Chapter 195: Guardians of the Two Realms

The meeting in the Commander's tent was still ongoing, but the King had encountered no small amount of trouble.

Led by Garlan Tyrell, Alysanne Lefford, and Kevan Lannister, the nobles from various regions explicitly opposed the King's plan to establish Golden Tooth as a direct royal domain.

"Your Grace, such a thing is unprecedented; this is equivalent to completely stripping the Lefford family of their lands and removing their noble titles."

Tyrion also reminded him tactfully.

Before Arthur could speak, the Dragon Queen at his side could not help herself: "Does the King not even have this much power?"

Daenerys had run rampant in Slaver's Bay and was used to acting like a crab; the Unsullied under her command followed her orders with near-perfect obedience, so she was naturally unaccustomed to vassals speaking out against the King's proposals.

Garlan, the as-yet-uninvested Count of Brightwater Keep, taught the fake aunt and nephew a lesson:

"Your Grace, power is not about what you can do, but what you cannot do. Responsibility and obligation are equivalent; even during the time of Aegon the Conqueror, the surrendering nobles were treated with exceptional leniency. Aside from kneeling, did Torrhen Stark ever suffer any harassment?"

He pointed to Lady Alysanne Lefford, a middle-aged woman who looked every bit of forty: "According to the prevailing laws of inheritance, Lady Alysanne is the rightful lord of Golden Tooth, and only her offspring have the right of succession. If you were to marry the Lady and then incorporate Golden Tooth into the royal domain, we would have no objections. But you want the land on one hand, and want to leave the members of the Lefford family wandering on the other—that is not in accordance with the law. I believe that in your kingdom, the property of every noble and commoner should be protected by law."

It was not just the Westerlanders who were still in captivity; even the Reach nobles who had previously supported the King opposed this move.

The reason was very simple: if the King could now seize the fief of the lord of Golden Tooth without cause, he could seize the lands of other families in the future.

Once this precedent was set, it would be a disaster for families that were not strong but held important territories.

Without even needing to look, Arthur knew he did not want to marry another elderly Lady Lefford.

He glanced at Prince Oberyn: "Do you Dornishmen think the same way?"

On matters of this nature, the Red Viper could already represent the attitude of Doran Martell and the entirety of Dorne.

"In Dorne, we do not go around seizing other people's property," Oberyn said in a low voice, arms crossed.

Arthur I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

He had only been drinking the fine wine of power for a short time, and now he had to taste the dregs.

Punishing rebellious families for treason would not draw much objection from other pro-royal or neutral families, but if the King acted recklessly, the ruling class would let Arthur, a first-time king, know what the prevailing rules were.

Even someone as powerful as Jaehaerys I had to shake hands and make peace with the Faith and the Hightower family to stabilize his rule. In his later years, he even had to allow nobles from the Oldtown faction, such as Otto Hightower, to enter the Small Council.

If Arthur's kingdom had been conquered bit by bit and then granted to trusted subordinates promoted from the peasantry, he would not have to worry about the opinions of these nobles.

Because his legitimacy would have been won by his own hand, not bestowed by the great lords.

But that path does not work in Westeros; the commoners on a territory have basically been submissive to the same family for hundreds or thousands of years, and unless the lord is too cruel, they simply do not pay heed to other nobles.

Do not think that the smallfolk do not care who rules them; while collectively called smallfolk, they are actually composed of countless small, distinct groups—craftsmen, stonemasons, farmers, artisans, millers, washerwomen, farriers, linen-weavers, shepherds, and so on. Many things on a noble's land can only be done by the smallfolk after the Jiaodu gives permission, such as hunting or grazing sheep in the woodlands.

Hunting without the lord's permission is called poaching, and at its worst, the lord can exile the offender to the Wall to serve as a brother of the Night's Watch.

It is precisely because the nobles hold all the power, great and small, over their lands that the smallfolk feel they are receiving the lord's grace, and thus maintain their loyalty generation after generation.

That Robb Stark could be proclaimed King by the North lords was, aside from his combat ability, inseparable from the fact that he was the eldest son of Duke Eddard.

Status, claims, and legal principles are what the nobles recognize.

Even if Arthur were a bit more brutal and crushed all the nobles, installing his own men as counts everywhere to rule and manage all the lands, he would only face wave after wave of rebellion.

For example, the Starks of the North: the main line of Winterfell had gone through the strife of wolves during the time of Duke Rickard Stark, leaving only him, but the various branches of the North were not exactly everywhere, yet there were still a thousand or so of them.

In the North Army, there was no shortage of people who looked extremely similar to Eddard.

And the large number of Arryns in Gulltown, the various branches and distant relatives of the Lion family in Lannisport, and the Tyrell branches around Highgarden were too numerous to count.

Once the members of the main house died, these vast numbers of branch members would immediately claim they had the right of succession, recognized by the Seven or the Old Gods, and begin organizing armies to rebel.

Moreover, in the process of the King purging neutral or hostile families, the so-called Dragon Party families who previously supported Arthur would likely turn on him on the spot; they wanted a king like those of the Targaryen Dynasty, not a spoiler who would completely flip the chessboard.

Arthur I looked around at these great lords and said slowly: "How about this: I will designate a trusted aide to marry Lady Alysanne, and then let him inherit Golden Tooth. That should be acceptable, right?"

Golden Tooth certainly had to be kept in his own hands; with the gold mines secured, the value of a single fortress and the surrounding barren territory was much lower.

Tyrion, who had picked up his wine cup at some point, shouted: "Let us drink to our wise Arthur I!"

Then he downed the entire cup in one go.

The only one who drank with him was Prince Oberyn; the remaining nobles discussed for a few minutes before having no objections to the King's plan.

Arthur looked left and right; among those around him who could be considered trusted and reliable, and were between thirty and forty years old, there was only Bernard Brune.

This was a Knight from the Crab's Claw Peninsula who was presumably still unmarried, and he had performed quite well in the defense of the Dragonpit and this capture of Casterly Rock.

"Sir Bernard, Lady Alysanne, are you two willing to be joined in marriage?"

Brune looked at the already aged Alysanne with disdain and nodded in agreement, albeit very reluctantly.

He had no concept of Golden Tooth, knowing only that it was a castle in the mountains.

Alysanne, the matriarch of House Lefford, looked at the strong knight the King had designated for her; although she feigned indifference, she was overjoyed inside.

This was surely better than the old man Leo, right?

She said slowly: "Your Grace, the Seven will remember your mercy. We of House Lefford will never betray you."

Although she still called herself a Lefford, after the two were married, the family crest and name might change; as for how exactly, they would decide for themselves.

Having resolved the issues of Golden Tooth and the count-level nobles, the next step was to arrange the Lannister family.

"Since Sir Jaime has already worn the white cloak, Tyrion Lannister is the heir to Casterly Rock. I declare that from this moment on, Tyrion is the Duke of Casterly Rock and Jiaodu of the Lannisters; all lands and assets currently held by House Lannister are to be inherited by him."

Although Tyrion was already three-tenths drunk, upon hearing the King's appointment, his chest heaved violently and his face turned quite ruddy.

With a smile on his face, it was clear he was also looking forward to this result.

But the King's next words made his smile vanish.

"Given that Lord Tyrion is very keen to provide me with financial advice, he must reside in King's Landing. As for Casterly Rock, Stafford Lannister shall serve as Castellan. At the same time, Sir Stafford, who is in the Westerlands, will serve as Warden of the West. If necessary, he may summon the Westerlands Army in my name to defend against the invading Ironborn."

Stafford was an extremely mediocre middle-aged knight; aside from the fact that Tywin was his brother-in-law, he had no other notable highlights. Whether in governing territory, commanding, or organizing armies, he had experienced failures that made one's eyes dim.

With such a person managing Casterly Rock and the Westerlands, Arthur I felt much more at ease.

Tyrion wanted to say something, but looked up, saw Bernard Brune beside him, and silently swallowed his words back down.

This Brune was by his side at all times and was not very bright; if he angered the King, Sir Bernard might just offer up his head to make the King happy.

On this point, no nobles came out to object; although they also looked down on the dwarf Tyrion, he was indeed the heir to Casterly Rock, and the King's handling of it was not problematic.

"Where is my Margaery? Bring her to me." When it came time to handle the succession matters for the Reach and House Tyrell, Arthur I had his wife brought to his side.

Margaery, dressed in a plain beige robe, stood up from the chair behind the King and walked around to his front.

Only after she leaned in close to his ear did Arthur share his thoughts with her, letting her make the final decision.

"Willas inherits the title, Garlan becomes Warden of the South, how about that?"

This is the significance of a political marriage; if Margaery supports it, then the King's handling of The Reach will also gain the support of House Tyrell and most other families.

After all, there are only a few second-tier noble families like the Florents who are desperate to climb the ladder, or the likes of Randyll Tarly who only care about land.

Margaery breathed out like an orchid, "Everything is as you wish, Your Grace."

Up to this point, her husband's way of handling matters had been quite forceful, so Margaery packaged herself to appear a bit more fragile.

Arthur nodded and let her sit to the side.

"The eldest son of Duke Mace Tyrell, Willas Tyrell, shall inherit the title of Duke of Highgarden, inherit the lands of House Tyrell, and inherit the title of Lord Paramount of The Reach."

"Considering that Duke Willas himself has limited mobility, Garlan Tyrell, Lord of Brightwater Keep, shall serve as Warden of the South, responsible for defending against the Ironborn and stabilizing the South."

During a certain Tourney, Willas was unhorsed by Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, and broke a leg, living his days in a wheelchair ever since.

The Wardens of the four corners—East, West, North, and South—are actually honorary titles; to make the kingdom sound more formal, the Lord Paramount of The Reach usually adds the title of Warden of the South, but the one who can truly summon armies remains the Lord Paramount of The Reach.

As for the nobles of Dorne and the Stormlands, who are also in the south, they ignore the Warden of the South and take orders directly from their own Princes and Lords Paramount.

Garlan, wearing a surcoat with a quartered coat of arms, walked out of the crowd, said a long string of formal pleasantries, then knelt on one knee and placed his sword horizontally across his knees.

Arthur stood up, took Garlan's sword, tapped him lightly on both shoulders, and then returned the sword to him.

Knight culture is popular among Reachmen, so they must perform a set of fealty rituals on such occasions.

After roughly finishing the handling of the Westerlands, the nobles below the rank of Count and the captives from the Westerlands were asked to leave, leaving the higher-ranking Jiaodu to begin discussing the specific list of rewards.

Aegon Leygood, who had previously been captured by the Westerlanders, and Lorent Caswell, Lord of Bitterbridge, and others all demanded compensation of no small value, but were shouted down by Garlan and the others.

"Bald Innes was the first to pledge loyalty to me, and House Frey performed quite well in several major battles, so this time they must receive three Viscountcies, all in the Cockle-wood."

The King pointed to the southern part of the Westerlands and said.

The specific strategy for this ennoblement was to have the Frey family and families from The Reach that are part of the Tyrell faction be enfeoffed in the Westerlands.

The Westerlands are too far from the original lands of the enfeoffed families, so maintaining initial rule will inevitably consume more of the families' strength, including the garrisoned soldiers, newly replaced bailiffs, Village Chiefs, town mayors, and so on.

Meanwhile, those from the Riverlands who are not of House Frey, and those from The Reach who are more inclined toward the Iron Throne, are enfeoffed in the Riverlands and The Reach, that is, near their original lands.

The Riverlands had long been scattered, and The Reach, after a round of purges by Queen Regent Cersei, also had quite a few families vacated, enough for rewards.

By the end of the discussion, after the list of rewards was mostly settled, Arthur suddenly remembered one thing.

House Rowan and House Oakheart were the first to support Arthur when he was still the Riverlands King, but they offended Duke Mace because of it.

And while Lord Puffer-fish might not care about such things, Willas and Garlan might have grudges in their hearts and make things difficult for these two families in the future.

"I remember Strongsong is under the name of a minor family of House Rowan, right?"

Ser Saeas, representing House Rowan, replied: "Yes, Your Grace. Currently, the tower is still in an abandoned state."

Strongsong is located between Goldengrove and Old Oak and is a tower under the name of House Osgrey; the last Jiaodu of that family was Eustace Osgrey, and the family line died out around the time of the Blackfyre Rebellion; Eustace's second wife was named Rohanne Webber.

It is worth mentioning that Rohanne was nicknamed the Red Widow, Eustace was her fifth husband, and her last husband was Gerold Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock.

And Gerold's third son, Duke Tytos, was the father of Duke Tywin, the famous Laughing Lion.

"Very good, it wouldn't be excessive for the royal family to build a summer palace there, would it?"

To increase influence over Dorne, the Targaryen Dynasty once built Summerhall in the Dornish Marches of the Stormlands as the family's summer palace.

Now Summerhall is destroyed, and the importance of Dorne has slightly declined; The Reach is the main object of precaution.

So Arthur I intends to build an autumn palace here to strengthen influence over the surrounding families.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)