Chapter 278

"What about the rebellion in Hebei and the Valley?" the Grand Scholar again let out a piercing voice.

"National Teacher, you forgot, the rebellion isn't just in Hebei; it also includes the Starks in the north and... Princess Meisa in the south?" He was vexed by these places, "Or do you think the rebellion of Princess Meisa and Meereen is trivial, not worth mentioning?"

Hearing the Grand Scholar's words, he really wanted to pull out a stick and smash his head hard; what could he do about these places? Wasn't it enough to be annoyed by his own aunt?

After Twin River City fell and Swift-flowing City suffered a crushing defeat outside, his relatives began to die off one by one, Aunt Gina became a widow of Victory Rock City; fortunately, she and her husband left behind enough children, which is some consolation. But the downside is here: her children and grandchildren are all young, their demand for castles and lands far exceeds others', and unfortunately, most of those castles lie in Hebei, beyond their control.

He had grown weary of using the kingdom's power to serve their private interests.

"Your Highness, it's not that it's insignificant; rather, to campaign in such remote lands, one must exhaust the nation's strength to have a chance of victory. Before settling Hebei and the Valley..."

"Don't rashly move against Martell and Stark." He certainly understood this, "but Hebei is still under Stark's control; I don't want to fight another lion-wolf hegemony war over Swift-flowing City and Twin River City—" Speaking of the lion-wolf hegemony war, he was utterly weary, not knowing why Duke Tywin had sent troops north to join the northern civil war. However, mentioning that army, the subsequent matters were endless: "Tell me, where exactly has Count Trent Kentning ended up?"

When news of Tyrell's defeat in the North arrived, the Tyrell Duke almost immediately reached an agreement with the she-wolf, dispatching ships to retrieve the captured Tyrell nobles and soldiers, but only after Bolton's enterprise collapsed completely could Jamie arrange ships to sail to the North, retrieving the Lannister soldiers trapped in Karhold.

However, the Iron Throne's limited warships were utterly unsuitable for ocean voyages; he had to send personnel to Braavos to ask the trade guild for aid. The one dispatched for negotiations was Count Trent Kentning of Kayce Town.

"I think, if all goes well, they should already have reached the North by now, but the weather is now chaotic and changeable..."

"Really good news." Jamie sneered, "If the weather is bad, perhaps the she-wolf won't be able to catch up."

He forced himself not to think about the troubling matters in the North any further.

"As for the Valley you mentioned, Grand Scholar—Littlefinger thought himself smart enough, sending the accusation letter of treason against the Earl of Stonehold, signed by Lysa Bolton, to the Iron Throne—damn, if I hadn't met Lysa Bolton, I might have believed he liked to meddle, wholeheartedly devoted to the Iron Throne's peace."

"Littlefinger has always been cunning, but he after all holds the title of Guardian of the Vale..."

"He is the Duke of Harrenhal," he hated that castle, "he should use his own wealth to fortify that castle well, instead of handing it over to bandits, throwing the kingdom into chaos!"

"Littlefinger evidently never thought of returning to Harrenhal to serve as his regent of the Three Rivers," the Tully Earl's cold voice rang in the council chamber, "if your guess is correct, his aim is merely to control the Valley, or to permanently obtain a fief there... I believe your intelligence chief has already told you, the Earl of Stonehold and his supporters have already been accusing the Iron Throne of losing justice."

"I do recall a saying: as long as the greedy servant is not satisfied, whatever the master does affects fairness. Robert Arryn is a sickly child, his close kin have all died, every living person thinks the legacy left by the late Qiongen Arryn belongs to them... In this situation, how can the Iron Throne be fair? Moreover, Littlefinger and Graffsen's accusations were originally not wrong; he indeed is in league with the Starks—what does a bit of accusation matter?"

"The Starks now wear skirts," the Tully Earl obviously didn't agree with his words, which made Jamie somewhat curious about this earl's true opinion, so he stared at him, listening quietly. "Besides, they are far enough away that there's no need to worry about his special affection for families of the same faith in the Old Gods. Moreover, I never knew accusing treason could ever be described as 'a bit'."

"My fault." Jamie felt his buttocks hurt; this really was a blunt criticism. He had to endure it.

"Leaving the Valley's war unchecked means the Iron Throne will completely lose the Valley."

"Forgive my frankness, but how would we lose the Valley?" Jamie wondered. "We could simply wait for the victor."

"The power earl will look down on the Iron Throne—because it has lost justice, and those who wag their tongues and plot conspiracies will only see the Iron Throne as foolish and weak. The Iron Throne standing aside, though relaxed for a time, will ultimately be the loser no matter which side wins." The Tully Earl stood straight, bald-headed, speaking at length in the council chamber, as if he were the King's Hand. "You wouldn't think that whichever side wins by force would come running to ask the Iron Throne for investiture or even pay taxes, would you? Especially seeing the Iron Throne besieged on all sides?"

"Let me add one thing……the harbor tax of Seagull Town hasn't been paid for several months!" Swyft Earl timely spoke, "Graffsen has imposed a seizure on the pretext of needing to guard against traitor sneak attacks."

"It's obvious that if the Iron Throne is willing to declare Royce a traitor, then the tax money naturally ceases to be an issue."

Jamie realized the topic had surpassed their previous communication, so he looked toward the Tyrell Duke, who responded with a blank stare.

"Your Highness, the Valley currently has no true authority figure nor a suitable mediator," the Grand Scholar added, "the Earl of Stonehold has sent several letters requesting arbitration..."

"The latest news is that the Earl of Stonehold reached White Harbor by sea, and arrived at Winterfell; I guess he must have obtained the clearance documents to pass Karhold Bay, anyway, he has smoothly returned south to the Valley. No word of gaining any other Stark support."

"So, the Valley's war has now become inevitable, hasn't it?" the Tyrell Duke asked doubtfully.

The Valley's war has never ceased since the "Bolton Duke" sent a letter.

"This is the moment of decision, Regent Your Highness." the Tully Earl looked at him solemnly, ceasing to speak.

"What's your advice, my good sir?" Jamie asked with a smile.

"The Iron Throne is not mine."

"You see, the Iron Throne isn't mine either." Jamie didn't let him off, "If it were yours, sir, what would you do?"

The Tully Earl began to glare at him, seemingly not expecting him to have such a thick skin.

"The Seven Kingdoms will soon face a great enemy, and the Valley will be an important force; we absolutely cannot let it go lightly, nor is there any need to let them consume each other. Since the Iron Throne is still the world's sovereign, it ought to display its power." the Tully Earl proclaimed loudly.

"How to display it?" Jamie inquired. He almost immediately thought of the appointment decree the little king had issued to him.

"Participate in the war."

"We don't have enough strength to participate in the war." He couldn't help but wonder, if Duke Tywin were still alive, how would he act? Would he solve the present difficulty by sending out letter after letter?

When the meeting finally ended amidst headaches, he was still provoked to anger by the Tully Earl.

He felt the Tully Earl's words had some merit, but when it came to concrete methods, it became elusive. Thinking of the Valley nobles' hatred for the current Iron Throne, and Littlefinger's mockery of him, he felt even more angry.

"Your Highness, are you worried?" After everyone left, Koben stood up, came to his side, and asked with a smiling tone.

"Do you look like I'm happy?"

"If you're troubled or doubtful because of the Tully Earl's words, perhaps I can answer for you, Your Highness?"

"Perhaps I'm worried about marching on Storm's End."

"The Tyrell Duke has suffered several setbacks before Storm's End; he surely wouldn't agree to let the Lannisters take charge, otherwise, if Storm's End fell to the Lannisters, he'd lose face... You certainly wouldn't worry about the Tyrells, would you?"

Jamie laughed.

"If Lord Tyrell is willing to take on the Storm's End mission, I would naturally welcome it; if he isn't, I also want to personally try those mercenaries." He then said, "What do you think of the Tully Earl's speculation about the Valley—any problems?"

"No problem at all. The only issue is that he is a vassal of Meereen Tyrell; before communicating with the Tyrell Duke, throwing the proposal here would put the duke in a difficult position, and your pressing inquiry also seems urgent. But I agree with his conclusion—that we indeed should participate in the war."

"Then my response is the same—we don't have much strength to participate."

"Your Highness, the Iron Throne is power."

"Damn it, you don't have a liege lord to report to, do you?"

"No, Your Highness, I am the Iron Throne's advisor, answerable only to the Iron Throne." Koben smiled faintly, "To protect the strength of the Seven Kingdoms, we should immediately stop the Valley's reckless moves—now those using false information to act rashly are Littlefinger and Graffsen and their followers, who mistakenly think the North is the Iron Throne's greatest enemy, which was indeed true before, but now it looks like the Targaryen princess is; to deal with the real enemy, we need the Valley at peace, not the opposite."

"I happen to know the reason. What's your suggestion?"

"The reckless one is Littlefinger; therefore, you need to make him stop, and his whole reason for acting is to help the Iron Throne suppress rebellion. If you respond to the Earl of Stonehold's request, letting the Iron Throne clear their name, Littlefinger will naturally cease."

"What if he refuses to stop?"

"Then who the traitor is becomes obvious." Koben spread his hands, "If Littlefinger doesn't know his place, you can unite the Valley's lords with a bit of force, and then drive Littlefinger into desperation."

"Look, we can easily settle the Valley." Jamie grinned, "Littlefinger had better obediently return to Harrenhal to suppress bandits and slay wolves for the Iron Throne—that would be more appropriate."