"Never stop" is the ancient motto of the Tyrells, and it also interprets the family's way of survival.

Unlike the indomitable nature of the Starks and the arrogance of the Lannisters, the Tyrells have never been known for military affairs, let alone for the sake of "principle" and "dignity".

To be exact, they have not fought a single good victory since records began, and the only war that could barely be considered victorious dates back to the time when the gardener's family ruled the river.

At that time, Osmond Tyrell united forty families, and finally defeated the Peck and Mandalay families, who were trying to compete for the throne of the High Court, and installed Menne Gardener VI as king, restoring the unity of the broken riverbend kingdom.

It was precisely because of this hard-won victory that the Tyrells married the youngest daughter of Menn Gardener VI, and successfully integrated the blood of the "green hand" Garth into their own family, thus obtaining the so-called "legitimate" inheritance and ruling rights.

Since then, the Tyrells have never won a single war, or a partial battle, whether it's the battle with Dragonlord Aegon during the Conquistador's War, or the famous Blackfire Rebellion and Usurper War.

Normally, a family like this that has been defeated repeatedly should have been swept out of the stage of history a long time ago.

Interestingly, the Tyrells had grown thriving rather than weakened by repeated defeats, and there was nothing they could do to change even though many of the old families in the Riverbend secretly despised them and ridiculed them as nouveau riche.

The root of this is not how rich the Tyrells are, nor how powerful the army is, but that they always keep in mind that while maintaining a minimum of loyalty, they can marry as many families as possible and weave a huge network of interests.

In this way, even if they accidentally take the wrong team, the victor will consider the chaos that could result from weakening or eliminating House Tyrells, as well as the benefits of gaining their loyalty.

I have to say, this is a pretty clever strategy, so clever that it almost guarantees that whoever wins the final victory will not be too difficult for them.

Daenerys' brother, the famous idiot Viserys Targaryen, had always believed that Tyrells would be the first family to stand up and support him when he returned to Westeros.

As the current ruler of the Tyrell family, the "Queen of Thorns" Olenna Redwin is keenly aware that with the defeat of Stannis and the bloody wedding of Robb Stark, the "Young Wolf Lord", the originally stable power structure within the Seven Kingdoms has been completely broken.

The only people who are capable of competing for supremacy are the Lannisters, who appear to be imposing but are in fact seriously overdrawn, the Martell family, who rule the southern Dorne, and the Tyrells, who have not been affected by the war and can produce enough to feed the entire population of the continent with their fertile land.

Of course, there is also a young man of unknown origin, but who has powerful mysterious magical powers, and who also controls the terrifying magic dragon.

Instead of being as fearful and wary as Tywin, Olenna Redwin saw this as an opportunity, an opportunity to take the Tyrells to the next level.

After all, Zhang Cheng is only a person so far, and he has neither the support of a huge family nor the noble bloodline that can be recognized by the aristocratic class.

In her opinion, if the other party wants to sit on the Iron Throne, they will inevitably follow the example of Aegon the Conqueror, on the one hand, to show their unstoppable power, and on the other hand, to win over and support those families who are willing to kneel at the feet of the new dynasty.

If Tyrells can express their intention to form an alliance before anyone else, and then weave a gentle trap to firmly net the emotional world of the other party, then the Tyrells can reap unimaginable benefits from it, especially after several generations of repeated marriages, maybe the Tyrells can also gain that incredible magical talent and the power to control the dragon.

As for the young and beautiful Margaery and Elo, they have long been regarded as victims and pawns of the family's rise by the "Queen of Thorns".

But before that, Olenna Redwin has one more thing to confirm, and that is whether the other party has ambitions to match the strength......

Just as the Tyrells were secretly acting, Zhang Cheng was standing in the training ground on the upper floor of the Red Keep, watching Joffrey release the scorching flames over and over again, and teased in a half-joking tone: "Dear Tyrion, you have been standing behind me for a while, just say anything straight." Don't tell me you're here to see your nephew, everyone knows how much you hate each other like fire and ice. ”

"Why?" the little devil asked suddenly, cluelessly.

"Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean. What is why?" Zhang Cheng turned his head with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why teach him magic? You should know Joffrey's personality very well! Doing so will only make him more and more uninhibited, and more innocent victims will be burned alive. Tyrion frowned, clutching the note hidden in his sleeve.

He couldn't even dream that the young man in front of him, who had always shown calm and sanity, had caused thousands of civilian deaths without making a sound, and he couldn't see a trace of guilt afterwards, as if he had killed not a living person, but accidentally trampled a few ants to death.

"Hmm...... What does this have to do with me?" Zhang Cheng spread his hands nonchalantly. "You have to understand that magic is a powerful force, and at the same time it is a dangerous force. Therefore, in the process of study and research, we must maintain 120,000 patience and vigilance, because if we are not careful, we will die without a place to be buried. I was fortunate enough to find a very gifted seedling that could be used to test unproven theories and conjectures. ”

"So...... You use Joffrey, the king of the Seven Kingdoms, as a test subject?" Tyrion stared at him in surprise, as if he wanted to get to know each other again.

"That's right, by the way, there are very few people who have magical talents, and I've only seen two of them so far, and one of them is Joffrey. It's incredible, isn't it? A deformed combination of close relatives, an idiot with huge character flaws, can have dozens of times more talent than ordinary people, and fate still really played a cruel and funny joke. Zhang Cheng ignored the little devil's reaction, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth sarcastically.

"You're such a horrible madman! aren't you afraid I'll tell Joffrey the truth, tell my father and sister?" asked Tyrion with a blank face.

"No, why should I be afraid? Even if you tell Joffrey that he will give up his hard-earned strength? Obviously, he won't, and he'll trust me as much as ever, hungry for more from me. And your father, Tywin, is counting on me to help deal with the growing power of Daenerys, so he won't act rashly. As for your ambitious and short-sighted sister Cersei, she is nothing in my eyes, at least until Duke Tywin dies. ”

With that, Zhang Cheng picked up the wine glass placed on the table and handed it to the little devil, then touched it lightly, raised his head and drank it all.