Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 168 The Future of the Kingdom

"Uncle Longzel loves us very much, I know that very well." Viserys looked at his stunned brother, pulled him to sit on the bed, and closed the door. "He is a truly good man, but his last name is Vareses."

Viserys, who is already fourteen years old, has been following Rey to learn the way of ruling in the past few years. Although Rey is too lazy to take charge, his methods are actually much more brutal than Dragonzel's, but he has no chance to show them. Viserys has learned a lot through watching and listening.

The basics of the Targaryen rule in Westeros are not complicated. First and foremost, the Targaryen family has dragons. Aegon rode the Black Death to burn Harrenhal and the Hall family. King Maegor made countless nobles, civilians, and believers wail in the dragon flames. They showed the true and unrivaled power to the families that have ruled this land for thousands of years. Even in the bloody dance of dragons, the Targaryen family proved that, except for young dragons, dragons that have reached a certain age and are not restrained by chains can only be killed by dragons. But the Vareses family also has dragons, and more and stronger.

The death of Daemon caused the Targaryen family to lose their strongest dragon rider. The head dragon of the Dragonpit in King's Landing has now become a wild dragon without any restraint. Although the Targaryen family still has five adult dragons, Dreamfyre, Korax, Syrax, Sheep Thief, and Seasmoke, they have no dragon riders.

A dragon without a dragon rider can only serve as a deterrent, not a true "sword".

Secondly, the Targaryen family respected the local ruling customs. Aegon the Conqueror did not change the old lord system in Westeros. Until Jaehaerys ascended the throne, among the six kingdoms other than the crown, only the Tully family and the Tyrell family, who had received favors from the Targaryen family, were more obedient to the royal command. It was not until Jaehaerys ascended the throne that he slowly consolidated power through frequent royal tours and appointments by the Privy Council, as well as the widespread fear caused by Maegor's reign of terror, and became a "king" in the true sense.

King Viserys continued the work of King Jaehaerys I. He worked hard to maintain the authority of the royal family. Although his folly led to the Dance of the Dragons, it is undeniable that during his reign, the authority of the Targaryen royal family was further strengthened on the foundation laid by Jaehaerys. Before the lords swore allegiance to their own lords, they had to obey the Targaryen crown. Jaecaerys made the people realize that the Targaryens cared about them, and the royal power, which had been shaky due to the civil war, was stabilized.

Unfortunately, what the Targaryen family can do, the Vareses family can also do. While people remember Jacaerys, they will also remember Longzel who was beside Jacaerys. They will never forget that Vermithor shot down Vhagar, which ended the war that would have lasted for a long time in just a few months.

Even if Longzier had no intention of competing for the Iron Throne - anyone could see how much he hated that iron chair, and his brothers followed his lead, but what about Longzier's death? Yes, Ringol was stubborn, but what about his brothers? What about his children? Would any of them want to compete for the Iron Throne?
What would the Targaryens do at that time? Use "blood fusion" to paralyze themselves? Don't be ridiculous. The Targaryens would fight to the death for this iron chair. Who can guarantee that the Vareses family, who are only blood-fused, will not make trouble.

Could Aegon's descendants solve this problem? Viserys had no confidence in that.

"Can you guarantee that your descendants can rule over the descendants of Uncle Longzel, brother?"

Aegon looked at his brother strangely. He didn't understand why his brother said these at this juncture. It's not that he didn't know about these situations. In terms of understanding of the Varese family, he knew much more than his brother.

He knew very well what kind of man Longzel was and Ringol's character, so he was relieved that at least while he was alive, the Vareses family would still be loyal vassals of the Targaryens, and he could also rule the kingdom under Longzel's protection.

As for her own children, they are also Samantha's children, with the blood of the Varese family flowing in their bodies. At least when Ringol is alive, the Varese family will not go too far.

What happens next?
Thinking of this, Aegon shook his head: "Of course I can't guarantee it." He looked at his brother with a smile: "Do you have a solution?"

"Dragons, brother, only dragons." Viserys said firmly: "The foundation of the Targaryen family's rule is the dragon. We need more and stronger dragons to check and balance the descendants of our cousin Longzel. Peace is also our chance."

The young man calmly analyzed, "There are also allies. Although mortal allies are not worth mentioning in front of dragons, the more lords who are loyal to us, the more beneficial it will be for us. Brother, this will be a very long process."

"I know." Aegon knew that his brother was kind-hearted, but he knew better that the rise of the Vareses family was irreversible. Among the nine "kingdoms" in Westeros, the North was deeply indebted to the Vareses family during this long winter. If it weren't for Benilla's righteous action, the Northern lords might have forgotten who their true king was. The Stormlands and the Reach were seriously injured, and the Three Rivers were in disarray. The powerful lords, such as the Blackwood family and the Frey family, had a better relationship with the Vareses family. The ones worthy of the royal family's wooing were actually the Tully family of the Three Rivers, the Baratheon family and lords of the Stormlands, and the Martell family of Dorne. But none of them were opponents of the Vareses family. "Unless one of our descendants rides on Wormithor." Aegon shook his head helplessly, "Otherwise, you can only pray that the descendants of your cousin Longzel will regard the Iron Throne as an enemy like him."

"Brother, you can't pin all your hopes on the sharpness of future generations."

"I know, but it's too late now." Aegon smiled. "But it's good this way. We won't interfere with the rule of our cousin Longzel. The politics will be handed over to the silver dragon, and the red dragon will only need to sit on the Iron Throne and safely handle the affairs of the kingdom. I think this model is not bad. If there is a tyrant like Maegor among my descendants, I will be protected. Don't you think so?"

Viserys rubbed his head with a headache.

He knew that his brother was not giving up, but trusted that Longzier would not be greedy for power. In fact, he also believed this. After helping Aegon stabilize his rule, Longzier would retire and continue to govern his border princely territory.

But he was not very satisfied with his brother's attitude. If the future continued to be like this, the king and heir of the Iron Throne would marry women from the Varese family, and then the patriarch or important members of the Varese family would serve as the Hand of the King and rule the kingdom.

That's a problem that's more serious than Otto's.

But there is really no good solution now.

Only dragons.

Viserys silently apologized to Igarath in his heart, Sorry, Igarath, I'm afraid you have to be separated from your beloved dragon Sarafathers.

The Targaryens need more dragons.

The more the better.

Only in this way will the future of House Targaryen not be shrouded by the wingspan of a silver dragon.

I'm sorry, Uncle Longzel, Uncle Valar, Uncle Rey, and little Ringol, I know you are all very kind to me and my brother, but I'm sorry. Thank you for your care, but I am a Targaryen and I must be responsible for the future of the Targaryen family.

Viserys made up his mind secretly.

The work is not finished yet, the three updates will start from tomorrow morning, 5, 6, and 7. We are about to start the next volume "The Advancement of the Dragons"



(End of this chapter)