Chapter 201: The Second Son Bill

There is a common rule in Westeros: a lord cannot be the lord of two separate territories.

Even the King and the royal family generally do not rule large areas outside the Crownlands. The lands belonging to the royal family outside the Crownlands are few and far between; only a few small villages like Copper Branch in the Riverlands are registered.

Therefore, in order to convince the nobles, the handling of Winterfell must be handled with tact.

Sansa's younger brother, Rickon Stark, is still in some Northern castle near the Shivering Sea; once Winterfell is taken by the people of the Vale and the North becomes safe for members of House Stark, Rickon will certainly appear.

But Arthur does not want this child to obtain Winterfell, so he has come up with a compromise.

"Symond Templeton, the Knight of Nine Star City in the Vale, has Stark blood. In fact, he, along with Yohn Royce and the late husband of Lady Anya Waynwood, are your closest relatives besides the descendants of Lord Rickard Stark."

The King first explained to his foolish wife her relationship with Ser Symond Templeton.

"I have met this old knight and have a rather good impression of him. Moreover, he only holds the title of a Landed Knight and would never claim the family name or the succession rights to the lands of a top-tier noble house like House Stark. Having him manage Winterfell on your behalf is the most appropriate choice."

After the wedding of Arthur and Margaery, some rumors reached the King's ears.

Someone was testing whether the ministers of the Small Council and the King supported House Royce and House Waynwood in inheriting Winterfell and the position of Warden of the North.

But how could Arthur possibly agree to that?

House Stark is a top-tier noble house; in common terms, they are one of the three great "local emperors" of Westeros.

Using Sansa's status as the only Stark of the main line known to be alive to lock in the position of Lord of Winterfell first, and then enfeoffing Rickon to the now-ownerless Dreadfort once he appears—that is Arthur's plan.

Sansa listened to her husband's words very seriously, then asked: "Once one of our sons comes of age, he can inherit the North, is that right?"

She was still very satisfied with this arrangement.

"That's right." Arthur gave an affirmative reply, "According to tradition, once he inherits Winterfell, he will change his surname to Stark, so that this ancient bloodline may continue."

Theoretically speaking, except for newly risen houses, the origins of basically all noble families can be traced back thousands of years.

"You really are a qualified husband and father!" Sansa smoothed her auburn hair, then sat up and gave Arthur, who was sitting on the edge of the feather bed, a sweet kiss.

The King gently stroked her belly, which was already showing; she was several months into her pregnancy.

"Add more clothes if it gets cold... make those maids of yours from Harrenhal be quick... only let people you are familiar with enter your room..."

In a rare moment of tenderness, Arthur gave a few soft instructions.

Sansa agreed to them one by one, then added casually: "Actually, the maids can't really do much. You know, there are plenty of ladies and noble maidens around me; they do most of the work."

After the wedding of Arthur and Margaery, most of the noblewomen and maidens returned to their own lands, but quite a few remained in the Red Keep and King's Landing.

Among them were Margaery's aunt, Janna Tyrell, Lady Alysanne Bulwer of Blackcrown, Alerie Tyrell, Meredyth Crane, and seven or eight others.

These people were nominally Queen Margaery's ladies-in-waiting, but in reality, when they surrounded the Queen, they were equivalent to maids who could hold a conversation.

The distances between Northern castles are too great, so they did not form the habit of holding gatherings at the liege lord's castle like in the Reach, and Sansa did not treat her ladies-in-waiting as maids.

But after the Reachmen brought their traditions to King's Landing, the influenced Queen Stark soon did the same.

After all, she did not want to be inferior to Margaery.

"By the way, what is the deal with that lady from the Reach? She is from House Crane of Red Lake, right? How did she get mixed up with the Riverlanders?"

Arthur remembered Meredyth from the group of ladies-in-waiting he had seen earlier and asked this question.

"What, can't I build a deep friendship with a lady from the Reach?" Sansa did not answer directly.

His wife's appropriate stupidity left Arthur speechless; he decided to have Brienne, who served as a guard, keep an eye on the Reachmen.

One must always be on guard.

The two chatted for a long time, and Sansa, who had become foolish after entering pregnancy, finally remembered another more important matter.

"What do you think of Dickon Tarly? I want to find a fiancé for Lady Eleanor Mooton who is worthy of her status as the eldest daughter of the Lord of Maidenpool."

Eleanor is the eldest daughter of Lord William Mooton, about thirteen or fourteen years old, and it is indeed time to discuss marriage.

Arthur thought about this proposal and felt it was feasible.

He had already decided to support House Tarly and House Tyrell in creating opposition within the heart of the Reach, and House Mooton had always supported House Targaryen, so pulling House Tarly into this marriage circle was a relatively wise choice.

"Not bad, William Mooton is loyal enough, and his daughter is worthy of the heir to the Master of Laws."

The King agreed to the matter, and as for the subsequent developments, he would leave it to the two married women by Sansa's side to contact and facilitate.

After soothing Sansa, Arthur returned to the King's bedchamber on the third floor to rest.

This was the largest room in all of Maegor's Holdfast; two independent fireplaces were burning brightly, and there was already someone on the feather bed that could fit seven or eight people lying side by side.

"You are one busy King!" Arianne Martell, lying on the bed, complained coquettishly.

"Of course, I not only have to worry about the great affairs of the kingdom, but also about the women I love."

Arthur took off his robe and began the night's campaign.

The Red Keep, Traitor's Walk.

Before the Small Council meeting of the new day began, the Commander of the King's Landing City Watch, Tristan Rivers, suddenly found the King and claimed that there was a rather important person who needed to meet the King in person.

"He first claimed to be Ser Parmen Crane, then later admitted he was just a minor knight from the Reach, but he has a message from Lord Mathis Rowan to be told to Your Majesty in person."

In the pitch-black corridor leading to the dungeons of the Red Keep, Tristan, holding a torch, introduced him this way.

Originally, Tristan did not want to bother the King with such a small matter, but Yuri Urmis, who had been caught by the City Watch soldiers, insisted that his business was very important and pointed out very clearly that the King possessed a Valyrian Steel Dagger gifted by his lord, Lord Rowan, to verify his identity.

Tristan had only heard that the King possessed such a dagger and had not actually seen it, so he took the matter seriously and invited the King to handle it.

"You must distinguish the priority of matters. If I had to handle every little thing myself, wouldn't I be worked to death?"

Arthur was a bit dissatisfied with this; he was about to arrange some important matters at today's Small Council meeting. But Mathis was currently in the south commanding an army of ten thousand in the Reach; if he really did send someone to report something to the King, the King could not afford to ignore it.

"It is mainly because he accurately described your dagger that I felt what he said afterward must be true."

Tristan led the King to the destination and then pointed out Yuri, who had been beaten black and blue, to the King.

Although the facial features were hard to recognize due to the beating, Arthur still recognized that this person was indeed a knight from Mathis's side.

"What does Mathis have to tell me?" The King looked down at the down-and-out knight, whose hands and feet were both in iron shackles.

"Your Majesty, could you please ask this lord to step out first? Lord Mathis said this matter is very important and must be told to you alone." Yuri, seeing the King truly appear before him, said hurriedly.

"No need, Lord Tristan is someone I trust very much; you can speak with confidence."

Arthur waved his hand, telling the man to speak quickly.

Seeing this, Yuri had no choice but to honestly relay Mathis's message to the King.

"My lord asked me to inform Your Majesty that the information broker, the Spider Varys, is not dead. He is still alive and active in King's Landing, actively contacting allies for the Golden Company and Young Aegon..."

Yuri told the King the whole story from beginning to end.

It turned out that the Reach Army led by Mathis had captured several Little Birds and Golden Company soldiers from King's Landing, and Earl Rowan had personally pried the purpose of their southward journey from the captives' mouths:

To receive further instructions from Young Aegon and the Captain-General of the Golden Company, Harry Strickland.

"The Spider's activities are fruitful; one courtier is already willing to cooperate. These are the exact words of those Little Birds. My lord speculates that the eunuch Varys has contacted a member of the Small Council, preparing to cause trouble while you leave King's Landing to campaign in the south," Yuri added.

This information surprised Arthur a little, and at the same time, he was glad that this trip had not been in vain.

"A member of the Small Council, who could it be? Did Mathis ask who it was?"

The King asked.

"My lord suspects it is Earl Randyll Tarly," Yuri was quite honest and directly stated Earl Rowan's thoughts, "He feels that Varys likely used Brightwater Keep and that half of the territory as a promise to get Lord Randyll to reach some agreement with the Golden Company side."

Arthur nodded, "Very reasonable, I will consider this possibility."

In the Small Council, there were only a few Reachmen who could have any connection with the Golden Company.

This was because the main high-ranking officers of the Golden Company were descendants of nobles exiled during the Blackfyre Rebellion, and these people were more or less related to the Reach nobility.

The King, having received the information, was turning to leave when he heard Yuri's last sentence:

"Your Majesty, my lord said that if you lead your army south as soon as possible to defeat Young Aegon and the Golden Company, any conspiracy will be nothing more than a moon in the water."

These words made Arthur quite tempted; if he could quickly defeat the Golden Company, or even just drive them out of the Stormlands without needing to defeat them, his rule would be greatly solidified.

After leaving the dungeon, the King and the Attendants waiting outside returned to the council chamber.

Tristan Rivers had heard the conversation the whole time, but he remained calm during the Small Council meeting where Randyll Tarly was present.

After the attendees were all present, Paxter Redwyne, wearing the Hand of the King pin on his chest, first recommended the successor for the Master of Ships to the King.

"Your Majesty, Baelor Hightower of House Hightower is wise and intelligent, and he performed quite well in the actions against the Ironborn. I think having him serve as Master of Ships is a very good choice."

The Lord of the Arbor recommended the heir of the Hightowers, one of the three great families of the Reach.

"Is that the Smiling Baelor? I think that's fine. We can start sending ravens to invite this Knight to King's Landing." Arthur, sitting in the main seat, wore a smile, looking very satisfied with this proposal.

In reality, the King was indeed satisfied; being a member of the Small Council did not necessarily mean power, just as the Mad King taking Jaime into the Kingsguard was to use him as a hostage. As long as Baelor Hightower came to King's Landing, he could also hold the status of a hostage.

Paxter smiled and flattered Arthur I as a wise King, and then the Small Council began to formally discuss the matters to be handled today.

"The war in the south is the most urgent matter at the moment. I propose to raise another army, starting from the Reach, to pincer the Golden Company and Young Aegon with Earl Mathis's army."

War Minister Innes first showed off his presence a little.

The other members of the Small Council had no objections to this, and Arthur also felt it should be so.

"Then let Sir Loras Tyrell take some men and, in my name, conscript a large army of about 10,000 to 15,000 in the eastern part of the Reach, preparing to pincer the Golden Company holed up in the southern Stormlands."

The King ordered.

The war potential of the Reach was large enough; with full mobilization of standing armies and conscripts, the number of soldiers that could be pulled out was between 100,000 and 120,000. Plus, after a long, long summer, the population had grown significantly, and the number of soldiers that could be summoned would only be higher.

The Knight of Flowers, who had already put on his white cloak, was quickly called to the council chamber. After hearing the King's order, Loras, with his curly hair, immediately drew his sword and knelt on one knee:

"I will certainly bring the army Your Majesty requires to the gates of Storm's End and fight alongside Your Majesty to defeat the Golden Company and the rebellious Young Aegon."

Aside from the label of being a homosexual, the Knight of Flowers was kind and just, and did not have many devious thoughts; he was still someone in House Tyrell who could be put to great use.

After Loras left with the parchment stamped with the three-headed dragon sigil, the Small Council continued.

"The war in the south must be pushed forward, and the construction of the Crownlands must also proceed. The royal standing army should also take the stage."

Arthur looked around at the courtiers and slowly stated his plan.

"Regarding the compensation from the Westerlands earlier, I demanded 10,000 sets of armor as punishment for the rebellion. My Lord Lannister, you can have people go to Iron Street to forge some samples."

The King said to Tyrion, who was holding a wine glass.

"No problem, the Westerlands have plenty of iron mines."

The Iron Throne had already recognized his status as Lord of Casterly Rock, and Tyrion was very happy recently; the compensation for a batch of Iron Armor could just be shared among the various families in the Westerlands that had mines.

"As for our Master of Whisperers, Prince Oberyn, you must take men to conscript soldiers for me. Start from Maidenpool, along the Gods Eye, and select farmers who are physically strong and loyal to the Iron Throne."

The Red Viper had been a mercenary in Essos for several years and had even formed his own mercenary company; he had rich experience and was quite suitable for this kind of work.

Oberyn, with his arms crossed over his chest, nodded slightly. He took a light view of status and power and did not think that conscripting soldiers was beneath his status as a Prince.

"Your Majesty, I have a question. Ordinary soldiers can be selected, but who will serve as officers and generals? We can't just pick them from farmers who know nothing, right?"

Earl Randyll Tarly expressed his doubts at the right time.

"You don't need to worry about that; there is a ready-made solution."

Arthur smiled confidently and said calmly: "I have a plan called the Second Sons Act, which perfectly solves this problem."

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)