Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord.

Chapter 235: Basil
The defeated Mill governors, with dejected faces and heavy steps, slowly left the parliament hall under the escort of soldiers.

As they left, the hall fell into a brief silence.

Daenerys walked towards Gavin slowly, with a hint of doubt in her eyes, and asked softly: "Gavin, they were your enemies before, I thought you would kill them, why did you let them go this time?"

Gavin frowned slightly, his eyes revealing a trace of solemnity, and he slowly said: "We are about to go to war with Volantis. If all the governors of Myr are executed at this time, the news will spread to Volantis, and the nobles there will definitely fight to the death. Volantis is the overlord of the southwest of Essos. They have a tiger cloak army of up to 20,000. And unlike other city-states, these soldiers are trained professional soldiers. With the addition of mercenaries, Volantis is far superior to any city-state we have encountered before."

After hearing this, Daenerys nodded slightly to show her understanding.

Gavin patted Daenerys's hand gently and continued, "I will leave some troops in Myr and take all the garrisons away. Just like Tyrosh, without the army, they can't make any waves."

After hearing this, Daenerys nodded slightly. She knew that Gavin had his own plans and she believed that Gavin could handle these things.

At this time, Hassan, who had been standing aside, stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I suggest that you confiscate the property of all governors."

After hearing this, Gavin did not answer directly, but asked back: "What do you think?"

Hassan frowned, a trace of worry on his face, and slowly said: "Your Majesty, with the continuous expansion of our fleet, coupled with the mercenaries I hired after the war began, military expenditures have gradually become tight. The maintenance of the fleet requires a lot of money. In order to prepare for war, all warships are kept fully staffed, which undoubtedly adds a lot of expenses. In addition, the salary of mercenaries is also quite high. The situation is relatively good in normal times, but the shipping trade has been sluggish recently. It is difficult for the Stone Steps Islands to be self-sufficient just by relying on trade and taxation."

After hearing this, Gavin nodded slightly. He was well aware of the seriousness of the military expenditure issue.

After thinking for a moment, he said calmly: "Just confiscate a part of it and leave some for them. This will not only relieve some of the military expenditure pressure, but also prevent them from completely losing hope and causing trouble." After that, Gavin gently patted Hassan on the shoulder and asked: "What is the situation of the Narrow Sea Fleet?"

Hassan thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Davos stayed at Dragonstone with half of the warships, responsible for controlling the trade routes and collecting taxes in the Narrow Sea to ensure our interests in this regard. The rest of the warships are with me. They are in good condition at the moment, and no major problems have occurred."

After hearing this, Gavin fell into deep thought. He knew that the cost of the navy was always very high. Most of the soldiers who followed him first were from the Stepstones Fleet, and paying them wages every month was a huge expense. Moreover, his fleet was so large that even the wealthy Braavos only had one fleet, and it was not fully staffed.

Moreover, it won't be long before the Second Legion of Dragon Bay and the Unsullied Legion will arrive at the disputed area. By then, Gavin's troops will reach 60,000, of which 20,000 will be newly captured soldiers.

Unlike the conscription system in Westeros and the slavery in Essos, Gavin's soldiers all have to be paid. At present, relying on the wealth of several city-states, it can be maintained in the short term, but in the long run it will not be able to maintain such a large army, and it must be disarmed, otherwise it will seriously affect the combat effectiveness of the army and subsequent war plans.

Thinking of this, Gavin slowly said, "The wealth of Slaver Bay has not yet arrived, and the gold of those slave owners is enough to support us for a long time. After conquering Volantis, I will appropriately disarm and reorganize the army. For now, this is the only way to maintain the status quo. As for those mercenaries, their contracts will all be terminated after the war to reduce military expenses."

After hearing this, Hassan nodded to show that he understood. He continued to ask, "Your Majesty, how many troops will Myr need to leave behind when we march into Volantis?"

Gavin paced back and forth in the council hall, his steps were steady and powerful, and every step seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. After thinking for a while, he stopped and said, "Leaving two thousand soldiers is enough, mainly to maintain order in the city. After all, Mill has just experienced war and people are in panic. We just need to ensure the stability of the city."

Hassan bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I will go down and make the arrangements."

Gavin nodded slightly, and then Hassan turned and walked out of the council hall.

His figure gradually disappeared behind the door, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

Daenerys seemed to suddenly remember something important, her eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "By the way, Gavin, Maester Qyburn found out that there is also a temple dedicated to the Thousand-Faced God in Myr."

After hearing this, Gavin's face turned cold instantly, and a hint of sharpness flashed in his eyes.

He remembered the information about the temple that Jalal had given him before. There was indeed one in Myr, but he had been so busy thinking about the war with Volantis that he had forgotten about it.

"Is there a specific location?" Gavin asked coldly with a hint of chill in his voice.

Daenerys shook her head helplessly. "I don't know, but Maester Barthou who is with the army should have intelligence records."

Gavin nodded slightly, with a hint of urgency in his eyes. He took Daenerys's hand and said, "Let's go check it out now." The two of them moved quickly and soon left the council hall.

After a little questioning, he learned that the military scholar was counting the prisoners of war outside the city.

Gavin was extremely anxious. He was worried that if it was too late, the monks in the temple would move away and he would not have time to call people here, so he decided to go directly to the military scholar.

At this time, there were only two dragons, Balerion and Viserion, lying outside the council hall.

Their huge bodies took up a lot of space, and their tails swung boredly, making slight sounds.

After a long journey, Chiying directly participated in the siege and was already exhausted and hungry. As soon as the war ended, he couldn't wait to go to the sea to find food.

"Daenerys, you stay here, I'm going to go out of the city." Gavin said in a calm tone.

"I'll go with you." Daenerys held Gavin's hand tightly, her eyes firm, and her tone unquestionable, as if she must be involved in this matter of going out of the city.

Hearing this, Gavin's mouth curled up slightly, and he smiled and gently rubbed her hair, "Okay, let's go together."

After saying that, the two of them walked towards the direction of the dragon in tacit understanding.

Balerion seemed to understand, for Gawain had never ridden him since he was hatched.

At this moment, it climbed up excitedly, turned its huge head towards Gavin, and its eyes flashed with anticipation.

Sensing Balerion's excitement, Gavin couldn't help but laugh. He didn't ride the dragon before because Balerion didn't have a dragon saddle. He slowly walked forward, gently stroked its hard dragon mouth, his eyes full of pampering, and whispered, "Little guy, fly steadily later."

"Hiss!" Balerion let out a low and powerful cry, as if responding to Gavin's instructions. The sound echoed in the air with a different kind of majesty.

"I've heard Viserys talk about the Black Death before, and I've also read records about the Black Death. It really looks like the Black Death, even the dragon flames are black." Daenerys, who had already climbed onto the dragon's back, said with a hint of amazement in her eyes and a tone full of admiration. Gavin responded, "That's what I thought when I first saw it, so I named it Balerion. Maybe it's the reincarnation of the Black Death." As he said that, Gavin flipped over and jumped onto the dragon's back with a nimble posture. After holding on firmly, he shouted, "Let's go, Balerion."

Hearing Gavin's command, Balerion immediately spread his huge, blood-red wings and flapped them vigorously. At the same time, his thick hind paws immediately ran on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. In just a moment, he flew into the air like an arrow.

Seeing this, Daenerys immediately ordered Viserion to follow without hesitation.

The two dragons drew two graceful arcs in the air and flew out of the city.

Their huge figures gradually became smaller in the sunlight and finally disappeared from everyone's sight.

In the open space outside the city, the captured Mir defenders either sat dejectedly or stared into the distance with empty eyes, completely losing their former majesty. They were guarded by fully armed soldiers, and there was an oppressive atmosphere around them.

Several scholars and officials were busy moving among the crowd, recording various information about the captives with pens in their hands.

Suddenly, there was a roar in the sky, and the silhouettes of two giant dragons gradually became clear. The captives raised their heads in fear, their eyes full of shock and fear.

"Dragon! A dragon is coming!" someone shouted in panic.

The crowd instantly fell into chaos and the prisoners began to whisper to each other.

"Is the Dragon King going to execute us?" a captive said in a trembling voice with despair on his face.

"Maybe not, we have already surrendered." Another prisoner held on to a glimmer of hope and tried to comfort himself and those around him.

“But the Dragon King has always been cruel. Who knows what he will do?” someone else objected, and fear quickly spread among the crowd.

"I heard that the Dragon King had executed all those who were his enemies before. I'm afraid we can't escape this disaster either." An elderly prisoner said worriedly.

"But we surrender, maybe he will let us go." A young prisoner was still trying to find a glimmer of hope for himself.

Just as the prisoners were talking louder and more excited, several soldiers came in with whips. They shouted and swung the whips in the air, making crisp sounds.

"Be quiet! Sit down!" the soldiers ordered loudly.

The whips were mercilessly whipped on the prisoners who stood up, and the prisoners groaned in pain. Under the intimidation of the soldiers, the prisoners' emotions were gradually suppressed. They dared not make any more sounds and could only sit there silently, their eyes still full of fear and anxiety.

The two dragons landed steadily outside the crowd, and the huge impact force caused the ground to vibrate slightly.

The scholars and officials who were registering information also stopped their work and walked out of the crowd to greet His Majesty.

One of the scholars stopped writing, looked up at the flying dragon, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly, as if something was exactly what he wanted.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and his gaze was fixed on Gavin and Daenerys on the dragon's back, revealing an elusive look in his eyes.

The captives felt a little relieved when they saw that the dragon did not attack, but just slowly fell to the side with its huge body. However, many people were still shaking uncontrollably, with deep fear still in their eyes, but they dared not speak out because of the situation around them.

Gavin jumped off the dragon's back lightly, then walked quickly to Viserion, and then reached out and steadily caught Daenerys from the dragon's back. The two of them skillfully tidied up their slightly messy clothes, and then walked calmly towards the welcoming maesters.

"Good day, Your Majesty, Queen." The scholars said in unison, bowing respectfully with a humble and respectful attitude.

Gavin raised his head slightly, nodded gently, and slowly scanned the crowd. He said gently, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I wonder who is the Basil scholar accompanying the army?"

One of the maesters walked out of the crowd quickly, his steps steady. When he came in front of Gawen and Daenerys, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Maester Barthu."

Gavin nodded when he saw this, and then said loudly to everyone: "Okay, you guys continue working. Master Bashu, come with me."

After hearing the order, Bachelor Bashu immediately walked quickly to Gavin, bowed respectfully again and said, "Your Majesty, Queen, I wonder if there is anything I can do for you."

Daenerys smiled and said, "I remember you were in charge of keeping the intelligence records."

Basil nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I am in charge of this matter."

"Where is the record?" Gavin asked immediately.

"In my tent, Your Majesty," Maester Bashu replied quickly.

"Take us there and find me all the information about the Temple of the Thousand Faces of the God." Gavin ordered seriously.

"Yes, your majesty." Maester Barshu bowed very respectfully and said, "Your majesty, queen, please follow me." Then he respectfully led Gavin and Daenerys to the tent not far away.

When the other scholars saw this, they quietly dispersed and continued their previous work in an orderly manner.

The captives still sat obediently where they were, looking cautiously in the direction where Gavin and the others had left from time to time. Their hearts were filled with curiosity and uneasiness, not knowing what unknown things would happen next.

The soldiers guarding the prisoners remained highly vigilant, their eyes moving back and forth over the prisoners, their weapons tightly held in their hands, ready to deal with any possible emergencies at any time.

(End of this chapter)