Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 220 The plan was perfect, but the secret was leaked at the first step

The princes looked at each other.

Your Majesty, please be more reserved.

Daeron smiled and drew a few lines on the ground: "Everyone, I trust you, so I will reveal to you the preliminary plan of this expedition." He glanced at Prince Aemon beside him. The handsome but taciturn knight took a step forward. He was also a knight who had recently become famous. In Dragon's Nest, at the tournament held by Ringol to celebrate Igor's name day, Prince Aemon even defeated the elderly Earl Aslan Longdel and Hoffa Lawbreaker and won the championship.

This young knight, praised by the people as the "Dragon Knight", collected more than twenty championship crowns in just a few years, making people admire his bravery, and Aemon's humility and handsomeness made him the dream lover of the girls in the Seven Kingdoms.

Even though Aemon had officially married his beloved Princess Naerith.

"His Majesty the King is fully prepared." Prince Aemon took the branch from Daeron's hand. He needed to tell these key nobles that it would be profitable to send out troops with all their strength.

"The biggest problem with the disputed land is that the distribution of power there is very complicated."

Dan quietly retreated behind Jakaris, letting his tall brother block his gaze while he quickly recalled the information Ringol had given them.

"Seven large mercenary groups with at least 10,000 soldiers occupy the north of the Disputed Lands. The fertile plains of the Disputed Lands are divided among five major warlords and hundreds of small warlords and mercenary groups. Rikkar Lakron is the most important coastal city in the Disputed Lands. Three different forces control this city. In the northeast of the Disputed Lands, a khalasar with 40,000 cavalry roams there. The biggest enemy we have to face is the Dothraki barbarians." Aemon bowed slightly to Jacaerys with some apology: "I have no intention of offending Khal Asule."

"Azul" Jakaris smiled, "He won't mind."

Of the seven major mercenary groups, at least five have Braavos behind them, and the Iron Bank provides them with a steady stream of gold and weapons. As for the remaining two, ostensibly backed by Lys and Volantis, they actually also have complicated relationships with the Iron Bank.

Dan quickly sorted out the intelligence of the seven mercenary groups. An important destination for the Iron Bank's loans was the warlords in the disputed lands. They would support tyrants and warlords who ruled over vast territories. When they were unable to repay the loans, they would support another tyrant or warlord, or instruct the mercenary groups to rob those who owed money.

Braavos
Dan narrowed his eyes.

"The Golden Hammer and Storm Crows are backed by Rees. Lord Rogaar has promised to hire these two mercenary groups to participate in our expedition to the disputed land. These two mercenary groups can provide us with 25,000 well-trained warriors, including at least 6,000 cavalry. The Golden Hammer even raises 20 war elephants."

"Prince Aemon, you also said that they were mercenaries." Lord Cregan Stark said coldly. The Guardian of the North was still as cold and majestic as when he went south to King's Landing when he was young. The long winter that year had added a lot of seriousness unique to northern nobles to him.

"Since when do we need mercenaries to fight wars?"

The Winter Wolf Army made a great name for the North back then. The charge of two thousand grey-bearded wolves shattered the defenses of the Westerland Army and made Westeros once again take seriously the descendants of the ancestors living in the North.

"Mercenaries can join us for gold and power, but they can also betray us at any time." Cregan looked at Daeron. "Your Majesty, mercenaries are not a reason for you to convince us, nor are dragons. To occupy land, we need soldiers and people."

Several dukes nodded in agreement.

"The armies of the Crownland and Oldtown will set out first as the vanguard," Daeron said without hesitation. Prince Aemon took over the king's words and continued, "The army of Oldtown will be led by my brother Aerion. We have gathered 4,000 armored warriors who can ride horses and fight at any time."

"The army of the crown is led by Ser Will Hunter, the captain of the Kingsguard." Daeron's eyes fell on Lord Joffrey. "Earl Marseille and Lord Darklyn have already begun to gather troops. The army of the crown will be centered around 3,000 royal troops, and the nobles of the crown can gather 20,000."

"Twenty thousand men are the only soldiers that the king can muster with all his strength, Your Majesty." Duke Shufu Arryn said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, we cannot recruit all the young men. This is not a war of life and death. We need to leave some people to farm the land."

"Winter is coming, and it is most evident in the North and the Vale. We will not pin our hopes on summer never ending, Your Majesty." Duke Creggan's voice was still as cold as ever.

"The Baratheon family will stand under your majesty's three-headed dragon banner." Lord Royce Baratheon's loud voice was not as loud now. "But your majesty, you also know that the Baratheon family is powerless. Six thousand people are the limit of the Stormlands, but I can assure you that these six thousand people are veterans who have been to the Stepstones."

Darren smiled and nodded to Duke Royce.

"I know, everyone, so I will use my current plan to convince you." The king said calmly, and Prince Aemon seemed to be Daeron's other hand, writing on the ground with the weirwood stick.

"The coast of the Disputed Lands is lined with large mangroves. A mercenary group called the Mangroves has a lot of ships and has considerable influence there. They are also one of the rulers of Rikka Lakrond. I will follow the vanguard with Aemon, Rhaegar, and Aerion to land in Rikka Lakrond and occupy the city as a forward base for attacking the Disputed Lands."

"Where are the supplies? Your Majesty, and where is Prince Aegon? Prince Aegon and Prince Viserys also have dragons, won't they participate in the expedition?" Duke Creggan's questions were still as sharp.

But Duke Creggan did not raise another question: What about the Varese family?
"My uncle is in poor health. He will stay in Westeros to collect supplies for us and guard the rear." Daeron said calmly: "Cousin Aegon will be sent as an envoy to Braavos. Syrax will let the people of Braavos know the value of peace."

His eyes unconsciously drifted to Jakaris who was in a trance, and Dan who was thinking about something unknown.

"Dreamfire, Seamoke, and Womax are all adult dragons, and Horntide is enough to intimidate ordinary people. Four dragons are enough for us to sweep the coast."

"Your Majesty." Dalton Greyjoy, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke. The old pirate slowly walked to the king's side, glanced coldly at Lord Lorien Lannister and Lord Lyonel Tyrell, but regained his respect when looking at Lord Creggan, Lord Tully and Jacaerys.

"My iron fleet once swept through the Mangrove Coast, where there was almost no defense." The Red Sea Monster calmly recounted his feat of almost destroying the Kingdom of the Three Daughters. "But Rika Lakron is an exception. The guys who ruled it built that ancient city stronger than steel. It is not an easy bone to chew."

The red sea monster suddenly licked his tongue and said, "However, my iron fleet is still willing to serve you, Your Majesty. Give me two months, and I can gather a thousand longships and ten thousand men with axes as hard as their heads."

"You just need to satisfy your ancient ways, right, sea monster?" Duke Lorien glanced at the red sea monster. "Your Majesty, as for the navy, the Royal Fleet, Earl Redwyne's fleet, and the Silver Fleet are enough to destroy all resistance on the Mangrove Coast. We don't need them."

"Captain Dalton, I am grateful for your help." Daeron raised his hand to stop Duke Lorien from continuing. "The kingdom needs every axe, every armor, every sword."

Duke Lyonel Tyrell was helpless. Over the years, the revival of Oldtown made the Riverlands seem to have returned to its former glory. If it weren't for the grand marriages with the Fossoways, Rowans, Redwynn, Merryweather and others, the influence of the Tyrell family would probably have been slowly overshadowed by the Targaryen family of Oldtown.

He could not refuse the arrangement of King's Landing. After the Baratheon family and the Greyjoy family, the Tyrell family became the third guardian family to actively provide support.

"Lord Redwyne will provide the fleet," Duke Leonor said. "Your Majesty, the Reach will gather fifteen thousand armored warriors in three months and provide food and fodder for the army."

"The kingdom can allow the Iron Islands to implement the ancient roads on the Mangrove Coast and along the coast of Sothoryos." Daeron said calmly. He needed the bloody raids of the Iron Men to deter the warlords in the disputed lands.

It would be best if we could scare them into surrender, but if not, it would also be nice to let them unite and catch them all in one fell swoop.

"After we capture Lika Lakron, the Mangrove Coast will be completely open to us." Daeron went on to analyze, "We will march along the coast after supplies and reinforcements arrive. Aemon and I will lead the main force to conquer the warlords in the south first. Rhaegar will stay in Lika Lakron, and Aerion will take Vermax to guard the north to prevent northern interference. After we have dealt with the scattered sand in the south, we will deal with those large mercenary groups and Dothraki barbarians."

"It seems that Your Majesty has already made a detailed plan." Kermit Tully smiled. "The Riverlands will prepare food and fodder, as well as 8,000 armored warriors. They are all well-trained. Each of them is proficient in longsword, longbow, lance, and mace. They are the second and third sons and youngest sons of nobles, as well as sergeants who have made military achievements. Your Majesty, I can guarantee that there is no more elite army than this."

"The Western Territory will provide military expenses." Seeing that the dukes had all acknowledged Daeron's plan, Duke Rolien also gave what he could, in addition to sufficient gold.

There were also five thousand warriors wearing helmets and armor.

It can be said that apart from the 10,000 raiders that the Iron Islands claim to be, the armies that the Stormlands, the Reach, the Riverlands, and the Westerlands can currently provide are all fully armored nobles and sergeants. Most of them can even become cavalry or mounted heavy infantry at any time as long as they get war horses.

Duke Creggan stared at Daeron and suddenly smiled. "Your Majesty, the North will also send troops. However, the North is not as rich as the South. We still need to accumulate strength and prepare for winter. I will send 4,000 well-equipped warriors. By the ancient gods, they are as fierce as the greybeards of the Winter Wolves."

"If your majesty's plan can succeed, we will all benefit from it, so why not do it?" Duke Shufu Arryn said with a smile: "The Vale will send 900 knights and 2,000 cavalry."

Darren nodded, then looked at Jakaris and Dan.

"Father asked me and Jay to come here. This is our attitude." Dan stood in front of Jacaerys again and said with a smile, "Jay and I, as well as our dragons, will go to Tyrosh to assist the army in crossing the sea. The Silver Fleet will provide cover for His Majesty."

The dukes tacitly agreed not to mention the army.

The Sendrolos, Kongyi, and Vareses families were very sincere in providing these two dragons. Although judging from Dan's intention, they would most likely not charge ahead.

But it was enough. Aemon and Daeron didn't feel anything was wrong, Daeron even said it in his heart, the Vareses family's willingness to send dragons and fleets had already shown their attitude.

Silver dragons support red dragons in their expeditions.

that's enough.

It had not even been five days since the Grand Council had ended.

Word of Westeros's plans to take over the Disputed Lands spread to Braavos and even to Volantis soon after.

Although Darren hadn't intended to keep it a secret, he was still shocked by how quickly the news spread.

What he didn't know was that after the news came out, the Eastern Continent was almost instantly hit by an "earthquake". Countless messengers set out from all corners of the Disputed Lands to different areas, and even a larger group of Khalasars headed south from near Qohor, preparing to join the Khalasar in the Disputed Lands.

Braavos, the Iron Bank's secret chamber.

The key people sat in a circle, looking at each other, and no one spoke.

"The dragon is coming, everyone. After nearly two hundred years, another giant dragon is about to wreak havoc on our land." A key holder whispered.

"No, Aegon stood on our side back then. His dragon sprayed dragon flames at the slave owners of Volantis. He was a friend."

"That's a thing of the past." A key holder who looked so old that his age couldn't be seen tapped the table. The black iron key on his waist made a strange sound. His voice made the entire secret room fall into silence.

"What do the Black and White Court say?" the old man asked.

"They didn't say anything." A key holder wearing a black and white mask shook his head. "The servants of the Thousand-Faced God will not take risks for things that have not happened."

"but."

"No buts." The old man stood up. "The Disputed Lands are an important source of income for the Iron Bank, and Westeros is also a major customer of ours. In principle, we will not favor either side. However, although Westeros has never had a bad debt in the past thirty years, Rogal Bank has taken away a lot of our business."

"So what you mean is"

"We can't let them get too comfortable." The old man's voice was even. "The disputed land has never had a master. There wasn't one two hundred years ago, and there won't be one two hundred years from now."

"But they have dragons."

The old man's voice stopped abruptly, and the secret room fell into deathly silence.

The silence lasted for a long, long time.

Until the silence of the secret room was interrupted by the Sea King's servants.

"The Iron Throne will send a prince as an emissary to Braavos."

"Which prince?" The key holders finally found an opportunity to speak and asked one after another.

"Aegon. Aegon Targaryen, eldest son of Prince Viserys of Oldtown, lord of Syrax."

The old man stood up instantly and looked at the key holders who also stood up.

Despite the masks, they could feel each other's emotions.

Surprise.

As the upper echelons of Braavos fell into deathly silence, other trading city-states that also quickly received the message also began their own actions.

Several remote city-states felt that the matter had nothing to do with them, so they simply kept out of it.

Lys began to mobilize. Myr closed its gates and retreated behind their strong walls, while Pentos happily opened its gates. They had good relations with the Targaryens and were not worried about their arrival.

And Volantis fell into silence.

But the eldest daughter of Valyria soon took action. Although the Elephantine Party advocated peace and contraction, it did not mean that the Elephantine Party was a surrender party. They would not tolerate such things that threatened the vital interests of Volantis.

Elephants are more ferocious than tigers.

Volantis also set out with messengers, some heading for the disputed lands, others sailing eastwards - they carried gold with them.

They will bring back a well-forged army.

Dragon's Nest City.

Longzel was lying on the top of the Silver Blood Tower, lazily basking in the sun. Diana was sitting beside him with a smile, slowly adjusting the drink she had just prepared. Daenerys was holding her soon-to-be-five-year-old brother and playing with him. Sebastian was reading a book in the sunshine with a bitter face, while Othrys and Damion were sleeping soundly in the cradle.

It was a happy and peaceful scene, if we ignore Igor who was dressed as a girl by Daenerys.

The little boy let his sister play with him with an expressionless face and let her put makeup on him without saying a word.

"Father, the letters from Dan and Xiaojie have come back." Lingol tried to slow down his footsteps and slowly walked up to the garden on the top of the tower, then he frowned.

"Dani, don't bully your brother."

Daenerys stopped immediately and hid the makeup pen behind her, "No, father, I don't have it."

"Wow!"

Igor suddenly burst into tears, closed his eyes, kicked his legs, and lay directly on the ground, crying heart-wrenchingly.

Diana was so frightened that her hands shook and she almost dropped the stirring stick to the ground.

"Igor, you're doing this again!" Daenerys immediately realized what her brother was doing, and stopped pretending to be innocent. She threw away her makeup, put her hands on her hips, and stared at Igor, who didn't shed a single tear. "Why don't you shed a few tears, you stupid brother!"

"Hmph!" Seeing that he really couldn't shed any tears, Igor simply stopped pretending and just lay down on the ground like a scoundrel.

Ringol frowned as he looked at his two children. Seeing that her father was slow to speak, Daenerys pouted and obediently carried her brother to the side to wash his face.

Ringol nodded and walked towards his father.

This chapter is a two-in-one chapter
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(End of this chapter)