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

Noon, Crab Bay, Saltworks Town.

The Cox family castle overlooks the entire harbor.

The town is small but beautiful.

The castle smelled of salt and sea breeze, but it was small enough that it didn't have an excessive stench.

The town's handicrafts include salt production and fishing, which spans a narrow sea.

"Over here!"

Sir Quincy was also very enthusiastic about the successor of the Riverside family.

The castle's pontoon bridge descended, and visitors crossed it into the castle's passageway.

The Cox family was a relatively wealthy knightly family, but by no means a very powerful one.

Geographically, Yanchang Town is close to the two lords of He'an and Dairui.

The Dai Rui family is now severely weakened, while the He An family is in much better shape.

Sir Cox also relied more heavily on the support of the Riverside family.

The most powerful knightly family is the Templeton family, the Nine Star City Knights of the Valley.

They were merely a knightly family, yet they possessed extraordinary strength and influence comparable to many lords, capable of organizing armies of over a thousand men.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Sir Quincy," Arthur said to Sir Quincy.

"You're too kind, Master Arthur," Sir Quincy said warmly.

After Arthur finished eating the Cox family's bread and salt, he officially entered the Cox family's castle.

They ate bread and salt.

The host will not harm the guest.

The time for a red wedding has not yet come for Westeros.

For Sir Lucas and others, all other castles seemed small compared to Harrenhal.

Sir Quincy ate like a beer barrel and was rather stout.

He didn't seem like a knight; he was more like a beer hall owner.

Arthur and Sir Quincy entered the drawing room of Salt Fields Castle.

Fine wine and delicacies were prepared, and Sir Quincy's family members were there to serve him.

Trout, herring, cod, oysters, and clams—a variety of deep-sea fish can also be found at the banquets here.

Sir Quincy had some sons, but none of them were particularly talented.

The knight's son was more accustomed to the port's shipping, salt production, and fishing business than to being a proper knight.

"May the Seven Gods bless His Majesty, and may King Robert live long!" Sir Quincy raised his glass in celebration.

"May the Seven Gods protect His Majesty the King, long live King Robert."

May this good fortune continue endlessly!

"May this good fortune continue forever!" the guests cheered together.

The cups clinked together, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Even though they were all lords who served the Banner of the Targaryens in the past, and had fought for the Dragon Banner at the Battle of the Trident.

But now, throughout the entire Seven Kingdoms.

On paper, no one dared to deny Robert's royal power and could only submit to his rule.

Robert's monarchy did not collapse in the face of external forces, but rather due to a complex web of internal relationships.

"Try our freshly caught trout, it tastes amazing."

"Indeed, the trout this season tastes very good," Sir Cox's sons remarked.

The grilled trout was sprinkled with almonds and tasted excellent.

Arthur, of course, didn't stand on ceremony and enjoyed the feast provided by the Cox family.

Cut the sturgeon with a knife and fork, and enjoy a bite of its sweet, tender white flesh.

"Saltfields and Harrenhal are not far apart, and we should maintain this good relationship," Sir Quincy said.

"That's what I wanted too," Arthur said with a smile.

"yes."

"Yes, that's exactly right."

Amidst the lively chatter, the atmosphere became incredibly enthusiastic, symbolizing the friendship between the Riverside and Cox families.

Sir Quincy was by no means foolish.

Although the town of Yanchang was militarily weak, it still possessed the shrewdness of a merchant.

The Tully family may seem to be at the height of its power now, but it is by no means invincible.

Tully's base of operations is too small.

Once the other lords recover from the war, the Tully family's influence will gradually diminish and return to its original position.

This may also be why Horst supported the royal family's severe punishment of the Eastern Riverlands.

In addition to the Frey family, several major families in the East Riverlands, including the Riveran, Mouton, and Darryl, were punished in one fell swoop.

Moreover, apart from "Blackfish" Brynden, Riverrun now only has Horst and Edmure left.

Horst was weak, and Edmure was unmarried and not a good knight.

Since they were both bachelors, it was difficult to completely suppress the restless feudal lords.

Logically speaking, besides Edmure, the Duke of Horst himself was also a good tool for marriage alliances.

High-ranking nobles like Tywin and Horst, who did not remarry after their first wives died, were extremely rare.

Being a romantic is good, but being too emotional is not.

It's normal for old Frey, Earl Leyton Hightower, to frequently remarry.

The family is large, with at least eight or nine children.

"Everything is fine here, but there are two difficulties. First, the savages from the Bright Moon Mountains occasionally harass my territory, plundering my land and people. Second, the port's size remains stagnant. Without gold, it's difficult for me to increase the number of garrisons and soldiers, and even the gold needed for my sons' knight training is hard to come by. Buying a decent set of plate and chainmail requires selling a lot of fish, so many of them aren't suitable knights," Sir Quincy said dramatically.

Knight training is very expensive, and some people would rather be squires for life.

"As a friendly neighbor of the Cox family, the Riverside family will naturally provide the best possible assistance to the Lord," Arthur promised.

The value of the longship fleet lies in this: it can cross the Trident River to provide reinforcements and can traverse the estuary.

The current at the mouth of the Trident River is gentler and less powerful than that at the mouth of the Blackwater River.

Moreover, the savages are not particularly troublesome enemies; their equipment is poor, their nutrition is even worse, and they have very few horses and armor.

In the past, the savages mainly raided along the mountain roads, taking advantage of the terrain to rob people.

What Arthur needs now is to expand into a three-dimensional defensive chain, from Harrenhal to Crab Bay.

"That's great," Sir Quincy said happily, which could be considered a form of armed protection.

The land between the West Rivers is far away, and so is the realm of the ruler.

Horst's support for the Iron Throne's punishment rather than leniency also indicates that he has no intention of winning over the Eastern Riverlands, but rather tacitly approves further exploitation and will not provide strong support.

Although half of the Darryl family's lands became royal fiefdoms, the king did not care about it.

Robert disliked counting coins, and the officials in charge of the fiefdom were not close to the people of Saltfield.

In this situation, the remnants of the Donghejian region were more likely acting out of self-preservation.

Just like in the original story, it was precisely because of the decline of the Hean, Multon, and Darryl families that this happened.

The Frey family has the power to gather more wandering knights and mercenaries, which further enhances their own strength.

This is also a chain reaction.

Now, if Arthur can gather the power of the East Riverlands, this butterfly effect will make the River Ann family even stronger.

"We Riverlands, the Riverlands need to unite," Sir Quincy, slurring his words, clearly drunk. "What a pity, what a pity that the Kings of the Riverlands are all bones now. To this day, the fate of the Riverlands is not in the hands of the Riverlands people. If the Kings of the Riverlands had granted us trading privileges back then, perhaps we could have become a city."

Salt Field Town, Beauty Market, Seafront City, Maiden Spring Town, Haroway Town—the ancient River King rejected the expansion of these towns and the charters that might have made them cities.

Land, population, towns—these are like the veins of lords.

If Horst cannot protect the interests of these people, they will choose others.

Arthur smiled but did not answer.

Everyone has looked back at the past; this land has seen countless losers.

The Mudd family was destroyed by the Andals.

In the Hundredth War, the seven Andar kings joined forces against the invincible Mud IV and defeated him.

The Fairmen were destroyed by King Corey Hall I of the Iron Islands.

The Teague family was destroyed by Storm King Alan Durandon III.

The Durandon family was defeated by "The Strongman" Halwin.

The Hall family pioneered "land-based boats" and built the fortified city of Harrenhal, but was ultimately destroyed by the conquerors riding the Black Death.

The Tully family, governors of the Trident River, relied heavily on marriage alliances.

Looking back at history, he is the shadow of the King of the Trident River, who died and whose kingdom perished.

However, failure brings lessons.

The Trident River needs a true King of the Three Rivers, a victorious King of the Three Rivers.

"Never mind, there's no point in saying so much. Let's respect Sanhe!" Sir Quincy said.

"To Mikawa!"