The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

Ser Fowler Priest is the cousin of the Earl of Banquetfire in the West. He is short and thin, with pinched nostrils, a bald head and a gray-brown beard. His appearance is quite distinctive.

Under the guidance of the blue-robed guards, he took his flag officer through half of the camp and entered the Duke's tent.

Green sat alone behind a long table covered with a map of the Three Rivers Basin, while the vassals of the Kleb family stood on both sides, standing like loyal guards.

As the master of ceremonies sang, Sir Fowler paused in front of the long table, put his right hand on his chest, and said respectfully: "Dear Duke of the Eagle's Nest, I am Fowler Prest from Feastfire Town. Here, I send my greetings to you on behalf of Ser Davon Lannister, Warden of the West."

Duke Green leaned his upper body slightly on the armrest of the chair, casually looked at the Davon envoy in front of him, and murmured: "Davon...Guardian of the West..."

After a pause, he said to the envoy: "You disturbed my war meeting, Sir Priest."

disturb? For Sir Fowler, Green's sudden accusation was a bit "willful", which made him feel angry. If he had not been charged with the important task of being an envoy, Sir Fowler would not have been so sensitive to this due to the status gap between the two.

However, what he represents at this moment is the Guardian of the West.

Just as Sir Fowler was about to speak, Green's voice came over first: "For the sake of you being Cersei's vassals, I stopped this crucial war meeting and allowed your visit. As for The new Guardian of the Western Region..."

After saying that, he sneered and continued: "I do expect him to have a wonderful performance in Riverrun."

Glancing at Fowler's clenched fist, Green waved his hand and said: "My time is precious, please tell me your purpose directly, Sir."

Sir Fowler tried his best to calm down his inner emotions. He waited for a while before speaking: "Your Majesty, Sir Davon heard that your army is heading towards Riverrun..."

On the surface, Green seemed to be listening to Sir Fowler's narration, but in his heart he was thinking... The man in front of him didn't have a sharp tongue, so he was not a suitable messenger candidate... Well, he should be in West Luo established a "messenger discipline" to cultivate such talents.

"...He hopes to convene a war meeting with you under Riverrun City, and use the three coalition forces of Lannister, Kleb and Frey to jointly attack the castle of the traitor Trout."

After a period of oppressive silence, Duke Green's voice slowly sounded: "Is your speech over, sir?"

Sir Fowler has always been fearless on the battlefield, and regards sacrifice in battle as the highest honor, and... he admires those knights who are good at fighting.

The Duke Green in front of him is a famous knight in the Seven Kingdoms and is known as a famous general.

But... at this moment, the famous general that Sir Fowler admired looked at him... He seemed to be looking at a stupid guy?

Sir Fowler nodded blankly: "Yes, Your Majesty the Duke."

Green frowned slightly and said: "Didn't the Royal Council inform you that my purpose of entering the Riverlands is to assist Count Kevan in settling the displaced people and to restore farmland production with all efforts (Chapter 405)?"

Raising his hand slightly, Green stopped Sir Fowler who was about to speak, and continued: "Yes, Count Kevan has encountered misfortune, so now I can only take over his responsibility. Do you understand what I mean? I He didn’t come here specifically to help Davon Lannister fight, and..."

His eyes suddenly became sharp: "I won't embarrass you, but if you go back and ask Sir Davon for me, what qualifications does he have to invite me to fight together?"

After hearing the end, as Sir Davon's envoy, Sir Fowler's face suddenly turned red: "Please allow me to take my leave!"

"Stop." Green called coldly to the envoy who was about to turn around. As his voice fell, the vassals of the Kleb family standing quietly around held the handles of their swords.

Sir Fowler raised his head, with no fear in his eyes, and said loudly: "But there are other instructions, Duke Kleb?"

"Not bad courage."

Green praised first, then suddenly changed his tone and said in a deep voice: "The Imperial Council ordered me to purchase excess grain from the lords of the Riverlands, and I heard... Sir Davon confiscated a lot of grain from the Riverlands. , you go and tell him, let him share some of the food, this is for the king and the kingdom, and the suffering people of the Riverlands."

Upon hearing Green's bandit-like request, Sir Fowler immediately responded angrily: "Our food and grass are no longer enough..."

His lips trembled, and he suddenly stopped what he was about to say.

There was silence.

Green looked at the frozen Sir Fowler and said, "Sir Davon must not forget the three-month deadline ordered by Queen Cersei. If the Warden of the West feels that it cannot be done, you can leave Riverrun to me. You can Stand down, Sir Priest."

As soon as Sir Fowler walked out of the camp, he heard the harsh laughter coming from inside. He stood there... His fists were clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. He paused and strode towards the entrance of the camp. .

Because the Lannister envoy sent relatively important information, the combat meeting held by Green ended near noon.

At this time, hundreds of bandits were kneeling on the flat ground to the west of the camp and were tied up, commanding Kleb's army to wipe out the few remaining prisoners sent by Sir Per Peli of the Riverland bandit group.

[The whereabouts of Kleb's three retainer knights: Emparo Thorns is guarding the valley; Per Pili is commanding the army to pursue the bandits who are causing trouble in the riverlands; Mason Baker is assisting Dick... Kleb was "buying grain" in the southwest region of the Riverlands. 】

In the afternoon, thousands of people from the villages near the Bent Knee Pillar gathered here. After a trembling trumpet sound, the heads of the robbers rolled.

The bloody scene caused the people present to hold their breath. Several of Kleb's heralds began to appease these people's fears and headed west along the River Avenue... They had repeated this task several times. skilled.

"Everyone, listen up! This is what you get for being a villain!"

"Look, everyone - that's the marigold flag of the Kleb family. This flag will protect you and lead a peaceful life!"

"Your savior, Duke Green Kleb, will select new lords and new knights for you who can protect you!"

"Your savior, Duke Green will return you to a stable life!"

"Always remember the marigold flag. From now on you will always be protected by this flag!"

As evening approached, Green personally ennobled nineteen property-owning knights in the large area of ​​unclaimed land near the Kneeling Stack. Ten of them were Crab Claw Peninsula knights who already had sufficient military merits, and the remaining nine were exterminated. Three knights from the valley and six down-and-out knights from the east of the Riverlands received military honors in the battle of the bandits.

In the Duke's tent, candlelight flickered.

Lord Green picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and marked on a map of the riverlands the land that was already unclaimed and the land that would be unclaimed in the future.

Putting down his pen, Green stared at the location of Riverrun on the map and pinched his chin. Hejian had suffered heavy losses due to the war. If he wanted to restore normal order here in a short time, the investment in materials would be a bottomless pit for a period of time.

But...this is a rare opportunity for Kleb to establish his rule over the entire Riverlands.

The new owners of the terra incognita in the Riverlands, namely the vassals and landed knights of the Riverlands enshrined by Greene, will become firm supporters of Clayber's rule because their legal principles come from him——Green Clay Bo.

After a pause, Green took out a blank piece of parchment, picked up the quill again, and started writing a letter. The person he was writing to was Dick Crabb, and he wanted to make Dick's knife sharper.

Just after writing the letter, Ser Brienne brought the information about Storm's End that had just been sent to the camp.

"Storm's End?" Green took the letter from Brienne.

Reading the letter, Green raised an eyebrow slightly. The Duke of Mace planned to use a trebuchet to destroy Storm's End? Sure enough... ...stable.

Handing the letter in his hand to Brienne, Green said: "Ser, please send someone to convey my order. Tell Ser Geoffrey to hire more carpenters. When we arrive at Riverrun, we will build a trebuchet."

Five days later, Green received intelligence that the Lannister army began to launch a fierce siege against Riverrun, and the two thousand reinforcements from the Frey family to support Ser Davon suddenly accelerated their march.

The next day, Kleb's army gradually left the Bent Knee Pillar camp and headed towards Riverrun.

…………

…………

"The next topic..."

The Queen's Prime Minister appointed by Cersei, Harris Swiffer (Kevan's father-in-law, Chapter 404), looked around at the people at the Queen's meeting table, and said to Cersei, who was sitting in the main seat: "The Queen Regent has already Dozens of riverland lords who submitted to the Lannister jointly protested, hoping that the council would stop the atrocities committed by Kleb's army in the riverlands."

"Pour me some wine."

Crash--Osney quickly placed the filled wine glass in front of Cersei's table. She picked up the wine glass and took a sip of summer red, saying: "What atrocity?"

Prime Minister Harris lowered his head and flipped through several letters in his hand while saying: "To be precise, it was Duke Green's clan who caused the public outrage. It is said that he executed many nobles in the name of buying food..."

Cersei shook the golden goblet inlaid with gems in her hand, frowned and said, "Speak clearly."

The impatience of the lioness made Prime Minister Harris tremble, and he spoke quickly: "Dick Crabb asked to inspect their food warehouse, and those who refused...the nobles of the Riverlands who are not protected by tall castles, They were all executed by him in the name of rebellion.”

Pycelle's maester's necklace jingled softly, and he added: "I have also heard about this. It is said that he will also steal all their wealth. The people of the riverlands now call him the plunderer."

Cersei's green eyes moved towards her intelligence chief.

Qyburn stroked his chest and said, "Some people call him the executioner, but according to my information, Lord Dick only killed those who refused to sell excess grain."

The voice of the Sea Secretary and Count Matus sounded: "Lord Qyburn, what is the current situation in the Riverlands?"

Qyburn turned to Count Matus and replied in a gentle voice: "Where Count Rowan, Duke Green and Lord Dick passed by, the surviving farmers returned to their fields, and they were all working hard to farm."

Cersei glanced at the only Rose confidant in the Royal Council and said: "Prime Minister Harris, the next topic..."

Harris Swiffer was startled and said: "But...the unfortunate nobles of the Riverlands are waiting for us..."

Cersei interrupted impatiently: "I will handle this matter myself. I will write to Lord Greene."

"Yes...yes, as ordered." Harris sat on the Prime Minister's chair obediently and stopped making any sound.

The Finance Minister, Earl Gyles Rossby, coughed for a while before speaking slowly: "The Queen Mother... Your Majesty... Because the royal fleet is building large sailing ships, the budget of the royal treasury is extremely tight... I suggest... ...Ahem...Reduce the number of people in golden robes...Ahem...King's Landing...Safety..."

As Cersei's fullness slowly rose and fell, the chancellor's constant coughing annoyed her.

Financial matters had been the daily theme of the recent royal council, and she made a gesture to Lord Gales to stop speaking.

She said: "The royal family's financial revenue cannot offset Robert's huge debt. In view of this, I have decided to suspend the payment of debts to the Church of the Seven Gods and the Iron Bank of Braavos until the end of the war."

Hearing this, Grand Maester Pycelle said tremblingly: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I'm afraid this will bring you unexpected trouble. The Iron Bank is..."

Cersei raised her chin slightly and interrupted: "The Iron Bank is located in Braavos, far away from the ocean. When the war is over, pay back their gold. Lannister will pay its debts."

"But... but... the people of Braavos also have a proverb - the iron bank cannot be defaulted."

Cersei snorted coldly and said: "It's up to me to decide whether to default or not. Before that, let the people of Braavos wait respectfully. I don't want to see the enemy's fleet wandering around Blackwater Bay at will again. "

"What about the Church of the Seven Gods...ahem..." Earl Rosby asked.

"In the afternoon, I will go to the Great Cathedral of Baelor. I will discuss this matter with the Archbishop elected with an axe. The next topic..."

As Cersei left the throne room, a gust of wind blew violently, causing the hem of her burgundy dress to fly.

Qyburn came to Cersei's side and said worriedly: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, according to the intelligence I have collected, the Archbishop who calls himself the High Sparrow may be hostile to noble people..."

Cersei smoothed her messy golden hair, snorted coldly, and said: "There is no shortage of people like that in the Seven Kingdoms. This is just a trick they use to win people's hearts."

"If he dares to offend you..."

"I would praise his incredible courage and send him to the Stranger to pray."