King's Landing, Red Fort, Imperial Conference Chamber.
The tall and fat king of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon, sits on the throne and discusses the impending war with the members of the Imperial Council.
King Robert Baratheon's massive body was sunk deep in the Iron Throne, his face flushed with burgundy, and his thick blackbeard shook violently with the curses: "Those damn iron bitches! Thirty boats? Do you want me to prepare swords and spears for them?" If I had known today, I should have stuck all the heads of Baron and his stinky cubs on the battlements of Pike Place City! "
Prime Minister Jon Allin rubbed his temples tiredly and said, "Your Majesty, our ships are actually enough, the royal fleet is still stepping up the repair of warships, Lord Redwin's warships are ready to go, we can gather at least 400 warships, but the key to the problem is not this..."
Duke Arryn paused, he glanced around at the other princes of the kingdom sitting in his seat, and said solemnly: "Now, we should consider the cost of this war, this time..."
As soon as Robert heard "spend", the fat on his face trembled, and he shook like a rattle: "Seven levels of hell, Jon, don't talk to me about money, I know, I know you will help me solve it, maybe you will send someone to the iron vault on the other side of the Narrow Sea, or find Duke Tywin in Caestro Rock, the Seven Gods are on top, and Tywin's is all made of gold... You can also go to the archbishop to peddle royal debts, in any case, I believe you, Jon, you must have a way..."
Jon Arryn felt bitter in his heart, and he recalled his old days in the valley.
At that time, Robert was tall and handsome, with clear eyes, and was the dream lover of half the kingdom girl.
But today's Robert, indulging in wine and lust, walks in vain, almost ignores the affairs of the kingdom, and fails to fulfill the obligations that a king should fulfill.
He overthrew a mad king in exchange for a drunken king.
Robert ignored the government and wandered around brothels and hunting grounds all day long, all of which fell on Jon.
As the hand of the king, he had to carry the Seven Kingdoms on his shoulders.
Faced with heavy debts, he could only pull his face and look for someone to borrow money.
And every time he mentioned money, Robert always had an indifferent attitude, which made him feel that the burden on his shoulders was a little heavier.
"Your Majesty, let's take back the topic, I am afraid you will need you to sit in King's Landing this time..."
Jon ended the discussion about debt and changed the subject.
Robert immediately interrupted him when he heard this: "Let me hide in the castle and be a coward?" Why don't you let me die..."
Jon Arryn frowned: "Your Majesty, the battlefield is too dangerous, and we can't let you risk your life." "
Robert's eyes widened, "I was on the battlefield, hammering Rhaegar Targaryen to death on the banks of that damn Trident and winning the Iron Throne, and now you are making me hide behind someone else, no, Jon, you are making me a kingdom." "
Jon dissuaded: "Your Majesty, that time was different, now you are the king of the Seven Kingdoms, and your safety is related to the future of the kingdom." "
Robert shouted, "No! It's always the same thing, if a king can't win respect on the battlefield, then this king can't win respect in front of his vassals, I have to go, this is the king's order. "
Jon Allen was speechless.
Looking at Robert's stubborn face, Jon suddenly had a thought.
Robert may be a good warrior, but he is definitely not a good king.
It may be a mistake to let him sit on the Iron Throne.
Jon waved away the terrifying thoughts in his mind and no longer continued to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, if you want to go on a personal expedition, please also ask the vanguard to land first, the battle at sea is different from on land, as long as you fall into the sea, no matter how hard the armor you wear, it will not help." "
Robert snorted and agreed: "In short, I will hammer the head of the Oriental wizard, and the wizard without a head will die like a wizard." "
The plan for the personal expedition has been set, and the next step is the issue of the commander.
Robert made a straightforward decision: "Let Ned Stark come, and he will win for me, just like he did more than a decade ago." "
Jon sighed in his heart and hurriedly spoke: "Ned may be a good commander on the ground, but definitely not on the sea, wolves don't know water..."
He turned to two empty chairs.
Neither of the king's brothers was in King's Landing.
Lan Li left King's Landing half a month ago and returned to Wind Breath Fortress to gather the vassals under the name of the storm place to prepare for war.
And Stannis...
A few days ago, Stannis had a big quarrel with the king at the royal meeting because he pointed the finger at the king for not having money to maintain the royal fleet, and left King's Landing that night and returned to Dragonstone to prepare for war.
In order to reorganize the Royal Fleet, Jon Arryn had to personally borrow money from the Church of the Seven Gods to repair the Royal Fleet's warships.
Pasil said tremblingly at this time: "Maybe... Duke Stannis can take on this important task, he is the Minister of Maritime Affairs, and his fief is on Dragonstone, so he is familiar with water combat. "
The king shouted: "No, he shouldn't be the commander, Stannis bastard only knows how to go against me..."
Robert thought of his brother's ironclad stinky face, and an inexplicable anger welled up in his heart.
Jon patiently said, "Your Majesty, Master Stannis is the best candidate, unless we want to let the Iron Captain of the Iron Fleet take on this role." "
Robert turned to Waris, the intelligence chief who had been silent, and said, "Where's Tywin? "
Varys, who had not spoken, replied in a smooth and silky voice at this time: "Your Majesty, Lord Tywin has sent his brother Sir Kevon to lead the Western Army, and he himself is stationed in Caervan City. "
Robert said unhappily: "What is he hiding in the pile of stones? "
After a pause, Robert cast an expectant gaze and said to Jon: "Are there any good candidates in your valley? "
Jon shook his head helplessly at this time, and continued to propose a feasible option: "Your Majesty, why don't you let Earl Redwin be the commander, he has the Qingting Island fleet under his command, and is familiar with naval warfare, which is suitable for this expedition to the Shijie Islands." "
He knew that Robert was unwilling to let Stannis be the commander, and the conflict between the two brothers was becoming increasingly intense, almost on the surface.
As for Lan Li, he was too young, and when Labor started the incident, Lan Li was still a child and had not experienced the training of war at all.
After counting, only Paxter Redwin of the river bend has this qualification to serve as commander.
Although Paxter was only a vassal of the river bend, he was not inferior to his vassal in terms of strength.
The Tyrell family sent their second son Garan Tyrell to fight on the Stone Steps Islands this time, while the Hightower family sent their heir Baylor Hightower and the old town garrison commander Maureen Tyrell to lead the army.
From this point of view, Earl Redwin can suppress the scene and can indeed be able to serve as a commander.
Robert pondered for a moment, picked up the silver wine glass on the table and took a sip of it into his big mouth: "Well, I hope Lord Paxter's fighting skills are as good as his home-made golden wine." "
Then he burped happily.
Varys interjected sweetly at the right time: "Your Majesty, my lords, Sir Jorah has written that he will do a good job of intelligence for our fleet landing, and he is working hard to obtain the future tactical arrangements of the Eastern Wizards, waiting for the Seven Kingdoms to assemble, and with the cooperation of the inside and outside, we can defeat the Eastern Wizard in one fell swoop." "
Robert wiped the wine stains from his beard and nodded in satisfaction: "Tell Jorah that if he can pass on valuable information, I will pardon him in the name of the king." "