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#471 - Chapter 205: Deciding to Fall Out (Part 3)

As the Westeros civil war fully erupted, Duke Tywin, who held immense power in the court, repeatedly requested additional loans from the Iron Bank in the name of the King. To this day, the amount has approached a staggering ten million gold dragons, an astonishing sum including both principal and interest. Not long ago, King's Landing firmly declared that, given the urgency of the current war, the Iron Throne would suspend repayment of the loans until the war's conclusion.

If the Dragon Queen could defeat the Baratheon royal family of King's Landing in one fell swoop, this huge sum would likely vanish into thin air! In the past, the wealthy Iron Bank might not have worried about this. After all, playing both sides during times of war was their usual trick. If one side was unwilling to bear the full debt, they would not hesitate to switch their support to the other. Whichever side ultimately won, they would always be the beneficiaries.

However, Daenerys's situation was somewhat special. Although she started with nothing, she had rapidly accumulated enormous wealth since raising an army in Qarth. Subsequently, whether in Astapor, Yunkai, or Meereen, she made a fortune by confiscating the assets of slave owners. These slave owners were all incredibly rich. Although her army's expenses were huge, the wealth she plundered was even greater.

Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Daenerys now has the strong support of Marquis Garon. This Marquis not only generously provides financial aid but also continuously sends troops as reinforcements.

As a result, Daenerys has no need for loans from the Iron Bank and can still maintain her enterprise. Faced with this situation, the Iron Bank's previously effective methods have completely failed.

Therefore, for the Iron Bank, the most urgent task is to find ways to ensure that its own interests are not harmed. And the most effective strategy is to find a force that can counter Daenerys. But the other two families combined are no match for her.

Then, they can only do their best to maintain the existing格局(géjú) of Westeros unchanged. At the very least, they must maintain the tripartite balance in the short term and prevent major changes in the situation.

In fact, the Iron Bank was the mastermind behind the cessation of hostilities between the two factions and their alliance against Daenerys.

Their intention in doing so was obvious: to create a strong external pressure. By doing so, they would force Daenerys to sit down and negotiate with them, and ultimately accept a series of harsh conditions they proposed.

These conditions included requiring Daenerys to acknowledge the huge debts previously owed by the Iron Throne, and to bear the enormous expenses incurred by the war in recent years. Even sharing a small portion of it would be crucial for the Iron Bank. Of course, this also included the loan they had given to Stannis.

Faced with the Iron Bank's aggressive threats, Liu Yuan's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. He didn't even bother to look at them directly, simply uttering a cold sentence: "Hmph! Those so-called debts have nothing to do with us! Since you Iron Bank cannot tolerate any delays in repayment, then feel free to go find the person who borrowed the money to collect the debt! In addition, I, on behalf of the Dawn Chamber of Commerce, announce that all funds deposited in your bank will be withdrawn. I hope you can act quickly and make the necessary preparations. Don't forget, my money must not be delayed in the slightest!" After saying this, Liu Yuan turned and left without hesitation, heading straight out of the conference room without looking back.

Leaving everyone present dumbfounded, looking at each other, at a loss. Especially the envoys from Braavos, their faces turned extremely ugly, as if they had swallowed a dead fly.

At this moment, Tyrion, who was sitting to the side, cleared his throat and coughed a few times, trying to break the suffocatingly awkward atmosphere. He said with a slightly apologetic tone: "Cough cough cough! I'm really sorry, everyone, our little princess hasn't been feeling well recently. Therefore, Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Garon may have neglected you because they are too worried about the child's condition. I hope everyone can be understanding and forgiving! But, as Lord Garon just said, this loan really has nothing to do with us."

Hearing this, Tychos Nestoris abruptly pointed his finger at the thick stack of documents on the table, questioning in a serious tone: "Prime Minister Tyrion, have you really carefully reviewed these loan agreements? They are all borrowed in the name of the Iron Throne, and each loan agreement has the King's signature and seal, and more importantly, it even has the King's Hand's seal. If my memory serves me correctly, two of them were handled by you personally during your time as acting Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the Red Keep."

"I certainly remember, those days weren't pleasant at all!" Tyrion muttered, pouring himself a full glass of wine. "But as you just said, these are debts owed by the Baratheon family of King's Landing, and have nothing to do with the Targaryen family. Now you Iron Bank have come to us, insisting that we repay this huge sum, which is simply unreasonable!"

Tychos Nestoris replied with a serious expression and a firm tone: "But don't forget, these loans were all borrowed in the name of the Iron Throne. Since Her Majesty Daenerys wants to inherit the incomparably noble Iron Throne, then, as a matter of course, she should bear the responsibility of repaying these debts."

Tyrion took a sip of the wine in his glass, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a sly smile, and then said: "If you ask me, back in the days of Aerys II, the Targaryen family deposited a large sum of money with you. But you said that the Targaryen family's inheritance could not be inherited by the Baratheon family, so you didn't return the money to the Iron Throne. According to your logic, these debts are owed by the Baratheon family, so they should repay them, it has nothing to do with us. The one sitting on the Iron Throne is still Tommen Baratheon, you should go to King's Landing to ask him for the debt."

Hearing this, Tychos Nestoris's face became even more gloomy. He understood that this was just Tyrion making excuses to shirk responsibility.