Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 47 Variables (Three in One)

Prime Minister Otto stood up first. "Your Majesty, I have to remind you that although Dorne is currently in turmoil, this does not mean that we can completely conquer Dorne. If we are not careful, the good situation will quickly deteriorate."

"Prime Minister, please speak frankly." Grand Maester Meros stroked his collar. He had collars for politics and diplomacy, and had a certain understanding of Otto's ideas. To be honest, Grand Maester Meros was also worried that Viserys I would order the conquest of Dorne in a fit of rage.

However, the Iron Guard Captain Christon Cole seemed a little dissatisfied, but he suppressed this emotion deep in his heart and could not show it at least for now.

After all, he is also a borderlander. This brave captain of the Iron Guard was born into a small noble family in Black Harbor. His father used to be the steward of the Dondarrion family, and his brother still serves in the Dondarrion family. As a knight of the borderland, he was absent from the war in which the borderland vented its anger against Dorne, which made the proud captain of the Iron Guard quite unhappy.

However, the captain of the Iron Guard could not show such an attitude in front of the king and queen. This would be disrespectful to the royal family.

"Your Majesty, I think the royal family should support Prince Longzel's revenge." Sir Christon found the right time and made a suggestion before Prime Minister Otto spoke. The captain of the Kingsguard is not only the leader of the royal guards, but also the military minister of the royal family. Responsible for giving military advice to the king. "Or at least ask Duke Baratheon and Duke Tyrell to allow the nobles of the border to send troops to assist. In this way, the royal family will not lose the opportunity to gain benefits in this war."

"White Knight, the Dorne issue is not just a military issue." Otto said patiently, "It is also a political issue. Dorne now has four kings. Let's not talk about the weakness of the Uller family. The Dayne family is focused on unifying western Dorne and has no time to care about the problems in eastern Dorne. The key to this melee lies in the Yronwood family and the Martell family. Neither of these two families has the ability to swallow the other in one breath. If the outside force is just a little bit of a stir, then the two families can completely fight until they need outside forces to intervene. Sir Tyran, I have no intention of targeting your family. It's like a fight between a lion and a wolf. If the stag enters the field when both sides are exhausted and both are injured, then the final winner is the stag. But if the stag enters the field rashly, it will be greeted by the siege of wolves and lions."

"Prime Minister, you are not targeting only my family." Ser Tyran Lannister laughed: "It's a pity that Lord Stark is far away in the north, and Lord Baratheon is still recuperating at Storm's End, otherwise they should really listen to the Prime Minister's wonderful metaphors."

But what Otto said does make sense. Longzier successfully tore Dorne apart, but if the Iron Throne rushes in, Dorne is likely to reunite. But if the external pressure is not so great.
Before you can resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the internal situation.

There were no fools in Viserys I's court; naturally, everyone understood everything.

"Your Majesty, Lord Bermond Baratheon has sent a letter to the Iron Throne, asking for permission for the Stormlands lords to raise troops, but Lord Bermond has also promised that these troops will only be used for border defense, and he will not start a war without authorization." Grand Maester Melos added. "I think the lords of the Reach will also sympathize with the difficulties of the kingdom."

"Of course." Otto has written letters to his brother Earl Hobart Hightower and his nephew Sir Mond Hightower. As one of the largest noble families in the South, the Hightower family has the ability to suppress the nobles of the Reach and keep them calm. The only flaw is that Sir Mond Hightower's wife Samantha Tully is from the Tully family who is participating in the war. This makes many nobles in the Reach think that the Hightower family has interfered in this war behind their backs.

"Your Majesty, I think I need to inform you of the current situation of the treasury." Earl Linman Bisbury coughed and drew everyone's attention back. "No matter how the kingdom finally decides to intervene in this war, it will require enough gold. Unfortunately, although there are 1.5 million pure gold dragons and no less than 3 million gold dragons mixed with impurities in the treasury, if the war starts, the cost will be an astronomical figure." The old earl looked into the king's eyes. "The planning and construction of King's Landing requires money, and the maintenance of several avenues requires money. Your Majesty must consider the situation of the treasury and whether the people of King's Landing can afford the tax increase after the war."

The king had calmed down by now. "So what do you think the kingdom can do now?"

"Your Majesty, do nothing," said Prime Minister Otto. "Leave the front line to the right people." He said, "Ignore the Dornish envoys if they come to King's Landing. We will enter when the time is right."

Viserys nodded slightly. Although he knew Otto's ambition, Otto's ability was even more outstanding. A capable and ambitious person, if used well, would bring endless benefits to the kingdom.

"My Lords, I have another question." Lord Justice Jasper Wilder said, "What if the Dornish want to marry Prince Longzel?"

Everyone looked at the king.

Yes, if the Dornish wanted to maintain the relationship through marriage, it would be difficult for Longzel to find a reason to refuse, but the royal family’s goal was to control the Varese family as much as possible within the royal family’s reach.

It’s a pity that all the daughters of marriageable age in the family are already taken, so they can’t do something like breaking up the engagement.

"Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is indeed the marriage issue of the Varese family. Prince Rey can wait, but Prince Longzel and Prince Valar are both sixteen years old." Earl Linman Bisbury stopped talking halfway, but everyone knew what he meant.

Try to find one among the major princes as soon as possible, to avoid that Longzel really marries a Dornishman, which would be a lot of fun.

"We'll discuss this next time." Weseryston felt overwhelmed. This kind of thing was indeed difficult to deal with. If you were not careful, big problems would arise.

"Grand Maester, Otto, you will be responsible for checking the girls of marriageable age." King Viserys gave the order.

After the meeting, the bow-footed Laris Strong limped along the corridor of the Red Keep with a cane. He pursed his thin lips, as if thinking about something. Otto walked past him quickly and gave him a puzzled look. "Lord Laris, do you have anything to say?"

"No, sir." Laris smiled. "I was just impressed by Princess Rhaenyra's decisiveness. Princes Jacaerys and Lucerys are both on the front lines of the Dorne War. A royal family member who personally goes to the battlefield will be praised by the bards and the people as a hero, especially if he wins. I think the people will probably praise the little prince for his bravery behind the prince."

Otto's expression changed. "Lord Laris, it is the duty of the royal family to share the kingdom's worries. I am proud of the two princes."

"Your Excellency is truly the pillar of the country." Larris bowed. "Greetings to you, our good Prime Minister."

Otto nodded slightly and walked towards the Prime Minister's Tower. Queen Alison was already waiting in the main hall of the Prime Minister's Tower.

"Your Majesty, you are the queen." Otto sighed when he saw his daughter standing nervously in front of the fireplace. "You should be with the king at this time."

"Father, I need your advice." Queen Alicent didn't care about anything else and ran to Otto with her skirt lifted up. "Rhaenyra's son has made military achievements, but my son is still rotting in King's Landing, Aegon is idle all day, and Aemond nominally controls the largest dragon in the world, but in fact he has only ridden it once."

"You want Aegon and Aemond to join the war." Otto covered his head helplessly. "My dear daughter, my queen, war is no joke. Princess Rhaenyra's sons are just joining the army to gain experience. Dorne has two mature dragon riders. If Aegon and Aemond join, it will only give the Dornish an excuse to unite."

"Then Rhaenyra's son is no excuse?" Alicent was a little unhappy, but she continued to persuade her father. "The royal family has already joined the war. This is an indisputable fact. The bards in King's Landing have already begun to sing their bravery."

"They have a legitimate reason." Otto said impatiently. "They are fighting in the name of the squires of Prince Longzel and Prince Valar. No one can stop a squire from following his knight onto the battlefield."

"Prince, Prince." Allison smiled. "Father, have you forgotten that you promised to sell them one, oh, or two daughters?"

"Alison, these things are not necessarily related." Otto suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

"My son cannot be worse than Rhaenyra's son." Alicent took a few steps closer, forcing Otto to take a few steps back. "An excellent prince cannot lack military merit."

"I understand, I understand." Otto did not dare to speak harshly to his daughter at this time. "Now is not the right time. Once Prince Longzel has gained a firm foothold in Dorne and the war situation is clear, the Iron Throne will naturally send troops to maintain peace. That will be the best time for the princes to go out. 'Peacemaker', 'Liberator of Dorne', 'Unifier', 'Prince of Peace'. These titles will be more popular among the common people than warriors."

"but"

"Alison!" Otto finally found a chance to interrupt the queen. "You are the queen, you should be with the king at this time. Not..." He glanced around. "Not in the Prime Minister's Tower with your father."

"I understand." As if she understood that her father would eventually use this excuse to perfunctorily deal with her, Alison finally muttered, "I am the queen," while lifting her skirt and quickly leaving the Prime Minister's Tower, leaving Otto to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Aegon, what are you waiting for?" Aegon the Great excitedly asked his servants to put on leather armor for him. Aegon, with a crystal clear sapphire in his eye socket, stood quietly beside his brother, crossed his arms and watched his brother look left and right in front of the mirror. After admiring his heroic appearance, Aegon the Great tossed his hair and walked quickly to his brother. "Ride Vhagar, we will go to the Stone Road today. Vhagar will be slower, but three or four days will be enough."

"Are you crazy?" Imond looked at his brother's hand on his shoulder and said lightly.

"I'm not crazy." Great Aegon looked at his brother's remaining eye. "This is a good opportunity. Uncle Longzel won a great victory. Now the stone roads and large tracts of territory in Dorne belong to the kingdom. The whole of Dorne is in disarray. We only need to fly over Dorne, and when we come back, there will be bards singing praises of our bravery. Aemond, think about it. Once you go, you will hear your beautiful name from the mouths of those commoners and whores in all the taverns and brothels in the future. Isn't this great?"

"Did father give his permission?" Aemond looked at his brother who was choked by his words with his blue sapphire eyes.

"Coco is."

"My brother." Aemond pulled the elder Aegon's hand away. "Do you understand what the consequences would be if two true princes rode dragons to what is now Dorne?"

"What?" Great Aegon was stunned for a moment, then shuddered immediately: "They will think that a full-scale war has begun."

Imond rolled his eyes at his brother. He was not hopelessly stupid. "I looked at the map and the battle report. Brother, have you seen it?"

Aegon the Great shook his head, but he still tried to defend himself: "I heard from them that Dorne is now divided into several parts, and the two biggest ones, Yronwood and Martell, are about to beat each other's brains out."

"Without external support, the Yronwoods would not have been able to defeat the Martells so easily. In the Great Dune Raid, Lewyn Yronwood defeated Prince Chorren's army of nearly 1500 with cavalrymen. This would have been impossible without sufficient intelligence support. This can only mean one thing, that the Yronwoods' final decision to rebel was supported by our dear uncle." Aemond continued to explain to Aegon the Great. "With the support of a dragon king who had no intention of swallowing up the entire Dorne in one go, the Yronwoods had enough confidence to challenge the Martells, but it would be different if we went there. The balance would be broken, and Prince Chorren could mobilize the Dornishmen's resistance to the Targaryens. Dorne, which had been scattered like sand, would also be reunited."

Aemond looked at his brother, whose breath was gradually weakening, and said calmly: "Besides, my Vhagar and the dragons of my two cousins ​​are not afraid of the scorpion crossbow. What about your Yangyan?"

Great Aegon trembled for a moment. His beautiful Yangyan was a young dragon. Although it was gorgeous and majestic, its scales were not as thick as those of an adult dragon. The huge scorpion crossbow could still hurt it.

"Oh, I see." Great Aegon looked at the leather armor on his body and lowered his head reluctantly. "But our nephew has already won military merits, and people in King's Landing are already praising them."

"Oh, they are indeed that strong." Aemond curled his lips.

In the shadows, Helena watched the conversation between the two brothers quietly, and returned to the bedroom without saying a word. She looked quietly at the extinguished brazier and fireplace, not knowing what she was thinking.

Dragonstone.

Princess Rainier, who had given birth to a healthy baby boy, looked at the letter in her hand for a long time in silence.

Next to her in the cradle slept her newborn son, little Viserys, named after her father. To the princess's sorrow, the dragon egg in the silver-haired infant's cradle had not hatched, unlike her previous sons.

There were crisp footsteps outside the door. Prince Damon, dressed in a tight suit, pushed open the door.

"The child is sleeping." Princess Rhaenyra reminded her husband who was about to get intimate with his son. "Have you read the war report from the south?"

"I saw it." Daemon said softly, "Longzier has learned the lesson from the previous war in Dorne." He sat down next to his wife. "He has succeeded in stopping when the time is right and instigating internal strife. Once the time is right, Dorne will be his."

"Can't the lords of Dorne think of this?" asked Princess Rhaenyra.

"Greed makes people short-sighted, dear." Damon smiled and said softly, "Even if they realize it, they will not let go of the benefits they have obtained. As long as they hold the idea of ​​integrating Dorne before dealing with Longzel, we will be invincible."

“You have found good knights for Gon and Lu,” Rhaenyra whispered, smiling. “I have heard singers call them valiant princes, and I have heard that the people of the borderlands love Gon and Lu because they live and eat with the warriors during battle.”

"That's a good thing," Damon said with a smile. "There are enough legends that people will ignore the rumors."

"But I still have to pray to the Seven." Rhaenyra looked into her husband's eyes. "After all, they are my sons. I am still worried about putting them in danger."

"Let's go together." Daemon held his wife's hand. "The gods will bless them."

The ruins of the city of Weir.

Longzel's main army chose to set up camp here, and the people who originally belonged to the territory of Weil smoothly accepted the rule of the new lord.

After all, they exempted taxes for a year, made major tax cuts, brought in cheap food, and even gave money for building fortresses and camps very quickly.

Although the Dornish are unrestrained and do not care much about the rules that the Northerners like to follow, they are still human beings after all. The Dornish have their own honor system. Longzier defeated Ullen Weir, defeated all the members of the Weir family, and defeated many great nobles. The Dornish who advocate the use of force will naturally worship him, especially since Longzier defeated several knights who came to challenge him.

The Dornish hate conquerors, but admire heroic heroes.

Therefore, Longzel's governance was surprisingly smooth, and the people from the border areas and the population brought by Longzel began to gradually fill the population gap in Weil Territory.

"Prince Dragonzel of House Vareses, Lord of Dragon's Nest, Key to the Bone Road, Governor of the Marches, Guardian of the Stone Road, Silver-blooded Noble, Descendant of the Emperor of Valyria, Slayer of Vipers, Destroyer of Tolan."

"Stop, stop, stop." Longzier waved his hand helplessly, indicating that there was no need to read so much. Valar beside him had already started to laugh secretly, but Hoffa Law-Keeper still had a stern face, and stood upright on both sides of the lord with the Dothraki boy Ago. Hoffa's lips moved, as if he was silently reciting Longzier's title.

Lord Edric Dondarrion then stopped reading the nickname. "I have released my oath of submission to Lord Baratheon and have received his approval. Your Highness, all the lords of the Marches should kneel and pledge allegiance to the true Governor of the Marches." He glanced at Lord Gerold Selmy and Lord Donald Tarly. "From today on, the Dondarrion family of Blackhaven will worship the Vareses family as their feudal lords. Purple lightning will split all obstacles for you. From today on, until Blackhaven collapses and the last Dondarrion dies, our loyalty will be entrusted to you and your family. The new and old gods are witnesses. This is true today and will be true every day."

Edric placed the sword in his hand and raised it above his head.

Longzel smiled and took Lord Edric's sword. "I accept your loyalty. There will always be a place for the Dondarrion family in the halls of Dragon's Nest."

"It is an honor for Dondarrion, Your Highness," Lord Edric said respectfully.

The soldiers who had made great contributions in this war followed the count and stepped forward one by one to receive their rewards.

The Miles Hermosas, who were given a surname, obtained a territory near the Sea of ​​Dorne and became wealthy knights.

Rodrik Isaboul, a Vale mercenary knight who killed several knights of House Uller in the battle and led a team to destroy hundreds of Dornish infantry, also obtained a small piece of land in the Red Mountains.

Longzel generously rewarded them with enough money to build a small castle.

This made the two new nobles burst into tears instantly, and they swore to the Seven Gods that they would serve the Varese family for the rest of their lives.

"Your Highness."

A woman's voice came from outside the tent, and a woman in a coarse skirt walked in with a tall and thin little boy, her head lowered.

"My husband Abel Hayden is the lord of Tianqiao City. He died heroically during the invasion of the bastards of the Weir family. I would like to ask..." The woman choked when she mentioned her husband, tears streaming down her face. Her son was very sensible and helped his mother wipe her tears.

"Your Highness, my mother would like to request you to issue an imperial decree to reconfirm the Hayden family's ownership of the Tianqiao City territory." The little boy stood up and spoke the request clearly in the common language.

"This is as it should be." Longzel looked at the boy. "A loyal and brave man should not be let down." He looked at Earl Edric who was standing beside him.

"Sir Abel is a loyal and brave knight." Earl Edric did not hide his subordinate's achievements. "He risked his life for my son. In the end, he died on the battlefield with my son."

"What's your name?" Longzel asked.

"My name is Revel."

"Very good, little Revil, are you willing to join my court?" Longzel walked down from his seat and came to his mother: "I will personally write an edict to confirm the territory of the Haydn family. Madam, do you agree that Revil will go to my court? I will arrange the best teachers and accommodation for the descendants of loyal and brave knights."

"It is an honor for the Hayden family, Your Highness." The woman hurriedly lifted her skirt and saluted. "The Hayden family will always be your sharpest sword."

Longzel touched little Revell's head and returned to his seat.

The next one to come in.

A Dornishman.

I checked again today and found that I have recovered well. I combined three chapters into one today and will gradually increase the number of words in each update later.

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(End of this chapter)