Chapter 270

Mei Yi sent out cavalry to repeatedly scout and sweep the surrounding enemy troops, and slightly enlarged the encirclement of Terror Fort, withdrawing to several hills afterward; the unit closest to it was stationed at Terror Fort's front, the "Red Lake".

Mei Yi did not know why this small lake was called Red Lake, for the water was not red; under sunlight the whole lake sparkled with rippling light, quite beautiful… but when a daring soldier swam in the lake and fished out a submerged corpse, it had nothing whatsoever to do with the so-called beauty.

After discovering the corpse in the lake, the army began to obtain its drinking water from farther away, because all the water of the downstream river had to pass through the "Red Lake"—which was entirely correct. Many officers thought that fishing up a corpse would solve the problem, but the swollen, blackened, strangely appearing corpses, including those of sheep and other animals, continually being hauled up, put an end to that notion.

Bodun

Earl GeLuofu

She had, in accordance with the Braavosi suspicions, dispatched large numbers of cavalry to patrol the surroundings, but had found no suspicious "ambushers"—which was truly regrettable.

The siege was truly boring; Mei Yi's current tactic was merely to choose, at night, to blow a harsh horn to weary the defenders of Bo Dun, but she could not possibly calculate what effect it would have on wearing down Bo Dun's garrison.

Meanwhile, the animals in Bo Dun grew ever fewer. She had tried focusing her spirit on the various animals in the city, but the result was repeatedly being burned, repeatedly feeling a stabbing pain; in the end she found that reliable creatures she could rely on were growing ever fewer… She did not know what price the red‑robed monk would pay in this process.

Weeping River

Shipbuilder

BuLanDengShiTaKe

Shipbuilder BuLanDengShiTaKe

Shipburner

Thus "Shipburner".

The river water swirled in eddies, flowing toward a distant cavern that roared with a tremendous sound, emitting a wailing noise; the legend says the name of the Lament River originates here. Its history is obviously long enough, and the deep symbols left by the Children of the Forest remain carved high on the cliff face of the mountain rock. Turning one's head slightly reveals the Terror Fort towering above the hills.

Lady Ailishafuman

Old Town

"The surroundings are lovely and the air fresh, but they betray a petty, small‑town air—not a good place to found a nation and build a capital." Mei Yi lightly laughed at Sir Mason Sevens, "To create a true center of River East, at least hundreds of giants as large as that mountain would be needed to smooth this rugged river course; otherwise River East's freight could never keep up with the White Blade River. Terror Fort stands here, more than enough to suppress the surroundings, but to advance further, without mastering the White Blade River, it is impossible."

Yaxia

Sea Snake

KeLiSiWaLieLian

Dragon Queen

"I have already seen him, and I have seen all your other officers; he told me you are here." He replied with a beaming smile, "Your Highness, do you intend to establish a capital in River East?"

"Not bad." Mei Yi leaned on her sword and laughed, "The 'Shipbuilder' Brandon Stark once built a great fleet and sailed west, yet gained nothing; he himself never returned from his final voyage. In the crypts of Winterfell only his empty tomb remains. According to legend, his son the 'Ship‑burner' burned his shipyard and ships, and will never again prepare a western route. What a pity."

Free Trade City-States

"Two hundred years ago, Lady Elissa Farneman, having traded a stolen dragon egg for a great ship, recruited hands in the old town and then sailed ever westward; according to some rumors, her voyage was extremely fruitful, the ships accompanying her discovered a resource‑rich island in the west and found an exceedingly precious treasure. Yet Elissa Farneman herself was not satisfied—she was a warrior—and chose to continue sailing west…"

South

"She sailed westward until she reached Asia from another direction; at least, according to the voyage log of the 'Sea Snake', Corlys Velaryon firmly believed that he saw Elissa Farneman's 'Sun‑chaser' in Asia, and that she very likely sailed westward from Westeros and arrived in Essos."

"You won't be like her, will you?" the knight joked, "If her achievements are true, then we really do live on a round sphere. I've only heard scholars say that."

"She is a heroine." Also a thief, "When I was in Asia, I very much hoped to find the Sun‑chaser, but no matter what kind of ship it is, it could not possibly remain intact for hundreds of years without rotting. The young Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon's adventure was only a few decades apart from her voyage; he had a chance to see it, but I do not."

Earl ManDeLe

"There's nothing regrettable, anyway—I'm not preparing to learn from her—reaching Asia has matured sea routes, and along the way there are no insurmountable difficulties. Moreover, if the east of the river submits, we can also choose to trade eastward; nearby we can reach Braavos and Loras, farther we can reach Ibben, the Highlands, and the Thousand Islands—they are not as far as imagined, and we can always sail along the land; and slightly to the south, the fleet can also reach the eastern mainland coastal region of Pentos—now the Dragon Queen has destroyed Valyria and the Three Sisters, these famous free-trade city-states, the North can fully develop and grow by leveraging trade with these free-trade city-states."

"What about White Harbor? Lord Manderly might not like it."

"White Harbor may be prosperous, but the space where the port can be expanded is truly limited, insufficient to support the North's trade. I want to reopen an eastern port in the North for eastern trade; the best place is the legendary Bolton Port, however, Bolton Port has been destroyed rather deeply… this needs to be gradually understood later." Keeping White Harbor's position is beneficial to consolidating the Stark's position, this is the traditional Stark choice, while she wants to go further.

"Once you taste the benefits of sea trade, it's hard to ever pick up the plow and farm again."

"But Bolton won't easily give up this land." The knight lightly shook his head, "And we also can't lay siege to Terror Castle for years to completely subdue them, right?"

"Mei Yi didn't speak."

"Your Highness, although it's hard to accept, we need to make peace with Bolton as soon as possible." Sir Masonseven straightened his back, gazing at the Terror Castle standing on the hills, "The sooner the better. Before the agreement is reached, we can completely destroy all mines, farmlands, pastures, and grasslands of Bolton's territory, and drive all its farmers, herders, and other population back to the west of the river, and in the agreement you can further reduce his territory—he will certainly raise objections, but he may still consider it—thus further weakening their strength."

"Wait a few hundred years, will they rise up again? Keep stabbing the Starks in the heart?" Mei Yi sneered.

"This is hard to accept, but this really is the best method; I believe the previous Kings of the North could only do this much… The key is, south of the west river, there are still major wars to fight, north of Winterfell there are still wildlings needing pacification, and the monsters beyond the Wall need to be investigated—after wildlings enter the Wall, such reports increase a lot; if one person says this, it's likely rumor, but if hundreds or thousands say it in unison, it's likely true." The knight let out a long sigh, "Moreover, the south is not peaceful either; if we cannot pacify the North, we fundamentally lack the strength to face southern threats, and will always give other ambitious people a chance to meddle in the North."

"Sir, you are truly an excellent minister of the kingdom." Mei Yi's hand gripped the passionate sword hilt, feeling endless hesitation, "Unfortunately, I am not the King of the North."

"You are, in fact, the Queen of the North."

"Hehe, I am also not the Queen of the North." Rather, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. "You know, why do I have to be by the river?"

"It shouldn't be the scenery here, right?"

"The scenery here is not bad, but the wailing noise is really noisy." Mei Yi began walking back side by side with the knight, "I am examining the geographical situation of the entire area here. Have you seen the location of Terror Castle?" Mei Yi pointed at the scarlet castle standing on the hill.

"It looks like it's growing in the clouds."

"Two hundred feet above the ground, nearly half a mountain higher than this river surface. Aren't you curious where the city's water source comes from?"

"That's a good question. Perhaps there is a natural underground current flowing through Terror Castle; otherwise, at such a height, it would be utterly impossible for servants to fetch water into the city, and Terror Castle is not Casterly Rock, lacking a connected waterfall—there are no higher mountains around."

"If we cut off their water supply, they would have no choice but to surrender, but I still haven't found their water source." Mei Yi sighed, "I believe that if we investigate thoroughly, we will surely find it; given their high position, by understanding the geography we might be able to locate and destroy it." She cannot communicate with animals of too low intelligence, however, creatures capable of probing water sources are almost none that meet the requirements, and the dark river has no light, she also isn't sure what she could gain.

"Your Highness, if you really want to completely eradicate Bolton, we can hire the Faceless Men. I know they charge a lot, but we should still be able to afford……"

"Maybe. Since the Braavosi say his heir is not in the city, perhaps after his death the castle will fall into chaos, which is also an opportunity." Mei Yi sighed, "I will consider this advice further, Sir, after all he is not a child." He deserves it. "But lately they have not sent anyone out of the city, nor do they accept strangers entering; even the Faceless Men can't do anything in this situation. Ah, I was thinking of asking the Dragon Queen to lend a dragon, I wonder if she would be willing to sell one?"

Sir Masonseven couldn't help but burst into laughter; when the laughter gradually subsided, he stretched his neck, lowered his head, as if gathering courage, then stepped in front of her.

"Your Highness, perhaps you should really consider negotiations again; we have besieged the city for nearly a month, we have swept clean the surrounding villages and castles, those who should surrender have already surrendered, those who should gather forces have already gathered, so far we have victory in hand, the siege has already achieved its initial goal."

"The culprit has not yet been punished."

"Your Highness, there really is nothing for you to punish. When you grow to my age, perhaps you will understand—from king down to common folk, none avoid eating bitter fruit while slowly growing old. Frey's head is already enough to comfort the spirits of Lord Stark and Lord Robb, the achievements of Twin Rivers City are already sweet enough, Your Highness!"

"Sir, please rise, I already understand your meaning!"

"Let's talk! You are still unmarried; if you don't want to accept Rick Bolton, you can ask Lord Bolton to choose another young man from the Bolton family as heir—Lord Bolton has no son, he surely has no objection. Even if you firmly refuse to agree, you can also let your brother Qiongen marry a Bolton girl—even if you demand Bolton make that girl the heir—overall, for the North, negotiation is the best choice."

"Marriage need not be considered." Mei Yi straightened her chest and turned toward the distant eastern coast, not wanting to look at his serious face.

"Yes, Your Highness, not considering." He quickly agreed, then changed the subject, "Bolton has been able to stand alongside the Starks in the North for thousands of years not without reliance, and in the coming thousands of years we will likely have to coexist with them—actually, even if you slaughter them, you cannot erase their traces—your and my bodies, or every Northerner's body, carry Bolton's blood. Your Highness, when all means have been exhausted, accepting their dignified surrender is not shameful; on the contrary, repeated surrenders and rebellions have already damaged Bolton's reputation, and we are also accumulating advantage for the future."

After he finished speaking, he dropped to one knee, which surprised Mei Yi somewhat, and Hodget nearby was obviously surprised as well.

Mei Yi quietly looked at him, pondering his words. He said that before coming he had already seen Count Glover and her officers…… does this also mean they, these old nobles, mean that?

"Please rise, Sir!"

"Your Highness, what do you think?"

Mei Yi let out a long sigh.

Sir, if Budun is willing to talk. She felt for the first time that force had no special effect in this situation.

After hearing that, he skeptically raised his head and glanced at her. Mei Yi nodded at his gaze, saying, "You can stand up."

"Your Highness, you are the true queen." He rose to his feet, full of vigor.