Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

"For his many years of service, Ramsay Snow has bestowed upon Bolton the name and Harrenhal as his fief."

"Rams Bolton is granted the title of Earl of Harrenhal."

After Viserys secured his throne, he bestowed titles upon many of the meritorious generals and ministers who had fought alongside him to conquer the land. However, there was one person among them who never received a title.

That was Rams, the head of the Interior Ministry.

One of the reasons is Ramsay's special status. He is a bastard from the North, and bastards have an extremely low status in this era. They are not valued and are even despised.

Another reason is Ramsay's bad reputation. He is the dark side of Viserys, doing things that make the royal family look bad and are generally not respectable.

Furthermore, he also monitored all the high-ranking officials and nobles under the Iron Throne. There were rumors in King's Landing that a certain nobleman was secretly having an affair with his mistress. The nobleman himself did not know how many times his mistress made a sound that night, but Ramsay knew it all.

No one likes to be friends with someone like that, but Rams seems to enjoy it.

Because he was very clear about his position in Viserys' heart, no matter how many people hated him, as long as Viserys did not hate him, he would never lose his power.

As long as he remains useful, Viserys will not abandon him. Therefore, he does not need to make any friends. If he deliberately tries to make friends, he would only be putting his head under the greatsword of the good dog, the Royal Enforcer.

Therefore, Rams had a very bad reputation in aristocratic circles, and the calls to restore Rams's surname and confer a noble title on him were greatly suppressed.

Ramsay also has an older brother named Domilik Bolton, the current Earl of Dreadfort, but the two brothers do not have a very good relationship.

Domilik simply felt that his brother's personality was too crazy, and the way he looked at him made him uncomfortable.

The young Earl of Dreadfort had no idea that Ramsay had once tried to kill him.

Ramsay secretly sent men to kill his father, former Earl of Dreadfort Roose Bolton, on the chaotic battlefield.

At that time, the assassin Ramsay sent out whispered in Roose Bolton's ear that 'Domilik Bolton will soon be down there to join him.'

However, Rams broke his promise.

Because Ramsay learned that Ramsay had sent someone to assassinate his father, he was given a choice between a dagger and poison.

Ramsay wept bitterly, begging Viserys to spare his life, his illusions of power and the feeling of elation vanishing completely.

At that time, Rams felt that he had real power and could monitor anyone he wanted to monitor. Rams himself was like an ungrateful dog, so after he was fed, he gradually became arrogant.

However, Viserys' timely rebuke was like a bucket of cold water poured on him, extinguishing all of Ramsay's illusions.

It turns out he was monitoring everyone, but he was also being monitored all along. He was a dog from beginning to end and never held real power.

After that beating, Rams was spared his life, but he suffered extremely cruel punishment. He did not appear in public for a full six months and disappeared from everyone's sight.

After that, Rams never again tried to take advantage of his brother Domilik.

Therefore, this kind-hearted Earl of Terror Castle, who was disappointed in his younger brother and hoped to persuade him to turn over a new leaf, never imagined that Ramsay was the murderer of their father, and that he had even walked through the gates of hell.

Harrenhal was a fairly suitable place for Ramsay. Although Ramsay had made mistakes, Viserys had not forgotten that he had also made many contributions. He could even be ranked among the top five in terms of merit in regaining the Iron Throne.

Harrenhal, located in the Riverlands on the north bank of Lake God's Eye, briefly served as the capital of the Three Rivers, and this castle certainly deserves that title, as it is the largest castle in all of Westeros.

However, due to historical reasons, Harrenhal has been the site of many tragedies, and thus has always had an ominous reputation.

While others were afraid of these things, Rams was not. In the eyes of many criminals he interrogated, he was the most terrifying demon on earth.

He himself is a demon, so why should he be afraid of ghosts and monsters?

Therefore, Rams, who rarely appeared in public, knelt on the stone steps in front of the Iron Throne in the Throne Room, his black cloak hanging to the ground, a look of joy on his fair face, and then he kowtowed several times.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When others kneel before the king, they kneel on one knee, including the royal guards, ministers of the court, and even an ordinary nobleman.

However, Ramsay was different. When he knelt before Viserys, he always knelt on both knees, wagging his tail, showing great piety and loyalty.

"The Earl of Harrenhal!"

The nobles present in the throne room, including the high-ranking officials of the Royal Council, were all silent.

"The Earl of Harrenhal".

"Lord Ramsay Bolton."

Then someone started clapping, and a few scattered claps followed, which was barely considered a gesture of respect.

This also shows how few "friends" Rams had in the court, despite his high position. However, Rams did not care and then stepped down.

After the Seven Kingdoms were pacified, the Iron Throne established a new rule that the Council of Kings would meet once a week. In case of special or important matters, senior ministers of the Council of Kings would be temporarily gathered. The Council of Kings mainly discussed specific government affairs.

The court sessions in the throne room are held every two weeks, bringing together prominent nobles, wealthy merchants, and representatives from all walks of life in King's Landing.

The purpose of holding court in the Throne Room is mainly to follow a standardized procedure; in fact, the content to be discussed in court has already been discussed in the Imperial Council beforehand.

The conferment of the title of Earl of Harrenhal on Rams today was also discussed in advance. After searching through the seven kingdoms, only Harrenhal was worthy of Rams's merits and status among the vacant castles. Therefore, Harrenhal was conferred upon him.

After Ramsay Bolton was officially appointed, other matters came up. Now, with Lord Jon Clinton, the Hand of the King, leading his army on a campaign against Dorne, the most influential figure in the King's Council was none other than the Prince of Dorne.

This matter was not concealed; rumors had already circulated several days prior, leading many in the know to focus their attention on Justice Minister Oberon.

"His Majesty."

The Prince of Dorne did not disappoint. Dressed in a sand-yellow robe with a golden sun emblem on his shoulders, he stepped out from the ranks of his courtiers and began to speak.

"The northern border has been recovered, and the country has reached an unprecedented level of prosperity. We should adopt a new name for our nation."

Chapter 661 The Heirs of Valyria

With the King's Hand away on a campaign to Dorne, Oberyn Martell, the Lord Minister of Justice and the head of the court, stepped forward to make a suggestion, which naturally caused many uninformed nobles present to look at each other in bewilderment.

The concept of the Seven Kingdoms is deeply ingrained in people's minds, after all, this political system has been maintained for three hundred years and spanned more than a dozen generations.

Aegon I, as the conqueror, conquered the six kingdoms of Westeros with three dragons, while the seventh kingdom, Dorne, was later incorporated into the Iron Throne system through marriage.

Therefore, people are familiar with the concept of the Seven Kingdoms and know that the Iron Throne now symbolizes royal power. However, after the War of Conquest, Aegon did not completely erase the shadow of the former Seven Kingdoms, and even coexisted with the nobles of the former Seven Kingdoms.

If we put ourselves in Aegon's shoes back then, perhaps we could understand the decision this conqueror made.

Because no one before him had unified the entire Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms, the concept of the need for unification of the Seven Kingdoms had not yet taken root in people's minds.

The people of the River Reach are hostile to the Kingdom of Casterly Rock, the Kingdom of Storms are hostile to the River Reach, and the King in the North sits in Winterfell overlooking the world. The people of each country are the people of their respective countries, and there is no concept of unity.

Aegon the Conqueror faced a process of creating something from nothing, a process that required time to mature.

If he wanted to unify the seven kingdoms and secure his rule, he might have had to make this choice: reach a compromise with the nobles of the seven kingdoms.

The king and nobles govern the country together in exchange for the cooperation and submission of the nobles of the former seven kingdoms to the new monarchy.

Otherwise, if Aegon's personality is very strong, and he is the "king" and would rather break than bend, then the situation he faces will become very complicated. He may stabilize the country in the short term by violence, but in the future, there will inevitably be war and rebellion everywhere.

Viserys' current situation is different from Aegon's, because the concept of the unification of the seven kingdoms under Aegon's rule is now deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Even ordinary people know the benefits of unification: it eliminates war, unites more people, and brings peace and prosperity to the country.

With Aegon's example, the people and nobles of Westeros now regard unification as a necessary condition.

This is why, after Viserys occupied the Reach and King's Landing, he was surrounded by the remnants of the Baratheon dynasty. Although the two sides tacitly agreed to a temporary truce, they never mentioned a ceasefire.

Because the two sides are fundamentally incompatible in terms of thought and concepts, it is inevitable that one side will try to annex the other.

Either Viserys will destroy them, or they will destroy Viserys.

Of course, if Viserys had chosen to compromise at that time, like Aegon, and laid down the sword that was aimed at the power of the nobility, the unification of the country might have been achieved in an instant.

But that would be another cycle, a repetition of the path Aegon had taken.

Viserys did not make such a choice, but instead chose to fight the old nobles to the bitter end.

Inch by inch, they crushed their spines, forcing them to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy, or, like the Hightar family, they were wiped out of the world without even a chance to beg.

Therefore, it's not that Aegon was short-sighted, but rather that Viserys's circumstances were far more favorable than his.

At this moment, Oberon's sudden proposal was actually something that the Council of the Emperor had already discussed.

This matter had been discussed months before Jon Clinton left King's Landing. It was a major event, and most of the high-ranking officials, except for a few stubborn conservatives like the Secretary of Agriculture, Alister Florent, were capable, open-minded, and active.

The Council of Viserys, including the governors of various regions, was composed entirely of talented individuals.

Having broken the backbone of the traditional aristocracy and weakened their power, the next step was to weaken the concept of the Seven Kingdoms and consolidate the concept of the unified nation.

The idea was first proposed by Intelligence Secretary Varys, who strongly advocated that the concept of the 'Seven Kingdoms' should no longer be used in official documents, including the noun itself.

Instead, they changed it to terms like 'King of Westeros' to emphasize a unified vocabulary.

However, Varys's initial views were not widely accepted, mainly due to the need for change in thinking and habits. Changing a habit sometimes takes a generation.

Now, upon hearing Oberyn's suggestion, the nobles, wealthy merchants, and representatives from all walks of life in the throne room below exchanged bewildered glances and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"The name of the country?"

What should our country be called?

"Wasn't it always called the Iron Throne?"

Some people with lower levels of education couldn't help but ask questions, but were immediately explained to them by those around them.

"Just like the 'Northern Kingdom' and 'Valley Kingdom' before they unified the seven kingdoms."

Some people offered explanations, some suddenly realized, and others, believing themselves to be quite knowledgeable, wanted to show off their abilities. After pondering for a moment, they made their suggestions.

"We can call it the Kingdom of Westeros!"

"The land beneath our feet is called Westeros, our homeland..."

However, he encountered opposition before he could finish speaking.

"Have you forgotten His Majesty's birthplace, Andalus, and Pentos beyond the seas?"

"That area is also part of the country's territory!"

“I propose that we should be called the United Kingdom of Westeros, Andalus and Pentos.”

Another person suggested this, but was immediately met with a sarcastic retort from the person who had just spoken.

"It's too long! The name you gave me is longer than my grandmother's headscarf!"

The throne room below was noisy. Viserys, sitting on the Iron Throne, tapped his fingers lightly on the cold armrest without speaking, and the senior ministers of the Council at the front were also silent.

Such an important issue would naturally not be discussed in a place like the Throne Room, which is like a hodgepodge. In fact, the Imperial Council had already reached a conclusion, and the Throne Room was just a formality.

Valyria!

Then, it was Justice Minister Oberon, who had first proposed the idea, who spoke up.

The moment he spoke, all the noise in the throne room disappeared. Although Oberon, like Rams, was not very popular, his power on the surface was still very strong, and no one dared to offend this Minister of Justice who held military power.