Chapter 18: The Dragon's Peace (III)

297 AC

King's Chambers, Maegor's Holdfast

Red Keep, King's Landing

It has been fourteen years since I have come to Westeros and I have to say that I have gotten complacent, I have now stopped going after all my future problems and I have decided to let them come to me and then solve them, after all, solving problems tend to create new ones, ones that I have no idea on how to solve.

Euron Greyjoy has been presumed dead, I have ensured that the Navy is after him or any pirate that is turning out to be dangerous, with the Navy making regular trips to the Stepstone and the Basilisk Isles.

As for the Blackfyres, I decided to pour water over their plans by revealing their presence during the Tourney meant to celebrate the Victory over the Ironborn, on the last day during the feast I proclaimed their existence, the Eunuch, the Magister, and the grandson of the Monstrous.

People were shocked as only Elia, Jon, Richard, the Kingsguard and Qyburn knew about them, I openly challenged the Golden Company to attack and I dared all the noble Houses of Westeros to support them, with the feast being the one to celebrate the utter destruction of House Greyjoy, my message was clear, Stand against me and you will die.

Needless to say, the Eunuch, the Magister, and the Captain-General were not happy, not that they could do anything about it, last I heard they were searching for Dragon eggs but Dragon eggs are hard to get, and with the Eunuch's hatred for all things magic I doubt that they will do anything worthwhile with them.

They even made a new song about my victory over the Ironborn, it had the same tone as that of the Rains of Castamere, and it was called the Flames of Pyke, truth be told it was plagiarising Tywin's song but there are no patents in Westeros, yet.

Speaking of Tywin, both he and Olenna refused to entertain any attempt by Varys or Illyrio to contact them much to my sorrow, mostly because they weren't stupid.

Tywin has been playing the long game and now hopes to marry his granddaughter Joanna to either Aegon or Maekar and play on from there with Joanna becoming Rhaenys' lady-in-waiting while Olenna did the same with Margaery by sending her to be Dany's lady-in-waiting.

Olenna, while still not over her broken betrothal, has however put her personal feelings towards Targaryens aside for the greater prize, that's the Golden Rule of Politics, personal feelings must never come in between your political goals.

"The Census for the Crownlands has arrived, hasn't it," Elia asked as we worked in my solar,\.

Working together has helped me mend my relationship with Elia she was no pushover and her administration skills outpaced mine.

"Aye, it has," I said nodding and I gave her the paper regarding the census, it was parchment as all important legal records are done using parchment.

With Qyburn's help, I managed to get the paper industry rolling, all thanks to the water wheel and the fast-flowing Blackwater River, the paper was used for the Seven-Pointed Star, the bank notes, the merchant trade deals, the books in all the Schools and Colleges as well as for the District Courts, while all the important stuff that the Small Council and I had to deal with happened in parchment and vellum.

"Six hundred and four thousand people in King's Landing," Elia begins to read, the City did grow during my time as King, thankfully Elia and I had the foresight to ensure that City Planning managed to keep up with growth, unlike last time.

"Nine hundred and twenty thousand people who live in the other areas that come under the Rule of House Targaryen," Elia continued, the other areas meant Dragonstone, Summerhall, Dragon's Home, Dragon's Town, the Three Sisters, and the land on which the Military Forts were placed, and in addition to all that I managed to acquire the lands of Houses Hayford, Stokeworth, Whent, and Rosby using some impressive political shenanigans.

"So in total, the Crownlands now has four and a half million people living in it compared to the two million ten and five years ago," Elia finishes and I nod, it has been a hell of ten years.

The Credit for the City goes to Elia, she took control of the City reconstruction while I took more interest in the Army and the Navy and all Law enforcement related activities, she had the slums of Fleabottom and others razed to the ground, and the city was raised to accommodate new and improved sewers, the existing ones were restored and improved upon, the streets, alleys, and wynds were cobbled putting an end to all the dirt, mud, and garbage roads in the city, the houses and shops were built in a proper grid-like manner.

The manses, arbors, granaries, storehouses, inns, merchant stalls, taverns, graveyards, and brothels that use to dot the city remain the same as do the trees that line the broad roads, the smell of the city, however, has decreased by more than half, still stinky when you come for the first time but not as stinky as before.

The city's wastes are carried into the Blackwater by great brick sewers. These sewers are closed off with iron gates which I hope won't be rusting, which is why new water pipes, aqueducts, and wells have been made and connected to the city as the river water is undrinkable.

Behind the now rebuilt and reordered quays outside of the walls, there tended to be ramshackle buildings that extend to the walls. These include bait shacks, pot shops, warehouses, merchant stalls, and alehouses, they were all demolished and then orderly rebuilt in timber and stone.

The Schools, Colleges, Courthouses, and the Hospital that I had built ended up taking a lot of housing space, and the influx of immigrants has caused settlements to start outside the city, unlike previously when it was a bunch of shanty settlements clustered at the gates, this time around it was a continuous settlement that ran from the Iron Gate to the King's Gate.

And this time Elia was ready for it, the entire place was properly planned and built up like how they did in Oldtown, the streets, the sewers, water pipes, the houses, and marketplaces were properly built instead of the nonsense that happened when Aegon the Conqueror let King's Landing build itself, around a hundred and fifty thousand people now live outside the city, with housing prices going through the roof inside the city walls, the city outside has become the place where all the newcomers now go to.

I have told the architects to make plans for a new set of outer walls that might be built, I am leaning towards the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, but that will be a long way off, it will take around ten to twenty years to build, perhaps after the Long Night.

"How in the name of the Old Gods and the New are we able to keep up with everything that you do, I will never know," Elia said shaking her head as she went over the parchments for this year's budget,

"You can thank the Eastern Trading Company for that," I then said to her.

The Eastern Trading Company was a company that Grafton, Velaryon, Mooton, and I made, it was our own East India Company and it was a smash-hit success, the four of us got so rich that other mercantile houses like Hightower and even Martell and other merchants began to chip in, Hell even Walder Frey joined up for this.

To ensure that it did not go the British East India Company route, I ensured that the Charter for the company would specify that it COULD NOT wage war, can't have a corporation run amok, and I owned a fifty percent share in the company to ensure that they won't do anything without my approval.

The ETC did have forty armed galleys to protect its trade convoys and had a hundred and fifty trade ships.

The taxes that I get from the Seven Kingdoms, it was enough to maintain the Red Keep, the Royal Guard, Army, the Navy, and City Watch, which is why when the surplus from Aerys' reign dried up, the profits I accumulated from the ETC and the Royal Bank which was set up using said profits stepped in to fill the gaps.

So anything new that was built usually came about from the Bank or the ETC, the two institutions in which I own the dragon's share of the profits, and by that I mean fifty percent.

Most of the money was invested in roads, irrigation canals, and the like as they gave good returns within a year of completion.

Tywin Lannister tried to do the same and set up his own trading company called the Western Trade Company and his Lannister bank, but his profits were never close to mine alone much less that of the ETC, mostly because I managed to get a monopoly in Volantis, Lorath, Lys, Braavos, Meereen, and Yi Ti, all thanks to my amazing Ambassadors and Diplomats.

Tywin's Lannister Bank did not go beyond the Westerlands, while my Royal Bank now stretched across the Crownlands, Riverlands, Stormlands, Dorne, Iron Islands, and the parts of the Vale and the Reach plus a branch in White Harbor.

Olenna while she did not go the trading company route did convince her son Mace to go for the Bank of the Rose, it went no further than the Mander, as the Bank of Oldtown controlled the Honeywine while the Royal Bank controlled the Dornish Marches and areas close to the Stormlands and the Crownlands.

The Gold Standard was established to ensure that exchange rates were stable and steady across the realm with all the other Bank notes in Westeros being pegged to the Targaryen Dollar when it came to overseas exchange.

All the while Doran, a man who is famous for being so cautious that the orange becomes overripe, decided not to fight against the current, as long as House Martell would stay in control of minting coins with a few more tax concessions the Roal Bank would get the right to run the banking of Dorne, the same went for the other regions as well except for the coining minting part.

"No matter what ridiculous expense you bring up each year, we are somehow able to make ends meet," Elia said with a look towards me.

"What do you mean by ridiculous expense?" I asked affronted, and she is acting as if we are destitute.

"Have you forgotten the Jousting Arena that you built, who in their right mind will set up fourteen jousting lanes with a seating capacity for ten thousand people," Elia reminded me.

I corrected her, "It is seven thousand people, not ten."

"The number doesn't matter, you decided to build a permanent Jousting arena at the tourney grounds on a whim," She then said.

"I got tired of that stupid wooden stand that we had," I replied, "So I decided to go on a permanent one, and isn't the new jousting arena great."

The new Jousting Arena was great, for while the Melee and the Archery were held in the Dragon Pit when the dragons were removed from the Pit, the Jousting still happened outside the City in the Tourney Grounds, so I had a new permanent stadium-type Arena made, in a 7x2 arrangement, fourteen jousts could be held at a time, with a semi-circular dome around the Royal Box on one side.

Maybe in three years during the Tourney to celebrate three hundred years of uninterrupted Targaryen rule, I could introduce new games like shotput, discus throw, hammer throw, javelin throw, and a game of seven-member team rugby, already these were being played in the Army, it was only matter of time before it spread.

She switched topics after that, she always does that when she knows that she has lost, "What about this year's new expense? New armor for the soldiers, what for?"

"To equip the soldiers, why else do we use armor?" I innocently replied.

"What's wrong with the armor that they wear now?" Elia asked.

"To the best of my knowledge, nothing is wrong with the old armor," I replied.

"Then why are you replacing the armor," She incredulously asked.

"Why do you and the girls order new clothes in your wardrobe every month," I retorted.

"What?" She asked shocked at where I took the conversation.

"It's not like you three are growing sizes every month, because if you are then I might have missed it," I deadpanned at an increasingly reddening Elia.

Before she could explode at me, I explained the new armor situation.

"We have managed to set up around fifty water wheel run blast furnace smithies on the banks of the Blackwater, they have helped us produce large amounts of armor that are twice as good at half the price," I said to her, she visibly deflated.

"And also, last year's Army spending gave a surplus so we decided to spend on the new armor," I then added which she did not like.

"There was a surplus," She hissed.

"Is that wrong?" I asked hesitantly, her hissing made it seem like it was a matter of life and death.

"The orphanages and the community kitchens were stretched thin to the bone that your mother and I had to make personal contributions to keep running all the while the army had a bloody surplus that you are now spending on shiny new armor for your brutes," She said in a rather pissed off tone.

"Umm, aren't all departments getting a raise," I hesitantly said.

"This year, but last year the Department of Public Welfare had its budget cut," Elia said.

"Don't worry it won't happen this year," I try to appease her.

"And also you have to increase Ashara's budget, the Red Keep's expenses this year will increase because Viserys and his wife are coming," Elia then said.

Viserys was finally returning to King's Landing with his wife at the behest of our mother, she badgered me into making Viserys the Postmaster General so that he would stay in King's Landing while Elia badgered me into making Ashara the Chief of Staff of the Red Keep, which is a fancy way of saying the Chief Steward.

"Fine, I will do that," I groused.

"Anything else," I asked.

"Yes, I wanted to know who will succeed Doran as Minister of the Treasury," She then said.

Qyburn's advancements in medicine along with my input have helped him treat Doran of his gout, while it wasn't gone completely it was highly reduced to what it would have been in the OTL, but in the end, age and sickness along with my attempts to ensure that the man has very busy work life (so that he can't plot) have caught up to him causing him to retire back to the Water Gardens (so that he can plot).

This is not to say that Martell's influence has reduced because his brother has now come to take a new position to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in other words, his job is to deal with all the ambassadors from the Free Cities in my court and organize the Ambassadors sent in my name to the Free Cities.

Unlike other nepotism-based postings, Oberyn has experience in the Free Cities and connections, so that helps.

"Lord Matthis Rowan shall be the Minister of the Treasury," I replied to which she nodded.

After all, putting Tyrell bannermen in positions of power ahead of Mace Tyrell was the best way to undermine whatever efforts Margaery and Loras were doing in Court.

"And I believe that Arthur will replace Ser Gerold as Lord Commander," She continued to which I nodded.

While the White Bull was still alive, his age and sickness had caught up to him causing him to be no longer able to do his duties while Royal Guard was now placed as guards of the Red Keep with the Army outside the city, the City Watch inside the city but outside the Red Keep, a division of power if you will.

I talked with him and the other members of the Kingsguard and got them to agree to have Kingsguard members retire should they be deemed unable to continue in their duties, it was a talk that lasted two whole months.

"Who will take his place?" Elia asked.

I answered, "Lucas Blackwood."

That will keep the Blackwoods in check and ensure that they don't do anything stupid, can't favor the Royces all the time.

And he wasn't the first person to be replaced for when Jon Darry died three years ago, I sent Oswell to replace him in the Vale for Viserys and put Ser Arys Oakheart in his place.

"You are going to Oldtown with the boys aren't you to see off Ser Gerold," She then said.

I nodded for I have things to settle in Oldtown, after having a comprehensive and secret talk with Ser Gerold, Ser Baelor, and Lord Leyton, they have agreed to cooperate with me on the condition that what happens in the Citadel stays in the Citadel.

One more year before the book timeline is due to begin and I have to tie up the loose ends as much as I can.

Once Aegon and Maekar come of age they shall join the Small Council as well, the two of them were already cupbearers to me and Elia back when they were young before they became squires to Arthur and Jaime.

I look over the new appointments so far, with Lord Lucerys Velaryon dead, his son Aurane Velaryon has now become the new Minister of Naval Affairs and the Lord of High Tide, and Master of Driftmark.

While not as powerful as they were under the Seasnake, they have now regained their wealth to the point where they could completely repair High Tide and rebuild Spicetown.

"Who will be the new Sheriff General?" Elia asked, "Isn't the one we have now retired."

I nodded, "Ser Jaremy Rykker will be the new Sheriff General."

"Any other new appointments this year," She asked to which I shook my head.

Thank God for the US Cabinet, a good number of the positions that I made are based on the Cabinet.

While they are not members of the Small Council, they report directly to me, Jon, and Elia.

We have the Secretary of Labor who is in charge of organizing all the labor needed for all my projects, which are starting to overwhelm the man, the poor guy needs a break but he has done a remarkable job mostly because Jon, Elia, and I are there to help him in that regard when it comes to very important projects.

Then there is the Secretary of Housing, the person whose job it is to ensure that all of my subjects who live on Targaryen-controlled land have a roof over their heads, it's not an easy job, which is why he only deals with the Public Housing in King's Landing, the other towns have to do it on their own, the people don't get the houses for free but rather as a loan from the Crown which in turn ensures that the entire below the middle-class population of King's Landing is in debt to the Crown for the roof that they have over their heads, while those in the middle and upper class tend to be in debt to the Royal Bank which might as well be considered as the Crown.

Then we have the Secretary of Public Works, the person whose job it is to keep the Roads, monuments, streets, sewers, and water pipes maintained and not just in King's Landing but in all settlements in Targaryen lands plus all the Roads in the Crownlands.

There is the Secretary of Public Welfare whose job as the name says is to take care of all the public welfare projects, and charities done by the Crown, it's a department that gets a lot of budget cuts but at the same time gets a lot of philanthropic support.

The oldest one is the Secretary of Agriculture, the person who has the monumental task to ensure that the harvest in the Crownlands is good and that agriculture as a whole is more developed than before, and it's not just farming but also all the livestock in the Crownlands, and most importantly maintaining all the Farmland, Cattle Ranches and all the livestock that belongs directly to the Crown, trying out and testing new and more efficient methods for farming and cattle breeding all the while maintaining the irrigation canals and dealing with all the farm and cattle disputes that might occur.

To take care of the Kingswood, I made the Secretary of the Forest, his job is to ensure maintenance with extraction plus recreation though how well he does this, is a source of endless debate between all parties involved, it is the King's Wood, and after the Robert's War, I had a significant chunk of the Kingswood that was in the Stormlands annexed to the Crownlands and directly owned by me.

While the Secretary of Veteran Affairs is the newest and works under both the Minister of War and the Minister of Naval Affairs, his job is to ensure that veterans get their pensions and benefits like free healthcare, free housing, and things of the sort but only if they live in the Crownlands.

That is not to say that otherwise, healthcare is expensive, for while most towns and villages in the Targaryen lands have a clinic the treatment is usually subsidized, it happens not because the Crown steps in to subside it but when nobles like Margaery tend to make donations to the Welfare Department and the Hospitals and Clinics, after all when philanthropists want to donate why should I stop them, it's usually to show off but then again when is it not, especially since independent charities are not allowed to operate in the Crownlands something which Margaery learned the hard way.

These seven along with the Chief of Staff of the Red Keep, the Postmaster General, and the Sheriff General make the Second Council, they report directly to me, Elia, and Jon.

All in all, around fifteen hundred bureaucrats, were running the show in the Executive departments, with another hundred and fifty in the Judiciary, around three hundred as servants in the Four Castles of House Targaryen, and a little less than two hundred sheriffs and their deputies, all of whom are on the payroll of the Crown.

Just then I hear the screech of the dragons, looks like they are back from their race to Dragonstone.