Chapter 108: I Shall Save the People, and Thereby Win the Crown

In the hall of the round stone keep belonging to the Root family, the local landlords of the small town, Tyrion Lannister and the three leaders of the Mountain Clans were granted their physical freedom.

After Baron Charles Root provided the venue for the meeting, he very tactfully took his leave.

Arthur sat in the main seat, watching Tyrion gulp down ale.

"This doesn't compare to the Redwyne Wine you usually drink."

Tyrion let out a hiccup and spread his hands, "No one knows when death will arrive, so one might as well enjoy the moment, if drinking ale counts as enjoyment."

He spoke from the heart; the dim-witted mercenary from earlier had left him with a heavy psychological shadow.

Shagga, leader of the Stone Crows, stood behind Tyrion. Seeing the halfman reach out to the side and assuming he had finished, he snatched the goblet and began chugging ale, mimicking the halfman's actions.

Timmett, leader of the Burned Men, simply picked up the flagon and poured it directly into his own mouth.

The other leader, a young girl of the Black Ears named Chella, was much quieter, standing behind Tyrion while baring her large teeth.

The Lannister, having had his goblet snatched, looked back at his ill-mannered subordinates, then turned back to Arthur and shook his head helplessly.

"These Mountain Clans have over five hundred people, and I want them to fight for me and the Riverlands."

Tyrion did not answer; instead, he dragged a rattan chair from the side of the hall, slowly pulled it to the long table, and then hopped onto the chair to bring himself level with Arthur.

"No problem." Tyrion rocked back and forth to get comfortable, "I belong to you entirely anyway, so they are yours to command as you please, Lord Bracken."

The Imp felt that this handsome Riverlands noble before him might be easier to talk to, so he relaxed significantly.

Arthur was satisfied with Tyrion's attitude and then stated his true purpose: "Furthermore, you must also work for me until all the wars are over."

Tyrion leaned against the back of the rattan chair and reached out for a goblet filled with fine wine, but suddenly remembered this was not his home at Casterly Rock, so he retracted his right hand with a touch of embarrassment.

He thought for a moment, leaned forward, and tried hard to rest his small hands on the long table.

"Can't you just let me go back after my father, Duke Tywin, pays the ransom for me?"

He shook his head, which was the same size as a normal person's, "You know, we Lannisters have plenty of gold. Since my father is willing to go to war for me and the Riverlands, he will naturally be willing to pay a large ransom for me; this money would be enough to turn you into a wealthy noble."

Tyrion carefully recalled the members of the Bracken family of Stone Hedge, and after confirming that this man named Arthur was not a Bracken of Stone Hedge, he wanted to use gold to win him over.

After all, gold still held enough temptation for a minor noble.

Arthur looked left and right at the Riverlands Soldiers in the hall, ordering them to take away the three leaders of the Mountain Clans and to give the leaders and the captured clansmen some food.

When only the two of them remained, Arthur finally spoke: "If you think a little gold can satisfy me, then you underestimate me."

A trace of confusion appeared in Tyrion's wise eyes, "Surely you want land? But the lands in the Westerlands all have owners. My father is willing to pay gold, but he is not willing to give away land."

Arthur pointed at Tyrion and said loudly: "Please, this Lannister, get this straight: I am not treating you as a prisoner, but as an assistant. With the help of you and many other wise men like you, we will create a great cause, a great cause sufficient to change the history of Westeros."

Tyrion listened, looking completely bewildered, "Could you be... a bit more specific?"

"To be specific, I want to be the King of Westeros, and then make some small adjustments to this society. In this process, I need your assistance." Arthur was straightforward.

Tyrion was almost amused by this ignorant statement; had he not suddenly remembered his status as a prisoner, he might have held his stomach and laughed out loud.

"Forgive me, Lord Bracken, your title isn't even Viscount, is it? Do you have tens of thousands of troops? I'm afraid you don't even have a thousand. Do you have millions of subjects supporting you? No! Your lineage... oh, Bracken is indeed a royal surname, but back when you claimed to be kings, the first master of Harrenhal, the House of Hoare, was still acting as pirates on the Iron Islands. Now, the House of Hoare has been extinct for three hundred years, already a tiny speck of dust in history."

Tyrion said, suppressing his laughter.

He had read enough books to be very familiar with the entire history of Westeros, so he could easily bring up facts about the Bracken surname.

Arthur nodded, "Yes, Mr. Lannister, I have none of those things you mentioned. But I remember your ancestor, the clever Lann the Clever, was also just a swindler who used his own mouth to obtain the entirety of Casterly Rock and the Westerlands, as well as the gold mines of Golden Tooth and Casterly Rock."

"Why can't I, relying on myself and your assistance, win this entire world?"

Arthur stood up, walked to the small window that was only the size of a palm, and pointed to the west:

"In the southern Riverlands to the west, your father's troops—Adam Marbrand, Daven Lannister, Amory Lorch, Kevan, and others—are fighting the coalition of the North and the Riverlands nobles. The reason they started the war is simply because you, a noble, were kidnapped, and so Taiwen Laoye, feeling insulted, made millions of commoners experience hunger and war."

Tyrion nodded; he was very familiar with his father and knew that Tywin did not go to war for his sake as an individual, but simply because he was the son of the head of House Lannister, and the proud Lannisters would not suffer insults from anyone.

Therefore, he could neither approve nor disapprove of his father's decision to launch the war.

He did, however, like Arthur's words opposing his father's war from the perspective of a commoner, and he expressed his opinion with a nod.

Arthur pointed his finger to the south: "At the intersection of the Mander River and the Roseroad, Renly's army of one hundred thousand is gathering, waiting for the dust to settle on the great war in the north so they can march north and seize the fruits of victory."

This finger then pointed to the east, "On Dragonstone, Stannis, who holds the first right of succession from the late King Robert, is gathering pirates and smugglers from the Narrow Sea through the Onion Knight Davos, intending to take back the Iron Throne that belongs to him."

"On the more distant continent of Essos, Stormborn Daenerys is also watching like a tiger."

Finally, Arthur pointed to the north, "The lad from House Stark, Robb, is not to be outdone, bringing his own nearly twenty thousand men into this game of thrones, and his reason for launching the great war is simply because his father and sisters are trapped in King's Landing, so he must lead twenty thousand men to bleed and sacrifice."

"All these nobles think they are chess players, using the soldiers and lands in their hands as a chessboard to play a game of power." Arthur walked back to the main seat and said to Tyrion.

"But the lives of commoners are lives too. For the sake of saving his father and sisters—these three people—Robb Stark has already caused over three thousand Northmen to die in battle. To preserve the dignity of House Lannister, Tywin has already caused tens of thousands of Western Lands Army and Riverlands soldiers to die, and even more Riverlands commoners have been slaughtered by The Mountain and the Western Lands Army."

Arthur held up ten fingers, "These commoners, too many to count on one's hands, were also someone's father or sister, someone's son. Just because of the conflict between your two houses, they lost their lives and went to meet the gods in heaven."

He retracted his ten fingers and clenched them into two fists, "But in the beginning, the meaning of the existence of nobles was to protect their subjects. Farmers paid taxes in kind and currency to the nobles in exchange for protection from the lords with powerful military force. Now, all the commoners have become pawns for the lords to manipulate at will, just to cooperate with the nobles in completing this game of power."

Tyrion spread his hands and asked in confusion: "So, what are you trying to express?"

Arthur did not answer this question, but instead answered the Imp's previous question:

"Because I uphold Justice, I am called Arthur of Justice, and because I bravely fought The Mountain, some call me Arthur the Brave. These are the titles I can claim for now."

"As for soldiers, there should be over two thousand directly under my command, and this number is still increasing."

"As for subjects, that is even easier to solve. I will save them, and thereby win their support."

Arthur concluded: "You ask me how I will become king; my answer is: I will save the people, and thereby win the crown."

Tyrion opened his mouth, but when the words reached his lips, he changed his phrasing, "Wow, that sounds great, but how will you save the people? By war? Isn't that the same as the nobles you are criticizing?"

The Imp very much wanted to mock the Arthur before him and make this person remember that Bracken himself was also a noble.

But considering his status as a prisoner, he held back.

"There is still a slight difference in this." Arthur extended his right index finger and shook it, "They launch wars for some trivial matters of their own families, while I launch wars to sanction them."

Tyrion was still not convinced, "Then, your Majesty King Arthur, may I ask when you will have the High Septon of the Seven place your crown upon you?"

He was somewhat sarcastic, wanting to know when this ambitious man intended to claim the throne.

The continent of Westeros places extreme importance on lineage. The Usurper's War fifteen years ago overthrew the Targaryen Dynasty, but the alliance of the four houses—the fish, the wolf, the falcon, and the stag—still chose Robert Baratheon, who had the dragon blood of the Targaryen Dynasty, to be king.

Simply because Robert's grandmother was a member of House Targaryen.

Doing so is naturally for the legitimacy of the nobles, both great and small.

After all, if the King, the head of these nobles, is decided by who has the biggest fist, then every powerful family will have ideas.

Then, the powerful secondary nobles under the primary nobles will challenge the position of their liege lords, tertiary families will challenge secondary families, and so on, until powerful Knight families begin to challenge the nobles above them, forming a situation where rites collapse and music is ruined.

For the nobles, this is certainly no good thing.

Therefore, the righteous Jiaodu of the Arryn family, Jon Arryn, chose to establish Robert, who had the most legal authority, as King; the Baratheon family in the four-family alliance enjoyed the fruits of success; the Jiaodu of the Stark family, Eddard, was the foster son of old Arryn and naturally would not oppose it; and the Jiaodu of the Tully family, Hoster, was also a reasonable man and would certainly not oppose it either.

Even so, Robert is still called the "Usurper" by others.

"When I have saved enough commoners, enough that they believe I should become a King, I will take the crown given to me by the commoners myself," Arthur replied.

He was a person who had received compulsory education; how could he let religious forces interfere with something as highly symbolic as a crown?

Arthur even felt that the painting of Napoleon placing the crown on his own Empress was a bit feudal and backward; religious figures should not appear in places where the throne or imperial power is being transferred.

"Fine," Tyrion leaned back into the rattan chair again, "If you truly succeed in protecting and saving the commoners, and your subjects also agree to crown you King, then no matter where I am, I will surely come to your side to assist you."

He himself was also a person who cared for the commoners, and he did not oppose such an idea from Arthur.

He just felt it was a bit too idealistic and almost impossible to achieve.

Arthur also heard the disbelief in Tyrion's words, but he did not expose it.

"Fine, the position of my first Hand of the King is reserved for you."

Seeing Arthur's tone soften, Tyrion tentatively asked:

"Before that, can you first grant me freedom, for example, by letting me return to King's Landing or my father's Battalion in the south? After all, I am the key to the start of this war; perhaps if I return, there will be no war in the Riverlands. Isn't that exactly what you are praying for?"

Although Tyrion felt his father looked down on him, ever since Jaime put on the white cloak and became a member of the Kingsguard, he was the first heir to the liege lord of the Westerlands and Casterly Rock; staying within the sphere of influence of the Lannister family was still much more comfortable than staying with hostile forces.

Arthur shook his head, "Not for now. Although the war started because of you, since Robert's death, the battle for the Iron Throne between Joffrey and the two Baratheons, Stannis and Renly, is the main cause. Tywin is only unable to go to war with the two Baratheons because the Lannister army is dragged down in the Riverlands. Letting you go back would be of no use; it is better to stay by my side as a military advisor."

He had finally encountered such a first-class management talent in Westeros; how could he just let him go so easily?

If he couldn't be like Liu Bei and perform the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage to win someone's heart, then he could only force Tyrion to stay by his side.

Marry first, fall in love later!

There would be plenty of opportunities to get along in the future; Arthur was confident that he could always make Tyrion be conquered by his Charisma and willingly assist him.

Tyrion shrugged helplessly and jumped off the rattan chair to find a cup to drink.

"Fine, what else can I say?"

He was quite resigned to his fate.

Tyrion even had the leisure to imagine how, after the North Army arrived, this minor noble would make the Starks, Boltons, Cerwyns, and Glovers of The North believe that he was a military advisor and not a prisoner.

Arthur pointed outside the hall door and said, "Then, military advisor, you may begin your work. May I ask how to defend this small ferry town with only a thousand or so people until the North Army successfully crosses the river?"

Roose Bolton's army did not know when it would arrive, and Arthur had to prepare for the worst-case defensive battle.

Considering that Tywin could only send Cavalry that could move quickly, this number would be at most six thousand.

And with the Mountain Clans, there were nearly two thousand combatants near the Earl's town of Harrenhal, so there was still a possibility of holding the ferry.

Tyrion, who had found his wine cup, discovered that the wine flagon had already been drained by the leader of the Burned Men, Timmett, so he could only smack his lips and reminisce about the taste of the ale he had drunk earlier.

Then he turned his head and said to Arthur:

"At least let me observe the terrain, right?"

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)