The king on the Great Wall

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Chapter 144 Undercurrent

The prime minister's office was broken into without warning, and the guards at the gate did not stop the visitor. Is it a loss of vigilance or a sense of responsibility?

Ed didn't have time to feel puzzled or angry about this. As soon as he raised his head, he stood up from his chair in shock: "Your Majesty, why...why are you back? I heard people say in the morning that you won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest .”

"Forget it, I've been riding a horse all day. What kind of mind do I have to hang around on the King's Road, hunting and picking up girls while I'm driving?" Robert walked to the opposite side of the Prime Minister's desk, and pulled He opened the chair and sat down: "In order to get back quickly, I didn't even deal with that crazy bitch Lysa. I just drove her back to Riverrun and started on my way."

"Your Majesty, after all, Lysa is involved in Jon Arryn's death, so...isn't it too hasty?"

"Okay, Barristan has annoyed me to death, can you stop the meeting!" Robert slapped the table angrily: "It's fine for others, but it's your sister-in-law after all, what do you think of me? Hang her, or cut off her head and stick it on the point of a spear outside the Red Keep? Why don't you have a bottle of wine here?"

"I drink water as if I'm thirsty. Alcohol will dull my brain." Ed sighed, took out the kettle from under the table, poured a glass and handed it to Robert, and then sat back in the chair: "I don't mean that Le What kind of punishment Sha received, the key lies in the attitude she must have, and send her back to her natal family without any treatment? This is also..."

"Seven Gods... I haven't drank white water for more than ten years!" Robert took the cup and drank it down. His throat still felt thirsty, but he didn't want to drink any more tasteless liquid in his mouth, so he had to put down the cup: " The three children with my surname are about to belong to someone else's family. Do you think it's appropriate for me to argue with you about how to deal with Lysa now! Stop talking nonsense and tell me, the rumors that are raging in the city are in the end. what's going on?"

"It was the pimps and doorkeepers of the brothel originally owned by Littlefinger who spread the rumors, and the instigator was none other than the owner of the brothel, Petyr Baelish, the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer who has defected..."

"Don't mention what has already been reported in the letter, what I want is the results of the investigation!"

"Investigation results?" Eddard Stark raised his head, stared deeply at the king in front of him who was like a brother to him and had known him for nearly 30 years, and leaned on the back of the chair with his arms folded. "Robert, what kind of findings do you want?"

"What kind of investigation results do I want?" Robert stared at Ed for a while, his face flushed: "I want to know how true the rumors are, and whether Cersei had sex with James. Is Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen my children after the bastard thing! Is it clear enough to ask?"

"It's clear enough. Unfortunately, the answer I gave is that I don't know." Ed also said with a stern face: "I hate kingslayers and I never hide it. You know this well. I advised you at the beginning Send him to the Great Wall, but even so, I will not tell lies against my conscience. Now I can only... tell you what happened after the investigation, and what to do next, it is up to you Decide for yourself, what do you think?"

Robert pursed his lips, and his chest heaved violently. As a man, how many things can be more embarrassing than letting others investigate his cuckold and his fatherhood? But as a king, he must be cautious in this matter Well, this is an internal scandal in the royal family, but it is impossible to put all the burden on the prime minister's shoulders.

Resisting the urge to explode, Robert said, "Speak, I'll listen."

Ed raised his eyes to look at his old friend, and found that Robert was in a very sober and rational state at the moment... That's not bad, if he had been like this, the Seven Kingdoms wouldn't be in the chaos they are today.

"The spreaders of the rumors were indeed caught. In order to prevent the two accused parties from taking advantage of their power and wealth, I made a report on the whole process from committing the crime to being caught. A detailed investigation. In the end, it was found that these people were not framed, but... their arrest was actually intervened by Tyrion Lannister." Ed took out a booklet from the drawer, turned to one of the pages, and prevented There are omissions in his own statement: "Of course, this does not mean anything. If Tyrion is afraid that his brothers and sisters will be involved in an accident, and then enthusiastically participates in the investigation of the rumors, it makes perfect sense. I am not making any speculations, only discussing Facts, specific circumstances are for His Majesty to judge."

"Well, keep talking."

"Speaking of which, there is one thing I must confess to Your Majesty. When you went north to Winterfell and invited me to go south to serve as Prime Minister, Caitlin and I received a secret letter from Lysa, which claimed that Jon Eyre Lin was murdered by the Lannister family. Thinking about it now, it was probably instigated by Littlefinger... From this point of view, Petyr has been secretly carrying out various actions against the Lannister family." Ed Said: "In this case, it makes sense for him to tell his subordinates to spread the note before he defected on this trip. Based on the comprehensive analysis, my judgment is that although the purpose is unknown, this rumor was indeed fabricated by Littlefinger. , there is no doubt about this one.”

This is good news, Robert nodded, his face brightened: "However, finding the spreader of the rumor does not mean that the rumor is completely fictional, and there is no causal relationship here. I want facts to prove it is true Fake!"

How long has it been since I heard such organized and logical words from Robert?Ed couldn't remember it, and he didn't start to think until such an incident that endangered the country and the things behind him happened, and he didn't know whether he should feel sad. Ed shook his head and shook these thoughts out of his head, and continued: "I think so too Yes, so—then I conducted an investigation, and this investigation, I found the problem."

Robert's eyes widened at once: "What's the problem?"

"There are too many Lannisters in King's Landing." Ed shook his head and said, "If you don't count the city guard, the guards of the Lannisters are more powerful than the Starks and Baratheons. It adds up to more."

"The City Guard can be regarded as the army of the Baratheon family, Ned." Robert frowned. Now that the Baratheon family in King's Landing City has been divided, it will gradually become two branches, but at least for now, they are still one family."

"Really, I doubt it. The commander of the garrison, Janos Slynt, as far as I know, is a man who has an eye for money and will do anything for the golden dragon..."

"I know what he is like better than you, Ned." Robert shook his head and interrupted Ed. "He is a bastard, but he is absolutely loyal to me, and I will give him everything, as long as I don't He can't fall to the Lannisters, please believe me. It's true that I drink and have sex with women every day, but I'm very clear-headed when it comes to matters related to my life!"

"Okay." Ed raised his hand to signal to stop this topic: "We will not continue this topic. Let's assume that in the worst case, when something happens in King's Landing, we can control the situation by force. Alright, now we start Let’s go after the truth, here comes the question again, how to go after the truth?”

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Chapter 145 The Nervous Cuckold King

"You are the Prime Minister, you ask me everything, why do you need me?" Robert's face was almost purple, if it wasn't for Eddard Stark, his good brother and Lord of the North sitting opposite him, He was afraid that he had already thrown something in the other's face: "Check, ask! As long as you can find out when and where that woman and his brother were together, and see if the frequency and length of time are normal, you can get closer to the truth." gone?"

"I thought about going with me, but the problem just now hasn't been resolved yet—there are many Lannisters in King's Landing, not just soldiers. Now, one-third of the servants in the entire Red Castle are Lannisters. Arranged, and the queen is surrounded by her people. How should I check—arrest the queen’s people and ask them if they have seen the two of them having an affair?” Ed asked bluntly: “The trouble doesn’t stop there, One-third of the one I just said belonged to the Lannister family, and it was only those who had the surname Lannister on the surface and who swore allegiance to them, plus those who seemed to not belong to them, but actually secretly accepted Lannis The special family's money is doing things for them or following them... I'm afraid there are more than that."

Robert's hands on the table were clenched into fists, and he wanted to growl and vent, but his brain, which hadn't been paralyzed by alcohol for most of the day, finally realized one thing clearly: Ed had nothing to do with this embarrassing situation , All caused by my own laziness and carelessness.

The royal family's finances have always been tight, and they have always been maintained at a level where they can repay the iron treasury loan on time. Under such circumstances, the queen said that there are too few people serving and obeying orders around him, and the demand increases. What else can he do?Of course, she acquiesced in bringing people from her own home to King's Landing and stuffing them into the Red Castle.In this small royal residence, half of the attendants do not receive salary from the royal family. He used to feel complacent about it, but now he realizes that he seems to have cheated himself!

……

"Under such circumstances, not only will I not be able to conduct the investigation smoothly, but I'm afraid that every move will be clearly grasped by the queen. You came back today and went straight to the Prime Minister's Tower without even seeing the queen. Maybe she is also at this moment. Got it!" Ed said worriedly, "It's impossible for me to have a direct conflict with Cersei because of rumors about a defected nobleman, so I can only find those irrelevant people on the periphery to make indirect investigations. After a period of visits and inquiries, I One conclusion was reached: that the queen and her brother were indeed very close, and often got together. Apart from this, there is no further evidence to prove their innocence or guilt."

"Heh..." Robert's face has turned from purple to black: "Yes, Cersei and James have been 'close since childhood'. Countless people have whispered this sentence in my ears, and I have always believed it to be true. Now that I think about it , It’s just a shield. It’s understandable that we had a good relationship when we were young. Now we’re all adults in their 30s. How can we talk to each other every day? Do you know that the old guy Tywin has expressed his willingness to empty the royal family more than once? Debt to the Lannister family, in exchange for me expelling Jaime from the Kingsguard and returning to Casterly Rock. I agreed, but the Kingslayer boy himself did not agree - he said that if he put on a white robe, he would guard him for life King! Hahaha... What a dedicated Kingsguard, I was so moved!"

"From a legal point of view, what he said is correct, and you can't doubt the truth of the rumor because of it. In your own words just now, there is no causal relationship in it—"

"Then there is one more thing. This time I went to the Valley to suppress the rebellion. That bitch Cersei came to me and said, I can do whatever I want there, as long as James stays with her in King's Landing. How can this be explained?"

"Do you need an explanation? It's dangerous to go to the battlefield. The queen wants to protect her younger brother. What's wrong?" Iger has a headache. Now that he is shouldering the duties of the prime minister, he has no time to listen to people and complain, even if the object is the king. : "Robert, you are here to ask me about the situation. Why did I justify the queen? From your tone, you have already confirmed that the rumors are true? Then I will not talk about the results of other investigations, you can directly Tell me how you plan to deal with this matter, and I will execute it."

……

"Ah— Ed, you bloody Yankee, don't you see that, I don't care about that bitch Cersei, I care about my child, my heir!" Robert finally growled, though I tried my best to keep the volume down, but the voice was easily transmitted outside the door: "She likes to be with her brother, let them go back to Casterly Rock and be intimate, but if Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are not mine. Then, boy, I'm going to chop off all their heads, put pitch on them, and put them on the points of the guns, do you understand?"

Ed shuddered behind his back: "Keep your voice down, Robert, you don't have any evidence yet! Talking about such nonsense, do you want to be the second mad king!"

"I killed the man who committed adultery with my wife and the evil spawn they made. What does this have to do with the Mad King?"

***

Ed stared at Robert for a moment, then realized he was thinking about it.

Although Robert didn't drink today, as the person involved, it is impossible for him to be truly calm now.I tried to "only discuss the facts, and the specific situation is for His Majesty to judge for himself", but facing the double blow of the green hat and the father, Robert couldn't make his own judgment normally!

Asking himself, Ed has gradually begun to feel that the rumors may be true, but in the face of Robert, who looks like him now, how dare he say what he really thinks in his heart?

He recalled Rhaegar's children, Lord Tywin wrapping the corpses in the red cloaks of his guards and placing them under the Iron Throne the day the Dragon Dynasty fell.It was quite clever to do so, wrapped in a red cloth, the bloodstains would be less obvious—Little princess Rhaenys Targaryen was only three years old when she died, barefoot and wearing pajamas, she was dragged out from under the bed and stabbed several times Ten knives; and the little prince Aegon, who was still a baby, was caught by the Mountain and smashed his head against the wall. He was smashed to pieces, almost invisible...

Similar things cannot be allowed to happen again-the kingdom cannot have a second irrational and insane king, let alone another bloody storm full of hatred.Ed closed the small notebook in his hand. Although there are more investigation results, he can't go on. He has to go against his will today and sing against Robert to prevent the situation from getting out of control.

***

"Whether the three children belong to you or not, shouldn't you know the best?" Ed crossed his hands and put his fists under his chin: "Don't tell me that you have been so drunk every day for so many years that you are so drunk in your own eyes. I don’t even remember whether the queen had intercourse with her several times before she became pregnant?!”

Robert fell silent under the Prime Minister's questioning, and sat there trembling, the fierce light in his eyes gradually extinguished.

Ed looked at his expression, and his face twitched: I just asked a question out of worry to change the subject, could it be that I was right, my brother, is he really so confused?

"Joffrey looks a lot like James."

"If the child looks like his uncle, he should be beheaded. Girls with brothers in the world will not have children." It is indeed very similar, but Ed dare not agree with Robert: "Even if the rumor is true, you can't just Come to a conclusion by thinking, understand! Answer my question just now, do you remember the situation before Cersei was pregnant a few times?"

It was a relief that the Prime Minister's words barely reassured the king: "I don't remember much, but what is certain is that I slept with Cersei before she was pregnant with three children. But... I often drink this damn wine in a daze, and when I wake up, I only remember that I really had a good time the night before, as for who fucked, how I fucked, and where I ejaculated in the end, I don’t remember at all!"

Brunette, brunette, brunette.Ed was thinking silently—the most important clue and evidence. He looked at his brother's neurotic appearance at the moment, but he dared not say it: Every illegitimate child of Robert's hair is as black as ink... To be more specific, no matter Whether it was a Baratheon man who married a Lannister woman, or a Baratheon woman who married Casterly Rock, all the children born would have black hair.Going back in the historical records of yellowing, more than a dozen children have proved with their own hair: when golden yellow meets carbon black, there is always only submission.

"Since you can't remember clearly, then calm down, don't think about chopping off someone's head and pouring asphalt on it." Ed sighed, and it felt uncomfortable to tell a lie: "It's just a rumor, after investigation Before, it cannot be used as a basis for taking any action. What Littlefinger wants is revenge, which is the civil strife in the Seven Kingdoms, and we cannot let him do so! If you don’t know what to do now, then listen to my advice, how Sample?"

"Say."

"I have no way to prove whether the three children are yours, but at least, I can ensure that your child ascends to the throne." Ed thought of Joffrey, this is not a good boy...but his younger siblings are innocent, It was really hard for him to imagine Myrcella with dozens of knives in her body or Tommen's head smashed to pieces. "Take care of yourself first—replace the masters in the kitchen and the servants with someone absolutely trustworthy, take Barristan and the rest of the Kingsguard with you wherever you go, and take control of the King's Landing garrison...and keep the situation steady Finally, control Cersei and Jaime, and ask them face to face."

"Will they admit it?"

"If you admit it, then of course everything will come to light, but if you don't admit it, we have other options." Ed frowned tightly, "under house arrest, we can have another child with her. If the child is blond, it means The rumors are fiction, if the child is really black hair... This cannot prove that the first three are not your children, but at least this one must be yours. You can declare that this child will inherit the kingdom, if you really don't want the descendants of the Lannister family Rule Westeros, and get back your illegitimate son from the people, legalized as heir."

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Chapter 146 Mad Dog Bites People——Don't let go

The herald who received the red envelope answered all questions, and Iger quickly learned from him the outcome of the Gudi counter-insurgency war.

Lysa Tully, who was hiding in the Eagle's Nest City, finally went down the mountain, but to the surprise of most people, she was not severely punished as imagined, but was only forced to return to her natal home in Riverrun, where her son "beautiful" "Bing" stayed in the valley, and was raised and educated by a group of nobles including Sir Blackfish appointed by King Robert.

After thinking about it for a while, Iger understood the reason why things ended like this: Since the founders of the Alliance of the Righteous had already been sent to the Great Wall, wouldn't it be a slap in the face to deal with Lysa Tully?Robert is holding on to his mouth now—even if Littlefinger escapes, even if everyone knows that Lysa murdered her husband is a certainty, as long as the ruler insists that he is suppressing the rebellion for his vassals and pretends that he has not heard the rumors, that will happen. It can only end like this.

The world under the feudal lord system does not need axioms and justice, but only peace and stability.

***

Iger doesn't care about how Lysa will be treated when she returns to her hometown. He is annoyed and nervous now.

What's annoying is—Lysa Tully, a crazy bitch, provoked the Vale counter-insurgency war and wasted two months of his time. Why couldn't he drag Robert under the Eagle's Nest for a longer time after the war? !

What is tense is—to what extent Ed has investigated the "rumors", has Cersei made a plan to kill Robert, and whether the latter has heard the news, and what plans to deal with... These questions, in this situation The self outside the Red Castle knew nothing at the moment.

I want to collect information, but I am powerless; I don’t dare to intervene in this matter... After returning to King’s Landing, I have been busy these few days to re-acquaint myself with controlling the night watchman industry, and now I have started preparations for the establishment of the Houguan Town stronghold. I hope that I can have some time to develop, but now I have a vague premonition: I may not be able to achieve my wish.

When Robert, the cuckolded king who likes to be a father, comes back, will he be confused, ignore the rumors and continue to live his absurd life, or rise up, kill every Lannister in King's Landing and launch a confrontation? Tywin's war, or was Cersei looking for an opportunity to kill it, leading to chaos in the world like the original story?

No matter which side strikes first and wins, he will be the loser. Only by trying to prevent the two sides from conflicting, can his plan continue smoothly.

After sending the herald away, Iger stood up, paced a few steps in the office unconsciously, pushed open the door leading to the backyard, and walked in.

……

Arya had just finished practicing with Jaqen, and was arguing with "Akun" with a flushed face. When she saw Iger coming in, she immediately smiled and shouted excitedly: "Master, do you want to come too?"

"No, I just came out to get some air, you guys continue." Iger smiled and shook his head, why did he go into the backyard by himself?It's impossible for Arya to help herself solve the big trouble at the moment, and she can only really breathe.

When he just heard the rumors from Tyrion a few days ago, he once wanted to indirectly tell her Prime Minister’s father through Arya that “hair color has nothing to do with whether he is biological or not”, but look at the innocent and innocent appearance of the girl, Also think about the almost zero level of research in biology and genetics in Westeros.Iger feels that no matter what he does, it may be counterproductive, and he may accidentally put himself in it.

Turning around the backyard, Iger recalled the previous two successful experiences of solving problems by taking risks: After Bran fell from the building, he falsely accused the Stark family that the prince rescued Tyrion, and threw a few notes to force the seven to leave. Petyr Baelish, the country's biggest shit-stirrer...

This time, can I diverge my thinking and rely on unconventional methods to survive the crisis?

After thinking wildly for a while, Iger came up with a crazy idea: Or, set up a trick to pretend to "kidnap" Arya and make her disappear for a few days, so that this big event can attract all of Ed's energy and let him Unintentionally investigating rumors, procrastinating for a while?

After thinking about it a little bit, Iger quickly killed the idea.Even if the status and influence have improved, there is still a big difference between "boldly trying" and "death".Cersei and Jaime's adulterous affair is exposed, and the worst result that can be caused is war among the Seven Kingdoms, delaying the development of the Night Watchman industry... But if you use your brains, it will be a matter of losing your head.

"Master!" The girl's crisp cry brought Iger back to reality from his thoughts, and Arya looked at him with his arms akimbo: "Can you stop circling around there? I don't even have the time to practice swords with Akun!"

"Well, have you taught the master a lesson? I am training your ability to 'maintain concentration in battle'. Do you think that after learning the sword, all enemies will fight you one-on-one? ?” Ai Geqiang made a relaxed expression: “Continue to practice, leave me alone!”

……

Distraught for a while by the news of Robert's imminent return to King's Landing, he finally gritted his teeth and decided to start considering the worst possible outcomes.He pushed the door back to the office, sat back in his chair, thought for a while, and began to give orders.

"Nina, help me arrange someone to go to Dragonstone Island, and that..." After thinking for a while, he realized that he didn't know the name, so he could only change his words: "Call back the boy who managed the obsidian mine for me, He has done a good job, and I am going to let him lead the team to Houguan Town and preside over the reconstruction there for me."

"Yes, my lord, his name is Yam."

Yam... He might not be happy to run so far, but there is no way, there are too few people available: "Also, go to contact Lord Renly Baratheon's subordinate attendants, I want to take the time to visit, since I have sold the technology to the Reach and Dorne, the remaining countries should also be sent to my door."

"My lord, don't you try to discuss a joint venture? Don't mention anything else, the northern border, the riverlands, and the valley... especially the market in the western border is still very likely to be occupied by us."

"No, we need cash now." Nina's thinking made sense, but the turmoil was imminent, and it was too late to plan for such a long-term: "Let's do it now, the sooner the better."

"En." Nina nodded in agreement, but stood still, bit her lip and hesitated for a while, and finally held back from asking about her brother. "Understood, I'll arrange it now."

***

Neil sat on the dirty straw pile in the corner of the cell, full of thoughts.

Apart from being pushed and shoved a few times when he came in, he didn't suffer much, but Neil didn't feel happy about it. He knew why he was caught in—letting his family members take him in, to put it mildly, it wasn't just Want Nina to trade herself?

I have long heard that Janos Slynt is arrogant and unscrupulous in King's Landing, but I didn't expect to exaggerate to this extent.This guy must know that Nina and Tyrion have a good relationship, but he still dares to do it. Does this mean he doesn't care about Lannister?

Well, Tyrion can't represent Lannister, his sister queen and brother Kingsguard can.I just don't know... Will he ask the queen for help because of a commoner subordinate?

The guard's footsteps came from outside the cell, followed by the sound of the key unlocking. Which unlucky guy was locked in again?

Looking up, he saw only one guard: "Stand up, you can go."

So fast?Neil was surprised and angry: "Where is my sister? Is she here!"

"What about your sister, you have a lot of face, Lord Renly sent someone to get you, don't talk nonsense, come out quickly, don't you think you haven't squatted enough!"

"Lord Renly?" Neil was at a loss, "What Lord Renly?"

"The king's brother! Lord Renly Baratheon!" the guard said impatiently, "Hurry up, our commander is waiting for you at the door."

Soon, Neil saw the commander of the garrison coveting his sister again, and he looked very unhappy.

"Neil, right? What happened in the morning is probably due to some misunderstanding between my subordinates and you. You can go now." Janos Slynt said in a nonchalant tone: "Go back and tell the chief Mr. Logistics Officer, I admire him for his skills. But he used the garrison house to open the night watchman office. It was useless before, so I can lend it to him. Now, I want this facade to come in handy , ask him to pack up and move out as soon as possible."

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Chapter 147 Kill him!

Iger finally understands what it means to be "the king of Hades is easy to see, but the little ghost is hard to deal with".His original plan was to wait for Neil to be released and then take the initiative to visit the defense team, apologize and admit his cowardice, and then give some benefits to try to resolve this conflict—who would have thought that the other party had no intention of resolving the conflict, and even Continue to move without taking a breath?

Repossess the house?Theoretically speaking, as long as the garrison has a legitimate reason, Slynt really has this power as the commander, but would Iger be afraid of this move?

The house belongs to the garrison, but the garrison only uses the assets of the Iron Throne, so, in the final analysis, the house belongs to the king.Whether it is the king or the prime minister who entrusts the power of the king, Aiger knows them all.

***

"Look at the office today. I'll go to the Red Fort and find someone to buy the property rights of the office at a price higher than the market price. Let's see what he can do next."

Nina looked worried: "My lord, although this temporarily solves the problem, but confronting the defense team like this...isn't very good."