pertwk Chapter 117 The Lion's Mouth
Chapter 117 The Lion's Mouth
Chapter 117 The Lion's Mouth
Finding familiar things in Westeros was one of Joffrey's favorite pastimes.
"Your last name is Graves? Are you an outlaw?"
The nobleman in front of him blinked blankly.
His coat of arms is a green and white shield with a double-headed eagle depicted on it, its two heads opening in opposite directions.
It doesn't look like a shotgun at all.
The nobleman didn't understand the joke, so he could only laugh awkwardly, then lower his eyes and kneel down on one knee.
They began to repeat the oath that another nobleman had just uttered a few minutes earlier.
"I swear in the name of the old and new gods, I am willing to go to the Great Wall, and don the black robes—"
After saying that, Joffrey nodded: "You can get up now."
Graves stepped aside and stood in a row with a dozen or so other minor nobles.
"Gentlemen, you all possess noble blood, and I trust your oaths."
"Go home and prepare. We will meet in King's Landing a month from now, and then you will all head north to the Wall."
After everyone in the room had left, Joffrey leaned back and stretched lazily.
The chair he was sitting in belonged to the Duke of Metz and was almost three times the size of his buttocks; he had to use several layers of cushions to barely avoid sinking in.
"When are we leaving?" Hound leaned against the doorframe, looking impatient. "You don't want to stay in High Pavilion any longer, do you?"
"Right away, right away."
"You're just like my mom."
Cersei's letters came one after another, and the frequency increased even more after the war ended.
The content was largely the same, all urging him to return to King's Landing as soon as possible.
"The war is over, what are you still doing there? I've prepared everything needed for the ceremony, how can we hold it without you coming back?"
Of course, the letter didn't forget about the internal family struggles.
"Let me tell you, your dwarf uncle isn't exactly a good parent. I've discovered he's been taking a lot of bribes lately—"
The little devil's letter arrived at the same time.
In addition to reporting on the situation in King's Landing, he also didn't forget to launch a counterattack.
"My dear nephew, your mother is driving me crazy. Junlin has so much work that I only get four hours of sleep, and she still wants me to report on your situation every day."
"So could you make up some marching logs so I can deal with her?"
Joffrey responded with reason and evidence.
Few of the lords sent to the Great Wall were there willingly; they had to stay in the river bend for a while longer to finish what needed to be done.
Yes, that's it.
Joffrey arranged different treatments for nobles of different ranks, from high to low.
A minor baron like the Graves family, who appeared out of nowhere, had a tower, a dozen guards, and hundreds of farmers.
Sending them to the Great Wall would probably just be to make up the numbers; they wouldn't serve much purpose.
Most of the time, they would just swear an oath, hand over a hostage, pay some ransom, and then let the hostage go home.
But Graves and his friends were a bit special; they were born in a less than ideal place.
Their territory is in the North River Bend, and Joffrey wants to take it away.
The small, dilapidated castle could be left to the son; most of the land was distributed to war heroes and new farmers who had migrated from King's Landing.
If I absolutely have to give a reason...
"Your will to resist is the strongest, and you have caused great damage to the work of the Allied forces."
"Lord Ed originally intended to hang you, but His Majesty changed the punishment because of His Majesty's kindness," said the upright Sir Baron.
As for the earls in various regions, who are the main force of the rebellion, they must not be let off easily and must all be sent to the Great Wall.
Joffrey entrusted this matter to Eddard, as the honor and guarantee of the Stark family were particularly useful in this situation.
With the added national righteousness of fighting against the White Walkers, and the promise of leniency towards the family, things can basically be settled.
Not going would just give Joffrey a reason to leave.
The previous rebellion was due to obeying the lord's orders, but now it is a breach of oath and treason.
Destroying your home doesn't add any tyranny points.
However, this approach can only deal with those that are already in our hands.
Lord Paxter of the Redwyn family and his two sons fled with the entire army of Green Pavilion Island.
Joffrey sent a raven, ordering him to go to King's Landing immediately to confess his crimes, or else he would be made an example of and dealt a thunderous blow.
But in reality, there really isn't much that can be done.
Stannis has been holed up on Dragonstone for so long that he hasn't had a chance to deal with him, while the Redwyn family's fleet and army haven't suffered any losses.
The biggest challenge was getting to the island.
Let's impose an economic blockade first.
Ships from Greenwood Island are prohibited from entering or leaving any of the ports of the Iron Throne, and Redwyn's caravans are also forbidden from trading.
Drinking a few less cups of golden wine won't kill you, especially since the biggest buyer is the court of the Red Castle.
The Hightar family represents a different situation.
Old man Leighton Hightower stayed in his tower reading and never went out, while his heir, Prince Laughing, with a bad stomach, was in charge of defending the town.
The second and third sons were the ones who went to fight. Their promises were of little use, and the items sent to the Great Wall were of little value.
We can only hold onto it for now and negotiate slowly with the old town.
As for the main villain, Duke Mace Tyrell, he should have been the target of severe punishment.
But Joffrey planned to let him go, only allowing Loras to accompany Renly to the Wall, and then taking his second son, Garland the Valiant, to the Red Keep as a hostage.
The purpose of taking the head of the family away was to cause a generational change in succession among the various families, incite unrest, and take the opportunity to disrupt the River Bend.
However, after stripping Mays of his title, his eldest son, Velas, was to succeed him as duke.
Such a person with a good reputation is much more difficult to deal with than his useless father, so it's better to let Mace continue sitting.
This could also be used as leverage to force the Tyrell family to accept Joffrey's proposal.
The river bend was divided into two parts, north and south.
Matus Rowan was promoted to Duke of the East River Bay, and the princes of the upper Mande River thereafter pledged allegiance to him.
They also announced that Lord Matus, acting as an inside agent, led a Reach army into the Allied encirclement and had rendered meritorious service by surrendering the city.
As for the land confiscated in the North River Bend, it will need to wait until Joffrey returns to King's Landing and discusses it in the King's Council before it can be distributed to the allied lords.
After all, he was still in his regency, so he had to consider the feelings of his ministers.
In this way, he can hold onto the land for a longer period of time, bury the nails, and then slowly release them.
At the very least, those former proletarian workers who left King's Landing should remember who bestowed these good days upon them.
If taxes increase in the future, it will all be the fault of the new master, not the king.
However, simply issuing orders verbally or writing them down on parchment is not enough to put them into practice.
Only the White Walkers knew how badly the people below were capable of getting things done.
Cersei was right; bribery was commonplace in the North Riverlands.
The land allocation was completely unfair to the new farmers who had moved there; the difference between fertile and barren land was ridiculously large.
The qualification checks are also not standardized.
There are indeed many people in the flea-infested area who have never touched a hoe, but we can let them learn.
But who brought the disabled person here? This must be thoroughly investigated!
This matter can only be handled by Joffrey's own people.
After fighting for so long, many deserters appeared in the River Bend, and the only option was to let his men suppress them.
The military power of the local nobles cannot be returned.
Joffrey also took their armor and weapons and had no intention of returning them.
Some were given as rewards to the allied lords, and the rest were taken back to King's Landing, repaired, and then distributed to the assault teams.
Finally, we should also visit Casterly Rock.
The western border was badly injured, and it would be really inexcusable for his eldest grandson not to go and see his grandfather.
Moreover, Tywin's demands are truly outrageous; it's impossible to explain without addressing the issue face-to-face.
He wanted all the land west of the Nameless River the moment he opened his mouth.
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