Daenerys raised her eyebrows. Aegor's words struck a chord, and she fought to keep her expression from faltering, but the shock shot from her spine to the back of her head. She wanted to say, "You are very good at flattery," to ease the awkwardness, but she immediately recalled saying the same thing when they met on Dragonstone. She swallowed the words, looked up, and reexamined the man across the table, an incredulous light growing in her eyes.
Had she known the term, Daenerys would have had only one thought at that moment. Could it be that she had met a comrade?
She realized her previous judgment of the situation was off, slowly relaxed the hand gripping the fork beneath the table, and then remembered another question. "That book, did you really write it?"
It was a little different from what he expected, but with that perfectly aimed flattery, Aegor finally found the chance to steer the conversation where he wanted.
"Your Grace, when you read the first half, did you not wonder why there would be a book that perfectly suited your taste and aligned with the current situation in Westeros, as if it were written just for you, yet you had never heard of it?" Aegor, wearing a thoughtful expression, shrugged and answered his own question. "The answer is, there is no why. This book was tailored for you, to test whether you were the Queen I imagined you to be."
…
Outside, guards cried out, accompanied by a sudden rush of air and the panting roars of giant beasts. The three dragons, led by Drogon, had flown from their resting place a few miles away to hover above the miniature lake in Crown Town, circling close to the tower tops, waiting only for their mother's command. They could advance and burn the town with dragonflame, or retreat to land and pick her up. The Black Dragon could feel that his mother, whose soul was linked to his own, had shifted from extreme tension and defensiveness to anger mixed with intense surprise and curiosity.
While Daenerys soothed Drogon inwardly, telling him not to attack or force a landing, she casually set the fork back on the table as if finishing her meal, crossed her arms, leaned back comfortably, and stretched slightly.
With her dragons' arrival, her clarity and presence, bolstered by confidence, returned to their peak. "So, you have successfully tricked me into coming here. Am I the Queen you imagined?"
"Yes, and no." Good, even the lines were flowing, leading naturally to the next part. Aegor knew his elaborate ruse was on track, but the main act was still ahead. "You are indeed the Queen I envisioned, one who cares for the common folk and is filled with revolutionary passion. But you seem a little lost. Let me ask another question. You have such a fine ideal, but do you know how to make it real, not specific plans, but at least a general direction?"
Of course not.
If she did, why would she still be so eager to read the second half of that revised treatise on rulership, even riding a dragon here herself? The first half Aegor gave her already contained countless theories and accounts that Daenerys approved of, agreed with, and even found illuminating, whetting her appetite completely. After the torrent of declarations and examples, she anticipated that the next content would be the practical advice and ready-made solutions she needed most, only to turn the page and find the back cover.
That feeling of being cut off right at the crucial moment, left hanging in mid-air, was unbearable.
"Commander, what I hate most in my life is being deceived." Daenerys could not admit she had no plan and intended to think long term after reclaiming the Seven Kingdoms. She forced down her guilt and said coldly, "If you want me to forgive this deception, you had better truly be the author of that book and provide a second half that satisfies me."
…
If Daenerys's identity and title were recognized as legitimate, then the person before him was the supreme monarch of the Seven Kingdoms, the Queen of all Westeros.
If there was no vast centralized empire across unknown parts of the world beyond, then this would be Aegor's last chance in this world to deceive someone above him in station. If he could win her over, influence, and even shape her thoughts, he would have cleared this path.
For this day, he had prepared for countless days and nights in his subconscious.
"I will do my best." Aegor tilted his head, listening to the beat of dragon wings outside. "But before we begin, I must ask Your Grace to agree to one thing. After hearing all I have to say, whether you believe it or not, whether you follow it or not, do not disclose it to anyone, including your closest advisors."
This request was excessive. If she did not tell her trusted counselors, how could she, with limited experience and knowledge, judge whether Aegor was deceiving her or laying a trap? Daenerys frowned. "Alright, I will hear what you can say."
Let him speak first. As for telling others, her mouth was her own. Daenerys was not as rigid as Stannis. Her view of promises and rules had always been relatively flexible.
Aegor nodded, drew a deep breath, and began. "If Your Grace remembers, the first half I presented mentioned that countries are generally divided into two types. One is centralized despotism, where there is only one king, and the rest are officials serving him. Westeros is the other type, feudal lords. The Seven Kingdoms are like a vast wasteland, and the nobles are like wild dogs in that wasteland, gathering in twos and threes, a pile here and a cluster there. They constantly plot and compete, and you can always find lords who harbor resentments against the king or other nobles over a bone or a few scraps, waiting for a chance at revenge. Whenever and wherever, there will be people willing to jump out and act as weapons or guides for rebels and insurgents, serving people like you or Aegon, hoping that by changing the king or the feudal lord, their own lives will be better."
"I am the legitimate king of the Seven Kingdoms, neither a rebel nor an insurgent."
"We are not debating legitimacy, only stating a fact. In a land of feudal divisions among lords large and small, to seize control, you only need to find the right people to split it into two or more forces. Then defeat the king and eliminate his bloodline. Afterward, if the rest have neither a leader nor the will to resist, they surrender to the wind." Aegor shook his head. "The most recent example is Your Grace herself. Capture King's Landing and remove Stannis, and you gain the Crownlands and the Stormlands at once. Next, find a way to win Dorne and the Riverlands, which are easy to gain, and you will hold half the Seven Kingdoms. After that, the Riverlands, with no natural defenses, is yours for the taking, and the Westerlands were severely weakened and unable to resist after the last joint attack by the Six Kingdoms. Finally, only the North and the Vale, with the natural barriers of the Neck and the Bloody Gate, might resist for a while. Under the deterrence of dragons, it is foreseeable that this resistance will not last long, so long as you are willing to accept their surrender."
"Basically correct." In fact, entirely correct, Daenerys thought, though she was currently blocked at the first step, eliminating Stannis, held back by that strong foe and unable to advance. "Then what?"
"There is no then what. I raised this only to introduce a concept before we move on. We must reach consensus first." Aegor said, "That concept is the law of Easy to Gain, Difficult to Rule in a kingdom. The difficulty of conquering a kingdom is inversely proportional to the difficulty of ruling it afterward. The easier the path you choose to seize power, the more external forces you must have relied on, and the more old officials and former nobles you will have kept from the previous order. Once these people become meritorious officials and supporters in your new realm, they form vested interests. Unless you refrain from infringing on those interests, they will become obstacles to your rule."
Aegor began with content from the revised The Prince (Part One). Besides linking past and future to make his narrative easier to follow, he also had another aim, to gain a subtle psychological advantage.
Once they discussed arguments from Part One, Daenerys would quickly realize that Aegor was entirely familiar with it, able to recite it backward, and was undoubtedly its author. In this process of unconsciously accepting that he wrote it, her anticipation and admiration for the mysterious author would transfer to the man before her, Aegor.
When an author and a reader discuss the book, the former gains an easy advantage.
"The law of Easy to Gain, Difficult to Rule?" Daenerys murmured the phrase, unaware that her attitude toward Aegor had unconsciously grown more respectful. At that moment she felt as if she had returned to childhood, a student again, and the man opposite her was her teacher.
"Exactly. An example. Your Grace wishes to reclaim the Iron Throne. The simplest way is to recognize the legitimacy of Aegon Targaryen, marry him, and ally with Dorne and the Riverlands, as many lords as possible. The more great nobles join you, the easier your path becomes. But at the end, after you sit the Iron Throne, your husband and your first supporters will in turn weaken your control. Conversely, if you choose to slaughter the nobles across the Seven Kingdoms and replace them all with new men, your road to power will be extremely hard, fraught with obstacles, nearly impossible to complete. As compensation, if you succeed, your control over the Seven Kingdoms will be unshakably firm." This was a term that did not even appear in the original The Prince. Aegor had summarized it himself from Westeros, and no one had more authority to explain it than he did. "Remember this concept, because we will return to it later."
Drogon, circling above the miniature lake, sensed his mother was not in danger. After a few passes, he flew off with his siblings. Daenerys paid no heed. She was already falling into anticipation for the content to come.
"Very good. Now that we have introduced the concept, we can move to the main topic." Aegor nodded with satisfaction, pleased with his new student's attitude. "Your Grace wants to correct the world's injustices and make it better. Specifically, what should you do in policy?"
(To be continued.)
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