iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 605 The Sword and the Swordsman 2
Their eyes met inadvertently, and Princess Arianne straightened her waist as naturally as possible and grinned at Daenerys.

Daenerys raised her eyebrows slightly, and then looked away naturally.

Next to the empty Prime Minister's chair was the newly appointed Chancellor of the King's Finance and heir to the Duke of Highgarden - Viscount Willas Tyrell... (a court viscount, an honorary title).

With a faint smile on his lips, he listened patiently to the grand scholar's boring speech.

Sitting opposite Willas was the new Lord High Lord of the Admiralty, Duke Brynden Tully.

At the imperial meeting, he still kept his lips tightly shut and spoke very little.

Sitting between the Lord Chancellor of Justice and the Lord Admiral was Ser Barristan Selmy, former Captain of the Kingsguard and now Captain of the Queen's Guard, who had begun attending small council meetings.

[King Greene's guard knights are still called the Kingsguard, headed by Ser Brienne of Tarth (not yet officially appointed, Chapter 588); Queen Daenerys's guard knights are called the Queensguard, and Ser Barristan is appointed as captain]

He and Lord Brynden sat there like two stone statues in a royal council.

……

The maester's necklace jingled softly, and Grand Maester Pycelle cleared his throat: "Queen Daenerys, therefore, my suggestion is to relocate some of the population to the north of the old crown."

Daenerys first motioned for him to sit down, then thought for a moment and said, "The premise is that we can settle them down. Although the northern region needs to replenish its population, winter is approaching, and those wastelands cannot feed them."

Pycelle flipped through some parchment with his wrinkled hands. "Yes, my merciful queen. The specific location of the relocation will be as close to rivers and forests as possible, or to the coast, as well as to towns and noble territories that suffered less losses in the war."

After discussing the specific measures for a while, Daenerys said, "The next topic. The resolution on the establishment of a new 'Royal Minister of Agriculture'..."

The House of Targaryen-Crable has claimed the old crownlands, the riverlands, and the stormlands as a new crownland, with more than half of the lands directly under its control.

With such a large scale of farmland, it is natural and reasonable to elect a Minister of Agriculture to manage and serve the royal family.

This position will also be directly related to the stability of the entire kingdom.

Daenerys finally said: "Everyone, I hope to decide on a suitable candidate for Minister of Agriculture before my wedding to Green."

Everyone responded in unison: "As you command."

"The next topic is about the various expenditures of the royal treasury..."

As she spoke, Daenerys's violet eyes turned to the Chancellor of the Exchequer: "Lord Viscount Willas, will the income from the royal treasury affect the relocation?"

Willas's manners were very elegant. He smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the 'kindness' of the Stormland lords has been transported to the royal treasury. Please rest assured that those people will be properly settled."

"This is good news."

Daenerys nodded her chin, paused for a moment, and asked, "How can I thank them?"

The "they" she was referring to were the Storm Lords who donated golden dragons to the empty royal treasury for free.

Willas took out a rolled parchment and handed it to the royal attendant standing at the back. Then he said jokingly, "Your Majesty, here is the list of the 'generous ones'."

As Daenerys unfolded the parchment and gazed upon its contents, he continued, "It is an honor to have their names before you."

After a pause, Daenerys asked the royal attendant to put away the list: "I will remember their contributions to the kingdom."

When Willas was about to speak, he was interrupted by Princess Arianne's voice: "Your Majesty Daenerys, may I see the list?"

At Daenerys's signal, the royal attendant handed over the parchment. Princess Arianne glanced at it and couldn't help but sneered: "Fifty thousand gold dragons?"

She held the parchment between two fingers and shook it, tilting her head slightly. "Lord Tyrell, there must be hundreds of people on it, right?"

Glancing at Daenerys who was sitting upright, Willas said calmly: "Your Highness Martell, you may understand this as hundreds of loyalty."

"uh-huh."

Princess Arianne raised the corners of her lips, revealing a row of white teeth. "How touching! I suggest holding a banquet to promote their generosity." Secretly observing the expression on the queen's face, Grand Maester Pycelle nodded in agreement, then sighed and said, "Princess Arianne, perhaps... the lords and knights of the new kingdom have not yet adapted to their new identities."

Arianne couldn't help but look over here. For the first time, she felt that this old man was quite pleasing to the eye. Maester Pycelle gave her a somewhat flattering smile, and then immediately returned to his old appearance.

Princess Arianne couldn't help but blink, paused slightly, and looked back at the main seat: "Queen Daenerys, the concerns raised by the Grand Maester can also be considered a reason."

Then, she turned her gaze to the other side: "Right, Lord Tyrell?"

Willas couldn't help but frown. In his eyes, the heir of Dorne was acting like a "reckless man" who was deliberately provocative.

On the surface, he still smiled elegantly: "Princess Martell, Grand Maester Pycelle, you may have some concerns, but this is a good start, isn't it?"

"uh-huh."

Princess Arianne leaned back in her chair and spread her hands. “Everyone knows that the crown treasury is deeply in debt from the Usurper’s fall. They know that better than anyone.”

Grand Maester Pycelle echoed this again. He sighed and said, "Looking back at the deeds of kings throughout history, mercy...is often the hardest thing to do, and it has caused countless kings...to be trapped by it."

There was a sudden silence around them, and after he finished speaking, Pycelle shrank back tremblingly.

Soon, Queen Daenerys's soft laughter broke the silence of the royal meeting.

"The first time I took over the Crab Claw Peninsula on behalf of Green, I have to admit that I was actually quite nervous."

Daenerys's eyes slowly swept over the people present. "Green told me that it is not difficult to be a good lord. It is just... to have a certain or sufficient patience with your vassals and to believe in their loyalty."

As soon as she finished speaking, Pycelle immediately spoke out excitedly: "The queen is wise! The king is wise!"

Daenerys glanced helplessly at the overly loyal old maester, paused, and said, "Pycelle, please thank them for their support to the royal family and give them my blessings."

With tears in his eyes, Pycelle said, "As you command, Queen Daenerys!"

Daenerys smiled softly, and her tone was very similar to Greene's: "Everyone, today's royal meeting ends here."

Everyone stood up and bowed slightly to the queen respectfully.

……

Daenerys walked through the corridor behind the throne room, surrounded by the Queen's Guards. When she turned to the study, she unexpectedly saw Ser Brienne.

Daenerys couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Green came back so soon?
"Queen."

Seeing Her Majesty Daenerys, Ser Brienne of Arc and the other Kingsguard standing by the door saluted her.

When Daenerys approached, Brienne opened the door for her and whispered, "The Prime Minister is in there too."

Daenerys nodded her chin, then she entered alone, while Ser Barristan and Brienne stood guard outside faithfully.

In the study, Green frowned and Prime Minister Mace puffed his cheeks. They both stared at the map on the table and seemed to be lost in thought.

Noticing the movement, Green looked over first, then smiled gently: "Danni."

Prime Minister Mace also came back to his senses. He quickly saluted Daenerys with his hand on his chest: "Your Majesty."

"Good day."

Daenerys nodded slightly and sat down in the chair next to Green. "What happened?"

"The information just delivered is about the Wall of Despair."

Green reached out and picked up a few letters, handed them to Daenerys, and said, "Stannis's wildling army defeated Stark's army."

(End of this chapter)