Chapter 129: War and Peace in Slaver's Bay
Daemon sat on the throne of the Three Daughters, the backrest of which was adorned with three beautiful women: the Silver Maiden of Desire representing Lys, the Golden Maiden of Artisans representing Myr, and the Steel Maiden of Splendor representing Tyrosh, with a Three-Headed God's hat on her head.
The Hand of the King, Lord Corlys Velaryon; Princess Rhaenys; Queen Gael; Master of Laws, Qidan Massey; Master of Ships, Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind; Master of Defense, Lord Roderick Dustin, the Wolf of the Barrows; Maester Michiel, and others sat on weirwood chairs behind long tables on either side of the hall.
The seats around the hall were filled with knights from Westeros, Winter Wolves, Sistermen captains, Ironborn captains, Royal Fleet captains, Valyrian Fleet captains, Kingsguard commanders, Dragon's Servants Army commanders, Red Priestesses, Red Priests, alchemists, Three-Headed God priests, and more.
The Hand of the King, Lord Corlys Velaryon, said, "Your Majesty, our envoy to Slaver's Bay has returned and is waiting outside the hall."
Daemon clasped his hands together on his chest. "Let the envoy enter."
The envoy, Averroes, dressed in a velvet robe, strode into the hall. Averroes had light blonde hair and a handsome appearance. He was formerly a captain from Tyrosh. After Daemon conquered Lys, he became a customs official for the Three Daughters. Averroes had traveled to Slaver's Bay many times for trade and was familiar with the customs of Astapor, Meereen, and Qarth. Thus, Daemon appointed him as an envoy to Slaver's Bay to negotiate with the Ghiscari noble hybrids there.
Before Daemon conquered the Three Daughters, Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh were important slave-owning city-states on the continent of Essos, while Slaver's Bay was famous for training slaves. Because of this, the Unsullied trained in Astapor guarded the homes of nobles in the Three Daughters; the bed slaves trained in Qarth, skilled in thirty-six types of spring cries, were sold to brothels in Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr to compete for attention; and the artisans trained in Meereen worked in workshops throughout the Three Daughters.
The Three Daughters had always been an important trading partner for Slaver's Bay. When Daemon conquered the Three Daughters, the local slaves were either executed by Daemon or exiled abroad. Daemon broke the chains of slavery and abolished the system, which severely impacted the slave trade. The Slaver's Bay city-states of Qarth, Meereen, and Astapor, being upstream in the slave trade supply chain, were all highly displeased with Daemon.
The Ghiscari people had always feared dragons. The Ghiscari had once established a vast empire, Old Ghis, but it was defeated by the Valyrian Dragonlords, and the Ghiscari were all enslaved, their city-states destroyed. Daemon's conquest with his Dragon's Servants Army made the Ghiscari city-states of Slaver's Bay worry that the dragons would destroy their cities.
When the Prince of Pentos, the Archon of Volantis, and the Sea Lord of Braavos called for Essos to unite against Daemon and his dragons, Meereen, Qarth, and Astapor successively declared war on Daemon and the newly formed Three Daughters Dragon Kingdom.
However, they were merely talking big. The nobles of Meereen, Qarth, and Astapor had become corrupt and decadent. They lacked the strength for external expansion. Therefore, Slaver's Bay only participated verbally and did not send a single soldier.
Now, Daemon's Three Daughters was still nascent, and the surrounding Pentos, Volantis, and Braavos on the sea were all formidable enemies. Daemon decided to adopt a strategy of befriending distant foes and attacking nearby ones, sending envoys to negotiate with the nobles of Slaver's Bay.
Daemon sat on the throne, looking down at the envoy Averroes.
"Averroes, what did the rulers of Slaver's Bay say? Do they want peaceful trade or war?"
The peace terms Daemon's envoy brought were that the Three Daughters would continue to purchase slaves from Qarth, Astapor, and Meereen, as the artisans, bed slaves, and Unsullied trained in Slaver's Bay were very valuable.
When Daemon conquered the Three Daughters, some Unsullied joined the slaves in rebellion, and Daemon acquired less than a thousand Unsullied. However, these Unsullied had served as guards for nobles or slave masters for many years, and their training had been neglected. Many were old and fat, not at all like the vigorous, brave, and skilled eunuch warriors freshly trained in Astapor.
According to Daemon's plan, these slaves, once they set foot on the soil of the Three Daughters, would enter Daemon's estates, brothels, or workshops to work for him. The Unsullied would be integrated into the Unsullied Legion and would gain the status of free men.
The envoy Averroes looked troubled. "Your Majesty, those noble rulers of Slaver's Bay initially spoke wildly, but fortunately, they agreed to trade with us and will not send troops to attack our kingdom for now."
This result delighted Gael, the Tomb Wolf, Maester Michiel, and others who yearned for peace, while Lord Corlys Velaryon, Qidan Massey, and Wind's son Raven Greyjoy, among others, looked dejected.
Lord Corlys Velaryon and Wind's son had once urged Daemon to take his dragons and fleet to sweep through Slaver's Bay, plunder its wealth, and liberate its slaves. However, doing so would require bypassing the powerful Volantis. Daemon's goal was to conquer land and expand the territory of the Dragon Kingdom, not to plunder. Moreover, attacking the distant Slaver's Bay city-states across enemy territory went against Daemon's strategy of befriending distant foes and attacking nearby ones, so Daemon did not even consider it.
The Hand of the King, Lord Corlys Velaryon, still refused to give up. He said, "The nobles of Slaver's Bay spoke wildly? What exactly did they say?"
The envoy Averroes seemed startled. He exaggeratedly clutched his chest and said in a moist, exaggerated accent, "Since the nobles of Slaver's Bay have already agreed to peaceful trade, why bother with the details of the negotiation process?"
Wind's son Raven Greyjoy said, "We must, of course, know what the nobles of Slaver's Bay said. The more we understand our enemies, the better prepared we can be."
Daemon's curiosity was also piqued. "Averroes, what exactly did those hybrid Ghiscari people of Slaver's Bay say?"
The envoy Averroes frowned, his fingers nervously clenching and unclenching. "Your Majesty, they were all blasphemous words against Your Majesty and the Queen. Are you sure you want to hear them?"
Daemon looked at Gael behind the long table in the hall. Gael showed a sweet smile. "The nobles of Slaver's Bay spoke blasphemous words. Words are like wind; they cannot harm us. Averroes, speak freely."
The envoy Averroes had no choice but to say, "When I first visited Slaver's Bay and began negotiations, the Pureborn of Qarth threatened that once their army defeated Your Majesty, they would sell Your Majesty's Queen and mistresses to brothels. The Good Masters of Astapor claimed that once they captured Your Majesty, they would castrate you and train you as an Unsullied. The Great Masters of Meereen, on the other hand, stated that once the Meereenese captured Your Majesty, they would train you as a gladiator to compete in the arena with wild boars, lions, and monkeys."
The royal councilors in the hall, and the knights, captains, Dragon's Servants Army, Red Priestesses, and others in the back rows, instantly erupted. The entire hall was filled with indignation.
Wind's son Raven Greyjoy slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "Your Majesty, please allow me to lead the fleet to attack Slaver's Bay. We must make these Ghiscari people understand the cost of enraging a dragon."
The Hand of the King, Lord Corlys Velaryon, said, "Slaver's Bay believes that a powerful Volantis separates them from the Three Daughters, and they think the dragon's wrath cannot reach their lands. They are gravely mistaken! We must make these Ghiscari people, who do not know their place, pay the price."
Ser Ronald Florent caressed the crystal on his chest. "Your Majesty, please allow the knights anointed with holy oil to sweep away the enemies of Slaver's Bay for you. Let us conquer them and enslave them in the name of the Seven Gods."
Red Priestess Helen showed an evil smile. "We should burn those Slaver's Bay nobles who spoke ill of dragons, and sweep through Meereen, Qarth, and Astapor with dragonfire and fury, turning them into a land of ashes and charred flesh and bones!"
Daemon sat on the throne, lazily waving his hand. The agitated crowd instantly quieted down. Daemon snorted lightly, "I promise you, these Ghiscari slave traders who blasphemed dragons and House Targaryen will reap what they sow and suffer hellish torment before they die."
"In the future, we will conquer Slaver's Bay. All the Good Masters of Astapor will be castrated and trained as personal slaves for the Unsullied. The Pureborn of Qarth will be sold into brothels to suffer humiliation and torment. As for the Great Masters of Meereen, since they love forcing gladiators to kill and enjoying the deadly art of blood and death, I will have these Great Masters fight beasts and their former slaves in the arena, and they will be slowly tortured to death."
"However, not now. Now we must weaken our enemies, not blindly march into Slaver's Bay. Buying Unsullied, bed slaves, artisan slaves, and gladiators, spending a small amount of money to strengthen ourselves, and then seizing the opportunity to conquer surrounding lands, that is the best choice."
The Hand of the King, Lord Corlys Velaryon, said gloomily, "Your Majesty, if we just send dragons and the fleet to destroy Volantis's naval power, the Volantenes will surely retake the Black Walls, and our fleet and dragons, having plundered the wealth of Slaver's Bay, can return."
Daemon said, "The number of our dragons is, after all, limited. If you want to plunder, you can plunder the nearby lands of Volantis and Pentos. After all, these two neighbors have always been covetous. Don't forget, on our border, there are also mercenary companies recruited by the exiled nobles of the Triarchy. The Khal Lamiqiao, whom they heavily recruited, and his forty thousand mounted warriors are also marching towards Myr, and we don't even know where this cavalry army is on the Great Grass Sea."
"To conquer distant lands, we must establish a firm foothold in the lands we have already conquered. Otherwise, once the Three Daughters is conquered by enemies, we will lose our foothold in Essos. Before our Border Wall and fortresses are built, before the vast uncultivated wasteland in the Disputed Lands is reclaimed, and before our treasury is filled with armor, crossbows, siege ladders, and catapults, I will never rashly attack the east."
Princess Rhaenys nodded and said loudly, "Your Majesty has spoken the correct path of conquest. The conquest of dragons is to liberate more slaves and make the conquered lands vibrant, not to leave behind smoking cities full of corpses."
In Daemon's view, while Slaver's Bay was extremely wealthy, its land was too barren and severely desertified. In the war between Valyria and the Old Ghis Empire, the Valyrian Dragonlords, riding dragons, destroyed the forests and grasslands of Slaver's Bay. Wherever the dragons passed, the land was scorched earth, leading to the desertification of that region.
And Slaver's Bay was the center of the world's slave trade. Khal tribes from the Great Grass Sea, pirates from the Basilisk Isles, and slave traders from Qarth would drive slaves to Slaver's Bay, where they would be trained in Qarth, Meereen, and Astapor, and then sold to other slave city-states. If Daemon's army bypassed Volantis and conquered Slaver's Bay, he would inevitably be unable to hold it, because Qarth, the Isle of Rhaenys, and the surrounding cities of Elyria, Mantarys, and New Ghis might all join the resistance against the dragons.
A few days later, news came from Myr that Khal Lamiqiao's tribe had clashed with Khal Meryn's tribe on the Great Grass Sea. Khal Lamiqiao's tribe had shifted northeast. Whether they would continue to march on Myr was unknown, and the threat was temporarily lifted.
Daemon decided to begin a royal progress. A royal progress allowed residents throughout the Three Daughters to have close contact with the House Targaryen royalty. King Jaehaerys the Conciliator and "Good Queen" Alysanne made over a hundred royal progresses. They had stayed overnight in hundreds of castles throughout Westeros, and Queen Alysanne even facilitated over a hundred noble marriages. Because of this, the King Jaehaerys the Conciliator and his Queen were deeply loved by commoners and nobles alike.
King Jaehaerys the Conciliator and Queen Alysanne had both taught Daemon that he must allow his subordinates and people to understand him, otherwise they would never love an unfamiliar royal family.
Daemon decided to emulate King Jaehaerys and his Queen, taking Gael and his three sons, mounting dragons, and beginning a royal progress. The family left Tyrosh and headed for Lys.
The Lysene Islands were surrounded by the Summer Sea. The islands received abundant sunlight and had a cool climate. In ancient times, they were a sacred vacation spot for the Dragonlords of the Freehold of Valyria, renowned as a "feast for the body, medicine for the soul."
The Lysene Islands commanded the intersection of the Narrow Sea and the Summer Sea, making their geographical location very important. Surrounded by fertile fishing grounds, their defenses were old and dilapidated. In contrast, Tyrosh was a strong military fortress, and Lys's defenses were much weaker, a point Daemon deeply realized when he attacked Lys.
Now that Daemon was the ruler of Lys, his youngest son, Baelon, was the Prince and Governor of Lys. As soon as Daemon conquered the area, he ordered artisans and the Dragon's Servants Army to begin raising the city walls and building fortresses along the coast. Now, the defenses here had taken initial shape, with defensive towers everywhere along the coast.
After staying for half a month in sunny and pleasant Lys, Daemon's family chose to cross the Disputed Lands to Myr.
Daemon's ambitious projects successively began: the Border Wall, stretching from the Summer Sea in the south to the Myr Sea in the north, spanning the eastern border of the Three Daughters; the Dragon Road, connecting the mountains and plains of the Disputed Lands; and the military fortresses and Dragon's Estates guarding the various towns and villages of the Disputed Lands, all commenced simultaneously.
Blacksmiths in many smithies in the Disputed Lands were busy forging plows, shovels, hoes, and other farm tools. Some Kingsguard and Dragon's Servants Army soldiers, along with farmers from the Dragon's Estates, cleared wasteland. People removed the white bones and ashes from the land, drove plow horses to till the soil, and planted barley, oats, corn, peanuts, and sugarcane. Some areas were also planted with coconut trees, palm trees, and pineapples.
Tens of thousands of laborers and convicts were busy on the construction sites. The laborers were slaves liberated by Daemon, while the convicts were people undergoing reform for their crimes, many of whom were slave masters overthrown by Daemon.
Two months later, Daemon's royal progress arrived in Myr. The Dragon's Servants Army commander in Myr, Constantine, served as acting governor. The titles of Governor and Prince of Myr belonged to Daemon's second son, Young Jaehaerys; however, he was too young to rule, so Constantine became Daemon's appointed acting lord.
Constantine greeted Daemon at the city gate. "Your Majesty, Khal Lamiqiao has already absorbed Khal Meryn's followers, and his army is now marching towards Myr."
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