lerbook #158 - Chapter 4 Mainland Situation (II)
#158 - Chapter 4 Mainland Situation (II)
The ambition of Volantis was clear to all the powers: to restore the glory of Valyria. As brothers who had branched out from the family, they would naturally not sit idly by and watch their home be annexed.
This was also why Braavos, despite paying a heavy price, could not annex Pentos. Because Braavos was founded by escaped Valyrian slaves, it was one thing for a house slave to bully a young master who had branched out. The other brothers would turn a blind eye to the occupation of some family property. But if they dared to kill, the brothers would definitely unite to destroy him, and vice versa.
Kohor was the quickest to react among all the city-states, increasing its city defense force of 3,000 Unsullied to 7,000. The remaining city-states, except for Pentos and Braavos, also threw a large number of orders to Slaver's Bay. Before the 100,000 able-bodied wildling youths could even complete their training, they were divided up.
Of course, Astapor alone could not swallow such a large piece of meat. Meereen and Yunkai sent envoys to divide up half of the wildling slaves, expanding their own city-state's war slave training camps, and even the fighting pits began to train war slaves.
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The Golden Tooth mercenary group's contracts were almost entirely bought out by Pentos and Myr. Divided into two legions, north and south, the total number remained around 25,000. The legion's soldiers almost became the defense force of Myr, and they monopolized all war missions in the Disputed Lands.
Many veteran mercenary companies were defeated by the Myr company. Such as the Second Sons, the Long Spears, the Company of the Cat, the Windblown, the Stormcrows, the Bright Banners, the Iron Shields, the Sellswords, the Maiden's Men, and the Iron Shields.
Even the Golden Company, known for its comprehensive strength and large number of troops, still failed to gain an advantage here, barely managing a draw.
If it weren't for the fact that they were all in it for the money and food, at least half of the mercenary groups might have been wiped out. They occupied large swathes of territory for Myr.
In the north, the town of Harold, on the banks of the Little Rhoyne, has now developed into a large city with a population of over 60,000. It is mainly developed in animal husbandry and mining, with the population consisting of 48.2% Dothraki, 26.6% wildling groups, 8% Andal remnants, 4.1% Rhoynar descendants, and the remaining 13.1% being southern Essos groups, including Summer Islander and Sothoryi.
The Pentos legion is smaller in number, maintaining around 9,000 troops, mainly cavalry. In addition to the 2,000 "Marauder Cavalry" lent to Pentos, there is also a navy of over a thousand, used to maintain the water routes of Harold City. The remaining forces target the edge of the Dothraki Sea, mainly recruiting malleable young people, and incidentally attacking some relatively small khalasars.
Pentos, with the military might of the "Marauder Iron Riders," has regained jurisdiction over all towns. Its power and wealth have increased substantially, and its military strength has recovered to its peak of over a hundred years ago.
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Meanwhile, in Westeros, King's Landing has changed greatly. The benefits brought by the promotion of the new currency have begun to make many people jealous.
In 294 AC, Lord Adrian, who controlled the kingdom's financial lifeline, suffered a serious assassination attempt, even with the participation of the City Watch.
In broad daylight, they actually gathered hundreds of people, disguised as thugs, to attack Lord Adrian's carriage. The eighteen elite guards sent by Liu Yuan stubbornly withstood the assassins' attack, waiting for the support of the tax police. During this period, not a single member of the City Watch arrived. King Robert was furious and ordered the execution of a dozen Gold Cloaks, including the captain of the Godsgate.
Lord Adrian was seriously injured in the assassination and almost died. After recuperating in King's Landing for three months, he officially resigned from his position as Master of Coin. King Robert and Hand Jon Arryn repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay, but he refused again and again, taking his family back to Claw Isle.
King Robert, grateful for Lord Adrian's achievements, handed over the administration of the Claw Peninsula to House Celtigar. This meant that all the lords on the Claw Peninsula became vassals of House Celtigar. They jumped to become great lords, second only to the Warden families, like House Redwyne and House Frey.
After handing over all his work, Becket withdrew some of House Celtigar's industries and took half of the tax police back to Claw Isle by boat. In fact, Lord Adrian was not injured. Even the enemy's assassination attempt was detected in advance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Liu Yuan had returned to King's Landing at that time.
He intended to use this rare opportunity to keep his family away from the troubled waters of King's Landing. The existence of House Celtigar not only blocked the financial path of many people, but also blocked the Lannisters' reach towards King's Landing. After Prince Tommen was born, the relationship between the King and Queen became increasingly tense. Behind this assassination, there were shadows of many great lords, even including House Tyrell and Varys.
Safely withdrawing House Celtigar from the political vortex while reaping real benefits was the best outcome. The sword that pierced the Earl's chest was personally stabbed by Liu Yuan. The wound looked frightening, but it perfectly avoided all the organs, and even the court physician and Grand Maester Pycelle did not see it.
In the following years, House Celtigar devoted all its efforts to managing Claw Isle. On the ruins of Whispers, a new castle, Crab Claw Keep, was rebuilt. The builders from Highgarden had a new job. The location was near the sea, and many building materials from the north were continuously transported here. Based on Crab Claw Keep, the entire Claw Peninsula was radiated, and all the lords above were subdued. The method was also very simple, just spending money. Who could refuse to be friends with a tycoon?
Hand of the King Jon Arryn, after taking over the financial work for a few days, realized that he was really too busy. The Ministry of Finance, reorganized by Adrian, had refined functions and extremely high requirements for grassroots management personnel. Jon did not expect that these inconspicuous lower-level managers were so important. Without these people, he simply could not operate.
It was no longer possible for Hand Jon Arryn to serve concurrently as Minister of Finance as he did in his early years. He proposed to King Robert to promote Petyr Baelish to serve as the temporary Minister of Finance. Petyr had served as one of Adrian's deputies for a full five years and was familiar with the operation of the Ministry of Finance.
After Petyr took office, he promoted a large number of lower-level officials, barely keeping the Ministry of Finance running. Then he discovered a huge problem: the mint's production capacity was limited. It was simply not enough to support the new coins that had flowed into the market in the past few years. This meant that the profit from minting coins was not much, and the huge expenses of the Ministry of Finance were also extremely high, increasing the pressure. There was no way but to streamline the organization and reduce expenses.
As of 297 AC, the royal finances were already in deficit.