ebookpocket.com #227 - Chapter 1 Daenerys's Ambition
#227 - Chapter 1 Daenerys's Ambition
The sudden appearance of the royal family caused the morale of the previously resisting defense forces to collapse instantly, and they chose to surrender directly without any resistance. Those mercenaries, who were already cunning, worldly-wise, and profit-driven, seized the opportunity to change their allegiance, turning around and fleeing without hesitation. Unfortunately, only a few managed to escape successfully.
In contrast, the most miserable were the members of the merchant caravan guard and the armed servants hired by the merchant guilds. They became innocent victims in the chaos, many dying tragically under swords and spears. Even worse, many were not killed by the enemy but were accidentally knocked to the ground in the crush and trampled to death by their own people, a truly horrific scene.
Just as this bloody massacre continued, roars suddenly echoed across the battlefield: "Those who surrender will not be killed! Kneel and be spared!" These thunderous shouts gave those in desperate situations a glimmer of hope. They threw down their weapons and armor without hesitation and knelt on the ground, indicating their willingness to surrender.
The first encounter between the Sun and Moon Legion and the Qartheen Legion was not friendly, with camel cavalry recklessly charging the black-armored soldiers' lines. Liu Yuan's side didn't hold back either, directly using spears to knock over hundreds of camel cavalry, although they refrained from finishing them off. Despite knowing the other side's ill intentions, the commanding general cautiously restrained his troops. He ordered his subordinates to begin rounding up prisoners of war and clearing the battlefield.
At this time, the royal family members of the inner city finally appeared, a total of eight. Surrounded and protected by numerous soldiers, they slowly walked forward, preparing to negotiate with Liu Yuan. When Daenerys saw three familiar faces in the group, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. These three were Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, and Aggo, who had once taken her to the House of the Undying. Daenerys couldn't muster any goodwill towards these guys who only took money and did nothing.
However, the final negotiation result was quite satisfactory to everyone. After some discussion, it was decided that the royal family would take the lead, uniting the Tourmaline Brotherhood and the Ancient Guild of Spicers to jointly reorganize the original Thirteen, and establish a formal parliamentary system. At the same time, laws and regulations applicable to Qarth, as well as corresponding management agencies, would be formulated.
In this process, politics consistently embodied the spirit of compromise and cooperation. Although the fierce battle resulted in the unfortunate death of six of the Thirteen, the remaining six retained their original six seats. The other seven seats were divided between the royal family and the two major guilds according to a certain ratio—the royal family occupied three seats, and the two major guilds each obtained two seats. This arrangement ensured a relative balance of interests for all parties and laid a stable foundation for future development.
After some bargaining, Xaro and the other six unfortunate individuals' wealth was ruthlessly divided. A large amount of gold, silver, and other hard currency fell into the hands of Liu Yuan and Daenerys, while assets such as houses, shops, goods, and ships were distributed to the six magnates, on the condition that they pay a large sum of money as compensation for the Sun and Moon Legion's military expenses.
In addition, the surrendered prisoners of war were not spared either, and were also divided up by various forces. Soldiers who originally belonged to the city guard and some of the stronger mercenaries were all taken in by the royal family to fill the personnel losses caused by the war. As for the merchant caravan guards and ordinary armed servants, who were slightly less capable in combat, totaling about four thousand two hundred people, all became Daenerys' spoils of war. Although these people performed mediocrely on the battlefield, they were more than capable of operating ships.
Finally, Qarth carefully selected four hundred magnificent three-masted sailing ships from the ships owned by the many magnates. As the number was slightly insufficient, the royal family and the two major guilds additionally allocated and supplemented a full five hundred ships to make up the required number.
Daenerys undoubtedly became the biggest beneficiary of this event. She not only suddenly possessed more than four thousand loyal followers and five hundred powerful warships, but also surprisingly gained a huge amount of wealth. The exact amount is still being calculated, but it is certain that it will not be less than three million Qartheen gold coins!
An excited Daenerys expressed her gratitude to Liu Yuan in a unique and passionate way, like a burning flame. After a night of passion, Liu Yuan leaned quietly against the headboard, silently lighting a cigarette. The tobacco came from the distant Long Summer Lands, and its taste was similar to that on Blue Star, but with a hint of minty freshness.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Daenerys beside him. At this moment, her body was still trembling slightly, as if still intoxicated by the aftertaste of the pleasure just now. Seeing this scene, Liu Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue, thinking to himself, "Why do I always feel like I've suffered a big loss? Is this considered repaying a debt of gratitude, or revenge?" After being awake all night, Daenerys, exhausted both physically and mentally, didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day.
While rubbing her sleepy eyes, she curiously watched Liu Yuan intently processing a pile of documents. "What are you looking at, so engrossed?" Daenerys stretched lazily, slowly stood up, walked to Liu Yuan's side, and easily wrapped her jade arms around his neck, completely unconcerned about her naked and charming body.
Liu Yuan casually pulled out two documents from the stack and handed them to Daenerys, saying, "Just some trivial matters, but there are two pieces of news in here that you might find interesting."
Daenerys took the documents and took a closer look. Her originally charming face instantly became serious, and her eyebrows furrowed. Although the news was brief and clear, one of them was a battle report from the Battle of Blackwater, which was quite detailed and even involved the truth behind Tyrion's assassination attempt.
The other piece of information was full of drama. After the Battle of Blackwater, Stannis resolutely led his army back to Dragonstone. With his powerful naval force, Tywin was helpless against him. In order to concentrate his forces, Stannis ordered the cavalry and most of the infantry at Storm's End to be transferred back to Dragonstone, leaving only Ser Parmen Crane to guard Storm's End with two thousand soldiers.
Randyll Tarly, seeing an opportunity, launched several attacks, but all ended in failure, and he had no choice but to retreat. Just when both sides thought that they would be at peace for the time being, a mysterious army landed quietly like ghosts. Shockingly, the main force of this army was the famous Golden Company, plus other miscellaneous troops, totaling nearly twenty thousand. With the help of spies in the city, they captured Storm's End with lightning speed.
Even more unexpectedly, this group of invaders actually raised the Targaryen family banner and proclaimed Viserys Targaryen III as king. They held a coronation ceremony at Storm's End, and Viserys proclaimed himself: Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, and King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. He appointed Princess Arianne Martell of Dorne as queen. Arianne is no ordinary princess; according to Dornish custom, she is the first in line to inherit, and her decision represents the position of the Martell family to some extent.
Daenerys had done a lot of homework in the past two years and naturally knew the intricate relationships of Westeros. She threw the documents on the table and sat directly in Liu Yuan's arms.
Liu Yuan: "What do you think? Do you want to help Viserys?"
Daenerys pondered for a long time and stood up: "I am Daenerys Stormborn, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt in the flames, and the Mother of Dragons! I am the true 'blood of the dragon,' and the Iron Throne is mine! It belongs to me, the Dragon Queen!" She said a sentence with each step she took, her tone gradually becoming firm, just like her firm gaze. Her naked body did not have a trace of lewdness, but rather had a holy light.
Liu Yuan said with a smile: "Do you need me to help you? My troops are very good at fighting."
Daenerys walked towards him, raised her bare jade feet and stepped on Liu Yuan's chest, her playful toes parting his clothes. She said with seductive eyes: "No, I want to rely on my own strength to compete for the throne. I now have people, ships, and no shortage of money. When I become queen, you will be my king, my only king!"
Liu Yuan grabbed her little feet and played with them: "Okay, whatever makes you happy. What's your plan? Tell me about it."
Daenerys was tickled by him, and her face flushed: "Stop it! Ser Jorah gave me a suggestion. Astapor in Slaver's Bay is famous for its trained war slaves, and the Unsullied are known as the best soldiers. Now that I have money, I can buy an Unsullied army there."
"Oh! The Unsullied!" Liu Yuan seemed to be reminiscing: "They are pretty good soldiers. I made my fortune with them more than a decade ago. But most of them have retired. There are still many in my army now, and they are all officers."
Daenerys was very happy: "Ser Jorah's suggestion is still reliable. I will definitely build my own army to sweep away all enemies and take back my Iron Throne!"