Chapter 190: To Each Their Own

Half a league east of Casterly Rock, the coalition army camp.

The encampment housing the twelve-thousand-strong army was already quite vast, with the camp roughly divided into two main sections by the Riverlands and the Reach, and clear boundaries between the various houses.

Because the composition of the soldiers was complex, the King organized a unified patrol, composed mainly of cavalry from the Frey and Tyrell houses, to prevent conflicts between the soldiers of different houses.

At the main gate, a dozen cavalrymen galloped into the camp, and after entering the temporary stable area, auxiliary troops immediately came over to take the horses.

After the leader, Sir Bernard Brune, swung down from his horse, he lifted Tyrion down from the horse's back.

This group had previously gone outside Casterly Rock to observe the terrain, while Tyrion pointed out the approximate location of the sewage channels from afar.

Of course, throughout the entire process, Tyrion was kept in restraints; Bernard dared not let a walking fifty thousand Gold Dragons slip through his hands.

"What's going on? Are my eyes deceiving me? There are actually four dragons flying in the sky."

After his hands were released from the restraints, Tyrion immediately rubbed his eyes and asked himself.

Prompted by him, Bernard also looked up at the sky, "You are not seeing things; there are indeed four dragons. Although I don't understand how there are three more."

Tyrion looked up for a long while before saying, "One black dragon, one green dragon, and one two-toned dragon, gold streaked with white. The largest is on par with Alduin in size, and the two smaller ones have wingspans nearing five meters."

Bernard was also drawn in by the dragons, and upon hearing the dwarf's words, he asked, "Why is this black dragon so smooth? Where are its spikes?"

The two conversed as they walked toward the King's tent.

"In fact, among the twenty-plus dragons of the early House Targaryen, there were no dragons with as many spikes as Alduin. The black dragon is the norm; if the new black dragon can live to be over a hundred years old, it could be as massive as Balerion the Black Dread, and its dragonfire could melt glass; no crossbow could pierce its dragon scales."

Tyrion explained the history of dragons to Bernard Brune.

Sir Bernard nodded, "Although you aren't as tall as I am, your brain is much smarter; I can't tell the difference between so many dragons."

While listening to the flattery, Tyrion was thinking about what the arrival of these three dragons meant.

The two walked through layers of tent areas, watched by numerous soldiers and nobles as they passed.

If it weren't for the fact that both men were well-known to the King, the Lannister might have died from several swords in his back on some night.

After walking into the tent, Tyrion indeed saw the person he expected.

A stunningly beautiful young girl with silver hair and purple eyes.

In the King's tent, the vast majority of high-ranking nobles were gathered together; Queen Margaery was holding a handmaiden and crying, while Daenerys was loudly stating her position.

"Dragonrider, in the records of the Citadel, you are a Bracken, not a Targaryen. Even if you truly are the bastard of my brother Rhaegar, that would have to wait until I legitimize you before you could be called a Targaryen."

Because many of the nobles in the tent were members of the Dragon Party, and the vast majority of the houses had supported the royal family during the Usurper's time, Daenerys grew bolder and began to debate the issue of succession with her so-called nephew.

The already crowned King, however, did not think so, "I am the King; I have the power to change my own surname to Targaryen."

A King legitimizing a bastard is one of the most basic powers, not to mention that Arthur's previous identity was not that of a bastard, but of a minor noble with a clear lineage and an unquestionable identity.

Daenerys raised an eyebrow and smiled, her beautiful eyes revealing a trace of skepticism:

"Is that so? Let us carefully sort through the logic of this. Before you became King, you could not have changed your identity to Targaryen, and you ascended the Iron Throne in the name of House Targaryen. Without the surname Targaryen, how did you become King?"

If Arthur had been a leader of a noble house before ascending the Iron Throne, his process would indeed have some issues.

At the very least, becoming King and legitimizing himself were in conflict, and it was unsolvable.

"But I remind you of one point: I was first the Riverlands King, the King supported by all the houses of the entire Riverlands."

Arthur told a small lie; even now, Riverrun did not recognize him as their King.

"Then, in the name of the Riverlands King, I changed my surname to Targaryen, and only then did I ascend the Iron Throne to become the King of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."

The Dragon Queen was stunned for a moment; she thought about it for a long time before she understood the logic.

Daenerys was puzzled and asked the nobles behind her, "Does this process conform to the customs of Westeros and the laws of the Seven Kingdoms?"

Count Clement Piper, who led the support for Arthur I, immediately replied:

"There is no problem, Lady Daenerys. As the Riverlands King, His Majesty can indeed order his surname to be changed back, and then ascend the throne in the name of the Dragon house."

Forms of address were a very important issue; given the King's unclear attitude toward the Stormborn who possessed three dragons, Clement addressed her as "Lady."

The other nobles nodded in agreement, and Marquess Innes shouted loudly, "His Majesty was carried into King's Landing by our few houses; there is no problem with the succession."

Daenerys looked at this bald man with disgust and remembered the twin tower crest on Innes.

After pacing back and forth in front of the nobles and the King a few times, the Dragon Queen said loudly:

"As the Dragon house, whoever has more dragons is the King. I have three dragons; do you?"

Arthur, sitting on the main seat, looked back at his wife who was still weeping, did not respond to this challenge, and instead got up and went to Margaery's side.

"No need to be overly sad; he fulfilled his own wish before he left."

The King gently patted his wife's shoulder and comforted her in a low voice.

Daenerys had already brought the news here that Grand Maester Gormon and Mace Tyrell had been assassinated, causing Margaery, who had lost her kin, to cry bitterly.

A flash of jealousy crossed Daenerys's purple eyes; this great nephew, apart from being a bit thin, was exactly to her aesthetic taste.

Tall, fair-skinned, deep-set eyes and a straight nose, with handsome features.

More importantly, he had those black eyes that could bewitch the heart.

She loved men with black eyes to death.

As a model Queen, Margaery naturally had to give the King face; after listening to her husband's words, she barely managed to stop her sobbing, looked at Arthur with her red, beautiful eyes, and then gently hugged her husband.

"My dear, it is fortunate that you are here."

Margaery pretended that she and the King had a very deep affection.

But in reality, the two only had a deep acquaintance.

True, heartfelt affection still needed to be cultivated slowly.

Looking at the tear-stained beauty before him, the King suddenly felt a desire to conquer, wishing he could mount her right there and then, but important matters took precedence.

The scene of the two being "affectionate" inexplicably made Daenerys feel jealous.

Her rosy little mouth pouted because of it.

After Margaery's emotions stabilized, the King returned to the main seat and answered the Dragon Queen's previous proposal.

"But you can only ride one dragon at a time."

He scanned the nobles, then found support for himself in the eyes of this group.

Arthur's confidence grew significantly, and he said loudly, "How about this: once the Westerlands, the Stormlands, and The North are pacified, we shall emulate Jaehaerys I and convene a Great Council of lords at Harrenhal, letting all the Jiaodu vote to elect a true King. Do you think that is feasible?"

In 101 of the Conquest Era, a grand gathering of lords was held at Harrenhal; this should have been the first time in Westeros history that all the lords appeared in one place simultaneously.

After standing until she was tired, Daenerys plopped down onto the chair prepared for her, rested her arms on the armrests, and said with great dominance:

"Put away your little schemes; don't think I don't know what you are planning. No matter how mediocre a male heir may be, the lords will only choose a man to be King."

Having been a Khaleesi for nearly two years and a Queen for over a year, Daenerys already possessed a powerful aura.

This aura could even influence those around her; for instance, after the Dragon Queen sat down, Folei Marquess's posture straightened up quite a bit.

But Arthur also possessed the aura of a superior, and his was even more ferocious and bloody.

To be precise, compared to Daenerys, the aura of Arthur I was even more biting.

"You want to sit on the Iron Throne, and I am already sitting on the Iron Throne; this creates a conflict. Do you wish to recreate the civil war of the Dance of the Dragons from two hundred years ago?"

Arthur asked sternly.

"I..." Daenerys just wanted to retort, but was quickly interrupted by the King.

"Our Targaryen numbers are already dwindling, and you are still so unreasonable; do you need me to teach you how to act?"

Arthur said he was a Targaryen without his face turning red or his heart racing.

Daenerys glanced at her overbearing grand-nephew and suddenly felt a desire to conquer.

Her eyebrows arched, and she smiled slightly, "Then do teach me; I would like to see how the wise Arthur handles such a predicament."

Daenerys emphasized the word "wise," attempting to use this method to mock the King.

"Your Majesties, I do have a suggestion."

The half-man-tall Tyrion squeezed to the front with effort and proposed loudly, "Why don't you two get married and then share the title of King."

Although the Dragon Queen and the King looked like they were about to fall out on the spot, the sharp Tyrion Lannister had already sensed that they appreciated each other, and the amusement in their four eyes was about to overflow.

Based on Tyrion's experience of frequently visiting brothels, he believed that if there were no one else in the tent, the two could have hugged and kissed right there.

"Marriage?" Prince Oberyn, who was whispering to his mistress while sitting to the side, suddenly spoke up, "I do have a proposal; why doesn't Princess Daenerys marry my brother's eldest son? He should currently be on his way to Slaver's Bay to find you."

Daenerys glared fiercely at this melancholy middle-aged man; only after a while did she notice the emblem of the golden spear piercing the sun and guessed that this person was a prince of House Martell of Dorne.

"The men who want to marry me could line up from Slaver's Bay all the way to King's Landing, and then continue to Casterly Rock in the Westerlands; is it the turn of some nameless boy from Dorne?"

The Dragon Queen politely declined this marriage proposal.

Dorne was of no great help to her inheriting the Iron Throne, and she did not want to bind herself with such a marriage.

Tyrion pondered for a while and felt that if one used the "chest-to-back" queuing method, even if all the men in the world were added together, they wouldn't fill the distance from Slaver's Bay to Westeros.

It seemed this Dragon Queen was quite good at exaggeration.

With Margaery still by his side, Arthur did not bring up the topic of marrying Daenerys.

He raised another topic, "We are still in a state of war; how can we discuss such a matter for so long?"

"Daenerys, how about this: given that our family is small, you and I should stop fighting over who sits on the Iron Throne for now, and there is no need for infighting; let's take down the Westerlands and Casterly Rock first. We can discuss the details slowly later, and we can even let the count-level nobles participate in the discussion; as long as the Iron Throne belongs to the Targaryens, that is all that matters."

Hearing this, the Dragon Queen raised her tone and asked, "What did you call me? As a nephew, can you address me by my name directly?"

With no relationship confirmed, Daenerys decided to use her seniority to suppress her grand-nephew first.

The King smiled and teased, "I call you Daenerys, you call me nephew; let us each use our own terms."

Actually, it wouldn't be impossible for him to call her aunt; after all, he was a Dragon Rider!

But in an occasion with many low-level lords present, the King still had to maintain necessary majesty, so Arthur addressed her by name.

Looking at Arthur's rogue-like manner, Daenerys cast a disdainful glance, felt she couldn't change it, and set the matter aside.

She turned her head, saw the dwarf in the pile of nobles, and suddenly recognized the roaring lion emblem on Tyrion.

"Isn't this a Lannister? What are you doing? Tywin's crimes are extremely deep; how can a person of the Lion House still be alive in your Battalion?"

Daenerys was quite dissatisfied with this.

No matter who sits on the Iron Throne, the chief culprit Tywin and the Lannisters must be liquidated.

Killing women and children violates the common unwritten rules among nobles, and these were not ordinary women; they were the legitimate wife of the Crown Prince and a Princess of Dorne.

When it comes down to it, the crimes of Robert, who sat on the Iron Throne, were not as deep as Tywin's.

"The one who killed Princess Elia was The Mountain, who has already been smashed to pieces by me; the participating Amory Lorch has also had his head chopped off by me. As for the remaining crimes of House Lannister, we will settle them all together after we take Casterly Rock."

Speaking of this, Arthur pointed at Tyrion, "In 283, this person was only ten years old and could not participate in the decisions of the Lion House; if we were to punish him, how would that be any different from The Mountain and Luo Qi who killed women and children?"

Seeing that Daenerys had turned to judging the crimes of the Lannisters, the King took the opportunity to announce:

"Fighting the Westerlands is our most important task. Previously, Kevan sent someone to say that he would only surrender if I returned the Kingslayer Jaime and promised not to punish the Westerlands and House Lannister, but how could that be possible? If the cost of rebellion is so small, then where is the majesty of the King and the royal family?"

With the great army at the gates and Garlan and the Reach army having secretly prepared for a surprise attack, Arthur would never let the Westerlanders lose easily.

At the very least, Golden Tooth must be stripped from the Westerlands and placed under the jurisdiction of the Riverlands, and the gold mines in places like Castamere, Nunny, and Pendric Hills must be handed over.

As for the silver mines in places like Silverhill and Tarbeck Hall, a portion must also be handed over as punishment for the Westerland nobles following House Lannister in rebellion.

And the die-hard loyalist families of the Lion House, such as Oxcross, Deep Den, and Castamere, must also be weakened.

Demotion and reduction of fiefs are inevitable.

The territories reduced from the Westerlands can be distributed to families that supported the royal family; their performance in the Usurper's War and this war must be taken into account.

This is also the key to why the Reachmen and the Riverlanders followed the King to raise a large army; without any benefits, could this group of nobles bring out soldiers whose family fates were at stake to fight?

He waved his hand, "Everyone go back and reorganize your soldiers; let them rest first. In these two or three days, we will go to war with the Westerlanders."

"Break into Casterly Rock, capture Kevan alive."

The King shouted a slogan.

Many nobles responded one after another.

"Divide the Westerlands, eliminate the Lannisters."

"Attack into Casterly Rock."

"The mineral resources of the Westerlands are ours."

After shouting the slogan, the nobles left one after another; Arthur, having comforted Margaery, ran to Daenerys Targaryen's tent to discuss important matters.

A long time later.

"How is it possible, how can yours be so big?"

Daenerys exclaimed.

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