Game of Thrones: The Bronze and Fire Lord.

Chapter 360 The Joy of the Imperial Conference

The King's Landing.

Red Castle, conference hall.

"Excellent! The army will surely return in triumph soon!"

Viserys beamed and slammed his hand on the table, his genuine ease impossible to conceal.

With the war won, we no longer have to suffer from loss of appetite and insomnia.

Alison, standing beside her husband, was also all smiles, saying, "We won, and Aemon and Aegon will be able to return safely."

Her joy was undisguised.

As news of the battles, including the Battle of Goldoho, the Siege of Norfolk, and the Battle of Dagger Lake, reached King's Landing, nobles and commoners alike were overjoyed.

But standing behind the children, her worries were palpable.

"Your Highness has achieved victory, but the war is not yet over. We still need to support the supply of provisions and equipment."

Justice Minister Thaddeus, patting his large belly, offered a reminder with a mixture of joy and worry.

Viserys was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

indeed.

Kohol has not yet submitted; the remnants of Valantis remain stubbornly unyielding.

This cannot be taken lightly.

"Lord Thaddeus is worrying too much."

Otto remained calm and said, "The Battle of Dagger Lake secured our victory and greatly enhanced the authority of the Iron Throne. Given time, the Targaryen dynasty will surely become a dragon dynasty spanning two continents, restoring the glory of the ancient Valyrian Freehold."

"Moreover, the provisions that Prince Imon has mobilized so far are only the first two batches of supplies."

"Uh, that's it."

Thaddeus scratched his head awkwardly.

See, that's what it means to be a good talker; their words are so pleasant to hear.

They've practically made the king beam with delight.

Fearing the king might not understand, the Minister of the Navy, Bartimos, stood up and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince consumed very few resources, yet achieved a great victory. The Royal Council, based in the rear, should provide more encouragement and rewards."

Regarding the Eastern Expedition to Kohor.

From the king to the royal council, everyone was thinking of emptying their coffers and making a big splash.

Therefore, Tyran, who was in charge of the national treasury, got up earlier than the chickens and went to bed later than the dogs every day, working day and night on the accounts.

I thought it would take at least two or three years to finish.

The situation is not good; it may take three to five years to achieve any results.

Unexpectedly, it only took a few months from the declaration of war to the establishment of victory.

Renilla sat to the right of her father, Weslis, in the place originally reserved for Lord Leonor. She took a sip of the sweet wine and chuckled softly:
"According to the scholar's calculations, Lannar will give birth in three months, and Imon will definitely be able to make it in time for the newborn's birth."

The war lasted for three or four months, until October.

In two months, we will reach 122AC.

This child will be a "child of winter" whose name comes in February.

However, not many people present cared about Lannar and her unborn child, who were far away on Chaotou Island.

Viserys only glanced at it briefly before turning his attention to Bartimos's words. His smile faded, and he spoke in a tone that was half questioning and half accusing:
“Imon has indeed done a great service, so what reward should I, as his uncle and the king, give him?”

Anyone who knows Viserys knows that this tone of voice indicates he's somewhat angry.

Otto glanced at the king, then chose to remain silent and unfocused.

Allison pursed her lips, glancing at Renilla, worried that her husband would dislike Emon because of this.

Barthemos's words practically forced the king to bestow a reward.

Power and fame are not granted by others or their hands.

Was the reward you requested the king's will, or yours?

This is a grave disrespect to the king and can be considered an extremely egregious example of usurpation.

"Lord Barthemos, what you said..."

Renilla wasn't a political fool anymore; she immediately sat up straight, trying to find a way to defend herself.

Viserys interrupted him abruptly, staring at Batimos with a forced smile, "You speak, my lord."

He couldn't even maintain the most basic smile, which shows how annoyed he was.

"This, I..."

Barthemos finally realized he had said the wrong thing, and sweat poured down his forehead. He almost bowed and apologized.

But that would definitely not work; it would expose the unspoken understanding between the ruler and his subjects.

In a more serious case, it could really damage the deep relationship between the King and His Highness the Prince.

The ministers had different expressions. Some wanted to help, but dared not speak out because of the king's majesty. Others were indifferent, while still enjoying the spectacle.

The one they wanted to help was Thaddeus, who was openly a member of the Black Party and a member of the Prince's faction.

Otto was indifferent, completely unconcerned about the life or death of a fool.

The one who's here to watch the show is the young Lord Tyran.

He had absolutely no liking for the red crab, who always took advantage of his age and close relationship with the royal family to boss him around as a "veteran" of the royal council.

They weren't just gloating, they were practically kicking someone when they were down.

Grand Scholar Orville spoke up: "Your Majesty, the Cardinals of the Citadel have sent a white raven to inform you that this year will be the last mild winter, and next year will be a long summer that lasts for several years."

His words helped Bartimos out of his predicament.

"Oh, is it so?"

Viserys stopped pressing the issue and asked with interest, "If Westeros is very hot, wouldn't Rhys be a good summer retreat? I've heard that the dragon kings of ancient Valyria often spend their summers there."

"That depends on Prince Damon's wishes."

Orville, a man of principle, couldn't help but joke with the king at this moment.

"Hahaha, that stingy Damon probably won't want me to go."

Viserys wasn't afraid of having his weaknesses exposed, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

This scene perfectly illustrates the varying degrees of closeness and distance between the king and his different ministers. Orville replaced Melos as the king's trusted advisor, even surpassing Melos in favor.

Otto was demoted several times, and his political career was full of setbacks.

However, he was cautious in his words and actions, and always followed the king's wishes, so he was still a trusted minister who was often summoned to the king's bedchamber to seek advice.

Conversely, Thaddeus, Barthemos, and Johanna, whom Aemon had personally promoted, were not favored by Viserys and were always relegated to the sidelines.

It's not that Viserys was biased; there were precautions to be taken, but more importantly, it was due to the different personalities of the ruler and his subject.

Thaddeus was a slow-moving person; he was clear-headed about important matters but always made mistakes on trivial ones.

However, Viserys was a king who hesitated on important matters but was decisive on trivial ones.

Thaddeus's ministers were in a very difficult situation because they had been caught making the same mistakes repeatedly.

Barthemos was a selfish and arrogant fool who really thought of himself as Aemon's vanguard, always rushing to the front and daring to do anything.

No wonder Viserys wouldn't like it.

As for Johanna...

Viserys glanced at the quiet lady in the black tulle dress, shook his head inwardly, and then brought up:

"I doubt Kohol can stop that kid's advance. You need to be prepared, not only to replenish the logistics, but also to plan a martial arts tournament to celebrate the victory."

“Father!” Renilla said helplessly.

Before anything has even happened, they're already thinking about holding a martial arts tournament.

Moreover, two martial arts tournaments were held at the beginning and middle of this year.

These are celebrations of Imond's engagement and the visit of the Kohol messenger.

With only two months left until next year, and another martial arts tournament to be held, the national treasury can't possibly withstand such a disaster.

"Ahem, it's fine if we don't hold the banquet, but we'll plan a palace banquet instead."

Faced with his daughter's complaints, Viserys wisely backed down, but still wanted to make things lively.

He was a good king for two or three decades, yet he was also constantly worried about the war at the front.

What's wrong with enjoying the victory?!
Renilla rolled her eyes, knowing she couldn't dissuade him, and acquiesced to her father's extravagance.

Anyway, his great-grandfather Jaheris and his father, two generations of kings, had amassed a huge sum of money for the treasury, so holding a few tournaments and banquets was of little consequence.

It's just a drop in the ocean.

The matter was thus happily decided.

Seeing that the King was in a good mood, Minister of Finance, Lord Tylan, looked around and said with a forced smile, "Your Majesty, Prince Jaheris has sent word that he hopes the Royal Council will allocate some money and supplies to White Garden City."

"Ok?"

Viserys paused, then frowned.

She's very willing to spend money on herself.

But spending money on my grandson, I have to think about it carefully.

After all, he is the current king and spends his money, but the future king will be his grandson, and he won't spend a single copper coin of his grandson's money.

Renilla was also taken aback and asked, "What does he need the money for?"

It's not that White Garden City frequently holds banquets, using the giants who cultivate the land as a gimmick to charge nobles admission fees.

Why are you still short of money?

Tyran hesitated slightly, then said with difficulty, "It seems so. Prince Jaeheris has taken in another group of giants and children of the forest, and he's going to build houses for them and pay them wages."

After the last tournament, the giants were already a race known throughout the seven kingdoms.

But the Children of the Forest were kept in the dark, and only the royal family and the Royal Council knew about them.

"Another group of giants and children of the forest have arrived. That's quite a... big deal."

Viserys has always kept his distance from other races.

Renilla slapped her forehead and said helplessly, "Give it to him. Take the money from my princess's private treasury first, and we'll talk about it when Imon returns."

Aemon said that the giants of White Garden and the children of the forest were not the first, nor would they be the last.

Giants are not skilled in magic, are honest and irritable, and are easy to control.

The children of the forest are intelligent and innocent, with no ill intentions.

It is not a bad thing to let them return to the lands of the Seven Kingdoms and pledge their loyalty to the Targaryens.

"Then let's do it."

Viserys was indifferent, and seemed a bit stingy.

Alison felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject: "The kids are all grown up now, they have their own ideas, and they're bound to do something."

Seeing that he had attracted everyone's attention, he smiled and said, "I only found out this morning that Darren ran away to Dragonstone and kidnapped two Kingsguards."

Going to Dragonstone is, of course, about taming dragons.

Previously, during the journey to Corhol, Aegon and his two siblings abandoned young Daeron.

Later, during the expedition to Corhol, all three Aegon siblings had missions, while Daeron had nothing to do.

They're practically turning the kids into left-behind children.

Darren gritted his teeth and made a rebellious decision, doing something that went against his ancestors' wishes...

He left a letter and sneaked off to Dragonstone Island.

In the letter, he declared that he would not return to King's Landing until Terserion was tamed.

"This kid has reached the point of rebellion."

Viserys' face darkened, and he cursed, "It's all because of Aegon's good example that his younger siblings follow suit."

Aegon, far away in the Lohn River region: ...

“Darren is almost 7 years old, and he has Sir Illic and Sir Alec as his bodyguards.”

Allison spoke up for her son.

"When they get back, I'm going to give them a good talking to!"

Viserys was proud, but he didn't hold back with his words.

The Carguel brothers suffered greatly, becoming the prince's essential guards for taming dragons, and having to eat fish every time.

(End of this chapter)