Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

These are the country's strategic priorities for the foreseeable future, and in terms of development, the splitting of the academic city and the construction and enrollment of colleges are equally important.

After returning to King's Landing, he personally inspected the site and tentatively approved several locations in the city for the construction of the academy.

For Junlin, where land is extremely valuable, demolition is indeed a significant expense, requiring a large sum of money regardless of where the land is to be demolished.

Although millions of gold dragons have just been moved from Highgarden, from a cost-saving perspective, Viserys has tentatively decided to include one of them in the dragon's lair, which is of great historical significance to the Targaryen family. This is the royal family's private property, and demolition will not cost money.

Viserys plans to level the dragon's lair and use the proceeds to build the Kingdom's Military Academy, the largest of the major academies slated for construction.

Because it receives the largest number of students each year, military officers loyal to the Targaryen royal family regularly study at the academy.

Here they learn to read and write, learn about warfare, and the art of command. In addition to bachelors of war studies, some wounded soldiers and officers are also recruited.

Viserys pondered these miscellaneous matters, then nodded slightly.

"The affairs of the Church are not to be underestimated. Summon the Archbishop and Aegon to me later; I have some matters to discuss with them."

"And leave this matter to the Ministry of the Interior, Varys, so don't worry about it."

The bald eunuch, who had been behaving very respectfully, heard Viserys's words and his expression tightened slightly. He then quickly composed himself and nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ramsay Snow is the intelligence organization His Majesty the King brought from across the sea. His role slightly conflicts with, but is not entirely the same as, that of Varys's little birds.

Simply put, Varys' intelligence network is relatively more 'legitimate,' while Ramsay's Ministry of Internal Affairs is more suited to engaging in shady dealings like murder and robbery.

Varys monitored the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms and the overseas city-states, gathering intelligence from the common people, while the Ministry of the Interior focused primarily on internal affairs, monitoring the court officials and even Varys himself.

From Viserys' perspective, this was like a game of ice and fire version of the "Eastern Depot" and "Western Depot," where they checked and balanced each other, and power derived from the monarchy was necessary to prevent it from expanding too wildly and becoming uncontrollable.

If Viserys entrusted this matter to Varys, he would most likely gather intelligence, report back, and then make a decision.

Viserys was handed over to Ramsay, which was a prelude to a massacre. It seemed that His Majesty the King would not show any mercy to these fanatical monks.

Varys could almost foresee a bloodbath about to erupt in King's Landing in the near future.

But this matter had nothing to do with him, so Varys naturally wouldn't meddle.

However, Little Egan might be in for a bit of trouble. If he is found to have been implicated, he probably won't be able to escape the trouble.

"His Majesty."

Varys then bowed slightly and took his leave from Viserys's study. Shortly afterward, the Archbishop of the Great Cathedral of Baelor arrived in haste, carrying the Seven Star Bible.

Chapter 557

Inside the Red Castle.

Aegon was somewhat troubled because news of the Reach War had recently arrived. The Dothraki, allied with the Dornish army, had defeated the enemy, captured several cities, defeated House Tyrell of Highgarden, and then breached Oldtown.

However, this is where the trouble lies: Uncle was recuperating in Highgarden and did not personally lead the battle, while his dragon destroyed the Temple of Stars with its dragonfire when it breached Old Town, and the statues of the Seven Gods collapsed with a crash.

This incident caused a huge uproar in King's Landing, where the worship of the Seven Gods was the main theme.

Some claim that His Majesty the King instructed a dragon to do this, defying the gods.

Some argue that the king never actually appeared on the battlefield; it was only his steed that flew to Old Town to fight and committed the crimes.

If you're so capable, why don't you go and punish the dragon?

Meanwhile, Varys's little bird and Rams's Ministry of the Interior did not interfere at all, but simply monitored public opinion on the incident.

Then two largely similar reports were obtained and presented together to Viserys.

The Iron Throne and the Royal Council seem to be testing the public's reaction to this event, and the result is that the Church of the Seven's control over public opinion is indeed declining significantly.

The inaction of the Church of the Seven during the White Walkers War, and the prophecies of the Cult of the Red Gods during this war, successfully diminished people's faith in the Seven.

The collapse of the Church of the Stars was also a serious provocation, proving that public reaction to it was indeed declining and the importance of royal power in people's minds was rising.

Because the seven gods did not save the world in its most perilous moment, it was the mortals who stepped forward and, relying on their own flesh and blood, stopped the terrible enemy.

However, while most people's faith in the gods began to waver, a group of fanatical believers remained extremely dissatisfied. They organized themselves to attempt to storm the Red Keep, but were repelled by the Unsullied Legion, the guardians of the Red Keep.

The Unsullied kill without blinking an eye, faithfully carrying out their master's orders, and naturally show no mercy to these mobs.

This group had neither armor nor weapons, so they couldn't even break through the Unsullied's formation. Although they had a great momentum, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree, a completely one-sided massacre.

The bodies of the mob piled up like mountains, their blood staining the steps of the Red Fortress. They were then dragged away, placed on carts, taken outside the city, and burned. The area was cleaned up overnight, leaving no trace of blood.

That night, Aegon was shocked to hear the news and rushed out of the Red Keep. Among the corpses, he saw several familiar faces—his former companions, the sparrows who had guided him.

Aegon's fear intensified, and his face even turned slightly pale.

Meanwhile, the handmaid in charge of Aegon's care in the Red Keep thought the young prince was just frightened by the bloody scene and had no idea what he had done.

However, now that his uncle has suddenly sent someone to find him, Aegon's heart begins to race.

He instinctively knew that the matter had been exposed.

"Oh no..."

The silver-haired boy suddenly had a feeling of impending doom. As he followed the Unsullied guards through the gardens of the Red Keep toward the Royal Council Hall, his mind went blank.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he didn't even know which leg to step with. It was indeed too early for him to participate in palace intrigues; he didn't yet have the ability or skill to do so.

If Aegon had kept a low profile and remained silent, he might have had a sliver of hope; but if he had shown any sign of activity, he would have faced suppression...

How could he possibly be a match for these shrewd people who were born and raised in King's Landing, who spent years in the court and were used to lies?

Then, when the silver-haired boy entered the Imperial Council Hall and saw the assembled officials and his uncle sitting at the head of the table, he finally lost control of his emotions.

Before Viserys could even ask what was going on, Aegon suddenly knelt down and, with tears streaming down his face, confessed everything.

"Uncle, I was wrong..."

This includes how the High Sparrow indoctrinated him and lured him in with the title of heir to the Iron Throne.

Aegon's words left all the senior members of the King's Council looking at each other in bewilderment.

There aren't many people at the Imperial Council these days; most of the seats are empty.

Aegon's greatest supporters were his adoptive father, the First Lord Jon Clinton, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Illyrio Mopatis, both of whom were now on the other side of the Narrow Sea.

Meanwhile, his patron in King's Landing, Varys, the Minister of Intelligence, has been influenced by Viserys's spirit and has quietly defected.

It was also this bald eunuch who exposed Aegon.

The Minister of War, Kagol, has not yet returned to King's Landing with his army. The Master of the Seas, Geoffrey Brecken, is in Gulltown, directing the army's attack on the Vale. The Master of Laws, Oberyn, is in the Westerlands escorting Tywin back.

The position of Grand Master is vacant. Viserys is interested in Dr. Marvin, who is currently in Pentos, and hopes that he will also serve as Dean of the Theological Seminary in the future. He has already sent a letter to Dr. Marvin, but still needs to consult Dr. Marvin's opinion.

Therefore, the only high-ranking officials sitting in the King's Council chamber today are Tyrion Lannister, the King's personal advisor; Varys, the Master of Intelligence; Ramsay Snow, the Master of the Interior; and Mia, the Archbishop of the Great Sept of Baelor and a knight of the Kingsguard.

Ramsay had rendered great service to the Targaryen family, and the Interior Ministry wielded immense power, thus earning him the right to attend meetings of the Council of Kings.

Ramsay Bolton doesn't usually come here, but Viserys happened to need to investigate the High Sparrow's case, so he brought him here. The archbishop sitting opposite him was for the same reason.

The silver-haired boy knelt before his uncle, weeping bitterly as he recounted how he had been deceived by the High Sparrow. Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials in the council exchanged glances, their expressions varying.

The female knight Mia and the king's personal advisor Tyrion both looked reluctant, the intelligence chief Varys lowered his head and remained silent, Ramsay Bolton's face, hidden under his hood, was gloomy, revealing a cold smile, while the archbishop was the most furious, even indignant.

He vehemently denounced the High Sparrow for inciting his followers to storm the Red Castle and luring the prince, and immediately expressed his hope that the king would send troops to suppress the mob, refusing to acknowledge them as followers of the Seven.

The performance in the Royal Council was comparable to the Oscars. Viserys helped up his nephew, who was kneeling before him and weeping bitterly, while Varys, the Minister of Intelligence who had been silent all along, finally coughed lightly and then looked at Aegon with a complicated expression and spoke.

"Your Highness Aegon."

"Given your piety toward the gods, and to prevent you from being deceived by wicked men again, the archbishop wishes to personally take you as his disciple and impart to you the teachings of the seven gods."

"What is Your Highness's opinion?"

Varys spoke, and the somewhat obese archbishop sitting beside him nodded slightly, his gaze towards Aegon full of satisfaction.

What an honor it is for a true Targaryen royal to abandon his family name and devoutly join the Church!

Moreover, with Prince Aegon's addition, who would dare say that the King doesn't value the Church? That a mortal would despise the gods?

"what?"

Aegon, who had been helped up, looked completely bewildered upon hearing Varys's words.

Chapter 558 Anti-gang Operation

The secrets within the palace were naturally unknown to the outside world.

After Viserys took over the Red Keep, he completely replaced its personnel. The guards of the Red Keep were all replaced with more loyal Unsullied, and the nurses, handmaids, and other servants were replaced with old servants from Andalusburg and the Nine Towers Palace on the other side of the Narrow Sea.

Sophia, the old maid who had served several Targaryen kings and was once Viserys' mother's personal maid, also returned to the Red Keep to help Queen Arianne raise the young Princess Diana.

Therefore, the Red Keep today is not as dilapidated as it was during Robert's time. What the court meetings discussed in the morning is known to everyone in King's Landing by the afternoon.

The common people were unaware of what had happened, but the people living in King's Landing were already accustomed to the turbulent changes of political power.

Prince Aegon, son of King Rhaegar Targaryen, suddenly announced his joining the Church, becoming a disciple of the Archbishop, abandoning his surname, and devoting himself to serving the Seven Gods, thus rising to become one of the most core members of the Church.

Meanwhile, the golden-robed guards of the capital and a group of mysterious men in black began to mobilize in large numbers.

"Hurry up!"

"Don't let them get away!"

They pinpointed the location precisely, breaking down doors house by house to capture the sparrows who had participated in the storming of the Red Fort.

They were killed that night for defying royal authority, but fled back home in panic, thinking they had escaped disaster. Little did they know they had already been targeted, and instead brought misfortune back with them, implicating their families.

bang——

The Ministry of the Interior's spies and the capital's garrison soldiers suddenly broke down the door. Although the sparrows fought back, it was to no avail.

How could this group of poor people, who had been encouraged to pick up sticks, possibly defeat fully armed soldiers and highly skilled MI6 agents?

"You damned heretics!"

An old sparrow with graying hair trembled with anger when it saw the soldier who had broken into its home.

He had no recollection of what role he had played in the turmoil in King's Landing.

They vandalized shops that supported the king, burned down a brothel, and two poor girls perished in the flames because they couldn't escape.

Then the old sparrow with gray hair grabbed a kitchen knife and pounced on the secret agent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Humph--"