In the dense forest, a tall black bear with dark fur collapsed weakly in a pool of blood, surrounded by six roaring hounds.

In the sound of hurried hooves, a group of more than 20 people arrived on horseback.

Sam Weller stopped his horse and said with a smile:

"Yes, it looks like today's lunch has been settled."

As he spoke, he turned over and dismounted, and instructed his men to make a fire.

Count Randolph Tully also rolled over and dismounted, and stepped forward to help.

With the hunter as their coat of arms, the Tully family was naturally familiar with how to handle their prey, and Count Landau took it upon himself to quickly peel off a near-perfect bear skin.

Later, he divided the black bear into several large pieces for grilling.

After all this, Earl Landau washed the blood stains on his hands with mountain spring water, took a few sips of the wine bag handed by Samwell, and said:

"Remember when I took you hunting when I was a kid?"

"Hmm." Samwell nodded vaguely, many of the original owner's memories had blurred.

"What's harder than hunting is often handling the prey." Earl Landau said meaningfully.

Samwell laughed:

"Are you talking about my handling of Qingting Island?"

Count Landau nodded in acknowledgement:

"I heard that you have appointed Lucas Dane as the Earl of Qingting Island."

"Yes, when Qingting Island is captured, I am going to canonize this territory to Sir Lucas."

"The ancestors of the Redwing family are Gilbert 'The Vine', son of 'Green Hand' Garth. They've been operating on that island for thousands of years, and Qingting Island has long been accustomed to the rule of these orange-haired, freckled Redwin, and now you're giving them a Dane? Do you think they'll be convinced? ”

Samwell said with a relaxed expression:

"Stormlands was ruled by Baratheon before, and before was ruled by House Durandon, but now, aren't they still under Caesar's rule?

In my opinion, the common people don't care what the ruler's last name is, and they are not interested in the power games played by the nobles, all they want is to fill their stomachs and live a stable life.

As long as we can guarantee this, whether it is Qingting Island or Storm Land, there will be no problems.

It's the same with Westeros as a whole. ”

Count Landau glanced at his confident son and said:

"You're right, the people at the bottom really don't care much about the surname of the lord on the head, but you can't just rely on these people at the bottom to rule, you also need knights and small lords, these people still value blood.

The reason why you have been able to gain the approval of the Lords of the Stormlands is that the dragon has a lot of credit. But Sir Lucas didn't have dragons.

I'm not saying that he can't rule Qingting Island, but if you want to make less trouble, you'd better take some measures......"

"For example?"

"For example, your brother is married to a Florent, so Bright Water City can accept his rule. You'd better get Sir Lucas to marry Redwyne too. ”

"I'll give advice, but whether to marry or not, Lucas decides for himself." Samwell said perfunctorily, but he didn't actually intend to force Lucas.

He knew that his father, like almost all nobles in this world, cared more about bloodline and claims, which were related to their fundamental interests, so even if the Redwin family was an enemy, he subconsciously wanted to protect the rights of the other party.

But as an "outsider", Samwell has no such concerns at all, and even wants to challenge the existing aristocratic system.

Of course, he will not act recklessly and make himself an enemy of the Seven Kingdoms.

Marrying Daenerys and hatching dragons is exactly what he is trying to cater to the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms.

But he still wanted to test it.

Qingting Island is a suitable testing ground.

Lucas Dayne is not related to the Redwyn family, and is from Dorne, the sworn enemy of the river, and will not marry a Redwyn by vows, Samwell wants to see how the nobles and people of the island will react to such a new ruler.

When Count Landau saw his son say this, he no longer persuaded him.

The meat on the barbecue grill oozes grease under the flames, dripping down and making a clattering sound, and the enticing aroma fills the forest.

The attendants brought the roasted bear meat.

Samwell took it, not afraid of the heat, and took a bite.

The meat is firm and oily.

Count Landau cut off a piece of meat with a knife, put it in his mouth, and chewed it carefully. At the same time, he asked:

"You're not just gathering the nobles of Riverlands and Stormlands this time to celebrate your son's birthday, right?"

"Yes." Samwell didn't hide it either, "I'm ready to march into King's Landing. ”

"I'm in a bit of a hurry." The Earl of Landau gave an evaluation.

Samwell sighed helplessly:

"I understand, but there's really no way. In case you didn't know, news had just come from the North that Eddard Stark had surrendered, that he and his son Robb had been sent to serve as night watchmen on the Wall, and that his youngest son, Rickon, had succeeded Winterfell and bowed his knee to the new Duke of the North, Ruth Bolton. ”

"Eddard Stark's defeat was foreordained." Earl Landau didn't look surprised at all, "Actually, I'm surprised that he was able to hold out for so long. But how could it be that his youngest son inherited Winterfell? Didn't he have three sons? Could it be that the second son also went to the Great Wall? ”

Samwell's eyes flashed, and he said:

"Duke Eddard's second son, Bran, is a lame man, and, I heard he is missing."

Count Landau apparently didn't care about Bran Stark, and said instead:

"Luce Bolton nominally rules the North, but it will be a long time before the proud Lords of the North can be brought to their knees. Remember, it's harder to handle prey than to hunt.

The same is true of your stormlands. Now hurry to mobilize them to fight King's Landing, if you succeed, it's fine, but if you fail, your reputation will be completely ruined.

Therefore, I suggest that you don't worry, confront the Lannisters across the river for two or three years, and you take the opportunity to gather people's hearts in the Stormlands, that artificial canal is not bad, if it is successfully completed, it can make the people of the Stormlands appreciate your kindness, and even if the future march into King's Landing fails, the basic territory of the Stormlands will not be shaken. ”

"But I can't wait that long. And my decision to fight King's Landing wasn't entirely because of the situation in the North. Samwell shook his head and said, "Aemon Targaryen, do you know you?" ”

"I know, Bachelor of Castle Black. At that time, he took the initiative to give up the throne to guard the Great Wall. ”

"He came to see me two months ago, but unfortunately I had just returned from Slaver's Bay and he didn't make it to see me. Margaery told me that Maester Aemon had met the dead and resurrected ghouls at the Wall, and that there were a hundred thousand wild men marching south, as if they were hiding from something terrible. ”

Count Landau frowned:

"You don't believe in the legends of the strangers, do you?"

"I believe it." Samwell said earnestly.

Count Landau and his son looked at each other for a while, then shrugged their shoulders and said:

"You are the king, you make the decisions. However, I suggest you at least deal with Dorne before marching into King's Landing, otherwise it will be a problem for the Martells to sneak up on us while the army is heading north. ”

"The Martell family won't last long." Samwell said with a relaxed expression, "My fleet has blocked the Greenblood River, and they can't get any food supplies from the outside world. And don't forget, there are two armies in the city of the Halberd, the Riverland and the Valley, and if Aliann can't feed them, hum. ”

"It's good if you're prepared." Earl Landau said, "You don't have to worry about this side of the riverland, Duke Metz has always been very honest, and now that Margaery has given birth to your eldest son, he will naturally have no opinion." I estimate that the Riverbend will be able to mobilize about 80,000 troops this time. ”

Samwell said, "Stormlands should mobilize 40,000, plus the 8,000 Unsullied I brought back from Slave Cove are almost there......"

"Are you going to attack King's Landing with slave soldiers? The nobles of Westeros hate slaves, don't be stupid about it. ”

"I've given them freedom." Samwell laughed, "My Unsullied are freedmen. ”

Count Landau nodded.

Samwell continued: "Crossing the river is not a problem, the main force of the Qingting Island fleet has been destroyed, and the rest can be handled even by the United Iron Fleet, my Stormland Fleet. ”

"In this way, it is indeed possible to fight."

"Good!" Samwell threw the gnawed bones on the ground, got up and laughed, "Then let's break with the Lannisters." ”

(End of chapter)