Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 115 Harrenburg Tournament – ​​The Mad King of King's Landing

In the throne room of the Red Keep, when the parchment detailing the prizes for the Tournament of Harrenhal was presented before the Iron Throne, the air seemed to freeze instantly.

Aerys Targaryen II, seated atop a monstrous iron throne forged from countless swords, had his gaze fixed on that number: 220,000 gold dragons.

The king's already pale face seemed to become even more bloodless, with only his pale purple eyes gleaming with a terrifying light that was a mixture of extreme shock, greed, and suspicion. His fingers twitched nervously, almost digging into the blade of the sword on the armrest of the throne.

For a monarch who is increasingly obsessed with alchemy and wildfire and more sensitive (albeit often paranoid) to the spending of the treasury, the impact of this figure far exceeds that of a tournament itself.

"Two hundred and twenty thousand—" he whispered hoarsely, his voice like the rubbing of dry leather, "The River An family, that bat—where did they get so much gold?" This was no longer an exclamation of admiration for the grand occasion, but a primal fear and anger from the bone marrow of the possibility that others might possess such vast wealth.

Aerys Targaryen II was no stranger to House Harrenhal; Ser Oswell Harrenhal, one of his Kingsguard, was a member of the family. Not long ago, Ser Oswell Harrenhal returned to Harrenhal to meet with his brother, the Earl of Harrenhal. Shortly after this meeting, the Earl of Harrenhal announced the upcoming tournament with an astonishingly large prize!

Aerys II paced angrily back and forth before the Iron Throne, muttering to himself:

"My Kingsguard, Oswell Hogan, is he involved in this?"

"I remember, in 272 AC, the tournament in King's Landing to celebrate my tenth anniversary as king only had a total prize of 20,000 gold dragons. Heh heh, that's just a fraction of the prize money for this tournament in Harrenhal. In 276 AC, the tournament celebrating the birth of Prince Viserys, Tywin Lannister, then Hand of the King, held a grand tournament in Lannisport, with a prize of only a third of his, less than 100,000 gold dragons. Yet, it was the grandest tournament I've ever seen!"

"The Lannisters are the richest family in Westeros, a lucky family living on a gold mine."

"The Ha'an family—the Ha'an family!?"

"How could they possibly come up with so much real money all at once!"

"Does this mean they're going to renege on their promise after the martial arts tournament? Won't they give the champions the golden dragons?"

"Impossible! If they dared to do that, those lords, nobles, knights, and mercenaries would definitely turn on them on the spot and hang the entire He'an family from their castles!"

From the shadows, Varys approached silently like a ghost, wearing a soft velvet robe and respectfully folding his hands in front of him.

His voice was as soft and sweet as ever, yet it was like the finest spider silk, precisely probing into the king's ear and stimulating his most sensitive nerve.

Although the Hearn family is known as "wealthy," their wealth is likely more reflected in the size of their territories and the strategic value of Harrenhal than in cash or gold reserves.

Harrenhal, one of the largest and most expensive castles in Westeros, boasts vast lands and a large population. Profits from agriculture (the fertile Riverlands produce abundant grain), livestock farming, and inland trade (such as trade on the Trident) are the main sources of income for House Harrenhal, while taxes generated from their lands are their core source of revenue.

However, maintaining Harrenhal, this colossal castle, requires enormous expenses—Harrenhal is known as "cursed," with each successive owner seemingly unable to escape misfortune. The castle is vast in scale but extremely expensive to maintain. (Littlefinger was eventually made Earl of Harrenhal, but he only retained the title and never considered taking over Harrenhal, precisely because of the exorbitant maintenance costs!)

In other words, after deducting expenses, the He'an family would need to save for at least several years to accumulate the 220,000 gold dragon prize money.

"Your Majesty, please calm down," he began, his tone filled with just the right amount of worry and empathetic loyalty. "This amount is indeed astonishingly extraordinary, enough to shake the mind of anyone who sees it." He paused subtly, allowing the seed of doubt to be quietly sown in the silent soil.

"However," he changed his tone slightly, becoming cautious and thoughtful, "please forgive your humble servant for speaking frankly, but given the current state of the Hean family's businesses and prosperity, even if we take into account all of Harrenhal's taxes, the output of their territories, and their past accumulations, it would be extremely difficult for them to independently bear such a huge bounty." He paused again, letting the words "extremely difficult" linger in the air.

"You could even say—" Varys lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard by the walls, "...absolutely impossible. The golden dragon flowing behind this, the markings on it, probably did not originate solely from Harrenhal's treasury."

He didn't name any people, but this vague, suggestive hint was like a wildfire fuse pointing directly to the Lannisters and Rhaegar!

Under the carefully crafted words of this "eight-legged spider," King Iris's pupils suddenly contracted to dangerous pinpoints, and endless suspicion, like the thickest venom, instantly seeped into his heart.

Tywin Lannister's cold, wealthy face, or any other powerful lord who might ascend the Iron Throne, was transformed in this wild imagination into a potential benefactor and traitor. Aerys II Targaryen had already heard rumors about his son, Rhaegar!

Is this related to him?

"Investigate!" The king sprang from his throne, his roar shrill and piercing with extreme rage, echoing wildly throughout the throne room and shaking dust from the beams. "Find out who dares to be bolder than a dragon! Who has so much gold that they dare to bribe my kingdom!"

While the Red Keep in King's Landing was rife with undercurrents and suspicion due to the enormous bounty of 220,000 gold dragons, a completely different scene was unfolding at Harrenhal in the Riverlands.

The entire He'an family had been working tirelessly to prepare for this unprecedented event.

Although the exact number of participants and spectators could not be accurately counted, every experienced manager could sense from the scale of the procurement and the number of inquiring messengers from all over the world that this would be an unprecedented event far surpassing any previous martial arts tournament, and perhaps even exceeding any legendary gathering in history.

Then, crowds will converge on Harrenhal from every corner of the Seven Kingdoms: knights and mercenaries yearning for glory and wealth, merchants chasing opportunities, thrill-seeking nobles, street singers, monks peddling relics, and countless commoners seeking work and bread. Harrenhal, this castle known for its curses and ruins, is temporarily transformed into Westeros's most dazzling and restless center by a massive influx of golden dragons and surging crowds. And in King's Landing, whispers about the source of all this wealth are only just beginning.