Chapter 121: Dragon Kingdom, Sword Pointed at Dorne
After the banquet, Daemon, clad in dark red armor and wielding the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister, mounted Caraxes the Blood Wyrm's saddle amidst the cheers of the crowd.
The dragon flapped its wings, soaring into the castle sky, bathed in sunlight.
Daemon circled Tyrosh three times, and with each district he passed, the residents cheered for their Dragon King in the sky.
Prostitutes from the brothels blew kisses to their King, liberated slaves shouted "Father of Dragons," and Red Priestesses looked up at Daemon, utterly devoted.
After the flight, Daemon returned to the castle on his dragon.
Daemon's castle in Tyrosh had red gates, and a lemon tree grew outside his bedroom window.
Prince Little Aegon of Tyrosh was playing with his younger brothers, Prince Little Jaehaerys of Myr and Prince Little Baelon of Lys.
Kingsguard soldiers patrolled the city walls, and the Bronze Fury, Vermithor, flew across the sky.
Queen Gael Targaryen, resplendent in a dark red lace gown, took off her queen's crown.
"My mother was Queen for decades, and I never thought I would become Queen myself."
Gael remembered when she was little, her mother, Queen Alysanne Targaryen, would often caress her face and jokingly tell Gael that the future King Jaehaerys might marry her off to Tyrosh, Lys, or Myr, to an Archon or a Great Lord.
Gael would become a court lady of the Three Daughters.
Years later, Gael indeed became a court lady of the Three Daughters, except she married a King instead of an Archon or a Great Lord.
Those liberated slaves called Daemon the Father of Dragons, and Gael became the Mother of Dragons.
Daemon smiled. "Gael, believe me, you will become a legendary Queen here, just like Queen Alysanne of Westeros.
Together, we, husband and wife, will build a new empire.
Queen, let us go to the Small Council meeting together!"
Hearing Daemon address her with the title "Queen," Gael felt a bit strange.
She linked her arm with Daemon's and walked hand in hand towards the Small Council Chamber.
Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, Hand of the King; Lord Roderick Dustin, the Tomb Wolf, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard; Princess Rhaenys Targaryen; Master of Coin Domingos; Master of Ships Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind; Master of Laws Qidan Massey; Maester Mushroom; and Maester Meros, envoy of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, were already respectfully waiting by the ebony long table.
The Council Chamber was carpeted with pearl rugs, and the wooden screen was engraved with the Lord of Light R'hllor.
The torch held by R'hllor, burning with raging flames, was deliberately painted crimson, appearing as if it were truly ablaze.
After Daemon and Gael took their seats, Daemon gestured for everyone to sit down, and they all did.
Daemon chuckled. "This is the first Small Council meeting in the history of our Three Daughters.
Thankfully, no one is late.
Feel free to raise any questions you have."
The Hand of the King, the Sea Snake, said, "Your Grace, the Valyrian Fleet intercepted three merchant ships flying the Summer Isles flag in the Narrow Sea.
Their ships reeked, and they weren't the common swan ships of the Summer Isles.
Furthermore, there were hardly any black people among the crew.
Therefore, when my brother Vaemond saw these ships, he suspected they belonged to the Triarchy, so he intercepted them.
After a battle, the enemy raised a white flag before our volley of arrows.
Vaemond boarded the ships to inspect them and found them to be slave ships.
The crew and captain were all Tyroshi."
Daemon asked curiously, "Slave ships?
If they pay the fine and cease slave trading, they can return to Tyrosh."
The Sea Snake shrugged. "That's unlikely, Your Grace.
Their slave ships reeked because they went Beyond the Wall in Westeros and abducted women and children.
Now, there are over two thousand slaves on those three ships.
We have freed the slaves."
The Tomb Wolf's face was contorted with anger.
He exclaimed, "These Tyroshi slave traders not only abducted wildlings from Beyond the Wall, but they also raided the coastal areas of the North.
The territories of White Harbor, Karhold, and the Dreadfort suffered the most.
A few years ago, an entire village in Widow's Watch, over a hundred people, vanished overnight.
Later, we learned it was the work of Tyroshi slave traders.
Your Grace, there must be abducted Northerners on these three ships.
These slave traders must be executed."
Master of Laws Qidan Massey slowly nodded. "They should indeed be executed.
Your Grace still needs a Master of Laws, but I would be happy to carry out the execution myself."
Under Daemon's encouragement, Qidan Massey had begun to study local and Westerosi laws, and he had made great progress.
Daemon said, "No beheading—hang them at the port instead.
As for the slaves, settle them in the estates on Tyrosh Island."
Gael softly said, "Their health must be very poor.
Scholars and nurses should be sent to care for the sick."
Now, the North was experiencing winter, and Beyond the Wall was even more covered in ice and snow, with countless people starving and freezing to death.
These wildling women and children from Beyond the Wall were captured by Tyroshi slave traders and brought to the south.
Upon their arrival, Tyrosh had already become the capital of Daemon's kingdom.
The slave traders had originally intended to sell them to Slaver's Bay, but they were intercepted by the Sea Snake's fleet.
Now, they would live in the estates, enjoying warm sunshine and ample food, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.
The Sea Snake said, "The new empire faces various challenges.
The former nobles and Archons of the Three Daughters who fled to Pentos, Volantis, Braavos, and other places are actively seeking allies and raising armies.
In the Disputed Lands, some former slave owners have turned into bandits and robbers.
They plunder, burn crops, and attack estates.
Whenever the Dragon's Servants Army or the Kingsguard go out, these bandits flee into the mountains, disappearing like dew in the sun."
Master of Coin Domingos, a pale, fat man dressed in a purple-gold silk coat, said, "Your Grace, you should ride your dragon with the Queen and conduct a royal tour to deter those bandits."
The Tomb Wolf scoffed. "That's ridiculous.
Do we need a dragon to deal with bandits and thieves?
I have already ordered the Dragon's Servants Army and the Kingsguard to begin suppressing the bandits."
Domingos excitedly said, "Lord Tomb Wolf, those bandits are very cunning.
They will hide in forests, hills, and mountains.
Can you catch every single bandit?
Some bandits might even be hiding among the liberated slaves, as these liberated slaves come from all over the world.
Some are from the Summer Isles, some from Ibben, and others from Ray Isle, Naath, Lorath, Westeros, the Great Grass Sea, and Qarth.
Who can say where those bandits come from?"
The Three Daughters imported slaves from all over the world, and the ratio of slaves to free people here was about three to one, making the population composition very complex.
Daemon opened the notebook in front of him.
"I demand the immediate implementation of a household registration system in the Three Daughters.
I have already implemented a household registration system in my territory, Blackwater, and the public order there is very good."
Princess Rhaenys frowned. "Your Grace, Blackwater is after all a newly emerging city next to King's Landing.
The situation in the Three Daughters is much more complex.
Whether it's Tyrosh, Myr, or Lys, the population is greater than King's Landing, not to mention the scattered estates in the Disputed Lands.
Just counting the population and recording it will take a lot of time and manpower.
Where do we find so many scribes?"
Daemon said, "Precisely because most of the population outside the cities of the Three Daughters lives in estates, population registration will be easier.
If it were like Westeros, with small villages everywhere, it would be time-consuming and laborious to count.
Many estate slave owners have their own slave registers, and now that those slaves have become free people, we can make good use of them."
Gael looked at the Lord of Light R'hllor on the wooden screen beside her.
She said, "The Red Temples in various places have many Red Priests and Red Priestesses, many of whom have been trained and can read and write.
Our Westerosi army also has many monks and nuns who are missionaries and can help us register the population.
Don't forget, some of the liberated slaves are also tutors and scribes; they can also be conscripted."
Daemon looked at Gael with admiring eyes.
"Our Queen has given us a perfect solution; let's do exactly as she says!"
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
Master of Ships Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind, said, "Your Grace, our ships transporting warhorses sank in Shipbreaker Bay during a storm.
Hundreds of warhorses were lost to the fish.
What's worse, Lord Boremund Baratheon of Storm's End has prohibited the sale of warhorses from the Stormlands.
He claims it's to prepare for the conquest of Dorne.
Where can we buy warhorses?"
Daemon said calmly, "Buying warhorses from Westeros is too costly.
We are already in Essos, so we won't need to buy from Westeros anymore.
I have already sent envoys to the Great Grass Sea to trade with the Dothraki.
We will not lack warhorses in the future, and we will even have Dothraki horse warriors wielding arakhs fighting for us."
Daemon had already dispatched envoys to the Great Grass Sea to recruit Dothraki tribes.
When Daemon attacked Myr, the Archon of Myr had recruited Dothraki to fight Daemon's Westerosi army, but the khal's army was ultimately defeated by the dragons and the ironclad might of Westeros.
The Archon of Myr spent heavily, recruiting only the largest tribes on the Great Grass Sea, some numbering tens of thousands.
Daemon's target was not these bloated large tribes, but smaller tribes composed of kin, which had splintered off during the Dothraki civil war.
The smallest of these tribes had only a few dozen people, while larger ones had several hundred.
On the Great Grass Sea, these small tribes were utterly helpless against large tribes of tens of thousands.
They could only live in constant fear, following water and grass across the plains.
Whenever they encountered scouts from a large tribe, they would immediately mount their warhorses, bringing their elders, children, women, and tents, and flee elsewhere.
Once a tribe was defeated in war, the captives were either brutally slaughtered or forced to grovel, shackled, and sold as slaves to Slaver's Bay or the Free Cities.
Daemon hoped these Dothraki would integrate into the Three Daughters, becoming a border shield for the Three Daughters.
Near Myr, there were vast tracts of uncultivated wilderness; although the grass there was not as lush as the Dothraki Sea, it was sufficient for grazing cattle and sheep and raising warhorses.
Master of Coin Domingos said, "Your Majesty, the Triarchy left eight mints in Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr, each minting their own currency.
Now that Your Majesty has conquered the Three Daughters, it is fitting to introduce a brand new currency."
Domingos's eyes showed shrewdness and greed.
Minting coins could help Daemon quickly plunder a vast amount of wealth from the common people of the Three Daughters.
Through war, Daemon had already profited immensely, his treasury overflowing with gold, silver, and jewels.
Minting coins would bring Daemon even more benefits, and abolishing the old currencies of Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr would severely strike at the Archons and wealthy merchants who had fled overseas.
Daemon said, "You can now design a unified currency for the Three Daughters."
Domingos grinned, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth. "Your Majesty, I will surely design the most satisfactory plan for you."
Next was the main focus of the Small Council meeting.
Daemon said, "The Westerosi soldiers, captains, and sailors have rested enough.
The army has completed its recuperation, and we must prepare to march into Dorne."
The smile vanished from Domingos's face.
He dramatically clutched his chest. "Your Majesty, you have just conquered the Three Daughters.
Our enemies are watching keenly; Pentos, Volantis, and Braavos could attack us at any moment.
How can you abandon the rich and fertile Three Daughters for Dorne, a land of desert and scorpions?"
Daemon laughed. "Don't worry, I estimate Dorne won't last long against the dragons' fury.
The Tomb Wolf will serve as regent during my campaign."
The Tomb Wolf frowned. "Your Majesty, thank you for your trust, but isn't the Sea Snake a more suitable choice?"
Daemon said, "The Sea Snake needs to go on campaign with me.
With dragons and the Sea Snake dancing together, it would be strange if the Dornish vipers didn't wet themselves."
Domingos leaned forward. "Your Majesty, how many dragons do you plan to take to Dorne?"
Daemon said, "My mount Caraxes, and Gael's Dreamfyre will go to Dorne, and of course, Princess Rhaenys's Red Queen, Meleys."
Domingos's eyes widened, his face filled with horror. "Your Majesty, will you only leave Laenor and his dragon Seasmoke?"
Daemon showed a mysterious smile. "Who said that?
Silverwing and Vermithor, the Bronze Fury, will both remain in the Three Daughters.
They will obey my will and protect the cities.
Even if enemies attack, Tyrosh is only separated from Dorne by the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones, and I can always ride Caraxes the Blood Wyrm to provide support."
"Don't forget, there's also Vhagar.
Vhagar has recently been wreaking havoc on the Pentos Plain and Velvet Hills, eating many sheep.
The Archon of Pentos and the Princes are hiding behind high walls, trembling."
It had long been rumored in the Three Daughters that Daemon was a sorcerer, that he controlled the dragon army through some kind of sorcery, and it was even said that Daemon would turn female dragons into beautiful dragon-maidens at night, who would then bear dragon eggs for Daemon after serving him.
Because of this, whether it was the slave masters and nobles defeated by Daemon, or the liberated slaves, all felt fear towards Daemon and the dragons.
In truth, Daemon relied on his Shapeshifter ability to control dragons.
In the Stepstones, once covered with weirwood trees, he could manipulate dragons at will, but once he arrived in the Three Daughters, a land dedicated to foreign gods, Daemon's Shapeshifter ability vanished.
Without mind control, Daemon could only ride his mount dragon into battle.
However, many in the Three Daughters believed Daemon deliberately left dragons to protect the cities, so he let them continue to fear and doubt, which was more conducive to Daemon's rule.
Dragon Vhagar had become a wild dragon, frequently appearing in the Three Daughters.
The liberated slaves, Dragon's Servants Army, and residents of the Three Daughters all firmly believed that Vhagar was sent by Daemon to monitor them, and some would even kneel on the ground, devoutly bowing towards Vhagar in the sky.
Now, Vhagar had flown north to the Pentos Plain, soaring over the ancient kingdom of Andalos, the birthplace of the Seven Gods and the Andals.
Thousands of years ago, it was from here that the Andals set sail, beginning their legendary journey of conquering Westeros.
Today, this land belonged to the Pentoshi, and the cheese mongers of Pentos, seeing Vhagar, believed Daemon was controlling this terrifying beast to exact revenge.
The Pentoshi attempted to slay the dragon, but all their efforts were in vain.
Vhagar's wandering in the Pentos wilderness temporarily relieved Daemon of the threat from Pentos.
The Braavos Fleet and Volantis Fleet had just suffered a crushing defeat at sea, making another attack unlikely, which gave Daemon a perfect window to conquer Dorne.
Princess Rhaenys smiled. "We are finally going to conquer Dorne.
My uncle, Lord Boremund Baratheon, is practically going mad in the Borderlands.
Just a few days ago, he wrote to me complaining and urging the dragons to send troops quickly."
Maester Meros, King Jaehaerys I's envoy, said, "Westeros and King Jaehaerys have been waiting for this day for a long time."
Qidan Massey said, "Your Majesty, the Reach and the Stormlands have deployed heavy troops along the Dornish border.
Your Majesty can ride dragons to destroy the arrow towers and fortresses along the Boneway and Prince's Pass.
Once the Reach army and the Stormlands army break through the defenses of the Red Mountains and various castles, we can conquer Dorne in one fell swoop."
Raven Greyjoy said, "I believe we should first send dragons to destroy Sunspear, and then our fleet can land the Westerosi army along the Dornish coast.
This will surely force the enemy to withdraw their heavy troops from the Boneway and Prince's Pass, forming a pincer movement with our army and the Stormlands and the Reach armies."
The Sea Snake said, "These routes of advance were already used by Aegon the Conqueror back then.
Even if the army breaks through Prince's Pass and the Boneway, they will suffer heavy losses in the desert and drought."
In fact, Daemon already had a perfect plan in mind.
Daemon waved his hand, and his attendants, Matthew Tyrell and Tyland Lannister, immediately came forward and unrolled a map of Dorne.
Daemon pressed his longsword onto the map. "If we delve deep into the Dornish interior, we will be tormented by the desert, hills, and drought, letting the Dornishmen lead us by the nose.
The Greenblood River is the lifeline of Dorne.
Sea Snake, you and the Son of the Wind take the fleet and sail upstream along the Greenblood River.
Longships can even go against the current along the Greenblood River and its tributaries, reaching the territories of Godsgrace and Skyreach.
This way, the nobles along the Dornish coast and the Greenblood River basin will essentially be too preoccupied to deal with us."
"The Redwyne Fleet will attack Starfall, Duke Tyrell's Reach army will break through the mountains from the west, and Duke Baratheon's Stormlands army will invade from the Boneway and launch an attack by crossing the Dornish Sea.
Under the pincer attack of these forces, Dorne will either kneel and surrender or face the same fate as Harrenhal."
The Sea Snake, Princess Rhaenys, Raven Greyjoy, the Son of the Wind, Gael, Maester Meros, and others were astonished.
Maester Meros exclaimed with admiration, "A perfect plan, Your Majesty, no wonder you could conquer the Three Daughters."
A few days later, the Valyrian Fleet, Sistermen Fleet, and Ironborn Fleet set sail in a mighty procession towards Dorne in the west.
Princess Rhaenys, riding the Red Queen Meleys, flew ahead to scout, while Daemon on Caraxes and Gael on Dreamfyre followed the fleet.
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