Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Chief of Intelligence Varys crossed his arms and put them in his sleeves. He glanced at the remaining silent group, then focused his gaze on Stannis for a few more moments before looking away.

The entire imperial council meeting fell into a very strange atmosphere, and everyone else remained silent, as if they were mute.

They all knew King Robert's temper; once he made up his mind, nothing could change it. Only when Lord Arryn spoke would His Majesty listen to him for a moment; if they tried to persuade him, he would be met with a barrage of insults.

However, this time King Robert seemed to have made up his mind, and he did not expect that the King's Chief of Staff would stand up and talk nonsense about something as absolutely correct and irrefutable as hunting down the Targaryen remnants.

If he weren't absolutely certain that his adoptive father would never collude with the Targaryens, he would have even suspected that these people had already planned to betray him.

Robert's large, bell-like eyes widened as if he were about to devour someone, then he slammed his hand on the table.

"Lord Jon Arryn!"

"Why didn't you ask Lannister for a loan sooner if you didn't have the money?"

"You know, even Tywin Lannister's shit is gold!"

Standing outside the king's bedroom, the knight, clad in a snow-white cloak and gleaming silver armor, could hear everything that was happening inside.

He placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, his expression somewhat grim, and then took a deep breath.

However, King Robert, in the King's Council, didn't care whether Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, was standing outside the door or whether he had heard the words.

He would even have James stand guard outside the door when he slept with the other woman's sister, so that he could hear her moans and satisfy some kind of perverse pleasure in Robert's heart.

The Duke of the Vale was also greatly angered by Robert's unreasonable words, and he slammed his hand on the table and stood up from his chair.

"His Majesty!"

"How dare you address Tywin Lannister, the Warden of the West and the Duke of Casterly Rock, in such a frivolous and disrespectful manner!"

Jon Arryn felt so angry he was practically fuming. It was one thing to say such things in private, but how could he spout such nonsense in such an important setting as the Council of Kings?

Especially with Tywin's son standing guard outside the door, if this news gets out and reaches the outside world, or even the Westerlands, who knows what kind of uproar it will cause.

His Majesty the King insulted the Guardian of the West, saying that even his excrement contained gold?

The high-ranking nobles of the kingdom are at odds, and Robert is Tywin's son-in-law. The son-in-law insults his father-in-law. These royal family affairs will undoubtedly circulate in countless versions in the flea den, creating a great deal of trouble for no reason.

Robert, sitting on the throne, had just spoken his mind without thinking, and was furious because his plan to attack the Targaryen remnants was opposed.

Then, after being yelled at by his godfather, he calmed down considerably.

Robert wasn't a complete scoundrel; he knew who the sycophants were and who would never betray him and would always protect him.

"Hum-"

King Robert grumbled and sat back down in his chair, which creaked under the weight.

"Anyway... no matter what, the remnants of the Targaryens must be wiped out."

"Lord Jon Arryn, you must have seen the intelligence."

Robert picked up the wine jug on the table and poured himself another glass of wine, his tone tinged with resentment and sarcasm.

"I warned you..."

“I warned you a long time ago.”

"That little bitch of the Targaryens actually hatched a dragon, a real dragon! Not a dog or a cat!"

By the end, Robert was spitting everywhere, and even his good mood from the victory at Dragonstone had vanished.

He then drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

bang——

He slammed the wine glass down on the table, his slightly bloodshot eyes glancing at the idling intelligence chief beside him.

"Ok?"

A dull sound came from the nasal cavity.

Varys, who had been somewhat distracted, snapped back to reality, shivered slightly, and then, understanding the implication, quickly spoke up in agreement.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"We can't just wait for the dragons to grow up; we have to take the initiative. Otherwise, if we wait until the dragons grow up, we'll never be able to get rid of these Targaryen remnants."

Varys agreed with His Majesty the King, and Robert nodded with great satisfaction.

This is why he was satisfied with Varys, who, as a former high-ranking official under Aerys II, was one of the few remaining members of the Baratheon dynasty.

"Your Majesty, actually... actually... if there are only dragons, nothing can be accomplished."

The Duke was also somewhat troubled by this. He seemed to want to argue something, but as soon as he spoke, he found that even his tone of voice had unconsciously dropped considerably.

He himself didn't have much confidence in saying these words, and felt that if he continued to say them, he would become a traitor.

He had naturally also seen the latest intelligence report: Daenerys Targaryen, the posthumous child of Aerys II and sister of Viserys, who now reigns as king, survived a fire in which she carried three baby dragons.

This is a huge problem.

Although it was somewhat unbelievable, after all, dragons had been gone for so long and no one had seen one with their own eyes, the intelligence reports confidently stated that dragons really existed, leaving Jon Arryn no room for doubt.

While dragons are not the absolute factor in determining the outcome of a war, if the forces are evenly matched, the side with the dragon will definitely have an overwhelming advantage.

"Yes, dragons alone can't accomplish anything."

Robert gave a slightly sarcastic chuckle, then roared.

"But have you ever considered that Viserys, that damn guy, also has an army of tens of thousands!"

Chapter 152 Loans

King Robert's roar was so loud that even the servants passing by in the corridor turned their heads slightly, while everyone present was completely silent, and even the only one who had spoken out against it, the Prime Minister, was rendered speechless.

The Duke of Arrynvale believes that, from a national perspective, if this war were to break out, it would place an enormous burden on the entire country.

It is even highly likely that they will be bogged down in war, dragging down the entire seven kingdoms, causing the nobles to become disloyal and the people to rebel.

At that point, the power of the Iron Throne won't even need that mad king's son to bring dragons over; it will crumble on its own.

Of course, it's not impossible to support an army through war, but this requires profit. What profit could be gained from a long and arduous expedition, crossing an ocean to attack a not-so-wealthy city-state on another continent?

This is as ridiculous as trying to rob the Dothraki.

The War of the Nine Bronze Kings was similar to the current situation. During the reign of Jaehaerys II, Duke Mond Baratheon, then the Prime Minister, personally led an expedition to the Steppes.

However, after finally annihilating the nine-man group, the Iron Throne army withdrew from the Stepstone Islands, not daring to set foot on this land. Otherwise, they might have faced a united boycott from the nine major trading city-states, and none of those left on the islands would have returned.

The power of the Iron Throne is so great that the free city-states cannot accept it leaving any enclave on the continent of Essos, not even a remote, unclaimed territory.

If the Seven Kingdoms had left an enclave on Essos, they could cultivate it for just a few years, and a steady stream of supplies would be transported from Westeros and stockpiled there.

If the Iron Throne were to decide to invade the Free Trade City-States, countless armies and knights would instantly board warships and cross the sea to reach the continent of Essos.

Because the most difficult problem for them, the supply issue, had been solved.

at the moment.

The problem has come full circle.

It would be better if the Targaryen remnants only had dragons and no army, because as Jon Arryn said, dragons alone cannot accomplish anything.

Aegon had dragons when he conquered Westeros, yet he still suffered a crushing defeat in Dorne, even losing a dragon and his sister.

Therefore, the army is the most sensitive point for the Iron Throne. The Targaryens won one battle after another on the continent of Essos, pushing forward and conquering vast swathes of land.

One of Jon Arryn's advisors had previously predicted that the Free Cities would not allow the Targaryens to expand so recklessly and would inevitably unite to crush them. However, he was proven wrong in an instant; Andalus is now no longer an entity that a single Free Cities can easily destroy.

"Very well, Your Majesty, if we really intend to cross the sea to attack Andalus, we still have many problems that urgently need to be solved."

Since this battle was inevitable, Jon Arryn didn't want to waste any more words. He felt that if he continued, Robert would suspect him of treason.

In fact, it wasn't just Robert who saw the threat; Jon Arryn also felt that they couldn't let the Targaryens continue to expand, otherwise it could very well lead to bitter consequences.

However, as the Prime Minister, he was second only to the King, yet the King above him was a completely incompetent man.

Just because the king can't see some things doesn't mean they don't exist. It's just that this good godfather, despite his advanced age, is still running around cleaning up his messes.

Then the white-haired old duke began to count on his fingers the problems that urgently needed to be solved.

"The first issue is the supply of materials."

“Your Majesty, if we want to wage war against the Targaryens, we need a sufficient supply of golden dragons.”

"The Iron Throne is now burdened with a debt of more than four million gold dragons."

At this point, Jon Arryn glanced at the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but the man was clearly distracted and not in the right frame of mind, even pausing slightly before reacting.

Then Varys, sitting next to him, gently nudged him and whispered a reminder.

"grown ups?"

He tapped his finger on the Chancellor's chest.

"Oh, oh..."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer immediately understood, and hurriedly took out a backup copy of the national treasury ledger from his pocket, then respectfully handed it to the Prime Minister.

The old man was also somewhat helpless looking at these useless teammates. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was as stupid as a pig. His only ability was to ask people for money. He would sign any treaty as long as he could get money. Jon Arryn was very anxious and frustrated because of this.

However, recently this Chancellor of the Exchequer has been unable to borrow money, and Robert is quite dissatisfied with him. In Robert's view, the Chancellor's first priority is to borrow money, and perhaps this Chancellor will be replaced soon.

As Jon Arryn thought of this, the image of a young man suddenly appeared in his mind. The man was shrewd, capable, and had a good relationship with his wife.

perhaps...

The white-haired duke's heart stirred slightly. If the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind selecting a virtuous and capable person to help him share some of the pressure.

However, he still needed to report to His Majesty the King, so Jon Arryn straightened up and opened the treasury ledger.

On the other side, thanks to the reminder from the Chief of Intelligence, Varys, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had avoided making a fool of himself in front of the King and the Prime Minister. After returning to his seat, he gave Varys a grateful smile.

The other person, with their hands tucked into their sleeves, saw the Chancellor's expression and nodded slightly, giving a friendly smile.

The workplace is tough, which is why we should help each other.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has recently become increasingly aware of King Robert's displeasure, and now is a time of great anxiety and trepidation.

"what?"

However, at this moment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer suddenly paused for a moment, only then realizing a problem.

How did Varys know that his treasury ledger was on his chest?