Chapter 124: Dorne's Age of Dragons
In the hall of Sunspear, Daemon's demand for noble and commoner hostages, including Prince Enrik, Prince Qoren, the heir to Dorne, and Princess Nymeria, left everyone puzzled.
Prince Enrik frowned, "Prince Daemon, I understand you demand noble hostages to prevent rebellion, but why do you also demand commoner hostages?"
Daemon's words were sharp as a whip, "Because the commoners of Dorne, like the nobles, are formidable warriors. These commoner hostages will ensure that the commoners accept the rule of the Dragon."
Historically, Dorne had repeatedly defeated invasions from the Storm King and the Reach, single-handedly halting House Targaryen's conquest of Westeros. Whether they were the Salt Dornish living by the sea, the Sand Dornish living in the deserts and river valleys, or the Stone Dornish living in the mountains and hills, all were formidable warriors.
The Salt Dornish, who lived by the sea and along the Greenblood River, had supple bodies, olive complexions, and black hair, and were the most heavily interbred with the Rhoynar. House Martell was a typical example of the Salt Dornish.
The Sand Dornish, who resided in the deserts and river valleys, had their skin tanned brown by the scorching Dorne sun. Almost all of Dorne's desert lords were Sand Dornish.
The Stone Dornish lived among the mountains, such as the Red Mountains. They had fair skin and beautiful hair, and were mostly descendants of the First Men and Andals, like House Fowler, who guarded Skyreach at Prince's Pass, and House Yronwood, who guarded the Boneway.
Nymeria, in a sand-brown lace gown, was strikingly beautiful. She gently caressed Daemon's wrist, her eyes full of suggestion and provocation. "Prince Daemon, the nobles will hand over hostages, but please spare the children of the commoners! Is the Dragon afraid of children?"
Princess Rhaenys, the Sea Snake, Gael, and Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind, all noticed Princess Nymeria's subtle gesture. Gael's anger flared, Rhaenys frowned, the Sea Snake showed a faint smile, while Raven Greyjoy stared at the shapely Dornish Princess with hungry eyes.
Daemon pulled away from Nymeria's touch. Gael stood nearby, and Daemon did not want to get entangled with the Dornish Princess Nymeria. Daemon said, "When Queen Nymeria fled the city of Nyar Sar, the City of Song and Fountains, her ten thousand ships carried the women and children of the Rhoynar. Years later, during the Voyage of a Thousand Ships, Queen Nymeria and her people drifted across the world, eventually arriving in Dorne. Those children grew up, intermarried with the local inhabitants, and reproduced. Isn't that how the Rhoynar bloodline in Dorne came to be?"
"Years later, Valyria was torn apart by flames and volcanoes, the Freehold was utterly destroyed, the Dragon's empire crumbled, and House Targaryen became the sole surviving Dragonlord family, while the descendants of the Rhoynar continued to resist the Dragon in Dorne. Therefore, I have learned a lesson from history: the children of Dorne are very strong and warlike. Even the children of commoners should not be underestimated."
If Daemon took away the children of Dorne's commoners, it would weaken Dorne's war potential and effectively prevent the commoners of Dorne from resisting Targaryen rule.
Prince Qoren said, "Prince Daemon, how many commoner children do you intend to take as hostages? If you plan to take one child from every household, and you cannot ensure their safe and healthy growth, then the Dornish might raise the banner of rebellion against the Dragon sooner or later."
Daemon knew Prince Qoren was speaking the truth. Daemon said, "Of course, not every household needs to hand over a hostage. I only need a thousand commoner hostages. Please inform the parents of these commoner hostages that their children, like the noble hostages, will have opportunities for education and advancement."
"These children will be sent to Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys. I will send teachers to teach them to read and write, and instructors to guide them in horsemanship and sword-and-shield techniques. If they are skillful, I will also send these hostages to study skills with the master craftsmen of Myr, the Lysene alchemists, and the armorers and dye masters of Tyrosh. As long as Dorne continues to be a subject of the Dragon and the Iron Throne, remaining loyal, these hostages will grow into adults. Once they become craftsmen, they can return to Dorne and become master craftsmen."
"The fate of these children depends on you, the nobles of Dorne. If you rebel in the future, then all these hostages, whether commoner or noble children, will lose their heads."
Some Dornish nobles exchanged bewildered, shocked glances. Daemon threatening to execute hostages was not unusual; his ruthlessness in executing the Crabfeeder and the nobles of the Three Daughters was already infamous. What truly shocked the Dornish nobles was that Daemon actually planned to let commoner hostages enjoy the same treatment as noble hostages.
Prince Enrik was somewhat confused. "Prince Daemon, are you serious? Training so many hostages will cost a lot of gold and silver."
Prince Daemon smiled. "In Westeros, I am Prince Daemon of House Targaryen. In Essos, I am the King of the Three Daughters, Daemon the Liberator. After conquering the Three Daughters, I have been troubled about how to spend the mountains of gold and silver acquired through conquest. Training the hostages of Dorne is merely a trifle for me."
Prince Enrik and Prince Qoren despairingly realized that Daemon's move would win him the support of Dorne's commoner class.
Dorne, like other parts of Westeros, suffered from severe class rigidity. Generally speaking, commoners had few opportunities for social mobility. It was a luxury for a commoner's child to even become a squire for a hedge knight, and they had even fewer opportunities to learn skills. Most commoners were illiterate; literacy was considered a magical skill. For a commoner's child to become a blacksmith's apprentice, a shipwright's apprentice, or a brewer's apprentice, the high apprenticeship fees would deter them.
Therefore, most commoners could only repeat the fate of their fathers; many spent their entire lives working as farmers, pig herders, peddlers, or waiters.
For the commoners of Dorne, the war had caused shortages of supplies, and many crops and granaries were destroyed by conflict. Many commoner families with numerous children were still struggling to feed every child.
If a commoner's child from Dorne could be chosen by Daemon to become a hostage, and even have the chance to become a craftsman's apprentice, a squire, or a knight, this would instead give commoner children an opportunity to change their fate.
In the future, when the children of Dornish hostages grew up, learned skills, and achieved social mobility, they would be grateful to Daemon, and the goodwill towards House Targaryen within Dorne would increase.
Among the nobles of Dorne, House Wyl, House Dayne, House Fowler, House Yronwood, House Qorgyle, and House Martell, among others, had deep-seated blood feuds with the Stormlanders, the Reachmen, and House Targaryen. Given the opportunity, they would certainly rebel again in the future. In fact, before the Dornish decided to surrender to Daemon, some nobles had already begun secretly planning a future counterattack.
However, Daemon's acceptance of commoner hostages and his provision of excellent living and learning conditions for them meant that when these Dornish nobles rebelled in the future, they would not only have to worry about the fate of their own noble hostages but also about their rebellion inciting opposition from the commoners.
By using commoner hostages, Daemon successfully planted a seed of division among the Dornish nobles and commoners, and also gained a certain popular base among the commoners.
Prince Qoren was a clever man. He realized that Daemon's commoner hostage plan was a terrible open conspiracy. He cleared his throat. "Prince Daemon, there's really no need to force commoners to hand over hostages. Some Dornishmen, to protect their children, might run off to the Red Mountains and become outlaws."
The Red Mountains had always been a cradle for fierce brigands. The notorious bandit Vulture King once emerged from here. As a bandit, he was crowned King in the Red Mountains, and the army of the first Vulture King once swelled to thirty thousand men. The entire Borderlands trembled before the Vulture King's army. Eventually, the former Hand of the King, Orys Baratheon, personally intervened, gathering the Borderlands armies of the The Reach and the Stormlands. House Tarly, House Dondarrion, and House Caron all sent heavy forces, and only then was the first Vulture King narrowly defeated.
The bandits lived deep in the mountains and secluded valleys, sometimes raiding Borderlands nobles, sometimes sweeping through Dornish villages. Both the Duke of Storm's End and the Princes and Princesses of Dorne loathed the bandits, yet sometimes the Dornish Princes and Princesses would use the bandits against their enemies in the Borderlands.
When Duke Beaumont Baratheon of Storm's End marched into the Boneway, he encountered bandits from the Red Mountains. These bandits never engaged the Stormlands army directly. Instead, they used the treacherous and narrow mountain paths of the Red Mountains to frequently harass the Stormlands army's supply convoys, at one point cutting off the Stormlands army's supply lines.
It wasn't until Princess Rhaenys appeared above the Red Mountains, riding the Red Queen, that the bandits of the Red Mountains scattered and vanished like dew under the sun.
Afterward, Daemon said, "They are mere bandits. If your House Martell and the Dornish nobles cannot deal with them, leave it to me. In the future, I will spend money to build several fortresses in Dorne's Red Mountains, Prince's Pass, Boneway, desert wells, and the Greenblood River basin, and station Kingsguard and Dragon's Servants Army there."
Prince Qoren, Prince Enrik, Princess Nymeria, and others were once again shocked. Originally, Prince Qoren only wanted to use the bandit issue to persuade Daemon not to take the commoner hostages, but Daemon directly turned the tables.
Not only did he plan to take commoner and noble hostages, but he also planned to build fortresses and station troops at several vital points in Dorne, which would effectively nail down the lifeblood of the Dornish.
In the Three Daughters across the Narrow Sea, Daemon selected strong individuals from the liberated slaves to join the army, creating the Dragon's Servants Army.
The military quality of the Dragon's Servants Army had steadily improved through the baptism of war.
Daemon planned to dispatch the Dragon's Servants Army from the Three Daughters to garrison Dorne in the future, and recruit Dornish warriors from Dorne to guard Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh.
This way, the Three Daughters's Servants Army would monitor Dorne for Daemon, and the Dornish would help Daemon monitor the Three Daughters.
This was a perfect plan to kill two birds with one stone.
Viserys, in his Red Keep bedroom, had just woken up.
Wearing crystal slippers, he was washing his face when he suddenly heard the commotion in the Red Keep, and suspicion arose in his heart.
"Why is it so chaotic outside? What happened?"
Aemma looked haggard, constant miscarriages over the years had led to her bloated figure.
She said, "Is it a fire?"
Ser Criston Cole walked in excitedly, "Regent, Prince Daemon, Princess Gael, and Princess Rhaenys are back."
Viserys was overjoyed.
He immediately went to King Jaehaerys's bedroom.
Due to his excitement, Viserys almost fell while climbing the stairs, and his crystal slippers broke.
King Jaehaerys the Conciliator lay on the bed, the air filled with a damp, sweet smell.
The handmaiden Alicent Hightower was wiping King Jaehaerys's face.
"Grandfather, Daemon is home! And Gael, Rhaenys, their children, they have returned victorious!"
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