Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Viserys did not punish the disobedient students because his own attitude towards learning was the best punishment he could receive.

In this world of ice and fire, receiving an education is such a precious opportunity.

He had already told them the importance of learning. It was a steady path to advancement. Whoever could seize it would be able to ride the wave and rise to great heights, while those who did not would continue doing what they were doing. The blacksmith's son would remain a blacksmith, and the fisherman's son would remain a fisherman.

After inspecting the military academy, Viserys then went to see the medical school, which was located near the Great Sept of Baelor, in the heart of King's Landing.

King's Landing has a somewhat unique urban layout. Although the Great Sept of Baelor is located in the city center, it is not the most prosperous area of ​​King's Landing.

The most prosperous area of ​​King's Landing is located near Aegon's Hill, in the southeast corner of the city. Here are the royal palace of the Kings of Westeros, the Tower of the Hand, the Royal Council, and the Court of Justice, which is under construction and will become the highest legal institution for appeals by the people of King's Landing and nobles from other places.

Although the Great Sept of Baelor is not as magnificent as Aegon High Hill, it is still very prosperous. The Kingdom's medical school is located next to the Great Sept of Baelor. Although the building is not as grand as the military academy, it is open to ordinary citizens.

The military academy's admissions were solely based on recommendations from local armies and were not open to the public. The area near the military academy was already heavily guarded by soldiers from the capital's garrison.

However, other academies besides military academies do not have such stringent requirements; they can open up to the public and recruit students, but they need to pay extremely high tuition fees.

However, this policy is currently only on paper and has not been officially implemented. At present, it only accepts patients who come to see the doctor. The students are still composed of the second sons and illegitimate children of nobles from various places. However, even so, the medical school is still overcrowded every day, with a large number of people from King's Landing queuing up to see the doctor. It is too busy to keep up with the demand.

Dr. Ambrose, the great physician of the Citadel, is now the dean of the medical school and also the foremost physician in all of Westeros. Beside him is a chubby little boy who is running around busily, and Viserys finds him somewhat familiar.

However, the medical school was a special case and was indeed very busy. Everyone was so busy that they barely had time to breathe. Viserys just took a brief look around and, not wanting to cause any more trouble for the medical staff, turned around and left.

The military academy and the medical school are Viserys's greatest concerns, one about killing and the other about saving lives.

The construction of the School of Economics and the School of Theology is not yet complete; one is in charge of finances, and the other is in charge of people's faith.

Economic reform is inevitable in the future, but the country is not yet fully pacified and is still in the post-war recovery phase. There are even bigger wars waiting for them in the future. At present, the focus is on a stable transition, and suitable conditions for reform have not yet been formed.

In fact, it was the deeply entrenched system of great nobles in Westeros that caused the stagnation of the nation's strength. Looking at the free city-states across the Narrow Sea, none of them individually possessed the strength of the Seven Kingdoms. Their population and land area were far smaller than Westeros; they were merely tiny places.

However, according to a report provided by Illyrio Mopatis, the former governor of Pentos and finance minister, despite this stark contrast in power, a large amount of gold and silver was lost from the seven kingdoms each year, flowing into the free trading city-states across the Narrow Sea, and into the Iron Treasury, the Spice Guild, the Thirteen Lords, and so on.

Where does this large trade deficit come from? How can it be resolved? These questions naturally became one of the next topics.

However, it is quite obvious that Westeros is now merely a rudimentary producer of raw materials, with primitive processing methods and the lowest possible profits.

The farmers of Westeros produced raw materials, which they then sold to wealthy merchants from the free trading cities at extremely low prices.

The wealthy merchants processed the raw materials into commodities and sold them all over the world, including Westeros, easily taking away large amounts of gold and silver at several times or even dozens of times the price.

The Westerlands was once the main mining area of ​​the Seven Kingdoms, with rich mineral resources beneath its land, including gold, silver, and copper. However, despite its abundant resources, the Westerlands did not ultimately dominate Westeros; instead, it was depleted.

Where did all the gold unearthed in the western region go?

In any case, it didn't end up in the hands of local merchants.

These wealthy merchants from the free city-states used the money they earned in Westeros to easily destroy the original merchants of the Seven Kingdoms and eliminate all their competitors to maximize their profits.

The Iron Throne, or perhaps out of ignorance, failed to notice these things, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer only knew how to borrow money, leading to the current situation.

Implementing limited trade protection, emulating trading city-states by establishing their own "iron treasury" (banks), promoting monetary reform, and changing the mode of production, etc...

All these pressing problems urgently need Viserys to solve, but these problems cannot be rushed. Economic issues can never be solved overnight; the future requires long-term development and a step-by-step approach. There is a severe shortage of talent alone.

As for religion... it is perhaps more complex than economic issues, and requires years or even decades of long-term effort until a generation has completely passed away before it can be changed.

Today, the seminary is also located not far from the Great Cathedral of Baylor, next to the alchemists' guild hall. The dean of the seminary is the archbishop of the Seven Gods Faith, and the fat archbishop is also proud of it, wearing the dean's medal and walking proudly in the academy every day.

The seminary naturally has more than just the Seven Gods. Melisandre, the high-ranking priestess of the Red God Cult, received Viserys's support and became the vice-principal of the seminary, mainly training monks who teach the faith of R'hllor.

The seminary also contains the natural beliefs of the Rhoyna people and the Old Gods beliefs, which are more prevalent in the north. There is also a small grove of sacred trees within the seminary.

Overall, the atmosphere within the seminary was relatively harmonious, and there was no situation where a fight broke out as Viserys had previously worried.

Viserys returned to the Red Keep after inspecting the military academy and the medical school.

Chapter 621 Deploying Troops to Nas Island

For a period of time afterward, there was nothing to do. King's Landing continued to operate steadily, and apart from the Night's Watch army on its expedition, there was no other war in the Seven Kingdoms.

Meanwhile, the Nath Island envoy, who was strolling around King's Landing, enjoyed the magnificent scenery of the bustling city and experienced a feeling he hadn't had in the past ten years. He even took his two younger brothers and a younger sister on a tour.

But he did not forget his mission; he was representing the Nath to seek help from the Valyrian Dragon King.

Recently, more and more bandits have been flocking to Nas Island, and even the distant Slave Bay has set its sights on them, sending a slave-catching team to Nas Island to capture slaves.

Meanwhile, the gray mist emanating from the Valyrian ruins continues to encroach, and Nath Island is not far from the Valyrian ruins.

"Missande".

“Listen to me, your brother is going to see the King of Valyria today.”

The Nas's messenger was named Miraz, and he was just over twenty years old. The two younger brothers and one younger sister he brought with him were their cousins, Misanlo and Misandra, and the youngest sister was named Misande.

However, for some reason, his younger sister Missandei insisted on going to the palace with him. For the Nath, Westeros and the kings of the Seven Kingdoms were somewhat unfamiliar; they were only familiar with Valyria, the former monarchy.

Valyria had protected its small neighbor, Nath, for many years, and the Valyrians were the first to build a magnificent dragonglass fortress on Nath.

The Dragon King arrived riding a giant dragon, melted the stubborn rocks with dragonfire, and then used magic to knead them together, creating the Blackrock Fortress.

They then stayed there for a long time, and for some reason, the Valyrians were not infected with the 'butterfly fever' virus that terrified outsiders on Nath.

Then, with the arrival of the Valyrian catastrophe, the great empire collapsed, and the Nath once again lost the protection of the monarchy, suffering a brutal massacre in the Bloody Century.

Therefore, Miraz was more accustomed to calling Viserys the King of Valyria rather than the King of Westeros or the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

They hoped to have found the last dragon king in the world and seek the monarchy's protection once again.

Miraz couldn't refuse his cousin's request, and with his two younger cousins ​​looking on expectantly, he finally nodded and agreed to take them to see the king.

The round-faced girl with short black hair immediately cheered, and her two older brothers also cheered with joy.

Having lived in King's Landing for some time, they had fallen in love with the city and were reluctant to return to their homeland. How could they not be happy to be able to visit the legendary royal palace today?

However, Viserys is not so easy to see. His Majesty the King is usually busy with official duties, and when he is not busy, he likes to claim that he is very busy and steal some time for himself.

Miraz, the Nathian messenger, arrived at the Red Keep with his cousins, presented his request for an audience, and then patiently waited.

The Unsullied soldiers led them to the reception room. Miraz's cousins ​​wanted to play in the garden. After asking the Unsullied soldiers, the soldiers looked the three children up and down with cold eyes, especially at Missandei's golden eyes. Finally, they nodded and spoke in a cold voice.

"can."

The Unsullied soldier then turned and left.

"He was also a Nas, my cousin."

As the Unsullied soldier disappeared into the distance, Missandei, watching his retreating figure, suddenly spoke to her cousin.

"what?"

Miraz was slightly taken aback, and then realized where that familiar feeling he had just felt came from.

The other person had golden eyes and dark skin, which were typical characteristics of the Nass people.

He tried hard to speak in the Nas accent, but perhaps because he had been away from his homeland for too long, his speech was somewhat awkward and not the same as the Nas accent. However, Missandei, who had a high aptitude for languages, noticed it.

Having figured this out, Miraz felt a slight sadness welling up inside him. The Nath people loved peace but had become the epitome of weakness. He knew without a doubt that they must have been captured by the slave-hunting team and sold to Astapor, where they were trained to become Unsullied, their humanity completely extinguished.

Missandei and her brother were playing in the gardens of the Red Keep, while Viserys was not actually slacking off; he was discussing with his senior council members the possibility of sending troops to Nath.

“Sending troops to Nas Island… is not impossible, but it is a huge gamble, with high risks and high rewards.”

"Moreover, the significance of sending troops to Nas Island is not to protect Nas Island."

The one who spoke was Tyrion Lannister, the king's advisor. The imp deftly stroked his beard with his fingers before speaking.

"Of course, it's not about taking advantage of the situation to seize it."

"I think all of you gentlemen and His Majesty should understand what I mean."

Tyrion's words elicited a slight nod from everyone present. Viserys's Council of Kings was different from previous dynasties; it did not have representatives stuffed in by various factions, and there were no good-for-nothings among them.

We are all intelligent people, and conversations between intelligent people are often very straightforward.

"Sending troops to Nas Island can demonstrate the dynasty's strength and deter wolves from all sides."

"Moreover, it can enhance Westeros's influence in the world, since previous kings of Westeros have only focused on the kingdom itself."

"They believe that as long as they manage their internal affairs well, they can rest easy, but they ignore the development of the external environment."

The person speaking next was Intelligence Minister Varys.

Compared to the smaller, more ruthless Department of Internal Affairs, Varys's Little Bird's schemes extend far beyond the kingdom. His influence reaches as far as Slaver's Bay. He is the person within the entire kingdom with the deepest understanding of the outside world, followed by Oberyn and even Viserys.

The improvement in Westeros's influence in the world is very useful and will play an important role in the economic reforms that Viserys wants to implement in the future.

"Sending troops to Nas Island also allows us to visit and observe the strength of those trading city-states along the way, so as to make plans for the future in advance."

The last person to speak was the Minister of Justice, Oberon, who was also the commander of the Second Army. He crossed his legs, stroked his chin, and began to analyze the situation from a military perspective.

"However, this task is not easy to complete. It requires a general who is familiar with navigation to lead an elite navy."

"Furthermore, one needs to be quick-witted, flexible, adaptable, and not bound by convention; most importantly, one must be utterly loyal and never rebel..."

"Whom does Your Majesty intend to appoint?"

Chapter 622 Fighting

The mission to send troops to Nas Island was more significant than war or protection, and the development of the kingdom was not just moving in one direction.

For example, when launching a war, the economy must be taken into account; when reforming the economy, diplomacy must also be considered.

A nation cannot remain stagnant; it must also demonstrate its strength to the outside world and send out signals.

Of course, although this military deployment is more like sending an envoy to tour the world, it does not mean that war will not occur.

After all, the world is too big, and the journey is long. Everything depends on the soldiers to be self-sufficient. There will always be some fools who try to attack the kingdom's fleet in an attempt to achieve some goal.

Moreover, as a fleet representing a vast kingdom's power to the outside world, its configuration must not be too poor.

Therefore, it is necessary to select a general who is familiar with naval warfare and has a quick mind to lead the army on a long voyage to explore the way.

This trip won't be a six-month or year-long journey; it might take several years to return.

Ideally, he should be someone who is unmarried, has no property in Westeros, and has the courage to take risks and earn a great deal of merit.

With so many stringent conditions imposed on him, Viserys didn't have many options left.

What about Asha Greyjoy, daughter of the sea monster?

"She should be alright now."

Asha came to King's Landing after leading the Ironborn, loyal to her father, to the throne. However, in peacetime, there was no suitable job for someone like Asha in King's Landing.