Chapter 135: Uniting the Riverlands

Midnight, the fourth floor of the King's Pyre Tower.

Arthur, Tristan Rivers, William Mooton, and Lyman Darry sat around a small table, discussing matters concerning their respective houses.

The Great Council of nobles during the day had come to an end, and under the strong insistence of Clement Piper and others, some lords had agreed to support a Bracken as the Riverlands King.

Another group of nobles advocated for the "Dragonrider" to take the title of Protector of the Seven Kingdoms and King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, then march on King's Landing to reclaim the Iron Throne.

Regarding this, Arthur expressed that it was better to be steady for now, focus on reorganizing the Riverlands Army, and wait until the dragon Alduin grew larger.

Since the First Men invaded the Western Continent, there had been six Riverlands Kingdoms established by the Riverlanders themselves: the Fisher Dynasty, the Blackwood Dynasty, the Brecken Dynasty, the Mud Dynasty, the Justman Dynasty, and the Teague Dynasty.

Among them, although the Blackwoods came from the Wolfswood region of the North, they were also considered a dynasty of the Riverlanders themselves after gaining a firm foothold in the Riverlands.

The one who ended the last Riverlands dynasty was the Storm King Arlan Durrandon III, who married the daughter of the then-lord of Raventree Hall, and then defeated the last five kings of the Teague Dynasty at the Twin Peaks on the north bank of the Red Fork.

To commemorate the end of the Teague Dynasty, that battle was also known as the Battle of the Six Kings, although several of the Teague kings had only reigned for a few minutes.

Afterwards, the Riverlands were ruled by others: first the people of the Stormlands, then the Ironborn of the Iron Islands, and then the Targaryen Dynasty established by Aegon I.

The Stark family of the North had also once submitted to House Targaryen, but after Robb declared independence at Riverrun, he chose to restore the ancient title of King in the North.

Therefore, Arthur's title of Riverlands King did not come out of thin air; it had historical precedent.

Including two Vances, Piper, Mallister, and several other counts, as well as the support of the most powerful Marquess Innes Frey, there was no objection to this for the time being.

It was just that a few Dragon Party families had deeper thoughts, so after the Great Council ended, Arthur personally discussed their demands with them.

"If you could restore your surname to Targaryen and prepare to reclaim the Iron Throne, Maidenpool could provide more support." William Mooton's stance had always been clear.

According to him, if Arthur's title remained Riverlands King, his support for the new Brecken Dynasty would be equivalent to his support for the Tullys, the North, and the King of the Trident.

During the early stages of the War of the Five Kings, Maidenpool had only provided five hundred soldiers to help guard the town crossing on the Trident, and afterwards, they had not provided a single soldier or any money or grain to the Fish-Wolf Coalition.

"I already have a dragon; Lord William is being too stingy." Arthur glared at this naturally timid lord of Maidenpool.

According to his plan, the Mooton family was supposed to put in a great deal of effort.

Although the territory of Maidenpool had been reduced by Robert, it had not weakened its status as a trade hub in Crab Bay; the Mootons could support the stature of a count just by the taxes collected at the port and in Maidenpool Town.

Therefore, the number of professional soldiers in Maidenpool had not decreased with the reduction of the territory, remaining at around two thousand.

Moreover, since the war began, that area had basically not been affected, and even the situation of commoners fleeing to take refuge was rarely seen.

The current Mooton family, in terms of financial resources, military strength, and potential power, could squeeze into the top three in the entire Riverlands.

"If I promise to attack King's Landing within two years and restore that long string of titles including Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, can you start supporting me with all your might from now on?"

Arthur offered a rather illusory goal.

Get the soldiers, money, and grain first; who knew what the situation on the continent would be like in two years?

William Mooton looked at this face, as handsome as the Targaryens, and nodded in agreement.

"In that case, you will have the full loyalty of Maidenpool and the Mooton family."

Lyman Darry, this son of Raymond, also followed up with his own demands:

"Our Darry castle and our original territory were also absolute supporters of the Targaryens; as long as you restore our territory, a steady stream of Darry soldiers will join your army."

Arthur thought for a moment and said, "I can at most restore your title of Count; the original territory of Darry is currently held by the batch of minor nobles enfeoffed by Robert."

The fiefs of families near the Trident crossing, like the Roots, were the original territory of Darry.

This group also supported the new Riverlands King; if Arthur reduced their fiefs for no reason, he feared that he would lose their hearts before he had even grasped them.

Moreover, although the combat effectiveness of the Riverlanders was lackluster, their demands for a monarch were exceptionally high.

The Justman Dynasty in the history of the Riverlands was able to win the support of families like the Brackens, Blackwoods, and the two Vances, unify the Riverlands, and expand the territory of the Riverlands Kingdom to its maximum—north to the Neck, east to Maidenpool Town, west to Golden Tooth, and south to the Blackwater River—because its founder Benedict was fair and just, and the world called him "Just" Dick.

It is worth mentioning that Duskendale, Rosby, and the mouth of the Blackwater River in the Crownlands were incorporated into the territory of the Riverlands Kingdom during the Justman Dynasty.

With such an example before him, if Arthur did not act fairly, he feared that a batch of families would rebel.

In any case, there were plenty of kings now, and the nobles had enough objects of allegiance.

Lyman Darry was clearly unhappy; he was still a fourteen-year-old child, and he could not hide his emotions well.

Under Arthur's signal, the more gentle-natured William Mooton comforted the young Darry with a few words.

Tristan was easy to resolve; he promised that everything in his territory could be handed over to the Riverlands King.

As long as Arthur helped him take back his family castle and territory from the remaining Western Lands Army.

Currently, most of the Westerlands Army had withdrawn from the western Riverlands, but they had still left one or two hundred soldiers to garrison some of the more important castles.

Wayfarer's Rest was close to Riverrun, so it had been recaptured by the joint efforts of the Fish-Wolf Coalition, but Willow Wood was still in the hands of the Westerners.

"That is not a problem; with the soldiers of the Freys and the Mootons, all the castles in the southern Riverlands will be recaptured."

After the decisive battle outside Casterly Rock, the main force of the Lannisters was left with only about ten thousand, and they still had to deal with Stannis at King's Landing, so they were temporarily unable to launch a new round of attacks on the Riverlands.

Although Stannis had gained territory such as the Stormlands, Dragonstone, and King's Landing, the Reach Army had also attacked the foot of Storm's End, Dragonstone had few resources, and the conflict between the two religions in King's Landing, as well as the resulting struggle between the Queen's Men and the King's Men, left Stannis overwhelmed.

Therefore, he had no heart to crusade against other "false kings," and besides, Duskendale was closer to King's Landing; if Stannis were to attack, he would strike Cersei and Tommen first.

The problems of the Dragon Party families were roughly resolved; after Arthur let them leave, he summoned Innes Frey, Symond Frey, and Merrett Frey and the others.

He had to deal with this greedy family properly.

Innes, who walked in swaggeringly, returned to his original honest appearance as soon as he saw Arthur, and after performing a salute, he sat down properly.

The reason the new Marquess Frey did this was simple: the Riverlands King was wearing plate armor, and that great hammer was placed close at hand.

After letting Podrick close the door, Arthur questioned first: "What is going on with Lothar and Golden Tooth?"

According to the news brought by the raven, Lothar the Lame had led one thousand Frey soldiers to move into Golden Tooth with great fanfare and was preparing to reopen the gold mines.

The Castellan Arthur had left behind, Olyvar, had been tied up by his own brothers again.

The last time he was tied up was because he still wanted to follow the Young Wolf after Robb broke his marriage vow.

The bald man stared tightly at the small table without speaking; Arthur could be certain that his peripheral vision was constantly fixed on the great hammer.

The ninth of the Frey family, Merrett, was more honest; he answered this question.

"Lothar said that Golden Tooth had also entered the rule of the Riverlands, and since Lord Leo Lefford had died and the members of the Leford family were basically wiped out, leaving only Lady Alys in the enemy camp, according to the laws of inheritance, his wife Lai Ang Na Lai Fo De had the right of inheritance to Golden Tooth, so..."

Arthur used his right index finger to flick Innes's bald head hard, causing the area he flicked to immediately swell up red.

"What is our agreement?"

Lord Folei Marquess covered his bald head and nervously argued, "Your Majesty, our oath did not include the Golden Tooth, and Rosso's actions are in accordance with the law..."

"In accordance with the law? Do not think that just because you have an oath for protection, you are completely safe. The Golden Tooth can produce gold, and gold can buy grain. The Riverlands is currently short on grain, and I need to use grain to win the hearts of the people. If you do not understand the logic in this, I will take all the wealth in The Twins to provide relief to the starving farmers."

Arthur pointed at Innes's nose and shouted.

Stone Hedge is his largest direct territory at present, but the loyalty is not very high. The territory of Red Mill is too small, and Harrenhal nominally belongs to Lady Whent and will be Sansa's in the future, so he must consider the matter of direct territory.

Coincidentally, the Golden Tooth is currently ownerless.

Thus, the Riverlands King wanted to turn that fortress and the nearby gold mine into his own direct territory.

Symond Frey hurriedly smoothed things over, "Your Majesty, we understand the rules. Rosso is only helping you garrison the castle and defend against attacks from the Westerlands; he has no other intentions."

This is the seventh son of Walder Frey, whose mother is Alyssa of House Crakehall from Oxcross in the Westerlands.

Like many who possess Crakehall blood, Symond is extremely tall and sturdy, not much different even when compared to his sixth brother, Hosteen, who shares the same mother.

Arthur changed to a more relaxed tone: "The Golden Tooth will be one of my direct territories in the future. You had better dispel the idea of taking it as soon as possible. I will send other people to take over the Golden Tooth, and Rosso's men are to come to the East Line to fight for me. Moreover, your own mess hasn't been cleaned up yet; Black Walder has escaped."

Black Walder is the great-grandson of Walder Frey, the grandson of Stevron Frey, and the second son of Lyman Frey.

This is a celibate who has a severe hobby of "clapping" with his cousins. During the incident at the north castle of The Twins, he was fooling around with his cousins at a certain mill, thus escaping a disaster.

After realizing that something was wrong, Black Walder fled on the spot. He is now roughly in the area between the Green Fork and the Blue Fork, and has raised a mini-army of several dozen people, preparing to counterattack The Twins.

According to inheritance law, he, as the only one remaining from the eldest son's line, is indeed the legitimate lord of The Twins.

"That is just a clown. Bloodthirsty Aegon has already gone to hunt him down. Externally, we will say that Aegon has become a bandit, but in reality, he is the assassin for Your Majesty and our House Frey. In any case, he loves killing the most."

Symond introduced his nephew this way.

Arthur nodded, "He had better be able to handle it cleanly."

Both sides knew clearly that "Bloodthirsty Aegon" also had a task to completely wipe out the Blackwood family of Raventree Hall.

The bald Innes fawned, "No problem at all. Because I offended you on the issue of the Golden Tooth, I will send you a small gift."

"A small gift, what is that?" Arthur asked curiously.

"You will know in two days. In short, it will be beneficial to your rule," Symond replied.

This younger brother of Hosteen (by the same mother) has his brother's recklessness, but lacks that stupidity.

He is also a Frey who needs to be guarded against, Arthur noted to himself.

After pondering for another round, Arthur stated the last problem that needed to be handled by House Frey:

"The grain you sell to the Northmen must be consistent with the market price during peacetime, and the crossing fees must also be at the usual rates. Refund the extra money you earned previously."

Robett Glover, Herman Tallhart, and others had led 2,300 North Army soldiers north to recover Moat Cailin, but because White Harbor was fighting the Bastard for Hornwood, there were no reinforcements from the North.

And the three towers of Moat Cailin guard against attacks from the south, west, and east.

Although the number of Ironborn is small, the North Army had no way to deal with them and could only station themselves south of Moat Cailin, waiting for the White Harbor cavalry to move south.

The large army consumes a great deal of grain, so Herman Tallhart and others bought grain from the nearest The Twins.

At that time, Walder Frey was still in charge, so he sold grain to the Northmen at five times the usual price.

Although Great Jon, Maege Mormont, Owen Norrey, and others brought a batch of North Army soldiers home, and they had several carts of gold in their hands, if House Frey had collected higher crossing fees and settled the money for the high-priced grain, the Northmen would likely not have much money left.

"Your Majesty, this exceeds the scope of our agreement," Innes did not explicitly refuse, but he did not want to execute it either.

Arthur thought for a moment and said, "You execute it first. I know that the strength of House Frey is far more than 4,000 soldiers. Take some time, and we will discuss a new agreement. By then, you will provide an army of no less than 6,000, and I will give you the rewards you deserve."

The Twins did not suffer the slightest fluctuation from the war, and the territory of The Crossing is also fertile and rich; House Frey can still squeeze out some soldiers.

"This, should we clarify things before acting?" Innes is very conflicted now. He wants to refuse the Riverlands King's request, but he is also afraid that the giant hammer will swing at him.

"I will give you a condition you cannot refuse. Let the matter of military grain and crossing fees be handled this way for now. I still have to deal with the matters of King's Landing and Duskendale. You may withdraw first!"

Arthur waved his hand, letting these people leave.

Afterwards, Jason Mallister and his son Patrick were called in.

The latter had obtained 80 carts of grain from the Reach, and had withdrawn the 10,000 Gold Dragons that Arthur had deposited in Highgarden.

Although House Tyrell has now turned to Tommen and the Lannisters, Arthur does not want to withdraw all the remaining Gold Dragons.

If Duke Mace refuses to give these Gold Dragons in the future, this will be an excellent reason for Highgarden to change its master.

Many families in the Reach have the blood of the former King of the Reach, the Gardener Dynasty, while the Tyrell family, who were stewards, do not.

Therefore, some Reach nobles have always had ideas about Highgarden, such as House Florent of Brightwater Keep. A certain Jiaodu of his family married the daughter of the last King of the Reach, so the succession rights to Highgarden rank at the very front of all Reach nobles.

But Aegon I gave that huge white castle to the Tyrells, who surrendered Highgarden.

This is the unstable factor within the Reach.

If one could dig a few channels in this, perhaps one could really dig down the entire foundation.

The strong Duke Jason and his infatuated son walked in.

Arthur signaled for them to sit down.

The Duke observed etiquette, but his son sat down in a carefree manner.

This caused Jason to scold his son, but Arthur waved his hand to indicate it was fine.

"I called Duke Jason here because of the matter of Dorne."

The master of Seagard stroked his beard and said in confusion, "Do we Mallisters have any connection with Dorne?"

Indeed, these two places are completely unrelated; one is in the north of the west coast of Westeros, and the other is in the far south.

"It is precisely because there is no connection that I am sending you to Sunspear and the Water Gardens."

Arthur thought for a moment and added, "Take the head of Amory Lorch, as well as the already rotting head of The Mountain. These two are the main culprits who killed Princess Elia. This will gain us the friendship of Prince Oberyn Martell."

What makes Dorne different from the other six kingdoms is that their leaders are addressed as Prince or Princess, and the siblings of the leader share the title.

Therefore, the brother of the actual leader of Dorne, Prince Doran Martell, the Red Viper Oberyn, also has the title of Prince.

"You will also boast about my dragon, saying how fast Alduin is growing, that he is already one meter long with a wingspan of four or five meters. This will make Prince Doran support us."

Although Dorne has the smallest population of the Seven Kingdoms, because the Dornishmen are extremely united, House Martell is also a great help.

Furthermore, the Targaryens had spent over a hundred years cultivating their relationship with House Martell, and it was quite good.

These two points alone were not enough to make Dorne send troops to contain the Reach, so Arthur played his trump card: "You tell the two princes that if Dorne sends troops to the Reach, I will permanently cede Nightsong to Dorne."

The sixty-thousand-strong Reach Army is currently outside Storm's End, and if there are no surprises, they will march north in the coming period to join forces with the lion family's army and successively attack the "rebel" forces of Stannis and the Riverlands.

This gave the Dornishmen an opportunity to exploit.

And the significance of Nightsong is equivalent to the significance of Golden Tooth to the Riverlanders.

With Golden Tooth, the Riverlands can guard the exit of the mountains, slowing the Westerlands' offensive within the mountain passes.

With Nightsong, the Dornishmen no longer need to struggle to guard the Prince's Pass; they directly gain a geographical advantage, allowing them to both advance and retreat against the Reach and the Stormlands.

After silently repeating the terms, Earl Jason nodded in agreement.

Patrick's Task was much simpler; he was sent to take over Golden Tooth and have the greedy Lothar Frey come to the Dong Xian.

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(End of this chapter)