Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord.

Chapter 209 Decree
More than a month later, the news that King Gawain Belleris of the Narrow Sea had conquered Astapor spread like a raging storm across the entire continent of Essos.

Unlike the previous situation where Gawain captured the Isle of Lys, this was the first time since the Doom that a Valyrian dragonlord extended the tentacles of his rule to the mainland of Essos.

Moreover, various rumors have been circulating, saying that in the process of conquering Astapor, Gavin openly claimed to be the successor of the Freehold of Valyria, and declared his rule over the entire Slaver's Bay, emphasizing that this was his way of taking back the land that was originally his.

This news was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, and many trading city-states and various forces were all deeply shocked.

The rumors about Gavin grew like a wildly growing vine, spawning various versions that continued to circulate in every corner.

Most rulers were in deep worry, knowing that one Astapor might not be enough to satisfy the Dragon King's ambitions.

There are even rumors that Gavin has carefully formulated a grand plan to conquer the entire continent of Essos, and has imitated Aegon Targaryen in the past and made an enormous map table.

However, the mountains, rivers, and cities presented on this table are no longer the territory of Westeros, but the entire picture of the continent of Essos.

Although the authenticity of these rumors cannot be verified, they are like a dark cloud in the sky, enough to attract the attention of all city-states.

As a result, various city-states urgently convened parliaments, countless messengers were like flying arrows, and letters were like flying snowflakes, running back and forth between the city-states.

Even the areas that had been in dispute before had to temporarily stop the conflict due to this sudden change and focus their attention on this mysterious and powerful Dragon King.

However, Gavin turned a deaf ear to the noisy reactions of the outside world.

Ever since the day he flew back to Astapor riding a dragon from the Worm River battlefield, he has been sitting firmly in the city and has never planned to leave.

He first methodically summoned the important figures in Astapor, including generals of all levels of the rebel army. These generals still had blood stains from the battle on their bodies, and their eyes revealed their expectations and confusion about the future; the surviving good lords had faces full of fear and despair, their glory and wealth turned into nothing under Gavin's conquest, and now they could only wait for an unknown fate in fear; there were also those businessmen who had a certain amount of wealth and influence in the city, their eyes flickered, and they were worried about their own interests and speculated about the future situation.

After everyone gathered, Gavin first established his absolute rule over Astapor with an extremely domineering attitude. Especially the huge body of the Blazing Shadow, which made everyone present deeply feel his authority.

Immediately afterwards, he issued his first decree, which was like a bombshell and caused a strong response among the crowd.

He announced that he would take all the slaves of their dead masters into his own hands, and made a promise that excited all the slaves: all his slaves would be able to obtain corresponding freedom and property based on sufficient years of work.

For those slaves who performed outstandingly at work and made significant contributions, they would have a more attractive opportunity, not only to gain freedom early, but also to receive more property rewards.

As soon as the decree was issued, under the horrified and desperate gazes of the surviving lords, Gavin granted freedom and gold to Missandei, the slave girl beside him, without hesitation.

Missandei has been working diligently to complete the statistics during this period, and this reward is a reward for her hard work. This move undoubtedly shows everyone the seriousness and authority of his decree.

Gavin then granted freedom to all the soldiers of the Unsullied and the Rebels.

To reward the Unsullied for their strong fighting ability and discipline in the process of capturing Astapor, and the Rebellion for their tenacious will and desire for freedom, which made great contributions to this victory.

In recognition of their achievements, Gavin also promoted several outstanding personnel, appointed them as officers, and gave them houses and gold respectively.

Afterwards, Gavin announced the order to reorganize the rebel army, and the rebel army was officially renamed the Second Legion. Kyle was appointed as the commander of the legion due to his outstanding performance and leadership during the uprising, and Kairos served as his deputy.

At the same time, Gavin asked them to reorganize the army, dismiss those soldiers who were not suitable for military service, and train the remaining soldiers to improve the combat effectiveness of the entire legion.

In addition, Gavin appointed an Unsullied named Grey Worm as the commander of the Unsullied Legion through democratic elections.

On the terrace of the largest pyramid in Astapor, Gavin sat leisurely on a chair decorated with gold threads. The chair sparkled brightly under the sunlight, as if it was a symbol of power and wealth.

While sipping the wine in the glass, he listened attentively to Jalal's routine report.

Jalal stood aside, looking respectful and focused, describing in detail the information he had just learned.

"Your Majesty, Khal Drogo has led his khalasar to the disputed lands. Forty thousand Howling Warriors have looted along the way, leaving a mess wherever they go, as if a swarm of locusts had passed through. City-states such as Myr, Tyrosh, and Volantis have simply offered generous gifts in an attempt to get the horse king to leave their territory. The Golden Company is afraid of his edge and has retreated to Myr and dared not go out to fight. Even Volantis, which has always been known for its strength, has chosen to retreat this time and began to shrink its defense. The Tiger Cloaks have even given up part of the disputed land and chosen to temporarily avoid the edge. At present, Khal Drogo has led his khalasar to move eastward. If he does not change direction and return to Dothraki on the way, we guess that Drogo's target is likely to be Slaver's Bay or Lhazareen."

Gavin gently took a sip of the wine in the glass, the rich aroma spreading in his mouth. He narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed: "The rulers of the Free Cities gave gifts to the Dothraki, just to spend some money to avoid war. It's just that Volantis has always been tough on the Dothraki, but this time they backed down."

Jalal smiled and said, "Your Majesty, facing 40,000 Dothraki cavalry, Volantis would have had some concerns in the past, and now they dare not face the Dothraki directly. I guess Volantis intends to retain its strength to deal with you, Your Majesty. Commander Hassan has already blocked all of Volantis' sea routes with the Stepstone Islands Fleet. After you conquered Astapor, Volantis did not send an envoy, and it is obvious that they still intend to tear up the agreement. The Tiger Cloak Army should be ready to go to war with us."

Gavin nodded slightly, agreeing with Jalal's guess. His eyes revealed a trace of deep thought, and he continued to ask: "What is the current situation in Meereen and Yunkai?"

"Since the news of your conquest of Astapor came out, the two city-states seem to have different opinions. Yunkai advocated giving gifts in exchange for Astapor. Although Meereen agreed to this approach on the surface, Meereen has been expanding its army during this period. They have successively hired the Second Sons and the Storm Crows. I also received intelligence that Meereen sent people to contact Harry Strickland, the leader of Myr's Golden Company, and planned to sign a contract with him. It is not clear how the discussions between the two sides are going, but now that the Dothraki have not left the disputed land, I guess Myr will definitely block this matter. After all, they themselves are also facing threats." Jalal answered without hesitation. Hearing this, Gavin couldn't help but think in his heart that Jon Connington and the so-called little "Aegon" are still hiding in the Golden Company, and the key to Varys and Illyrio's plan to support "Aegon" is the Golden Company.

As Gavin successively captured Dragonstone and took control of the Narrow Sea, his strength continued to grow like a snowball.

If Varys and Illyrio don't want their plan to fail, they must show their favor to Gavin. After all, no matter how powerful and large the Golden Group is, without Gavin's nod, they can't even cross the Narrow Sea.

Varys and Illyrio are not aware that Gavin knows everything, and they will most likely use lies and conspiracies to gain Gavin's trust first.

Thinking of this, Gavin was looking forward to the Golden Company coming to Meereen. Then he would definitely use dragon flame to test whether "Aegon" was a real dragon.

Now Gavin was too lazy to play any power games with the two conspirators, so he decided to directly eliminate the root of their plan.

As for the Golden Group, if we can recruit them for our own use, then recruit them. If we can’t, then we will completely destroy them.

Seeing Gavin deep in thought, Jalal stood quietly by his side, not daring to disturb him. After seeing Gavin finish his glass, he respectfully filled it up and said slowly:

"Your Majesty, the ship from the Stepstone Islands is expected to arrive in Astapor tomorrow. Lord Boris sent a letter saying that he personally selected thirty capable officials to be stationed here. I hope these officials will assist Your Majesty in better managing Astapor."

"The delegation sent by Yunkai and Meereen is only two days away from Astapor. The caravan is very large and should have brought a lot of gifts. The main envoy is called Grazdan Moeraaz, a wise lord of Yunkai. He has great influence in Yunkai."

Gavin thought briefly, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he ordered: "Write back to Boris. He did a good job, but the people are not enough. We are going to conquer Yunkai and Meereen next. Let Boris send some more people. Also notify them that I will hold a banquet to receive my subjects. As for the envoys from Meereen and Yunkai, you go to receive them. Arrange for them to stay first and test their background. I will meet them when the time is right."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will arrange it myself," Jalal replied with a bow.

Gavin then stood up and drank the wine in the glass. He then slowly walked to the railing of the terrace and looked down at the city below.

The location here is excellent, overlooking the entire Astapor.

Now, Gavin's military strength in Slaver's Bay has exceeded the combined strength of Yunkai and Meereen. The most powerful Unsullied Legion has 10,000 men. They are disciplined and well-trained, and are the strongest legion under Gavin.

After the reorganization, the Second Legion had 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. The cavalry was composed of Astapor's original slave soldiers. These soldiers were originally cavalrymen and could directly form combat power without further training.

As for the remaining 10,000 infantry, half of them were trained slave soldiers and the other half were original rebels. They were all veterans who had fought on the battlefield and had been integrated almost completely during this period. Their combat effectiveness was far stronger than that of the armies of Yunkai and Meereen.

Gavin planned that once the officials of the Stepstones were firmly established in Astapor, he would cut the Gordian knot and lead his army directly to conquer Slaver's Bay and bring this land completely under his rule.

two days later

The heavy and ancient gate of Astapor slowly opened with a dull creaking sound, as if the city was sighing heavily.

Grazdan Moeras, the wise lord of Yunkai, led the delegation with a slightly solemn expression and slowly drove into this city full of unknowns.

The sunlight shone on them unreservedly, and the bright light seemed to be trying to penetrate the haze deep in their hearts, but it was in vain.

There was a complex expression on the faces of all the members of the delegation, a mixture of fear of the unknown and anticipation for this mission.

Jalal was already waiting here, standing tall and straight, in a well-tailored suit, the texture and color of the fabric revealing a kind of low-key luxury.

He had a gentle smile on his face, and the enthusiasm and politeness in his eyes seemed to dispel the tense atmosphere around them.

"Welcome to Astapor, Lord Grazdan Moeras, you have worked hard on the journey. My name is Jalal, and I work for His Majesty. I have been ordered to come here to receive you." Jalal bowed slightly and saluted in an extremely polite and elegant manner. His fluent Valyrian echoed clearly in the air.

Grazdan Moeraz looked at Jalal calmly, thinking to himself: This man must be Jalal. I heard that he is Gavin's intelligence chief in Astapor, responsible for a lot of confidential intelligence. It seems that I have to be extra cautious in what I say and not reveal any flaws.

A seemingly sincere smile immediately appeared on his face, and he responded: "Thank you for your welcome, Lord Jalal. It is my great honor to come to meet the noble Dragon King. It is just a short journey, not hard at all." As he spoke, he gracefully took out an exquisite box from the carriage behind him. The material and craftsmanship of the box were extremely sophisticated.

He presented it to Jalal respectfully with both hands, smiling even more brightly, and said, "I have heard for a long time that you serve His Majesty Gavin. This is a little gift from me. I hope you don't mind it."

Jalal still maintained that gentle smile as he took the box and gently opened it.

(End of this chapter)