The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 534: Power

(Bonus chapter, 5,500 words! A minimum of 4,000 words guaranteed daily.)

*

Desmond arrived at the Mountain's Stone Cell block in the Red Keep. The Stone Cell block leaned against the eastern city wall, leading to the White Sword Tower where the Kingsguard resided. Diagonally in front was the throne hall.

The Mountain was eating in the dining hall, with giant bowls, warm bread, various pastries, bacon soup, and thinly sliced bear meat in front of him.

The thinner the meat, the better the flavor, a refined embodiment of culinary civilization, quite different from the culture of large chunks of boiled meat gnawed upon in this world.

The Mountain tore at the warm bread. The baker was nearby, a chubby fellow named Hot Pie, a friend of Arya's.

The bread, meat, pastries, and dishes were all fresh.

The Mountain's personal chefs were the former owners of the Crossroads Inn, a family of three.

After the Crossroads Inn's landlady was hanged by Lord Lothar, her father, son, and daughter were rescued by Joryl Clegane at a critical moment and brought back to serve as the Mountain's personal chefs.

Despite this, another woman was always by the Mountain's side: Anna, the wife of the sworn sword Norris, who served as the Mountain's taster.

The taster was now useless to the Mountain. After Jayne inherited the witchcraft of the woods witch, even expensive poisons like the strangler and Tears of Lys were ineffective against the Mountain and Jayne.

However, as a duke, having a taster was a symbol of status, position, and authority. When outsiders came, having a taster standing by was also for show, lowering their guard and indicating that the Mountain and Jayne were just like ordinary people.

Like the red priestess Melisandre, the blood witch Jayne was unaffected by the deadly Tears of Lys.

Anna stood beside the Mountain, and Desmond knew at a glance that she was a taster and a maid.

Royal family members, dukes, and earls all had tasters. When the situation became turbulent, wars broke out, and the kingdom lost peace, the personal attendants of the royal family and great nobles also served as tasters.

Before Desmond arrived, the Mountain knew he was coming and the contents of the letter in his hand. Anna had been temporarily summoned to add to the Duke of the Mountain's prestige.

The Mountain's servants, maids, tasters, cooks, sword wipers, armor repairers, horse grooms… all were sworn to the Mountain, utterly loyal. Most of them had been saved by the Mountain or his men at a critical moment, and owed the Mountain a debt of rebirth.

“Your Grace,” Desmond stepped forward, respectfully.

The Mountain glanced at him, but didn't speak, continuing to eat. There was enough food in front of him for Desmond to eat for a day, and the Mountain was focused on devouring it.

The aroma of bread, vegetables, and meat filled the air, stimulating the appetite.

“Lord Redwyne has sent a letter,” Desmond said with a smile.

“The Earl has agreed to cooperate,” the Mountain tore open a loaf of bread, releasing heat and aroma. He stuffed the bread into his mouth in two bites.

Desmond smiled: “Your Grace is indeed prescient. Lord Redwyne has agreed to cooperate and instructed me to send all future wine shipments to your Dragonstone.”

“All,” the Mountain picked up a second loaf of bread, and Anna spread golden honey on it, releasing a sweet fragrance. “Ser Desmond, do you know what ‘all’ means?”

This was also Desmond's question!

All the wine?

Including the portion sold to the nine free trade city-states across the Narrow Sea?

“All means… everything.”

“Yes, everything, including the wine sold to the city-states across the Narrow Sea.”

The conditions offered by the Mountain were harmless and beneficial, and a normal person would not refuse, and Lord Redwyne would also gain a powerful ally.

Although Desmond was mentally prepared, he was still shocked.

“Don't be surprised,” the Mountain said, not hindered by the food in his mouth.

He spoke and ate at the same time, which was impolite to guests, but the Duke didn't care about being polite to a mere knight. The Mountain himself was famous for his rudeness; this was the true Mountain: “Ser Desmond, I want you to write down all the details of the merchants involved in the cooperation. I will arrange for someone to contact them and establish new rules of the game.”

“As you command, Your Grace,” what else could Desmond say? Since he was sent by House Redwyne to escort merchant ships, flexibility and adaptability were the minimum requirements.

“Oh, go to the next room, there's paper and pen there. Write down the names and addresses of all the merchants you know, their personalities, hobbies, and family situations, the more details the better. Captain Errin, take Ser Desmond there.”

Captain Errin was at the door and immediately came in.

Desmond followed Errin out of the dining hall. The Mountain said: “Ser Desmond, don't let anyone know about the cooperation between the Redwyne family and the Clegane family. Don't mention it even if Lord Mace Tyrell asks. Commercial cooperation requires secrecy.”

Desmond stopped, looking troubled: “Your Grace, if Lord Mace asks and I don't tell him, that would be deception. House Redwyne is a vassal of Lord Mace.”

“I know, I will explain it to Lord Mace. If Lord Mace asks, just say that you are not aware of the specific details of the cooperation, and you have not seen the letter I wrote to Lord Redwyne. If Lord Mace wants to know the details, he can ask me.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

In this world, people have no contractual spirit for keeping trade secrets.

Paxter Redwyne's wife was Mina Tyrell, Lord Mace Tyrell's younger sister and Lady Olenna's daughter.

Powerful nobles strengthen their family's position and power through marriage. The Arbor's wine brought huge wealth, and the naval fleet brought great military power. House Tyrell married into House Redwyne; Earl Redwyne married Lord Mace's sister, both satisfying their political needs and increasing the stability of their family's position and power. As for marital affection, nobles first consider the complementarity of interests, politics, status, and power; affection is worthless in the face of power.

The Mountain wanted to keep the cooperation with House Redwyne as secret as possible. The great nobles of the North and the Vale had the custom of drinking Arbor wine, which flowed into the Vale through Gulltown and into the North through White Harbor, forming a mature sales channel and sales network.

The Mountain hoped that when the people of the Crownlands, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Westerlands, and the North were drinking Arbor wine, they would not know that the Mountain was supplying it to them.

Business requires protecting secrets.

*

Ten days later, a meeting of the Small Council.

Hand of the King Kevan presided, and the new Master of Coin, Gyles Rosby, stood up to speak. He coughed for a while, then spat out a mouthful of phlegm, which made the Small Council feel disgusted.

Gyles was in his seventies, and in this world where centenarians were not uncommon, being in one's seventies was not considered particularly old, but Gyles looked particularly old. His cough made everyone worry that he would die at the meeting.

“My lords,” Gyles said, then coughed again. The great lords who agreed with the Hand of the King's request to have Gyles serve as Master of Coin regretted it. Anyway, they were all puppets, so why did everyone agree to this sickly old man?

Unlucky!

“There is no money in the treasury,” Gyles said, his face flushed with the sickly red caused by coughing. “It's like there's no Arbor wine in King's Landing; the situation is getting more and more serious. We need to find ways to make money. Now, for every gold dragon we collect in taxes, the state has to spend three gold dragons. Tax revenue can no longer cover the treasury's expenses. If Lord Tyrell of the Reach hadn't brought food to King's Landing, the royal family would be short of food.”

The Small Council was silent.

Gyles coughed again, and everyone could only wait for him to finish coughing and return to normal.

“The Crownlands and the Riverlands are still at war, and tax revenues are decreasing month by month. In many places, the villages are empty, and the people are flocking to King's Landing to become refugees, preferring to receive black bread relief in Cobbler's Square rather than return to farming. As refugees in King's Landing, the people can at least save their lives. Returning to the village, they might be killed by a band of soldiers. The war is seriously dragging down the kingdom's strength. We are pinning our hopes on Lord Petyr persuading the Vale to submit. The wealthy Vale can bring some income to the royal family to ease the situation, but Lord Petyr's raven messages have been cut off.” Gyles said worriedly, “My lords, the treasury's emptiness began during King Robert's reign, not caused by me, Gyles Rosby. I now need all of you to work together and help the Red Keep out of its predicament.”

“How long will the war in the Riverlands last?” The Mountain asked Mace Tyrell. “We should notify General Randyll Tarly to end the war in the Riverlands as soon as possible, so that the people of the Riverlands can return and resume production. Farmers farming, hunters hunting, fishermen fishing. The pressure on King's Landing will also be greatly reduced.”

Lord Mace said: “Randyll Tarly has already captured all the castles of the Riverlands' vassals. Currently, only Riverrun cannot be taken. Riverrun is built on a delta, surrounded by water on three sides, and the city walls are built in the river water. No side can set up siege equipment. Apart from a siege, Randyll Tarly has not yet come up with other better methods.”

“Negotiate a surrender, end the war as soon as possible. If we rely on a siege, we won't be able to take Riverrun in a year or two. The Riverlands plains were originally a granary. The grain stored in Riverrun is enough to last for several years. We can't afford to drag on with the Blackfish,” the Mountain said.

Hand of the King Kevan said: “Lord Gregor, you are the Master of War. The matter of negotiating Riverrun's surrender is entrusted to you. I want you to persuade Riverrun to surrender within a month.”

Everyone looked at the Mountain.

Hand of the King Kevan was clearly making things difficult for the Mountain!

“Lord Hand, a month is too short. It's thousands of miles from King's Landing to Riverrun, and it takes twenty days to walk there. A month is just enough time to walk from King's Landing to Riverrun. If you give me a month, then I can only give General Randyll Tarly fifteen days. If Randyll Tarly can't take Riverrun within fifteen days, he will be court-martialed. I will appoint a new commander-in-chief and give him another ten days. If he can't take Riverrun, I will kill the new commander again? If I can't take Riverrun within a month, you will court-martial me?”

Kevan's face gradually hardened: “Lord Gregor, your Red Viper and cavalry can reach Riverrun in ten days. If you march quickly, it won't take ten days.”

“Okay, I accept,” the Mountain smiled.

His wine and bank were already on the road, and he had arranged for management personnel, and was about to leave King's Landing to return to the Westerlands.

Judging from the timeline, the time for Euron to attack Lannisport was approaching. He would start by attacking the coastal cities of the Riverlands, from Eddard Stark's North to House Redwyne's Arbor, all of which would be targets of Euron's thousand warships.

Euron's powerful naval strength would pose a huge threat to maritime trade, and a new round of dynasty crisis would erupt. At the heart of the dying kingdom, Euron was preparing to strike the final blow. This was an opportunity to reshuffle the kingdom and bury the old nobles, and for new nobles to rise. The Mountain decided to help Euron push harder.

But whether it was Euron, the North, the Vale, the Crownlands, or the nobles, they still had to eat and drink wine. Across the Narrow Sea, just like King's Landing, there was no new Arbor wine flowing in.

The benefit of a monopoly is that you can hoard goods and raise prices, redefining the rules of the game. Anyway, Arbor wine earns money from great nobles and wealthy people such as governors, island kings, continental dukes, earls, wealthy merchants, and captains.

These people are at the top of the world and don't lack money!

Arbor wine used to be famous wine, and the Mountain was preparing to repackage it and create a new luxury product.

An army supported by money is not afraid of fighting! War itself is also a business to make a fortune, as long as you win!

*

Kevan said: “With Lord Gregor personally taking charge of the Riverrun war, it will definitely be taken. Let's discuss the next government affair.”

“Lord Hand, in about ten days, the Iron Bank's manager will come to King's Landing to demand repayment. If we don't repay the principal, we must at least prepare 600,000 gold coins in interest,” Lord Gyles Rosby said weakly. “Currently, there are less than 30,000 gold coins in the treasury. The King's Landing City Watch, the Royal Navy fleet, hundreds of courtiers and generals, the royal court, refugee food distribution… daily expenses are huge. Master of Ships, Commander Velaryon, is still desperately building warships and recruiting naval soldiers across the country. Should we suspend it?”

After speaking, Lord Rosby coughed again and spat.

The Kingsguard Captain, the Knight of Flowers, had returned to his post after being treated by Grand Maester Qyburn. He was a person with cleanliness obsessions, and Lord Gyles was next to him. The Knight of Flowers' furrowed brow was deep enough to plant potatoes.

Hand of the King Kevan's gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on the Mountain.

“Lord Gregor, the kingdom needs your personal help.”

“Lord Hand, please speak.”

“Can you lend the country one million gold dragons, 600,000 gold dragons to repay the Iron Bank's interest, and 400,000 gold dragons to be used as treasury expenses. As long as Lord Petyr takes the Vale and you take Riverrun, the kingdom will be stable from now on, the refugees will return to their homeland, and everything will ease. When Lord Petyr returns to King's Landing to take charge of finance, the port of King's Landing will restart its prosperity, and the royal treasury will become wealthy.”

“I don't have money, Lord Hand. The money in the bank treasury belongs to the Great Sept of Baelor. The Great Sept of Baelor only hires Clegane warriors to guard the bank vault.”

“I know, but if you come forward, it is possible for the High Septon to lend the royal family one million gold dragons.”

In the conference room, everyone's eyes turned to the Mountain.

This country is hovering on the brink of dying of poverty.

The Mountain knew this was an opportunity.

The Mountain slowly said, "Lord Hand, I can ask the High Septon for help, but a million gold dragons is no small sum. If you want me to borrow this million, you must grant me the authority to collect taxes in the kingdom and at the port of Blackwater Rush in the King's name to repay it. This is my only guarantee to the High Septon that his million gold dragons won’t be entirely lost again."

"One million gold dragons in exchange for national tax authority, until the debt is cleared?" Kevan asked.

"Yes!"

"But the kingdom currently has no taxes to collect."

"I'll find a way myself."

"You must not force the smallfolk into ruin. You must not break the law."

"I won't force anyone, Lord Hand. If you force people to death, you won't collect any money either. I would never do something so unprofitable."

"Ser Gregor, do you only feel secure when you hold the national tax authority in your hands? This way, you won't have the empty feeling of lending a million gold dragons without any collateral," Grand Maester Qyburn always provided divine assistance at the most crucial moments. His understanding with the Mountain surpassed even Littlefinger's.

"Then three million six hundred thousand gold dragons, and you have the national tax authority," Hand of the King Kevan said. "You and the High Septon can collect taxes legally in wealthy areas, and I will send professional maesters to assist with your tax collection. One-fifth of the tax revenue must flow into the royal treasury, ensuring the treasury has liquid funds coming in."

Professional maesters—they were there to monitor, to prevent the Mountain from collecting taxes arbitrarily or excessively. The tax records would be clear and transparent, each tax payment going towards repaying the loan, until the debt to the Iron Bank was cleared. Then the tax authority would automatically be revoked.

"Three million six hundred thousand gold dragons?" The Mountain looked surprised, but he was overjoyed inside. Hand of the King Kevan was practically selling the country! Putting a price of three million six hundred thousand gold dragons on the nation's authority wasn't expensive at all.

The royal debt to the Iron Bank was exactly three million six hundred thousand gold dragons, including principal and interest.

The members of the small council were all astonished, thinking that Hand of the King Kevan had gone mad! Three million six hundred thousand gold dragons was a nice thought, but to rely on taxes that couldn't even be collected to slowly repay it, with no collateral, was far too difficult.

"The kingdom has been at war for years, and collecting taxes is a difficult and thankless task. Everyone is broke. It will be too hard, too hard to recover three million six hundred thousand gold dragons in taxes," Grand Maester Qyburn sighed.

Collecting taxes was indeed too difficult, but the Mountain's sights weren't set on the taxes themselves. Through taxes, he could leverage many things. The first thing the Mountain had his eye on was the Bywater family, who owned iron ore mines in the Crownlands.

Ser Jacelyn Bywater, the commander of the City Watch who died in the Battle of the Blackwater, came from this family.

The Bywater family had mountains with iron ore. The Mountain was pondering how to approach the Bywater family, and taxes made it easy.

Nobles also hoped for tax cuts, not tax increases. When taxes were mentioned, there was no noble or smallfolk who didn't want to curry favor with the Mountain.

Once the power of taxation was in hand, the Mountain would decide whether to increase or decrease them.

The Claw peninsula also had iron ore mountains. The people of the peninsula were basically isolated from the world, self-sufficient, but their skills in smelting iron and forging weapons were not very advanced.

At that time, he could monopolize the iron ore from the Crownlands and the Claw peninsula.

Tax collection was difficult now; everyone was broke from the fighting. If taxes could be collected easily, the Hand wouldn't have put a price of three million six hundred thousand gold dragons on it.

However, after monopolizing iron ore, selling iron ore and weapons and armor could make a lot of money.

And iron ore resources were just one of many resources.

Once the Riverlands were subdued, even more resources could be controlled. Saltpans, which produced sea salt, could even be bought directly for a small sum. The local petty nobles could either cooperate, relocate, or be driven away. Otherwise, he only needed to threaten to tax them into ruin, and they would obediently submit.

The Mountain never lacked talent for doing bad things.

Power was a good thing. Using power in a flexible way required cunning and wisdom.

The Mountain was troubled. "Lord Hand, I can't agree to you outright here. I can only promise to try to talk to the High Septon. At the very least, borrowing six hundred thousand gold dragons to pay off the Iron Bank's interest is not a problem. I'll… do my best!"