Three years of tax is not a small number.

Every nobleman had a hemorrhage.

In the past, taxes were paid year by year, and there was a special treasurer who was responsible for handing over the taxes to King's Landing, and the person in charge of taxes was the royal family's finance minister, Petyrberg.

Now that Petyr had been in the Vale for so long, the royal family had appointed a new Chancellor of the Exchequer: Earl of Garles Rosby of the House of Rossby.

After the words of the Demon Mountain, there was a strange silence in the hall of the Moon Gate Fort, Little Finger deliberately did not speak, and his eyes looked at everyone, and finally, Lady Rysa Tully broke the silence.

When it came to paying taxes, Mrs. Rysa Tully felt a pain in her flesh.

She likes to collect taxes and doesn't like to pay them!

"Lord Magic Mountain. She honestly and unceremoniously did not call the name and surname of the Magic Mountain, the ignorant are fearless, the stupid are also fearless, and Mrs. Lysa Tully, who immediately felt an irrepressible disgust in her heart when she heard the tax, was also fearless, "Taxation must be attended by the court tax scholar before we ......"

"Lady Ryssa Tully, I am the Court Taxman, and my name is Peggy. Maester Peggy stood up from the group of subordinate officers in the Magic Mountain. He was courteous and smiling. But the smile that fell into the eyes of Mrs. Rysa Tully looked suspicious and disgusting.

Mrs. Lysa Tully was abruptly interrupted, she was a man of no haste and was stunned to try to organize her language again. It turned out that what she wanted to say seemed to be taken away by an invisible hand in her brain, and there was no shadow at all.

It's frustrating!

Madame Lyssa-Tully's face slowly turned red, she was a noblewoman who thought highly of herself, and in the more than half a year that the great nobles of the valley had come to pursue and flatter her, she had forgotten who she was so proudly that she had forgotten who she was, and her superiority and face had been cultivated by the noble men, and she had been cultivated to the point that she was completely detached from reality, and was as important as a giant's spear.

Finally, Lysa Tully looked at Littlefinger, and she held back a sentence that she thought was very competent: "Dear Petyr" She always called Littlefinger so affectionately in front of anyone, which made Littlefinger embarrassed on many occasions, "Do you know this Peggy?

"Yes, ma'am!" said Petyr the Littlefinger, who was the Chancellor of the Seven Kingdoms, and the most distinguished Chancellor of the Exchequer in recent decades, recognized by all nobles, both those who hated him and those who identified with him.

Petyr had been in the court for many years and knew every court scholar, especially the one who calculated the treasury and managed taxes.

In fact, Peggy was the newly appointed Bachelor of Taxation during the lifetime of the deceased Petyr, who was responsible for keeping an eye on the Magic Mountain on behalf of Petyl, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and when Petyr left King's Landing, Lady Peggy had not yet been promoted to the Bachelor of Taxation.

But the Magic Mountain is the head of Little Finger! In such a matter, how could Little Finger drag the Magic Mountain's hind legs.

Mrs. Ryssa Tully listened hopefully to Pinch's answer to the contrary, and her face became even more embarrassed, a perfect expression of embarrassment. Madame Rysa Tully tried to balance her breathing, and the flush on her face slowly faded.

Littlefinger smiled, looking in the eyes of Lady Rysa Tully, that smile was the most charming flower in the world, she seemed to see the charming smile of Littlefinger at the age of fourteen, Littlefinger opened her mouth, but Littlefinger did not let her speak again, Littlefinger spoke first, and it was appropriate to gag Ryssa Tully's mouth: "Madam, we are the lords of the valley, and we should take the lead in paying taxes to the royal family, this is our duty, and it is also the glory of the family and the reverence for the rules of the seven gods." “

Lysa Tully's words swirled in her throat, and she managed to say them, but the words were the exact opposite of what she had intended: "Yes, dear Petyr, you are right. ”

Petyrberg stretched out his hand and patted Lysa Tully's hand encouragingly, and then touched the little face of Duke Robert Arryn lovingly, and then looked at each nobleman: " Ladies and gentlemen, you all know that I was born in taxation before Prime Minister Jon Arryn took a fancy to become the Chancellor of the Crown of the Exchequer, I know very well the tax payment situation in the valley, Lord Grego Cregan represents the royal family, and Peggy, the tax bachelor, is also the most upright royal tax bachelor I believe in, three years of taxation, the Arryn family will take the lead in paying, I also hope that all the nobles will pay according to the original annual payment amount, I will give you ten days to send someone back to get money and things, if any of the adults have a different opinion, put it forward, I and Lord Gregor will listen to you。 “

The last sentence, Petyrberg the Littlefinger, was uttered with an elegant smile, neither humble nor arrogant, friendly and kind, which is the affinity of the Guardian of the Canyon.

The nobles looked at each other, if there was no little finger, they still had the courage to pay the tax of a golden dragon into half a piece, but the tax was formulated by the little finger, and he was also supervised and responsible for collecting it throughout the country, if he adhered to the principle, anyone who did tricks and feet to deceive the magic mountain was dancing on the blade, it would be very deadly!

"If there are no objections, I will be grateful for everyone's support. So, let's decide. Ten days, one time and one time, bring back all the taxes that everyone should have paid to the royal family in the past three years. Little Finger stood up and placed his right fist in the heart of his left chest, "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, the country has been in civil war for several years, and the finances are very difficult, I am the Minister of Finance of the Royal Family, and on behalf of the Royal Family, I would like to thank you for your support." ”

Moshan observed that the nobles were a little unhappy in their eyes.

If you pay taxes, no one will be happy. These people are obviously not very tax motivated!

"I also thank you for your support, Moshan is very grateful. Moshan stood up and said. He said it politely, but his eyes were sharp, and his tone was not kind. Is the Magic Mountain warning the nobles not to 'paddle' when paying taxes?

The answer is clear: yes!

The nobles all knew that as long as Little Finger 'handled it impartially', they would not be able to evade taxes and be deceived into the Magic Mountain. Petyrberg the Littlefinger was a very powerful character, he said nothing leaky, his taxes were always clear, and when he said that he was paying taxes, he did not give any hint to the nobles of the valley that they could be properly taught.

There are no hints in words or eyes!

"I will pay my taxes in full, it is the duty, loyalty, and honor of our knights of the Royce family. Nestroys, the guardian of Moongate Fort, was the first to speak. He had just become a viscount, and his son had been knighted, and the biggest gain was that he finally had his own family castle and domain.

Previously, Moongate Fort belonged to the Arryn family, but now, it is the Nestrois family!

The gift from Littlefinger is interesting enough, then, when it comes to supporting Littlefinger, Nester also knows it interestingly.

So, there is no danger or danger, and the tricky matter of collecting taxes for three years at once in Magic Mountain is as simple as drinking a glass of wine. If it weren't for the notoriety of Magic Mountain, even if Little Finger personally collected the taxes for the past three years, it would be difficult to collect them in full. The evil of the Magic Mountain and the essence of Little Finger are the fundamental reasons why the nobles of the valley dare not play tricks to delay the refusal or underpayment.

Fists and shrewdness are indispensable!

Authoritarianism and gentleness have always been a good hand!

Half a month later, the Klegan Corps walked at the foot of the Giant's Spear.

The Magic Mountain implemented the division of troops, and he personally led more than 5,000 cavalry mixed regiments to take the land route. Uncle Rhosperser and Naval Commander-in-Chief Wagnagar led more than 5,000 naval soldiers back the same way, collecting taxes in Seagull Town and heading south to Dragonstone. Later, the navy rested and stationed on Dragonstone Island, and while training troops, it continued to recruit troops in King's Landing, Twilight Valley, Crab Claw Peninsula, and Rossby City.

And the Blood Gate has been famous for a long time, and the Demon Mountain has always been eager to see the inside of the Blood Gate in person.

Only by walking in the valley as much as possible can we understand the geography of the valley, the streams, the density of the people's villages, the military deployment of various places, and the defense of the bloody gate, so as to know the root cause and be prepared.

Now that you have come to the valley, it is beneficial to learn more about the military defense, road environment, and the lives of the people in the valley!

In fact, after passing through the flat avenue of the basin, crossing Iron Oak City, taking Runese Bay on the original road, passing through Rune City, passing through Rune City, passing through the waterway to Seagull Town, resting for a while in Seagull Town, and then ordering the nobles of Seagull Town to allocate ships to send the Demon Mountain Legion forward. As long as you pass through Crab Bay, you can directly reach the mouth of the Trident River, and then go up the Trident River, the team will come to the ferry of the Trident River, enter the Red Fork River, drive the boat on, pass the Rushing City of the Tuli family, enter the Tengshi River, and enter the territory of the Western Territory. The birthplace of the Tengshi River, in the territory of the Marbran family in the Westside Branding City. This is already very close to the two large territories of the Magic Mountain, Castelme and Tabek Hall.

This time, the magic mountain pulled more than 200 carts of various materials, of which more than 100 carts of materials were given to the navy, and more than 100 carts of materials were personally escorted by Moshan, and the carriages of more than a dozen of them were loaded with Huang Cancan's gold dragon coins, silver deer coins and bronze star coins.

For the first time in the eighteenth year of Robert Baratheon's reign, the tax of the valley was collected in full by the Magic Mountain and Littlefinger. The more than one million Golden Dragon Demon Mountain did not completely require the payment of metal coins, sometimes, grain is more effective than money, horse material is more effective than money, and animal skin tarpaulins are more resistant to the cold than gold coins. Money is indeed loved by everyone, but it cannot fill the stomach when you are hungry, nor can it warm you up when you are cold. Outside the valley is a world that has been in war for three years, and in many villages, you can't buy a bite to eat with a golden dragon.

The mountain declined the invitation of the Littlefingers to visit the mountain, and it was meaningful for him to accept the meeting with the Littlefingers at the foot of the Giant's Spear. The Eagle's Nest was too steep, and he was too tall, and in any precipitous place, if one person was bad, or if there was an ambush, or if someone hired a dead soldier, he could be killed. Halfway up the mountain, someone rolling down a rock from the castle or somewhere can push him into a corner.

Littlefinger is a usable person, but not a trustworthy person.

The gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall, and the magic mountain does not walk in the mountain road of the giant's spear. Once there is a chance to turn the tables, Little Finger will definitely not be willing to be restrained by the magic mountain to be a lackey.

For the first time in three hundred years, there were foreign legions in the valley. Three hundred years ago, Aegon the Conqueror's legions did not enter the Vale, and as soon as his Black Dragon of Bellerion flew through the Blood Gate, the Vale surrendered. Bellerion's wings spread, and the shadow obscured the entire Bloodgate Castle, and the dragon's size was huge, and its outstretched wings could block the sunlight of a small town.

Three times in the history of the Kingdom of the Valley have been opened, the first time was the Andals from across the Narrow Sea, the ancestors of the Arryn family, who landed from the eastern coast and took the valley, the second was three hundred years ago Aegon Targaryen, who flew through the Blood Gate on a dragon and took the valley, and the third time was when the Magic Mountain led an army to land from Runestone Bay and took the valley again.

In the absence of dragons, the only offensive route to take the valley was to land on the eastern coast.

For half a day, the Clegane soldiers found themselves still walking at the foot of the Giant's Spear, looking up, the Giant's Spear towered into the sky, giving people an infinite sense of oppression. Overhead, beside the white clouds, there was a glittering crystal-like place, which was a waterfall next to the Eagle's Nest City, glittering in the sun's rays.

A day later, the team came to the front of a hillside, and a snake-like path climbed upwards for miles until it disappeared at the end of the hillside.

This is the only way to go out to the west, climb up the hillside, you will enter a narrow mountain road, on both sides are steep mountains, almost walled, in the middle of a hundred miles of mountain road, leading to the blood gate.

The carriage could no longer carry heavy loads uphill, and it had to be carried up by manpower, so the magic mountain ordered, and the soldiers worked together, and the goods on the carriage were unloaded, and the empty carriage was driven up the hill first, and then the goods were transported. The cavalrymen were able to ride uphill without dismounting and walking.

Three days later, the team completed the narrow road in the mountains and entered the more precipitous road of the Bloody Gate. On the mountain walls on both sides, there are military defense corridors built in the air, and the soldiers and generals are staying in the hollowed-out mountain walls, and the military corridors on both sides are tens of meters high from the ground, and they can only go up and down by ropes, and people cannot climb them.

If the archers on the two sides of the military corridor shoot arrows together, anyone on the road below that can only accommodate four horses in parallel will be a target.

In this way, the mountain road that was completely exposed to the attack of the soldiers on the mountain wall was dozens of miles long, and even if someone was lucky enough to break the blood gate, they would not be able to pass through such a long narrow mountain road. The soldiers in the military corridor halfway up the mountainside, stones, bows and arrows, oil drums, asphalt drums, crossbow arrows, and ballistae can easily attack downward. And it is even more difficult for the people below to raise their heads and fight back.

Historically, except for dragons, no one has crossed this place by force.

After another day, the vanguard at the front, all cavalry, came to the Blood Gate, and the tail of the rear army entered the entrance of the Blood Gate Mountain Road.

The entire team is more than 5,000 people, including a legion belonging to the Royce family in Runestone City. Lady Weywood of Iron Oak also sent four family knights to lead a hundred-man team to join the cavalry regiment of the Magic Mountain. Madame has her own thoughts, she wants to get the analysis and guidance of the magic mountain on the general situation of the change of the dynasty after the arrival of the Dragon Mother. She decided to maintain a long-term friendly relationship with the Magic Mountain.

The Magic Mountain came to the Blood Gate.

The gates of the castle opened, and Sir Donalwellwood, the second son of the Countess of Anya Weywood, appeared at the gate: a young man of twenty years, with a strong physique, an ugly but sincere appearance, with a broad nose and loose brown hair.

Demonic Mountain looked closely, and he noticed that the long battlements were built on the cliffs on both sides, and the mountain road was once again narrowed to allow only two people to ride side by side, and the slightly wider carriages were no longer passable. Fortunately, the nobles in the valley knew about this situation, and the carriages for the Magic Mountain were all slender and long, just enough to pass through this bloody mountain road.

I saw two watchtowers on the left and right climbing on the rock wall, connected to each other by a weather-beaten gray stone closed arch bridge. Silent faces watched from the archery holes in the tower, the battlements, and the stone bridges as they watched the uninvited guests.

Donald rode his horse: "Lord Gregor Cregan, please dismount and enter the castle, and let me entertain you for a few days." Donnell dismounted first, and the knights behind him dismounted.

Donnal had already received his mother's raven, and knew that the Magic Mountain had made a deal with the Valeers, and that the Valeers had re-sworn allegiance to the Iron Throne.

The Magic Mountain did not dismount: "Sir Donal, this place is narrow, not a place to talk, please get on the horse and take us to the castle." ”

"Yes, Lord Duke. Donnell placed his right fist on his left chest and gave a slight salute, then rolled over and led the way.

Magic Mountain led the cavalry into the Blood Gate Castle one after another, and the small streets, small shops, and small houses in the castle were superimposed like broken and falling from the sky, all of which were characterized by small and crowded, giving Magic Mountain a very uncomfortable and depressing feeling.

Since the magic mountain and the generals climbed the hillside into the narrow mountain road, for several days, they were squeezed by the cliffs on both sides, and they could only see a palm-sized sky when they looked up. Upon entering Bloodgate Castle, this feeling is reinforced by the twisted and stacked small streets of cottages.

Demon Mountain is unwilling to stay in this so-called Blood Gate Castle that is too narrow, his army of more than 5,000 people, thousands of war horses, can not stay in this small place, he is ready to travel overnight, through this Blood Gate, then everything will be fine.

Let's go!

"Sir Donal!" said the Magic Mountain, and before he could say a second word, there was a loud shout outside the Bloodgate Castle, 'ho-ho-ho, oh-oh-oh, and so on, and there was a lot of people coming in a mess, not knowing what they were doing.

Sir Donal's face was shocked, and the Magic Mountain said, "What happened?" He knew that after not far from this blood gate, the mountain road would be under the control of the aborigines of the Bright Moon Mountain Range, even if you were the lord of the valley, once you were left alone, you would be robbed by the aborigines, and if you met a violent tribal warrior, you would even lose your life.

"Lord Duke, I don't know what's going on, I'll go and see what the city walls are. Before the words fell, on the battlements, there were already soldiers shouting down, "General, there are many barbarian mountain people outside, all armed with weapons, looking at their outfits and banners, it seems that people from every tribe have them. “

Demon Mountain's heart moved, he knew that the aboriginal tribes would not come out to rob or fight with flags, it was the last time he came to the Mingyue Mountain Tribe to recruit warriors and migrate the tribesmen who were willing to migrate to the west, he taught the tribesmen to distinguish them from other tribes by banners.

"Sir Donal, open the door of blood, and I'll go out and have a look!"