Chapter 206: Loyal Old Frey

There is a reason why the people of Myr chose to seek help from the Western Continent.

The city-state is collectively ruled by a Governor Council, composed primarily of local wealthy merchants and nobles. Its military forces consist mainly of the Governors' private armies and large hired mercenary companies.

About four or five months ago, Myr's defensive strength could still be ranked second among the five southern city-states, but the Golden Company's breach of contract caused the city-state's military strength to drop directly to fifth, failing to even surpass Pentos to the north.

Hiring other mercenary companies is unrealistic; the famous Longlance, Cat Company, Windblown, and others have already signed contracts with Volantis, Yunkai, and Astapor, and are currently active in Slaver's Bay.

As for the Stormcrows and the Second Sons, they were previously hired by Yunkai, and under the leadership of Daario Naharis, these two mercenary companies defected to the Dragon Queen Daenerys.

In other words, there are no mercenary companies in the south of Essos with a scale of over five hundred men available to stand guard in Myr; the smaller companies lack the strength, and their reputations are mediocre, so the Governors of Myr do not think much of them.

Thus, after much picking and choosing, the people of Myr had no choice but to turn their gaze to the west, where the lords of the Western Continent all possess formidable levied armies.

What is more coincidental is that no lord from the Western Continent has ever gained a firm foothold on the continent of Essos; even House Targaryen only occupied the Stepstones for a period, and the Disputed Lands further east have never been occupied, while the Dragon family seems to have no intention of expanding eastward.

Comparing it this way, seeking aid from the west became the most suitable choice; as long as a liege lord or king responds to the appeal of the Myrish Governor Council, surviving this most difficult period will not be a problem.

"All the Free Folk of Myr are grateful for your generosity."

The stocky Uras Adrian spread his arms like an eagle unfolding its wings, as if receiving this endless favor.

"My most respected Your Majesty Arthur I, our Governor Council hopes you can arrange for the lords to send an army of five thousand to ten thousand men, cavalry or infantry, with the garrison time lasting until the Magister of Volantis abandons the ridiculous idea of unifying the world by force."

"Of course, the lords' soldiers will not work for nothing; we will pay the soldiers forty-seven thousand Myrish Pennies per month, which is fifty percent higher than the normal mercenary wage, converting to three point five new Gold Dragons per month. To the lords, we will also offer a gift of one Gold Dragon per soldier."

Uras introduced the Myrish terms in detail.

Although Myrish Pennies are only iron coins, the quantity of forty-seven thousand is definitely not small.

When defending ordinary territories, the Knights and levies belonging to the lords receive no wages, and the conscripted peasant soldiers must even provide their own chainmail and weapons.

Standing armies do have wages, but the vast majority of lordly houses cannot afford to support too many elite, non-productive soldiers, so the standing armies are also in a semi-productive state; only great liege lords like the Lannisters, who have mines on their lands, can afford standing armies of several thousand.

If lords lead their armies to attack an enemy and obtain significant spoils, they often distribute a portion of the captured currency and supplies to their soldiers as wages for their service.

Therefore, the terms offered by the Myrish are already exceptionally generous for the levies of Westeros, and the lords can also generate income.

"It sounds tempting, but the Seven Kingdoms will currently only provide you with about two thousand to three thousand soldiers for Myr."

Arthur already had the answer in his heart as to which house to send to Myr, so he gave the number of soldiers roughly.

The envoy Uras, however, had objections; he clutched his chest and protested: "Your Majesty, we Governors of Myr are truly here to seek help. How long can three thousand men resist before Volantis? Three days? Or half a week?"

"Do not be impatient yet." Arthur reached out to make the man settle down, "I am speaking of the present. Your greatest enemy right now is Pono and his khalasar operating on the east side of the Sarnor River."

"Who is this Pono? He was a ko under the late Khal Drogo, and only after Drogo died did he gather over thirty thousand Dothraki to become a Khal. His purpose in moving west is to obtain the most supplies with the least cost to consolidate his status as Khal. Therefore, as long as the city of Myr shows it can resist foreign enemies and has follow-up aid, Pono will not easily attack Myr."

Khal Drogo was perhaps the most powerful Khal since the rise of the Dothraki, and his khalasar was also the largest in recent times. Thus, Khal Drogo was able to obtain massive supplies from Pentos by virtue of his formidable strength.

But Pono is not; to stabilize his own status, Pono's best choice is to demonstrate his strength and then let some city-state offer up enough supplies.

Therefore, three thousand soldiers wearing iron armor, plus the private armies of the Myrish Governors and the slave soldiers in the hands of the city-state's Free Folk, are enough to resist Pono's Dothraki cavalry of around seven thousand.

"As for the scourge that is Volantis, after I finish dealing with the Golden Company in the Stormlands, I will send at least five thousand more elite soldiers to assist in the defense of Myr; by then, all of Westeros will have submitted to the rule of the Iron Throne, and we will have spare soldiers."

Arthur stated his vision completely.

In reality, he was prepared to send a wave of people over to test the waters first, and then decide whether to send more people to take the city of Myr.

Uras reacted quickly; he laughed and praised the Western Continent king's arrangement, "Simply perfect; it both resolves the Golden Company that violated the contract and allows Myr to possess sufficient defensive strength. I think the Governors will agree to this plan."

Coming with Uras Adrian was not just the gift money, but also two hundred large merchant ships, including flat-bottomed boats and galleons, capable of crossing the ocean. The purpose of this merchant fleet was to pick up the aid soldiers.

"We in Myr can pay the deposit now; may I ask which houses' soldiers Your Majesty intends to send?"

The envoy was very concerned about the matter of sending troops and probed with a question.

Arthur looked around at the courtiers below, then fixed his gaze on the War Minister Innes Frey.

"The Frey family of The Twins and Raventree Hall shall send three thousand troops, with Rosso Frey leading them."

Innes, however, was somewhat unwilling; he fidgeted and said: "Your Majesty, we might not be able to scrape together so many spare..."

Arthur extended his right hand, cutting off Innes's words, "I will discuss the specific terms with you and Rosso; the matter is settled. Uras, you may have the merchant ships carrying about three thousand men come to King's Landing Port."

The Myrish envoy was clearly very happy; he praised the House Targaryen and the Frey family that was about to send troops, although he did not know where the Frey family's lands were or how strong they were.

After resolving the Myrish issue, the King summoned the two brothers, Rosso and Innes, to the Great Council Chamber.

"Since the Conqueror became King, the Frey family has always been a loyal vassal to House Targaryen." Arthur, sitting on the main seat, looked at the two brothers and set the tone first.

This was indeed the truth; looking at the various great wars in Westeros over the past three hundred years, the Frey family's allegiance basically leaned toward the Red Dragon side:

In the year 43, when the Riverlands and the Westerlands attacked King's Landing due to the Faith issue, the Frey family remained neutral; during the Dance of the Dragons, the Frey family consistently supported the Blacks, that is, the side of "The Realm's Delight" Rhaenyra, with Lord Forrest Frey dying for the Blacks at the Gods Eye, and his wife Sabitha Frey continuing to fight for the Blacks;

In the four Blackfyre Rebellions and the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the Frey family also consistently supported House Targaryen; even in the Usurper's War, Marquess Walder Frey did not directly send troops to attack the army Prince Rhaegar led to the Trident, but instead waited until the fighting was over before completely joining the side of House Tully.

Such loyal performance naturally earned House Targaryen's rewards several times over, and the Frey family's lands extended from The Crossing on the Green Fork to both sides of the entire Green Fork.

For House Targaryen, saying "loyal old Frey" is truly not an exaggeration.

"At this special moment, I need your support even more. I have fulfilled the vast majority of the agreement we reached outside Riverrun; four viscountcies have already reached the hands of your brothers, Raventree Hall is also under Rosso's actual control, and you have never maintained the number of soldiers joining my army above the agreed six thousand."

Speaking of this, the Frey family was indeed a bit in the wrong; Lothar Frey gave a sheepish smile: "Your Majesty, The Twins and Raventree Hall are lands that support you; our sending troops to defend these two territories is also fighting for you."

Arthur glared at him and barked sternly: "Do not quibble; not doing it means not doing it, and I have only seen a few dozen carts of the grain you promised."

The two Freys could not speak, and the air became a bit awkward.

But this was exactly the scene Arthur wanted; he switched to a gentle tone, "Of course, I am not a king who quibbles over everything; after you send troops to the city of Myr, all our previous promises will be considered fulfilled, and I will officially enfeoff Rosso as the Count of Raventree Hall."

"As for the remaining members of House Blackwood, that Brynden Blackwood will be sent to the Citadel to be a Maester, and Penny Blackwood will marry a certain Frey; you can discuss among yourselves within the Freys as to who exactly."

This handling plan was considered the most decent.

Rosso and Innes looked at each other, and both felt it was acceptable.

The clever Lothar probed: "If Your Majesty has no other requirements, this plan is indeed quite good."

He vaguely felt something was wrong, but could not say for sure what the King wanted to do.

How could there be no other requirements? Arthur thought to himself.

"After all the agreements we reached are fulfilled, you two must remember: at any time, in any place, and to anyone, you are not to mention this matter; those who violate this will be guilty of treason, to have their tongues cut out and be exiled to the Wall."

This was the first patch, to prevent the Frey family from using this to threaten Arthur.

The second was regarding the follow-up measures for Myr.

"After Rosso leads the troops to garrison in Myr, any order of mine shall take precedence over the orders of the Governor Council of Myr."

The King stared at Rosso and said.

The reason he chose this man was that Rosso was meticulous in his work and had never caused any trouble.

Rosso stroked his beard and asked doubtfully, "Are you intending to..."

He did not finish the rest of his sentence, but both parties understood the meaning within.

"The people of Myr do not have Guest Right," Arthur responded.

Only Pentos has customs similar to Westeros; the other eight Free Cities do not have the custom of Guest Right.

Rosso felt conflicted; after verbally bidding farewell, he left the Great Council Chamber.

The remaining courtiers were summoned, as the King prepared to attend to another matter.

"Half of the territory of Brightwater Keep has been granted to Earl Randyll, as has Starpike and its lands. However, House Tarly has not received these lands and castles, so I permit Earl Randyll to lead his family soldiers back to his territory."

"Firstly, to clearly delineate the ownership of the respective territories with House Tyrell of Brightwater Keep, and secondly, to lead the army to take Starpike, which is still in the hands of the Castellan of House Peake. When House Tarly attacks Starpike, House Tyrell of Highgarden must provide necessary assistance, such as soldiers and food supplies."

Facing the six members of the Small Council, Arthur announced this.

The balding Randyll Tarly himself was a bit puzzled by this, "Your Majesty, while you are away from King's Landing, I could command the soldiers in the city to prevent sneak attacks from other factions."

"I trust in the abilities of the remaining Earl Paxter and the other ministers," the King said, pointing to the new Hand.

Then he added, "Of course, there is a rationale for Earl Randyll's action this time. During the time of Jaehaerys I, a Circuit Court was implemented nationwide to handle issues between nobles and commoners. I intend to restart this good system, starting with the division of the Brightwater Keep territory; the Circuit Court shall be re-established."

Regardless of whether Randyll had an agreement with the Golden Company, while Arthur was away from King's Landing on his southern campaign, this man and the two thousand soldiers of House Tarly could not stay near King's Landing, so sending him back to the borderlands early was the right thing to do.

Only after resolving the matter of the Golden Company and the young Aegon would the King deal with all the fence-sitters who wavered and hedged their bets on both sides.

"I absolutely obey Your Majesty's orders," Randyll nodded slightly, "but I must remind you that the reliability of this Reach Army in the south and Mathis Rowan is not high."

This remark made Paxter, who was also a Reachman, somewhat dissatisfied, and he questioned, "Earl Tarly, you are a Reachman yourself!"

Prince Oberyn crossed his arms and watched the two Reachmen infighting with cold eyes, while Tyrion poured two glasses of wine for himself and the equally wine-loving Red Viper.

Randyll Tarly replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Paxter, I have my reasons for saying this. When the news of Prince Rhaegar's death at the Ruby Ford and The Mountain's slaughter of the royal children reached the Reach army camp at that time, many Reach nobles witnessed Mathis shedding tears; this is no secret."

Paxter was speechless; he had also been eating, drinking, and making merry outside Storm's End with his cousin Mace Tyrell at the time, and that had indeed happened.

"That is indeed the case," Tyrion Lannister's low voice sounded, "The fact that Earl Rowan shed tears for the young Prince Aegon is one of his deeds of kindness and love."

Although Duke Lannister felt that one could not rule out Mathis Rowan's feelings for Prince Rhaegar's son Aegon Targaryen, whether "young Aegon" was Rhaegar's son was still up for debate, so one could not conclude from this that Mathis was colluding with the enemy or even rebelling.

The behavior of Randyll and Mathis calling each other unreliable made Arthur I feel amused, but it did not matter; the Rowan family's army was not among that Reach army in the Stormlands, and taking over Mathis's command would still be an easy task.

"This just reflects Earl Rowan's loyalty to House Targaryen. I think that with Mathis's wisdom, he will surely be able to distinguish that the young Aegon is an impostor."

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