Minister of Justice who is on vacation, and Lord Barristan, Captain of the Kingsguard who accompanied His Majesty on the hunt, all are here."

In fact, there is one person that Varys did not mention, and that is King Robert Baratheon .

  But it is normal for His Majesty the king to be absent from the imperial meeting. If he really appears here, the sun will come out from the west.

  Lord Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, knew that the brave king who had won the throne was akin to a child who had snatched a toy but quickly lost interest in it. Despite achieving his lifelong goal, the new king appeared to be disinterested and disengaged.

  It seems that the old duke is no longer just the "hand of the king", but also the head, eyes, and ears of the king... and the king himself only has a mouth for drinking and a dick for playing with women.

  "Okay, let's start." Duke Jon tapped on the table lightly, and said, "Let's discuss the dispute between the Reach and Dorne first. You all know about this matter, right? Do you have any comments?"

After a moment of silence , Chief Intelligence "Spider" Varys said in a sweet voice:

  "Master Petyr has just returned fromEagle Island , so he must be very clear about the reason for this matter."

  "Littlefinger" Petyr looked at the meaningful gaze cast by Varys, he cursed inwardly at a dead eunuch, then smiled slightly and said, "

  I just went to investigate the silver mine found in Eagle Island, and arranged for the casting of the Silver Deer. I don't even know about this dispute."

  Varys raised his hand and covered his mouth pretending to be surprised: "I didn't expect that such a small silver mine would require Mr. Petyr to visit you personally. "

"As the Minister of Coins, I am tasked with the responsibility of managing the kingdom's finances. Given the tight financial situation, I was delighted to discover a new silver mine. Naturally, I felt compelled to inspect it personally."

Varys seemed to want to say something, but Duke Jon coughed lightly and changed the topic back:

  "Okay, Petyr, then tell me what you think of the knight who pioneered the Eagle Island."

  Petyr nodded to the old duke, and said: "Sir Caesar is an excellent knight, a knight who refuses to suffer."

  Duke Jon nodded silently, as if he understood something.

  Then, he looked at Varys, the chief intelligence officer, and asked, "Master Varys, what's your opinion?"

  Varys twisted his fat body, and said with a coquettish smile:

  "My lord, I have inquired a lot of new news. This dispute is no longer limited to Eagle Island and Starfall City.

Almost all the lords in the west of Dorne have sent troops. As for the rReach, the Tarly family, The Florent family, the Redwyne family, the Mullendore family, and the Cuy family have also sent troops and their stance is not small."

  Duke Jon frowned suddenly: "Has theMartell family and the Tyrell family has issued a war order?"

  "That's not true." Varys shook his shiny bald head, "However, Princess Arianne Martell is now in Starfall City, and it was she who issuel the call-up order and gathered the nearby Lord of Dorne. As for the Tyrell family, there has been no movement."

  Hearing this, the Lord of the Storm Sea, Stannis Baratheon, Duke of Dragonstone, who had remained silent, said:

  "The Tyrell family has no Movement? Then why are there so many Reach lords participating in the battle?"

  Despite not being particularly tall, the king's eldest brother possesses a strong and sturdy physique, with skin that is tough and weathered from years of exposure to the sun. Despite being under the age of thirty-five, he was already showing signs of hair loss, with only a ring of jet-black hair remaining on his head, resembling the shadow of a crown

  His tone was dry and hard, speaking to anyone as if he was interrogating a prisoner.

  Fortunately, Varys has long been used to Stannis' temper, knowing that he is not targeting himself, and said with a smile:

  "The Tyrell family is really quiet, as for why those reach lords sent troops to support Eagle Island, that I don't know."

"I see!"

  Petyr sneered, "Have your little birds told you why the lords of the reach have deployed their troops?"

  "Though my little birds are invaluable sources of information, they have their limitations. They can only report what they see and hear, and their responses are often limited to. As for the hidden motives behind these reports, it is up to us to analyze and speculate."

"I didn't expect the little birds you trained to be so stupid..."

  "Enough." Jon duke patted the table, interrupting Petyr and Varys' bickering again.

  He sighed, turned his head to look at Grand Maester Pycelle sitting at the end of the long table, and asked:

  "Maester Pycelle, what's your opinion?"

  Pycell didn't move.

  "Maester Pycelle? Maester Pycelle?"

[END]