The Mountain of Ice and Fire

So fast?

Mountain gave Commander Vinson three days to take the Lorath city-state nearest to here.

Now, only a little more than half a day and one night have passed.

Mountain took the letter from a maester's hand, unfolded it, and there was only one sentence on it: "Reporting to His Majesty Ser Gregor Clegane, the Dragon Knight King: The Lorath city-state submits!" The signature was Vinson and all naval officers and men.

All naval officers and men?

Vinson did not lead the entire navy into battle, but chose the fastest longships.

The force was not large, only about one-third of the entire Braavosi navy.

Mountain did not specifically summon the remaining two-thirds, but waited for Commander Vinson to conquer Lorath before receiving the navy and rewarding and promoting the officers and men.

In Braavos, there is only a professional navy, no professional army.

After Mountain captured Braavos, he turned all of Braavos' less than ten thousand mercenaries into a professional army.

This was enthusiastically supported by the mercenaries.

Mountain handed the letter to Daenerys: "Your Majesty, Lorath has declared its surrender."

Daenerys was surprised. Commander Vinson had taken Lorath so quickly? She took the letter and looked at it, saying, "Commander Vinson should still be at sea. In such a short time, he may not have even entered Lorath's waters."

"My Lord Hand, what do you think about Commander Vinson not yet arriving in Lorath, but Lorath already declaring its surrender?" Mountain asked Tyrion Lannister.

Tyrion Lannister stepped forward, bowed to Daenerys, and said, "Your Majesty, may I see the letter?"

Daenerys looked at her former Hand and handed the letter to Tyrion Lannister.

The Imp took the letter and glanced at it: "Your Majesty, the fastest longship would still need a day and a night to enter Lorath's port city. The fact that Commander Vinson's letter could be sent back in such a short time can only mean that he sent out a raven when he set off, persuading the three princes of Lorath to submit to His Majesty."

"Your Majesty, a raven flying to Lorath, not by sea, but directly along the coastline, would only take about two hours," a maester offered.

Mountain said, "In that case, the governors of Lorath received the letter of surrender and immediately persuaded the three princes to write back together, and they chose to surrender."

"Your Majesty, the credit for conquering Lorath does not belong to Commander Vinson. It seems that it is Your Majesty's and Her Majesty's dragon might that has had a good influence. We can take this opportunity to write letters of surrender to the remaining six Free Cities and see which cities can be conquered without a fight," the Imp suggested.

"Good, you and the maesters will do it immediately, and persuade the six major city-states of Myr, Tyrosh, Lys, Norvos, Qohor, and Volantis to surrender," Mountain ordered.

The Dragon Mother now belongs to Mountain's power. The pyromancers' guild in King's Landing is still manufacturing wildfire bombs for Mountain, and Weapons Master Tobho Mott and Duke Gendry Baratheon are still manufacturing cannons for Mountain. Mountain's current power is unmatched and unstoppable.

The nine Free Cities already deeply respected Daenerys and sent troops to assist her. Even she herself and her dragons belong to Mountain's power. What courage and force do the governors of the Free Cities have to resist Mountain's conquest?

The Imp believes that Mountain does not need to send troops to attack the remaining six Free Cities, just like the Lorath city-state. He only needs to send a letter of surrender stating that the Dragon Mother has surrendered to His Majesty Ser Gregor Clegane, the Dragon Knight King, and those governors and princes will inevitably have to kneel and surrender, with no other choice.

The Imp said, "Your Majesty, I will immediately send letters of surrender to the six cities with the maesters, but before that, I have a small proposal."

"Speak!"

"I implore Your Majesty to rename the Sea Palace to the Governor's Mansion, and allocate financial resources to build military defenses on the Iron Bank island, watchtowers, barracks, defensive walls, cavalry and infantry, archers, spearmen, and swordsmen, to turn the Iron Bank island into a military stronghold, and cautiously and solemnly send the most trustworthy, loyal, and brave general to garrison the Iron Bank."

The Imp's words coincided with Mountain's inner thoughts.

The Imp's proposal to rename the Sea Palace to the Governor's Mansion pleased him even more.

The Imp indeed possesses wisdom in politics and management that ordinary people cannot match.

With General Ian and General Steven Clegane present, the Imp bluntly stated that Mountain should send the most trustworthy, loyal, and brave general to garrison the Iron Bank island. The soldiers currently garrisoning the Iron Bank island are precisely from the troops of General Ian and General Steven Clegane.

The Imp's subtext is that he does not fully trust General Ian and General Steven, and he hopes that Mountain can send the most loyal general from the Clegane army who has already experienced the most severe life-and-death tests.

Ian is the leader of a newly surrendered mercenary legion from the East, and Steven Clegane was formerly a notorious pirate from the Stepstones.

However, the Imp knows very little about Mountain's ability to turn the most brutal, barbaric, violent, bloody, and wild rogue bandits and pirate leaders into confidants in the shortest possible time.

This is Mountain's unique talent.

He is born with the ability to attract the loyalty of the most bloody and brutal guys and can persuade them to risk their lives for him with a few words.

However, the wealth of the Iron Bank is too great. It is a huge fortune that is enough to distort the souls of most people, and one must have sufficiently loyal people to be more at ease.

Even if the trusted soldiers of Ian and Steven are not replaced, the officers supervising those soldiers must have at least one who is a die-hard general from Mountain's Clegane army.

"Good, I agree to your proposal. When General Vinson brings back the three surrendered Lorath princes, I will convene a political affairs conference and change the Sea Palace to the Governor's Mansion. Braavos will never have a Sea Lord again, only a Governor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for adopting my opinion," said Tyrion Lannister, the Imp. "Your Majesty, I have another small proposal."

"What proposal?"

"I suggest that the Braavos Governor's Mansion and the House of Black and White establish a deeper internal connection."

"Oh? What internal connection? How to establish it?"

Mountain was very interested in this proposal.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that the Governor's Mansion be responsible for the construction and repair costs of the House of Black and White, and regularly allocate funds to the House of Black and White as funding to support the training of Faceless Men. Provide official support to the House of Black and White in terms of living materials, student recruitment, and the establishment of branches, and may consider allowing the House of Black and White to join the construction of the Clegane Bank and absorb the House of Black and White as an important shareholder of the Clegane paper money bank."

This proposal is also very good. In fact, it is tying the House of Black and White to the Braavos Governor's chariot, similar to the alliance between the House of Black and White and the Iron Bank and the Sea Palace. But this alliance is different. It is not an alliance in the sense of faith, but the addition of economic and trade ties.

The House of Black and White also has its own secret investments and industries on the market.

And when Mountain opens Clegane paper money banks all over the world, becoming a shareholder of the Clegane paper money bank is indeed the most profitable and best business.

This is also Tyrion representing Mountain's royal power showing goodwill to the House of Black and White.

The House of Black and White, the most powerful and top assassin organization in the world!

"All agreed," Mountain said very simply.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Imp said, pressing his right hand on his left chest and bowing slightly.

"Why is the Lord Hand so solemn? Your proposal is very good, you don't need to thank me."

"I am very grateful for Your Majesty's trust in me," said the Imp. There was one thing the Imp didn't say. His tragic experience in Braavos' most remote Exeter was finally helped by the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White, so he was able to appear here neatly dressed.

The Faceless Men also told him that Braavos had been taken by His Majesty King Mountain, and he hoped that Lord Tyrion could return to be the Governor of Braavos.

When the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White appeared in Exeter, their prestige in the barbaric, poor, and backward Exeter exceeded the Imp's imagination. If he hadn't experienced it personally, he wouldn't have believed that an ordinary Faceless Man's influence in Braavos was comparable to that of the Sea Lord.

Tyrion Lannister was full of goodwill and gratitude towards the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White, which made him realize that to be a good Governor of Braavos, he very much needed the support of the House of Black and White. The best way to get the support of the House of Black and White is to turn the House of Black and White into their own people, into an overall with aligned interests.

The Imp's idea needed the approval of His Majesty the King to be implemented.

The Imp put it forward, and Mountain immediately agreed to all his proposals.

This made the Imp feel two points closer and more convinced by Mountain.

Mountain quickly and simply adopted all of the Imp's proposals, which greatly encouraged the Imp and also determined that Mountain was a very wise person!

The Imp also considered himself a wise person, and he liked to work with the wise and enlightened King Mountain.

*

House of Black and White, the Hall of Faces.

Under the statue of the Many-Faced God, the light from the dragon glass candles dispelled the thick darkness.

Arya Stark stood under the statue of the Many-Faced God.

On her right were the priests of the House of Black and White.

On her left were the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White.

The priests are responsible for faith, and the Faceless Men are responsible for assassination.

Behind the priests and Faceless Men is a huge black pool.

This is a magical pool. Believers only need to drink half a bowl of water to gain inner peace, forget all the pain, and return to the Red God to gain peace.

Standing in front of Arya was her returning senior brother.

After the Seven Elders served the Red God, Senior Brother was the most authoritative and prestigious person in the House of Black and White. But in the days when he was away, a series of major changes took place in the House of Black and White, and Arya Stark became the Heavenly Mandate Elder.

Even though Arya is the Heavenly Mandate Elder, her mastery of the Faceless Men's skills is still not as good as that of Senior Brother.

Senior Brother has not yet taught Arya the highest level of face-changing.

Arya completed the first step of learning, and then she was sent out to practice. After one year of practice, she returned to the House of Black and White and passed the House of Black and White's assessment before she could further learn the highest level of face-changing in the House of Black and White.

However, when Arya was practicing outside, she learned other mysterious skills from Melisandre and the Great Sage that the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White did not know: fire ability and shadow guard.

The Red God is the god of fire and shadow.

After talking with the monks and Faceless Men junior brothers and sisters last night, Senior Brother understood a series of changes that had recently taken place in the House of Black and White under the dragon crystal candles. He was powerless to change the ending. Either accept it or leave.

Senior Brother could not leave as freely as Arya.

His personality was different from Arya's. The House of Black and White was his life, soul, and root.

Senior Brother went to the Elder's room in the early morning and had a thorough conversation with his former junior sister and now Heavenly Mandate Elder. He could not persuade Arya to change her mind, and he could only choose to accept it.

*

Arya paid tribute to the monks, and the monks returned the salute.

Arya looked at the Faceless Men. More than half of these people were her seniors. Only a dozen or so Faceless Men disciples of Arya's generation were given nicknames by Arya. Among these dozen or so people, Xiao Mei, who had the best relationship with Arya, was the leader.

Arya was about to make a most important decision. She sent someone to bring Xiao Mei back from Iron Bank Island overnight, leaving Senior Sister Longface on Iron Bank Island to secretly watch over Mountain's Iron Bank. Senior Sister Longface was selfless, strictly adhered to the rules, and was not easy to persuade. And Xiao Mei was Arya's sister, which was completely different. She spoke and acted in Arya's favor.

The Faceless Men's predecessors, as long as they are not supervisors or elders, are all collectively called senior brothers or senior sisters, belonging to the same generation.

In the House of Black and White, only the elders' generation is higher than the Faceless Men.

All the Faceless Men are of the same generation, although some of them have entered the House of Black and White and become Faceless Men for decades, while others have only been there for a year.

"Everyone, senior brothers, senior sisters, junior brothers, and junior sisters, I propose that Senior Brother Bin become the Internal Affairs Elder of the House of Black and White, in charge of all internal and external affairs of the House of Black and White."

Bin is the current face and name of Senior Brother.

For the Faceless Men, they can only be called by the name they are currently using. They are all nameless people. But this actually has a problem. When the Faceless Men are all together, who is called someone? Who is called a nameless person? Everyone is someone, and everyone is a nameless person, so it is difficult to distinguish their identities.

So, by convention, everyone still uses the other name they are currently using to distinguish each other.

Arya's words made the Faceless Men look at each other.

The Internal Affairs Elder does not manage external affairs. The Internal Affairs Elder manages the internal affairs of the House of Black and White, and it has been so for thousands of years.

Shouldn't the Heavenly Mandate Elder manage external affairs?

Is Elder Arya going to 'run away from home' again? Does she want to completely let go of the internal and external affairs of the House of Black and White?

She is an elder appointed by the Many-Faced God showing a miracle, and her weight is above that of the previous elders.

"We cannot agree, Heavenly Mandate Elder. If this is the oracle of the Many-Faced God, please let the dragon crystal candle show a miracle," said a monk who was so old that his teeth had fallen out and his speech was leaking.

His words were echoed by all the monks.

There was a slight commotion among the Faceless Men. They are assassins and would not easily reveal any emotions, but Elder Arya's words were too far beyond their understanding.

“The dragon crystal candle has not revealed a miracle, Heavenly Mandate Elder, please retract your words,” Senior Brother Bin said calmly.

“The Thousand-Faced God does not reveal miracles in every matter; otherwise, he would not need us elders to manage the Black and White Yard. This falls within the authority of the elders,” Arya insisted.

Little Mei, Arya's closest junior sister, stepped forward. She knew that the rules of the Black and White Yard would likely make it difficult to truly keep Arya Stark, as she understood Arya's personality and her need to roam freely in the outside world. “Heavenly Mandate Elder, we agree with Senior Brother Bin becoming the Internal Affairs Elder. The Internal Affairs Elder can only manage internal affairs, but during the time the Heavenly Mandate Elder is away, let the Internal Affairs Elder temporarily take over the management of external affairs.”

Temporarily managing and completely managing are two different concepts, but the meaning, for Arya, is actually exactly the same.

Arya felt relieved and gave Little Mei an imperceptible look of appreciation.

“Very well, I agree with Little Mei’s suggestion. I will first propose the appointment of Senior Brother Bin as our Internal Affairs Elder. This is the Black and White Yard’s immediate need, and if no one objects, then it is passed.”

No one objected; it passed unanimously. The Black and White Yard urgently needed an Internal Affairs Elder.

“If the Internal Affairs Elder manages both the internal and external affairs of the Black and White Yard, I will not agree to be the Internal Affairs Elder,” Bin said calmly.

Arya, confident in her plan, continued to announce, “Everyone, during the days the Internal Affairs Elder is away, I will temporarily take over the management of internal affairs on behalf of the Internal Affairs Elder; when I am not in the Black and White Yard, the Internal Affairs Elder will temporarily take over the management of external affairs on my behalf.” Arya had perfectly refined Little Mei’s words, making it impossible to refute.

The wording had changed, making it acceptable to everyone; but in fact, for Arya, she had unloaded the enormous external affairs she needed to shoulder and could leisurely enjoy the freedom of going to various parts of the world.

After she leaves due to business, the Internal Affairs Elder will temporarily take over external affairs!