"My Lord," Melisandre's voice snapped Jon out of his focus. He had been going through various administrative and economic documents of the three cities, his little kingdom, Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor.
It was obvious that he would not be staying in Slaver's Bay for much longer. Once his plans, the planned invasion of the Free Cities located on the coast of the Narrow Sea were set into motion, he would be shifting his base. Time was running fast. The events of the cannon were drawing closer and closer, and Jon wanted to be as close as possible to Westeros.
And thus, he was planning on relegating responsibilities and powers into the hands of the most able and competent men his small empire had to offer.
"Lagsan has sent word," Melisandre said as she arrived and took her seat across the table opposite Jon. She was holding a folded piece of parchment in her hands.
"He has been able to take temporary control of the Golden Company," she continued. "Valdora has been killed."
Jon nodded. His plan seemed to be on the correct path.
Killing the highest ranking officer of the Golden Company had been a very subtle task. The entire story of someone within the Golden Company betraying Ser Harry Strickland had been woven specifically for this purpose. Thanks to his spies and his own warging abilities, Jon had been able to learn about the plan Harry Strickland had been nurturing about taking over Meereen. And that granted him a perfect opportunity.
From there, it had been an easy task to forge a letter blaming Valdora for the betrayal, supposedly written by one of the magisters and claimed by Lagsan to have been found on the Dothraki Khal. Even the timing had been chosen carefully.
After hearing the narration of what had happened on the battlefield and how Lord Aeos had emerged victorious, every officer present in the tent had been shocked and stunned. None of them had been thinking clearly. They had been nervous, anxious and chaotic in their minds. And in such an environment, Lagsan had circulated the letter.
Thanks to the shock they were in, they were unable to remain rational and clear-headed. They did not question whether the letter was fake, at least not immediately. They might do so later, but by then it would be of no use. Valdora was already dead.
And solely for this reason, Lagsan had acted immediately, giving no chance for anyone to question Valdora, nor for Valdora himself to explain his side of the situation. It had all been part of the plan. It may sound fishy to many officers but without Valdora to explain them himselff, it would be almost impossible to prove anything.
"Though," Melisandre continued, "he is not certain if all the high ranking officers will be willing to accept him as their permanent new commander. They might want that post for themselves or because they might not be willing to trust Lagsan"
"Tell him to push hard," Jon replied, his expression neutral. "I do not see any impossibility here. He has the total loyalty and support of ten thousand men."
"Even if it comes to a vote, he would have the backing of all the officers under those ten thousand men, along with a few others who are our spies. He has to secure the leadership of the Golden Company. There is no other option."
Jon's voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation. He could not tolerate failure at this stage of the plan, especially after coming so close.
"Tell Lagsan," Jon added, "that if need be, I do not mind a few more killings of the high ranking officers who oppose him. I would tolerate even a small scale internal strife than to him losing the position of that leadership."
Melisandre nodded. It was rare for Lord Aeos to be this stern and uncompromising, and she knew he had already made up his mind. If Lagsan failed in this endeavor, it would be difficult for him to justify that failure to Jon.
"But do you not think this is a risky business?" Melisandre remarked. "It is not about one or two men. Ten thousand men."
"This is a number large enough that are aware that they did not originally belong to the Golden Company and that they are impostors. Even if they are as disciplined as they are, there is a good chance that the truth might slip out someday."
"True," Jon nodded. "It is a risky plan, and that is precisely why it is so important for Lagsan to secure the commander's position. We have already done all that we could have done. The spies will act as familiar faces on both sides. They will be recognised by the other side while they will act to recognise our men."
"By becoming the commander, he will be able to keep interaction between the forces to a minimum. He can keep them separate, even deploy them on different missions. He will be able to control the chain of commands."
"Additionally, he will slowly be able to replace the officers, the power holders in the sellsword company, with our own men. In a matter of a couple of months, the Golden Company will be firmly under our control. And then even if the truth comes to light after that, it will not make a damn difference."
"Look," Jon explained, "we have already invested a lot into this plan and have managed to clear the biggest obstacle, convincing everyone that Lagsan and his men truly belong to the Golden Company and then removing Valdora from our path."
"We cannot afford to lose at this point," Jon said. "You may feel that I am putting too much effort into this plan. But no. Look at what we are gaining."
"Ten thousand well trained men," Jon continued. "And the glorious, famous name of the Golden Company."
"Suppose the Golden Company announces today that they are recruiting five thousand men. People from every corner of Essos would flood in to join the organization. What we are gaining is worth every bit of effort we are putting in to make this plan succeed."
Melisandre nodded. She was sure to convey Lord Aeos' feeling to Lagsan. He could not fail.
"Any reports from Slyvia?" Jon questioned.
"Nothing new," Melisandre replied. "They are marching and marching. In just a few more days, they will reach the spot where the forces will split"
"Ok," Jon nodded. "Ask her to keep me updated and proceed as per plan. We will be joining them soon."
Melisandre gave another nod before she stood up and left to follow the instructions and do her other duties.
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