Game of Thrones: King of Harrenhal, starting with a blue hand stat panel

Chapter 132 War Against the Savages, War Against the Smugglers, War Against the Pirates

Harrenburg, Hall of a Hundred Furnaces.

This is the name of the castle hall, but in reality there are only about 34 or 35 stoves.

The floor is paved with smooth stone slabs, and there are staircases leading to two corridors above.

Hanging on the stone wall of the Hall of a Hundred Furnaces is a huge banner with a gold background and black bats, as well as Arthur's greatsword, the Darkbringer, which is now renowned throughout the Seven Kingdoms.

Arthur sat in the main seat, beginning to consider his next move.

After Arthur returned from King's Landing, Earl Walter entrusted him with all the military and political affairs of Harrenhal, leaving Earl Walter to handle only the major matters.

Maintenance work at Harrenhal is now underway, with the first areas to be repaired being the Hall of a Hundred Furnaces and the Lord's Study.

The craftsmen repaired the stone walls and ceiling in the hall, and the washerwomen cleaned the floor.

The room has now been furnished with new furniture and decorations.

Because of its abundant wealth, the hall even contained jewels, fine wines, brocades, and other spices from the Eastern Continent.

Arthur's secret military meeting was attended by nine other people: Arthur's eight squire knights and Maester Qyburn.

Everyone here has a clearly defined role.

Sir Lucas Dayne of Starfall City is Arthur's second-in-command and swordsmanship instructor.

Cobb was a military cadet.

Veri and Ward are the intelligence officer and protocol officer, Lucas and Lute are the treasurer, and Rosso is the military judge and captain of the guard. They are also in charge of Arthur's personal guard.

"Mad Rat" is in charge of the elite Riverside cavalry, "Big Guy" Raleigh is in charge of the elite infantry, Clayton is in charge of the longbowmen, and Tritimor Jr. is in charge of the Harrenhal longship fleet that has been advancing rapidly recently.

Last time, Lynn rescued a longship craftsman for Arthur, who was also placed in Harrenhal.

On the long golden table, there was also a beautiful map of the seven kingdoms.

"Sir Qyburn, tell me about the hydrological and food situation first," Arthur said, letting Qyburn speak first.

Koben cleared his throat and then said excitedly, "Summer began last year. The summer is hot, but it's also good for growing grain, and there are very few floods. Harrenhal's agriculture is thriving now, and we'll have plenty of grain. The population and livestock under the lord's jurisdiction will also increase as a result."

"The key is the Azure Wave Stream and the Divine Eye River. These two rivers, one upstream and one downstream, are the main tributaries of Divine Eye Lake. The management of these two rivers must be very strict," Arthur reminded him.

"Yes, sir," Coburn said respectfully.

"Sir Arthur, with the arrival of summer and the increase in grain production, there are many tenant farmers, free riders, and hired knights willing to come to us," said Lucas Rutter.

"Very good. The family's cultivated land is limited, so these people can be sent to cultivate the wilderness. The blacksmiths of Harrenhal will provide them with the tools, and we must keep our taxes low. As for the free riders and hired knights, the selection criteria must be very strict," Arthur instructed.

The area surrounding Shenyan Lake is mostly developed land.

However, in the more peripheral areas, there is still a lot of wasteland that can be cultivated. Nowadays, the entire continent has a large amount of land but a small population.

A bumper harvest and tax cuts complement each other.

First, the land in Harrenburg has a high grain yield.

Secondly, Harrenburg has a diverse range of industries, including agriculture, commerce, animal husbandry, and winemaking.

By diversifying its business, the He'an family can also generously lower tax rates.

In this situation, the human resources that the He'an family can control will continue to increase.

The Riverlands are filled with many free knights who have been forced into exile due to their involvement in the War of the Usurpers.

There were also landless knights and second-generation adventurers from the Riverlands and Valleys who had been driven from their homes due to overpopulation and nowhere to settle down; these people were also looking for work.

The power of the River House has increased significantly, and these people are more willing to join Harrenhal than the colder Twins or the small Riverrun.

The He'an family also has the financial resources and power to select more elite soldiers and knights.

"I understand," Lucas nodded.

"Now that we have sufficient military strength, we should prepare defenses at the mountain passes of the Mingyue Mountains to guard against the savages coming down from the mountains."

"No, we should deploy troops near the coastline to be vigilant and target smugglers and pirates."

The knights began to offer their opinions.

"Silence! Gentlemen, you are all aware of my title as Guardian of Crab Bay," Arthur cleared his throat, and the knights immediately fell silent. "I can tell you very clearly that, apart from Duke Horst, Duke Jon, Duke Stannis, and King Robert, all support us in maintaining the stability and security of Crab Bay. This is tantamount to telling me that I am free to act."

Upon hearing this, most of the knights were delighted, as it meant that their actions were legally justified.

The extent of the Crab Bay Guardian's authority depends entirely on Arthur's actions.

After all, a guardian is just a military rank, and usually a guardian's authority is not as great as that of a lord.

For example, the Warden of the East from House Arryn, and the Warden of the West from House Lannister.

Literally, both families could mobilize a quarter of the kingdom's military force, but in reality, these two lords could only manage their own vassals within their own territories.

"Beneath the honey may lie a hook, Sir!" Qyburn offered a different opinion. "The reason the savages of the Moonlit Mountains, the smugglers and pirates of the Crab Claw Peninsula have always been a problem is because they are too agile. Getting caught up in them could very well lead to a quagmire of war."

The Mingyue Mountains and the Crab Claw Peninsula are two large mudflats, one with towering mountains and the other with vast, barren swamps.

The mountain clans of the Bright Moon Mountains are masters of guerrilla warfare. Many chieftains of the Ailin family have impulsively ventured deep into the mountains, only to be ambushed and killed – these are all readily available examples.

The same applies to the Crab Claw Peninsula, where the people are most skilled at guerrilla warfare and ambushes.

Jon Arryn wasn't entirely benevolent either. Since Arthur enjoyed his war games, he was more than happy to let the young man get bogged down in the quagmire of war.

After all, savages and half-savages are troublesome.

"Indeed," Sir Lucas nodded. "The fighting has only started on the outskirts; otherwise, advancing too far would have led to a complete ambush."

trap."

"You two have said a lot, but if the army doesn't move, this duty of guarding is meaningless," Veri reminded them.

"I have my own ideas." Arthur's eyes gleamed.

"I will write to the Wickley family in the valley, and to the many semi-savage families on the Crab Claw Peninsula, asking them to come to the Hall of a Hundred Furnaces in Harrenhal to discuss how to maintain the security of Crab Bay," Arthur said earnestly.

"I will be careful what I say in the letter," Coburn said.

"Lord Wekele will be happy to accept our concerns, but those semi-savages of Crab Claw Peninsula will not obey," Veri said.

The people of Crab Claw Peninsula are also notorious; they are a group of bloodthirsty and reclusive semi-savages.

Getting them to accept the orders of other lords is probably harder than climbing to heaven.

The peninsula is barren and desolate, filled with swamps and pine forests.

Every dark valley on the Crab Claw Peninsula has its own lord, and their lord and subjects trust no outsiders. They are mostly descendants of the First Men.

The Andals tried to seize the Crab Claw Peninsula, but encountered setbacks at every turn.

Finally, they realized that they could use marriage alliances to win what they couldn't obtain with swords.

The kings of House Darklin of Duskwood attempted to conquer Crabclaw Peninsula, as did House Muton of Maidenspring, and later House Setiga of Crab Island, but they were all defeated.

When the peninsula's inhabitants do not fight against external enemies, they kill each other internally, and the blood feuds between families are as dark and deep as the swamps in the mountains.

Sometimes a hero brings temporary peace to Crab Claw Peninsula, but once he dies, everything returns to normal.

"I eagerly await the attitude of the lords of Crab Claw Peninsula. If they accept our offer and enthusiastically cultivate relations with us, then they are dangerous enemies. If they are impatient to act and challenge us to a duel, I would be even more pleased. I will defeat them and then accept their surrender," Arthur said calmly. "War on the savages, war on the smugglers, war on the pirates!"

"Then we are about to be plunged into a long war," Qyburn said, trembling.

Without much thought, it's easy to imagine how bloody and protracted it would be to fight on several fronts simultaneously.

"A war without profit is a brutal war; a war with profit is a truly good war! Be cautious in war, and you will win," Arthur explained.

"The scale, duration, and intensity of the war will all depend on our choices. Only then can we truly understand the art of war. Summer brought peace, but it also brought trouble. The biggest problem for the Seven Kingdoms is that there will be countless people left unpunished. I will fight violence with violence, leaving myself a good buffer against war."

Arthur's motivation wasn't simply to enhance his personal prestige; he also genuinely needed to eliminate those destabilizing factors.

The more troublemakers you kill in the summer, the safer your subjects will be when winter comes.

Otherwise, when the harsh winter arrives, and smugglers, slave traders, and savages rampage across the rear of the Riverlands, then there will truly be no peace.

Arthur needs to solidify the rear buffer zone as much as possible before preparing for a truly brutal battle.

He wouldn't go deep into the area under the guise of bandit suppression, but Arthur did have the idea of ​​using the pretext of bandit suppression to increase his power.

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