Casting spells

"So you let half of the residents of King's Landing see a huge dragon flying over the city, forcing me to come and negotiate with you?"

Seeing that there were no people around who shouldn't be there, Tywin finally took off the hood that covered his face, with undisguised anger on his face.

You must know that since Reyes and Tarbeck, the two families in the western region who once mocked Lannister, were uprooted, it has been a long time since no one dared to challenge his majesty directly, let alone force him to show up by threatening.

But today, someone actually violated two taboos at the same time!

What made him even more unacceptable was that he was unable to do anything about it, and could only helplessly be led by the nose by the young man in front of him.

"Hahahaha! Please don't be angry, I just took the most effective method I think. Also, don't tell me that after you got the news that I have a dragon, you don't have any plans to get rid of me directly. But I am angry Is it? No! I don't even have a little bit of anger, because you haven't put it into action after all, have you?" Zhang Cheng laughed and put down the empty glass in his hand.

Obviously, he had expected this violent reaction long ago, but he didn't really care about it.

"What do you want?" Tywin asked with narrowed eyes.

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then quickly put on an indifferent look and shrugged his shoulders: "You might not believe me, but I don't have anything in particular that I want. Whether it's rights or wealth, It doesn't make much sense to me. If I have to give a definite answer, I think it should be knowledge. Of course, the knowledge I am referring to is not something that the bachelors in the city study, but the real thing that can be given. One's magical knowledge of supernatural powers."

"Huh! A little nobleman who lost his territory in a short period of time climbed to the current position of Earl of Bright Water City. You actually said that you are not interested in wealth and power?" Tywin obviously didn't believe these words, and let out a burst of acrimony Satire.

"No, no, no, Your Excellency, you seem to have misunderstood me. First of all, it was never my intention to ingest rights. I just wanted a little convenience to collect information about the Children of the Forest. Secondly, I respect seven The rules of the game established by the nobles of the Great Kingdom have no intention of breaking it, nor have they violated their promises. Even when the Lannis family was besieged by countless enemies, I still did what I should do as an ally Everything. In the end, please don't vent your anger towards Tyrion on me, I am not your son, and I have no obligation to listen to your complaints and vent." After finishing speaking, Zhang Cheng raised his head and looked directly at the other party's ruthless eyes. s eyes.

Tywin pinched the glass full of red wine tightly, as if trying to crush it with all his strength, he calmed down slowly after two or three minutes, and said in a low voice, "Okay, let me trust you first Not much desire for power, but what did you say to Tyrion today that caused him to ask me if I considered him a Lannister?"

"It's nothing, I just told him to figure out his identity, so as not to be kicked away every time after being used." Zhang Cheng replied with the corner of his mouth slightly raised.

"You're trying to divide my family!" Tywin roared angrily.

Zhang Cheng sneered and shook his head: "I'm afraid you know best what you think of Tyrion. I didn't try to split the Lannister family, I just hope that after your death, I don't deal with the stupid and short-sighted Cersei , nor Jaime who obeyed her. It's a pity you don't realize who is the best heir to lead the family forward."

"Who will inherit the Lannister family, you don't need to tell me what to do. I just want to know what price I need to pay to let you and your dragon stand on our side?" Tywin undoubtedly didn't plan too much When talking about your children, be straightforward and start negotiating conditions.

He also understands that if James inherits the duke position after his death, then Lannister will inevitably be controlled by Cersei, and Cersei, who lacks political wisdom, will only continue to intensify conflicts and will never be able to become a qualified ruler.

As for letting Tyrion, who was born disabled, inherit the family, it is no longer within his consideration at all. He would rather Lannister go to ruin under the leadership of Cersei than let the whole family suffer any ridicule or insult again .

Even in his eyes, even if Tyrion is only alive, it is a kind of tarnish to the family's reputation.

Sensing old Tywin's almost hating attitude towards the little devil, Zhang Cheng decisively stopped the topic, grabbed a map hanging on the wall, and pointed to the location of the southwest corner of Westeros: "I want this place!"

"Old Town?! That's the territory of the Hightower family!" Tywin frowned subconsciously.

Perhaps many people who are not familiar with the history of the Reach region simply think that the Hightower family is just one of the many vassals of the Tyrell family.

But in fact, the history of the Hightower family is far longer than that of the Tyrell family, and their financial resources are no less than that of the Tyrell family. In addition, they have the largest and most prosperous port in Westeros, as well as the capital of the Academy City. Support, they are far stronger than they appear on the surface, and the difficulty of capturing Old Town is far higher than capturing King's Landing City.

"Ah, that's right, it's the territory of the Hightower family. But don't worry, it won't be long before the ironborn will capture this place, and the direct members of the Hightower family will be slaughtered, and I will appear as the savior , to save the devastated civilians there. All you have to do is to put a layer of legality on my actions. How is it, this is not difficult for you, right?" Zhang Cheng asked with a smile on his face.

Tywin is not an idiot, he immediately understood the plan of the young man in front of him, and took a deep breath: "Aren't you afraid of arousing the hatred of the entire noble class if you are so unscrupulous?"

"Afraid? Why should I be afraid? How many nobles do you think are capable of posing a threat to me? What's more, the destruction of the old town is not because of the wealth and land I covet, but because of how the Hightower family and the Academy view magic. The hostile attitude is destined to make me and one of them fall. Do you need to pay attention to any means to deal with the enemy? I promise that after occupying the old town, I will not take any drastic actions..."

Chapter 198 Signals

There is no doubt that negotiating with the serious, stubborn, old-fashioned Tywin Lannister, full of old-fashioned aristocratic ideas, has never been easy, let alone enjoyable.

However, Zhang Cheng reluctantly reached a secret agreement with him in the end. As for the content, except for the two parties, no third party knew about it.

But early the next morning, he got a piece of paper with the royal seal and Joffrey's signature. As long as he wrote the corresponding content, it would immediately become a document with legal effect, covering the old town of dispatching troops with a layer of "" "Legal", at least on the surface.

Of course, there is a price to be paid for everything, especially such a piece that countless nobles are eager to get.

And the price Zhang Cheng has to pay is marriage, a marriage contract that has been delayed for a long time and has not yet been fulfilled.

According to the secret agreement, he must marry Eero Tyrell before the king's wedding, making him the legal wife of Mason Asprin.

To put it simply, the old aristocratic forces headed by Tywin and Olenna are eager to put a rein on Zhang Cheng's neck through a series of things they think can produce strong binding force, such as feelings, family, and heirs, and then use This rein firmly binds it to its own interests.

It has to be said that if it were another person, their strategy would have a high probability of success.

After all, not all men are cold enough to ignore a young, beautiful, gentle, and noble wife. As long as the two live together long enough, even a piece of ice will slowly melt.

It is a pity that Zhang Cheng's indifference is completely different from the ordinary indifference. From the beginning to the end, he has no idea of ​​integrating into this world, and he does not even regard the people in this world as his own kind.

Although he himself is not quite sure whether this weird state of mind is derived from the self-protection deep in the subconscious, or whether the brain forcibly distorts the perception of the outside world in order to alleviate the strong sense of guilt brought about by the killing. This unusual mentality allowed him to avoid many unnecessary troubles, such as the conflict of morality, world outlook and values, and the attitude towards death...

Just a few hours before the wedding in King's Landing was about to start, far away in the southwest corner of the continent of Westeros, a large fleet had been quietly docked on the sea for many days.

As the commander of the fleet, Victarion Greyjoy was anxiously awaiting the signal.

It must be known that in order to hide their whereabouts as much as possible, the ironborn under him have not stopped at the port for supplies for a long time. Whether it is food, fresh water or wine, there is only less than three days left.

If there is no signal to attack within three days, the fleet that has been put together with great difficulty will fall apart in an instant, and the ironmen, who have always put survival first, will loot every village and port in the surrounding area to satisfy their opponents. Food and fresh water needs.

Once this kind of looting starts, within a few hours at most, the lords of the Shield Islands will get the news, and the sneak attack on Old Town has become an impossible goal.

"Damn!"

As soon as he thought that his grand plan and hegemony would be ruined, Victarion couldn't hold back the anger in his heart, and he raised his fist and slammed the table hard.

Although the poor guy didn't know it at all, the strong obsession with Old Town in his mind was not his own intention at all, but implanted by that charming pocket watch.

"Captain! Waiting like this is not an option! Why don't we withdraw one after another and go to the territory of the Lannister family to loot. I heard that gold is produced in the western region, so we don't need to keep an eye on Old Town." The first officer suggested in a low voice.

He could feel that as food and drinking water became less and less, the entire fleet was like a volcano about to erupt, and a rebellion might break out at any time.

The only way to calm down the Ironborn who had accumulated a lot of resentment and anger was to find a target to rob. As long as a successful robbery was made, everyone would calm down again and obey the fleet commander's orders.

"No! No! You don't understand! We only have one chance! I will never allow the chance to slip through my fingers!" Victarion shook his head vigorously, followed by instructions without looking back: " Go! Send someone to see if there's no sign of an attack yet?"

"Oh, it's the same after watching it a hundred times..." Da Dawei sighed helplessly.

But before he could turn around and leave the captain's room, a young sailor hurried over, shouting as he ran: "Captain! Captain! There is a signal! A ray of blue sky appeared in the southeast direction. cigarette!"

"What?!" Victarion grabbed the binoculars violently, rushed to the deck in two or three steps, raised it up and looked into the distance, and sure enough, he saw a wisp of blue smoke rising from the direction of the Shield Islands.

Overjoyed, he didn't hesitate at all, and roared at the top of his voice, "Height anchor! Raise the sails! Order all captains to follow the flagship! Today, I will lead you to loot the richest port city on this continent—Old Town! People of the Iron Islands! Show your courage and ferocity! Let the enemy see who is the master of the sea!"

"OOOOO!!!!!! LONG LIVE CAPTAIN IRON!"

"Damn it! I'm going crazy!"

"Quick, quick! Don't fucking dawdle! Or you won't be able to share the spoils for a while!"

……

All of a sudden, all kinds of shouts, curses, and cheers were heard, and every ironman began to work hard to control the warship, and followed the route arranged by Zhang Cheng, bypassing the surveillance of the Shield Islands and heading straight for the old town.

They didn't realize at all that just over a dozen nautical miles away, two fleets of the same size were fighting fiercely. One of them was the lord of the Shield Islands and the Hightower family, and the other was a motley crew composed of countless pirates. fleet.