Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 314 The Chaotic Stairway - Tyrosmir

The moonlight, like a ribbon, flowed silently across the deck.

Asara hummed an old Dornish lullaby, and little Daren in her arms, under her gentle and rhythmic pats, gradually grew his breathing long and steady, his long eyelashes casting quiet shadows on his fair face.

Euron's tall figure moved silently through the interlacing shadows of the giant ships. The bright moonlight streamed through the narrow windows, cutting a line between light and shadow on his shoulders.

These days, he had devoted almost all his time to his new wife, Ashara, indulging in the belated warmth and passion. Now, as everything paused, he remembered Lisa, a person he had temporarily set aside, yet who was equally important.

This handmaid, who played a key role in his grand plan, had not had a chance to meet him alone since the start of the war until her marriage to Ashara. Much of what needed to be done discreetly and thoroughly relied on her connections. He walked steadily toward the secluded tower room where Lisa was, his footsteps fading into the distance, almost inaudible, against the stone walls.

In a secluded corner of the giant ship, in a room where only the sea breeze rustled through the stone windows, Lisa sat quietly at a table covered with files containing information gathered from various sources.

As the door was silently pushed open, Euron's tall figure filled the doorway, and Lisa, who was engrossed in reading documents, immediately looked up. Upon seeing him, she almost instinctively stood up, and a fleeting, undisguised joy, like a lighthouse suddenly illuminating a dark sea, flashed across her face, which was slightly weary from long periods of contemplation.

But that gleam lasted only a moment before she quickly concealed it, her eyes returning to their calm, unfathomable depths, regaining the composure befitting a well-trained secret agent. She instinctively turned to offer him the fairly comfortable chair she had been sitting in—a subordinate's subconscious respect for their superior.

Before she could make a move, Euron shook his head very slightly. He didn't speak, but simply gestured and looked at her calmly, indicating that she didn't need to do so, while he casually leaned against the cold stone wall. This posture maintained the dignity of a master, yet seemed to carry a rare sense of casualness, as if he wasn't in a hurry to get down to business.

Euron briefly outlined his grand vision for the bank to Lisa. Lisa's exclusion from the project wasn't due to a lack of trust, but rather because Euron knew that Lisa's energy was currently focused on other, more secretive fronts. Those matters were already giving Lisa a major headache, leaving her with no energy for anything else.

Lisa thought for a moment, then slowly provided a piece of information: "My lady, regarding the three million gold dragons that the Iron Treasury promised to lend to King Robert—according to the latest news from our people in King's Landing, this payment was not made in a lump sum, nor was it sent directly to King's Landing in gold dragons."

She paused, making sure every word was clear: "Previously, only one-third of the loan had been completed, and one million gold dragons had already arrived. At the strong request and specific arrangements of the new Hand of the King, Lord Jon Arryn, the money was quickly converted by the Iron Treasury and used entirely to urgently purchase large quantities of food, fruits, vegetables, furs, and other necessities from across the Narrow Sea and send them to King's Landing."

Lisa raised her eyes, her gaze revealing a precise understanding of the situation: "Lord Jon's intentions are very clear. The Seven Kingdoms have suffered from war, especially King's Landing and the surrounding areas, where food is scarce and morale is low. He wants to use this real food to fill the gaps in the market and fill the stomachs of the people, thereby stabilizing prices, appeasing the public, and consolidating King Robert's newly established rule. In his view, the food at this moment is more strategically valuable than the golden dragons piled up in the Red Keep's cellars."

Lisa gazed silently at Euron, her voice soft yet sharp as a needle: "The remaining two million golden dragons will be loaded directly from Braavos, sailed across the Narrow Sea, and transported to King's Landing."

"Two million golden dragons? From Braavos to King's Landing? By ship?" Euron repeated these keywords, his pupils suddenly contracting. Almost instantly, the unspoken, breathtaking meaning behind Lisa's words surfaced in his mind as clearly as a reef on a nautical chart.

On the vast ocean, the waves are fierce and the sea is turbulent.

That territory where their Greyjoy family reigned supreme was fraught with countless unpredictable dangers. A sudden storm, a "coincidental" run aground, or a elusive "pirate" attack that wouldn't hesitate to steal even the Iron Bank flag—on the vast ocean, any "accident" seemed perfectly plausible.

An uncontrollable, cold, and wild smile curved his lips, his eyes gleaming as if he could already see the gold sinking to the bottom of the sea and then being salvaged. "If something goes wrong," he whispered, his voice filled with the salty, dangerous scent of the sea breeze, "wouldn't the remaining two million gold dragons in the Iron Vault be like a generous gift specially prepared to be 'delivered' directly to me, Euron Greyjoy?"

This idea, like the strongest rum, ignited his blood. It wasn't just about enormous wealth; it was a blatant provocation and plunder of that arrogant iron treasury, a powerful injection into his grand plans.

Euron's eyes gleamed with the excitement of a raider, and his body instinctively turned toward the door, almost as if he was about to rush out and share this incredible news with his father, King Coron, and his brother. He imagined that they would be even more excited than he was, and would immediately begin to plan how to devour this prize.

"My lord, please calm down." Lisa's voice remained calm, yet it acted like an invisible anchor, steadily halting his hurried steps. A knowing smile, as if she understood everything, played on her lips.

"Two million gold dragons is no small sum. Even for the Iron Treasury, raising, counting, packing, and arranging a reliable fleet would take a considerable amount of time. Our men are watching Braavos like seagulls watching a school of fish. Any definite news of a gold dragon setting sail will reach you immediately."

She paused briefly, her gaze sweeping over the other files piled on the table, her tone shifting to one of undeniable seriousness: "And now, regarding other matters, I have many important things to report to you."

Upon hearing this, Euron paused, his overly eager expression slowly fading. He raised a hand to touch the stubble on his chin, as if somewhat embarrassed by his earlier lapse in composure, and finally gave a slightly appreciative smile, refocusing his attention entirely on Lisa.

Lisa's voice flowed smoothly through the quiet room, like recounting an epic poem about greed and death: "Westero, still licking its wounds after the war, has no new developments worthy of special attention. The real storm is brewing and about to erupt in the free cities across the Narrow Sea." She unfurled a scroll of fine parchment marked with intricate symbols of Lys, Tyrothy, and Myr.

"The primary focus is the escalating trade war between Ries and Tyrosi, which has now turned bloody." Her slender fingers traced lines of coded text as she continued, "The Tyrosi struck first, imposing a ban on pear brandy," aiming to stifle Ries's liquor trade. Not content with that, their fleet openly plundered the Ries merchant ship "Red Coral" in disputed waters, sinking its cargo, worth 300,000 gold dragons—or rather, plunging it into Tyrosi's hands."

"The Reis's revenge was far more insidious and vicious," Lisa said coldly. "They used the Tears of Reis directly. One of High Lord Tyros's most beloved sons collapsed in agony at the banquet and never awoke."

"This ignited the war. Tyroth then issued a full military mobilization order, and Rhys continued the attack without hesitation. They hired the famous Wind Blowing Legion to raid Tyroth's carefully cultivated plantation in the disputed territory. They not only massacred the slave owners there, but also incited and freed all the slaves, dealing a heavy blow to Tyroth's economic foundation."

"The dagger in the shadows never ceased its swing," she continued, her voice lowering. "Soon after, a Prince of Rhys accidentally fell to his death from his own tower. Then, the treasurer of Tyroth died of poisoning in his study, his death mirroring the symptoms of 'Rhys's Tears,' and a finely crafted Myr dagger was deliberately left at the scene."

"The latest news is," Lisa raised her eyes, "that Governor Trigg Omeren of Reese was ambushed by the Tyrosian assassins, but fortunately his guards fought back desperately, and the governor escaped with his life."

Trigger Ormeren was assassinated? Euron suddenly remembered "Brown Pearl" Belege Othris of the neutral lands of the Stone Steps Islands, wondering if this matter was related to her.

She put down the parchment and concluded, "My lord, the other side of the Narrow Sea is no longer a safe place to do business, but a powder keg filled with trade disputes, bloody revenge, and proxy wars. This storm is just the right place for us to find prey and opportunities."

Lisa's voice, audible in the flickering candlelight, unfolded a more intricate and darker power game in Essos: "The Golden Company, employed by Mil, has brazenly torn up its contract and turned against Tyrosi after receiving a more lucrative offer. This betrayal caused Mil to instantly lose its dominance in the contested lands." Lisa's fingertips traced Mil's location. "In retaliation, Mil secretly contacted the Iron Bank. They hope to leverage the Iron Bank's financial power to weaken or even destroy the mercenary market on which Tyrosi depends for its survival by tightening credit or increasing commissions. They want to use the Golden Dragon as a weapon to regain control."

Meanwhile, Illyrio, the governor of Pentos, was also adding fuel to the fire. He secretly bribed a Dothraki khao to instigate the khalasar to attack manors and caravans on the border of Rhys, carefully disguising the attack as the work of the Tyrothian mercenaries.

His intention was to completely muddy the waters, inciting a more direct and bloody conflict between Reese and Tyrosy, so that he could profit from it.

"Mir itself is also mired in a quagmire." Lisa's tone carried a hint of analytical coldness. "Its handicrafts are heavily reliant on timber and ore imported from the disputed lands. Now, this lifeline is being strangled by the hostile Tyrosi and Rhys, forcing them to pay exorbitant tolls, which is like a continuous drain on its blood. The conflict between the three parties is growing ever stronger."

"Due to reduced combat at the Stepstone Islands, the supply of prisoners of war in Mil has decreased, the profits from the slave trade have shrunk, and the lace produced in Rhys has become more competitive in price. As a result, Mil's fiscal revenue has plummeted, and it has been unable to repay its debts to the Iron Treasury on several occasions."

"When the Iron Bank defaults on its debts, it naturally retaliates against Mill," she continued, revealing a deeper level of control. "Almost all of Mill's slave trade funding comes from the Iron Bank. Instead of lending to Mill, the Iron Bank lends money to slave traders for procurement," and even directly buys prisoners of war, reselling them to Tyrese and Reese, completely controlling the financial chain of the slave trade.

"Moreover, Mill's proud handicrafts, whether purchasing silk from the East or employing skilled craftsmen, required huge amounts of working capital. The Iron Treasury became Mill's main provider of funds for its handicrafts through low-interest loans and trade credit."

"And when Mill attempted to sneak around the Iron Bank and trade directly with the Tyreese or the Ries in order to survive," Lisa's voice was chilling, "the Iron Bank's retaliation was swift and precise: immediately cutting off new credit to Mill's merchants while simultaneously funding Mill's rival—the Tyreese slave traders. Through this financial maneuvering, the Iron Bank easily weakened Mill's competitiveness in trade, firmly confining it within the financial order it had constructed."

"My lady," Lisa concluded, "the current situation is this: Mil is economically deeply bound to the Iron Bank and militarily on the defensive, and it yearns for a breakout; while the Iron Bank, through financial capital, invisibly controls the lifelines of many parties. This chaos stems not only from the long-standing feud between city-states, but more profoundly, from the power struggle between the Iron Bank's financial empire and local forces over control and counter-control. The cracks in this system are precisely the best leverage we can exploit."

""

Euron nodded, then suddenly remembered a saying—chaos is a ladder!