The king on the Great Wall

Arya Stark, after he announced that women were allowed to join the Legion, got her wish and became the first female Night's Watch and was appointed Chief.Iger originally thought that a brat like her would not be able to make any big waves. Who would have thought that when she went to Houguan Town to take up her post, she would bring Maester Luwin as her assistant in addition to her belongings!

This little girl cheated, and the situation suddenly became complicated.

With the guidance and assistance of such an old bachelor, plus her recognition and promise as the commander-in-chief, Arya began to recruit women to join in the entire northern border with the highlight of managing food and housing. At the same time as a purely female armed force, they gradually began to extend their hands to Houguan Town and even the entire land, and wanted to intervene and interfere in all aspects of the military, administration, and even the economy of the North of the North as the hostess!

Of course, Arya's idea can't be realized so quickly. Iger's confidants in Houguan Town also have ways to suppress and deal with a little girl, but because they haven't figured out Iger's position, they don't dare to act rashly. The situation was reported in the letter in order to receive further instructions and orders.

Tsk, today's young people really don't talk about martial arts.If it's just that Arya wants to do something in the land gift with her passion, so as to make up for her crime of luring wolves into the house for her family, then she will definitely give her whatever she wants because she feels guilty, and let her make trouble, but Now she dragged Maester Luwin to the Grant too?The nature of this matter has changed in an instant!

Did the little girl do this alone, or was it planned by the Stark family?

Is Maester Luwin taking care of his young lady for a while because he is worried about his own lady, or is he planning to stay in the land grant for a long time?

Should I order the left-behind officials to keep fighting openly and secretly with the little she-wolf, or call Robb Stark to beat him to stop his infiltration of his base camp?

If you don't understand the actual situation, you can't take random countermeasures, but the north and the south are separated by thousands of miles, and he will never have time to go back to the north.

Rubbing her brows with a headache, the door was pushed open. Myrcella nimbly entered the room with a small kettle, came to the table, and refilled the cup in front of Iger familiarly. boiled water, and walked around to him to rub his shoulders.

"It's just in time, news from the north, let's see." Iger nodded to the girl in thanks, and casually handed her the letter in his hand.

Myrcella's emerald green pupils revealed an expression of surprise, but she still quickly took the letter paper.

Taking advantage of this short time, the man picked up the water glass, warmed his hands and took a sip, while he relaxed and watched the charming appearance of the little princess reading the letter with lowered eyes, which was also a short vacation for his sore and tired eyes.

"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news." A moment later, Myrcella raised her head and carefully put the letter back on Iger's desk, "Your Excellency, you arranged for the Expeditionary Force Beyond the Great Wall to explore and record the terrain of the Ghost Forest. The idea of ​​expanding the territory of the Seven Kingdoms to the north?"

Um?Iger nodded, but couldn't help laughing: He showed the letter to Myrcella, intending to let her know that her father was still alive and well outside the Great Wall, why she began to analyze it even after she disagreed.

Lost and lost, but he still asked smoothly: "Yes, what do you think?"

"It's useless to just expand the territory. The population is the country's land, and this is what the north lacks most right now. It's not enough for the land-granted residents to live along the Great Wall, and it's absolutely not enough to distribute them outside the Great Wall. The south is precisely On the contrary, since your lord and the queen have decided to attack Hewan, there will inevitably be a large number of soldiers and prisoners from the rebel army in future wars. Instead of racking their brains to find excuses to kill them, it is better to send the whole family to the north of the Great Wall. To manage the people outside the Great Wall, so as to increase the population and avoid the stigma of bloodthirsty, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone!"

Oh hoo.

Iger raised his eyebrows: This little girl, is she addicted to being a counselor? I'll just show you the letter, and you'll just throw a punch at your face. It's really interesting.

But after playing for only a second, he suddenly felt terrified.

Did Myrcella just say... "Rather than racking my brains to find an excuse to kill him"?

This doesn't seem like a forward-looking judgment based on her background and what she has learned.

You must know that in this era, after noble knights surrendered or were captured in war, they usually paid ransom in order to regain their freedom.Under normal circumstances, no one would rack their brains to find excuses to kill the captives... It is absolutely impossible for Myrcella to be unaware of this and make such a low-level mistake because she was a princess in the past and a native of this world. .

But, she was right!

The war that Iger is pushing Daenerys is already determined to break the wheel and severely set back the entire class of feudal lords.Therefore, the two monarchs and ministers have already secretly agreed: those who do not resist will be brought under house arrest in King's Landing, and those who resist will be eliminated as much as possible so that no one will be left alive. This will not only make room for their heroes, but also pave the way for the smooth progress of the Great King's Landing plan.

But this point was only mentioned in the private conversation between himself and the queen. How did Myrcella guess her plan, and then persuade herself not to bloodthirsty before she raised her butcher knife?

Did she just say it casually, or was she vaguely aware of the existence of the Great King's Land plan based on what she saw and heard?

"Good idea, you can consider it!"

Iger smiled and nodded at the little princess with the same expression, but secretly murmured in his heart: This little girl is too smart, maybe she thinks in her heart that she is "Myrcella Lannister" or "Maeve Snow" Under the circumstances, it is not guaranteed to be Diao Chan who lurks beside "Dong Zhuo".Because she is well-behaved and looks pleasing to the eye, I think that she is harmless to humans and animals, and it is really inappropriate to keep her by my side.Maybe, it's time to make a decision—whether to tell her what she and the queen really think, and pull her ass into a new era, or deal with her as soon as possible, so as not to become a hidden danger buried beside her.

He was vigilantly speculating and calculating nervously, but Myrcella hadn't finished speaking yet.

"In addition to this, there is another advantage of immigrants filling the Great Wall. They can deal with the second bad news in this letter." The girl frowned a little hesitantly, as if she was also feeling that she was trying to deal with her former little sister. "The North is likely to use your close relationship with Arya in a legitimate way of 'joining the Night's Watch' in an overt conspiracy to regain influence and control over the Land Grant and the Night's Watch. Just like Stark must have been the commander-in-chief of the Night Watch Legion in the past or one of the three giants, their actions are completely flawless in terms of means, and they are probably not malicious in purpose. You are the commander-in-chief and the queen Hands, if you only think about how to fight against each other in person, it is true that you have the advantage of crushing, but you will not only fall behind, but also waste precious time and energy. A better way is: use the hands of others to solve the problem by means of checks and balances. this dilemma."

If sending sinners to fill the uninhabited land outside the Great Wall is an option that Iger has considered a long time ago, then he is really interested in how to solve Arya's trouble of land-granting.

Putting away the mess of suspicion, he waved his hand and pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down, pour yourself a glass of water, and speak slowly."

-

Chapter 630 State Machine

Myrcella quickly walked back to the opposite side of the table, poured water into the empty glass as she said, and pulled the guest chair closer. After sitting down, she took another look at Iger's expression before licking her lips and organizing Keep talking after thinking.

"My lord previously adopted a wartime management model in the land-grant. In the case of dealing with the invasion of wildlings and aliens, an efficient system that concentrates all powers to maximize power is undoubtedly the best solution. But now people The Ghost War is over. With the Northern Territory also surrendering to the Queen, the land grant will not require a large-scale mobilization of resources and manpower for a long time, and you must be permanently stationed in the South... Neither Without the enemy, without your control and supervision as the commander-in-chief, and still concentrating all power in the headquarters in Houguan Town, it would have caused many problems."

"Ok?"

Iger cooperatively made a puzzled expression. He was full of big things before, and all his thoughts were on the preparations for the Southern Expedition. He had no time to carefully plan the future of the land grant. Now it is too late to listen to the opinions of others.

"One is that the quality of management is difficult to guarantee - fighting against the ghosts requires centralized command, but life is not like this. The parents of ordinary land-grant residents have short families and neighborhood disputes, and they don't need any big shots to adjudicate at all, while farming sheep and raising chickens Raising cattle is not the strong point of soldiers and officers. You have to let Houguan Town take care of it. It’s trivial to make jokes and cause disputes. The second is the threat of corruption, and people’s hearts are unpredictable. Naturally, you are well-behaved and obedient, and you must be dedicated to your duties in the face of the threat of the aliens, but who can guarantee what you will look like after peace is ushered in? In your position, there is no awareness and realm of yours. There are eight out of ten Nine will be distracted!"

The small mouth is quite sweet, and the flattery is also very advanced. Iger suppressed the instinct of showing a flattering smile and motioned her to continue.

"The third is the lack of adaptability and flexibility. For example, this time: Arya can make the officials you stay I'm so overwhelmed, why?" The girl held the water glass in both hands but didn't drink it, and she still couldn't hide her embarrassment when she talked eloquently: "Because they know that every step they take actually represents you. Houguan Town Command, facing the infiltration of the Stark family, there are basically only two attitudes to choose from: either suppress it or let it go, there is no middle state-considering your existence, if you want to do things like 'block Arya's expansion It is simply impossible for the Stark family to influence but not hurt your relationship with her, such a complex operation."

Isn't this talking about the disadvantages of centralization?Going a bit far, is it possible that it is alluding to the shortcomings of the "Great King's Land Plan" and even further centralization of the monarchy?

Iger suddenly realized that Myrcella hadn't thought of it on a whim at all, but had thought about it a long time ago, and was just waiting for the right opportunity to speak to him.

"So what's your idea?"

"You agreed to support Arya's request to form the 'Female Night Watchman' force, and if you can't go back on your word, you will be bound. But imagine: if other forces in the land grant want to oppose it out of self-interest, and contain this new force What about the dilation? You can’t blame it on your head.” Myrcella licked her lips again, her mouth was so dry that she picked up the cup and took a sip, not daring to delay any longer, moistened her throat and then Quickly put it down and continued, "When I was young, the master who told me the history of the Seven Kingdoms told me that in a prosperous kingdom, there must be checks and balances on power. One person has the final say on everything, and it doesn't matter if you talk to anyone else. The state of health will be bad sooner or later. The land grant is a small kingdom, and the commander-in-chief is the king. Why don't you try to decentralize some powers and foster some factions and groups?"

"For example, each land-grant tribe is a small group, and old-school night watchmen like Carter Pike also form their own faction, and new night watchmen like my uncle James and Lord Tywin are a new force. , and the pioneering team in Saibei...separate them, and then balance the conflicts and common interests between these factions through the scope of authority, budget allocation, etc., so they have to compete with each other. Hand, to curb the infiltration and influence of Arya and the Stark family on the land grant!"

It is indeed a method. Didn't Iger himself come from the "Logistics Department" of the Night Watch Corps? He worked hard to get the position of commander-in-chief by chance. Are people acting like monkeys?This feels really interesting too.

After all, Myrcella is just a little girl, and it is a very simple theory, but it seems a bit long-winded when she explains it.But then again, a princess knows so much, but her two brothers who used to be princes can't fart. I don't know whether to praise Robert's failure or success in the educational arrangements for the three children.

The idea is simple, and it is certainly feasible, but it is not the time yet.Only when the final enemy, the River Bend, is subdued, and the war between the land-grant and the northern border may be completely eliminated, can he relieve the war state of the land-grant with peace of mind, and play tricks in this small world practise.

"Not bad……"

Just as she was about to praise and encourage the little princess's kindness in sharing her worries, Myrcella hurriedly continued to speak.

"Also! The separation of powers and checks and balances is only a long-term suggestion, and it cannot solve the urgent need, so some measures that can be effective immediately are needed: Have you ever thought about the purpose of the existence of the female night watchman and what are its responsibilities? ?”

"Solve the social problem of more women than men after successive wars in the north, and alleviate the pressure brought about by the land-grant population, especially the lack of men. The responsibility, naturally, is to complement each other with the male night watchmen, and jointly shoulder the responsibility of guarding the Great Wall?"

Iger knew that this was definitely not the correct answer, he just needed some ideas.

"No problem, but very problematic!" Myrcella raised her voice, especially the immature face with a hint of baby fat and serious expression formed a wonderful contrast, "If the responsibilities of female night watchmen overlap with that of men, how should they be assigned? Tasks? The Night Watchman Legion won the battle between humans and ghosts without female members before. Could it be that the workload will increase after winning? It’s impossible to think about it. Now, the female Night Watchmen actually have nothing to do... No , The only thing this group of women can do now is to follow their leader, and without realizing it, become a pawn for the Stark family to seize the right to speak in the land grant, and you, the commander-in-chief, are the source of trouble!"

!

Iger's eyelids twitched. If Myrcella's first suggestion was only quite satisfactory, then this second sentence gave him the feeling that he had been illuminated in the blind spots of his thinking.

He clasped his fingers in a circle, leaned forward, and became serious.

"Well said, how to solve this problem?"

"Since the fact that the female night watchman has been established can no longer be stopped, then as your immediate superior, you have the obligation and necessity to give it clear responsibilities and tasks, and put a bridle on it! Let me think about it..." Myrcella said solemnly Xiaolian thought for a moment, and suddenly his brows relaxed, "Yes! Suggestion for reference only - I discovered something during my life in Winterfell and my visit to the land grant: men in the north consider themselves 'men', and they treat women The attitude is generally not as gentle and gentlemanly as in the south, and there are even phenomena where husbands beat their wives openly, while the people around them have a common attitude. You can give the female night watchmen this task: let them be responsible - to maintain women's respect And the right to protection, against domestic violence. Then let the Queen issue a directive to announce the scope of their activities-including the North and even the entire Seven Kingdoms!"

Women's Federation?

This word suddenly appeared in Iger's mind, and he was dumbfounded, and couldn't help but wonder if Myrcella was impaled by a female protagonist.But at the next moment, he quickly realized: This is a trick so wonderful that it can even be described as a "poison trick"!

Daenerys is also a woman, and she would certainly agree and even support this vision.But in this old society where patriarchy is still as firm as a rock, if the female night watchmen are like women's federations, they are whispering in the ears of the males who rule the world all day long, clamoring about equality between men and women, women's rights, etc. The inexplicable "nonsense" that the aborigines seem to be talking about is not the same as going against the whole world!If it is really implemented, I’m afraid I don’t have to think about how to suppress it at all. Instead, I should think about how to support and help the “Ice and Fire World Women’s Federation” organization to carry out actions, and how to protect the personal safety of women comrades at work!

"Arya, or Maester Luwin behind her is definitely not that stupid, so my lord has to send her a deputy, one or some women you trust, who are called help assistants and are actually supervisors, to ensure that the female night watchman is doing her best. Move in this direction, and then have no spare energy to do other things!"

"It's an interesting idea. Later, you draft a charter, fill in the details, and submit it to me."

"En." Myrcella nodded vigorously, her face suddenly glowed after receiving the affirmation, but it flashed by, and after she calmed down, she continued to add a little coyly: "But all these methods are just means to treat the symptoms, not the root cause. The Stark family is not your enemy, and Arya only acted out of anger... You shoulder the burden of the Queen's hand, and you have the responsibility for the entire Seven Kingdoms, so you shouldn't and can't spend your energy Wasted on wits with old friends and a sulky girl. After you're done in the south, you still have to make another trip to the grant when you have time, arrange work that was not previously assigned, and try to get along with Ellie Yahe is good, the most fundamental solution is to vent her grievances. When the time comes, let her move the headquarters of this organization that protects women's rights to King's Landing. Maybe it can become a weapon in your hands .”

Female...female boxing?

Iger was dumbfounded.

Whoever is disobedient will operate the command glove in the dark and give the opponent a few slaps. In the case of occupying the moral high ground and having the queen as the backer to fake the tiger's prestige, it can be disgusting even if it doesn't hurt!

How could this little princess, with her innocent and lovely appearance, be so full of bad luck?

Just when surprise and ninja were mixed together, not knowing what to comment on Myrcella's last words, the guard knocked on the door, and the Unsullied visited.

"Your Excellency, the Queen invites you to have an audience."

"what happened?"

Iger was puzzled, he had only visited in the morning.

"A ship from Pentos has arrived in King's Landing, with envoys representing princes and lords."

-

Chapter 631

It's like a dream.

Sitting in a comfortable and gorgeous sedan chair, his plump body swayed slightly with the steps of the men carrying the sedan chair, Illyrio Mopatis was both surprised and terrified in his heart.

His purpose in coming to Westeros across the Narrow Sea was not to meet Dany...or not just to meet Daenerys Targaryen.

Nearly a month ago, when he heard the news of Varys' death in the spacious and luxurious mansion of the wealthy businessman governor of Pentos, he learned that his only friend and biggest partner, the proposal and cooperation of the grand plan that spanned twenty years The planner unexpectedly died inexplicably in a cold place in the extreme north, in a castle that wasn't even in the plan, and the murderer was the follower he sent to him... Illyrio thought he had already felt the greatest experience he could experience in his life Shocked and terrified.

But he was wrong.

And it was wildly wrong.

When he heard the bad news, his first reaction was not sadness or fear, but a suffocating sense of urgency: Varys' death meant that the two of them had arranged and planned this drama for nearly 20 years. At the critical moment, there is no director who can control the plot at the center of the stage!

They have exhausted half their lives, expended or even overdrafted all their wealth and put all the chips on the gambling table, and fell into the risk of getting nothing for nothing, or even making wedding clothes for others!

How can this work! ?

Almost without hesitation, he ordered the preparation of the ship, arranged the itinerary, and immediately set off from Pentos to Westeros, thinking that he would arrive at King's Landing before Daenerys led the night watchmen and the northern army to the south. , snatched the baton from Varys's hand before the huge and irreversible changes in the plan, and completed the task or mission he failed to complete: to bridge the two Targaryens, and to facilitate the marriage and marriage between Daenerys and Little Aegon. Form an alliance and let the black and red blood of the two real dragons complete a historic fusion.

With such a purpose in mind, it is also conceivable that when Illyrio's fleet sailed into Blackwater Bay and was stopped by patrol warships, they learned from the sailors on the opposite side that Daenerys had not only fallen out with little Aegon He beat the latter up and drove him away, and took King's Landing City in one battle—how confused and bewildered he was when he took time to defeat the Iron Fleet and kill the King of the Iron Islands.

The once grand but inconceivably ingenious plan to steal the sky, which made him amazed, has been disrupted to the point that it is close to... no, it has completely crossed the edge of being out of control, and is on the verge of bankruptcy!

When did this terrible runaway start?

Illyrio reflected in a dazed way all over his body.

Was it Varys who went to the north to pick up the Queen himself at the risk of his life?No, this trip was a last resort, a helpless move to bring things back to the main line in order to set things right. If Baelish went to Varys but did not follow, then the Queen would be completely controlled and controlled by Littlefinger.

Was it the queen who suddenly released the pigeons of her "nephew" and left behind the arranged meeting between the two kings to ride a dragon to the Great Wall?No, that was to deal with the dead and the White Walkers, and it was a reasonable choice, after all, no one would want to rule an undead kingdom full of dead people.

Going forward and backward in chronological order in this way, trying to sort out his thoughts and find out the root of the problem, he quickly discovered more actual deviations from the plan:

If Viserys hadn't angered Khal Drogo and led to the "Molten Gold Body", if the latter hadn't been inexplicably killed by a stupid wound infection, then his huge khalasar would have invaded across the sea as promised Westeros has become the perfect cannon fodder for little Aegon before the king returns;

If the femininity between the golden siblings of the lion family hadn't been exposed early and triggered the six kingdoms to siege the western region in advance, then little Aegon and his golden group would not have to panic and enter the arena early just to balance the situation. latecomer advantage;

Or maybe the little queen didn't break out of the Slaver's Bay by accident, so she could have sent someone to bring her back to her side, occupying her three little dragons justifiably, and before her ambitions expanded with the expansion of power and the increase in ruling experience, Let her marry little Aegon, so as to squeeze all her use value for his own use in one step.

Assume further...

No, not right!

Illyrio raised his hand suddenly, and pinched his thick thigh hard.

The thick layer of fat made the pinching not painful, but it still managed to wake him up from his memories and fantasies—history cannot be assumed, this kind of resentment is the worst, and the direct factor that made the plan bankrupt may exist , but he would never be able to guess it by analysis, and his reason told him: What caused the current situation was definitely not a single accident, but a possibility that was closer to the truth—it was mistakes and accidents again and again, In the end, the accumulated errors and offsets were so huge that even a god like Varys would not be able to reverse the original path, which eventually led to the bankruptcy of the plan.

Rather than looking for reasons, what is more important now is to stop losses and recover costs as much as possible.

……

Unlike Tywin Lannister, who could simply admit his death, put on black clothes and throw the stall to the family, Illyrio Mopatis had no way out: he had no relatives, and after the death of his beloved second wife Silas Nor did he marry again, and little Aegon was his only heir.In order to complete the grand plan of "push his own bloodline to the Iron Throne", he has actually exhausted his savings and family property as much as possible... Although he is still the incomparably glorious "Pantos rich merchant governor", the entire He is a local tyrant who ranks high in the free trade city-state system, but his wealth has long been exhausted in supporting Varys' various roaming series, conspiring to subvert actions, and hiring, mobilizing, and supporting powerful armed forces such as the Golden Group. In order to avoid breaking the capital chain, he has already mortgaged, overdrafted and consumed all his assets, credit and contacts, and the shocking debt he owes is comparable to the annual revenue of the Iron Bank.

Such a terrible debt cannot be paid off through normal channels anyway. If little Aegon cannot be sent to the Iron Throne to fulfill his long-cherished wish, and by the way, in exchange for the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer promised to him by Jon Clinton, the entire Wes Backed by taxes and royal assets, Troy's creditors trusted him and allowed him to postpone repayment. He could go bankrupt fifteen or six times in an instant, and was hunted down by countless crazy creditors. He couldn't even simply spend his old age in peace!

The bad news is that the Iron Throne was actually melted down by the little queen. No matter how powerful he is, he can no longer physically complete the operation of "sending little Aegon on the Iron Throne".

The good news is that his child is still alive, and there is the powerful Reach Land as an ally...and he has given Daenerys shelter, so he can use this relationship to ask the queen, and she will never refuse openly.As long as we can try to persuade the queen not to kill little Aegon, we can do some micro-management after the situation stabilizes—such as sending killers through the secret passages under the Red Castle, or buying the kitchen staff to poison Daenerys' food...

Although the chance of a comeback is slim, at least it still exists!

Just as he was turning his brain rapidly, thinking whether he could still come up with any arguments and bargaining chips to persuade the Queen to change her mind, the sedan chair suddenly stopped.

"Lord Illyrio, here we are."

With difficulty he stuck his head out of the window, and found the sedan chair parked in front of a house at the foot of Aegon's High Hill.

Damn it, that little queen...doesn't live in the Red Castle? !

-

Chapter 632 The first time

The size and structure of the house did not match the identity of the "Ruler of Westeros", but the security on the inner and outer floors was quite tight.After being authenticated and searched under the guidance of the Unsullied soldiers who led the way, Illyrio was able to enter the gate, walked through a courtyard that was not as big as the garden of his Governor's Mansion, and entered a slightly shabby hall.

No gimmicks or traps, the Queen is literally sitting at the head of the table, smiling and radiant, living up to her title of "the most beautiful woman in the world".