The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

After a pause, Green continued: "Within seven days, Crabbe's 20,000 soldiers will enter King's Landing. I hope you can protect this king's city."

Sir Damien nodded and accepted the order. He threw his golden cloak and turned around to walk away with the other gold cloak captains, leaving behind the embarrassed commander-in-chief of the gold cloaks, Humphrey Water.

Green's eyes swept over the people present, and his voice rang out again: "Everyone, in addition to the 20,000 soldiers transferred into the city, I will also station 80,000 troops outside King's Landing. If a rebellion occurs in the city, my army will crush all traitors with thunder."

This time, Prime Minister Harris was the first to stand up and respond: "You are worthy of being the pillar of the kingdom, Your Highness the Regent, please accept my respect."

When the Prime Minister saluted solemnly, Pycelle also stood up tremblingly and said respectfully: "The rats in the gutter of King's Landing will be terrified and will never dare to offend your majesty."

He suddenly raised his voice: "Long live Regent Green!"

Prime Minister Harris glanced at the old scholar hatefully, and also shouted: "Long live Regent Green!"

Finance Minister Gales said: "Ahem, long live, Regent."

Earl Matus: "..."

Green smiled lightly, raised his hand and pressed it, indicating that they should sit down.

At this moment, Humphrey Wesley, who was several beats behind, shouted: "Long live the Regent!"

Everyone: "..."

Green looked at the golden-robed commander standing not far away with a gentle look and said: "Sir Humphrey Wesley."

Hearing Green's call, Humphrey, with a red face, immediately stepped forward and saluted.

After looking at him, Green slowly said, "At a time when people were in panic, Grand Maester Pycelle promoted you to the commander-in-chief of the King's Landing Garrison. I think you must be very outstanding."

Sir Humphrey ignored the look that Pycelle secretly gave him, looked at Green eagerly, and said, "Your Highness, I will do whatever you want!"

Green smiled and nodded, saying, "Very good. You have great courage, but... As a good knight loyal to the kingdom, you must shoulder the safety of the entire Seven Kingdoms."

In Humphrey's puzzled expression, Green continued, "I will give you a task. The Night's Watch Corps of the Wall has been warning the lords of the Seven Kingdoms that they have discovered the whereabouts of the White Walkers... Whether it is true or alarmist, as knights protecting the kingdom, we need to go to the Wall to investigate the truth. Sir, are you willing to accept this important task?"

Let him go to the Wall?

While Sir Humphrey was still feeling uneasy and entangled, Lord Matus spoke for the first time: "Grimm... King Taker, as far as I know, Stannis Baratheon himself and his army are stationed at the Wall, and Sir Humphrey Waters may be in danger on this trip."

Gyles bowed and said: "Ahem... Stannis claims to be the legitimate king of the Seven Kingdoms, and he will regard others... ahem... as traitors."

Prime Minister Harris rolled his eyes slightly and said: "If the guy who claims to be the legitimate king hurts innocent people, it will be the biggest joke in the Seven Kingdoms."

Pycelle's maester necklace rang softly: "Stannis is a ruthless person, but his character is With a little bit of justice. "

Greene signaled everyone to be quiet, then looked at Humphrey: "Please tell me, what is your decision, sir?"

Humphrey paused, gritted his teeth, and said: "Your Highness, I am willing to go to the Wall to investigate the truth about the White Walkers."

"Very good."

Greene nodded slightly with satisfaction: "Don't worry Stannis, you are my messenger. If anyone threatens you, I will regard it as a declaration of war on the Crabbe family."

He smiled: "Do things beautifully, land, castle, honor... My reward will be generous enough, and the ministers present are all witnesses."

"As you wish!"

After Sir Humphrey left, the royal meeting quickly moved on to the next topic.

"Admiral, I heard that the Royal Fleet...is not doing well. I need to know the specific situation."

The Royal Fleet has long been one of the biggest jokes in King's Landing. Earl Matus moved his lips and chose to tell the truth: "After the defection of the former commander-in-chief of the Royal Fleet, Oren Weir, now...what's left are 52 small boats that can only be used for guarding the Blackwater River dock, and more than 2,000 sailors without ships."

After thinking for a while, he did not mention the giant ships of the Royal Fleet that were "detained" by Davos Seaworth in Mermaid Harbor.

"I know."

Green took a sip of wine from the glass, thought about it for a while, and said: "I will transfer ships from Crabbe's Mermaid Harbor Fleet and Dragonstone Fleet to assist the Royal Fleet in guarding the Blackwater Bay in King's Landing."

Assist again?

Thinking of Cersei's will, Lord Matus paused, put his right hand on his chest, and said: "Your Highness, the weak royal fleet urgently needs an outstanding new commander-in-chief. Can I invite Lord Davos Seaworth to serve as the commander-in-chief of the royal fleet? Please forgive my presumption."

The two of them looked at each other for a while, and Green nodded slowly: "I will arrange it. I thank you for your invitation on his behalf, Lord Matus."

…………

Outside the gate of the Red Castle.

Green's steward came to the captains of the gold cloaks who were about to mount their horses and called: "Sir Damien."

"Lord Leyton?"

Seeing Leyton's figure, Sir Damien put down the reins and walked over.

After the two people who were already familiar with each other walked to a deserted place with tacit understanding, Sir Damien spoke up first: "But did Lord Green have any orders?"

Leighton nodded and said: "Sir Jaime is summoning the red robe guards of the Lannister family. Their target is the Great Temple of Baelor."

Ser Damien's eyes flashed with shock: "Are they trying to avenge Queen Lannister?"

Leiden nodded again: "If nothing else happens, you will hear the roar of a lion tonight."

Sir Damien said solemnly: "Accident?"

Leiden came slightly closer, and he couldn't help but lower his voice: "Of course there can't be any accidents. The red robes must enter the Cathedral of Baelor smoothly."

Sir Damien's Adam's apple rolled, he paused, and lowered his voice: "Lord Layton, this is likely to cause a large-scale riot. There are tens of thousands of sparrows in the High Sparrow."

Leighton's expression was calm: "You only need to ensure that no one hinders Sir James's actions, and leave the rest to Kleb. Don't forget, Lord Green's 100,000 troops are coming to King's Landing. What the rebels finally achieved is Our honor.”

Sir Damien licked his lips and said: "Please tell Lord Greene that the Gott family will always be loyal to Kleb until death!"

…………

Throne Room, Royal Council.

After the waiter brought the second glass of wine, Green's voice sounded: "Grand Maester Pycelle."

The corners of his lips curved slightly: "In view of your contribution in stabilizing the situation in time when Queen Cersei was trapped in the Great Sept of Baelor, I hope that you will also serve as advisor to the regent and assist me in governing the Seven Kingdoms."

The old Pycelle suddenly straightened up, and his old voice was slightly excited: "Thank you to the Regent for your trust. This is a great honor for me."

"I'm looking forward to your performance. Please sit down."

After a pause, Green turned his gaze to the Chancellor of Finance: "Earl Gales, I need to know the status of the royal treasury."

Cough...cough...cough...

After Green finished speaking, Earl Gales began to cough one after another.

Leaning back in his chair, Green patiently waited for Gales' cough to end, and others followed suit to "watch" it.

Cough, cough, cough, Gales' cough became more and more serious, and people were worried that he would vomit a mouthful of blood in the next moment, but... seeing that the regent was in high spirits, no one expressed concern.

When the waiter brought Green his third glass of wine, Gales' cough began to gradually improve.

After waiting for a while, seeing that Earl Gales was about to return to normal, Green's voice came over: "How much money is left in the royal treasury? You can answer slowly, Earl Rosby."

After coughing a few times, Count Gales, whose face was flushed, stood up tremblingly and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, I dare not hide it. The only debt left in the royal treasury is millions of golden dragons."

Prime Minister Harris glanced at Greene, who was sitting in the chair, and said, "As far as I know, the 'Prostitutes' Branch Tax' and 'City Gate Tax' enacted by the former Finance Minister (Tyrion) only added to the royal treasury. A huge amount of income! Now you tell His Majesty the Regent that there is not even a copper coin in the royal treasury?”

Advisor Pycelle frowned and said: "Queen Cersei is kind enough to you, but this cannot be a reason for you to offend the majesty of the regent. The rule of the kingdom cannot be separated from finance, and the most important character of the finance minister is honesty."

Prime Minister Harris echoed: "Yes, your answer has to make me doubt whether you can serve the Regent."

Count Matus looked at the finance minister who was about to vomit blood in anxiety, and said: "His Royal Highness the Regent, Prime Minister, Grand Bachelor, as far as I know...the royal treasury is for the engagement of His Majesty Tommen and Miss Margaery. , and the royal fleet spent at least one million gold dragons to build new ships.”

Grand Maester Pycelle secretly glanced at the silent regent, then looked at Count Matus beside him: "The things you are referring to were two months ago. We are not discussing the past. If the royal treasury It's empty, the burial of Queen Lannister..."

Ahem, cough, cough, this time it was Pycelle coughing, he almost forgot... Queen Cersei hasn't really passed away yet.

In the silence, Green's voice broke the silence: "Earl Gales, please tell me more specifically."

Earl Gales' cloudy eyes were full of tears. He calmed down and said: "The total cost of the engagement ceremony was 770,000 gold dragons, and the investment in the royal fleet was 420,000 gold dragons. These expenditures almost drained the royal treasury. New income. The reconstruction and repair of the King's Gate and the Mud Gate, the daily needs of the palace, the military salary of the King's Landing Guard, and... The biggest problem facing the royal treasury now is more than six million gold dragons (a total of seven hundred Tens of thousands, of which Cersei forgave more than a million in foreign debt owed by the church on the condition of allowing the church to arm itself."

After a pause, he continued: "The specifics are: Lannister's three million arrears (Chapter 128, 135), Iron Bank's two million arrears, Tyrell's 600,000 arrears, Tyrol's Among them, the Iron Bank is full of distrust of the royal treasury, and representatives of the Iron Bank visit me almost every day."

"I probably understand."

Green tapped the armrest with his fingers while thinking, and then said: "Earl Gales, everyone, the income and expenditure of the royal treasury is directly related to the stability of the kingdom, and the credibility of the royal family cannot be destroyed."

He knocked on the handrail again and then stopped. He seemed to have made a difficult decision: "I will arrange for Steward Rosell of Clayber's Company to assist the Minister of Finance in taking care of the royal treasury, so as to reduce the pressure on the kingdom's finances as soon as possible."

Assistance again? First the city defense, then the finances... Earl Matus frowned even more.

Earl Gales glanced at the silent ministers, bowed slightly, and said: "As you wish, thank you for your support, Your Highness."

Green took a sip of summer red and said: "Next topic. There are two vacancies in the seven seats of the Royal Council, namely the Minister of Justice and the Chief of Intelligence."

His eyes swept over each person present, and curved the corners of his lips: "Everyone, you can recommend suitable candidates to me for reference. I believe in your fairness."

Obviously, this is the cake thrown by the Regent to the "well-behaved" ministers.

The people who can be trusted are not of high status, and those who have high status cannot be trusted. Grand Maester Pycelle almost lost control of his bladder because of anxiety.

Prime Minister Harris is a new player at the Red Castle table. He has not found reliable allies or cultivated reliable people of his own... But he does not want to miss this rare opportunity. He is considering whether to recommend his eldest son.

Earl Gales opened his mouth, then pursed his lips and sat quietly in a chair to take a nap.

Earl Matus clenched his fists under the table. According to Duke Green's "arrangement", he had a premonition that the Tyrell family, which had made many contributions to the kingdom... or the entire River Reach, would only have one seat left in the imperial meeting.

His eyes moved to the main seat. As the imperial minister representing the River Reach, he could no longer continue to "tolerate".

And... there was something more important.

"Your Highness the Regent."

Hearing Matus's voice, Green looked over, and he lightly nodded his chin, saying in a friendly tone: "Please speak."

After a pause, Earl Matus's face was tense. "The last will added by Queen Mother Lannister violates the Tyrell-Lannister covenant. On behalf of the Tyrell family and the lords of the Reach, I lodge a formal protest with you."

Green rubbed his temple and said, "Lord Matus, there are no secrets in the Red Castle. Tomorrow... maybe tonight, this news will spread throughout King's Landing."

He sighed slightly: "As the regent, you are the ministers of the Royal Council. We are all witnesses of Cersei's will."

He looked directly at Matus: "Please tell me, without violating the honor, how should we deal with it? Obviously, ignoring is not a good way."

Lord Matus met Green's gaze and responded: "Yes, we cannot ignore the last words of the regent queen mother, but we cannot ignore the alliance agreement between Tyrell and Lannister."