The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 444: A Beautiful Boy

Silverhall. Main Keep. Great Hall.

The Mountain sat behind the council table, towering over the lady standing across from him.

“Madam, I am reviewing Silverhall’s records of census, land ownership, and taxes. Please have your steward bring out all the relevant documents and contracts.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The steward quickly brought the documents, including some that were already void. Two apprentices carried in so much that the table in front of the Mountain was piled high.

These documents, even a learned maester would need days and nights to review them all, let alone the Mountain.

The Mountain couldn’t even read. What was he planning?

The lady, the steward, and the maester beside them remained silent.

The Mountain was now the Warden of the West, and the Clegane men were in the city. He could do whatever he wanted.

The Mountain looked at the steward. “Steward, what is your name?”

“My lord duke, my name is Carol Shalyot.”

“Carol Shalyot, separate the census records and place them on the left. The land ownership records in the middle, and the tax records on the right.”

Steward Carol and the apprentices brought out the documents in a jumble, harboring malicious intent, assuming the Mountain wouldn't understand the accounts and words. Since you want them, here they all are. Let's see what this beast can make of it.

The steward and the two apprentices sorted all the documents into categories and piled them up in front of the Mountain again, very high.

The Mountain said, “Anna, Sansa, come and inspect these documents. If you find any that are already obsolete mixed in, I will chop off Steward Carol's hand.”

“Yes, my lord!” The two handmaidens on either side replied in unison.

Thump!

Steward Carol Shalyot suddenly dropped to his knees and crawled towards the Mountain, kowtowing on the floor in front of the table. “My lord duke, I was wrong, please give me a chance to correct my mistakes, I beg you, my lord, I beg you, my lord, I beg you…”

I beg you, my lord?

The words 'I beg you' gave the earth-transcended Mountain some unpleasant associations: 'Beg you'! This seemed like a curse word, if you were a malicious person.

The Mountain said in a deep voice, “Although I cannot read, my mind is clear. Carol, since I want to review these documents, naturally I want the latest, most complete, and most useful information, not outdated documents from the past. - Comm Warner!”

“Yes, my lord!” A young man from the guard standing on the side of the hall answered loudly.

“Cut off one of Carol's hands as punishment for his negligence and malicious intent to humiliate the Warden of the West.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Thump!

Thump!

The two apprentices were so frightened that they knelt down voluntarily, lowered their heads, and trembled. They had also participated in preparing these documents. This spirit of proactively admitting their mistakes was commendable.

“I will only punish the ringleader in this matter, get up!” The Mountain said coldly.

The two apprentices got up tremblingly, walked behind the lady, and looked down at their toes.

Comm Warner drew his sharp knife and walked towards the continuously shaking Carol.

“Do not do it here, the blood will make Anna and Sansa uncomfortable, drag him out.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Eleven-year-old Comm Warner was the leader of the Warner family. Although he was the Mountain's attendant, he was always accompanied by warriors from the Warner tribe.

Two Warner warriors from Claw Isle rushed out, grabbed Carol, and dragged him away. Carol shouted for mercy, vowing that he would never dare to do it again, that there would definitely not be a next time, that he did not do it intentionally this time, but unintentionally. The Mountain said, “Comm, if Carol shouts again, cut off his tongue! If he resists, cut off his head.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Carol Shalyot immediately shut his mouth tightly, looking like it would be hard to pry it open even with an iron bar.

The Mountain wanted to implement policies in the West, and Silverhall was only the first stop. It was absolutely impossible to establish authority without making an example of someone. Some people outwardly flattered and were full of trepidation, but secretly tripped you up and harbored schemes. The petty schemes of these vile people could not be avoided, but they must be prevented as much as possible.

“My lord duke, Carol has already realized his mistake, why not temporarily leave him his hand to help us check these accounts together. If he dares to deceive you again, it will not be too late to chop off both his hands then.” Sansa couldn't bear it and mustered the courage to say these words.

The Mountain glanced at Sansa: “Comm Warner, keep Carol's hand for now to help with the work, bring him back.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Carol was dragged back, already covered in cold sweat and still trembling. Two soldiers threw him in front of the Mountain with a thud.

“Carol, my handmaiden Sansa said to temporarily leave you this hand to help us sort out these accounts. If you do not work honestly again, I will chop off both your hands.”

“…My lord duke… Carol… swears in the name of the Seven… and the honor of the Shalyot family… I will definitely do my best, work honestly, and dare not… deceive the duke in any way. The Seven are my witness, my sincerity is visible.”

Sansa did not expect that her momentary lack of restraint would actually save a person's hand. She felt a sense of relief in her heart, only to realize that she was covered in cold sweat and her palms were cold. She was shocked in her heart, she had been so bold just now, daring to speak up for someone in front of the Mountain.

She couldn't help but steal a glance at the Mountain. The Mountain's expression remained the same, and she quickly restrained her mind and remained calm!

The Mountain said, “Anna, Sansa, Carol, the first step for the three of you is to copy out all the young men who are still alive on the census, aged twelve to thirty. Anna, can you write?”

“My lord duke, I don’t write well, I’m slow, and I don’t know… many words.”

The Mountain looked at Carol: “Carol, arrange for an apprentice who writes quickly and well to help Anna.”

“As you command, my lord!”

“Anna, you are responsible for compiling the information of these men on the census.”

“Yes, my lord, should the soldiers also be included?”

“As long as they are still alive, even if they are in Addam Shalyot’s camp in King's Landing, compile them all.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Anna and an apprentice took the census records to another table.

“Carol, Sansa. For every name Anna writes down, you are responsible for finding that person’s family’s land ownership and taxes and compiling the information.”

“As you command, my lord!”

Carol and Sansa each took a stack of account books and went to work.

*

“Madam, who knows the most about Silverhall’s mining situation?”

“The mine’s supervisor and the maester.”

“Where is the supervisor?”

“On Silverhall Mountain, my lord duke.”

“Landon Gaal!” The Mountain called out his adopted son.

On both sides of the hall were the Mountain’s guards and fierce generals. Everyone was watching the Mountain, not understanding what their dear Lord Mountain wanted to do. If he wanted money, he could just ask the lady to open the treasury. If he wanted soldiers, he could just issue a conscription order. What exactly was Lord Mountain doing? The generals were puzzled! Because Lady Jeyne was not here, the Mountain was the highest authority, so no one dared to ask.

Landon Gaal walked out and stood in front of the Mountain. “Father.”

“Madam, please send a messenger with my child Landon Gaal to summon the mine supervisor back. I have something to ask him.”

“As you command, my lord duke.”

A moment later, the messenger and Landon Gaal rode out of the city together.

*

Several days later.

Silverhall. Main Keep. Great Hall.

Outside the hall, hundreds of men aged twelve to thirty had arrived, including farmers, miners, hunters, freemen; nobles, soldiers, knights, viscounts, and barons.

All the men within the Silverhall territory who met the age requirement of twelve to thirty, except for those who were doing business, working, or serving as soldiers, were all present.

A large stack of compiled lists and information was placed on the council table in front of the Mountain.

The lady, the steward, and the maester stood to the Mountain's left and right. Anna and Sansa were with the Mountain's guards. They did not need to do anything this time.

Steward Carol Shalyot picked up the list: “Lee Charles!”

A young man walked in. The Mountain picked up the information: Lee Charles, fifteen years old, farmer, lives in Stone Drum Village at the foot of the West Mountain of the Silverhall Mountains, with his parents, and…………

The Mountain looked at the information very seriously, which made most of Countess Shalyot, the maester, the apprentices, the vassals, the servants, and the Mountain's generals and attendants secretly wonder - What was the illiterate Mountain looking at? Many people realized for the first time that another advantage of Lord Mountain was that he had a very good talent for acting - he seemed to understand it completely!

Sansa was also amazed!

The Mountain knew how to read? The Mountain should know how to read! The Mountain actually knew how to read!

Lee Charles walked tremblingly to the Mountain and stood in front of the table. The Mountain looked at Lee Charles's family information while looking at the young man himself.

“Left!” The Mountain said.

So the maester repeated Lord Mountain's words and pointed to the left.

There was an empty space on the left, where Comm Warner and Landon Gaal stood with longswords at their waists.

Carol read the second person's name: “Barker Hammidton.”

The Mountain looked towards the door. A burly man with a beard and a scar on his face walked in. The information said that this guy was a hunter, twenty-seven years old this year, and a bachelor.

The man stood in front of the Mountain, not daring to look at the Mountain, but looking at the ground also seemed inappropriate, so where should he look? The ceiling? That was very disrespectful to Lord Mountain... Looking at the table or his toes? He didn't know where to put his hands, in front, behind, or on both sides, Barker Hammidton felt that none of them were appropriate.

Barker Hammidton was at a loss, and even lost confidence in where to look.

Lord Mountain gave him too much pressure!

“Copper star, madam!” The Mountain said.

So, the lady put a copper star on the table and pushed it to Barker Hammidton: “Barker Hammidton, you can go home!” The lady said.

Barker Hammidton didn't know how he walked out of the hall. When he walked out of the city gate, he realized that he was holding a copper star in his hand, which gave him a slight comfort.

If Lord Mountain wanted people to be soldiers, Barker Hammidton believed that he could become the best warrior. He had served in the militia summoned by the Shalyot family and participated in the Battle of the Green Fork. When Duke Tywin led his troops to save King's Landing, he needed a full-time warrior legion, so the Westerlands militia was disbanded and returned.

…………

Half an hour later, the first round of selection of hundreds of people was completed, leaving exactly one hundred people.

The information of these one hundred people was left behind, and the second round of selection began.

No one knew what Lord Mountain wanted to do. This time, all the fierce-looking men were eliminated.

Sansa noticed that Lord Mountain eliminated men who were fierce, had scars on their faces, had physical disabilities, were ordinary-looking, had wretched expressions, and were older. After the second round, thirty-seven people passed.

So, the third round of screening began. This time, each man took off his clothes and stood in front of the Mountain. The Mountain, the steward, the maester, and the lady checked together. Anyone with flaws was rejected and sent home with a copper star.

Finally, after three selections, the Mountain selected twenty-six people.

Sansa looked at these twenty-six people, each of whom had a superior appearance and an extraordinary temperament. The oldest was under twenty-five years old. One of the children, fourteen years old, was the most handsome and came from a small noble family.

A very subtle whisper finally sounded in the hall, coming from the Mountain's general group. These guys had ambiguous eyes and wretched expressions, as if they understood something. Could it be that Lord Mountain liked 'beautiful boys'? Hehehe!

Countess Shalyot, Steward Carol, the maester, servants, etc. fully cooperated with Lord Mountain's 'performance', while the Mountain's attendants, guards, and generals watched Lord Mountain's 'performance' even more cooperatively.

The leaders of Claw Isle, who had been dozing off, did not feel sleepy until the Mountain ordered the young men to take off their clothes and walk around, and began to discuss and laugh, sweeping away the 'sleepy haze' just now.

In fact, being stuck in the hall to watch these boring government affairs, the leaders of Claw Isle would rather Lord Mountain send them on another thousand-mile raid to cut off someone's head, and then rush back without stopping. A thousand-mile raid, day and night, was better than sitting in this hall watching these scraps walk around!

However, when the results came out, looking at the twenty or so 'handsome men' with good looks, the beasts of Claw Isle finally understood something... They began to unscrupulously use their barren imaginations...

“Madam, I want the Shalyot family to no longer collect any taxes from the families of these children until they return from completing their mission.”

Countess Shalyot didn't understand what Lord Mountain meant at all, but one thing she understood was that after so many days of tossing, she learned to answer 'Yes, my lord'!

Exempting the taxes of twenty-six households was easy and would not harm Shalyot's income in the slightest. The lady just wanted to complete all this quickly and let Lord Mountain take away this group of wolf-like Clegane cavalry.

“As you command, my lord!”

“Also, all of their family's current land and houses will be their private property.”

“…Yes, my lord…”

“One month later, you will bring them, not one less, to Lannisport.”

“As you command, my lord!”

“In addition, during the time they are away completing their mission, you must give each family seven silver stags every month until they return home safely.”

“Yes, my lord!”

*

ps: There will probably be 1 more update, probably.

The beautiful youth's inspiration comes from real historical stories of China. There are foreshadowings in the earlier chapters; I challenge you, not a single one of you knows. I give you a kingly sneer.

Thanks to [Child-Giving Imam] for the donation. Thank you, handshake!